Cases made to seem more mysterious than they probably were

[MagiciansBrick]

Apologies if a thread like this already exists.

I was thinking about Kurt Sova, and how there are certain pieces of information not shown in the UM segment that actually make the case seem a lot less mysterious (specifically the fact he was apparently drinking Everclear before the party).

I wonder if there are any other cases where you feel like the segments have been written and presented specifically to exaggerate how mysterious they were, either by downplaying/omitting relevant information or by focusing heavily on irrelevant information.

[XCalibur]

Originally Posted by MagiciansBrick

Apologies if a thread like this already exists.

I was thinking about Kurt Sova, and how there are certain pieces of information not shown in the UM segment that actually make the case seem a lot less mysterious (specifically the fact he was apparently drinking Everclear before the party).

I wonder if there are any other cases where you feel like the segments have been written and presented specifically to exaggerate how mysterious they were, either by downplaying/omitting relevant information or by focusing heavily on irrelevant information.

I always felt the Guardian UFO case was an absolute banger as a kid. I still kind of enjoy watching it, even though I am about 99.9% sure it was a hoax now.

The Face on Mars episode definitely tickled your intrigue bone too, but of course the photos came out years later that showed it likely was just a plain hill made to look like a face but shadow related phenomena with older more obsolete photo methods, it was far less mysterious.

Those are two that come to mind right off the top of my head, they are both in the extra terrestrial realm I know but they came to mind first.

But I enjoyed the alien life episodes a lot more as a kid. Outer space was always intriguing and mysterious to me growing up, even had a junior planetarium and a solar system model. I still do somewhat but not as interested as I once was.

[Killarney Rose]

I’m sorry, as usual I’ve forgotten the characters names, but you all know who I am speaking of….the case of the woman that just swore she was reincarnated from a young woman that died by drowning in the Ohio River after finding out she was pregnant after her boyfriend died in an accident on a riverboat. She went back and visited with the family of the supposed young woman. The cinematography was beautiful. She made for a compelling story, but in the end it was just another hoax.

[TheCars1986]

All of the final appeal segments left out information that would make the convict look more guilty.

[Mike82]

I'm sure some are sick of me sounding like a broken record but there is no mystery with Amy Bradley and Katherine Korzilius except to the power of people with strong media connections to muddy the water for whatever reasons. I also just saw the John Cheek one again and its obvious to me he simply jumped from the bridge into the Mississippi River and UM omits key information that makes this the most logical outcome.

Does human trafficking and/or child kidnappings occur? Sadly, yes. Are either of these two cases anything other than the simple answer? No.

[Killarney Rose]

I definitely agree with Mike82 on the Amy and Katherine cases.

[Labonte18]

Originally Posted by Mike82

I'm sure some are sick of me sounding like a broken record but there is no mystery with Amy Bradley and Katherine Korzilius except to the power of people with strong media connections to muddy the water for whatever reasons. I also just saw the John Cheek one again and its obvious to me he simply jumped from the bridge into the Mississippi River and UM omits key information that makes this the most logical outcome.

Does human trafficking and/or child kidnappings occur? Sadly, yes. Are either of these two cases anything other than the simple answer? No.

John Cheek was just another family unwilling to accept facts.

Don't get me wrong, I understand and have sympathy, but.. You really just have to toss anything said by the family in those segments out. It's the same with any suicide segment where the family says "He had everything to live for".. Yeah.. Isn't that what EVERY family says when a loved one commits suicide?

There were several cases where the family got a hangup call after someone went missing or.. I think one where they got a call that said "Help me" and hung up. Those are also just the family hanging onto any shred of hope.. Along with, sometimes, people just being total asshats for making those calls.

9 times out of 10.. The simplest answer is correct. The problem is.. That chance is out there that it's an exception, so..

[MagiciansBrick]

The Katherine Korzilius case is definitely one where I initially thought the circumstances were weird, but the more I've looked into it the more I'm inclined to believe the theory that she jumped on the car without her mother realising and fell off on the way. It would account for where she was found. Nancy Korzilius claimed Katherine looked like she'd been purposefully placed there, but as far as I can tell we only have her word for how Katherine looked when she was found.

[Mike82]

Originally Posted by MagiciansBrick

Nancy Korzilius claimed Katherine looked like she'd been purposefully placed there, but as far as I can tell we only have her word for how Katherine looked when she was found.

This has always been a head scratcher to me: we UM fans are always quick to point out how unreliable eyewitness testimony is, but many blindly assume the mother is being 100% accurate and truthful. I know if I found my son lying in the middle of the road in a blazing hot summer day I would imagine that would be the last thing I would be thinking about or remembering. Not that I believe it was anything more than a tragic accident, but if it wasn't, is it really such a good idea to assume the prime suspect is being honest and forthcoming?

As for another example that become obvious the more I looked into it, Bryan Nisenfeld comes to mind. It's a sad case that is clouded in mystery (and presented as a murder) but what ultimately happened seems pretty clear to me. In 1997 the treatment of LGBTQ+ youth was brutal: knowing that he was about to be "exposed" on top of already struggling with college life caused him to jump. Was Josh Cohen a piece of crap? Yes. Murderer? I highly doubt it.

[MagiciansBrick]

Originally Posted by Mike82

As for another example that become obvious the more I looked into it, Bryan Nisenfeld comes to mind. It's a sad case that is clouded in mystery (and presented as a murder) but what ultimately happened seems pretty clear to me. In 1997 the treatment of LGBTQ+ youth was brutal: knowing that he was about to be "exposed" on top of already struggling with college life caused him to jump. Was Josh Cohen a piece of crap? Yes. Murderer? I highly doubt it.

I rewatched the segment because I hadn't seen it in a while. The update at the end said the person who made the calls admitted to doing it. IMO the way it was worded kinda made it sound like it wasn't Josh Cohen after all.

This is the exact wording:

A friend of Bryan's eventually admitted to making the threatening phone calls but claimed they were made only in jest.

The fact it says "A friend" instead of something like "The former friend" when a good portion of the segment focuses on Bryan and Josh's friendship makes me think it's someone separate.

If that's the case, then I could see a scenario where someone tried to prank Bryan right around the time of his falling out with Josh, and it triggered him to take his own life.

I could be reading too much into the wording though.

[Killarney Rose]

All of the cases the parents continue to purse as wrongful deaths when they are obviously suicides.

[tvscript124]

Originally Posted by Killarney Rose

All of the cases the parents continue to purse as wrongful deaths when they are obviously suicides.

No matter which they were, the possibility that they were suicides brings a lot of emotions and denial into the mix.