Randall Utterback??? Is it solved?

[jets4life]

Originally Posted by Clockwork

I think what might have happened is that he probably spends less than 10 years in jail for this if he just takes the stand and defends himself. There could have been things that came out that paint a bit more favorable light on Randall, who knows, we never heard him try.

Like what?

[Killarney Rose]

Nothing excuses what he did!

[DALLASTEXAN!!]

I think the fact that he ran away and escaped from prison just reinforces that even Randall knows what he did was wrong and knew that he would be behind bars for a long time. He also might have been hiding other crimes that would have come to light. sometimes actions speak louder than words. there was nothing that would have made him look better in court. My guess is Randall would have attacked Denise's character because that's what desperate people do in court.

[MediaHoarder]

Originally Posted by DALLASTEXAN!!

I think the fact that he ran away and escaped from prison just reinforces that even Randall knows what he did was wrong and knew that he would be behind bars for a long time. He also might have been hiding other crimes that would have come to light. sometimes actions speak louder than words. there was nothing that would have made him look better in court. My guess is Randall would have attacked Denise's character because that's what desperate people do in court.

I am not convinced he did in fact escape from prison. After rewatching the segment and reading both this forum and others over again I'm now thinking that Randall was himself a victim of foul play.

UM makes a single brief statement on his alleged escape. It's significant that the last known whereabouts of him are in the hands of the authorities. Normally that would be a cause for suspicion, but in this case it is mostly ignored. Not only that, but there is zero detail given how he escaped from them. Just that he was being transported and escaped. There have been other cases where a suspect was last seen in the hands of LE and following their disappearance all focus was on the LE officer and their account of what happened.

When rewatching the episode, I noticed something else. When describing the final encounter between the two Stack's narration states "In the struggle, Randall allegedly bit her hand and dropped his gun." Now I am sure standards and practices probably forced the wording here given that he was not convicted of any crime at the time of the broadcast, but it's still interesting how this is presented. There is no interview or statement from LE saying what they found for this claim either. However, this should have been forensic evidence.

So after this event, Randall is arrested, charged with several crimes, and then imprisoned without bond. Starting with the denial of bail, Randall was not charged with a capital crime, homicide, or any of the more serious crimes that are generally grounds for denying bail for flight risk or danger to the community. He was charged with felonious restraint, which is a lesser crime than kidnapping, and several counts of armed criminal action and stalking.

So we have someone who was imprisoned for six months without bail on what might be termed "lesser felony" charges. This would appear to be a much more severe treatment than many other criminals have gotten over the years on UM. I would even wager that it was on the edge of what the law even allows and if Randall had the use of a very good lawyer he likely would not have been in that long.

But there is something else significant here, namely the six month timing of his alleged escape. In Missouri, speedy trial laws require that a trial start within 180 days of when the defendant says they are ready. I cannot find anything about Randall or his representative communicating that they were ready to go to trail, but given the charges I could certainly see a possibility that they communicated readiness almost immediately after his imprisonment.

So at the point where Randall may well have been able to either force a trial or a dismissal on speedy trial grounds he disappears in the custody of LE. It's an interesting coincidence. Which brings us back to the incident as describe by Stack's narration. What if the evidence did not line up with the prosecution's case? I have to wonder a bit about the firearm that was allegedly involved, what if it wasn't Randall's? An issue like that could well have meant the trial would be a failure for the prosecution.

All of which is to say I'm really not sure what happened here, but I have doubts he is alive.

[tvscript124]

Originally Posted by MediaHoarder

I am not convinced he did in fact escape from prison. After rewatching the segment and reading both this forum and others over again I'm now thinking that Randall was himself a victim of foul play.

UM makes a single brief statement on his alleged escape. It's significant that the last known whereabouts of him are in the hands of the authorities. Normally that would be a cause for suspicion, but in this case it is mostly ignored. Not only that, but there is zero detail given how he escaped from them. Just that he was being transported and escaped. There have been other cases where a suspect was last seen in the hands of LE and following their disappearance all focus was on the LE officer and their account of what happened.

When rewatching the episode, I noticed something else. When describing the final encounter between the two Stack's narration states "In the struggle, Randall allegedly bit her hand and dropped his gun." Now I am sure standards and practices probably forced the wording here given that he was not convicted of any crime at the time of the broadcast, but it's still interesting how this is presented. There is no interview or statement from LE saying what they found for this claim either. However, this should have been forensic evidence.

So after this event, Randall is arrested, charged with several crimes, and then imprisoned without bond. Starting with the denial of bail, Randall was not charged with a capital crime, homicide, or any of the more serious crimes that are generally grounds for denying bail for flight risk or danger to the community. He was charged with felonious restraint, which is a lesser crime than kidnapping, and several counts of armed criminal action and stalking.

So we have someone who was imprisoned for six months without bail on what might be termed "lesser felony" charges. This would appear to be a much more severe treatment than many other criminals have gotten over the years on UM. I would even wager that it was on the edge of what the law even allows and if Randall had the use of a very good lawyer he likely would not have been in that long.

But there is something else significant here, namely the six month timing of his alleged escape. In Missouri, speedy trial laws require that a trial start within 180 days of when the defendant says they are ready. I cannot find anything about Randall or his representative communicating that they were ready to go to trail, but given the charges I could certainly see a possibility that they communicated readiness almost immediately after his imprisonment.

So at the point where Randall may well have been able to either force a trial or a dismissal on speedy trial grounds he disappears in the custody of LE. It's an interesting coincidence. Which brings us back to the incident as describe by Stack's narration. What if the evidence did not line up with the prosecution's case? I have to wonder a bit about the firearm that was allegedly involved, what if it wasn't Randall's? An issue like that could well have meant the trial would be a failure for the prosecution.

All of which is to say I'm really not sure what happened here, but I have doubts he is alive.

This is all very interesting, but for me, nothing excuses the fact that Randall took advantage of a young woman, controlled, stalked, abused her, and then tried to abduct her. PERIOD. Nothing excuses what he did.

[MediaHoarder]

Originally Posted by tvscript124

This is all very interesting, but for me, nothing excuses the fact that Randall took advantage of a young woman, controlled, stalked, abused her, and then tried to abduct her. PERIOD. Nothing excuses what he did.

My theory really has nothing to do with excusing him or not. He could have been a victim of foul play and also been guilty, the two are not mutually exclusive. Although its worth noting that he was only accused of these things, not convicted of them.

[tvscript124]

Originally Posted by MediaHoarder

My theory really has nothing to do with excusing him or not. He could have been a victim of foul play and also been guilty, the two are not mutually exclusive. Although it's worth noting that he was only accused of these things, not convicted of them.

You are right that he could have been killed. I just get very passionate about cases of abuse and stalking. They make me so angry.

[DALLASTEXAN!!]

that's an interesting theory and it would explain why he was never found. I just read that this was also featured on AMW. did the authorities cooperate with UM and AMW segments? I will try to go back and watch.

[terrytowel]

Hasn't the statute of limitations run out on this case? Randall Utterback was charged with stalking, felonious restraint, and armed criminal action. It has been over 30 years, surely the statute of limitations has run out on those charges.

Other than the "Unsolved Mysteries Wiki page", I cannot find any news articles that state he was charged with Attempted Murder, which has no statute of limitations,

Does anyone have any insight into this?

[MediaHoarder]

Originally Posted by terrytowel

Hasn't the statute of limitations run out on this case? Randall Utterback was charged with stalking, felonious restraint, and armed criminal action. It has been over 30 years, surely the statute of limitations has run out on those charges.

Other than the "Unsolved Mysteries Wiki page", I cannot find any news articles that state he was charged with Attempted Murder, which has no statute of limitations,

Does anyone have any insight into this?

You raise a valid point, and it may well be that the statute of limitations ran out. Which begs the question, if the statue of limitations ran out, likely decades ago, why is he still missing?

[Gelatinous Goo]

Originally Posted by MediaHoarder

You raise a valid point, and it may well be that the statute of limitations ran out. Which begs the question, if the statue of limitations ran out, likely decades ago, why is he still missing?

1. Dead
2. Has lived under an assumed name so long without telling anyone close to him of his true identity and therefore feels it's simpler to go on existing in that capacity. Perhaps he will have an Alex Cooper-type of situation once he wishes to apply for Social Security, provided he's not in Canada.
3. We are not 100% clear on the statutes of limitations on all of the charges, and/or have never been fully made party to everything involved. Perhaps there are charges that have not expired.

[terrytowel]

Originally Posted by Gelatinous Goo

1. Dead
2. Has lived under an assumed name so long without telling anyone close to him of his true identity and therefore feels it's simpler to go on existing in that capacity. Perhaps he will have an Alex Cooper-type of situation once he wishes to apply for Social Security, provided he's not in Canada.
3. We are not 100% clear on the statutes of limitations on all of the charges, and/or have never been fully made party to everything involved. Perhaps there are charges that have not expired.

2 & 3 are good points. It is possible that even though the statute of limitations have run out, he is so settled in his new life, why change things? In addition maybe he is afraid that the cops will spring new charges on him, that don't have a statute of limitation, like attempted murder.

[MediaHoarder]

Originally Posted by Gelatinous Goo

1. Dead
2. Has lived under an assumed name so long without telling anyone close to him of his true identity and therefore feels it's simpler to go on existing in that capacity. Perhaps he will have an Alex Cooper-type of situation once he wishes to apply for Social Security, provided he's not in Canada.
3. We are not 100% clear on the statutes of limitations on all of the charges, and/or have never been fully made party to everything involved. Perhaps there are charges that have not expired.

My money is overwhelmingly on 1. The circumstances of his disappearance are quite suspicious.

[Dogface82]

Originally Posted by Gelatinous Goo

1. Dead
2. Has lived under an assumed name so long without telling anyone close to him of his true identity and therefore feels it's simpler to go on existing in that capacity. Perhaps he will have an Alex Cooper-type of situation once he wishes to apply for Social Security, provided he's not in Canada.
3. We are not 100% clear on the statutes of limitations on all of the charges, and/or have never been fully made party to everything involved. Perhaps there are charges that have not expired.

I think he is probably dead. The circumstances of his alleged escape are questionable. There was a Missouri LEO suspected in the death of a young man and some disappearances. He found LE employment in another state. No proven connection. My brother-in-law was approached by a guy who thought he was a missing Utterback. We were eating lunch in NW Missouri's Burnt District (James gang country). I remember he pronounced it ooderbok. This guy was disappointed and mentioned his friend was probably dead.

If he is still alive there is no reason for him to come out of hiding. He has nothing to gain. Even if the statute of limitations have expired it's not like he will get a hero's welcome.

[tvscript124]

Originally Posted by Dogface82

I think he is probably dead. The circumstances of his alleged escape are questionable. There was a Missouri LEO suspected in the death of a young man and some disappearances. He found LE employment in another state. No proven connection. My brother-in-law was approached by a guy who thought he was a missing Utterback. We were eating lunch in NW Missouri's Burnt District (James gang country). I remember he pronounced it ooderbok. This guy was disappointed and mentioned his friend was probably dead.

If he is still alive there is no reason for him to come out of hiding. He has nothing to gain. Even if the statute of limitations have expired it's not like he will get a hero's welcome.

If I were in his shoes, I'd lay low too.