Cases where the family didn't believe someone committed a crime/ran away but they did

[Clockwork]

Inspired by the Cynthia Wismiller case where she worked as a Brinks-like carrier who replenished bank machines everyday with money but left with $200,000 or so. Her family swore up and down that she was held at gunpoint doing this because there is no way she would have done this with so much at stake with her family and such. But she did do it on her own free will.

It makes me wonder if Dale Kerstetter is in this same boat. His family in the segment seems to think he couldn't have been involved in the theft at his company but that it was done against his will.

[Jon]

Cheryl Holland's sister

Larry Race's in-laws

There's a "most naive family members" thread that goes through a few more of these.

I had forgotten about the Cynthia Wismiller case. It's been years since I've seen it and I can't find it with a CTRL-F of the missing segment log or the episode guide.

EDIT: I was wrong, the Wismiller segment is on Season 11 ep 4

[Killarney Rose]

I think it’s possible with Dale Kerstetter, but I don’t want to believe it.

[Mike82]

Originally Posted by Clockwork

It makes me wonder if Dale Kerstetter is in this same boat. His family in the segment seems to think he couldn't have been involved in the theft at his company but that it was done against his will.

I thought Dale’s daughter came across as very reasonable and understanding. She believed he was innocent, but she also seemed willing to accept the possibility that he wasn’t. The company executives, on the other hand could not throw him under the forklift fast enough.

In cases where a couple commits a crime together, there’s usually someone insisting the woman was an unwilling participant, even when it’s obvious she was just as guilty. Donna Moses is the first example that comes to mind. She was never arrested or charged, despite it being clear she knew what she was doing was wrong, and even abandoned her children. She was “single” and lonely only because both of her husbands were murdered, which to me seems HIGHLY suspicious.

[dynoguy88]

3 of Dale Kerstetter's 6 kids were interviewed in the segment...

Wendy said she can't believe that he would run away from them.

Al had the bizarre statement saying he believed Dale is alive (in Canada or Australia) and will probably come back in seven years when the statute of limitations is done. So I guess this means he thought Dale was capable of stealing and running away.

Penny was non-biased and simply wanted to know the truth. Her exact quote was; "I don't care whether he was involved. It's not going to make me think any less of him or love him any less. What I want to know is what happened. Was he involved? Did he get away with it? Is he dead somewhere? Was he abducted? I want to know."

[1990 UM fan]

Stephen Marfeo

[DALLASTEXAN!!]

I think Dale was murdered and the company tried to paint him as a possible suspect to avoid liability of his murder. The person that took the platinum had to be a former employee who exploited a weakness in security practices.

I think my segment to mention is Bobbi Parker running away with Randolph dial. Or being kidnapped. Bobbi was convicted for helping dial escape but dial claimed that he kidnapped her and Bobbi corroborated the story. I think it was a mutual relationship with Dial and when they were caught, they pretended that it was a kidnapping so that she could return to her family. I must say I think theres a chance that dial kidnapped her, but that perhaps Bobbi decided not to leave dial after adapting to their relationship.