Why Tim Barry Why? - Sitcoms Online Message Boards

DarkDante · 05-05-2005, 10:28 PM

One of the most interesting aspects of the show for me is trying to determine the motive for some of the horrible crimes that are profiled on the show. While all murders are senseless acts of violence some motives can be easily ascertained (TK Hardy), be downright puzzling (Matt Flores) or even be just plain stupid (Rick Church's rampage)

The case of Tim Berry's murder of his sister in law is truly baffling. There seems to at times be no motive at all only a cryptic message from Tim to his vicitm of "You know why I'm doing this" if those words can indeed be taken at verbatim.

Here we have a many Tim Berry who was well respected by his community, had a loving wife and two children who adored him. Even more so Tim apparently cared deeply about them as well even during his incarceration. Berry was also well loved by his in-laws. It is almost unfathomable that Berry would throw this all away in a senseless act of murder against his own sister in law with no apparent motive. It is as if Berry simply decided that per say on the way back from the grocery store he was going to end his sister in-law's life. It was mentioned however when his victim started to fight back is when he slit her throat. But what caused this act of rage in the first place an act of rage in which at least if the UM segment is to be believed Timothy Berry at least regretted on some level after he committed it.

The only conclusions I can draw is Berry is a sociopath capable of shutting down his emotions to commit a murder seemingly on a whim or possibly that Berry's sister in law must have done something to provoke his wrath although what could provoke something like that to occur is beyond my scope.

Why would a man with seemingly who had everything he wanted in this world suddenly throw it all away and destroy not only his own life but the life of his family for no reason?

I'm glad that Berry was captured and is probably still in prison to this day but still wonder why this crime even took place?

Any contributions?

nohwheregirl · 05-06-2005, 01:01 AM

I was surprised that they did not mention any sexual motivation. Not that rape is about sex at all...it'a about power. Anyways, I think there's a possibility that he left his sexual motivations or the fact that he sexually assaulted his sister-in-law out of his confession. Once they found her body, any evidence of sexual assault might have been lost. The fact that he fixated on his sister-in-law rather than a stranger to whom he could not be connected shows the depth and power of his violent urges.

The guy must be a pretty brilliant con man if he was able to talk his way out of a previous murder charge, lead a seemingly normal life with his family, and charm his way into being let outside of prison walls so he could escape.

DF Justin · 05-06-2005, 06:55 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by nohwheregirl

The guy must be a pretty brilliant con man if he was able to talk his way out of a previous murder charge, lead a seemingly normal life with his family, and charm his way into being let outside of prison walls so he could escape.

totally. my father grew up in everett, mass and my uncles from both his and my mother's side were good friends with tim barry. Though my parents were only aquantinces with barry, my dad went to him for advice and experiences on military life before being shipped off to the army. if anyone is interested I can ask them further about it and also I can talk to my aunts and uncles who were more close with him. maybe its just my morbid curiousity, but Ive always been fascinated with the minds of killers and why not go to some of the people that were close to tim barry at the time this murder took place? I know you guys obviously share this same fascination so if anyone wants me to I can post some of my findings...

justin

crystaldawn · 05-06-2005, 10:51 AM

The obvious question I would like to know is why??? What possible motive did he have for killing his sister-in-law who adored him? Was there any allegations of sexual assault? Thats just speculation, I wondered if he had done something to her and then tried to shut her up. Her remains were found years later so they probably wouldn't have been able to tell by autopsy. Let me know if you find out anything more. Thanks!!

Flying Dutchman · 05-07-2005, 11:52 AM

It could have been a rape that she tried to fight off and that sent him into a rage, allthough a big % of rape is about power some of it is about sex, it could have just started as an affair and he wanted to just have sex with her, another suposition is that they were having a secret affair and she wanted him to leave her sister for her and say he didnt want to so she said she would expose him and a man with his kind of reputation would have alot to lose, maby she knew something else about tim that nobody else knew including tims wife and tim,s sister in law treaten to expose him, The only one who knows is tim himself and he is not talking.

DF Justin · 05-07-2005, 01:42 PM

so I just talked to my mom....

she told me that my uncle stephen and tim were best friends (both from everett). she proceeded to tell me a story that had my neck hairs stand up...

a while after the murder tim came to my uncle stephen's house to hang out. he was acting really bizarre and he kept following stephen's mother (my grandmother) around the house and finally he uttered these words: "you know, I think I had something to do with her dissappearence". my grandmother, who was a very religious woman told him at once to leave and go talk to a priest. crazy right?!

he was known to be the nicest most down to earth guy but I guess (obviously) he had a horrible temper. he never revealed what happenned with the murder in the army, although everyone knew about it...and from what my mom told me, no one she knew had any idea why he decided to kill his sister and law. I dont think that rape was involved.

DF Justin · 05-08-2005, 02:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Timerider315

It could have been a rape that she tried to fight off and that sent him into a rage, allthough a big % of rape is about power some of it is about sex, it could have just started as an affair and he wanted to just have sex with her, another suposition is that they were having a secret affair and she wanted him to leave her sister for her and say he didnt want to so she said she would expose him and a man with his kind of reputation would have alot to lose, maby she knew something else about tim that nobody else knew including tims wife and tim,s sister in law treaten to expose him, The only one who knows is tim himself and he is not talking.

my dad said he suspected that maybe barry was attracted sexually to his sister in law but because of his fanatical religious upbringing, those feelings gave him so much guilt that he thought it better to kill her than to sexually abuse her. That may have been the reason why he felt so much hostility towards her and eventually led to him to murder.

nohwheregirl · 05-09-2005, 01:20 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DF Justin

my dad said he suspected that maybe barry was attracted sexually to his sister in law but because of his fanatical religious upbringing, those feelings gave him so much guilt that he thought it better to kill her than to sexually abuse her. That may have been the reason why he felt so much hostility towards her and eventually led to him to murder.

That sort of makes sense. It's sick and twisted and disgusting and psychotic, but it makes sense.

Thanks for all of the inquiries, Justin. Keep use informed!

shek · 05-10-2005, 01:08 PM

I couldn't help but read everyones posts about Tim and actually, I know nothing about him. But you bring up a good point. Why? In our daughters murder case we learned the who, what, where and when but we will never have the answer to "why". We did have a criminal profiler review our case and he shed some light on a killers thinking and was kind enough to let us add his thoughts and opinion to our book. But even at that, it still doesn't answer the haunting question of "why".

Sheila Kimmell

star_rider · 06-19-2005, 11:14 PM

I knew him for the longest time as John Prenderville. My Ex trained him for Schneider National and he lived with us for a few years.

crystaldawn · 06-20-2005, 09:08 AM

That is very interesting. Now was he going by that alias while he was on the run? Did he actually live with you while he was on the run? When did you find out who he really was? I'm curious to know more about that if you don't mind informing us.

ILikeTurtles · 02-21-2014, 03:20 AM

Just watched this case for the first time tonight...had never seen it or even heard of it before. Really compelling case with still a lot of mystery around it, especially the complete lack of motive.

wiseguy182 · 02-21-2014, 04:15 AM

Oh, I thought this was going to be a thread about why Tim McClure murdered his mother.

Carry on.

TheCars1986 · 02-21-2014, 08:31 AM

Always figured the motive was sexual. I think he came on to her, she rebuffed, and he killed her.

WishfulDreamer · 02-23-2014, 09:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TheCars1986

Always figured the motive was sexual. I think he came on to her, she rebuffed, and he killed her.

This is what I have always believed. It would explain why he said, ''Don't ask me why.'' And him creepily waiting in the laundry room to kidnap her? I think that's exactly what he had planned.

I think that he possibly planned to attack her sexually without her knowing it was him. Then she figured out it was him, fought, and he either killed her in a rage or to keep her quiet. I think murder wasn't his initial intention, which possibly is why he began to drink heavily and became weighed down by a guilty conscience.

05-05-2005, 10:28 PM	#1
DarkDante Member Senior Member Join Date: Jul 27, 2002 Posts: 1,569	Why Tim Barry Why? One of the most interesting aspects of the show for me is trying to determine the motive for some of the horrible crimes that are profiled on the show. While all murders are senseless acts of violence some motives can be easily ascertained (TK Hardy), be downright puzzling (Matt Flores) or even be just plain stupid (Rick Church's rampage) The case of Tim Berry's murder of his sister in law is truly baffling. There seems to at times be no motive at all only a cryptic message from Tim to his vicitm of "You know why I'm doing this" if those words can indeed be taken at verbatim. Here we have a many Tim Berry who was well respected by his community, had a loving wife and two children who adored him. Even more so Tim apparently cared deeply about them as well even during his incarceration. Berry was also well loved by his in-laws. It is almost unfathomable that Berry would throw this all away in a senseless act of murder against his own sister in law with no apparent motive. It is as if Berry simply decided that per say on the way back from the grocery store he was going to end his sister in-law's life. It was mentioned however when his victim started to fight back is when he slit her throat. But what caused this act of rage in the first place an act of rage in which at least if the UM segment is to be believed Timothy Berry at least regretted on some level after he committed it. The only conclusions I can draw is Berry is a sociopath capable of shutting down his emotions to commit a murder seemingly on a whim or possibly that Berry's sister in law must have done something to provoke his wrath although what could provoke something like that to occur is beyond my scope. Why would a man with seemingly who had everything he wanted in this world suddenly throw it all away and destroy not only his own life but the life of his family for no reason? I'm glad that Berry was captured and is probably still in prison to this day but still wonder why this crime even took place? Any contributions?

06-19-2005, 11:14 PM	#10
star_rider Member First Time Poster Join Date: Mar 12, 2003 Location: Pennsylvania Posts: 1	Tim Berry, John Prenderville I knew him for the longest time as John Prenderville. My Ex trained him for Schneider National and he lived with us for a few years.

02-21-2014, 04:15 AM	#13
wiseguy182 Member Forum Veteran Join Date: Apr 11, 2006 Location: Wendy's salad bar Posts: 7,030	Oh, I thought this was going to be a thread about why Tim McClure murdered his mother. Carry on.
	__________________ "Dottie had said, in the event I got transferred that she was not interested in going with me. I wasn't expecting her to go with me. And wouldn't have even wanted her to I guess."

05-06-2005, 01:01 AM	#2
nohwheregirl THE Mystery Machine Senior Member Join Date: Apr 23, 2004 Posts: 1,057	I was surprised that they did not mention any sexual motivation. Not that rape is about sex at all...it'a about power. Anyways, I think there's a possibility that he left his sexual motivations or the fact that he sexually assaulted his sister-in-law out of his confession. Once they found her body, any evidence of sexual assault might have been lost. The fact that he fixated on his sister-in-law rather than a stranger to whom he could not be connected shows the depth and power of his violent urges. The guy must be a pretty brilliant con man if he was able to talk his way out of a previous murder charge, lead a seemingly normal life with his family, and charm his way into being let outside of prison walls so he could escape.

05-06-2005, 10:51 AM	#4
crystaldawn Member Forum 4000 Club Member Join Date: Dec 17, 2002 Location: Illinois Posts: 4,261	The obvious question I would like to know is why??? What possible motive did he have for killing his sister-in-law who adored him? Was there any allegations of sexual assault? Thats just speculation, I wondered if he had done something to her and then tried to shut her up. Her remains were found years later so they probably wouldn't have been able to tell by autopsy. Let me know if you find out anything more. Thanks!!

05-07-2005, 11:52 AM	#5
Flying Dutchman Member Senior Member Join Date: Sep 16, 2004 Location: New York Posts: 1,266	It could have been a rape that she tried to fight off and that sent him into a rage, allthough a big % of rape is about power some of it is about sex, it could have just started as an affair and he wanted to just have sex with her, another suposition is that they were having a secret affair and she wanted him to leave her sister for her and say he didnt want to so she said she would expose him and a man with his kind of reputation would have alot to lose, maby she knew something else about tim that nobody else knew including tims wife and tim,s sister in law treaten to expose him, The only one who knows is tim himself and he is not talking.

05-07-2005, 01:42 PM	#6
DF Justin Member Occasional Poster Join Date: Sep 28, 2004 Location: boston ma Posts: 44	so I just talked to my mom.... she told me that my uncle stephen and tim were best friends (both from everett). she proceeded to tell me a story that had my neck hairs stand up... a while after the murder tim came to my uncle stephen's house to hang out. he was acting really bizarre and he kept following stephen's mother (my grandmother) around the house and finally he uttered these words: "you know, I think I had something to do with her dissappearence". my grandmother, who was a very religious woman told him at once to leave and go talk to a priest. crazy right?! he was known to be the nicest most down to earth guy but I guess (obviously) he had a horrible temper. he never revealed what happenned with the murder in the army, although everyone knew about it...and from what my mom told me, no one she knew had any idea why he decided to kill his sister and law. I dont think that rape was involved.

05-10-2005, 01:08 PM	#9
shek Member Frequent Poster Join Date: Apr 19, 2003 Posts: 103	I couldn't help but read everyones posts about Tim and actually, I know nothing about him. But you bring up a good point. Why? In our daughters murder case we learned the who, what, where and when but we will never have the answer to "why". We did have a criminal profiler review our case and he shed some light on a killers thinking and was kind enough to let us add his thoughts and opinion to our book. But even at that, it still doesn't answer the haunting question of "why". Sheila Kimmell

06-20-2005, 09:08 AM	#11
crystaldawn Member Forum 4000 Club Member Join Date: Dec 17, 2002 Location: Illinois Posts: 4,261	That is very interesting. Now was he going by that alias while he was on the run? Did he actually live with you while he was on the run? When did you find out who he really was? I'm curious to know more about that if you don't mind informing us.

02-21-2014, 03:20 AM	#12
ILikeTurtles Member Frequent Poster Join Date: Apr 17, 2009 Posts: 128	Just watched this case for the first time tonight...had never seen it or even heard of it before. Really compelling case with still a lot of mystery around it, especially the complete lack of motive.

02-21-2014, 08:31 AM	#14
TheCars1986 #VLSKMS Forum Fanatic Join Date: Nov 22, 2008 Location: Maryland Posts: 8,615	Always figured the motive was sexual. I think he came on to her, she rebuffed, and he killed her.