Stories you didn't get to see BEFORE they were solved - would your opinion change?

[justins5256]

I was just thinking about this...a lot of the really old cases were solved not long after they first aired. Thus, the versions we have come to know have always been "updated" and the resolution known. This got me thinking about how it must have felt to see some of these stories back in the day before they were solved. Would you think any differently if....

Jon Yount and Diane Brodbeck were not caught? One theory proposed in the segment was that Yount manipulated Brodbeck and killed her after his escape. Would you believe this?

If Patty Stallings had not been exonerated? Would we be having Darlie Routier-esque debates about her guilt or innocence?

If the Redwood City arsonist was never caught? Would you realize it was some teenager with mental problems?

I'll add more as I think of them...

[MegtheEgg86]

As uncomfortable as it is to admit, I'm nearly certain I would've thought Patty Stallings was guilty had she not been exonerated.

How about Kari Lynn Nixon? Would you have believed the "eyewitness" in South Carolina, or that it was actually Nixon in the NKOTB video?

[LilMissKryssy]

Gail Delano. She set up the abduction scenario pretty well. If it hadn't been for that update, I would've believed it was more than likely she was abducted. Even with that trucker siting (which stranger eyewitness siting are usually wrong) I still would've believed she was abducted.

[wiseguy182]

What an interesting thread idea, although tough to answer since we can't go back in time or erase our memory. I'll have to give it some thought.

Patty Stallings is an interesting choice since there was a lot left out in the UM segment that didn't paint Patty in the most favorable of lights. I'm not sure what I would have thought.

[LooksLikeCRicci]

Originally Posted by wiseguy182

What an interesting thread idea, although tough to answer since we can't go back in time or erase our memory. I'll have to give it some thought.

Patty Stallings is an interesting choice since there was a lot left out in the UM segment that didn't paint Patty in the most favorable of lights. I'm not sure what I would have thought.

I think I would have leaned towards her guilt, to be brutally honest. Kiddos don't typically just stop breathing and I always raise an eyebrow at the "one-in-a-million" medical disorder explanation.

Thank goodness for forensic testing.


If Mike Reimer's body hadn't been found, I would have been certain he killed Diana. Right up until they found his body, actually, I thought he had killed her.

[justins5256]

Originally Posted by MegtheEgg86

As uncomfortable as it is to admit, I'm nearly certain I would've thought Patty Stallings was guilty had she not been exonerated.

How about Kari Lynn Nixon? Would you have believed the "eyewitness" in South Carolina, or that it was actually Nixon in the NKOTB video?

Good call with Kari Lynn Nixon. That is a tough one. That particular eyewitness account is strengthened by the fact that the girl not only looked like Kari Lynn Nixon, but also allegedly used her name (as opposed to other eyewitness accounts that are sightings only). Then, factor in the possibility that she was in the NKOTB video, and both pieces of evidence point to her possibly being alive.

I think the cynic in me still would have found the abduction angle more plausible. One of the investigators interviewed mentioned that her actions that night did not fit the actions of a runaway because she didn't take money or any possessions with her. Couple that with the fact that she didn't seem to have any problems at home. I also have to wonder how she would have gotten to SC anyway, and to the NKOTB concert. That all just seems a little too "romantic" and "perfect" for a runaway story. I have to imagine the outcome of most teen runaway stories isn't that ideal.

Re: Patty Stallings, I didn't see her story until Lifetime picked up the series and by that time it was old news and had been solved and updated, so I knew the outcome. I think the segment was heavily whitewashed in her favor though, so, without knowing anything else, I probably would have still leaned toward innocent. It wasn't until I read some articles on the case and some posts on here that I began to see and appreciate the "other side" of the argument. That being said, I still think she was innocent, but I have a better and more clear understanding of WHY she was convicted at all, but that perspective was not something gleaned through UM's biased presentation.

I can draw an analogy between Yount and Brodbeck and Dial and Parker. Although Yount and Brodbeck were caught before my time watching the show, I DID see the Dial and Parker case on NBC many years before they were caught. I always felt they were alive and together, FWIW.

[TheCars1986]

Based solely off of the UM segments alone, I'd think Stuart Heaton and Jeffrey MacDonald were innocent.

As for Patty Stallings, IIRC, the segment mentioned a medical ailment for the Stallings' younger son that matched what the first baby had died from. Even before the update, I thought she was innocent.

ETA: I never believed that Kari Lynn Nixon was a runaway. That whole theory of her being at the NKOTB concert was laughable to me. How exactly did she get the money to go to a NKOTB concert in the first place? And who runs away to go to a concert?

[soilentgreen]

Certainly Gail Delano and Mike Reimer.

I used to believe that Megadeth man was involved in Deborah Poe's disappearance, but that case has taken some turns since then.

Then there's Sammy Wheeler's murder, which turned out to be a random crime, but Bob Bean's attitude in his interview just lended itself to suspicion.

[wiseguy182]

I always thought the NKOTB sighting was overplayed. Yeah I understand they magnified the image, but it's still trying to match someone to a tiny picture, a face in a crowd, on the opposite end of the country. As much as I feel for her family, I think they were grasping at straws. And to think, even though it's been proven that it wasn't Kari, there are still people that believe that was her!

No on Omar. Pretty obvious that's a youth's voice in a bad attempt to sound like somebody else.

[dynoguy88]

Originally Posted by TheCars1986

As for Patty Stallings, IIRC, the segment mentioned a medical ailment for the Stallings' younger son that matched what the first baby had died from. Even before the update, I thought she was innocent.

Indeed. The segment also mentioned that the 2 minute time period the prosecution accused her of poisoning Ryan (ending up in his death) took three full days before he showed any signs of any sickness. What kind of poison can enter your system and take 72 hours to kill you?

My mentality when I first saw that segment as an 11 year old was that she was innocent, as soon as it was mentioned that the Stallings second baby got all the same symptoms as Ryan while Patty was locked up in prison.

[dynoguy88]

In defense of the Nixon family in regards to the NKOTB video, this was the quote by Kari's mother...

"It looks like Kari but I'm not 100% convinced."

It might have been grasping at straws somewhat but at the same time, she was being a realist. If the "witness" from the campground had not come forward saying she met Kari, I don't think it would have been as easy for the Nixons to believe that she could have ended up somewhere in another part of the country.

[RobinW]

Here's an interesting question: before he was cleared by DNA testing, did anyone genuinely believe Jeff Oberholzer might be guilty of the Orange Sock murders?

I remember when the Orange Sock case used to be posted on the forbidden site, it was split into two parts. It was quite amusing to see the comments on Part One, as a lot of people seemed convinced he was guilty and found it very suspicious that Jeff just happened to see his wife's backpack in a field from a distance while he was searching for her. Of course, these people wound up eating crow after viewing Part Two of the video, where they revealed that Jeff had been exonerated.

Of course, on the basis of his interview alone, it was pretty difficult to imagine Jeff Oberholzer being a killer, as he obviously seemed a lot more sincere that most of the suspected spouses on UM, but I'm curious if anyone ever felt differently.

[justins5256]

Originally Posted by TheCars1986

As for Patty Stallings, IIRC, the segment mentioned a medical ailment for the Stallings' younger son that matched what the first baby had died from. Even before the update, I thought she was innocent.

I may be wrong, but I thought that there were some prosecutorial actions that blocked the jury from ever hearing about the second child's diagnosis. I thought the prosecutor went so far as to say (on UM) it was irrelevant as it was impossible to know if the first baby had the disorder.

[TheCars1986]

Originally Posted by RobinW

Here's an interesting question: before he was cleared by DNA testing, did anyone genuinely believe Jeff Oberholzer might be guilty of the Orange Sock murders?

I remember when the Orange Sock case used to be posted on the forbidden site, it was split into two parts. It was quite amusing to see the comments on Part One, as a lot of people seemed convinced he was guilty and found it very suspicious that Jeff just happened to see his wife's backpack in a field from a distance while he was searching for her. Of course, these people wound up eating crow after viewing Part Two of the video, where they revealed that Jeff had been exonerated.

Of course, on the basis of his interview alone, it was pretty difficult to imagine Jeff Oberholzer being a killer, as he obviously seemed a lot more sincere that most of the suspected spouses on UM, but I'm curious if anyone ever felt differently.

Pre-update featuring the blurb about police no longer consider Oberholzer a suspect, I did have reservations about him. The backpack sighting, and the business card found on Annette Schnee gave me pause. That was one weird coincidence though.

[TheCars1986]

Originally Posted by justins5256

I may be wrong, but I thought that there were some prosecutorial actions that blocked the jury from ever hearing about the second child's diagnosis. I thought the prosecutor went so far as to say (on UM) it was irrelevant as it was impossible to know if the first baby had the disorder.

This was one of the few final appeal segments where I didn't think UM did a 'whitewash' job. The evidence for poisoning was never there. She had alibis, there were multiple witnesses, and her younger son had the exact same illness while she was waiting in prison.