List of Spouses/Family Members Under Suspicion

[TheCars1986]

I had got to thinking about this last night, and was wondering if we could come up with a list of spouses and/or family members who were accused of being involved with the death or disappearance of someone, and in some cases they remain the only suspect, but charges have never been brought. I don't want to include spouses/family members who were cleared by investigators (like Jeff Oberholtzer), and also didn't want to include spouses/family members who have disappeared and there is a possibility that they too met with foul play (Dub Wackerhagen). I'd also like to restrict the list to only people who were involved with either an obvious crime, or where due to the passage of time (Christi Nichols, Dottie Caylor) a disappearance is all but definitely foul play. A case like Kurt Sova or Natasha Jennings would not be applicable.

I was also curious what everyone's feelings were regarding guilt or innocence of the people on this list.

-Leonard Rizzo
-Judy Groezinger
-Mark Nichols
-Stephen Marfeo
-Don Sherman
-Jule Caylor
-Steve Page
-Rob Page
-Paul Pollis
-Alfredo Newball
-Astarte Davis
-Jim Harrison
-The Aisenbergs
-Wayne Hecker
-Robert Cox (Patsy Wright's ex-husband)
-Wilda Loseff
-Al Henderson
-Steve Bechtel
-Stephen Geri
-Mike Morris

Can anyone think of more?

[asmitty]

-Leonard Rizzo - Probably guilty, but I've never been 100% on it. I've had my suspicions on the son before too

-Judy Groezinger - I think she's definitely guilty but didn't do it herself

-Mark Nichols - Guilty as sin. One thing that struck me re-watching this one on Amazon that I'd never realized before is that Christy obviously never came home from their night out. I don't know why I'd never interpretted the babysitter's words to mean that before.

-Stephen Marfeo - Guilty as sin.

-Don Sherman - This guy was Paul Pollis smug. Guilty and gutsy enough to put her skull outside his favorite haunt

-Jule Caylor - I've always held out hope that she really did run away. It's not unheard of if he was abusive, but Jule is such a dick.

-Steve Page - I'm like 99% sure he's guilty. There's a really small chance that he's not, but he was really arrogant during the segment.

-Rob Page - Guilty, but I think it might have been more the tragic accident type death. Like she fell and hit her head during a heated argument and he covered it up rather than the more calm, collected murder I think Paul Pollis is guilty of.

-Paul Pollis - See my comments on Don Sherman and Rob Page. Or, maybe he's just OCD about the state of his house.

-Alfredo Newball - Innocent. I think his family fell prey to a crazy woman stalking him. I believe he loved his wife and child.

-The Aisenbergs - Probably guilty, people breaking into houses and stealing children seems more like an urban legend than a real thing IMO.

-Robert Cox (Patsy Wright's ex-husband) - I just don't see who else could have done it. I think too much was made of the two dinner plates in her room the night she died. The cough medicine could have been poisoned for days in advance. They said she took it when she had trouble sleeping, not every night.

-Wilda Loseff - Guilty

The ones I didn't comment on, I don't remember. I'll come back to them later after I can read/watch them.

[Todd Mueller]

Originally Posted by asmitty

-Leonard Rizzo - Probably guilty, but I've never been 100% on it. I've had my suspicions on the son before too

-Judy Groezinger - I think she's definitely guilty but didn't do it herself

-Mark Nichols - Guilty as sin. One thing that struck me re-watching this one on Amazon that I'd never realized before is that Christy obviously never came home from their night out. I don't know why I'd never interpretted the babysitter's words to mean that before.

-Stephen Marfeo - Guilty as sin.

-Don Sherman - This guy was Paul Pollis smug. Guilty and gutsy enough to put her skull outside his favorite haunt

-Jule Caylor - I've always held out hope that she really did run away. It's not unheard of if he was abusive, but Jule is such a dick.

-Steve Page - I'm like 99% sure he's guilty. There's a really small chance that he's not, but he was really arrogant during the segment.

-Rob Page - Guilty, but I think it might have been more the tragic accident type death. Like she fell and hit her head during a heated argument and he covered it up rather than the more calm, collected murder I think Paul Pollis is guilty of.

-Paul Pollis - See my comments on Don Sherman and Rob Page. Or, maybe he's just OCD about the state of his house.

-Alfredo Newball - Innocent. I think his family fell prey to a crazy woman stalking him. I believe he loved his wife and child.

-The Aisenbergs - Probably guilty, people breaking into houses and stealing children seems more like an urban legend than a real thing IMO.

-Robert Cox (Patsy Wright's ex-husband) - I just don't see who else could have done it. I think too much was made of the two dinner plates in her room the night she died. The cough medicine could have been poisoned for days in advance. They said she took it when she had trouble sleeping, not every night.

-Wilda Loseff - Guilty

The ones I didn't comment on, I don't remember. I'll come back to them later after I can read/watch them.

Very solid post, asmitty. There is little, if anything, I would change. I agree with your thoughts almost 100%.

[RobinW]

I'd also add Al Henderson (guilty) and Steve Bechtel (innocent).

Of the listed spouses, I'm inclined to think Alfredo Newball and Wayne Hecker are innocent. I'm on the fence on the Aisenbergs and Robert Cox.

I used to think Don Sherman was guilty, but the more I think about, it just makes no logical sense for him to have dug up his wife's skull, so I've started wondering if someone else might have been responsible. I also used to be so certain Paul Pollis was guilty as sin, but there's been a lot of interesting analysis on this board which make me think this case might not be as black-and-white as it appears, so I'm not sure what to believe about him any more.

I have little doubt, however, that all the others on the list are guilty.

[freakbook]

Oh yeah, Leonard Rizzo is 1000% guilty. People seen Monika with bruises on her face, and acting standoffish. Leonard was convicted of beating his girlfriend after Monika. He killed her in an abusive rage, and buried her in the backyard.

[LooksLikeCRicci]

Nice add with Steve Bechtel, Robin!

I used to think he was shady. I don't anymore. I'm sure it helped that Lisa Kimmel's mom mentioned on here that they thought Amy fell victim to Dale Eaton....

[Hot Jock]

Wayne Hecker is the only one I would remove from the list. He had absolutely no motive whatsoever to kill Tara. They weren't married, didn't have kids, there was no life insurance and they owned no property together. In fact, she was the main breadwinner in their relationship and her disappearing could only have negatively effected his life in every thinkable facet. Also, for the 20+ years prior to Tara's disappearance and the 20+ years after her disappearance, Wayne never got in any trouble with the law. I just don't see why he would have killed her when he had no reason to do so. It was sad to see that he passed away in 2015 after more than a five year battle with cancer. Those last photos of him are heartbreaking to look at.

[Hambone2421]

- Leonard Rizzo - 100% guilty. 100% an idiot. 100% Lucky. Who the hell kills their spouse, uses a woodchipper in their backyard and gets away with it?? Leonard Rizzo, that's who.

- Judy Groezinger - Most definitely guilty. I do not think she actually killed Mark, but was either present or helped to plan it.

- Mark Nichols - Absolutely guilty. People want to talk about Tim McClure being a bumbling idiot. Have they ever seen Mark Nichols interview??

- Stephen Marfeo - Guilty and dead. Next.

- Jule Caylor - Guilty. Way too many factors that point toward his guilt and not coincidence.

- Steve Page - Guilty.

- Rob Page - Guilty.

- Paul Pollis - Definitely guilty, but likely had some type of help after the fact. Probably from his parents as mentioned in the segment.

- Wayne Hecker - Guilty. No one else had a motive to kill Tara.

- Steve Bechtel - Innocent.

- Al Henderson - Guilty. I used to go back and forth on this one, but the fact that he claims to have done things at certain times when video footage show he was not doing them, says a lot. I cant figure out why he killed her though.


The ones that I did not comment on are because I do not remember the cases very well.

[LooksLikeCRicci]

Originally Posted by Hot Jock

Wayne Hecker is the only one I would remove from the list. He had absolutely no motive whatsoever to kill Tara. They weren't married, didn't have kids, there was no life insurance and they owned no property together. In fact, she was the main breadwinner in their relationship and her disappearing could only have negatively effected his life in every thinkable facet. Also, for the 20+ years prior to Tara's disappearance and the 20+ years after her disappearance, Wayne never got in any trouble with the law. I just don't see why he would have killed her when he had no reason to do so. It was sad to see that he passed away in 2015 after more than a five year battle with cancer. Those last photos of him are heartbreaking to look at.

Hello!

I totally disagree. (Not about his cancer photos. Those are awful.) But I do think he had the appropriate window of time to kill her and did, in fact, do so. It's just speculation, but there have been several folks both on here and on the official Unsolved website who allegedly knew Wayne and said, "Yep. Without a doubt, he killed her."

There was a different thread where it was discussed at pretty decent lengths. If I can remember it, I'll tag it so you can look it over.

I can't remember who it was, but I know I also got into a discussion with either Hambone or DallasTexan about the possibility that Tara's killer could have been a police officer... I still hold that possibility out there, too.

[LooksLikeCRicci]

Originally Posted by Hambone2421

- Paul Pollis - Definitely guilty, but likely had some type of help after the fact. Probably from his parents as mentioned in the segment.

....well, that's just ludicrous!

[Hot Jock]

Originally Posted by LooksLikeCRicci

Hello!

I totally disagree. (Not about his cancer photos. Those are awful.) But I do think he had the appropriate window of time to kill her and did, in fact, do so. It's just speculation, but there have been several folks both on here and on the official Unsolved website who allegedly knew Wayne and said, "Yep. Without a doubt, he killed her."

There was a different thread where it was discussed at pretty decent lengths. If I can remember it, I'll tag it so you can look it over.

I can't remember who it was, but I know I also got into a discussion with either Hambone or DallasTexan about the possibility that Tara's killer could have been a police officer... I still hold that possibility out there, too.

So you're saying he had the means and the opportunity, correct? What was the motive?

[LooksLikeCRicci]

Originally Posted by Hot Jock

So you're saying he had the means and the opportunity, right? What was the motive?

Jealousy.

[TheCars1986]

I'd just like to say that of the people listed, the only one I am 100% convinced is innocent is Steve Bechtel. I lean towards Al Henderson and Wayne Hecker being innocent, but there are some doubts. I'm 50/50 on Don Sherman and Alfredo Newball. And there is still a tiny portion of me that thinks it's possible that both Paul Pollis and Rob Page were innocent. Everyone else on that list is guilty as sin.

[Hambone2421]

Originally Posted by LooksLikeCRicci

I can't remember who it was, but I know I also got into a discussion with either Hambone or DallasTexan about the possibility that Tara's killer could have been a police officer... I still hold that possibility out there, too.

It wasn't me, but that is an interesting theory. The only reason I would not put much into it is because I firmly believe Wayne killed her. I've driven the exact route from Tara's job to her apartment. It did not take long at all, maybe like 15 minutes or so. Her car was found right in the middle of the exact route she would take. I think she and Wayne got into an argument for whatever reason (Wayne was a known druggie, so it could have been anything) and he killed her. I think he later drove her car to that spot on the freeway and either walked back to the apartment complex (as it wasn't that far from the spot her car was found) or had someone pick him up. In my opinion, he did this to make authorities, family and friends believe that she never made it home.

[TheCars1986]

Originally Posted by Hambone2421

I've driven the exact route from Tara's job to her apartment.

Did you bring a bunch of $1 bills with you?