Lady in the Lake (JoAnn Romain) - Sitcoms Online Message Boards

rusty spike · 10-21-2020, 12:31 AM

Foul play or suicide?

Fletch · 10-21-2020, 01:55 PM

Suicide, IMO. For many reasons.

Guitar · 10-21-2020, 07:25 PM

I lean toward suicide as well.
It's interesting that when they're reenacting how she walked down a ledge "IN HIGH HEELS IN THE ICE" at the end they show the actual ledge that she walked down. Ummmm.... So in certain places that incline doesn't look as steep as the one that they showed. Misleading.
Also, why the hell would someone go through such elaborate means to send a "message" to a family member just to avoid all police suspicion? One assumes that they would make it at least SEEM questionable if they weren't going to taunt them afterward. There is almost nothing here that even seems questionable aside from the damage on the strap, which was probably caused by the purse getting caught on something or slipping on the ice.

ghosthouse · 10-21-2020, 11:19 PM

I don't know...suicide by wading into ice cold water doesn't seem plausible to me. Not saying it was murder tho.

Guitar · 10-21-2020, 11:38 PM

People kill themselves by drowning all the time. It might seem absurd to us because it's an excruciatingly painful way to die. But it happens commonly.

TheCars1986 · 10-22-2020, 07:01 AM

Foul play was not credibly presented in any way, shape, or form. Her butt print and hand prints were found in the snow, indicating that someone either sat down, or fell down and had to push themselves up in the snow. Why wasn't an accidental death explored as a possibility?

alistaircranium · 10-22-2020, 07:42 PM

I’m inclined to believe it was murder. Her brother came off sketchy as all get out.

mphs95 · 10-23-2020, 06:39 PM

My thought was homicide, but unintentional. People want to get at her brother and figure they can snatch his sister and scare him, either to pay them back or for whatever is up.

Perhaps she tried to get away, but they got her. That rip in her purse could be from someone grabbing the fringe part. Maybe at that moment she fell and hit her head, or while they had her she was accidentally killed. In a panic, they drove to Detroit and dumped her in the river. No way her body makes it to Boblo from GP in that body of water. No way.

While I suspect her brother knows who did it, I feel his sadness and anger is genuine.

I just don't see a grand conspiracy to murder Joann, but I can see how an accidental death by someone is plausible. I also don't see her trying to attempt suicide in that body of water by the church. One, she's a devout Catholic and it looks like her life was coming together and she had her faith. Two, I don't see her trying to kill herself in that area with those shoes. No way.

GPPD dropped the ball with this investigation. I think she saw what they wanted to see and got tunnel vision.

zack007attack · 10-23-2020, 11:07 PM

If it was suicide, it would have had to been assisted. She was found with her keys in her pocket yet the car was somehow moved. Based on the fact that there was so many search parties out there looking for her in relatively shallow water with no current, the location near the church on Lake St. Clair couldn't possibly have been where she entered the icy cold water.

I don't blame her family for filing a lawsuit based on the incompetent handling of the original investigation, but I can't blame the courts for dismissing it either. The reason for that is because the theories leaning towards suicide and foul play are both purely circumstantial. Nonetheless, the original investigators struck me as rather incompetent because they obviously didn't care about looking at the case from an objective point of view (contrary to what all investigators in any case anywhere are supposed to do).

IMO, I think she met with foul play based on where she was found in relation to where her car was left although I am not inclined to believe it involved anybody close to her because there hasn't been any evidence supporting that idea. It could be she was a victim of a random act, mistaken identity, or even unintentional/accidental death. Her body had to have been placed where it was found because it's highly unlikely given the current/wind conditions for her to have been out on the water that long and drift all the way down the river without being discovered.

Zero · 10-24-2020, 04:24 AM

I think homicide but not because they were trying to “get” to her brother. I think her cousin the cop had something to do with it. And the local police investigating it are covering up for him.

But shoddy police work regardless!

That body of water she “suicided” herself in doesn’t seem like an area with a current strong enough to get her 35 miles south. I could be wrong. In any event I think her cousin had something to do with it. He seemed like one of those Italian mobsters. Definitely someone shady enough to arrange it. Why? Maybe she pissed him off.

What to make of the alleged secretive phone calls she kept getting and her increased paranoia? Suicidal people are not usually paranoid but rather depressed, and eventually could enter a period of feeling “numb.” Paranoia leading to suicide usually happens when the person has a significant mental illness.

mphs95 · 10-24-2020, 01:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Zero

I think homicide but not because they were trying to “get” to her brother. I think her cousin the cop had something to do with it. And the local police investigating it are covering up for him.

But shoddy police work regardless!

That body of water she “suicided” herself in doesn’t seem like an area with a current strong enough to get her 35 miles south. I could be wrong. In any event I think her cousin had something to do with it. He seemed like one of those Italian mobsters. Definitely someone shady enough to arrange it. Why? Maybe she pissed him off.

What to make of the alleged secretive phone calls she kept getting and her increased paranoia? Suicidal people are not usually paranoid but rather depressed, and eventually could enter a period of feeling “numb.” Paranoia leading to suicide usually happens when the person has a significant mental illness.

If it wasn't someone after her brother, I do think the cousin is the next obvious suspect. Same thing...maybe just meant to scare her and she died accidentally somehow, i.e. hit her head and they ditched her body to hide what they did.

If the GPPD did their job, we may have an idea of what happened but we may never know thanks to those idiots.

comicbookwriter · 10-24-2020, 06:15 PM

Foul play. 100%

I'm supposed to believe a devout Catholic woman walked into freezing cold water right after leaving church to commit suicide by drowning.

Seriously?

This was clearly foul play and if the damned police did their jobs properly, they may have discovered evidence that showed she was likely abducted and murdered elsewhere which is why her body was found over 30 miles downstream.

How could a woman with her body size drift downstream wearing all black in a SHALLOW lake with little to no current without being seen for 70 days?

Come on folks. This is clearly a problematic situation and there was no way she could have died from drowning without being found within a day or two of her disappearance.

The police dropped the ball with this one from the first moment. The car should have been searched for DNA and the phone records examined immediately. I would assume the examination of phone records of a deceased individual would be standard practice these days.

I hope her family gets to the truth one of these days.

ghosthouse · 10-27-2020, 08:51 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Guitar

People kill themselves by drowning all the time. It might seem absurd to us because it's an excruciatingly painful way to die. But it happens commonly.

ALL the time?

Statistically tho, how many people commit suicide in an agonizing manner? I don't have any numbers but I imagine the vast majority do it quickly -- gun, hanging, etc... Just seems odd that someone would choose walking into ice cold water.

TheCars1986 · 10-27-2020, 09:54 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ghosthouse

ALL the time?

Statistically tho, how many people commit suicide in an agonizing manner? I don't have any numbers but I imagine the vast majority do it quickly -- gun, hanging, etc... Just seems odd that someone would choose walking into ice cold water.

From 1999-2007 (the only available years that I could find online for free), suicide by drowning was 12th on the list of the 20 leading causes of violence related injury deaths, according to the CDC. There were 12,532. So a lot more common than you think.

rusty spike · 10-27-2020, 10:19 AM

What if JoAnn suffered a medical emergency?

I am wondering if she became confused and acted erratically. It might explain leaving to fill up her tank and parking in a different parking space. It could explain her attempting to walk across a frozen river.

Yes, it's illogical and doesn't make sense, but it can happen.

10-21-2020, 12:31 AM	#1
rusty spike Member Senior Member Join Date: Mar 08, 2015 Location: Southwest Posts: 1,124	Lady in the Lake (JoAnn Romain) Foul play or suicide?

10-23-2020, 06:39 PM	#8
mphs95 Remember me? Forum Regular Join Date: Jan 02, 2004 Location: Michigan Posts: 790	My thought was homicide, but unintentional. People want to get at her brother and figure they can snatch his sister and scare him, either to pay them back or for whatever is up. Perhaps she tried to get away, but they got her. That rip in her purse could be from someone grabbing the fringe part. Maybe at that moment she fell and hit her head, or while they had her she was accidentally killed. In a panic, they drove to Detroit and dumped her in the river. No way her body makes it to Boblo from GP in that body of water. No way. While I suspect her brother knows who did it, I feel his sadness and anger is genuine. I just don't see a grand conspiracy to murder Joann, but I can see how an accidental death by someone is plausible. I also don't see her trying to attempt suicide in that body of water by the church. One, she's a devout Catholic and it looks like her life was coming together and she had her faith. Two, I don't see her trying to kill herself in that area with those shoes. No way. GPPD dropped the ball with this investigation. I think she saw what they wanted to see and got tunnel vision.
	Last edited by mphs95; 10-24-2020 at 01:14 PM.

10-23-2020, 11:07 PM	#9
zack007attack Member Frequent Poster Join Date: Jan 30, 2009 Posts: 402	If it was suicide, it would have had to been assisted. She was found with her keys in her pocket yet the car was somehow moved. Based on the fact that there was so many search parties out there looking for her in relatively shallow water with no current, the location near the church on Lake St. Clair couldn't possibly have been where she entered the icy cold water. I don't blame her family for filing a lawsuit based on the incompetent handling of the original investigation, but I can't blame the courts for dismissing it either. The reason for that is because the theories leaning towards suicide and foul play are both purely circumstantial. Nonetheless, the original investigators struck me as rather incompetent because they obviously didn't care about looking at the case from an objective point of view (contrary to what all investigators in any case anywhere are supposed to do). IMO, I think she met with foul play based on where she was found in relation to where her car was left although I am not inclined to believe it involved anybody close to her because there hasn't been any evidence supporting that idea. It could be she was a victim of a random act, mistaken identity, or even unintentional/accidental death. Her body had to have been placed where it was found because it's highly unlikely given the current/wind conditions for her to have been out on the water that long and drift all the way down the river without being discovered.
	Last edited by zack007attack; 10-23-2020 at 11:10 PM. Reason: adding detail

10-24-2020, 04:24 AM	#10
Zero Member Frequent Poster Join Date: Jun 15, 2003 Posts: 495	I think homicide but not because they were trying to “get” to her brother. I think her cousin the cop had something to do with it. And the local police investigating it are covering up for him. But shoddy police work regardless! That body of water she “suicided” herself in doesn’t seem like an area with a current strong enough to get her 35 miles south. I could be wrong. In any event I think her cousin had something to do with it. He seemed like one of those Italian mobsters. Definitely someone shady enough to arrange it. Why? Maybe she pissed him off. What to make of the alleged secretive phone calls she kept getting and her increased paranoia? Suicidal people are not usually paranoid but rather depressed, and eventually could enter a period of feeling “numb.” Paranoia leading to suicide usually happens when the person has a significant mental illness.
	__________________ "Are we ourselves, and do we really know?"

10-21-2020, 01:55 PM	#2
Fletch Cabin fever Frequent Poster Join Date: May 10, 2002 Posts: 485	Suicide, IMO. For many reasons.

10-21-2020, 07:25 PM	#3
Guitar Member Occasional Poster Join Date: Jul 27, 2017 Posts: 43	I lean toward suicide as well. It's interesting that when they're reenacting how she walked down a ledge "IN HIGH HEELS IN THE ICE" at the end they show the actual ledge that she walked down. Ummmm.... So in certain places that incline doesn't look as steep as the one that they showed. Misleading. Also, why the hell would someone go through such elaborate means to send a "message" to a family member just to avoid all police suspicion? One assumes that they would make it at least SEEM questionable if they weren't going to taunt them afterward. There is almost nothing here that even seems questionable aside from the damage on the strap, which was probably caused by the purse getting caught on something or slipping on the ice.

10-21-2020, 11:19 PM	#4
ghosthouse Member Frequent Poster Join Date: Dec 03, 2019 Location: Amish Country Posts: 298	I don't know...suicide by wading into ice cold water doesn't seem plausible to me. Not saying it was murder tho.

10-21-2020, 11:38 PM	#5
Guitar Member Occasional Poster Join Date: Jul 27, 2017 Posts: 43	People kill themselves by drowning all the time. It might seem absurd to us because it's an excruciatingly painful way to die. But it happens commonly.

10-22-2020, 07:01 AM	#6
TheCars1986 #VLSKMS Forum Fanatic Join Date: Nov 22, 2008 Location: Maryland Posts: 8,606	Foul play was not credibly presented in any way, shape, or form. Her butt print and hand prints were found in the snow, indicating that someone either sat down, or fell down and had to push themselves up in the snow. Why wasn't an accidental death explored as a possibility?

10-22-2020, 07:42 PM	#7
alistaircranium Banned Banned!! Forum Regular Join Date: Aug 10, 2015 Posts: 503	I’m inclined to believe it was murder. Her brother came off sketchy as all get out.

10-24-2020, 06:15 PM	#12
comicbookwriter Member Frequent Poster Join Date: Jun 15, 2004 Location: Los Angeles, CA Posts: 140	Foul play. 100% I'm supposed to believe a devout Catholic woman walked into freezing cold water right after leaving church to commit suicide by drowning. Seriously? This was clearly foul play and if the damned police did their jobs properly, they may have discovered evidence that showed she was likely abducted and murdered elsewhere which is why her body was found over 30 miles downstream. How could a woman with her body size drift downstream wearing all black in a SHALLOW lake with little to no current without being seen for 70 days? Come on folks. This is clearly a problematic situation and there was no way she could have died from drowning without being found within a day or two of her disappearance. The police dropped the ball with this one from the first moment. The car should have been searched for DNA and the phone records examined immediately. I would assume the examination of phone records of a deceased individual would be standard practice these days. I hope her family gets to the truth one of these days.

10-27-2020, 10:19 AM	#15
rusty spike Member Senior Member Join Date: Mar 08, 2015 Location: Southwest Posts: 1,124	What if JoAnn suffered a medical emergency? I am wondering if she became confused and acted erratically. It might explain leaving to fill up her tank and parking in a different parking space. It could explain her attempting to walk across a frozen river. Yes, it's illogical and doesn't make sense, but it can happen.