Amy Bechtel: What do you think?

[Thracian]

One more question, kind of connected to my question of who you think is creepy. I've seen some segment interviews where I haven't formed a definite opinion about a person's possible involvement. For example, everytime I see the one about Amy Bechtel (sp?) I can't make up my mind what I think about her husband. Anyone else have the same reaction to that story? Or feel that way about other segments?

[canadianmysterygrl]

I am sure the husband did it. The journals are TOO MUCH.

What a shame as Amy seemed so nice. I hope Steve is haunted by guilt if he did do it.

[shek]

I don't have a lot of details to support my thinking but I think Dale Eaton did it. The same man that killed our daughter in that area.

Sheila Kimmell

[nohwheregirl]

I just saw this case today, and am puzzled. They were extremely vague about the content of the husband's diaries. They didn't indicate that the diaries said anything specific about harming or killing Amy. The abuse allegations are disturbing, though. Still i'm not convinced i would react differently than Amy's husband if someone accused me of a crime i didn't do.

Have they ever found a body, blood stains, or any other evidence of a struggle or foul play?

[crystaldawn]

Here is an article I found about her disappearance. No significant developments though but they do make mention of Dale Eaton.

http://outside.away.com/outside/feat...steries_5.html

[CrushedVelvet]

The husband does look guilty however if I wrote dark poetry and hsort stories, etc. I would hate for them to be the one thing that locks me up for something someday. Oddly, a case here in Escondido, California the same situation happened (Stephanie ?) and her brother was accused for her murder and locked up, etc. b/c of the dark things he had written. They have since found and convicted her real killer. ****The case that always creeped me out was the woman who was supposedly being harrassed and was eventually found dead and hogtied out fron of her home tho cops think she was doing all this to herself..........?

[coffee king]

I've been following this story for a while. In fact, last night as 60 minutes was ending they were previewing the news for tomorrow (today now) and they specifically mentioned Amy Bechtel and her disappearance. My wife asked me why I was white as a sheep. I told her I have a file on her--I retrieved it and she read the file. So, maybe there is news on this case on tonight's news. I feel there are two possible scenarios. One is that she was abducted and taken out of the area and is probably not alive, (Eaton.) The other is that she wanted another life (the abuse) and had a plan to start that other life elsewhere. I find the second one a longshot, though. This is bizarre, though. I hope (for the family), that there is closure some day.

[CrushedVelvet]

Coffee King...I too have grappled with many scenerios and of course the husband being guilty is high on the probablilities list (I just dont want to see someone convicted b/c of their strange choice in literary works or creations). Watching the hubby's interview, I tried and tried to decided if I felt he was inn. or guilty but coudlnt not. Normally I can decide how I feel but not this time

[Bluejay]

Honestly? I really feel it's not a good idea to decide someone's guilty until proven innocent based solely on the stuff he writes.

Back in Bloomington, we had a nasty murder case. A lady environmental activist was found very messily murdered in her home (a piano case she'd fixed up as a house on a vacant lot). Police were baffled and decided to railroad a Vietnam vet who'd been seen in coffee houses downtown working on a murder mystery novel.

I knew this man. I hung around at the same coffee shops. He showed me his novel in progress once. It was a straight-ahead murder mystery and nothing out of the ordinary that I could tell. Apparently some of the details were similar to what happened to this lady. Local newspapers and general gossip all "knew" this man "did it" though there was no evidence directly tying him to the murder, and in fact the one witness walking by her shack that night described someone else hanging around, not the author. In fact, that witness was hauled in himself as a suspect for a while!

They never convicted the author, but he was ordered to leave town because the judge said he was "trouble." No one has ever solved this lady's murder. Owing to the fact that she was an outspoken environmental activist, I suspect she might have been done in by the same kind of people who blew up Judy Bari's car. The police might have known this but covered it up or weren't allowed to pursue it.

[coffee king]

Yes, it's very touchy assessing blame to anyone. Sure, we can speculate. It just seems that it might be a case of "we can't see the forest because of the trees." In other words, this might be solved by not trying to be so technical. It might be right in fromt of them...I just don't know. A watch ws found a few years ago next to a river, which I believe flows completely into a cave and then comes out on the other side a few miles away.

What I do know is that "The Early Show" on CBS ran a follow up story on September 28, 2004. I saw it and I also taped it. They had video footage of her running in a college event and interviews with several folks.

If there is footage of her talking--her voice--if that was ever shared with the public...someone might pick up on it. It's certainly a mystery. And it is also so very, very sad. I wonder how the mom gets through day after day...