Re: Was a car used?
Jeff you have convinced me due to time and distance that a car was part of this
Today after my dentist appointment in New Haven I went back to Phelps Gate, set the trip odometer to 0, and drove all the way up College/Prospect St, took a right on East Rock Rd, and went one block to just across Edgehill, the murder scene. The entire trip was 1.95 miles. For my return route I went down Edgehill/St. Ronan (which runs parallel to Prospect), took a right on Edwards one block over to Prospect, and continued back to Phelps Gate. That trip was 1.9 miles. The time it took to travel the route at between 3:30-4:00pm was 7:19 in traffic not including the numerous lights (I didn't count them but there were at least six) and 8:45 for the return trip with lights.
At 15-20 minutes per mile (3-4 mph), it would take between 30-40 minutes to walk from Phelps Gate to the murder scene. Considering the number of intersections, traffic, lights, and the steep uphill further up Prospect Street, not to mention Suzanne had just come back from a party, had already walked three long blocks from her apartment, and she told a friend at 9:15pm she was very tired, I'd say she wasn't planning on a total walk of 70-90 minutes! So, yes, I'd say Suzanne was driven to where she was found.
Suzanne was last seen alive at about 9:25-9:30. The problem is since we don't know where she was picked up nor how long she lay unlocated on the side of the road, we can't determine how long she was probably in the car. However, as she was found at 9:55, the maximum would have been a half hour. I think it reasonable to assume she walked for at least another five minutes after last being seen, and lay bleeding at least five minutes before being found, meaning car time of at most 20 minutes. Factor in a driving time of about 6 minutes and we're now down to 14 minutes of idle car time. My thinking is that 14 minutes is enough time to drive around and/or park and talk for a while, but not enough time to actually drive roundtrip to, say, an ATM. Besides, there were no ATMs anywhere close to where she was.
I have a hard time believing a talk between two people who knew each other could escalate to murder in 14 minutes especially when there's a high likelihood such a meeting was not mutually planned nor the victim stalked. That's why I still favor the random killer theory be the motive robbery, violence, or both.
- Jeff |
