What other reason would she have for going OUT of the gate instead of just plain turning around and walking back cross campus to go home. (that would have been the quickest route)
Recall earlier I mentioned that around the corner on Elm (i.e. take a left out Phelps Gate and then take a left onto Elm, the first cross street) is Durfee's Sweet Shop, a popular place to grab a bite to eat. It was an unusually warm night so perhaps Suzanne was heading there. The shop is not accessible from within the Old Campus and the fastest way there from Phelps would be to go up Elm. Perhaps the dollar bill crumpled in her pocket was change. Perhaps while there she met someone she knew who asked her to go out somewhere.
What to say about Durfee's? Everyone knows about this convenient study break oasis for Yalies. The self-serve Colombo's frozen yogurt machines are the main attraction of the place -- the more you eat on line, the less you pay. Durfee's carries an assortment of loose candies and make deli sandwiches. The coffee and pastry selection is adequate for the nature of this multi-purpose sweet shop. Unfortunately Durfee's is never open on weekends. (Subliminal message: bursar bill ... bursar bill. ... )
yale.edu
Sounds feasible... but now let's look at possible gotchas:
1. Durfee would probably have been crowded. No patron nor any employee apparently has come forward to say they saw her there. That's a big gotcha.
2. If the single dollar was indeed change, it would mean she probably broke a five. Could she have bought something costing exactly $4? Is this possible? Perhaps she also had coins on her but that hasn't been reported? Maybe she used the loose change as a tip?
3. She had just been hosting a pizza dinner that ended around 8:30pm. Is it feasible she would be hungry again only an hour or two later?
4. I presume she'd have gotten food to take out. Even still, that means walking there, standing in line, waiting for the food to be prepared, paying, and walking out. I estimate ten minutes for all this, minimum. This means if she did meet someone she knew there, when you factor in driving, and if we believe the police, getting out of a car, arguing, walking up a block, etc., the time line doesn't make any sense.
5. What excuse could someone possibly have used to lure her into a car? Would you like a ride home? If so, the crime scene is the total opposite direction so Suzanne would know immediately something is up. Could he have asked Suzanne to just go for a ride and talk? Somehow I doubt that as well.
6. We still have the big gotcha of someone, a single person, meeting Suzanne apparently coincidentally, convincing her to get into a car, getting mad enough to kill her, just happening to have a knife on him, and she doesn't even try to protect herself given all the red flags. I can't see it at all.
So, unless we can explain all the above, again, I honestly can't figure out a reasonable "she knew her killer" theory.
- Jeff |
