It All Boils Down To Sex....
This is a viewer generated theory submitted by "Estimator" It was among the top three winning entries submitted in the viewer discussion area.

Detective Samantha Murphy jotted her final notes onto the paper in the manila folder. She smiled. It was good to wrap up another case. She threw Marissa McConnell’s case file into the “Cases Resolved” bin.

The fact that her niece had been involved was what really had upset her the most. Every policewoman fears the possibility of arresting a relative. It would have added to the holiday stresses to gather as an extended family and face the music that a family member had been arrested and was serving time because of you.

But that wasn’t the case.

Some points of the Marissa McConnell murder just never really added up for Detective Murphy. It seemed like the majority of viable suspects were church people. Two boys, Johnny and Robby, were in that category. The first was the guy who found her; the latter was her boyfriend. Johnny was the atypical farm boy working in the city. But, he was shy and not very confrontational. Robby took the “Thou Shall Not Kill” commandment to heart as reported by her niece. Then there was the infamous Creepy Church Guy. Yes, he did sound creepy and the girls were probably scared to death of him but when did the religious of Oxford suddenly take to ritual killings?

They hadn’t. It just seemed all too “laid out.” There was the piece of paper with the bible verse notation on it. There was also that pamphlet. It was all too neat. And then of course there was the cross of tea lights.

Put why the five hour tea lights?

She had gone done to the local discount store and tried to find some tea lights which would have burned that long. They didn’t. It had to be a special tea light. Maybe one meant for commercial use – for keeping food items warm during catering events.

That got Murphy thinking more and more about the only restaurant connection to the case – Julie Ann Moore. She ran a restaurant begun by her parents.

Coincidences usually just don’t happen in a murder investigation.

But what possible connection would Julie Ann Moore have had with Marissa McConnell? The victim was a notorious flirt. The witness was a respected business woman. They were total opposites. But, if you think about it, that’s why it started to make sense as to the motive. A respected businesswoman has a lot to lose.

And then, there was the revelation that Marissa was actually bisexual.

Maybe for a brief time there had been the fear that Marissa and Olivia were lovers. Once again, that would add an interesting perspective to the extended family get-togethers. Luckily, Olivia fell into the straight category. But, if Marissa did have female loves, could Julie Ann Moore have been one of them?
So how did it all happen?

Julie Ann Moore was returning from her luncheon date. She was feeling good about getting her life back on track. She stops at the Shell Gas Mart to use the bathroom on the way back home… only it’s not after 7PM but closer to 3PM. How did Johnny not recognize her as being there a second time? Johnny wasn’t at the counter so she just grabbed the key.

As she gets ready to leave the restroom she hears tires screech. Marissa has just skated across the street from the Laundromat to the Gas Mart and nearly gotten hit. Marissa typically just turned and laughed. She saw Julie leaving the restroom and skated straight up to her. She tried kissing Julie so Julie backed back into the restroom and allowed the embrace to take place away from prying eyes.

Once inside, Julie told Marissa that their relationship had to stop. She had met someone. Marissa probably just laughed and said she would have too much fun telling all of Oxford about Julie’s love life. Julie struck at Marissa who was wearing the skates and lost her balance. She fell hard.

Julie freaked. Marissa could ruin her life and would now not even hesitate to do so. She ran out to her car. She had some equipment to prepare for a catering job later in the week. She grabbed a knife and ran back inside. She tentatively stabbed Marissa. The young woman stirred. Julie had to stab harder.

Having done the deed, Julie freaked. Her first thought was to run. But, she had so much to lose. Someone needed to take the fall for this. Who? She began thinking about people Marissa had talked about in their time together. She remembered a fairly lengthy talk about a gentleman referred to as Creepy Church Guy. Marissa had shown Julie a pamphlet and a scrap of paper he had left for her once. They had been talking in Julie’s car that time. Julie took the items from Marissa and shoved them in her glove compartment box. It took Marissa’s mind off of them. Maybe they were still there?

She returned once more to her car to get the items.

In the restroom she planted the two pieces of physical evidence. She also thought maybe if Marissa had appeared to write the name of her killer it would point more in that direction. But what would she write? Creepy Church Guy? She had said he was tall. Julie traced out “TALLMAN”.

She looked at the scene. Would the police make the connection? It seemed to obscure.

She also remembered having purchased some tea lights for the upcoming catering job. Maybe if she used those to make an outline of a cross? She got them and put them into place. She lit them. And then she observed the new crime scene. She locked the door as she left, not realizing she pocketed the restroom key.

It all seemed good so she left. She kept constantly looking over her shoulder to make sure no one saw her.

Once comfortably at home, Julie fell asleep. Maybe it felt like a dream when she woke up. Maybe it made things a lot clearer.

One thing for certain, her sleep had made her realize that her secret love life with Marissa would not remain a secret for long. Marissa had taken photos of the two of them together with that stupid cell phone. She needed to erase those photos.

She drove back to the gas mart. The place looked as though no one had discovered the dastardly deed. Julie slipped into the restroom and took Marissa’s cell phone. In looking over her work, the “TALLMAN” didn’t seem as though it fitted. Julie cleaned away the original message and then wrote “TTFn” which seemed more appropriate. She scrawled a quick “Out of Order” sign to put on the door as she once more locked it.

As she was coming out, she felt like she was noticed by people. Julie needed a cover story to be at the Gas Mart. That’s when she made the big production of needing to go to the restroom.

Detective Murphy tapped her pencil on the desk. That’s what had really been the problem all along with this case.

It seemed like Julie Ann Moore had overdone the production of needing to use the restroom. If it was out of order, why not just ask for the key to the men’s room? Granted it wouldn’t have been any woman’s first choice, but when you gotta go you gotta go. And would it have been all that bad? Julie Ann Moore did use the men’s restroom the second time she was there.

Maybe it had seemed the perfect alibi for Julie Ann Moore. What better way to disguise yourself as the killer if you were one of the witnesses who discovered the body?

It would have worked. However, the slip up of saying she met this new guy for lunch. And then, the use of commercial grade tea lights. And then, the missing cell phone. And then, the bisexuality. It all added up. And it all pointed to Marissa McConnell’s real killer – Julie Ann Moore.