Crime Scene -

That's the way I used to do. I'm going to begin doing that again because it definitely is a big, big help in sorting things out.

We have another twist in this case today! Melvin Roberts's wife
said in her interview that she "wouldn't put it past him", speaking of her husband and the murder. Does that mean she wants him to go to jail? Now, I have to wonder if she killed Monica Drum just to get Melvin sent away.
She also named 4 other guys that were supposed to be with Melvin on the night of the murder. The more, the merrier. I'm going to have to buy more printing paper. LOL Have I said how much I love this case?!

I really like this one too. Bear in mind though how long it took him to confess (9 days). It's still hard for me to believe that he would have waited that long.
Also, his wife said he kept telling everyone during that 9 days that he was glad she was dead and she got what she deserved. He still could have done it. I'm not ruling it out. But it just doesn't sound right for some reason.
She also said she forbid him to talk about Monica after the rape incident. Does she have a control thing going on with him?

Yes, I think Melvin's wife is a control freak. There are a lot of women and/or men that way. Do you think Melvin takes all the built up anger out on other women?
The note that was found in Monica's safety deposit box doesn't seem to me to be from Melvin, because of the firs line. Why would Melvin say that Monica should be home when he calls? That sounds more like someone close to her. That note could've been from Rickie? What is your opinion on that?

In those three photos from the deposit box, the tall one looks kind of familiar. Are they playing poker? One of the letters from Lori Schultz mentioned that Monica said she had a money making scheme. Maybe she's hosting poker games and taking some of the pot. Is that how that works? It would be interesting to know who those guys are. That would be a good question for the AtD.

Rick Hughes is still hiding out, but sent a letter to the Planet for the public saying he's innocent. I think if the police want an interview with him, they're going to have to do something drastic.

Ok, I have some questions. Actually, several of them.

1. Who is Monica's goddaughter, Jessica Shaffer?
2.Why would Rick be afraid someone might try to kill him too? Does he think he knows who did it? Why wouldn't he volunteer that information if he does?
3.Why wouldn't Monica get her friend Nicole to witness her will instead of Rick? That at least means they were still on civil terms when the will was signed on October 1.
4. When did they supposedly break up? They were in line for a carriage ride just before she was killed.
5.The alarm never went off so that means that the person who shot Monica either had the alarm code, or she let the person in, or the door really was unlocked.
6. Ok, Roberts said that he was sitting at the bar across the street from the newspaper offices. He also said he followed her in the building and shot her at 3a.m. This was on Sunday morning. The bar should have been closed by then. The bar should have closed at 2 a.m. according to law. (at least here in Texas, last call on Saturday night is 12 a.m. because the bar has to be closed by 2 a.m. If that is the case, where was he really at? A single truck sitting in front of a bar would be suspicious. Cops usually make a round of all the bars at 2 to make sure they lock up so they should have seen him. Unless things are that different in Mississippi.
Check with the bartender to see if he was really there. Also, check with his friends to see if he really went hunting.
7. I may have a theory why Roberts might confess to something he didn't do. He said his life was ruined, his business was going bankrupt and he's trying to raise a grandson whom he adores. What if he decided to say he did it and push for the "needle" in a hurry because if he died then his wife would have his insurance money to live on and maybe the business wouldn't have to file bankruptcy. Insurance wouldn't pay off with a suicide. He might have thought it was his only way out and that might be why it took him so long to confess to Monica's murder.
As far as the photos go, I think it might have something to do with her scheme but I don't think she was hosting the poker games. I don't know what the Mayor looks like. Could one of them be the Mayor? I bet that's where she got the money that was in her safety deposit box.
I agree that the note doesn't sound like Melvin. Can we get it dusted for prints?

We don't know if the note was written by a man or a woman. Wonder what Lori or Nicole would think about it? Besides, why are the only letters from Lori? Seems they are pretty general but there must be a clue in them somewhere, why else keep them?

Those are all really good questions! I had some of those in my notes, too, but you have more. We're not going to get answers for all of them right away, but we can get some answered. Also, we might work out some answers ourselves in the days to come.

I think for questions number 6; we should get the answers when we get interviews with those guys he was supposed to be with that night hunting. I bet you there will be enough time for Melvin to kill Monica and still meet the guys to go hunting, so we'll still be up in the air about that. I think he must have made it in time to go with the guys or his wife would've said he was home. We can't really trust anyone to be telling the truth, though.

Monica may have had some kind of breakup with her parents or surely there would be letters in the box from them, too. I can't think of why she would keep Nicole's letters unless she really had that close of a relationship with her. It's possible that she didn't get letters from anyone else. From the way Lori spoke about her, Monica didn't have many friends.

I was thinking the same thing about the mayor being in on that game, but I still think it could be poker, or some kind of gambling. The photos could be what she's using to blackmail someone in the photo.