Falcon Lake: Case Closed? Five Remaining Oddities In A Very Weird Case

Houston Press Blogs ^ | Fri., Oct. 15 2010 | John Nova Lomax

[Reeses]

After the murder and decapitation of one of their own, Mexican investigators are calling off the search for David Hartley's body, temporarily at least.

So, is it case closed? Is STRATFOR's theory -- that Hartley was gunned down by Zeta thugs who believed he was a scout for the rival Gulf Cartel -- correct?

Perhaps. But we are still in befuddlement at some the statements Tiffany Young-Hartley has given the media over the past two weeks, as well as some other elements of the case. First, there's that whole magic bullet thing, where she claims to have seen her husband lifted over the handlebars of his speeding jet-ski by the kill-shot that ripped through his head, a scenario that would appear to violate some basic laws of physics.

And then there are five more strange ones To wit:

1.Her Christ-like empathy toward her doubters.

"I have to put myself in their view that I can understand why they would think that, but...it is true and he is over there and I know I know the pirates or whoever did this have him."

If you saw your spouse killed and the authorities openly doubted your account, would you be able to find the compassion inside yourself to empathize with your doubters?

2. Young-Hartley also seems to believe God himself helped her craft an alibi:

"We have points of being pulled over and being at Subway with the border patrol seeing us there. It just, you know, shows my story that, yeah, David and I were there together, we were at the boat launch together, you know, we had got stopped and Subway and that, you know, everything happened exactly the way I've been telling you guys.

"Me being a Christian and believing in God, I believe he lined all that up; he lined up the traffic stop, he lined up us going to Subway and having the Border Patrol there so my story would be supported by events that happened," she said.

(Did He also line up Hartley's face in the pirate's gunsights?)

It's interesting how closely Tiffany's account mirrors that of "the Good Samaritan," the completely anonymous sole eyewitness to these events. Masked and with his voice disguised, the Good Samaritan had this to say to TV station KRGV: "He believes he was meant to be at Falcon Lake that day. He believes God put him there to help Hartley. He was at the right place at the right time."

3. Three's the matter of the lie detector.

After telling CNN "If that's what the authorities think I need to do, then that might be an option," she has done an about-face and claimed that there is no need.

4. The strange 911 call.

Dr Lillian Glass is a body-language expert. During a conversation with Hair Balls yesterday, she put us on call-waiting so she could firm up a training session with the Los Angeles Police Department -- she says she helps train their detectives on ferreting out deception.

One of the many, many things that has alarmed her about Young-Hartley's demeanor and statements over the past couple of weeks was the very first word she uttered when she called 911. Namely, she said "Hello." In her view, that is not the action of a truly frantic person. She says that people who are genuinely terrified or distraught simply launch right into the reason they dialed 911 -- they don't take the time to exchange pleasantries or salutations.

5. The Hartleys financial situation.

On March 7, Tiffany Young-Hartley posted on her Facebook page that she and David had driven from Reynosa to San Antonio to hear debt counselor / financial advisor Dave Ramsey speak. "Even better in person then on the radio," she wrote. "If you get a chance to see him live 'GO'. He has helped so many people get out of debt and stay on a budget that works. Luckily we are ahead of the game, but now were on track for our future."

Apparently that future arrived fast, because on April 23, she reported that she and her husband were about to take a Carnival cruise to Jamaica, Grand Cayman and Cozumel.

In early June, she was buying an entire houseful of furniture for their new digs in McAllen, where the couple had just been sent by David's employer CalFrac Well Services. The cartel violence in their former home of Reynosa had risen to unacceptable levels, it was later explained.

At any rate, Young-Hartley and David did not enjoy the nesting process: "This is a long process and doesn't help that David and I don't have the same taste," she wrote. "So agreeing on anything is almost impossible. I think were each going to take a room and decorate it ourselves. Furnishing a whole house is no fun....."

A couple of weeks later, the fateful Jet-Skis make their first appearance:

"Got to enjoy the Jet Skies this morning then Davids skie broke, so our trip was cut short" And Young-Hartley also wrote that she hoped their stay in McAllen would last longer than seven months.

Just a few days before their disastrous trip to Falcon Lake, Young-Hartley gushed about her wonderful husband and their recent trip to Key West, a jaunt which included a diving expedition.

And at some point during that time, it was decided that Hartley's services in South Texas were no longer required. He would be getting some sort of transfer back to Colorado, where both of them were from. It was very vague, and Tiffany said that the two of them would likely be living in a hotel until the kinks were worked out.

So, in the six or seven months after driving about 500 miles round-trip to attend a session of Financial Peace University, the couple furnished a home, took two pretty fantastic vacations, bought two Jet-Skis, and planned a cross-country move and extended hotel stay, all as the husband lost his oil field job.

It waslike someone posting "Went to my first AA meeting" as their status and following it up days later with beer-pong pictures.

Did they simply disregard Ramsey's advice on "living on less than you make," or did they get a sudden influx of cash? And if so, where did that cash come from?

[eastforker]

For any of you out there talking about a lie detector test, unless you have been through one, you haven't a clue. First off, the test is designed so that the questions asked are very vague.The guy giving the test uses it to play on the emotions of the subject. Also remember there is a pre interview before the test is given, that starts the emotions going. When the test is being given and direct absolute questions are asked(regardless of the results on the graph) the examiner will stop and ask the subject would like to explain because the machine is fluctuating. Now if your guilty, and not an experienced liar you are gonna start making up more lies or conflicting statements. That's where they get you top eventually confess, when you know you been caught in a lie. In this case, in the pre interview they might ask the subject something like, “have you ever cheated on your husband “ Simple question, but if the subject had ever entertained a thought about doing such a thing, even though she answered no, it would show up as untruthful,Other questions such as, have you ever done illegal drugs,have you ever stolen anything, have you ever suspected your husband cheated on you,have you ever thought about hurting your husband,etc, etc.Trust me, no one should ever subject themselves to a polygraph, just say no even if innocent.

[JRandomFreeper]

I've been married 3 times, and have daughters, so yeah, I have a clue about deceptive females.

And not using an indoor bathroom for a day at a time.

You are looking for a cool solution, instead of what is there.

You DO own a TV. I knew it.

/johnny

[Krankor]

Possibly, but why go to all the trouble of creating a ‘pirate’ story when they could have easily just said he drowned.

Good point. Then again, she'd have to explain what happened to the body and the jet ski. Of course, if pirates killed him, she could claim they took his body and his jet ski to cover up the crime. Then again, these drug cartels don't appear to be too shy about leaving decapitated bodies around as a warning.

[JRandomFreeper]

You have a solution. You are looking for a path to it.

Turn that upside down, and you might have a clue how real science and real investigation works.

/johnny

[Fishtalk]

I’m not referring to any specific Freepers. Well I am but it isn’t like I’ve got a list of names or anything.

For now, let me expand on the thread that ended up so horrifically, at least as I saw it, a couple of weeks ago.

Understand that at that time this story was new. The girl had just reported her husband’s alleged death. The “witness” had just showed uup, anonymous with disguised voice.

I know, for sure, I’m not alone, but right from the start I thought this girl’s story sounded so wrong.

At that time I found myself...well not just me but there were a whole bunch of Freepers that wanted, desperately wanted, to believe this girl’s story.

It wasn’t that they necessarily had any kindness in their hearts for the girl but we’re all exasperated with how our guvment is handling immigration and of late there’s been big problems with Mexican drug cartels, now spilling over into our own country.

THIS very, very odd story was the perfect storm of just how bad this Mexican drug problem has become, the Mexican authorities would not help find this woman’s husband, jet skis are very valuable to Mexicans....

There were just a lot of Freepers that wanted to take this story and champion it as proof positive that the Mexican problem has now gotten so bad that innocent American jet skiers are being murdered while harmlessly playing on a lake.

Never mind that her story had so many holes it would sink a ship. I was lambasting for believing Mexicans over an American and hey, hard as it may be to believe, Americans DO lie. It was like I was unpatriotic because I did not believe this girl’s story.

No wait...it wasn’t that I did NOT believe her story, hell I’m not sure what to believe now though I lean toward not believing her. It was just that I expressed DOUBTS....how dare I....this innocent American woman loses her husband so horrifically and you unpatriotic Benedict Arnold refuse to accept her story unquestioned.

As these things go people got bored and went away. It was just....come on....it doesn’t help to jump on one rather strange, probably FALSE story as some sort of benchmark of proof that the Mexican problem is now officially beyond the pale.

Well the Mexico problem is beyond the pale but not because of this girl’s story.

That’s all. You’ll get a bunch of Freepers that don’t want to hear about the holes in this story...they want to believe, they want to rail at the gods that Mexican drug lords are taking over our waterways, they want to shout warnings to all that soon we’ll not be able to jet ski for pleasure without being shot in the head by Mexican drug lords out to kill...well innocent jet skiers I guess.

I consider it kind of an intriguing story but that’s just my True Crime self coming out. I’d just like to know the truth and I don’t want to be called names and have aspersions cast upon me just because I question this very questionable story.

Anyway....I’m trying to explain myself. I’m sure those Freepers that want to believe this girl at any cost will be around but after this I won’t comment.

They’ll shout you down and call you names.

[TigersEye]

First, there's that whole magic bullet thing, where she claims to have seen her husband lifted over the handlebars of his speeding jet-ski by the kill-shot that ripped through his head, a scenario that would appear to violate some basic laws of physics.

The logic in that opinion would appear to violate some laws of common sense. The story is that he was moving rapidly away from some armed men on his jet ski when he was struck in the back of the head by a bullet. Even if that didn't kill him instantly it would probably knock him out. Which naturally would cause his body to go limp. That means his grip on the throttle ended abruptly and, by the laws of physics, the jet ski would have slowed and sunk into the water quite abruptly from the resistance of the water causing his body to pass over the handle bars rapidly as there would have been nothing to slow his momentum down.

[JRandomFreeper]

but that’s just my True Crime self coming out.

I won't call a name. Promise. You did that. You have a goal. You are seeking the path.

/johnny

[Reeses]

Go back to the very beginning when David was shot OFF his Jet Ski.

She claims the bullet impact caused him to fly over the front of his jet ski, defying the laws of physics. Her story is made up. A normal reflex when hit in the head is to jerk backwards, as JFK did.

[TommyDale]

I suppose the wife is also responsible for the beheading of the Mexican investigator?

[Fishtalk]

I can’t resist.

Seriously?

You are trying to tell us that a spouse dying of a sudden heart attack is anywhere near comparable to a spouse dying of a bullet on a jet ski to have disappeared, body and jet ski, from the earth forever?

Seriously?

And we call the liberals guilty of moral relatavism.

[Reeses]

You sound as obsessive as someone using adderal.

You sound like you're out of facts so you've moved on to the personal. I don't even know or care what adderal is. I never heard of it.

[az_gila]

Item #4 - the cell phone call....

Living in a fringe cell phone reception area, and having just used it last week to call 911 (suspicious car) I can easily see the first thing recorded being “hello”...:^)

I was surprised how long the phone took to connect through to the County, and the internal GPS wasn’t accurate enough to put me through to the correct city - I was about 1/4 mile inside the city boundaries.

When you are listening to silence, and something finally happens, “hello” seems reasonable...:^)

[Fishtalk]

I seek the path of truth.

I didn’t invent it, none of us did.

We can, if deluded, try to twist our own truth and wrest it from the obvious....I suppose.

[Krankor]

Either that or they were involved in the drug trade.

Mmmmm. Another good point. This could explain their "financial windfall". Either they cheated their Mexican co-conspirators or a rival cartel killed him. Still, insurance scam screams out at me. I mean, they lived in Mexico for 2-1/2 years, move back to the states, and then suddenly go back to Mexico for sightseeing. I don't know, the fact they seemed to go out of their way to be seen together, points to insurance fraud.

[Fishtalk]

Seriously...they WANT to believe this woman.

You’re fighting obsessives.

[JRandomFreeper]

A normal reflex when hit in the head is to jerk backwards, as JFK did.

How many critters you ever shot in the head? You are full of crap. The physics are much more complicated than that. And the reality doesn't conform to computational physics very well.

Hen eating dogs, through the back of the head, drop, like sacks, no jerks.

Hogs, drop like rocks. Just drop.

Squirrels? Depends on the direction you shoot them from.

You are not only clueless of the real world, you are silly when it comes to the 'suspension of disbelief' that has to be overcome with fiction.

/johnny

[Jude in WV]

Scott Peterson is on death row. I never saw or read one piece of evidence that could be used to convict him without reasonable doubt.
All the people involved threw doubt out the window.
He could be guilty but I never saw the proof.

[JRandomFreeper]

Start with a path, end with a goal. Do it the other way around, and you pervert justice, and hurt people.

/johnny

[cripplecreek]

Wasn’t there another high profile missing/presumed dead wife case where the reporterette was dating the suspect?

[JRandomFreeper]

And you start with the premise that she is guilty? And work back from there?

And argue it? That's not only obsessive, it's wrong. And hurts innocent people.

Abraham Lincoln said that it was better that 10 guilty go free than 1 innocent be convicted.

I agree with that part of that Republican president's stance.

/johnny