If he’s a seasoned woodsman, he could make himself scarce for a long time. That changes things. He’s used to things like no cellphone service for extended times.
He may only be at risk of being sighted when he stocks up on supplies.
Chapman also indicated that it may have been third degree, which also changes things. If she’s a screamer, he might have only intended to quiet her down, but suffocated her by accident. In which case, the worst thing he did was run.
NO WAY on that last part.......he seems like he was EVIL to begin with!
I see. It was partially Gabby's fault for resisting when the psychopath boyfriend was killing her.
His actions after the murder belie any notions of "accident."
“If he’s a seasoned woodsman, he could make himself scarce for a long time. That changes things. He’s used to things like no cellphone service for extended times.”
How well is his survival skills from what people close to him know? All he has to do is just wait no more than a month and the majority of the world will have forgotten this by then. People have short term memories. The only problem then comes what will he do if he wants to blend back in with society. He would need to somehow find a way to make an entire fake identity from scratch and I dunno how that is possible these days.
“In which case, the worst thing he did was run.”
It doesn’t seem like many of the hothead posters in this blog are blessed with the ability to read into context. I understood what you said is speculation and Third Degree is still murder. And yes the worst thing he did was to run if that were the case.
As you and others have pointed out, if he is in the Appalachians then he can disappear for a long time. He’d be an anti-hero but still a mountain man. The question is whether he could survive without human interaction forever. I’m thinking no. So he’ll turn up someday. The other question is whether he’ll try to extend that by slipping into the mountains of some other country.
We’ll see.
He's not old enough to be a seasoned anything. Going camping in a state park or even hiking a few miles and camping on the AT doesn't make you a seasoned woodsman. That type of camping for a few days and actually surviving off the land indefinitely are two completely different things. I seriously doubt this guy has the skills.
“If he’s a seasoned woodsman, he could make himself scarce for a long time.”
That’s a pretty big if. He’s barely out of College so it’s not like he’s had much time to develop any real outdoor skills are experience. Going camping where all you have to do is restock the cooler now and then isn’t even at the same level. To go underground undetected with multiple LEO agency’s after you isn’t something many can do. I’m pretty confident he’s one of those who can’t. The easiest thing for him to do is hide in plain sight, change apperance, ID and head to a highly populated area. A man can hide for a long time in places like New York (He went to college there), Los Angeles, Las Vegas even Houston. I was amazed at how many folks we had warrants for out of Texas that ended up in Alaska. If he’s going to run from the law he’ll have to move fast and often and being dug in in the mountains won’t allow that flexibility.
Years ago we had 4 state prisoners escape from the van they were being transferred in about 8 miles out of town. They immediately went to the thickets and avoided any ground pursuit. Sheriff called in a Helo equipped with thermal imaging and we had all of them in cuffs within an hour after it got in the air. One lone image on the ground will draw attention, several hundred is a different story.
Van trips to national parks do not a seasoned woodman make. Even if you do pop a tent now and then and scrounge for berries.
This website gives a bit of an idea of what it takes to be a master woodsman. Across multiple categories, such as Firecraft, Toolcraft, Ropecraft, Navigation and Travel, Food Sourcing, etc.
Necessary skills are listed for each of the following:
Apprentice Camper
Journeyman Camper
Journeyman Woodsman
Master Woodsman
I would put Laundrie in one of the two Camper rankings. Not in either of the Woodsman ones.