But there is another report that said they still can't find the mattress.
Keep in mind this guy managed the apartment complex, so the mattress could be anywhere.
It is vague how he deceived his family about the "degree".
I would imagine he had a final moment of truth before he possibly smothered Lori to death.
sw
I had a roommate in college who I later found out was doing the same thing, right down to the "high-achieving brother" part. He seemed to be going to school (apparently went to classes, bought books, etc), and appeared to spend time studying. He even made up a sister (with an eye problem). Had a bunch of us fooled for several years. The whole thing finally unravelled on him when a girl tried to find him "at the lab" or something, and they'd never heard of him.
The thing was, we had no reason not to believe him, and there was nothing that spurred us to check his story. He said it, seemed sincere, and was plausible. I think that's the same thing that happened in this case.
The charade obviously unraveled in this case, too. It's hard to know what happened after that, though it looks very bad for the poor woman.
He wouldn't have to get rid of the mattress if he just smothered her. There had to have been some bloody transaction that happened unfortunately.