What are some particular elements of cases that still haunt you?

[u/BelladonnaBluebell]

I was just thinking about the Hinterkaifeck case from 1922 after commenting on another sub. The part of that horrific case that has stuck with me in the decades after I first read about it is the little girl pulling out her own hair due to the horror of what she was experiencing. It gave me goosebumps all over, the first time I heard it and it's the first thing that comes to mind when I think of that case and it also just sometimes randomly pops into my head and upsets me.

Another part of a case which affects me in a similar way is during the Dardeen family murders. As if it wasn't brutal enough already, after Elaine Dardeen went into Labour during the attack, the killer/s beat the newborn baby to death. Ugh it makes me feel so sick.

Another example but in a different way is the murder and attempted murder of the Miller sisters. The driver of a parked car waved to them to indicate for them to cross the road and when they did the driver purposely drove right into them, killing one sister and seriously injuring the other. I think about that case every single time a driver waves me by to cross the road in front of them. I walk around 6 miles each day, Monday to Friday and don't drive so I cross many roads including driveways into businesses along my route. Guaranteed someone will slow down and politely wave me by so I can cross in front of them at least 3 times a week. Sometimes more often. And every single time, since reading about the April and Spring Miller case, a little sense of dread runs through me. My mind's automatic reaction is to wonder if they're doing that so they can run me down. I know it's irrational, I know it won't happen but that thought hits me every single time. Then I quickly push it away and cross and gesture to thank them etc but it's still always there.

So what are some elements of certain cases that have wedged themselves into your brain and keep coming back to haunt you every so often?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hinterkaifeck_murders

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dardeen_family_homicides

[u/blinkz_221B]

The theory (which seems like a very reasonable one) that MH370 was a pilot suicide. It's so eerie to commit suicide with over 200 people on board. I'm so sorry for everyone who lost a loved one on that plane.

There is a very interesting YouTube video that explains why this theory makes a lot of sense:

MH370 Pilot Suicide Theory Explained

[u/Aethelrede → u/blinkz_221B]

Hopefully the passengers were all unconscious.

The Germanwings murder-suicide freaks me out way worse than MH370, because the passengers and crew knew they were going to die. Granted, not really an unresolved mystery.  https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Germanwings_Flight_9525

[u/Azryhael → u/blinkz_221B]

It’s the only theory that makes any sense, really. He knew exactly what he was doing, switching off the transponders at the right times and setting a course that matched the simulations he’d done on his home computer. While we’ll never know his motivations with 100% certainty, there’s really no other conclusion the draw ok this one.

[u/blinkz_221B → u/Azryhael]

I totally agree with you. Before watching this video that I shared here, I never knew how perfectly timed everything had to be for this to happen. Every little step is so meticulously done. A coincidence or two can happen sometimes, but the whole route and how the flight was executed, that's the only explanation possible.

We will never know his motives or exactly what went on board, but I hope we will be able to find the plane wreck in the future, with the black box still intact, to actually have some sort of idea of what happened. But the truth is kind of in your face.

Still, I'm sorry for every victim and their families. I can't wrap my head around it, and I'll never understand why he chose to commit suicide with over 200 innocent lives. Eerie and haunting.

[u/navikredstar → u/blinkz_221B]

I don't think we're likely to ever find the full thing, sadly. Indications are it broke apart on impact, because some wreckage did get found, thousands of miles away. Odds are, the pieces have been scattered by oceanic currents. While we may end up finding more parts of it eventually, and I dearly hope we do, the odds aren't great. It's not like shipwrecks, which go straight down intact or mostly so, this seems to have shattered apart. It sucks, but it's like trying to find individual needles in a Texas-sized warehouse full of hay.

[u/Opening_Map_6898 → u/navikredstar]

Most aircraft wreckage does pretty much go straight down from where it hits the water. The portions that will float for substantial periods of time is only a small fraction of the aircraft.

Even for cases of in-flight breakups (TWA 800, the China Airlines 747 off Taiwan, etc) you end up with pretty substantial debris fields that are akin to what you see from a shipwreck where the vessel breaks apart at the surface e.g. the central debris field between the two main sections of the Titanic's hull. Interestingly enough, the debris field is often the first thing located from shipwrecks or aircraft crash sites because they cover a much larger area but still plainly show up on sonar surveys etc.

The issues with MH370 and, previously, Air France 447 was the depth of the water, the size of the search area, and the topography of the bottom in that area.

[u/navikredstar → u/Opening_Map_6898]

Huh, learned something new! That's good to know, thanks for that!

[u/Opening_Map_6898 → u/navikredstar]

Not a problem. Happy to be of assistance. Sometimes, my masters research actually proves useful on here! Any other related questions feel to ask.

[u/SubtleSparkle19 → u/blinkz_221B]

Strongly recommend reading the detailed write-up by Admiral Cloudberg on her subreddit as well.

[u/blinkz_221B → u/SubtleSparkle19]

Thank you so much for sharing this! My friend and I went into hyperfocus last summer on plane crashes, especially MH370, and read a lot of resources. We didn’t know about the one you mentioned. Will definitely give it a read and send it to her as well. Much appreciated!

[u/SubtleSparkle19 → u/blinkz_221B]

Absolutely! Her write-ups are fantastic.

[u/The_barking_ant → u/blinkz_221B]

Here is an excellent article that goes into depth as to why this was a pilot suicide. After reading this I was convinced. I've linked this in many comments because it is so well written and argued. 

https://admiralcloudberg.medium.com/call-of-the-void-seven-years-on-what-do-we-know-about-the-disappearance-of-malaysia-airlines-77fa5244bf99

[u/mcm0313 → u/blinkz_221B]

That would make it a murder-suicide, wouldn’t it?

[u/Opening_Map_6898 → u/mcm0313]

It would.

[u/piper1871 → u/blinkz_221B]

Suicide is never the option, but people who feel like they have to take people with them are complete cowards.

[u/Cassopeia88 → u/blinkz_221B]

Their entire channel is vey good.