Thursday, October 15, 2009

The Murder Weapon



I like to walk and jog in a certain alley in my neighborhood. It's a narrow, non paved alley bordered by ancient, majestic trees. I like to stamp on the soft soil ( we have few rains and only in winter, so no mud most of the year); the tall trees make one feel a little dot in the universe and at the same time give a feeling of protection and security.

Sometimes, a retired gym teacher living nearby, trains her dog in this alley and once , something very unpleasant happened to me: the dog knocked me down while running to fetch a ball thrown by her in his direction. The woman panicked, dragged me into her house, cleaned my scratches, put some ointment, made me a cup of tea, hugged me. It was a miracle that I fell on my knees and not on my head ."You know how to fall" she said to me trying to cheer me up. Very funny. I told her she had to stop training the dog in the alley; it puts the occasional passers by in danger.


After the incident, she and her dog vanished from the alley for several months. When I saw her again , the other day, before I could even say Hello she asked me to come into her house promising to show me something very important that she didn't have the chance to show me at the time of my fall incident. It was a bundle consisting of two letters, a card and some newspapers. The letters were letters of Thanks and Appreciation for helping solve a crime- one leter was from the Mayor of the City, the other from the Chief of the Police Headquarters; the Thank You' card ,was originally attached to a bouquet of flowers that had been sent to her by the parents of the victim; the newspapers - local and national , related the story in detail ( I wouldn't have recognized her by the blurry picture in the newspapers).


And this is the story ( which at the time was very much on my mind) : Last year, a young female lawyer, mother of two small children was stabbed to death on the treshold of her house; the children were in the dining room eating supper and didn't catch sight of the murderer. The big question was, why would a woman with two small children in the house, open the door to a complete stranger. I suppose she looked through the door electronic eye, saw the innocent face of a teenager, and that made her open the door without any fear.

That's right; the murderer was a 16 year old high school pupil with no criminal or psychiatric record and no motive. It was a complete surprise for the Police which was busy investigating the lawyer's clients, the ex- husband and the possibility of some romantic connections. Well, this is where our retired gym teacher and her obedient dog came in. She found the murder weapon - a knife with traces of blood on it. It was the dog's wild barking near a deserted trash bin in a bush not far from her house that drew her to the spot. She lifted the lid , saw a red- stained knife , and went to call the Police. She actually did the job for them; without the murder weapon they would probably never have solved the crime as they were completely in the wrong direction.


Quite a woman! I only hope that by inviting me in to see the stuff, she just wanted to show off and not convey some indirect message that with her 'heroic background' she's the Queen of the alley and will do whatever she pleases there , including dog training.






60 comments:

  1. Greetings Duta,

    Oh, you do make me smile. Catching me off guard at the end. Interesting story, and you tell it so well. I believe we all love a murder mystery story, especially when it is a solved one.

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  2. Ditto the above comment, Duta. Your posts are always interesting and this one the same. But one wonders why the dog barked at the bin. Was it Divine Intervention?

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  3. Heeeheee! Duta, Queen of the Alley. I does look like an excellent place to take a walk or jog. I love your stories and pics. Another great one!

    Have a fantastic day void or alley bullies!

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  4. Ah yes, Duta! Now you must put up with the possibility of being knocked on your head or your bum so that the Alley Queen and her trusty sidekick, Super Dog, can continue to fight injustice!

    But all joking aside, what that lady and her dog did was wonderful. Murder is such a scary thing; our little town had one last year, a tragic story of a mother killing her own little 12 yr old daughter. We can never know what truly is in the heart of man, can we!

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  5. Duta,
    I think you should start a campaign to name the alley after the lady in her honor. Maybe have a permanent plaque installed and then she'll be ingratiated to you and let you get by the dog without any problems! Great story and picture. I'd like to take a walk there myself (in daylight).

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  6. Wow, what an adventure, Duta! Since the lady made sure you were okay after her dog run you over, I think she felt like you were an acquaintance and she wanted to share the good things that happen in the alley:)

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  7. My goodness! What a story. She really is a hero. I guess her dog training was for this purpose. I'm glad you weren't hurt in the accident.

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  8. Duta,

    I always find your posts so eclectic and interesting. Your alley is beautiful and I can certainly see why you love going there. The over active animal should be on a leash in such a public place. The owner sounds really interesting and seems sincere about her concern over your injuries. It did seem a bit strange that she would invite you back simply to show you her claim to fame. I hate to think of all the terrible things that happen in our beautiful world. So sorry for the loss of the mother to the two young children.

    Your writing is wonderful.

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  9. You have the most interesting stories! You seem to be randomly accosted by either very friendly or very UNfriendly people on a frequent basis. Makes for great blog fodder!

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  10. That was an interesting story. I've spent much of the day looking at the table settings of fellow bloggers. This was quite a change from the rest of my reading.

    Sue

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  11. What an interesting post. I am wondering if this lady, in spite of her and her dog being "famous", is not very lonely. Sounds a lot like a lonely person reaching out for friendship in spite of the initial mishap with her dog. Who knows?

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  12. Angelina,

    Exacly, we like a murder story when the murder is already a solved one.

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  13. Vera,

    There's always Divine Intervention. However, this dog was trained to do and feel all sorts of things.

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  14. Nezzy,

    Indeed I like the place and hope ,I'll not meet with any kind of disturbances there.
    Have a terrific day you too!

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  15. Sandy aka Doris the Great,

    I agree, the gym teacher did a wonderful job. and deserves thanks and appreciation for that. She's an example of good citizenship.

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  16. Lisa,

    That's not a bad idea, but I'm sure she can get any public recognition she wants(including a plaque with her name), without my help.

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  17. jeannete stgermain,

    You're right.She approached me as you would approach an aquaintance,wanted to talk to me and share the good things that happened to her afer helping the Police.

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  18. Wow DUTA what a tale. It is like something from a murder mystery off the tv. What a horrific crime. Very well told! As someone else has asked, how did the dog get pointed towards the bin with the Knife in it? Incredible.

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  19. Janie B.
    Yes, one can call her a heroine. I know I would have first fainted at the sight of the knife , and only after recovery call the police. She didn't lose any moment.

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  20. C Hummel Kornell a/k/a C Hummel Wilson,

    I completely agree with you on all the points in your comment: the dog, the owner, the terrible tragedy of the murdered woman who left behind two litle orphans.

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  21. The Bug,

    I think everyone stumbles on these categories of people: friendly and not friendly , has to deal with them, and sometimes write about them.
    Thanks for finding my stories interesting.

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  22. Sue(Someone's Mom),

    Thanks a lot Sue for your kind words. You've made my day.

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  23. A human kind of human,

    You've got a sharp eye; she's a divorced woman living alone in a big house with the dog as her best companion. I' m not sure ,though, she's a lonely woman, as she seems very extrovert and
    one that makes friends easily. Maybe you're right about her trying to reach out to me.

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  24. Rainy West,

    Hi and welcome to my blog! Thanks for your comment.
    As to your question about the dog, I honestly don't know the answer. All I know is that he's been trained to smell and do a lot of things.
    And maybe as Vera suggesed it's Divine Intervention.

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  25. Great story, Duta! I imagine the smell of human blood would cause any smart dog to sound an alarm. They really are our best friends and they very much want to look out for us.

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  26. That's a great story - I suspect that the woman wanted you to know that the dog wasn't a troublemaker, and that her pride was in him rather than herself. But at the same time, if she had been just trying to be 'Queen of the alley', she would have shown it to you earlier, to justify herself.

    Those poor, poor children - they will wonder all their lives if they could have saved their mother. Of course, if they had intervened, they would probably have been murdered too. A terrible thing to happen. Mad or bad, I trust that young man will be locked away for a very long time or forever,

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  27. Duta, you are so funny! LOL

    I think she is trying to tell you her dog is the Queen of the Alley! I love how you wrote about this...the title was so intriguing and the story, marvelous! You'd best be careful in the alley.

    Have a Happy Day, Duta :D

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  28. sign of the times I suppose. ..she does seem like quite the "character". ..thanks for posting.

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  29. My first impression is: because she felt horribly irresponsible regarding your fall- showing you her thank you's and letter from the mayor and so forth was her extending an olive branch; see? I'm not as irresponsible as you might think! I solved a murder!

    And yeah, Duta, she might have you. She does think she's the queen of the alley. She's kinda a big deal. lol

    My Boxer, Emerson, who I know for a fact to be a freak on a leash, only can play frisbee where he seems to get along with folks the best. The cemetery.

    Love your blog because I never know what you're going to write about. GREAT POST.

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  30. TallTchr,

    Thank you. You're so right about dogs!

    Here's a joke:
    If you want a year of happiness, take a wife
    If you want a life of happiness, take a dog

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  31. This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

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  32. Z,

    I think you're right about the woman's intention. And yes, poor children - what a tragedy!. As for the murderer I hope he wouldn't be released for "good behavior" in prison as it has become the trend.

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  33. TheChicGeek,

    Hi Kelly, Good to have you back. Thank you for your warm words of appreciation for my post.
    Have a Happy Day too!

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  34. Coralee,

    Yes, she's quite a character. She lives in a house which looks modest from outside but the interior resembles a palace: high ceilings , heavy paintings on white walls. She told me she comes from a poor family but has divorced a rich husband.

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  35. Entrepreneur Chick,

    I like your idea with the olive branch. It seems you've got great ideas not only in the business field!

    Thanks for liking my blog and this post.

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  36. This comment has been removed by the author.

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  37. That was a good story. I enjoyed it! :)

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  38. Cindy,

    Thank you. I'm glad you did. Hope you'll enjoy again some more stories.

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  39. The good, the bad things happened on this story...interesting story...

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  40. nomore,

    Indeed, it's a story of both good things and bad things. Let's hope only for good things to happen to us in life.

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  41. Hi Duta,

    There's a blog award for you on my blogsite (Over the Top award) as well as a little "get to know you" post. I'd love to have you take part. I love your blog.

    Regards, Sandy aka Doris the Great

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  42. Hello Duta, thanks for stopping at my blog and signing in.
    I just scrolled through your characterful places and saw that you where in Salzburg.
    Awwww, isn´t it lovely?
    I lived there when I was a child. I went to elementary-school there and of cause we learned everything about Wolfgang Amadeus and his family.
    He was nothing less but a genius!!!
    Have a great week
    Janine

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  43. What an interesting story Duta! A bit scary though. I'm not sure I would continue going to this woman's house, but I'm glad that this person that killed the poor woman was found.

    Thanks for stopping by and for your kind comments as always.

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  44. Sandy aka Doris the Great,

    Thanks for the honour, Sandy. The award is lovely, and so is your blog.

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  45. Janine,

    How interesting! So you lived in Salzburg and absorbed the Mozartian atmosphere. Lucky you!
    Thanks for visiting my blog. Have a great week too!

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  46. Alicia,

    The story is indeed a bit scary because of he murder issue; the woman herself is not scarry, but not my type either, so I try to keep away from her.
    It's always a pleasure to visit your lovely blog.

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  47. What a story! The most challenging story I read. This woman treated you verry nice and she didn't wanted you to be browned-off after that fortuity. Her dog it is a hero but she did not tell from the start. This is about education, about mentality, things that in Romania today you see rarely. All my admiration!

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  48. Bianca Popa,

    Thank you Bianca. Multumesc pentru frumoasele cuvinte. Coming from you(according to your profile you're a journalist)your kind words are a great compliment. I feel honored.

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  49. Being a dog lover, I can only think that she wanted to impart that her dog was really nice dog and the accidental upturn of you was just one in a million. Have a good day. Peace

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  50. Yes. Is true. I work as a reporter in a local television from Brasov, TVS. I work in the press since 1997. In 2005 I choosed to move in television. It is an absorbing occupation.
    I like to discover new people and to share thoughts. Nu sunt expertă în engleză, undeva la nivel mediu, dar mă străduiesc. Toate cele bune!

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  51. Lady Di Tn,
    As a dog lover you probably feel the right thing about the dog and its owner. Thanks for stopping by, and have a terrific week! Peace.

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  52. Bianca Popa,

    You did the right thing - moving from the written press to TV. I'm sure your work at TVS is indeed absorbing and interesting. Mult Succes!

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  53. I think she may have shown you to sort of redeem her dog. "He's a brat, but a crime solver also!" She did a very important thing and in such a tragic situation, at least the victim's family will know that murderer was apprehended. Small comfort, of course, but sadly one of the few ones left to them. Poor soul, I hope she didn't suffer much.

    It's an interesting alley. It looks a good spot to wander and think at the same time. It almost looks like something out of a dream, doesn't it? Just the view up the alley, it's the sort of imagery that shows up in dreams.

    Hopefully she'll keep Bozo, the Crime Solving Dog on the lead in the future! She sounds a little odd, but with a good heart.

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  54. Land of Shimp,

    The alley is a lovely spot; it's not isolated, and yet, since people prefer to walk on the parallel paved little street, it's empty most of the time.People do their walking & jogging in the parks , but I prefer it here.

    Indeed the dog is a "crime solver" and the owner a woman with a good heart.

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  55. This may sound very strange Duta, but your life makes me want to go outside and absolutely LIVE!! It feels strange to think this way on the heels of this story about these very unusual and SAD circumstances. This is an interesting post indeed. You live the MOST fascinating life. I am always intrigued by your experiences and I wish my own life to be so FULL of interest and experiences too. My runs and trails are definately NOT marked with such compelling stories.

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  56. Jennifer,

    Believe me, there is nothing fascinating about my life; it's just an ordinary life . I think everyone experiences now and then things of interest, or finds himself in strange circumstances.
    I admire you for your willpower and think you'll reach the top with your running.

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  57. I wish we lived near each other so we could take our walks together, Duta. I think that we would always have something interesting to ponder during our walks! I haven't been on here very often at all lately, so it's always nice to catch up with what you're writing. Very interesting story - my walks have been pretty mundane compared to yours!

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  58. Bica,

    Very nice of you to wish us take our walks together. Thank you for your kind words.

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  59. What a chilling story! I am still not fond of big dogs but in that case he is a clever boy. Thank you for finding me. Your Blog is fascinating. xx

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  60. Josephine Tale Peddler,

    Welcome!
    Sorry, I've just now seen your comment.
    Thanks for visiting and for your kind words.

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