A Mind For Murder

Does A Beloved Professor Have A Mind For Murder?

(CBS)  "He could explain away everything that we would bring at him," says Woods.

Murray's right hand, which he appeared to be hiding during the interview, had small cuts. Both of his wrists were also bruised.

Murray vehemently denied killing Carmin, and it continued all night. But if Murray was guilty, he wasn't getting caught that night. At 6 a.m., Murray headed home. "I was upset with myself because I didn't push the right button or ask the right question, or go into the right direction to get him to confess," says Woods.

Murray talked so much that he was now the No. 1 suspect in the case, but police had nothing against him but a lot of talk. They waited for evidence from the crime scene and but nothing was found. "We never found any bloody clothing. We never found the murder weapon. It just didn’t exist," says Woods.

Murray continued to teach and to raise Ciara over the following weeks and months. Danny Ross feared the murder would never be solved, though he was growing suspicious of the son-in-law he once loved.

Nearly one year after Carmin's brutal murder in November 2003, police still had not arrested anyone.

Then, in October 2004, detectives Woods, Pat Pollock and Lyle Hagenbush decided they would have to take a chance on a circumstantial case, and they arrested Murray, their No. 1 suspect.

Things were about to get tougher for the Rosses. Just three months before Murray's trial began, the district attorney in Lawrence was voted out of office, leaving this case in the hands of Angela Wilson, an assistant D.A. The trouble was she had never prosecuted a murder before.

Kansas has an unusual law that allows victims to pay for a special prosecutor to help the district attorney's office. So the Ross family hired Tom Bath to be part of the prosecution team.

Murray hired two of the Kansas' best criminal attorneys, Pedro Irogonegaray and Bob Eye, to take on his case.

[mntocogirl]

I am completely appalled by the first poster''s (jabailo) comments! First & foremost there is never any justification for taking another persons life! PERIOD! Second comparing a man''s violent actions to a bull or a tiger is about as ludicrous a comparison as you could find. We are not animals sir - we are humans & thus are expected to act in a far superior manner than we expect of a bull. Additionally this man was not being held captive in this marriage - if he felt it was so terrible & he was being treated so badly then stop being such a wimp - stand up for yourself - show some pride and walk away!

[nellybean3]

I honestly cannot believe the 2 post that I just read. Clearly you are blaming this woman for her own death. Everyone are responsible for their own actions. Just like you read that she met someone and started an affair, I am sure you read that AFTER she became pregnant, her husband started treating her like ***. She met someone else, fell in love and decided to divorce her husband. SHE MOVED ON! He needed to get over it. He was upset by the fact that he no longer had control over their relationship and her life. Since he did not want to have a baby and "THEY" got pregnant, he decided he lost control - so he gained control by treating her poorly. Once she gained power over that and decided to divorce him, he decided he now wanted something to do with their daughter - just to dig at her. When she decided not to move away to California but instead move 90 miles away, he was pissed by that. You guys don''t know what he did or why she felt that she needed to move away from him. As you know, she was no longer his spouse when she decided to move Lima in with her - which is her right and her choice. And I hardly feel the ex husband was so called "pushed over the edge" and killed her because he was investigating it on the computer. You guys don''t know how her behavior was to him nor his to her - you were not there. You simply read a typed summary which spanned in real life 18 years of marriage.

[graceesmom]

This is a sad case. I feel for the family and the child of the victim. I also feel for Murray in a way. People handle emotional distress differently. I mean it must be quite a blow for someone to tell their spouse that they will be moving out to live with another person and will be taking their child with them. But Carmins father says she would have never left Murray. Well she did. She didn''t go all the way to California but she did leave and with their daughter. You know the people suffering is the families. I guess some people get ruthless when the feel that they dont really know what to do. Murray could have probably gotten custody because there was another man she was involved with. I know that some states see it that way. I hope Ciara has a wonderful life even if it is without both of her parents. A shame that her father took her mothers life. Bless her heart.

[jabailo]

So, what we have here is another O.J.

A man driven to an insane rage...but why?

If a person goes in front of a bull and waves a red cape is it any wonder they get gored? If you taunt a tiger in its cage, and it comes after you -- who is to blame.

The family and the wife in this story were completely disingenuous. Clearly, the wife was selfish. Although he was the primary bread winner as she flitted through various "careers" he seemed to stick by her. She seemed to do what she wanted, when she wanted...and when she was done with him, she cast him aside, walked all over him and shoved a new lover in his face.

It doesn''t justify murder, by really, people have to take account of what drives other people. Her behavior was that of a person who was just as cold-blooded to him as he ended up being to her.