June 13, 2009
Did The Doctor Kill The Doctor?
A 48 Hours Mystery Exclusive
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Play CBS Video Video Did The Doctor Kill The Doctor? Is Dr. Timothy Stryker a calculating murderer or an innocent man trying to clear his name? Richard Schlesinger reports.
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Video More From DA Gerry Leone Hear District Attorney Gerry Leone speak at the arraignment of Timothy Stryker and Richard Chambers.
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Video More From The Medical Examiner Medical examiner Dr. Stanton Kessler talks about the murder of Dr. Linda Goudey.
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Dr. Linda Goudey and Dr. Timothy Stryker (CBS)
But Goudey's friend Lisa said it wasn't just Lin's work that was burning her out: it was also Stryker, who Lisa says was controlling and self centered. "He was very rigid and very predictable in his lifestyle. He picked what time you ate, where you went, when you left, you know. He always controlled her totally. It was no changing him. It was that way or the highway."
Stryker says Goudey's friends and family have been making up things about him ever since she died. Asked if he's a flexible man, Stryker says, "I have to flexible to be available when a patient has chest pain, or to be available when somebody's traumatized."
What about in his personal life?
"I have to be flexible with my kids, with my wife, and you know, so again, this is a story they tried to tell," he says.
Whatever the cause, Goudey's friends believed she was getting ready to break up, even as she and Stryker were getting ready to go on that Caribbean vacation.
"She was fed up, I think, probably the rigid schedule and just, it was getting old. And she just couldn't handle it anymore," Lisa says.
Less than two weeks before that planned scuba vacation, the one Goudey had a premonition about, witnesses say they heard the couple arguing about whether to go on the trip. Colleagues remember Goudey was not herself later that evening. Her hair was messed up, she seemed upset, and one person saw her slamming medical charts around and stomping down this hospital hallway.
It was Sept. 30, 1993, the last time anyone has reported seeing her alive
"She was goin' Friday to get a massage. And on Saturday, she was goin' to her reunion. But she never made it," Lisa remembers.
Goudey was supposed to be out of town for the weekend, so her absence didn’t worry anyone for a few days. "I didn't really start to get concerned until Saturday night, because, you know, she would go a day without calling me. But, you know, to go two days without calling me didn't feel right," Stryker remembers.
And then, four days after she had last been seen at the hospital, Stryker got a phone call. Goudey had been found.
She was found facedown, wrapped in a blanket in the back of her car, parked in a remote corner of the hospital parking lot.
Lisa went to the scene and bumped into Stryker; he had his own theory about what happened. "I never will forget him coming over the hill, Tim. Gave this big hug and told me I didn't really know Lin, and that it was suicide, and she probably took her own life. I couldn't even respond to that, I was so upset at that point," she remembers.
But Stryker says Goudey had struggled with depression and talked about suicide. Just a few months before her body was found, he says Lin left him a note that said "I want to be dead."
But it took the medical examiner, Dr. Stanton Kessler, just moments to determine this was no suicide. "When I saw her in the back seat of the car, literally tucked in a very tightly wedged space, I said, 'Nobody can do that to themselves. Can’t even move their arms,'" he explains.
The location of the car, so far away from the hospital entrance told investigators something as well. "It just was out of character for her. She never would have parked there. You know, it was sort of away from everything," Lisa says.
There was no apparent sign of sexual assault. Her purse and its contents were still in the car. Kessler also thought it was odd that her shoes were so neatly placed on the floor by the front seat and she was barefoot. "The foot was clean. And it had rained and there's grease, grease marks, and dirt," Kessler says.
Asked what he thinks that proves, Kessler says, "Well, it tells me that, I think, somebody murdered her somewhere, probably somewhere else, and placed her in there as an afterthought."
And when Dr. Kessler did the autopsy, he discovered it was a particularly violent homicide. "She was grabbed by the neck…and strangled, suffocated."
The attack was so brutal, that Dr. Kessler found injuries at 24 separate places on her body.
"When she died, initially I was stunned. But, then after that for me it was just sadness," Stryker says.
He may have been stunned, he may have been sad, but police were still eager to talk to Stryker immediately after they discovered the body of his girlfriend. "I was actually called in to speak with a detective right there on the spot. And he asked me, you know, 'Who do you think could have killed her?'" he remembers.
Produced by Deborah Grau
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See all 28 CommentsWhich law school did you graduate from? Do not denigrate others who disagree with you. I assure you I have probably three more degrees than you, but you are welcome to your deluded opinion. You belong with the jurors on the OJ trial who did not have a clue.
Nothing a good waterboarding session wouldn't cure though.
Carry on ....................
Dr. Stryker is a pschopath. His non-chalant demeaner and soft spoken voice is only a cover for his inner demons. Now in prison for perjury, perhaps the police and investigators will find enough evidence to put him away for murdering his girlfriend. How stupid can someone be to lie and make up a story about someone else committing the murder years later. He lied to everyone on tv about this. No evidence found clearly shows how a doctor knew what he was doing; he used surgical gloves to choke her. When someone says they don't want to go on a vacation, get the clue doctor. You can't force anyone to do what you want. With no more control left over her, he kills her and goes off on a vacation by himself anyway. This is what psychopaths are all about; no feelings or remorse for their actions. Did you see him cry on tv at all? Did you see him get mad and determined to find the "real" killer? No, instead we had to listen to his soft, calculating voice and listen to his lies. See how he turns things around during the interview; I didn't say that, they must have said it differently. Even a doctor can make stupid mistakes. But this guy won't be able to lie himself out of this one.
CSI-lover
In response to an earlier comment about what kind of person would ask at a strangers car for a condom, a drunk and lusty 18 year old would.
The scenario is that of a high strung male, very controlling, who has to deal with a headstrong female. Initially, he may be in control, with his partner infatuated. But when that wears off, and his power over the other person dwindles, he may lash out in a violent and tragic way.
A few notes on forensics. When Dr. Stryker was apprehended, did the police look for marks on his hands or body indicating a struggle during the strangulation? Were there any drugs in the victim's system (such as an anethesic or something to keep her from struggling)?
There was no mention of relationships the woman may have had outside their relationship. That is the kind of trigger that would set off the male in a violent way.
Also, I didn't hear about Stryker's 'alibi'. Where was he on the night of the murder? Any witnesses?
Where did the carpet or material that the body was wrapped in come from? Was it something from Stryker's apartment as well..or something that could have been traced with recipients, or found in a local store?
I thought that the real tragedy may have been the chemistry between two headstrong "beaultiful people"...however, they mentioned that Stryker had a history of violence towards his partners.
Thank GOD family was persistent and won their civil case, if not he might have actually gotten away with it.
What a snake, just like OJ Simpson!! He had not one once of remorse and neither does this killer!! Nor any intention of paying the family one cent of his judgement. Lucky for the family his greed got the best of him and now he will go to jail! GREED IS EXPENSIVE!! I hope now that he was caught with his pants down, the prosecutor can put a solid case againest him for the murder. It's pretty obvious he killed her.
Did anyone notice how emotional his wife suddenly got when the lawyer was describing how Striker choked the life out of his girlfriend. That lawyer was great!! he was so descriptive and made it so real, that it woke up his wife to the REALITY that he did killed her, that was what made her so emotional and forced her into a emotional breakdown.. Finally she got her head out of the sand!! Now after he lost and won't have any money and of course getting caught trying to conspire and con his way out of paying, is pretty difficult for her to try sugar coat. finally she is divorcing him. WOW, she sure needed a bat to wake her up, jeeze woman..
He is a liar and of course he murdered his girlfriend. obviously he lost is cool and strangled her. who else would want to? he is a true sociopath, he has the emotion of a fish. Finally he getting his just deserve. I was glad to see he lost his medical license, what a hideous person and too bad his second wife had children with him, she must be one very desperate stupid woman, but it's difficult to put your hed in the sand when the truth i blaring right at you, talk about denial. she is just lucky she did't **** him off..
This physician reminded me of Hill.
He won me over. I didn''t think he killed his wife. That is until the end of 48 Hrs. How stupid of him to even think of hiring anyone to lie for him. It shows how manipulative he really is.
His new wife is as blind as a bat too. Who knows what kind of Love it is huh?
And like who is going to believe that?
Who is going to walk up to some strangers car and ask for a condom???
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