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The Curious Case Of Col. Shue

April 19, 2009 11:26 AM

In Full: An Air Force colonel is killed in a car accident, but his death gives rise to questions and controversy about the bizarre circumstances surrounding the crash. Troy Roberts reports.

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by maryisadetective September 19, 2009 7:44 PM EDT
didn't the 1st wife know it would look obvious that is was her to use lidocaine and cut off his nipples when she killed him? what a dumb mistake. but, typical.
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by skepticalJM September 9, 2009 11:40 PM EDT
I think that if you read the report you find the key to this case in the fact that this man actually predicted exactly the way he would die in a "disassociate dream" he had sometime before. Now unless you believe in clairvoyance, there is only one explanation: he made it happen!
He may not have expected to die from it, but then things went very wrong. His motive was to get his first wife to give up the policy on him. He was somewhat paranoid about this, and this drove him to this bizarre plot. This explains the lidocain (as local anesthesia), which never would be expected in torture. Also the duct tape didn't look right, it was just wrapped around his wrists and legs not really binding them to anything or each other. This is bizarre, but I believe he wanted it to look that way.
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by 48hrzfanz July 26, 2009 2:33 AM EDT
The County doesn't want the death certificate changed from suicide to homicide because they were wrong in the first place. The military is wrong too big time. The state police make me sick. They always fight over jurisdiction. I blame them for messing up a possible crime scene and the truth.
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by true_or_not July 24, 2009 5:43 AM EDT
First of all wow! This is a story like no other. The sad part is that we will NEVER know what really happened. The 1st wife of course is looking pretty guity. Or is that what the milatary want us to think. I thought our armed services would do anything to protect their fellow soldier. Not in this case. They seem to be the ones that ran the show AFTER everything from the scene was compromised. "They" were quick to say that it was a suicide. Col Shue might have known too much or something. To many things. The military's first investagator to the scene "let" the sherif dept. take over the scene or thats what he needed to do to protect himself. Ask yourself's this? IF you herd someone say they wanted to kill someone else and that someone came up dead...wouldn't you come forward and tell the police. Funny nobody did. Please don't get me wrong. I love and support our troops! But remember they DO know how to torcher a person.
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by Lorrye May 8, 2009 7:39 PM EDT
Lorri12, I 'm getting really upset with your comments!!!!!!! It's people like YOU that allow evil murderers get away with their evil deeds!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I'm sure Nancy and Donny would PAY you to be on their jury, if they EVER had one!!!!
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by Lorrye May 8, 2009 7:34 PM EDT
Nancy Shue and her new hubby are guilty as sin!!! She took the 5th over 20 times!! She refused to give up her HUGE life insurance policy on Col Shue. She's guilty and EVIL..........

Anyone who thinks Col Shue killed himself is NUTS!! The duct tape, the horrific wounds, this is evil. It is NOT suicide. He was driving irratically due to severe shock, pain, perhaps barely conscious. The doc who ruled this as suicide doesn't know beans about what state of mind or consciousness someone would be in........

It just sickens me to see such blatantly evil people as Nancy Shue & her current hubby, Don get away with this!! Just sickening and disgusting!!!
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by j88833 May 7, 2009 3:27 PM EDT
this guys 2nd wife is to be commended on her drive to solve this case. ....although just getting a judge to say this was a homicide isn't good enough, she needs to make sure this 1st sickening excuse for a woman ends up in prison for life. everyone already knows this is a murder, if they have an iq over 75. the other thing that bothers me immensely is the fact that his 2nd wife dropped the 1st wife from the law suit. there's no reasonable excuse for that ignorant choice. i mean if she can't get her in prison she at least has to stick it to her where it would hurt the most, in her pocket book.....then the whole reason she murdered him wouldn't even exist as the 1st wife would collect any money the 2nd wife ever got from the insurance company. i also can't understand why the 2nd wife elected to have a judge decide the matter, a jury would have been much more apt to punish the insurance company....either this woman is unbeleivably stupid or is in on it herself, why else wouldn't she go after the 1st wife?
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by j88833 May 7, 2009 3:14 PM EDT
lorri 12 you forgot one pretty huge issue implicating the first wife in the murder, and that would be her pleading the 5th about 18 times. did you just forget that little tidbit or are u insane? i love how you just conveniently left that out...and it is not coomon for an ex to keep insurance policies on their former spouses, that's ridiculous to even insinuate...what the hell are you on? seems like all this show did is give you ideas to murder your own spouse. your comments are hideous and unbeleivably illogical.
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by mauiswift May 3, 2009 6:08 PM EDT
I cannot believe they did not investigate this matter as a homicide. I find it hard to believe this man would commit suicide, it is the oldest one in the book, insurance money for someones death.
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by Col-AFNC April 30, 2009 4:16 PM EDT
Lorri12, I do hope this case is investigated....those that did this crime to Col Shue need to be brought to justice...., that is what his current wife is hoping for. She makes that very clear in her interview. I have been trained in Post Tramatic Stress vs. Depression. Col Shue didn't do this to himself...it was clearly done to him. Maybe one day we will know who did it, and who orchestrated it.
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by Lorri12 April 29, 2009 5:07 PM EDT
Col AFNC,,,you have really put alot of your personal feelings into your response...this case has really gotten to me also, but since I do not know any of these people I believe they all have more to tell then what this show gave us, I couldnt tell you what happened to the Col, I have no idea why the first wife plead the 5th, I also dont know why the 2nd wife dropped the first wife from the suit and chose to go after the insurance company, I also dont know if he was depressed and suffering from PTSD...and yes to the question you posed......married 24 years to a soldier. You dont know what happened anymore than we do.....wouldnt it be nice for the investigators to start investigating.......This case should be re-opened...
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by Col-AFNC April 29, 2009 3:21 PM EDT
Lots of "What if's?" So how can the case be closed? You don't know if there was an affair. We don't even know if the son was really his. In short, the most leading forensic examiner in the nation (if not world) determines this case a homocide by examining the way a digit, ear lobe and nipples...etc. were incised. Come on....there are other ways to stage abduction and torture without going to those lengths..... Are you a friend of Nancy Shue's? Just asking, no response necessary.
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by Guesshu April 28, 2009 12:38 AM EDT
What if the 2nd wife caused the divorce with the 1st wife by having an affair while still married. 1st wife had the policy because they had a child together. 2nd wife can't stand the idea of the 1st wife having the policy and sets up the phony threat letter in an attempt to get the policy cancelled.That backfires so Col. Shue tries to stage an abduction and tourture and dies in the attempt.That is considered a suicide in Texas. Case closed.
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by Col-AFNC April 27, 2009 10:47 PM EDT
Lorrie12, you can stop playing the Devil's Advocate...truly. I have read and re-read your comments. I appreciate your looking at all angles, but I have to say you have got it wrong in any implication of wife # 2. lori_ann123 is more in line with what makes sense. Why would wife # 2 be literally praying for an investigation to be opened if she did this? Lorrie12, you may or may not be married, but I am and I can tell you that if something this horrible happened to my husband, I would do everything to see justice is done to the fullest extent which would include finding out who was behind his abduction, torture and ultimate murder. And if during this, his death is ruled a suicide, I would do everything in my power to get that ruling overturned. Col Philip Shue did not commit suicide. It is very common for a married couple to each have a life insurance policy with the other spouse as beneficiary, however it is not common for an ex-wife to have one on her ex-husband. Yes, this was a very unusual case and Col Shue agreed to it upon their divorce as part of the settlement. Now threatening letters arrive and he tries to cancel the policy his ex-wife had on him and is unsuccessful. If I were Tracy Shue, I would have done exactly what she did and go after USAA. Who knows? If they had cancelled the policy maybe he would still be alive today as the ex-wife would have nothing to gain. If the ex-wife was innocent, why in the world would she take the 5th? And you think Tracy Shue looks greedy? I totally disagree. She looks like a woman still in shock over what happened to the man she obviously adored and he did like-wise.
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by Lorri12 April 27, 2009 11:51 AM EDT
Only playing devil's advocate I promise..... I only say this for the sake of "why would 2nd wife keep the investigation going?" I have no idea other than she would get the benefits from the policies from the first wife...if she can show the first wife is implicated in the husbands murder. I guess its hard for me to understand why everyone see's the first wife had a motive of money from the life insurance but nobody seems to look at the 2nd wife and she was in line to get the lion's share...how come that isnt even a bigger motive? Remember....they have nothing implicating the first wife except for one anonymous letter and the 2nd wifes carefully veiled accusations and stories about her from the dead husband....lets not forget that this was made to look like he was tortured in a sexual nature (and they just happen to mention that 1st wife studied S/M...but nobody has said that the 1st wife nor the husband practiced it.) So why even go there? I just really hope that they re-open this case and investigate all angles. It could be anybody at this point., the first wife takes the 5th 20 times, heck even wife number 2 if not guilty, looks really greedy...the investigators still believe it to be suicide...
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by lori_ann123 April 26, 2009 1:51 PM EDT
I don't know that taking the fifth and refusing polygraph incriminates one but it sure does nothing in the person's favor if they are innocent. To the poster that suggests it's the second wife... I entertained that for a few minutes before reading the comments, but think about it. If she had something to do with it why would she pursue them opening the case and claiming it a homicide when they found it a suicide, and take the chance of being caught. It just doesn't make sense.

I do have to question why the military and civilian investigators were so quick to make it a suicide without investigation... is there more to the story that even the second wife doesn't know? Perhaps he knew something, found something out that he couldn't share with anyone for fear that person would also become endangered?

So, the first wife is a possibility, but so is a numerous other situations that we do not know about.
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by Lorri12 April 25, 2009 8:52 AM EDT
so many scenarios..... Did he kill himself...the dr that treated him said he was responding to treatment....dont people that finally make the decision to kill himself feel calmer...maybe look like they are responding to treatment?
If money is a motive....the 2nd wife got like 2 mill and was trying to get what was left to the first wife....(she was married to him for 20 years!! Its not uncommon for the ex to keep the policies) and nobody has said that there is anything that points towards the 1st wife accept the letter and the 2nd wife.....the unsigned letters from a "friend" ...he and the 2nd wife are the only ones that know about them, has anyone seen more than the one? or the envelopes they arrived in?. The 1st wife did write him back saying she wasnt involved and never has been. And why would the 1st wife plead the 5th? i can only think that just having the policies in her name and knowing that he had accused her of trying to kill him was motive.....what else could she do? IF they wanted to know what happened they wouldve figured out a way to offer her some kind of immunity so that she would have to testify....I do hope they re-open this...or if this is the way it has to be..... I truly hope they have enough information (that we do not know about)....to keep it ruled a suicide.
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by Lorri12 April 25, 2009 7:23 AM EDT
oh and another thought....2nd wife was a veteran nurse.....lidocaine....excised nipples...like she hasnt seen blood and gore before? 1st wife was a sex therapist....did she study sado/mas. or did she practice it? 2nd wife made sure to point out that the 48 hours interviewer was the first one to ask the question on if the Col practiced sado/mas, (not really sure why that matters, did anyone think this was about rough sex?...I thought everyone was saying "torture")......yet he was married to the 1st wife for 20 years..... if she was that into it...c'mon....you believe he wasnt and she was?
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by Lorri12 April 25, 2009 7:03 AM EDT
It's called the "Slayer Statute."

Article 21.23 Forfeiture of Beneficiary's Rights

The interest of the beneficiary in a life insurance policy or contract hereto or hereafter shall be forfeited when the beneficiary is the principal or an accomplice in willfully bringing about the death of the insured. When such is the case, the nearest relative of the insured shall receive said insurance.

All 2nd wife had to do was show that the first wife was involved and she would've gotten that money too...........
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by Lorri12 April 25, 2009 6:31 AM EDT
....what if its the 2nd wife? she is the one that got the most money out of this and was trying to get more (l looked into the USAA suit she had, she was trying to get the money from the first wifes policy, not just stop the payment to the first wife under a Texas statute) ...if you are looking for a money motive that is. Maybe she didnt want to move to Alabama.....What do we know about her? accept for what she and her own best friend say about her.....why did he keep driving past all the home exits? did the investigators look into her? isnt it the spouse that is the first person of interest? she was the last one to see him alive... and unless the first wife is the stupidest woman on the face of the earth...why .want to kill him after all this time....knowing she would be one of the first ones looked at because of the insurance policies?
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