Some Similarities

[Edisto]

There's a recent murder case in the D. C. area that bears a passing resemblance to the Borden case. On October 6, Shohreh Seyed-Makki, 54, the matriarch of a wealthy Iranian-American family, failed to show up for a mid-day appointment with her husband, a prominent local doctor. Concerned when he was unable to reach his wife by telephone, Dr. Makki dispatched a family friend to the home to check on her. The friend found the front door of the palatial home unlocked and Ms. Seyed-Makki on the kitchen floor, breathing her last. An autopsy showed she had died of blunt-force trauma and strangulation.

Family members were questioned, and suspicion quickly fell on the 23-year-old son, Mark. Mark and his mother had had an ongoing dispute about his girlfriend of five years, whom his mother disliked. Mark told police he had spent the night of October 5 and the morning of October 6 with his girlfriend at her home. The girlfriend, however, denied that she and Mark had been together for that period. Examining Mark's clothing, the police found what appeared to be blood on his shoelaces. It was also learned that a large amount of cash was missing from the Seyed-Makki home. Mark was jailed without bond while DNA tests were performed on the bloody shoelaces.

The latest is that Mark Makki has been released on bond, because the DNA evidence from his shoelaces apparently didn't match his mother's blood. He remains charged with first-degree murder and robbery, however. Presumably the evidence against him includes a fresh and unexplained injury to his body, his girlfriend's failure to confirm his alibi, and an envelope found in the home, which police believe held cash that had been kept in the house for emergencies. Dr. Makki, his daughter and other family members have expressed confidence in Mark's innocence.

In this case, the man who found the body had been at the house earlier in the day to breakfast with Dr. Makki and his wife. After the doctor left for his office, Ms. Seyed-Makki and the friend went for a walk to discuss some modifications the Makkis were planning to make to the house. Returning from their walk, the pair found the front door of the house wide open. Ms. Seyed-Makki expressed no surprise, saying the door was often left unlocked. After he received the doctor's call, the friend drove back to the house and knocked on the door. Receiving no answer, he entered through the same unlocked front door. As soon as he found the body, he left the house immediately and called first 911 and then Dr. Makki. Apparently this man, unlike Lizzie, thought danger might still be lurking in the house.

I'm interested in how this case develops. The fact that the front door was found open earlier in the day raises the specter of an intruder. Also, the relationship between the wife and the familly friend sounds a little odd. (Why did he remain at the house with her after the doctor left for his office?) The son's girlfriend is another puzzle. Supposedly the son, when faced with the fact that she didn't corroborate his story, told the police she was using drugs. (That might explain why Mom didn't care for her.)

Ah, yes...the murder of a well-to-do parent; a child whose alibi is questionable at best; the possibility of an intruder; the outsider who breakfasted with the family on the morning of the murder; the girl whose mind may have been clouded by drugs...it all sounds so familiar...

[Kat]

I wonder if the story of the open front door was only from the mouth of the friend who was with the woman earlier, or if that was somehow corroborated?
Being alone with the victim in the house prior to her death, that person could make anything up- say anything- like Lizzie or Bridget, in their way.

It's so odd to try to imagine another scenario of a murder morning after already hearing one person's account of it.
If someone is telling tales, I can't figure out how they make that stuff up! I'd think it would take a born liar to get away with it- you know: a confident liar.
I doubt I could lie like that.

[Edisto]

The latest on this case is that the son has been released from police custody, although he remains a suspect. Apparently the "blood" (if it ws blood) on his shoelaces didn't match his mother's type, and body fluid of some kind that was found in the house didn't match the son. Earlier the newspapers had reported that an empty envelope found in the house was thought to have held money kept hidden for emergencies. Now it seems that the envelope was actually found either on the son's person or in his room. (Details of this crime are somewhat difficult to come by, it seems.)

I have a feeling we won't be hearing anything more about the son as a suspect. I wonder if the crime will ever be solved.