Maura Murray’s father is calling a recent newspaper report about his daughter’s disappearance a “whitewash” and “pure fiction.” The report, published Feb. 13 in the Journal Opinion of New Hampshire and entitled “Police Defend Procedure in Murray case,” does appear to contradict some established facts of the case.

Maura Murray, a 21-year-old nursing student from Hanson, left her UMass Amherst campus on Feb. 9, 2004, and started driving north toward New Hampshire.  Somewhere in the town of Haverhill, near the New Hampshire/Vermont border.  She ran her car off the road and into a snow bank.  Although she appeared unharmed, according to an eyewitness, by the time police arrived she has disappeared.  She has not been seen since.

Haverhill Police Chief Jeff Williams states in the article that an eyewitness to the crash described Murray as unable to stand on her own and slurring her speech.  Williams also quotes the eyewitness as saying Murray “begged me not to call police.”

In the Haverhill police’s initial press release, a few days after the crash, they describe “witnesses at the scene” who reported a single female “impaired due to alcohol consumption.”

In the days that followed, it became apparent that the only eyewitness to the crash was Butch Atwood, a local school bus driver who lives about 100 feet away from where Murray crashed.  Atwood has denied saying he believe Murray was intoxicated, to several media outlets as well as the Express when he was contacted for last summer’s “Maura Murray is Missing” series.{sidebar id=1}

Atwood said Murray was having difficulty getting out of the car because the door was stuck against a snow bank.  When he asked if she wanted him to call police, Murray said not to bother, as she had already called AAA.  Although Atwood doubted she could have gotten through to AAA, he advised her to put on her hazard lights to avoid being struck by oncoming cars and walked the 100 feet or so back to his home.

This seems to contradict not only William’s account, but A N.H. State Police “synopsis” released by Lt. John Scarinza four months later: “When the passerby stated that he was going to call local law enforcement to come assist, Maura pleaded with him not to call police,” wrote Scarinza.

Fred Murray hasn’t denied the fact that Maura might have been drinking, but says he doesn’t understand why police keep coming back to that initial eyewitness account.

“They’re painting the picture of her overdrinking to a vast amount,” he said.  “That one really bothers me … They’re blaming the victim.”

Williams also says, in the Journal Opinion article, that he contacted the FBI “early on” in the investigation, and that the FBI, his department, and the New Hampshire State Police met in Keene to discuss the case.  Fred Murray disputes this.

“This is the first I’ve heard of [any meeting], and I don’t believe it,” he said.  “I’ve been screaming for the FBI from day one.”

Murray said an FBI agent did come to Hanson to talk to some of Maura’s high school friends, but that was only after the family asked directly.

A Boston Globe report published Feb. 20, 2004, states that Boston-based FBI agents were assisting on the case “at the urging of Murray’s father, Fred.”  Other newspaper reports cite Lt. Scarinza as saying the FBI was being asked to help with background checks and family interviews.{sidebar id=2}

Additionally, an editorial from a local TV news station, dated June 18, 2004, refers to a conference between the FBI, New Hampshire and Vermont State Police in the city of St. Albans, Vt., in early June.  That meeting was to discuss Maura Murray as well as Brianna Maitland, another missing young woman.  However, FBI officials in Vermont later said they could not confirm that they were actively involved in the Maura Murray investigation, according to a report in the Caledonian-Record.

Messages left with Chief Williams and Lt. Robert Thrasher of the UMass campus police were not returned as of press time.

Fred Murray also disputes a statement by Williams that they left several messages for him after the crash.

“The truth is, I got one message and it was 3:26 the following day,” he said.

Also in the article, Haverhill officer Cecil Smith says Murray told him Maura was “depressed” over a previous accident and that he hoped she wasn’t “doing the old squaw walk,” a euphemism for suicide.  Murray denies saying his daughter was depressed and claims the squaw comment was taken out of context.

“I’ve got insurance, she knows it,” he said of a Hadley, MA accident on Feb. 7 where Maura crashed his car.  “I wasn’t upset.”

Murray called the article a “whitewash” and believes the police are simply covering their tracks.  He pointed out the paper made no attempts to contact him for his side of the story.

“The publicity is getting worse,” he said.  “The public is starting to question whether or not they did what they were supposed to do.”