Though I like watching these crime TV shows they so often leave me wanting to ask further questions. They are put together by infotainment crews who only present interviews, background information and evidence they deem to be relevant. As such I feel I have only limited information on which to base my own decisions and opinions.
Bearing this in mind I shall now discuss my opinions and questions raised by the info presented in the show.
Firstly this show never seemed to present what may be a motive for him murdering her and personally I'd be interested to see what he would gain from her murder. To determine a charge such as first degree murder surely motive needs to be more clearly exhibited?
Whilst their marriage had apparently been unhappy for what seems to be quite a while, before deciding him guilty I would want to know about the past history of their marriage. Things I would like to know include info that would help me decide if he was abusive. Nothing I saw in this show managed to convince me of that.
Though women are often murdered by their spouses there is invariably a history of some form of abuse.
It appears he had some serious financial problems, perhaps precipitated by a gambling habit and his career also seemed to be in tatters. As no mention was made of her occupation or assets and they appeared that they must have once had a pretty reasonable income can I assume that he earned well for a number of years?
He had been in rehabilitation for a few months preceding her death; to me this may suggest a deliberate effort on his part to address his problems and I think it highly likely that he was extremely motivated to save or salvage his marriage and family life.
I also wonder why his mother in law appeared to hate him so much. Is there information here that the show did not present to us that may have been able to give us further clues into the background of the Unger's marriage and/or lifestyle?
Whilst it is apparent from the show that they felt convinced he was guilty I would still have liked to have heard more from them. Their reasons from quickly taking custody of the children, not wanting them to see or have anything to do with him I would like to probe further. They may well have come to an unsubstantiated conclusion but nonetheless I would have liked to know more about what they knew about the day to day dynamics and running of the Unger family.
For instance did he isolate her or the children socially or financially? What kind of complaints did she make about their marriage to her close friends? Was he a very jealous man who always kept 'tabs' on her?
I'd like to see a day when all murder investigations undergo a particular set of valid questions relating to the dynamics of interpersonal relationships in the weighing up of evidence; where the history of pertinent and important relationships that may also include childhood circumstances and relationships are weighed up to compile possible behavioral profiles that may indicate the likelihood of crimes such as murder.
In the absence of any such information being presented in this show I find it possible that Mark Unger may well be innocent.
Whilst it seems likely that he suffered depression should this be enough to convict him?
Is there evidence of physical and emotional abuse within the marriage?
I think it highly unlikely that a man without a history of some form of physical abuse would murder his wife. Did Florence confess to anyone close to her that he ever hit her?
If it is true that the show asked such questions and got no answers from anyone in the affirmative then I would take this as another possibility that Mark may be innocent.
Much emphasis also seems to be placed on the emotional reactions of possible suspects to the 'discovery' of the crime and I am unsure just how valid judgments made by police or people close to the suspect really are.
Just about invariably with perpetrators of violent crimes there are many family members who simply cannot relate to the fact that their dearly beloved ******* can or did commit such a horrid act. Why it is that they cannot comprehend is, I believe a complex issue that has a very good dose of denial in the equation too.
For instance I have seen many violent offenders, most usually in the remand section of the prison who admit to me their guilt whilst also telling me many of the gruesome details. I often happen to be also dealing with their family in some way and witness first-hand the inability of a good percentage of their loved ones to comprehend the possibility of the offender's guilt.
And men who have recently murdered their girlfriends or wives are very often really cut up and can be extremely emotional. On some level it is like they are able to externalize their own guilt and be as upset and angry about the murder as anyone else could also be. Like a kind of schizo split I guess.
I so often hear people say something like, "they are so emotional one minute then cool the next" as if this is evidence of guilt and an ability to 'fake it'. Like as is normal in the grief processes suspects and those who are guilty too can flip in and out of different stages and levels of acceptance, denial, anger etc. They get angry with themselves yet can make it appear to others that they are angry with whoever murdered them; like denying that they know or understand they committed the crime themselves.
Invariably offenders I have seen who have murdered someone close to them are very upset and need to grieve. They also miss that person who invariably they loved a great deal; in fact it is often a dysfunction of the primary love relationship that drives them to the murder.
So I can quite often dismiss remarks made by close family members and friends about the possible guilt or innocence of their loved one or friend.
Jealousy in the form of not wanting their loved one to leave them or be loved by someone else is a powerful precursor to an unplanned murder that usually results because of a heated argument.
The fact that Florence was having an affair may indicate to me the greater possibility of the guilt of her husband; but as pointed out before I need to know more about the dynamics of their marriage before I personally would condemn this man.
There didn't appear to be any really convincing forensic evidence presented in the show either. I found all the info about the railing, the paint on Mark's shoes, the location of the remains of a pool of blood and the position of the body somewhat inconclusive too.
There even appeared to be confusion re the cause of death. Did Florence drown or die before hitting the water?
What does seem extremely likely is that she somehow fell from the deck onto the landing below where she stayed for long enough for a large pool of blood to accumulate. I have drawn no conclusions as to how I think she got from being on the deck to being in the water; though I think it unlikely that she rolled over more than once (bouncing). Who knows I could be wrong on this.
The most logical thing to me seems to be that she was lifted off the deck after she had bled out and was later thrown into the water below. This could indicate the actions of a distraught and panicky perpetrator.
I doubt that Mark Unger is guilty of first degree murder. First degree murder infers premeditation and planning with somewhat careful execution which I believe is rare in domestic murders; though he could be guilty of a lesser charge.
There was some mention also made about him having packed up the car. Comments made by his neighbour and friend seemed plausible to me hence I do not put much stock in this either.
I am unsure also what to make of Florence's fear of the dark. Also the fact that Mark slept through the night before reporting his wife missing or lost is somewhat condemning though it is stated that they had slept separately for a long time. It feels that something is not quite right though about this although at this point I am unable to quantify this further.
In fact it does seem possible to me that he could well have murdered her in the dark by pushing her over the easily broken and rotten deck then left her there for an hour whilst she bled out before deciding to go pick her up and drop her into the sea below.
In this scenario it seems likely that he may have felt terrified and not knowing exactly what to do.
Then surely there would have been some trace blood on his clothes or shoes and no mention was made of blood on shoes.
Perhaps this particular Police Department were deficient somehow in their investigation and forensic techniques?
Also no mention was made about the state of her clothing either; was it ripped or torn? Was there evidence of a scuttle? And if there was how heated may it have been?
Being that I am not in the USA this TV Primetime episode was my first exposure to this case. Perhaps there is further info about this case that could help me go either way? Perhaps some of you may like to let me know or persuade me one way or the other.
So; did Florence fall or was she pushed? Without further info either seems equally likely to me but I do feel that perhaps Mark Unger, if not innocent may be guilty of a lesser charge.
Published by Jaahda Jinnah
Jaahda Jinnah is a wise old crone who knows much about all sorts of things. Try me ! View profile
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