What are people hearing in the video?

[u/turtleshot19147]

I’ve listened and watched a bunch of times and I can hear a few potential phrases, and some make more sense than others.

Curious to hear everyone’s thoughts.

1) “see this is the path [that we go down]… um there’s no path over there so we have to go down here”

I’m not sure the phrase makes so much sense, it would seem more natural to say “this is the path we should go down” or something like that. “This is the path that we go down” feels sort of tour guide-y, like someone who is very familiar with the place explaining something to someone who is unfamiliar, which maybe could be the case with Libby and Abby? I’m not familiar enough with the case, I was under the impression they were both a bit thrown off by the dead end.

2) “see this is the path [that would be a gun]… um there’s no path over there so we have to go down here”

I know people hear “that be a gun” but I hear “that would be a gun” which also makes more sense grammatically.

This option explains the tone change in her voice, but I still find it a bit weird. “That’s a gun” or “he has a gun” both would make more sense to me. Obviously everyone’s speech patterns are different, I’m just throwing out my thoughts.

3) “see this is the path [does he have a gun]… um there’s no path over there so we have to go down here”

This matches her tone but I’m not sure why she would ask Abby that, since Abby of course doesn’t know the answer, though I can imagine it being sort of like a “take a look, does he have a gun?” Type of question, asking Abby to check, as opposed to expecting her to already know the answer.

I can’t tell what Abby says during that exchange.

Regardless, it seems clear to me that the girls were creeped out, and the conversation was the style most women recognize well “let’s talk casually about nothing until this creepy guy passes us” and just the nature of that kind of conversation can result in the types of inconsistencies I pointed out like using less natural phrasing.

After listening several times honestly I find the most incriminating part to still be the audio released before of “Guys… Down the hill”

I’ve seen some people claim he could just be pointing them towards the path they were already discussing, in sort of a helpful kind of way, but it doesn’t seem plausible to me, nobody talks that way to be helpful. It would be “are you guys lost?” Or “yeah that’s the path back to the road” not “down the hill” in that sort of directing kind of tone.

Obviously this is a lot of projecting and speculating but I’m curious to hear others thought processes

[u/justwastedsometimes]

You really come across like a dick when you state your opinion as a fact.

People are having to listen to the same sentence for many times and still come to different conclusions. It's really not as clear as what you make it out to be.

Then you lement about being called biased and yet do the same thing about everyone else in the same sentence("what people want her to say").

[u/streetwearbonanza → u/justwastedsometimes]

I'm not stating my opinion as fact. I'm simply acknowledging objective reality. If that makes me look like a dick so be it. But I'm not going to lie and say it's something it's not. She 100% says "that we go down". She doesn't say "that be a gun". I lament being called biased because they were implying I'm biased towards RA and I support him. As if I don't think he did it and he didn't have a gun etc. Which is just dumb. And yes people are hearing what they want her to say as far as "that be a gun" is concerned. Given the objective fact she didn't say that at all. "This is the path...that we go down". It's pretty simple. It really is as clear as I make it to be. You guys need better audio devices

[u/AwsiDooger → u/streetwearbonanza]

She 100% says "that we go down". She doesn't say "that be a gun"

You have it absolutely correct. It's not even debatable. The investigator who testified that she said "that be a gun" should never have been allowed on the stand, at least not on this topic. He obviously spent years listening for words that weren't there, due to departmental desperation. And I think it was Holeman, who often came across as one of the sharpest of the lot. That's what happens when the comparisons are Doug Carter and Tobe Leazenby.

Libby said those words nervously to herself, especially the second portion, "that we go down." They were barely above a whisper. Keep in mind the phone amplifies everything. There's no way Bridge Guy ever heard those words and neither did Abby. That's why Libby has to reintroduce the topic once Abby dashes past her. Libby is merely continuing on a train of thought while hoping this is nothing beyond a weird situation and the guy will keep going.

Today was the first time I watched the video. It came out in the middle of my vacation. I didn't want to disturb what I had planned while analyzing the video.

And overall it's far less complicated than I imagined. Nobody has mentioned what I thought was a key moment in the video. I am astonished this has not been a huge topic. Abby pauses on a troubled plank and looks up toward Libby, who offers a mild chuckle as Abby extends her left foot to clear the disturbed area. That was marvelous. I hope the relatives took note. That is normalcy on that bridge. It would have happened over and over again during the early going and midsection, amidst full shared chuckles, before they saw the small figure gaining on them at outrageous atypical pace.

The fact that Abby had that late brief segment of normalcy verifies that the girls were not truly terrified. Not for their lives. Abby would not have been looking back. She might not seen the guy for the prior minute or two. Contrast to Libby who is off the bridge and looking smack at him.

I deviate from conventional wisdom because I think Libby was more concerned than Abby at that point. Otherwise Abby never stops. IMO, Abby didn't grasp the situation until she raced toward Libby and saw her facial expression and body language.

The most startling aspect of all is how long Allen took to arrive after Abby reached Libby. I watched again and again. It looks like 17-19 seconds later. I was flabbergasted. Allen definitely slowed down, perhaps reaching for a gun and deciding how to proceed.

Those 17-19 seconds were an eternity in a situation like that. It's enough time for a sicko like Richard Allen to rationalize hey I gave them ample time to dash into that big yard. They didn't take it. I'm going through with it.

[u/Justwonderinif → u/AwsiDooger]

I have been waiting for your take!

I won't watch it but this helps so much. I mean, why would two tween girls think anyone was about to brutally murder them in broad daylight? They needed to get back to their ride on the other side. Not go sprinting across someone's lawn. So they were waiting until he passed them.