All Comments on 'A Circumstantial Case'

WELL WRITTEN AND ENJOYABLE STORY, ONLY SLIGHT GRUDGE WAS ITS PREDICTABILITY, JUST5*****.

one of the best stories wrtten in LW category on this site

i simply loved it

well written well thought out and i was immersed into the story like i was there

great job and thanks for not wimping out

I do not believe those commenters you made snarky remark about viewed the sentence as appropriate for the adultery.

Most certainly those feelings were generated by the insidious nature of their betrayal. A cherished wife and a lifelong best friend. The best friend pursued his wife as a demonstration of the complete disdain he had for Mark. Blake had acted in a similar manner years before and nothing happened except some angry words. Blake believed his bigger size cowed Mark into not acting.

My confusion is to why Mark did not completely sever ties with Blake after the high school incident. He had to know Blake continued to be a pussy hound, so allowing him constant access to his wife was beyond idiocy.

That stupidity is only surpassed by Lisa hoping for a reconciliation.

A couple of your fellow authors are irked by anons not indentifying themselves in some manner to facilitate dialogue. Sooooooo...adrees me as

sbrooks103b

Or

luedon2

Even though it was lengthy I hung on every word and surprisingly was able to follow it to its completion. Very well written. I would like to read this in book form. I think you have a book here that many people would enjoy reading. People dream about writing a book; but I think you have a great start to a very good book. Think about it, anyway.

blows his frame up to bits. Watered down blood would have shown up immediately in the tests. How many cameras would have caught him leaving the park? The 911 call was recorded and his fingerprints were in the phone booth. With the publicity, the motel people would have recognized the man that stayed with them. End of conviction. If he was stupid enough to send the letter I'm thinking the cops, already involved, question the lawyer, find the delivery service and start to watch hospitals for twins. Once they find the babies, Mark will be in custody, then in prison for the rest of his life with Bubba. WAY too many holes in this messy tale of attempted revenge. Some people would have tracked Mark down and killed him - slowly. Might make an interesting 2nd chapter of bloody revenge.

I just finished it at 5 in the morning.

I've read several of the famous Agatha Christie crime novels. This one by Jake60 is superior. Christie has too many scenarios that are simply laid on the reader that don't make sense.

Jake60 had knowledge of Crimestoppers, the Innocence Project, electronic devices such as the tracker and the voice changer, knowledge of legal system including court scenes (I don't care if they were contrived. They were still "realistic.") Very impressive to me.

The plot was just great. Long beforehand I saw it coming -- he staged his own murder. But it was still intriguing to read how it played out.

I've given 5 stars to lots of stories about that were not as good.

Simply one of the best on Lit.

Paul in Oklahoma

The police could easily find Mark by checking hospitals to see who had open heart surgery. Especially surgery for a defect he had since birth. So to say he could stay hidden is silly. He would be caught, extradicted, charged, tried, convicted and probably spend 5+ years in prison plus have to pay costs of probably half a million. He would have been better to have just stayed quiet or knocked off the cheaters and dumped the bodies in a land fill. Less effort.

IS.....The Innocense Project if sorely and surely needed, TK U MLJ LV NV

This story was written in 2008 and has many similarities to the best selling Gone Girl book (watch the movie version with Ben Affleck and Rosamund Pike), which was published in 2012. Maybe the Girl author read this ripped it off. The "GIRL" disappears with a mountain of evidence framing her cheating husband. She also extracted her blood but took it out in increments and stored it to avoid the tiring effects.

You don't have to believe every thing about this story to love it. A double BTB, with a semi happy ending. No RAAC either. Just a beautifully detailed story, that gets interesting fast and keeps up the pace to the end.

timriv

07/23/18

"The police could easily find Mark by checking hospitals to see who had open heart surgery."

NOT SO FAST mr timriv...

According to the American Heart Association, the number of annual open heart surgeries performed in the United States was approximately 699,000 during 2005.

These numbers have simply increased year by year as cardiac tools, techniques and knowledge have improved AND survival rates have increased. So no, it would be a daunting task, not to mention how difficult it would be to get judges to sign off on the search warrants needed, thanks to Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) that sets the standard for sensitive patient data protection. Which would make it extremely unlikely that a judge would issue warrants without more info than the police could get WITHOUT the warrant (nice catch22 there).

By the way, gave it a 5 star rating even though the whole 'fake murder' concept has been used before.

Anonymous

07/31/18

Much like Gone Girl (or GUY in this version)

This story was written in 2008 and has many similarities to the best selling Gone Girl book (watch the movie version with Ben Affleck and Rosamund Pike), which was published in 2012. Maybe the Girl author read this ripped it off.

Nope:

In several interviews, Flynn (author of Gone Girl) has said that she was inspired to write the novel by the disappearance of Laci Peterson. In portraying her principal characters who are out-of-work writers, she made use of her own experience being laid off from her job as a writer for Entertainment Weekly.

That idiota Timriv continue with Her hopeless comments?

Next time she'll Say: "That idiot Hamlet doesn't understand ghosts don't Even exist? What a waste of time this play is!!

Superb BTB with a loving husband lashing out at an unfaithful bride.

Believe it or not, one of the highest forms of praise in my household after a random comment by a salesman once.

Anyway, in some respects the outcome wasn't a huge surprise, but part way through I did re-read the intro to make sure I hadn't missed anything and was not so sure of myself.

When it did get to the end I thought it was going to twist some more (death sentence for him "I'll kill you" and coming back 'after a coma or lost memory' just after Blake bites it. Ah well, I couldn't work out how Mike was going to get in touch with Blake before hand anyway.

Possibly would have been better placed in non-erotic or novels, but possibly wouldn't have gained the audience.

Nicely done.......great wordsmithing and creative juices. I admire the author for sticking with his commitment to this story line. Thank you

Extradition treaties don't give you the authority to carry out investigations in other countries , you absolute dipshit. At most you can provide evidence against a specific person, and the criminal justice system there, holds by its own trial to decide whether to deport him or not. Now where exactly will the us State department send those relevant applications , since they don't even know which fucking country he is in right now ? Even if they did , do you really think a sovereign country is going to spend so many resources trying to narrow down suspects , in the whole fucking country ? How many open heart surgeries are carried out in a year in any given country ? In 2006-07 alone more than 35,000 heart surgeries were carried out in UK alone. Do really fucking believe someone is going to sift through that for one lowly criminal ?

It's not that you're a borderline cuck that angers me so , timriv , it's your astounding stupidity. You lower the average iq of a room by a dozen points by simple walking into it. Moron.

That's part of the fun!!! ( . . . former programmer for Metro PD). Look for heart surgeries in a certain time period . . . cross reference to twins born in same area somewhat later. Narrow time period . . . .get it down to about 500 or less. Send out form letters with pictures.

Yeh, they got him !! And after what they see as him thumbing his nose at the system and causing huge expense and embarrassment., he'll go down. New wife or girlfriend will get in some trouble too.

But, when new girl dumps him and runs off with twins . . . former wife will wait patiently. So probably end in reconciliation . . . or him rotting away in jail for a long time for pissing off the system.

Front and center. Framed for murder. Convicted, lose everything. Nice. Great btb. 5 stars.

This is at least the third time I've read this, and it never gets old!

I have one more comment regarding the fingerprints. I admit to no knowledge of law enforcement. but my understanding of data base searches is if police find fingerprints at the scene of a crime, they search the data base to try to find who they belong to. If they already have a suspect in custody, do they routinely search the data base to see if there might be another crime he might have been involved in?

There have been many instances where people have been framed. Many times by the police themselves. We're seeing an epidemic of innocent people released from prisons because people lied under oath or prosecutors manipulated the facts about circumstantial evidence. California just released a man who served 40 years for murders he didn't commit.

Depending on the state this occurred, any punishment meted out could be considered a slap on the wrist. The state I live in wouldn't consider this a major crime unless an insurance company was defrauded into paying a death benefit. The crimes he did commit was stealing the shovels and the gun. Reporting a possible crime to 911 isn't a crime.

Recouping expenses to try the case is iffy, and totally dependent on finding Mark. With the HIPPA law in place, it makes it impossible to get medical records of anyone without a subpoena. To issue a subpoena, they have to know where he is and the doctor that treated him or delivered the babies. It's a catch 22. Besides, he's a computer expert and could just create a new identity.

A competent pathologist would have caught the watered down blood/coroner. That is not explainable. While reading the story, I assumed Mark had someone draw a few pints of blood over a period of time.

Heartbreak caused by cheaters equating to prison time etc Fair enough I personally hate cheaters divorce and leave if you want someone else. Don't forget Texas used to allow husband to kill cheaters when caught

Genuinely interesting and well written/thought out story. Couldn't stop reading till I got to the end.

A well spun tale and very well told! Almost similar to " Cheating is murder". Thanks for sharing .... 5-Stars!

FBI can easily find out how many women flew in to Seattle on the day of the post mark and then check their insurance carriers to see which one woman husband had bypass surgery on his heart

Yes the FBI can track the package back to its origination point and possibly find video surveillance of someone dropping off a package. However, there is no way to determine if the person actually flew to Seattle versus being there to begin with, driving there or taking someother form of transportation. Nor does the story be about the surgery and family need to be true. Even if it is, they could live outside the country and had the surgery there (e.g. Canada or Mexico so). In short, it's hard to believe that someone that careful would leave any real clues that could be used to track him down.

loved the story, plot, layout, and the editing, thank you for a fresh story, please keep em coming mate,

This is in my top twenty of everything I've read in LW. Just doesn't get old.

Could have told the same story in half the pages!

Well done. I'm looking forward to reading more of your work.

It is a well-thought-out story with an excellent plot.

Cheaters caught and punishment

He found happiness

I would have let them in prison for 3 years minimum but hard ass

A great story , not too short and certainly not unnecessary long .

Good ending too .

Cheaters got a taste of payback .

5 *

One thing i noticed on this rereading is that the bullets and the car headrest might have had blood on them, but there would not have been any other material; skin, brain tissue, bone, etc.

He got his revenge and then let them out of it, very good way to end it.

One of the best 'whodunit' stories (if not the best) here in the LW's.

I usually skip cop and military stories. Served in the military and a lot of my family on both sides were/are policemen. No fascinating with those genre's.

That said, this is 5 star kick ass story. jake60 knocked this one out of the park. Worth checking out!

Reading again. This is one of my top end stories ever. I love the revenge on the cheaters, with them knowing they are innocent and unable to do anything about it.

This story kept me gripped to my computer mouse as never one of these stories had before. Loved the detail and the anguish, great story.

WOW says it all.

magic best story I've read in awhile when's the next one can't wait

Well written and intriguing to the end. Certainly the best revenge story I have read.

They would never had been allowed to have 1 Attorney representing them both. Each would have needed a separate attorney. That is to protect both clients.

Otherwise a great story

A perfectly put together story. I've read similar stories, but never one as seamless and believable as this. Readers nitpick everything, but can't take away the pleasure at reading this story. Great start to finish.

Very enjoyable read. It wasn't perfect but, very little is perfect.

Great story, but as much as I enjoyed the plot and your writing, the hero's willingness to allow people to to prison for crimes they did not commit makes it hard to applaud his actions.

Oh yeaaahhh...

PAYBACKS ARE A BITCH AIN'T THEY ???

🤗 🤗 🤗 🤗 🤗 🤗....

I DON'T USUALLY FEEL THIS WAY (I'VE WORKED IN LAW ENFORCEMENT AND 2 MEDICAL EXAMINERS' OFFICES). BUT AT ABOUT THE TIME THE 2 LOVERS GOT AN ATTORNEY I'M THINKING HOW COULD HE HAVE POSSIBLY DONE ALL THIS? I MEAN, IN READING THE STORY I'M WONDERING HOW COULD HE ABSOLUTELY DISAPPEAR. THAT'S DIFFICULT TO DO! AS I THINK ABOUT THIS STORY (WHICH I WILL CONTINUE TO DO), I DON'T KNOW THAT I'LL FIND ANYTHING TO QUESTION AND IF I DO IT'S GOING TO BE NIT-PICKY FOR SURE.

MAN, I HAVE TO ADMIT IT: TO WRITE THIS STORY AS SUCCINCTLY AS THE AUTHOR DID, HE/SHE IS SMARTER THAN ME! WOW!

Great tale - back for a reread. Drew you in and kept your attention.

Fiction aside, this is a perfect tale of why I abhor circumstanial court cases.

Wow glad I found this gem.

Well written tale of infidelity and intrigue. He certainly got even with them, and then some. His best friend knew well that bad things could happen if Mark found out about them and yet he pursued his wife. Hard to feel much sympathy for either of the transgressors. Great job of writing.

I would have liked to see Mark leave them in prison for the same amount of time they were married. And I don't buy the "I WON'T BE FREE UNTIL THEY ARE" crap. If anything, he would have taken total joy in their suffering. They had no consideration for him, why give them what they weren't willing to give him? The story would have been sweeter if we'd found out Mark was responsible for Blake being stabbed. And then had it happening at regular intervals.

I can't remember what it was but I remember a film (or TV show?) where a guy faked his death by collecting and refrigerating about 6 pints of blood over a number of weeks and then constructing a crime scene. With no body but with the overwhelming amount of apparent blood loss it was deduced that he couldn't possibly be alive. This reminded me of it a little, I just wish I could remember what it was from.

Fantastic story, will be a keeper

Damn that was an amazing ride. This story had me hooked from the start. I was riveted from the open paragraph. What a great story

Again, one of the very best ever in LW. I love the plan, and the successful regenge. He didn't kill them, but I don't think they would cheat again.

This is my 2nd time reading this story, for some reason reading the part of the Innocence Project letter, the theme of Saw popped in my head. But, Mark let them off too lightly, they could've at least spent more than a year and a half, it should've been more than 3 or more. Then sending that letter exonerating them. Mark could've written more like digging into her infidelity and to Blake with the innocence project letter. Good reading.

I Have read a lot of who done it stories .. And to Me this One is just as good as any I have read

Interesting story but the ending is all wrong.

This isn't at all like the innocence project, who uses the prosecution's own evidence to clear convicts. The evidence is unlikely to be altered, given the chain of custody.

In this story, all they have is anonymous information and photographs that could be faked. To verify the info, DNA was provided in, but who's to say that wasn't from 18 months ago? For them to go free, they need to find the husband alive (which is also, the only way to overturn a murder conviction, a living victim)

Anyone could easily make the case this "new" evidence is all a fabrication to get them out of jail.

Very creative and fluently written. With a few changes, this would make a great movie script. Here are a couple of nits - Basil couldn't represent them 1. because his firm represented the husband, an obvious conflict. 2. It's doubtful that a lawyer would take both as clients because of the potential conflicts. The minute a word was uttered by one suggesting the other might have done it, Basil would have to withdraw. I should also mention that the letter at the end gave away too much information that could be used to locate Mark. That's an easy fix.

Very entertaining

The reason of the timing of the package to The Innocence Project was Mark’s heart attack and impending heart surgery. It seemed up until then he felt guilty, but still willing to keep mum about his subterfuge. Obviously, fearing possible death, he realized he needed to “come clean” before it was too late.

And I suppose, even after the successful surgery, his attitude towards life had changed enough from the near death experience to “forgive” Blake and Lisa. He had to “let go” before he could live guilt free with the new loves of his life.

well done but in reality would be sooooo easy to find him, especially after the history of hospitalization.

Actually they needed more revenge done to them. Wasnt nearly enough suffering for his best friend.

When I first read maroon for moron, I thought your speech to text had messed up until I saw the explanation at the top of the next page. You got me!

I thought the plot was clever, but you really captured the changes each person made due to the circumstances. It seems all were humbled somewhat. Blake sure learned that he got some expensive sex.

they didnt suffer NEARLY enough

This was the second time I read "A Circumstantial Case" and I enjoyed it just as much the second time as the first. Thank You! Five stars.

Very good well written story. Couple of points. Why didn't the detectives ask Lisa about her movements when they first interviewed her that would be standard practice.

Not sure about in the US but in the UK it's extremely difficult to bring a murder charge without a body. It happens but needs lots of circumstantial evidence to support the charge.

Should be made into a film. Better than 99.99999999% of the stuff that's out there!

Well thought out premise and execution. Clearly, people are looking for CSI grade forensics in literotica article. There's basically nothing erotic about this story however.

As with so many other stories here, the author confuses the names/identifies of characters with each other. The names of Mark and his lawyer Blake get accidentally reversed on multiple occasions. A careful edit could clean that up.

Well written story, kid of surprised Mark fessed up which got the cheaters out of jail. I was thinking the blood had been diluted also but forensics didn't pick that up. Circumstantial evidence and lack of a body should have resulted in reasonable doubt.

2 stars from me. I read stories on this website for erotic thrills, and why this sad story was listed under the "Loving Wives" category instead of "Non-erotic" is beyond me. This story is basically a courtroom/criminal investigation article, and there is nothing to indicate that the author is either an attorney or a police officer. As an attorney, I will repeat what other readers, such as Vulcan, point out--Basil couldn't have represented either the wife or lover since his partner represented the husband in his divorce proceeding. Secondly, Basil couldn't have represented both the wife and lover in a double murder trial because it would pose a conflict of interest.

Each defendant would have needed their own attorney in case one defendant want to point the finger at the other defendant. For Basil to even attempt to represent both defendants would have been reversible error and and have landed Basil in front of the ethics board, which no attorney wants to ever have happen. And there is Basil calling for both of his clients to take the witness stand and testify, when they have a constitutional right not to do so.; no criminal defense attorney would have done that, and I would argue that the prosecution failed to meet its burden of proof when the state could not produce a body. The expert witness certainly showed that there was a reasonable doubt that the husband did not die, and that is all that is required--not a preponderance of the evidence. As attorneys have commented before on this site, if you're not an attorney, don't try to write about family law or criminal defense law or estate-planning law, etc.--it makes us roll our eyes. I am not a police detective, but it was also ludicrous that the initial detective did not ask the wife for the name and address of the "friend" with whom she spent the night immediately so that he could confirm the wife's whereabouts. Instead he simply closed his notebook--that is ludicrous! Why would a detective not want to immediately want to confirm the alibi of a prime suspect is a missing person/murder investigation?? My only regret is that once I had invested my time in reading about three pages of this story I decided to keep going--it just got worse. Anyway, those are a few of my critiques to this story, and why I disliked it.

I know cops are all brain dead in stories but it may have accurred to them that it woild be rather irrational to murder someone in a public park, causing an enormous blood splatter (I will get to the blood in the bullet holes in a minute) and then go to the trouble of hiding the body...why not leave it there? The blood in the holes is problematic as a bullet passes through a body and creates splatter but not enough blood volume to fill the hole. The blood runs out of the body subsequently as the heart continues to pump until exsanguination takes place and arrest occurs. So our villian has fouled his scene. In bleeding out what amounts to over 20% of his blood volume he would have entered a shock state which could very well prove fatal...you should reduce it down to 1 pint and a bit. Adding distilled water would have caused haemolysis from the water freely diffusing into the cells and bursting them. The medical examiner would have picked that up straight away...get him to use saline (normal saline he can research on the net.) So in settling with the state on an obviously botched investigation i rather think his victims would be due some thing in the $1 million area, then there is the failure of duty of care and the stabbing incident. Our villian , and he is a vile piece of slime make no mistake has escaped scott free...hardly a happy tale. Or put in another way they had a fuck and he subverted justice in a psychopathic rage...I would be leaving him real quick if i was his new love.

Best BTB on lit, some forensic mistakes, but excellent nonetheless

I agree with most of Perverted Knight's analysis of the story. He is correct that this author did not understand the legal system in the US in criminal cases. He was wrong when he assumed that most attorneys would roll their eyes and be upset at all the errors. I know this because I have been involved with the court system four times in my 67 years. I had representation in my first case and lost because my attorney was incompetent and evidently did no prep work for the trial. I only have a high school diploma but I was able to do my research online and represented myself in two more cases and represented myself before the IRS on tax evasion charges. I prevailed in both court cases and won over $13,000 from the IRS. I was up against supposedly competent attorneys in all three cases. I won because I did the research and prepared extensively for my day in court. The attorneys that opposed me didn't put in the work required to win. These were civil actions and if the opposing attorneys had done the work required to win they would have prevailed. One case was lost by opposing council because he didn't file before the SOL had expired. Another case was lost because the opposing attorney tried to pursue an action in State court that was prevented by Federal law. Once I informed the Court of Common Pleas that Federal law prevented the action in State Court the case was dismissed with Prejudice. I would never trust an attorney to have my best interests at heart. Attorneys for the most part operate on receiving fees for the services they provide. There is no guarantee of outcome and no guarantee of competence. These were not easy cases to win. I prevailed because almost all the law libraries and case law is available for free online. I know on the case that was dismissed with prejudice I spent at least 40 hours online doing research. No attorney could devote this much time on my behalf without a $10-15.000 retainer. It was a no brainer for me to represent myself. I had my best interest at heart.

dumb bitch, thinking that there was a chance of reconciliation. excellent revenge on both cheater and best friend.

Still one of the best stories on LW

I'm certain that there were plenty of technical errors in this story, but clearly a great idea. Lisa did not deserve to go to prison for that long. Glad he fessed up. Definitely an original BTB idea. His best friend, was an asshole

Really good story but with all the hints/clues the new "wife" left, they would have located Mark in less than a week. They have really good computers that can collate facts (specific surgery, expecting twins, she flew into Seattle to mail the letter on a certain date that is postmarked, clues from the newspaper that would have indicated what city it was purchased in, etc.,).

It had such potential but wasn't there for me. Lots of meaningless details regarding the evidence or lack there of and of the trial and such. But it was all so bogus. The defense attorney did a pitiful job, and the extremely short jury deliberation with so little real evidence, was, frankly, ridiculous.

Lastly, the parting letter was redundant and a waste. And Lisa's parting thought about possible reconciliation was truly absurd

Really good should have more detail about his new family but hey it’s not my story.Truly loved it

You told the ending that was the only outcome possible. Lisa learned it was over [the last faint hope she held for reconciliation with Mark.], no magic to bring back Mark and her marriage. She did it to *them* with her weakness being romanced by Blake, the snake in the garden! Sometimes a reconciliation takes place, but Mark had a new life, with a loving wife and three loving children, which is worth more than Lisa could ever hope to show him to gain back his love. 5 STARS.

A wonderfully woven story.

But...if only a part of it can be true, justice had been served in spades.

I enjoyed it a lot when I first read it, many years ago. Now I see too many plot holes, an initial setup which would make even an average police force suspect he was alive and go looking for him and, of course, modern technology which would pick him up quickly. Those were the days!

Both the cheaters had it or worse coming.

The 2 cheaters deserved what they got and MORE!

Amazing story. Its been a long time since i read a good story on this site

Liked your story, was going to give up on a couple of times due to length but stayed with it. Not accustomed to stories of this caliber. Great job!

Should never have admitted he was alive!

Methinks if Lisa finds a new bf/husband she will never THINK of cheating again. Methinks Blake may have had an orientation change courtesy of Bubba.

Well written. I enjoyed it.

Excellent ,would like to find more of same caliber or fascination. could not put it down until end. Marvelous story.

Very nice read.

I'm sure I read this story in 2008 when it was written but never left a comment. One of the best stories on Literotica.

5

My second reading (after about 3 months). 5 stars both times. Scary. Intense. Thoughtful. Engrossing. Good reading both times through.

Should have left them in prison!

A story well told even thought there's some holes in it....I won't nitpic however i have a question or two. Have you ever been to Pittsburgh? Why Sharpsburg? 3 miles from Pittsburgh and closer to Pittsburgh than the closest airport. Anyway i have read this story twice and have come away with a an admiration of the told tale. BTRH

Very nice read.

Nice idea, well written, BUT ....

The addition of distilled water to the blood would have markedly changed the Osmotic pressure difference between the blood cells and the liquid in which they were in suspension - causing them to rupture!

Result, no longer fully identifiable as 'Blood'!

As a result that part sprayed on the seat would have run, much like an overdiluted paint!

Excellent story- more of the same would be greatly appreciated-five stars any way you look at it! My opinion is 10 stars.

Wow! Great story.

Ed

with wives and best friends like these, who needs them? Better being a monk or hermit? too bad hubby wasnt able to keep/relocate most of his hard earned assets before disappearing, altho that probably would have made the murder assumption of PD much more difficult. still excellent story and appropriate punishment .

I don’t know, that’s a pretty convoluted way to get revenge, and then after all that he could barely live with himself. Better I think to go with your first gut feeling. Divorce her, beat the holy shit out of him and get on with life. No guilty conscience that way. Oh, you may do a little jail time for the beating but you’ll still have a clear conscience. And after you get out you can kick his ass again. Yep, works for me. Much simpler than all that drawing blood and hiding out stuff. Sorry Jake, didn’t intend to re-

write your story, it was great. Just really got me to thinking. 5⭐️s. for sure.