See, I think one of three scenarios might have happened:
Luigi didn’t do it. He was framed and set up because out of the hundreds of prank tips, this guy looked “close enough.”
Luigi did it, but the evidence was made up to make the case solid and the police look competent. Luigi wasn’t stupid, but he’s boned anyway.
Luigi did it, and he really was that stupid.
As a writer, one of the aggravating tropes we have to follow is, “make the story believable,” when reality sometimes doesn’t align with “a good story.” Some criminals are really that stupid, and some armchair theory, based on decades of movies, books, and TV shows, you expect “hey, this is what they SHOULD have done is.” And they didn’t. It’s like when a chessmaster has to watch complete amateurs play chess. “Obvious strategies” are ignored, and basically both players are just not thinking past their last move.
A lot of criminals are remarkably stupid. It’s fun to imagine criminal masterminds making up a lot of their plans with meticulous planning only to be foiled by the heroes. But in real life most crooks are fairly dumb. Even intelligent people who do crimes can make mistakes that come off as remarkably stupid to people learning about them.
I watched a lot of episode of Forensics Files and other shows that document cases that were solved by slim margins. Some criminals on the show really did almost get away with it if it wasn`t for one tiny mistake. In other cases, however, they got caught ultimately because they left behind something that absolutely would have lead to their capture.
Like in one case there was a mugger who killed a college girl while she walking home. The area she walked through was wooded and dark. The episode documents how DNA was used after it had advanced sufficiently to get him and they had to track him down to get a good sample. But there is something absolutely critical that the show didn’t point out: He got on police radar because he dropped a bag of his that had a medicine bottle with his name on it. If he just picked up his bag the police would have had nothing to go by at all.
The other problem is that planning a murder like the one for Brian Thompson and getting away with it is hard as balls. Other than the fact that there are cameras everywhere. The guy needed to be at the right place and the right time and be there for only a minimal amount of time (to not draw undue attention) and he also had to be sure that there weren’t that many police around so police response times would be extended. I think he did it at the time because he also knew that the police change shifts so there are fewer beat cops around.
Also the silencer obviously doesn’t make the gun 100% quiet, but it was done to make it quiet enough to not set off the shotspotter towers. Those towers are more and more common in many cities so that when a criminal fires a gun, they can quickly triangulate where the shot was fired from. This would give away his location very quickly and minimize police response time.
It is meticulously planned. But there could be any number of things that could have gone wrong. The gun could have simply not fired at all. There could have been a few cops working extra hours nearby and ran after him quickly. Someone could have jumped at him to stop him right away. Lots and lots of factors go into it.
Even some people said that why was he using a hostel (which has security cameras and other witnesses) when he could have rented an AirBnB apartment. Some places rent rooms and apartments for people and those people never actually meet the host, meaning there is no one who would see you.
As for how to pay for them… the guy could have used a prepaid cash card, one bought and charged with cash. It cannot be traced back to you easily, if at all.
Given that he was valedictorian at his school, I find that unlikely to be the option.
I think you’re missing a 4th option:
He did it, and believed it not worth the anxiety/suffering of living the rest of his life as a wanted man, so did what he could to get away from the immediate scene but ultimately turn himself in so to speak.
And there are almost certainly more nuanced options out there.
The thing is, whoever did it was pretty smart about much of the crime, which is why the story of how Luigi was caught and what they say he had on is person seems so odd relative to the behavior the previous week.
If it was Luigi, he was pretty disciplined and smart before, during and immediately after the crime with the only leak being showing his face at the hostel (which he may have been required to do when he gave them ID).
If he did do it and really had all that evidence on him, maybe he wanted to get caught? It seems crazy that anyone would hang onto a 3d printed gun when it would be pretty easy to destroy and dispose of it in multiple pieces and locations.
I’ve said it before but I truly believe that Luigi would still be free if he had plucked his eyebrows, regardless of whether he did it.
Edit to add, maybe he thought he’d get shot or captured at the scene and didn’t think too far beyond the immediate getaway? And with the stress of his picture up all over the news and social media, he kinda wasn’t thinking straight?
To be precise, we have no idea what evidence was collected or what it shows. All we know is what the cops said they found, and cops are notorious liars. Just ask Young Thug or Karen Read.
We can assume some of what the cops say is true, but the challenge is that we have no idea which parts.
It seems quite plausible that when they found the backpack it also had the gun and “manifesto” (stupid to call it that but it pushes their agenda) and whatever else in it, but they kept quiet about it. They only revealed that they had found the backpack. That would allow them to arrest anyone and then claim that he had the gun, etc. on him when they found him. They’ll need to prove that those things weren’t in the backpack they found.
They’ll need to prove that those things weren’t in the backpack they found.
I really doubt it. Cops barely have to prove shit when they’re arresting someone for weed. In something this high profile and important for the establishment I doubt there will be much proof at all.
A slight variation on your second scenario is parallel construction.
I don’t know if Luigi’s the shooter or not, but if he did it, there’s a decent chance whatever is presented as evidence has absolutely nothing to do with how they actually caught the guy.
See, I think one of three scenarios might have happened:
As a writer, one of the aggravating tropes we have to follow is, “make the story believable,” when reality sometimes doesn’t align with “a good story.” Some criminals are really that stupid, and some armchair theory, based on decades of movies, books, and TV shows, you expect “hey, this is what they SHOULD have done is.” And they didn’t. It’s like when a chessmaster has to watch complete amateurs play chess. “Obvious strategies” are ignored, and basically both players are just not thinking past their last move.
A lot of criminals are remarkably stupid. It’s fun to imagine criminal masterminds making up a lot of their plans with meticulous planning only to be foiled by the heroes. But in real life most crooks are fairly dumb. Even intelligent people who do crimes can make mistakes that come off as remarkably stupid to people learning about them.
I watched a lot of episode of Forensics Files and other shows that document cases that were solved by slim margins. Some criminals on the show really did almost get away with it if it wasn`t for one tiny mistake. In other cases, however, they got caught ultimately because they left behind something that absolutely would have lead to their capture.
Like in one case there was a mugger who killed a college girl while she walking home. The area she walked through was wooded and dark. The episode documents how DNA was used after it had advanced sufficiently to get him and they had to track him down to get a good sample. But there is something absolutely critical that the show didn’t point out: He got on police radar because he dropped a bag of his that had a medicine bottle with his name on it. If he just picked up his bag the police would have had nothing to go by at all.
The other problem is that planning a murder like the one for Brian Thompson and getting away with it is hard as balls. Other than the fact that there are cameras everywhere. The guy needed to be at the right place and the right time and be there for only a minimal amount of time (to not draw undue attention) and he also had to be sure that there weren’t that many police around so police response times would be extended. I think he did it at the time because he also knew that the police change shifts so there are fewer beat cops around.
Also the silencer obviously doesn’t make the gun 100% quiet, but it was done to make it quiet enough to not set off the shotspotter towers. Those towers are more and more common in many cities so that when a criminal fires a gun, they can quickly triangulate where the shot was fired from. This would give away his location very quickly and minimize police response time.
It is meticulously planned. But there could be any number of things that could have gone wrong. The gun could have simply not fired at all. There could have been a few cops working extra hours nearby and ran after him quickly. Someone could have jumped at him to stop him right away. Lots and lots of factors go into it.
Even some people said that why was he using a hostel (which has security cameras and other witnesses) when he could have rented an AirBnB apartment. Some places rent rooms and apartments for people and those people never actually meet the host, meaning there is no one who would see you.
As for how to pay for them… the guy could have used a prepaid cash card, one bought and charged with cash. It cannot be traced back to you easily, if at all.
Given that he was valedictorian at his school, I find that unlikely to be the option.
I think you’re missing a 4th option:
And there are almost certainly more nuanced options out there.
The thing is, whoever did it was pretty smart about much of the crime, which is why the story of how Luigi was caught and what they say he had on is person seems so odd relative to the behavior the previous week.
If it was Luigi, he was pretty disciplined and smart before, during and immediately after the crime with the only leak being showing his face at the hostel (which he may have been required to do when he gave them ID).
If he did do it and really had all that evidence on him, maybe he wanted to get caught? It seems crazy that anyone would hang onto a 3d printed gun when it would be pretty easy to destroy and dispose of it in multiple pieces and locations.
I’ve said it before but I truly believe that Luigi would still be free if he had plucked his eyebrows, regardless of whether he did it.
Edit to add, maybe he thought he’d get shot or captured at the scene and didn’t think too far beyond the immediate getaway? And with the stress of his picture up all over the news and social media, he kinda wasn’t thinking straight?
To be precise, we have no idea what evidence was collected or what it shows. All we know is what the cops said they found, and cops are notorious liars. Just ask Young Thug or Karen Read.
We can assume some of what the cops say is true, but the challenge is that we have no idea which parts.
It seems quite plausible that when they found the backpack it also had the gun and “manifesto” (stupid to call it that but it pushes their agenda) and whatever else in it, but they kept quiet about it. They only revealed that they had found the backpack. That would allow them to arrest anyone and then claim that he had the gun, etc. on him when they found him. They’ll need to prove that those things weren’t in the backpack they found.
I really doubt it. Cops barely have to prove shit when they’re arresting someone for weed. In something this high profile and important for the establishment I doubt there will be much proof at all.
A slight variation on your second scenario is parallel construction.
I don’t know if Luigi’s the shooter or not, but if he did it, there’s a decent chance whatever is presented as evidence has absolutely nothing to do with how they actually caught the guy.
Fourth option, he’s taking the fall for a love interest.