Please forgive the lateness of this blog which is two days late in my attempt to create a new one every other day. (Still traveling!)
For today, let us think about two words: anticipation and expectation. Anticipation of an arrest in the Stacey Burns murder case ran high in the days immediately following her senseless and needless death. In reality, the small town of Wolfeboro could only produce a limited number of suspects and surely New Hampshire State Police detectives would quickly sort out the possibilities and arrest the psychotic coward who killed her. Early on, it was not only anticipated; it was expected. Most people were not only looking forward to justice being served; they knew it would happen and soon.
Today, if my math is correct, is the 1,236th day since Stacey was killed; therefore, it is also the 1,236th day since most people began to anticipate a quick arrest in the case. Not only did they anticipate it, they fully and unequivocally expected it to happen. If I had interviewed the same people for Murder in a Small Town: The Tragic Death of Stacey Burns within the first week of the crime as I have in the last two years, I could guarantee that the universal expectation would have been an "imminent" arrest. Imagine a 1,236 day chart tracking the level of anticipation and expectation of family and friends of Stacey Burns as they waited for justice for Stacey. During that time, there is no doubt that there have been peaks and valleys in the chart but there certainly would be a huge gap (my opinion) in expectations between May 10, 2009 and September 27, 2012. That is a sad and truly unfortunate truth for everyone concerned.
New England Patriot fans anticipated another trip to the Super Bowl before the season began but the events of the last two games may have lowered expectations a trifle. There is no comparison between sports and what happened to Stacey Burns but the analogy seems to fit. Reality has a way of tempering anticipation and fracturing expectations.
1,236 days and counting . . .
duker
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I am astounded that it's been so long with no movement on the case. Maybe I watch too much TV, shows where the crimes are solved in an hour. Seems to me there's a lacking of motivation on the part of the local and state law enforcement. Why? Probably because they aren't sure, not enough evidence. So the case goes cold. They have new crimes to handle. I get almost as frustrated as you are when I read your updates.
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