Trisha Autry Case - Sitcoms Online Message Boards

SarcasticBella · 10-13-2017, 03:43 PM

I haven’t been able to find any threads on this one yet. What are everyone’s thoughts?

For those who aren’t familiar, Trisha was a 15 year old from Missouri who was murdered after disappearing from her home. The episode suggested she may have met her killer online, and went willingly, not knowing who the man really was.

To me it was a clear case of meeting someone off the internet. Which now adays, no one bats an eye about. With social media, online dating, and Uber, meeting people online is the norm now. Back in the early 2000’s, I remember AOL chat rooms were all the rage.

Do you think Trisha met her killer online? I do remember the update saying he only lived about 8 miles from her. Do you think they met outside the internet, and that the online angle had nothing to do with it?

Furthermore, what do you make of all the files being deleted? Do you think she did that? Or do you believe her killer was able to erase everything?

Such a tragic case. I got the feeling from her segment that she was looking for attention, and she sadly seemed like the perfect target. My heart breaks for her and her family.

Far Off Promise · 10-13-2017, 04:49 PM

Being an early adopter of the World Wide Web (when's the last time you heard it called that? lol), you have to remember that things were very different in the late 90s/early 00s. For the most part, it was a male-dominated environment. There were some girls, but these weren't the type of girls that you see today on Instagram or Snapchat. Regardless, anytime you typed a/s/l and that 's' was replaced with an f, guys swooped in like vultures.

I have no doubt that she met someone online who showered her with attention. She probably had her pick of many different guys. She just chose the wrong one.

justins5256 · 10-15-2017, 01:16 PM

I've only seen this one a couple of times. It was from the Lifetime years, which were some of the worst for the show.

I always thought this one was pretty cut and dry. I think Trisha Autry was probably a lonely, socially awkward teenage kid who went online looking for a friend. I can't remember if the segment mentioned any problems at home or bullying at school, but neither would be surprising in the context. Trisha was also a bit on the heavy side as I recall. In any event, there are a lot of depressed, sad, disconnected teenagers who go online and end up talking to these predators who groom them by showering them with praise, affection, love, respect, and pretty much everything else they are missing in their personal day to day lives. It's no wonder they develop feelings and go try to meet these men in person, failing to realize that they are putting themselves at risk for all kind of horrible things such as sexual assault, rape, or worse.

As someone else noted, these kind of crimes were emerging in the late 90s and early 2000s because the Internet was male dominated and these guys would swoop in like vultures if someone admitted in a chatroom that they were female. It still goes on to this day. Just look at the "To Catch a Predator" type shows and the occasional sting operations you still hear about that target men who engage in this behavior.

Overall, what happened to Trisha is a sad and old story and one that will likely continue to be played out again and again. It is unfortunate, but the targets for these types of crimes are especially vulnerable, and there are some intelligent and methodical predators who prey on such vulnerabilities and exploit them to achieve their own ends.

I suppose it was a unique case for UM in the sense that it was the first of its kind, but these crimes are, sadly, pretty common and will continue.

unsolved243 · 12-13-2017, 04:08 PM

At first, I thought Trisha met her killer online. The segment makes you think that's what happened. However, it turns out that her killer was just some pervert that stalked teenaged girls. A friend of Trisha's claimed that Cody Nielsen gave Trisha his pager number. According to Trisha's friends, a man named "Sam" had been stalking her in the weeks prior to her disappearance (I have no idea why this wasn't mentioned in the segment). It turned out that Nielsen was nicknamed "Sam". He later admitted that he was with her when she died; however, he claimed that she fell off of his balcony during "consensual" sex. He then decided to dismember her and burn her remains.

The jury obviously didn't buy the "accident" theory and he was convicted of her murder. Sadly, Trisha was not his only victim (although she was the only victim killed); he raped at least four other girls before her.

What's especially tragic about this case is that Trisha's dad passed away just a few weeks before her remains her found. Her mom ended up passing away a few years after the trial.

James T · 08-15-2018, 08:57 AM

Doesn't really sound like an internet predator case-I think she was deleting stuff, but only online chats with other people-not sure why nobody could retrieve the information from the hard drive though. Assuming the other reports of her getting in/out of a red car it seems she was sneaking out to meet men/boys, of course it could have been mistaken identity like the old guy in the store who was '100%' sure he saw her being controlled by a man & woman.

10-13-2017, 03:43 PM	#1
SarcasticBella Member Occasional Poster Join Date: Feb 13, 2017 Location: South Carolina Posts: 75	Trisha Autry Case I haven’t been able to find any threads on this one yet. What are everyone’s thoughts? For those who aren’t familiar, Trisha was a 15 year old from Missouri who was murdered after disappearing from her home. The episode suggested she may have met her killer online, and went willingly, not knowing who the man really was. To me it was a clear case of meeting someone off the internet. Which now adays, no one bats an eye about. With social media, online dating, and Uber, meeting people online is the norm now. Back in the early 2000’s, I remember AOL chat rooms were all the rage. Do you think Trisha met her killer online? I do remember the update saying he only lived about 8 miles from her. Do you think they met outside the internet, and that the online angle had nothing to do with it? Furthermore, what do you make of all the files being deleted? Do you think she did that? Or do you believe her killer was able to erase everything? Such a tragic case. I got the feeling from her segment that she was looking for attention, and she sadly seemed like the perfect target. My heart breaks for her and her family.

10-13-2017, 04:49 PM	#2
Far Off Promise Member Occasional Poster Join Date: Feb 16, 2013 Location: Garner, NC Posts: 78	Being an early adopter of the World Wide Web (when's the last time you heard it called that? lol), you have to remember that things were very different in the late 90s/early 00s. For the most part, it was a male-dominated environment. There were some girls, but these weren't the type of girls that you see today on Instagram or Snapchat. Regardless, anytime you typed a/s/l and that 's' was replaced with an f, guys swooped in like vultures. I have no doubt that she met someone online who showered her with attention. She probably had her pick of many different guys. She just chose the wrong one.

10-15-2017, 01:16 PM	#3
justins5256 Member Forum 3000 Club Member Join Date: Aug 08, 2002 Posts: 3,866	I've only seen this one a couple of times. It was from the Lifetime years, which were some of the worst for the show. I always thought this one was pretty cut and dry. I think Trisha Autry was probably a lonely, socially awkward teenage kid who went online looking for a friend. I can't remember if the segment mentioned any problems at home or bullying at school, but neither would be surprising in the context. Trisha was also a bit on the heavy side as I recall. In any event, there are a lot of depressed, sad, disconnected teenagers who go online and end up talking to these predators who groom them by showering them with praise, affection, love, respect, and pretty much everything else they are missing in their personal day to day lives. It's no wonder they develop feelings and go try to meet these men in person, failing to realize that they are putting themselves at risk for all kind of horrible things such as sexual assault, rape, or worse. As someone else noted, these kind of crimes were emerging in the late 90s and early 2000s because the Internet was male dominated and these guys would swoop in like vultures if someone admitted in a chatroom that they were female. It still goes on to this day. Just look at the "To Catch a Predator" type shows and the occasional sting operations you still hear about that target men who engage in this behavior. Overall, what happened to Trisha is a sad and old story and one that will likely continue to be played out again and again. It is unfortunate, but the targets for these types of crimes are especially vulnerable, and there are some intelligent and methodical predators who prey on such vulnerabilities and exploit them to achieve their own ends. I suppose it was a unique case for UM in the sense that it was the first of its kind, but these crimes are, sadly, pretty common and will continue.

12-13-2017, 04:08 PM	#4
unsolved243 Member Frequent Poster Join Date: Aug 11, 2010 Posts: 260	At first, I thought Trisha met her killer online. The segment makes you think that's what happened. However, it turns out that her killer was just some pervert that stalked teenaged girls. A friend of Trisha's claimed that Cody Nielsen gave Trisha his pager number. According to Trisha's friends, a man named "Sam" had been stalking her in the weeks prior to her disappearance (I have no idea why this wasn't mentioned in the segment). It turned out that Nielsen was nicknamed "Sam". He later admitted that he was with her when she died; however, he claimed that she fell off of his balcony during "consensual" sex. He then decided to dismember her and burn her remains. The jury obviously didn't buy the "accident" theory and he was convicted of her murder. Sadly, Trisha was not his only victim (although she was the only victim killed); he raped at least four other girls before her. What's especially tragic about this case is that Trisha's dad passed away just a few weeks before her remains her found. Her mom ended up passing away a few years after the trial.

08-15-2018, 08:57 AM	#5
James T Member Senior Member Join Date: Apr 23, 2006 Location: England Posts: 1,567	Doesn't really sound like an internet predator case-I think she was deleting stuff, but only online chats with other people-not sure why nobody could retrieve the information from the hard drive though. Assuming the other reports of her getting in/out of a red car it seems she was sneaking out to meet men/boys, of course it could have been mistaken identity like the old guy in the store who was '100%' sure he saw her being controlled by a man & woman.