What happened to this California family?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I love this thread. It's fascinating seeing DCumers try to dissect inland California culture, as well as the mindsets of people who transplanted TO then FROM the Bay Area.

As someone who grew up in SF and vacationed not in Mariposa County, but Tuolumne and Stanislaus, I am inclined to think this is a murder-suicide committed by or to a drug-abusing vegan. That, or some freak accident involving the government, or they were murdered by illegal pot growers. There are illegal pot growers ALL over California, and they can and do kill people who accidentally stumble upon their operations.

The fentanyl thing is hilarious. I guarantee the sheriff would be shouting fentanyl from the rooftops if that's what killed them. Yes, toxicology takes a while blah blah blah, but the cops probably know everyone who this couple interacted with and these people seem too bougie to buy stepped on pot. I can also guarantee if they wanted weed, they could find good stuff either at dispensaries or from a local or Bay Area dealer.

Murder suicide committed by pissy druggy vegans or they snuck up on an illegal grow.

Do you think mom enjoyed dark, dirty diners, dusty museums and solidarity as much as
Upscale coffee shops, art shows and the busyness of SF?
Without knowing either and simply making assumptions I’d say each day for her was worse than the previous.

Hiking in one’s backyard, toting a kid and dog isn’t nearly as exhilarating as jetting off to foreign lands for a five star vacay. She clearly enjoyed being “seen” and that’s not wrong. I don’t believe she held the same passion for day hikes as Jon.
His work had to be stressful with long days.
I wonder if he persuaded Chung to do something productive so she started her online classes.
Early on a (supposed) former roommate of Chung’s posted Chung had never lived alone or had RL responsibilities other than her job. If true, she may have felt overwhelmed with tasks associated with living rural. In the city she had immediate availability and delivery services. Once in Mariposa running out of one item would be a hassle and a not so easy drive to the markets. I’ve lived both and while I prefer rural, city life is so much easier, so I always return to the burbs.
While some think of Chung as a strong, independent woman, I believe she was a “needy” personality type & Jon called the shots. As someone previously mentioned, Chung quit work almost immediately after meeting Jon. I realize she tweeted it was due to some health issue but she was able to do all the other stuff she enjoyed. I think she had a goal to snag a second wealthy guy, eventually doing so, but then came baby.

I don't know if y'all are some of the true crime folks who filtered over here from somewhere else on the internet, but the scenario you just described (woman enjoys independent party lifestyle, works job she doesn't care about, quits job in order to run around with new boyfriend, marries boyfriend, has baby) could describe a lot of women on THIS site! Hell, it could describe ME - my husband earns more than I do, paid for me to go to grad school for something interesting but not lucrative, works long hours, loves our kids, and likes outside stuff. When I was younger, I liked living in the city and going to parties and traveling a lot. DH liked that stuff too. We did a lot of it together. We like other stuff now, and our lifestyle reflects that. It's actually pretty normal for people's interests and activities to shift as they mature and develop. It's the times that DOESN'T happen that are usually problematic.

It's like people see "Jon liked Mariposa" and "Jon has a rural childhood" and "Jon loved his daughter" and assume that because those things are not being said explicitly about Ellen, that must mean that she's a checked out ageing party girl who landed a rich husband who then trapped her with a baby or whatever it is y'all are suggesting.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I don't know if y'all are some of the true crime folks who filtered over here from somewhere else on the internet, but the scenario you just described (woman enjoys independent party lifestyle, works job she doesn't care about, quits job in order to run around with new boyfriend, marries boyfriend, has baby) could describe a lot of women on THIS site! Hell, it could describe ME - my husband earns more than I do, paid for me to go to grad school for something interesting but not lucrative, works long hours, loves our kids, and likes outside stuff. When I was younger, I liked living in the city and going to parties and traveling a lot. DH liked that stuff too. We did a lot of it together. We like other stuff now, and our lifestyle reflects that. It's actually pretty normal for people's interests and activities to shift as they mature and develop. It's the times that DOESN'T happen that are usually problematic.

It's like people see "Jon liked Mariposa" and "Jon has a rural childhood" and "Jon loved his daughter" and assume that because those things are not being said explicitly about Ellen, that must mean that she's a checked out ageing party girl who landed a rich husband who then trapped her with a baby or whatever it is y'all are suggesting.

THIS. And having a nanny or struggling a bit adjusting to new motherhood, compounded by isolation during cv is not nefarious.

HS is a finding by exclusion, esp in the scenario with no witnesses and with the bodies being out in the sun for days.

So many dramatic statements trashing the woman or implying "lawyering up" with no basis at all, they could all be complete fabrications. Suspect it is the same poster.

Great call by Jeff in nixing the idea of a True Crime forum.

How is getting pregnant after the wedding "trapping someone" with a baby?

Hard to be an aging party girl at 30, lol.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:With temps of 109+ on an exposed trail with no shade, it could just have been a misjudgment of the hike, the elevation of Devil's Gulch and ignorance of the microclimate, much like that jogger, Kreycik.

If EC was unhappy or struggling, and we don't have conclusive evidence that she was, it is still possible to die accidentally. The elevation gain out of that canyon is significant, enough that the one trail has switchbacks. If the dog or baby or 1 adult was impacted by heat, forward progress would stop. It is also possible it was planned, we may never know. No note was left and the bodies degraded in the heat which would impact tox and autopsy findings.

The sheriff stated that some of the tox results were back, they have not released them. Nothing can be read into that fact. More will be known in time.

Preposterous.
The lack of a note means nothing. Most persons dying by suicide don’t leave notes.
Tox is not performed in autopsies. The autopsy provides fluids and other samples to pathologists. Heat does not degrade liver and blood samples.
The sheriff did not request tox’ the ME performing autopsies handled that and will be the first to get the results of drugs found.
Don’t assume what we know.

[Anonymous]

If 30 is "aging" this forum skews ancient, lol.

It all seems pretty normal to me, except for the tragic ending.

Small mistakes or errors in judgment can really compound in nature. So many have died from HS this year, and so many dogs on trails from same. Really hope public education gets better or trails are simply closed in extreme heat. That SAR dogs were impacted as was LE the day the bodies were found speaks to the extreme heat in that canyon in the morning, never mind in direct afternoon sun.

I do wonder about people who make up elaborate stories @ strangers. Many on this board likely lived with roommates before boyfriends and husbands. Nothing nefarious there either.

FA and M/S are quite rare. Death from HS when it is 109+ is not. We may never know what really happened with no witnesses.

[Anonymous]

No note means we may never know the motive or if it was accidental, we have no info either way. No witnesses either.

[Anonymous]

Tox and autopsies are 2 completely different things.

The autopsy finding was pending tox results. Some of which are back per the sheriff, others of which are not, and NONE OF WHICH HAVE BEEN RELEASED. We can't draw any conclusions without that information.

Both the tox and autopsy findings would be impacted by the bodies being exposed in high heat from Sunday until midday Wed. So, findings may not be conclusive.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If 30 is "aging" this forum skews ancient, lol.

It all seems pretty normal to me, except for the tragic ending.

Small mistakes or errors in judgment can really compound in nature. So many have died from HS this year, and so many dogs on trails from same. Really hope public education gets better or trails are simply closed in extreme heat. That SAR dogs were impacted as was LE the day the bodies were found speaks to the extreme heat in that canyon in the morning, never mind in direct afternoon sun.

I do wonder about people who make up elaborate stories @ strangers. Many on this board likely lived with roommates before boyfriends and husbands. Nothing nefarious there either.

FA and M/S are quite rare. Death from HS when it is 109+ is not. We may never know what really happened with no witnesses.

50 is considered elderly here. It's just a few years from the home.

[Anonymous]

Pot growing in that area they hiked is odd. It’s a treeless, extremely hot location. A grow op would be so visible to law enforcement. So much water would be needed to keep the crop going. Access wouldn’t be easy for the growers. Unless the pot growers enjoy steep hikes, they could pick other locations to grow pot.

[Anonymous]

MS incidents appear much higher than HS.

https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/the-human-equation/202003/the-tragedy-murder-suicides

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If 30 is "aging" this forum skews ancient, lol.

It all seems pretty normal to me, except for the tragic ending.

Small mistakes or errors in judgment can really compound in nature. So many have died from HS this year, and so many dogs on trails from same. Really hope public education gets better or trails are simply closed in extreme heat. That SAR dogs were impacted as was LE the day the bodies were found speaks to the extreme heat in that canyon in the morning, never mind in direct afternoon sun.

I do wonder about people who make up elaborate stories @ strangers. Many on this board likely lived with roommates before boyfriends and husbands. Nothing nefarious there either.

FA and M/S are quite rare. Death from HS when it is 109+ is not. We may never know what really happened with no witnesses.

50 is considered elderly here. It's just a few years from the home.

Sundowner at 50? Yikes.

[Anonymous]

Just a side note, in reading this thread I have been googling many of the terms like FA and stats on MS. Just hope nothing bad happens and police look at my search history! Lol.

[Anonymous]

Wasn’t there a post that said Jon, Ellen and baby were seen in the museum on Saturday?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Pot growing in that area they hiked is odd. It’s a treeless, extremely hot location. A grow op would be so visible to law enforcement. So much water would be needed to keep the crop going. Access wouldn’t be easy for the growers. Unless the pot growers enjoy steep hikes, they could pick other locations to grow pot.

Common sense is anathema to the drama llamas that have invaded the board.

It is SO steep. Had it been less so they likely would have made it out of the canyon.

There are Google Earth links and photos on FB of work being done on the SL trail that really give a sense of how barren and exposed the switchbacks are.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Wasn’t there a post that said Jon, Ellen and baby were seen in the museum on Saturday?

Jon and the baby went to a museum on Friday.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Just a side note, in reading this thread I have been googling many of the terms like FA and stats on MS. Just hope nothing bad happens and police look at my search history! Lol.

Good luck with that, lol!

We may never know given how long the bodies sat out in the heat.

Neither is nearly as common as HS is in 109+ degree hikes in steep canyons.