{"id":8722,"date":"2026-07-29T16:52:24","date_gmt":"2026-07-29T20:52:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pattiphillipsbooks.com\/kerriansnotebook\/?p=8722"},"modified":"2026-07-30T16:55:51","modified_gmt":"2026-07-30T20:55:51","slug":"kn-p-345-murder-by-vacation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/pattiphillipsbooks.com\/kerriansnotebook\/2026\/07\/kn-p-345-murder-by-vacation\/","title":{"rendered":"KN, p. 345 “Murder by Vacation”"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Hi everyone! Charlie here. Sheila and I boxed up the giveaway books and sent them off to loads of happy readers. \ud83d\ude42 Back home, I settled in to watch the news and caught the story about the search for a missing person in the Bahamas. Not all the facts are in, but the story involves boats, water, and a couple on vacation.<\/span><\/p>\n

It\u2019s really no secret that I\u2019m a sucker for a great murder mystery and have been known to geek out on tricky cases with conflicting details and points of view like the one in the Bahamas. Plus, during travel season it seems that murder by vacation is a favorite subject of the newscasters, so I did a little research.<\/span><\/p>\n

Murder trials in Hawaii and Austria popped onto my radar, with convictions in both places.<\/span><\/p>\n

Hawaii<\/strong>: After a rough patch in their marriage involving an affair, a doctor and his wife decided to take a hiking trip to work things out. According to the court records, the doctor tried to inject her and push her over a cliff. When she fought back, he beat her with a rock. Photos show the injuries. The jury didn\u2019t buy his self-defense pleas and his emotional distress over her affair, and found him guilty of attempted manslaughter. He might serve 20 years.<\/span><\/p>\n

Austria: <\/strong>An Austrian mountaineer was convicted of grossly negligent manslaughter after \u00a0the January 2025 death of his girlfriend. He had left her behind near the summit of the Grossglockner in terrible winter conditions, supposedly in order to seek help, after having turned down earlier offers as the weather deteriorated. Previous acquaintances testified that he had also left them behind in other climbs, but in this case the woman died of hypothermia. He received a suspended jail sentence and a fine of about $10,000. He has appealed.<\/span><\/p>\n

Thanks to social media, we found that there\u2019s a name for this kind of behavior: \u201cAlpine Divorce,\u201d which experienced guides and climbers around the world say has been going on for years. According to Wikipedia, the phrase refers to the \u201cact of abandoning a romantic partner in out-of-the-way mountain or forest settings.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

What in the world could be the motivation<\/strong> behind these questionable actions? Here are some thoughts from experienced law enforcement pals:<\/span><\/p>\n