Life locked up and hypergraphia as the main evidence (8 photos)

Alvin was not too talkative, and if he did one of his acquaintances, his reasoning boiled down mainly to voicing various variations of conspiracy theories.





A resident of the city of Ringgold (Georgia), the locals considered weird eccentric. But Alvin Ridley did not offend anyone, but harmless urban lunatics are not uncommon.



On October 4, 1997, he entered the rescue service from Alvin call. There was no telephone in his house, so in order to dial the necessary numbers, he had to go to a pay phone. He told the operator that he wife is not feeling well. When the paramedics arrived at the scene, they had only to state the fact of death.

At the same time, the inhabitants of the city almost unanimously asked again, having learned about the situation: “Who? Wife?". Not assuming that this the eccentric could even be married. Except for the natives of Virginia who about they knew about marriage, but they believed that the man had dealt with his wife long ago, and escaped punishment, squinting under the mentally unstable.



Spouses on their wedding day

The couple got married back in 1966. At that time Alvin was the best repairman in town. Virginia was not a perfectly healthy person. Suffered from epileptic seizures and reduced to zero all social contacts. Moreover, the girl was an introvert, and her husband's company was enough for her.

According to Virginia's relatives, at first everything went well. But then the guy stopped coping with his wife's illness and plugged into her overly tight control. The young woman's condition stress worsened, she experienced anxiety that provoked new attacks.

Eventually, she stopped leaving the house altogether. Occasionally went out church or husband's workshop. Relatives became worried and contacted police with a statement of illegal detention. At the Ridley's meeting came together. And Virginia told the court and her parents that everything was fine with her. okay, and she doesn't want to see anyone herself. After that it stopped get in touch with family.

What happened to Virginia?



Virginia

The coroner confirmed the violent death. Alvin were charged with murder. Lawyer McCracken Poston faced isolation and oddities of his client. The man didn't even let him in. on the threshold. I had to build a whole system with gifts, homemade food and emotional conversations so that the suspect would at least let the lawyer enter house.

Crossing the threshold, Poston froze in bewilderment. Everything inside it was pretty messed up. But the strangest thing turned out to be red light and piles of neatly written paper. Question Attorney man indifferently replied that this was the work of Virginia.



Example of hypergraph

In medicine, such a condition is an obsessive desire to write or drawing is called hypergraphy. Seen in epileptics and often accompanied by excessive perseverance, manic craving for insignificant details with their constant repetition. Hypergraphy also can be observed in manic syndrome and bipolar affective disorder.

The records contained quite ordinary information: the choice of food on breakfast, episode description, love note for husband. Speeches about there was no torture or pain.

He made a mistake?



petechiae

Until recently, the defendant refused to appear in court. But in at the last moment he changed his mind, which surprised everyone, even the lawyer. He looked lost and genuinely saddened by the death of Virginia. He said that his wife was his best friend. They lived happily for 27 years. And for that time he not only did not raise his favorite hand, he did not even raise his voice.

An important point was the appeal of the conclusion pathologist. The fact is that he was initially opposed to Alvin. This was confirmed by several witnesses. Conclusion about violent he made death on the basis of petechiae - red spots that appear in as a result of damage to small vessels and hemorrhages. Usually appear after asphyxia. But they can also be a manifestation of natural death, to for example, as a result of a seizure. A hematoma on the neck was the result improper storage of the body. And these moments were proved by a third-party expertise.



Alvin was acquitted. And his lawyer bought the building where once housed the Ridley workshop, and opened after the completion of the iconic business law office.



The key evidence at the trial was about 10 thousand people. pages written in Virginia's hand. They were the main reason husband's plea not guilty. It is believed that hypergraphia suffered Dostoevsky, Lovecraft and Carroll, who in his life wrote without small 100 thousand letters.