The Lynn Messer case

[EowynW]

This was shared on one of the spiritual abuse watch pages I follow. I had never heard of her story until now. 

https://spiritualbattles.org/category/lynn-messer/

[NachosFlandersStyle]

Ohhh, this is a pet case of mine. I have briefly interacted with the Messers a number of years ago while doing political work. A lot of my friends who work in the state capitol think Kerry did it*, but then part of that is probably schadenfreude. Kerry is creepy as hell but the rest of the family is weird, too, so I don't know what to think. 

*One of their sons also thinks he's guilty or at least hiding something: https://themissouritimes.com/35308/son-calls-messer-come-clean/

 

[smittykins]

I remember this case from ID's Disappeared.  I also believe Kerry was involved. 

[Tim-Tom Biblethumper]

I saw this case featured on Disappeared too.  I was curious and found a couple of FB groups.  One was run by Kerry and one by one of the sons.  Back when I was reading (maybe a year ago), they were still warring with each other.
@NachosFlandersStyle I do remember one of the sons struck me as very odd.

[hoipolloi]

Here is Kerry's FB page.

Looks like he thinks he's the victim (warning: this link contains a wall o'text):

 

[PennySycamore]

Wasn't Kerry Messer some sort of bigwig in the forced-birth movement in Missouri?  Nothing says that you're "pro-life" like killing your living, breathing wife.

[NachosFlandersStyle]

10 minutes ago, PennySycamore said:

Wasn't Kerry Messer some sort of bigwig in the forced-birth movement in Missouri?  Nothing says that you're "pro-life" like killing your living, breathing wife.

Yep. He and his son Abram were professional lobbyists working under the title of the "Missouri Family Network." They were a constant presence at the state capitol in Jefferson City, where they promoted all kinds of anti-abortion, anti-gay, pro-gun, unregulated-homeschooling policies. Lynn often accompanied them and I remember her seeming kind of dour, like she was always following a few steps behind Kerry looking unhappy, but maybe my memory is just projecting based on what I know now.

[polecat]

This is my neck of the woods. And yes, I think Kerry killed her.

[Briefly]

I had not hear of her/them before. I read some of the blog posts on the linked blog.  I think he killed her, too  I'm very disgusted by his attitude on his page, like he's the victim.  He's not.  He may be the perpetrator or maybe he isn't, but he is not the victim.  She is.

[hoipolloi]

Here is an article from a couple of years ago about the split between Kerry & Abram, before Lynn's skeletal remains were found:

Quote

 

The conservative father-and-son lobbying team of Kerry and Abram Messer was a fixture in Jefferson City.

Under the moniker of the Missouri Family Network, the pair often approached lawmakers through their fundamentalist “ministry” to fight abortion rights, same-sex marriage and other issues they view as government intrusions on parental rights....

But now that partnership has been shattered amid a very public family feud.

Both of Kerry Messer’s sons, Abram and Aarron, now doubt aspects of their father’s accounting of events relating to the disappearance of their mother.

The brothers say they are particularly disturbed by their father’s changing narrative. Recently, Kerry Messer speculated on a local radio show that his wife may have walked eight or nine miles to the Mississippi River to take her life — a direct contradiction to his initial claims on social media and in various media interviews that his wife was not depressed nor suicidal.

 

Sure sounds like Kerry is a big fucking liar and asshole, whatever else he did or didn't do.

[VaSportsMom]

Darn it, I did not need another case to follow or rabbit hole to fall in but here goes. 

[Georgiana]

On 7/10/2018 at 11:52 AM, PennySycamore said:

Wasn't Kerry Messer some sort of bigwig in the forced-birth movement in Missouri?  Nothing says that you're "pro-life" like killing your living, breathing wife.

It's not as far off as it should be, frankly.  Many Pro-life advocates DO advocate for forced birth and forced pregnancy even when it could kill the living, breathing mother.  The whole pro-life position essentially hinges on the position that a woman has LESS right to life and LESS right to protect her own life than someone else.  

There is no way to give a woman full rights to life equal to that of a living, breathing man AND be pro-life.  It's just not possible.  Because in that case, you MUST grant her the same bodily autonomy as a man AND the same rights to defend her life as a man has.  In which case, you land squarely in the pro-choice camp.  

Pro life treats women as second-class citizens by it's very nature.  And any time you define a group as "second class", you by default assign a lesser value to their lives.  Which, of course, means that taking that life is LESS of a transgression. 

[VaSportsMom]

The Trace Evidence podcast has a new episode up that I’m not familiar with but it sounds really interesting. The kid just went off to spend a few days with his dad so I think I’ll dive in tonight. 

[Lisafer]

I'm a born and bred Missourian and I'm just wondering where the hell I was when all this happened. I don't even remember it in the news. The whole thing sounds weird as hell.