Cat Startles Marisa at Home
On October 28, 2006, in the Florida city of Port Richey, a 37-year-old woman named Marisa Weber entered her home through the front door and greeted her mother. Although her mother didn’t respond, Marisa could hear her busy in the kitchen preparing dinner. Marisa took a few steps into their tightly spaced family living room to say hello. However, her progress was abruptly halted when one of their numerous cats charged into the room, almost knocking her over in its haste. The feline suddenly stopped and fixed its gaze upon the wall’s baseboard as though something of great interest lay there.
Marisa’s Cat and Stress
Marisa found herself increasingly irritated by the presence of the cat. As she glanced in its direction, she couldn’t help but connect its behavior to the recent discovery of rats in her family’s house, which had been scuttling around the ceilings and walls, making their presence known with their constant noise. Realizing that one of the cats was actively hunting these rats added to Marisa’s already mounting stress. The focus had become so overwhelming that Marisa had started taking anti-anxiety and antidepressant medication. The rat infestation and her general discomfort with living at her parents’ home had prompted this decision. Unfortunately, Marisa lacked the financial means to move out on her own, a solution she knew would resolve the problem, leaving her feeling trapped in her current situation.
Marisa’s evening at home
Marisa shifted her gaze away from the cat and perhaps the lurking rat behind the wall as she navigated through the cozy, confined living room into the adjacent kitchen. She shared a brief hug with her mom and noticed her dad’s presence in the room, who greeted her warmly. Marisa’s mom offered food, to which Marisa politely declined, saying, “You know what? I’m not hungry, thank you. I’m just tired. I’m going to bed.” She embraced her mom once more before bidding her dad goodnight. Turning on her heels, Marisa ascended the staircase and proceeded to her bedroom, where she entered and closed the door.
Marisa’s Unusual Day
The following morning, Marisa’s parents awoke and began preparing breakfast and getting ready for the day, but Marisa remained upstairs, not joining them. They assumed she had left early for her job, as she worked as a secretary at a waste disposal company. Consequently, her parents had breakfast and went to their respective jobs. Later that evening, when her parents returned home, Marisa was still absent, contrary to her usual routine after work. However, her parents weren’t overly concerned at that moment. They surmised, “Perhaps she left her job early and came home ahead of schedule, which is why her bedroom door is closed. She must want some privacy. After all, she’s a 37-year-old woman who likely values her personal space.
Missing Marisa, Parents Worried
However, later that evening, when the parents still hadn’t heard any signs of their daughter’s presence upstairs, the mother decided to venture upstairs and gently knock on Marisa’s bedroom door. Unfortunately, there was no response. After a moment of hesitation, Marisa’s mother decided to open the door, only to find the room completely vacant. At this juncture, concern began to seep in for the parents. They couldn’t help but worry, considering they hadn’t seen Marisa that morning, and now she appeared missing. Nevertheless, considering their daughter was 37 years old, they acknowledged her right to go out and do things independently without informing them.
Concerns about Marisa’s safety
And thus, the parents made the difficult choice to set aside their concerns temporarily. They believed they would indeed reunite with Marisa in the morning. However, as the following day dawned, their anticipation turned into anxiety. Marisa had not returned home, and worry began to take hold. The mother, in particular, was consumed by fears for Marisa’s safety. Standing at a mere five feet three inches tall and weighing just around a hundred pounds, Marisa’s petite stature amplified their concerns that she might have encountered danger during her commute to or from work.
Marisa’s Mysterious Disappearance
Marisa’s mother urgently phoned her other daughter, Gina, overcome with worry as she exclaimed, “Gina, it’s Marisa. She’s missing, and we have no idea where she could be. We fear she might have been kidnapped. Please, come over and help us unravel this mystery.” Gina immediately rushed to their home, and upon entering, she reassured her parents, saying, “Let’s remain composed. Marisa is 37; I’m confident she’s safe. First, let’s conduct a thorough search of the house to check if there’s any note or message from Marisa that explains her whereabouts and activities.
Marisa Reported Missing to the Police
The family embarked on a thorough search of their entire house, commencing in Marisa’s room. Regrettably, their efforts yielded no clues regarding Marisa’s whereabouts. However, as they combed through her room, they stumbled upon Marisa’s purse, which remained undisturbed. Upon opening it, they discovered her wallet still intact. This discovery raised significant concerns for the family, prompting them to question why Marisa would venture anywhere for an extended period without her purse. This perplexing situation led them to make a critical decision: contacting the police to report Marisa as missing.
Family’s Concerns About Marisa
However, the police investigation had made little progress. On November 9, exactly 12 days since Marisa had bid her parent’s goodnight, retreated to her room, and subsequently disappeared, the family found themselves utterly perplexed about their next steps. Nevertheless, Gina, Marisa’s sister, began contemplating a different possibility. Given Marisa’s fragile mental state, unhappiness, and the immense stress she endured due to the persistent rat infestation, a grim reality crossed Gina’s mind: Marisa might have made a sudden decision to leave or, even more distressing, she could have inflicted harm upon herself.
Search for Marisa’s Clues
And so, on November 9, Gina decided to thoroughly search the family home, hoping to uncover any small clues that might reveal Marisa’s thoughts before her mysterious disappearance. Gina’s starting point was Marisa’s room. She ascended the stairs, proceeded down the hallway, opened the door to her sister’s bedroom, and entered. To paint a picture of the scene, it was incredibly cluttered, resembling something akin to a hoarder’s haven. Mountains of clothes loomed more significant than any human figure, rendering the room wholly inundated with possessions.
Mysterious Key Discovery
However, Gina proceeded slowly, strolling through the room with a meticulous gaze, carefully examining every nook and cranny, sifting through the clutter of miscellaneous items and clothes that had accumulated. Despite her thorough search, she came up empty-handed. Then, her attention was suddenly captivated by her sister’s bookshelf, prompting her to divert her gaze towards it. In the middle of the bookshelf, something peculiar caught her eye. Gina happened to have a flashlight with her, and even though the room was already well-lit, she instinctively reached for it, switched it on, and directed its beam toward the mysterious object on the bookcase.
Marisa’s Tragic Bookcase Incident
Upon witnessing it, she let out a piercing scream. According to Gina’s findings, this is the account of what transpired on the night of October 28, 2006, when Marisa Weber mysteriously vanished:
That evening, Marisa returned home to find her parents in the kitchen. Despite being offered food, she declined, stating, “I’m exhausted; I’m heading to bed.” She ascended the stairs, entered her room, shut the door, and sat on her bed. In the quiet of her room, Marisa reached for a pill bottle beside her bed, containing morphine and codeine, potent opiate painkillers with a high potential for addiction. She ingested a few of these pills and rolled and smoked a marijuana joint.
Afterward, she reached for the TV remote and settled onto her bed, preparing to relax. However, as she attempted to power the TV on a bureau across the room, it remained unresponsive. In an instant, Marisa recognized that the TV had probably become disconnected. This was a recurring occurrence. Her room was so densely packed with items that occasionally, objects would inadvertently collide with the bureau when she moved around, causing the TV’s plug to loosen.
However, the TV wasn’t plugged in directly behind the Spiro, as one might expect. Instead, it was perched atop the bureau, with the power cord snaking its way down and slightly to the side, disappearing behind a massive bookcase that stood flush against the bureau. This bookcase had become a repository for the countless books and trinkets Marisa had accumulated over the years. It was so laden with stuff that not only was it virtually impossible to reach through to access the wall, but it was also far too cumbersome to budge.
The sole means of accessing the TV plug required climbing onto the bureau beneath it. Marisa, whose faculties were likely compromised by the drugs she had consumed, ascended the bureau and extended her arm behind the towering six-foot bookcase to retrieve the plug. However, it remained frustratingly out of grasp. Undeterred, she leaned further and further until she finally secured the pin. But as she successfully reconnected it to the wall, a misstep caused her to tumble headfirst into the confined space between the bookshelf and the wall, leaving her wedged upside down.
We can’t determine the exact reason behind Marisa’s initial silence when trapped. It’s possible that the influence of the drugs clouded her judgment, rendering her unable to process the situation or discern the appropriate course of action. Alternatively, she might have felt embarrassed about her predicament, wedged upside down behind her bookcase. Regardless of the cause, she refrained from seeking help immediately. Regrettably, when a person remains trapped in an inverted position for an extended period, it can lead to a dangerous situation where blood accumulates in the upper part of the body, resulting in uncomfortable sensations such as eyes feeling as though they might protrude from their sockets and intense pressure in the head.
However, the primary issue lies in the accumulation of blood around the lungs, constricting their function and severely impeding Marisa’s ability to breathe. Most importantly, her inability to take deep breaths prevented her from projecting her voice loudly enough to seek assistance. Consequently, during those crucial initial moments when she found herself trapped behind the bookcase, Marisa couldn’t call for help. As the realization set in that she was completely immobilized, her lung capacity remained insufficient to cry out for assistance. As a result, Marisa likely remained trapped upside down behind the bookshelf for at least one, possibly even two days. She may have been aware of her family members coming in and out of her bedroom in search of her, but she could not vocalize her distress and capture their attention.
Eventually, she passed away. When Marisa’s family searched for her in her bedroom during her final moments hidden behind the bookcase, they recalled hearing faint sounds. These noises were often mistaken for the rats that had infested their house, so they remained unaware that Marisa was struggling to draw their attention, unable to use her voice.
After Marisa’s passing, her family continued to visit her room, searching for any remnants of her presence. They began to detect an unusual odor, which turned out to be the result of Marisa’s decomposition. However, unaware of the actual cause, they attributed it to the room’s untidiness and the presence of rats in their home. In their minds, they dismissed the smell as something not particularly serious.
On November 9, as Marisa’s sister Gina returned to Marisa’s bedroom, her attention was drawn to an unusual sight near the bookcase. What caught her eye was the unexpected presence of her sister’s foot peeking out from behind the bookcase. Gina was initially perplexed by this discovery and decided to retrieve her flashlight. As she directed the beam of light towards the mysterious foot and followed it downward, she slowly began to recognize that it belonged to none other than her sister.