The Falcon Lake Murder: David Michael Hartley

A note from iamme:  I would like to apologize to my readers who do not know the whole David Hartley/Falcon Lake murder story.  My blogs pertaining to this subject are meant for those who have been following the story from the start.  Thus, if I omit specifics, it is only because I assume my readers already know what I'm talking about, or what happened before and/or after certain events.  Thank you.

On September 30, 2010, David Michael Hartley was last seen shot in the head, floating in Falcon Lake, Texas by his wife, Tiffany Hartley.

His wife's story of what happened that day is the only confirmation that that is how he was last seen.  No body was ever found.  No bullets were ever recovered, and Tiffany's jet ski did not even have so much as a scratch from one either.

With an eyewitness and the backing of  Zapata County Sheriff, Sigifredo Gonzalez, Jr, everything seemed to indicate that Tiffany Hartley was telling the truth, especially since the blood on her life vest was later determined to be that of David Hartley's.

Not only was it the blood evidence, but the fact that pirate attacks had occurred before, but never this severe.

Still, none of that really mattered to many who followed this story from the start.  Tiffany's story could be a lie.  Yes, there was blood on her vest that belonged to David, but that still did not explain how it got there.

Tiffany's reaction to his death, with the help of the witness statement by the "good Samaritan"/eyewitness and Sheriff Sigi, only fueled the fire more that this story was not all that it seemed to be.

The question is:  If it's not all that it seems to be, then what is it really?

Some people have speculated that this was a drug deal gone bad.  Someone commented somewhere to the Hartley story that they believed Tiffany and David had discussed this before.  David was to take the money to buy the drugs.  Tiffany was to hang back and hidden from view.  If anything happened to David, Tiffany was to run away as fast as possible and call for help.  That persons opinion was that the drug dealers never saw Tiffany.

Others have speculated that this was an insurance scam concocted by David and Tiffany.  Some believe that David may have not been a willing participant.  Others believe it was probably a scam gone wrong.  Some of those stories include the "good Samaritan"/eyewitness as the shooter, while others claim it could have been Tiffany and that would explain the blood on her life vest.  Maybe the shot was supposed to hit David in the shoulder and ended up hitting him in the head by accident?

All those reasons sound good and very possible.  Why do I say that?

Because Tiffany likes to talk.  If there is one thing that has been told to us, over and over and over again here in America is that you have the right to remain silent because everything you say will be used against you in the court of law.  Tiffany hasn't been to court to testify on David's murder, and the way things are going, it looks like she never will.  If she did, the following comments she made in one of her interviews would provoke a lot of questions:

"We have heard about the pirates before and we always had talked we would outrun them.  We even talk to border patrol and they said you could outrun them because of our jetskis."

If they had heard about the pirates before, then why was she claiming they didn't know about the dangers on Falcon Lake water?  Maybe she was too embarrassed to admit their stupidity?  Ok, but then, a question that begs to be asked is why would they even be discussing outrunning pirates in the first place?  When did they talk to the border patrol about this subject?  And did the subject of "outrunning" come up with the border patrol?  Were they digging for information because they were planning to do something that might require them to run?  Kind of like a bank robber scoping out a store to see how many cameras or guards there are so they can plan an escape if things go wrong?

It's all very interesting, but I haven't discussed one final reason that this could all be a conspiracy with David.

Through out this whole story, for me, it wasn't only Tiffany that was doing a horrible job at grieving.  To me, mostly everyone in both families was doing a horrible job.  It got to a point where I felt they were all part of a big conspiracy, but I just couldn't figure out how that could be possible.  Not one of them doubted Tiffany and that was very odd given her many conflicting statements, and of course, the many interesting questions being posed around the web.  Surely there had to be some doubts from some of them?  Especially when the most she could and has produced is sniffles, but no tears.  So what possible reason could they have for being fully supportive of her?

Well, I did some digging.  A few weeks back I had heard about a friends brother who was kidnapped in Mexico.  They searched for him for weeks, and rumors started circulating that the cartels had killed him.  The guy, of course, was involved with the Zeta's.  On our last trip to Mexico, this friend informed us that he had news about his brother.  He was alive, but he was warned to keep his mouth shut if he knew what was good for him.  He was also never going to see his brother again.

I pondered about this, because something about my friends story felt familiar, and it took me a while, but finally I got it.  The reason it felt familiar was because for some odd reason, I felt this was similar to what happened to David.  So I asked a good friend who is very familiar if this was possible, for someone to get kidnapped, be labeled dead, but really be alive?  Was this some form of secret mission given to certain people involved with the cartels?

What I learned was surprising!  Yes, it is very possible!

And if it is possible, it may explain why the family seems so fake at their grieving.  It may be they are just pretending, because David has to be believed to be dead to the world!

So what possible reasons would someone in this situation have to pretend to be dead?  Ask yourself this:

What happens when you leave a gang you're sworn into?  They kill you.

It is my opinion that David may have been involved with the cartels.  More than likely the Zeta's since they control most of Reynosa.  When the cartels had their fall out and the CDG began targeting Zeta's, it could be possible David began to become scared for his life and that of his wife.  It could be that he wanted out, or maybe he wanted to join the CDG?  Either way, one way or another, he would be getting killed, either by the CDG for being a Zeta or by the Zeta's for joining the CDG.  What other options did he have?

How about faking your own death?

By faking his death, now he is free to either join the CDG or just leave that life behind.  While it is possible that he could just leave and come over to live in America, it is also possible he might have committed a crime that was traceable, and regardless of whether he's in the US or Mexico, they will find him, or worse, his family.  The cartels are known for getting revenge by killing the loved ones of the person they are after.  Some of those incidents have even been followed into the US, and while some will consider that spill over violence, those of us who live here know that is not the case.  It will be considered spill over violence when the cartels start having their wars in our streets like they do in Mexico.  In these cases, these are Americans involved with the cartels, doing their boss's bidding of targeting an individual, or their family if they can't find that individual, for something that individual might have done wrong.

I was told that these fake deaths are extreme.  They'll completely alter the person identity if they can.  They'll dye their hair, make them shave off their beard, tan or lighten their skin, change their eye color, and in some cases, even perform cosmetic surgery.

Isn't that the biggest conspiracy theory you've ever heard about this case?  I know, I know, but that could very well explain why this whole things sounds of a cover up.  It could explain Tiffany's fake tears.  Maybe she knows he's alive and is having a hard time acting like a grieving widow?  It could explain the fake grieving of the family.  Maybe they were informed about why they need to pretend that David is dead?

But then, where does the "good Samaritan"/eyewitness and Sheriff Sigi fit into this scenario?

I will tell you what I think in the my following blogs.  Until then, keep your mind open about this case, and whatever you do, don't let this story die until the justice is served to those who deserve it.