The psychology of abuse and abusive relationships is complex. It is still not clear why victims keep going back to their abusers, but that is exactly what 20-year-old Indianapolis, Ind., resident Heather Norris did.
The last time anyone heard from Heather was on April 8, 2007, when she sent a text message to her mother. When she failed to make contact in the ensuing weeks, her mom filed a missing person report with police.
Heather's family and friends had initially assumed she was back with her on-again-off-again boyfriend, Joshua Bean. However, with each passing day, they became more concerned, because Bean had exhibited abusive behavior toward Heather in the past.
Heather and Bean had a rocky relationship, and Heather had filed assault charges against him more than once. In fact, Bean was scheduled to stand trial in June 2007, for having assaulted Heather in July 2006.
Police soon learned that Heather's car was also missing. Despite initial concerns that she had run off on her own, investigators continued to look into the case and soon began focusing their investigation on her online activities.
Like most people her age, Heather had a profile on the popular social networking Web site MySpace. On her profile she listed her hobbies and interests and maintained a blog, which would become a point of interest to investigators. An April 17, 2007, posting to her blog read: "No one believes me and no one understands me. You know who you are. I can't take this drama anymore. I need to get out of this state!"
The blog entry did not sit right with investigators and they wondered whether the post might have actually been written by someone else, in an effort to throw them off the trail.
An adjoining account Heather had at Photobucket.com contained 114 pictures, many of which depicted her as a beautiful and happy young woman. The photos gave no insight into any turmoil in Heather's life.
