5.30.2008

The strange case of the Ucar family

Earlier this week, we mentioned that we'd be following the apparent mass suicide, or murder-suicide, of the Ucar family in San Clemente, for possible inclusion in Greenspan's Body Count.

Why did we suspect Greenspan in the killings? There simply aren't that many things that are likely to cause a nice, upper-middle class family to do something like this. At the top of the short list: irreparable financial devastation from the bursting of Greenspan's bubble.

Lo and behold, today's news brings evidence that tends to confirm our suspicions. Margrit Ucar was a real estate speculator:
Steve Jackson, who worked with the family on two business transactions involving land in the Sea Pointe Estates, said both Manas and his wife were always hospitable and welcoming. "I recall that Margrit was my contact point for the real estate transactions," said Jackson, who noted that the family had planned well for the future, especially when it came to planning for the girls’ education. "Manas would kindly invite me into the home, ask if I needed anything like water and offer me a seat at the dining room table where I would wait for Margrit. [He] would then excuse himself and go back to his office while I completed any paperwork, or real estate discussions with Margrit."
I'm beginning to get the picture: a tight-knit, insular familar. Dad had part-time gigs as an expert witness, but the family's real money was in extracting equity from the $1.7 million home, and Mom's occasional flipping of houses and land. It paid for the twins' college education. It all worked so well, as long as Greenspan's bubble kept inflating and Margrit could keep extracting more free money from real estate. But then things changed. With the real estate market in shambles, the Ucars debts far exceeded the value of their properties. The introverted family couldn't deal with the shame of eviction and sending Grannie off to a state home. Suicide seemed the most honorable way out. The twins probably went willingly, being shy girls with far closer ties to their parents than to any peers.

This is still all speculation at this point. We're not crediting Alan Greenspan with these kills yet. But stay tuned. The evidence is mounting, and it's beginning to smell like Greenspan's Body Count.


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