Tirell Ocobock was found murdered in April of 1976, in Topeka, Kansas. She had been beaten to death. The ony witness was a small brown dog she had been walking, who was taken to an animal shelter. My question was, "Who killed Tirell and why?" This reading starts with the Queen of Cups, upside down, crossed by the Emperor. In and of itself, this is an interesting combination; the reversed queen here is dishonest, manipulative, and emotionally perverse...the Emperor is a father figure. But who are these two in relation to Tirell's murder? The Page of Pentacles appears reversed as a possible cause; here we have a young person, possibly a student, whose ideas are a bit unrealistic and at odds with those around him or her. The ten of swords also appears as an event in the past, and this is not only violence, but a power posturing gesture of sorts. Someone who knew Tirell's route that morning was waiting for her, or following her, and there ensued a situation that involved strong-arming for some reason. This card is followed by the reversed ten of pentacles, the second "ten" in a row to appear reversed. The ten of pentacles reversed refers to a lost inheritance. So a man who was significantly older than Tirell and a woman felt that family property or family honor was somehow threatened by Tirell. Next, we have another card from the suit of swords: the seven of swords. There was a feeling that Tirell had something that was not hers, and by the process of violence, the perpetrators took something that was not theirs.
The motive for this crime is represented by the ten of wands, reversed. So we have another upside down "ten"! This card tells of lawsuits and duplicity, and also of legal losses. This was on the minds of the persons who committed the murder, and was part of the general picture. There was a threat, somehow, somewhere; presented to the material well-being of a family by the presence of Terell. Strength appears in the environment.....this murder was committed by persons who honestly felt that what they were doing was right. Also, the public perception of the perpetrators is one of "they would never be involved in a crime", so the investigation stalled, partly because law enforcement was looking for known violent criminals rather than sleuthing through Tirell's affairs in search of a motive. In the place of hopes and fears, the Page of Swords reversed comes up. We have an accessory after the fact who knows who murdered Tirell and why. This person was young enough to be one of Tirell's peers in 1976. The final outcome is the nine of pentacles, reversed. This speaks of a loss of friendship or a loss of a home. It would appear that the murder did not truly protect the Queen of Cups and the Emperor, after all.
It really looks as if this murder was committed by two people, a man and a woman; and it also looks as if they knew Tirell, and planned the murder in advance. It was done to protect a family's resources or reputation, and the perpetrators got away with it because no thorough investigation was performed, examining all links to Tirell, her life, and her future.
