Skyla Whitaker, 11, & Taylor Placker 13 - Found Murdered - #4

[EnvoyDriver61]

The news show was interesting.

Girls leave about 4:30 and are discovered about 5:25. Skyla's mom calls about 5:08 she says (so that could be 5:08-5:13 if clocks are off). That means there were only about 7-10 minutes before grandpa takes out after them, which allows for a cell phone call and concern to be raised when they don't answer. So, that part is interesting.

Google Earth reports the bridge at 6/10 of a mile away. Those girls had PLENTY of time to see something then, meet up with something, and they weren't walking very fast, or they stopped a lot, or were stopped a lot.

It was interesting to see Taylor's house wasn't as far from the road as I thought. The earlier video didn't show the house, just the mailbox.

 

[STEADFAST]

Has anyone made a definite connection between this Joe Jr to Taylor. I know there was some talk about his wife having the same address as Taylor's grandparents, Peter and Vicki. However, no link was ever provided to prove that to be true.
A lot of people have the same last name and they aren't related, or they are very distant relatives. Also, if the cops knew enough to protect Joe Jr from this killer, then I assume they know who the killer is, or at least have an idea, right?

No, no definite connection has been made. We thought we had one, but it hasn't panned out yet.

 

[CarpeDiem]

Google Earth reports the bridge at 6/10 of a mile away. Those girls had PLENTY of time to see something then, meet up with something, and they weren't walking very fast, or they stopped a lot, or were stopped a lot.

I think the investigators make a mistake if they are just looking at that day. If Taylor walked this route everyday, and with Skylar with her, they probably did it on Saturday too. So look at who and what was going on for the few days before the murders. Whatever they may have seen or known about, may not have necessarily occurred on Sunday, but the perp came back that day.

 

[rccook555]

On the Record-Crime Scene Tour

http://www.foxnews.com/video/index....stId=949437d0db05ed5f5b9954dc049d70b0c12f2749

Ok i am a bit confused now... On the video it sounds like he said the girls where found by Taylors father "Richard" ( he makes this reference twice at 2 min 26 sec on video and again at 2 min 18 seconds) ... I thought they were found by her grandfather Peter? Is Peters name also Richard? Maybe i am just hearing him incorrectly...

 

[Annie]

If Taylor's goal was to work with CSI, the may have considered herself a young detective and may have wandered onto something earlier and took Skyla for a look at it. They may not have stayed on the road the whole time. There are so many possibilities here. I wonder if they were ever in the man's truck if he is the one who did this. Could they have been shot once somewhere else, thrown in the back of the truck, and dumped and finished off at the spot where they were found?

 

[SuziQ]

Ok i am a bit confused now... On the video it sounds like he said the girls where found by Taylors father "Richard" ( he makes this reference twice at 2 min 26 sec on video and again at 2 min 18 seconds) ... I thought they were found by her grandfather Peter? Is Peters name also Richard? Maybe i am just hearing him incorrectly...

Good catch. Hmmmm.

 

[EnvoyDriver61]

Isn't his name Peter R. Placker? I wonder if locally he goes by Richard, his middle name perhaps?

 

[JBean]

Ok i am a bit confused now... On the video it sounds like he said the girls where found by Taylors father "Richard" ( he makes this reference twice at 2 min 26 sec on video and again at 2 min 18 seconds) ... I thought they were found by her grandfather Peter? Is Peters name also Richard? Maybe i am just hearing him incorrectly...

I thought he said Mr. Placker.

 

[rccook555]

I thought he said Mr. Placker.

Yes he does at the beginning of the video, but at 2m 26 sec and at 2 min 18 sec it sounds like he is saying Richard Placker... maybe i need to go clean my ears out

 

[oceanblueeyes]

I had asked on another page if an automatic is shot rapidly with a sweeping motion. Could it be that quick if the two girls were standing fairly close together? I don't know anything about guns. Maybe I'm thinking more along the lines of a machine gun.

When I think of rapid fire in a sweeping motion I think more of an automatic rifle that has many bullets in it and them coming out in rapid succession. Even that though the perp has to be constantly pointing at his targeted victim.

Here if we are to believe Mark Furhman and his inside sources then handguns were used. One a revolver which holds 6 bullets and a semi-automatic that probably holds about 10-14 bullets in its magazine.

We do not know where he was positioned when he first started firing. With the revolver closer the more accuracy and more deadly and further away it is not. The size of the revolver also would be a factor. Whether it was a 22 or perhaps a 38, snub nose or long nose etc. I think he first unloaded the revolver on them and they were still alive and that is when he pulled out the semi-automatic to make sure they were dead.

I think they saw him and turned to look at him in the truck and he fired from the truck with the revolver. Once they were on the ground and hurt he then got out of his truck and used the semi-automatic pistol. Saw they were dead, got back in the truck and left the scene quickly. All of this wouldn't take much time at all. As quick as someone can pull a trigger which is lightning fast.

imoo

 

[FlowerChild]

If Taylor's goal was to work with CSI, the may have considered herself a young detective and may have wandered onto something earlier and took Skyla for a look at it. They may not have stayed on the road the whole time. There are so many possibilities here. I wonder if they were ever in the man's truck if he is the one who did this. Could they have been shot once somewhere else, thrown in the back of the truck, and dumped and finished off at the spot where they were found?

OSBI says they were shot where they were found - and witnesses said they saw them returning home down the road before they were shot. We are only talking 3/4 of a mile from Bridge to home. Plus the shots were heard. The girls were just a few feet from the roadside when they were shot - but not on it - from the video it looks like they were less than 10 feet from the dirt roadway.

The brush is kinda heavy - and there are fences and ditches alongside the road so it would be hard to get a vehicle off the road very far in that area - it's doubtful the POI (with the truck) could have gotten off the road near the bridge or elsewhere off the road to shoot the girls OR get two "shot girls" into the truck bed (or cab) without anyone seeing. This is a fairly busy road actually - a major route from one even smaller town to the services in Weleetka.

OSBI seems to be certain (shell casings, footprint and tire evidence etc) that the killings occured where the girls were found. They have not mentioned anything about a second crime scene and they seem pretty sure of the location, the evidence, the time the girls were shot and the POI. So far they are sticking too the ONE POI, the girls shot where they were found right before they were found and that they walked to the bridge and were coming back.

My Opinion

 

[EnvoyDriver61]

From the video with Rosser, we also know the girls were found with their heads facing the road, i.e., they fell toward the road after being shot, Taylor farther south on the road than Skyla, who was a couple feet behind her, but her head was toward the road as well (I am pretty sure that is what he said).

One could think if they were shot from the front and fell forward, they would be face down. Did the person then get out, and turn them around to shoot them from the chin? That sounds like a lot of work in a short amount of time. But, it would explain DNA being on the girls possibly as well as reported boot prints.

Since LE is stating they believe there are two shooters, we'd almost have to include a person in the bushes laying on the ground for that type of shot to the chin, as reported by Skyla's mother in our scenarios. Or, someone from across the road. Does anyone know how tall Skyla was?

My speculation only.

 

[oceanblueeyes]

Yes he does at the beginning of the video, but at 2m 26 sec and at 2 min 18 sec it sounds like he is saying Richard Placker... maybe i need to go clean my ears out

Yes, he says, "Richard". He also says "yes" when the reporter said "grandfather" but then when he is talking about Mr. Placker he says Taylor's father."

I think I read yesterday that Richard is Peter's middle name.

He must go by Richard instead of Peter.

imoo

 

[MissHolmes]

The family tree has been partially updated. I will be working on it throughout the day.

http://placker.tribalpages.com/tribe/browse?userid=placker&view=9&rand=767200765
Stars added to the front of the name have been added to note they may not be in the
proper place in the tree. But it did seem necessary to add them at this time.

Thanks to those who have sent me additional information :blowkiss:
Please continue to send me any info you may have to add.

 

[CarpeDiem]

I think I read yesterday that Richard is Peter's middle name.

He must go by Richard instead of Peter.

imoo

That's the situation with my husband, his father and he had the same first name but different middle names, he has always been referred to by his middle name so as not to confuse the two of them. His middle name is still the only one he uses, except on official documents. :waitasec: I always wondered why his parents didn't just make the first names different, DUH.

 

[SuziQ]

From the video with Rosser, we also know the girls were found with their heads facing the road, i.e., they fell toward the road after being shot, Taylor farther south on the road than Skyla, who was a couple feet behind her, but her head was toward the road as well (I am pretty sure that is what he said).

Would that indicate that they were shot from the woods on thier side of the road and fell toward the road? When I think of people being shot I think of them falling head first. Does that make sense?

ETA: If they were shot from the road, I would expect them to be feet first.

 

[oceanblueeyes]

OSBI says they were shot where they were found - and witnesses said they saw them returning home down the road before they were shot. We are only talking 3/4 of a mile from Bridge to home. Plus the shots were heard. The girls were just a few feet from the roadside when they were shot - but not on it - from the video it looks like they were less than 10 feet from the dirt roadway.

The brush is kinda heavy - and there are fences and ditches alongside the road so it would be hard to get a vehicle off the road very far in that area - it's doubtful the POI (with the truck) could have gotten off the road near the bridge or elsewhere off the road to shoot the girls OR get two "shot girls" into the truck bed (or cab) without anyone seeing. This is a fairly busy road actually - a major route from one even smaller town to the services in Weleetka.

OSBI seems to be certain (shell casings, footprint and tire evidence etc) that the killings occurred where the girls were found. They have not mentioned anything about a second crime scene and they seem pretty sure of the location, the evidence, the time the girls were shot and the POI. So far they are sticking too the ONE POI, the girls shot where they were found right before they were found and that they walked to the bridge and were coming back.

My Opinion

I don't think he had any intentions of taking their bodies anywhere. He killed them right there when no one was around at that particular moment in time and left the scene.

I think on that stretch of road it would be easy to look both ways and see anybody if they were coming up or down the road.

imoo

 

[MissHolmes]

Yes, he says, "Richard". He also says "yes" when the reporter said "grandfather" but then when he is talking about Mr. Placker he says Taylor's father."

I think I read yesterday that Richard is Peter's middle name.

He must go by Richard instead of Peter.

imoo

According to Texas birth records for Linda Kaye Placker, Peter's middle name is Steven. :waitasec:

 

[EnvoyDriver61]

We are only talking 3/4 of a mile from Bridge to home

I wish someone could tell us exactly the distance from Taylor's house to the bridge.

Google Earth shows it as 6/10 of a mile. Reports have stated 1/2 to 3/4 mile.

Obviously, the shorter the distance, the more time Taylor and Skyla had to "mosey," go off the road, stop and talk with others, etc.

At first, when the time was 5:00 to 5:20-5:25, those girls had to walking fairly fast and didn't really have time to stop and meet/talk with anyone in order to be killed by 5:20. But, with nearly 40 minutes, even to walk 3/4 mile and back, is a lot of time.

 

[JBean]

That is funny. I hear him say mister Placker very clearly. 2 or 3 times in a row. maybe there is a part I am missing.I don;t hear him say Richard at all.