Raven Says . . .

[OriginalJerseyGirl]

...but how do you answer for being home at the TOD? This fact doesn't seem to be one you can just explain away:waitasec: .

Because he probably had NO idea that they could narrow TOD as closely as they did. Who would have thought that they'd say "approximately 10:55" for TOD? He probably thought it would have said something like "8:00 P.M. to 10 P.M."

Is it also possible that Raven thinks that he's smarter than everyone else, and that placing himself at the house at the TOD would make LE rethink their own timeline and conclusions. A similar move to claiming there was a gunshot, and implying that Janet might be premenstrual? Perhaps he did it for the exact result that we're seeing - making people question why he would do it if he was really the perp.

 

[OriginalJerseyGirl]

I don't want to abuse the tos, but I think you're definitely on to something with the first statement.
And I've always wondered why he didn't fear for his son's life, as well as his own.

Especially since we now know that the killer was indeed still very close by when Raven arrived home that night.

 

[OriginalJerseyGirl]

Isn't there a difference in the color of a woman's cervix when she is pregnant?

I honestly don't know. If so, it might be something that occurs after a certain number of weeks or months so that might be another possible indicator if it's so.

 

[SouthEastSleuth]

Thinking out loud, so to speak -


Perhaps Raven planned to murder Janet that evening...then leave for soccer to create an alibi. But something happened - perhaps the timing got messed up - the hometeachers were there too late, something was going on with Kaiden, he actually thought about it and felt weird about leaving Kaiden there alone - something anyway - that led to a last minute change of plans...

So he leaves to play soccer as planned. Knowing now that his timing for the evening is going to be much tighter, etc, than he had planned. Now he's going to have to get home from soccer, commit the murder, then call 911, etc. But the timing is going to be really tight. But, if he had planned to murder Janet earlier, perhaps a lot of plans are already in place - the knife itself is somewhere convenient, he's already planned what to do with the knife afterwards, perhaps he's even planned the exact methodology of what he's going to do - and in his mind, it will all still work now - just an escalated timeframe. But, perhaps the one thing he doesn't think about is TOD - he's rushing now, his thoughts are racing while playing soccer, etc. He's got to get home. The clock is ticking, and fast. The best planning is now susceptible to mistakes.......

 

[OriginalJerseyGirl]

I think you could be onto something, SES. And if Raven was in a manic state, perhaps his decision to murder her that evening was weighing on his mind while he was at soccer. Perhaps he was becoming more and more agitated at soccer, having had to wait to carry out his plan, (making his decision-making from that point on less sensible).

 

[Jenifred]

Isn't there a difference in the color of a woman's cervix when she is pregnant?

The uterus actually changes color. I think that it turns blue. Something to due with the increased blood flow. (Thanks, almost MD husband.)

 

[Jenifred]

Because he probably had NO idea that they could narrow TOD as closely as they did. Who would have thought that they'd say "approximately 10:55" for TOD? He probably thought it would have said something like "8:00 P.M. to 10 P.M."

I agree with you JG. I don't think that Raven possibly fathom that they could get down to within 10 minutes of his 911 call as the TOD. I think he was also thinking more of a range--like you said.

 

[OriginalJerseyGirl]

I agree with you JG. I don't think that Raven possibly fathom that they could get down to within 10 minutes of his 911 call as the TOD. I think he was also thinking more of a range--like you said.

And I really do think that he probably planned this for earlier in the evening, like SES said. He's a planner, and not because he's that way naturally but because he NEEDS to be. When his plan changed, I don't think he could handle it in his manic mind. He started to make poor decisions, and probably didn't even think about TOD. I wonder how many people that don't follow crime even know much about TOD.

 

[SouthEastSleuth]

I think you could be onto something, SES. And if Raven was in a manic state, perhaps his decision to murder her that evening was weighing on his mind while he was at soccer. Perhaps he was becoming more and more agitated at soccer, having had to wait to carry out his plan, (making his decision-making from that point on less sensible).

The more I'm sitting here thinking about it, the more I think this is a good possibility. Raven was a planner - he talks about his Franklin Covey stuff to keep his thoughts organized, etc. That said, I think he had the events of the evening carefully orchestrated - but something happened to thwart his plans. So he HAS to go to soccer first. And the whole time he's there, he's practically frantic, at least internally - trying now to adapt his plan for when he gets home, etc. He may have been barely able to focus at soccer his thoughts were so rampant... how to best adapt and change his plan, and to do it with this incredibly shortened timeframe. And, in this agitated state of anxiety, all the planning in the world can trip you up... the timing would now have to be impeccable. Even if he think about TOD, does he assume, like many of us have, that the timing will actually work in his favor, ie., if it can only be estimated within a couple of hours at best? Logic says that IF he thought that TOD could be estimated as close as it, based on the ME report, he would have had to have changed the plans, on some level. In his panic at changing the plans for the evening, he didn't think clearly enough anyway - and now, he's possibly put himself ON SITE at the time of the murder, albeit without knowing he was doing it........

 

[Jenifred]

Right now, I'm thinking about soil samples. Some were taken from the Durango. I wonder what they were comparing them to. Maybe the soccer field or even the place around that lake nearby?

 

[Jenifred]

I wonder about the home teachers too. Sometimes when it gets close to the end of the month, their stopping by could be unexpected--like they didn't make an appointment and just wanted to stop by to say that they've stopped by. Could that be the event that threw Raven's plans off?

 

[OriginalJerseyGirl]

Right now, I'm thinking about soil samples. Some were taken from the Durango. I wonder what they were comparing them to. Maybe the soccer field or even the place around that lake nearby?

I wonder about that too. I am starting to believe that the soil samples might have been taken in an attempt to locate the murder weapon, and not to verify his alibi.

 

[OriginalJerseyGirl]

I wonder about the home teachers too. Sometimes when it gets close to the end of the month, their stopping by could be unexpected--like they didn't make an appointment and just wanted to stop by to say that they've stopped by. Could that be the event that threw Raven's plans off?

That's a very good point! The picture from the day before showed him and Kaiden with the caption that Raven was preparing for his home teaching lesson. So I tend to think that he was expecting them. But maybe they showed up late? Or maybe they stayed too long? Or maybe Raven had second thoughts about leaving Kaiden alone for hours.

 

[Jenifred]

That's a very good point! The picture from the day before showed him and Kaiden with the caption that Raven was preparing for his home teaching lesson. So I tend to think that he was expecting them. But maybe they showed up late? Or maybe they stayed too long? Or maybe Raven had second thoughts about leaving Kaiden alone for hours.

Raven was preparing for his lesson to teach--the people that he visits, not that visit him. He could have very well been suprised to see his hometeachers, but he could possibley expect that they were going to show up (end of the month, get your visits in before the month is up kind of thing)--even if they didn't have an appointment.

 

[golfmom]

I think that the point that something threw off Raven's timeline that night is interesting. Perhaps the hometeachers did show up unexpected and Raven didn't feel he could reschedule his planned activities to another evening. Janet may have told him previously she was leaving him. What's interesting though is if premediated the plan that she had no transportation to leave him unexpectedly.

Just to be on the safe side.
I wonder if he disabled her cell phone as well?

 

[Jess]

I obviously have not read far enough back. What was Raven teaching ? was it connected with his church ? Was he paid for it ? and when did he fit it into his schedule ?
Perhaps you can point me to a thread so I can read up on it. Thanks

 

[snapple]

Even if he think about TOD, does he assume, like many of us have, that the timing will actually work in his favor, ie., if it can only be estimated within a couple of hours at best? Logic says that IF he thought that TOD could be estimated as close as it, based on the ME report, he would have had to have changed the plans, on some level. In his panic at changing the plans for the evening, he didn't think clearly enough anyway - and now, he's possibly put himself ON SITE at the time of the murder, albeit without knowing he was doing it........

Can anyone say "BINGO!", I think your right, raven's plan was not going exactly as planned ( most plans never do), so raven has to change a few things, is in a manic/panic state, and isn't thinking clearly. I also think that raven felt he was too far into the plan to back out because his timing maybe off...he had planned this murder, took the steps to execute it, and was not going to turn back now.
The only thing that concerns me is and makes me question things ever so slightly is WHY hasn't LE arrested him if they can put raven there AT the TOD??? That to me is a HUGH question, any ideas?.

 

[OriginalJerseyGirl]

SES, you're good at this kind of thing. When you have the time, maybe you can list the possible reasons for why Raven still hasn't been arrested. For the sake of this list, maybe we can assume that LE knows that he is the guilty party, he placed himself at the house at the TOD, etc. What is the reason for no arrest? I'd make the list myself but I'm currently wrapped up in surveying the neighborhood from the satellite images. Because if he is the guilty party, and if the timeline is even nearly as tight as the documents imply, the murder weapon can't be very far from the house.

 

[golfmom]

So much of the information we have now completely contradicts what Rooster had initially told us. It occurs to me that either Rooster was trying to mislead us with incorrect information or Raven misled Rooster. I wonder which it was?

 

[mysteriew]

By the wounds, did the attacker try to slit Janet's throat or stab her in the throat? Wouldn't trying to slit Janet's throat make a longer wound? And do we think that this attacker had to know what they were doing to be able to kill her in one thrust?

The secondary wound is what makes me think that it was a slice instead of a stab, as well as the wording of the description of it from the autopsy.
Maybe an inexperienced murderer who didn't want to get blood on him, trusted in the sharpness of the blade and didn't press hard, or maybe it was from the way Janet was positioned, or maybe it was a last second movement she made that prevented a longer cut.