Somer Thompson story on “20/20” Friday, April 16 at 10:00pm/et

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ElizaAvalon said:
No, I'm with you. I've stated my position on this several weeks ago and was hung to out to dry for my opinion.

Now, after seeing 20/20, I do get WHY they took so long to hone in on Harrell. They thought they had their man 2 houses away.

I agree the excuses for not tearing Harrell's mother's home apart before getting "probable cause" are ridiculous. At the beginning of the investigation, they were all over the other Gano home for DAYS and we now know NOTHING happened there. What was the probably cause there?

No one was looking at Harrell unil the DNA results came back for Mr. Puppy down the street. Period. They thought they had their man. But they didn't. I realize they got a lot of tips and it's hard to root out every single one. But, hello?, a tip about a guy whose car is seen at his mother's home on Gano - on Somer's usual route - who has a laptop full of child *advertiser censored*? He's not on the short list of having his house roped off and swarmed with CSI? Gah!

JMO. Flame away...
Click to expand...

BBM

Yes, this is interesting info we never knew about until now. It explains a lot IMO. Info came out that they were watching someone. When JH was arrested, I thought, oh they've been watching JH for months.
But, now I guess we know they were watching the other guy. On 20/20 the guy with the puppy (kinda odd) said they were watching him and monitoring phone calls. Also, that most of the neighbors supected him.
I agree that they thought they had their guy. They didn't try to get JH's DNA until the other guys DNA came back as not a match.

I find this very interesting.
 
Complete show - Somer Thompson - 20/20 - Friday April 16, 2010

Part 1: Parents' Nightmare: 7-Year-Old Disappears
Seven-year-old Somer Thompson is abducted walking home from school.
http://abcnews.go.com/2020/video/parents-nightmare-year-disappears-10399973

Part 2: Number of Sex Offenders Shocks Residents
162 registered sex offenders lived in five-mile radius of Somer's home.
http://abcnews.go.com/2020/video/number-sex-offenders-shocks-residents-10400078

Part 3: Police Hunt for Somer Thompson's Killer
Investigators pursue hundreds of leads before arrest in Somer's death.
http://abcnews.go.com/2020/video/po...82930&section=1206863&playlist=6627259&page=1

Part 4: Man Accused of Killing Somer: Who Is He?
Alleged pedophile Jarred Harrell, 24, had life of family insecurity.
http://abcnews.go.com/2020/video/ma...82930&section=1206863&playlist=6627259&page=1

Part 5: A Shocking Find on Suspect's Computer
Former roommate says Jarred Harrell's computer had child *advertiser censored*.
http://abcnews.go.com/2020/video/sh...82930&section=1206863&playlist=6627259&page=1

Part 6: Mom to Suspect: 'You Ain't Getting Away'
Somer Thompson's mother says she has no sympathy for Jarred Harrell.
http://abcnews.go.com/2020/video/mo...82930&section=1206863&playlist=6627259&page=1
 
ElizaAvalon said:
No, I'm with you. I've stated my position on this several weeks ago and was hung to out to dry for my opinion.

Now, after seeing 20/20, I do get WHY they took so long to hone in on Harrell. They thought they had their man 2 houses away.

I agree the excuses for not tearing Harrell's mother's home apart before getting "probable cause" are ridiculous. At the beginning of the investigation, they were all over the other Gano home for DAYS and we now know NOTHING happened there. What was the probably cause there?

No one was looking at Harrell unil the DNA results came back for Mr. Puppy down the street. Period. They thought they had their man. But they didn't. I realize they got a lot of tips and it's hard to root out every single one. But, hello?, a tip about a guy whose car is seen at his mother's home on Gano - on Somer's usual route - who has a laptop full of child *advertiser censored*? He's not on the short list of having his house roped off and swarmed with CSI? Gah!

JMO. Flame away...
Click to expand...

You were right Eliza - LE didn't have Harrell on their radar until Mr. child puppy groomer failed the DNA match. I was shocked at that! That puppy guy was busy grooming children, holding the puppy underneath his jacket so kids would have to reach up to pet - causing the child to brush, rub, against him...he could move that puppy anywhere, giving him control of the young ones wanting to pet - and he displayed NO insight into his own behavior. I can see why LE was obsessed with him! :eek: However, it seems LE never considered Harrell until Dec? What I am unable to remember is when the pictures of him molesting the 3yo family member were recognized. Were the pics on his computer or on the digital camera found at moms, or both? When did LE have the pics?

If LE knew he was molesting his family member in August and failed to arrest him - that is unforgivable! moo
 
what I found interesting was that they didn't really focus on JH until Corpis' dna came back as not a match in January (which is when they attempted to get JH's right?)
 
chicagofa13 said:
The way it was explained, they claim they couldn't get a warrant for his computer for months. I believe they could have had probable cause earlier. If not for Somer's case, then for everyone else he was molesting! Anyway, I'm not going to argue it. IMO this is one of the worst cases ever, Somer deserved better. The kid was right on the street in front of their faces. :banghead:

I'm going to stop reading. No reason to get myself upset, I know my opinion is in the minority.
Click to expand...

ElizaAvalon said:
No, I'm with you. I've stated my position on this several weeks ago and was hung to out to dry for my opinion.

Now, after seeing 20/20, I do get WHY they took so long to hone in on Harrell. They thought they had their man 2 houses away.

I agree the excuses for not tearing Harrell's mother's home apart before getting "probable cause" are ridiculous. At the beginning of the investigation, they were all over the other Gano home for DAYS and we now know NOTHING happened there. What was the probably cause there?

No one was looking at Harrell unil the DNA results came back for Mr. Puppy down the street. Period. They thought they had their man. But they didn't. I realize they got a lot of tips and it's hard to root out every single one. But, hello?, a tip about a guy whose car is seen at his mother's home on Gano - on Somer's usual route - who has a laptop full of child *advertiser censored*? He's not on the short list of having his house roped off and swarmed with CSI? Gah!

JMO. Flame away...
Click to expand...

Just because someone has a different opinion of yours or ideas does not mean you are being hung out to dry or flamed.

The whole thing with the computer boils down to it was turned in after being in possession and used by someone else and out of JH's control. That slowed down the process because the police had to investigate the people that turned it in thoroughly. There was no evidence JH had ever molested any child and the people looking at the child *advertiser censored* did not recognize any child so they could not get a warrant to search his moms house house. It took 6 weeks to get the warrant to search the computer.

The police refused to talk to 20/20 so we have no idea how close they were watching JH the whole time. We were told in the past that JH had refused to give a DNA sample.

The Gano house was searched because that was the last place anyone reported seeing Somer alive and it was searched after the body was found and they did not need a search warrant to search it because they were given permission by the owner.

I believe JH's house on Gano was searched around the same time and they found nothing.
 
There were people here at WS who thought Corpus' son was suspicious. He had a shady picture on his Myspace of him peeping into the women's bathroom in the park across the street.
 
Dr.Fessel said:
Just because someone has a different opinion of yours or ideas does not mean you are being hung out to dry or flamed.

The whole thing with the computer boils down to it was turned in after being in possession and used by someone else and out of JH's control. That slowed down the process because the police had to investigate the people that turned it in thoroughly. There was no evidence JH had ever molested any child and the people looking at the child *advertiser censored* did not recognize any child so they could not get a warrant to search his moms house house. It took 6 weeks to get the warrant to search the computer.

The police refused to talk to 20/20 so we have no idea how close they were watching JH the whole time. We were told in the past that JH had refused to give a DNA sample.

The Gano house was searched because that was the last place anyone reported seeing Somer alive and it was searched after the body was found and they did not need a search warrant to search it because they were given permission by the owner.

I believe JH's house on Gano was searched around the same time and they found nothing.
Click to expand...

I am talking about people being called anti LE, etc. because they think LE didn't do a good job. I'm very pro LE, I'm also pro victim. And sometimes that means taking LE to task for not doing right by the victims. Sometimes on WS people do not allow that to happen.

IMO they had tunnel vision on Corpus. The guy is weird. I will give you all that. But they had his DNA, his computer, apparently his phones monitored, etc. and they found nothing or he would be in jail for other crimes. Could it be he is, as he said, just a kind old man?? I know he looks like the typical "bad guy", he's odd for sure.

I had my own tunnel vision on the family, I can admit that. I had my "vibes", and they were wrong. My choices were the family or a local pedophile on the route home. I never considered a drifter or worker or serial killer, I felt it had to be someone she had really been around before and lived in the neighborhood (JH and the dog!). I was really set on the family and was having trouble looking beyond that. Of course I feel horribly, but so many of these cases turn right back to the family it can't be ignored.

Hopefully lessons were learned by local LE and others on how to better work the next case, because as we know, there will always be another one. :furious:
 
I must have missed the anti-LE comments here on the Somer thread - I remember people trying to explain JH and the way LE handled his computer, but not anti-LE, actually I remember the opposite kinds of comments. I know there are threads and threads of anti-mom Diena comments but I'm sorry, don't remember the other. I'm sorry you experienced such comments. Always good to question and voice an opinion - unless it comes out of nowhere and has no backing, I can't imagine why anyone would attack you, question yes, but attack? moo
 
chicagofa13-I totally agree with you and I know that people were negative when someone might mention that maybe LE wasn't doing a good job.

I agree with the computer expert-when Katie said that JH might have molested a known child back in August, they should have checked it out. Hindsight, but maybe this time the hindsight will pay off.

Where I live, we had a law that if a teen was missing, 24 hours had to elapse until something was done. A teen went missing and has not been found. The lawa was changed.

I don't see why some things in Florida can't be changed instantly as they were here-within a month.

I am sure some politician would take it on in a heartbeat.

I do not see why people have to fight for something in Florida. After my hubby and I saw 20/20,, he said no way would he ever go to Florida on a vacation.

What a nutty place.
 
IMO what we need to remember is an investigation of child *advertiser censored* is not as simple as finding it and charging the perp.

We have heard it takes a long time to find out where the photos/videos came from, who downloaded them, and a money trail (if there is one).

It's not like LE could just look at the images/videos and arrest JH.

The computer was turned in by someone else, so, IMO LE would first have to prove the room mates were not just trying to set up JH. This takes time.

I think CCSO did an excellent job in Somer's case. JMO

I don't think they botched anything. But, I do value everyone's opinions.

We can sit here and blame LE, the parents for not walking Somer to/from school, the school system for not providing transportation, ...the list could go on and on.
IMO there is a monster behind bars that our anger should go towards.

I commend CCSO for solving this case. Team Somer was on a mission, and I think they accomplished it. I believe JH will never again see the light of day as a free man. He will NEVER hurt another child again.

My greatest feelings come from knowing JH will meet and be judged by our maker and final justice will be served.

Rest in peace sweet Somer.







JMO
 
eyes4crime said:
I must have missed the anti-LE comments here on the Somer thread - I remember people trying to explain JH and the way LE handled his computer, but not anti-LE, actually I remember the opposite kinds of comments. I know there are threads and threads of anti-mom Diena comments but I'm sorry, don't remember the other. I'm sorry you experienced such comments. Always good to question and voice an opinion - unless it comes out of nowhere and has no backing, I can't imagine why anyone would attack you, question yes, but attack? moo
Click to expand...

Hey eyes, I saw it rather than experienced it, and I certainly am not pointing the finger at you. :) As Human noticed it too I am sure others did. (It wasn't on this thread!) I would never have posted my feelings, as I was dismayed from the beginning (the first search bothered me) but I knew to keep quiet. I also don't have the time to invest in a lot of sleuthing and I know most long-term threads are really in depth and hard to keep up with. Soooo, I was on the sidelines keeping track through the regular news and reading a snippet of the thread here and there.

Part of finding justice/preventing crime is analyzing the past and finding where there are failures that can be corrected in the future. Working in the airline industry we have some pretty cut and dried ways to try to prevent errors and accidents, that is why air travel is so safe. We are constantly trying to find ways to break the "error chain" before it becomes catastrophic. I don't see the same level of self criticism from many in LE, and I think a lot of it is the "good ole boys club" mentality (not pointing at FL LE, but LE in general in many areas). Of course I am not privy to their private convos, but from the outside looking in, it doesn't always look good.

I'm sure all of us here at WS wants the same results, safer streets for everyone and justice for those that have unfortunately already been victimized.
 
Kimberlyd125 said:
IMO what we need to remember is an investigation of child *advertiser censored* is not as simple as finding it and charging the perp.

We have heard it takes a long time to find out where the photos/videos came from, who downloaded them, and a money trail (if there is one).

It's not like LE could just look at the images/videos and arrest JH.

The computer was turned in by someone else, so, IMO LE would first have to prove the room mates were not just trying to set up JH. This takes time.

I think CCSO did an excellent job in Somer's case. JMO

I don't think they botched anything. But, I do value everyone's opinions.

We can sit here and blame LE, the parents for not walking Somer to/from school, the school system for not providing transportation, ...the list could go on and on.
IMO there is a monster behind bars that our anger should go towards.

I commend CCSO for solving this case. Team Somer was on a mission, and I think they accomplished it. I believe JH will never again see the light of day as a free man. He will NEVER hurt another child again.

My greatest feelings come from knowing JH will meet and be judged by our maker and final justice will be served.

Rest in peace sweet Somer.







JMO
Click to expand...

I think we were posting at the same time :)

I am not talking about the computer seizure, but after they were tipped off about JH being at the home by the married couple. That tip, IMO, was HUGE and should have been front and center. That together with what little they might have from the previous computer seizure says "LOOK AT ME". They were so focused on Corpus they waited for his DNA results before doing JH's (according to the show)??? Why not run a parallel investigation??? Those are some of my frustrations towards the end of the case. IMO of course.

In the end I am very glad they got him off the street before he did anything else, since it seems his family was more than willing to help him avoid LE.
 
Chili Fries said:
There were people here at WS who thought Corpus' son was suspicious. He had a shady picture on his Myspace of him peeping into the women's bathroom in the park across the street.
Click to expand...

So he does have a son?! I swear I heard him say on the show, that he pays so much attention to all the kids, because he wasn't able to have any???
 
AliGirl said:
So he does have a son?! I swear I heard him say on the show, that he pays so much attention to all the kids, because he wasn't able to have any???
Click to expand...

I heard that too.

It was like, if I can't have kids...I'll "play with" others. Or something like that.

I taped it, so I'll go back and listen.
 
Just some things I noticed while looking for the statement of not having kids...

He wants to bring happiness to the kids in the neighborhood by letting them pet his little dog.
They were trying to make him into something he's not.
He says he spies on predators at the playground.

He watches the kids. He believes the killer had a long time to think about it, planned it and possibly did it before.

He would tell DT, "Do you know how much I loved your daughter? This was my daughter, this was my little girl". (CREEPY)

Corpus led police to dumpster at construction house on Gano. He then was seen at the dumpster the next day.

Kept a hangman's noose in garage for the killer.



***This really strikes me....DT was informed that LE was looking at Corpus...so, LE was keeping DT informed during the investigation...we thought they were not telling her anything.

OK< here is his statement - "If I can't have kids, then I'll have somebody else's to play with, you know? I got lots of kids that pass by"
 
I understand why people would be upset with LE and think this could have been prevented. I do have faith in Team Somer that they were doing the best they could to the best of their abilities, and that they wanted what we all wanted..an animal off the street before he hurt another child and Justice for Somer. I believe there is too much red tape LE and other agencies have to go through, but I do understand that the public has to have rights as well and it is a never ending balancing act I am sure. I hope laws are changed and modified when it is clear that they will better protect and serve the public. I trust that the majority of LE are honest hardworking people who put their lives on the line everyday to protect the people they serve, because that is what is in their heat and soul, and because they care. They are human like us and mistakes are made of course, as in any profession or life. I am confused as to just when JH was on their radar, from what I can tell Oct. 30th was his first interview wilt police, and at that time his mom said he was with her on the day Somer disappeared, maybe police found her believable and this is why they focused more on this Corpus guy.
 
You know, going back listening for the comment the guy made about not having children, made me want to see a transcript. This show gave us a lot of info IMO.

But, I had no clue ABC news charges like $20 for a transcript :eek:

I'd be willing to go thru the show and post all info in it if anybody is interested.
I'd hate to call it a transcript because I'm sure I won't be able to type the whole show out. But, I guess it would be ok to list pieces of info here.
 
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