Wow. Thank you for the information. I have been reading up on the case. So, it looks like either the dad aided the "kidnapping" of his daughter, or sold her to fellow pervs for a night of child rape that "went too far" ending in her death. Or, perhaps Murphy felt it would be okay to take the child because he knew the father was a pedophile, having likely viewed child *advertiser censored* at the bar they worked at together, and thought, "Well, her dad's already probably molesting her so, why not?"
I had never heard about the case before. But, I got sucked in and now I wish I hadn't!!
Great question and I do not know the answer. I will ask my law partner (he does criminal law).
No. A voluntary safety plan is not legally binding.
And here's the problem. Florida, which has some of the toughest laws in the nation, gave him only a year for having child *advertiser censored* depicting the rape of small children? He violates his probation (BTW, it was for visiting a relative with a child present, not for downloading more child *advertiser censored*) and he gets only an additional 3 years? WTH!!!!!?????!!!!! I'm sorry, a person who downloads child *advertiser censored* and it is found not to be some weird mistake or someone else using your computer, all of which can be deduced by how much *advertiser censored* was downloaded and whether it was on various dates, log in information (any passwords needed?), what time the *advertiser censored* was downloaded and work schedules, etc., then that person should get at least 10 years, IMO.
This has been my point forever. I am an attorney. If my child went missing, even knowing everything I know about false charges, pressure tactics, misinterpretations of evidence, etc., etc., no way would I be getting an attorney. As I have said in the past, as an attorney, I would counsel my clients to shut up, retain counsel and answer nothing. Because my job as a lawyer is to protect my client's rights.
But as a parent, my job is to protect my child, to live and die for her. And anyone who is worried about their own rights being violated and some possibility of a future case against them, after the worst thing ever already happened - the disappearance of their child - is either guilty as sin or never really loved their child to begin with.
The bottom line is attorneys filter the investigation when it comes to what their clients state or are subjected to. They would never authorize a LDT. I would jump to do one if my baby went missing, despite the fact that they aren't always accurate. They would never authorize unfettered questioning. They usually request that questions are given to them in written form. That's what I have done with clients of mine who are subject to CPS investigations. But I would want no filters in place as the parent of a missing baby. I would want to fully assist LE, in every way possible, to figure out what happened. Of course, if I wasn't in a hospital being sedated, I would probably be camping on their doorstep wailing for help to find my kid.
Now let me qualify all that. If, after a month or more went by with no progress, and I saw that LE was unreasonably focusing on me to the exclusion of other avenues that would help find my kid, I would hire an attorney to pressure LE to do their jobs correctly and to focus attention where it should go. Their work would likely entail focused press conferences with me, to discuss the faulty focus, PR to get out the story, my cooperation and LE's narrow investigation, etc.
But, IMO, parents who can right away think about hiring counsel, after hearing the most devastating news a parent could hear besides that their child is dead, raise an immediate red flag to me. A desperate parent is not going to be thinking about their constitutional rights. They are going to be clawing to get their child back in their arms. :moo: