Found Deceased CA - Fang Jin, 47, flew to LA from China, train to Palm Springs, Morongo Basin, 21 Jul 2023, w/ John Root Fitzpatrick, 55, (fnd dec.), 30 Jul ‘23 #2

[Interested_But_Confused]

I believe we know that whatever had been decomposing is larger than a mouse or a desert rat.

Unless of course we disbelieve the investigating officers, which I do not,

I believe it was animal, don't you?

The order of events is indeed puzzling. But it's entirely possible that if someone moved a body, they still had hope of not being discovered so doing.

IMO.

I absolutely believe it was a dead body, and much larger than a mouse. There are presumably animals out near the desert that are much larger than a mouse?

Not everyone maintains the same level of cleanliness. Many people do (inexplicably to me) leave dead animals trapped under their property, stinking up the place for weeks or months. I couldn't do it, but I don't know enough about JRF to say whether he could.

 

[tarabull]

@mark1969

I do not see any photos of FJ at JTNP, none of her at the mining district...no pics of him either for that matter. All the pictures are landscapes...

Were there photos of them left out of the collection or did she not share any pics of herself or JRF on July 21?????????

All i see is a silhouette (photo 7.21-6) of...if i had to guess --- I'd say it is JRF --- NOT JF.

ETA: If no pics of her from 21st, she did not enter that base with him & NO definitive CONTACT because no one SPOKE TO HER...just eeeek.

 

[acutename]

Who knows. We don't know what had been decomposing, nor if anybody else had entered the trailer and left the door open. It's all an unknown.

If, for example, JRF had killed JF, left her in the trailer for a day or two, and then moved her somewhere else before taking his own life at Harper Canyon... would he have cared about airing out the trailer to get rid of the smell? Maybe, maybe not.

None of this really makes sense, mostly because the tiny snippets of information have so many gaps. LE have released hardly anything.

i did actually look up what animals might be around:
What animals are in the Morongo Valley?


The Preserve is home to a number of mammals, including mule deer, desert bighorn sheep, raccoons, bobcats, coyotes, and kangaroo rats and other rodents.

Ecosystem - Big Morongo Canyon Preserve​

around here there are frequently road kill deer and they smell awful if they are not removed. Now, do I think a mule deer could have been stuck under JRF's trailer? Seems unlikely. A racoon, coyote or rodent- maybe. I also think if JRF and FJ left garbage, in the super hot summer heat, it could have smelled as bad as a dead body IMO, and if I were LE looking for missing people, I would be making note of the smell. Hoping they took samples for lab analysis.

 

[slowpoke]

So, you think that whoever left the door open wasn't concerned that there was a dead person inside?

I assume you mean someone other than JRF, who would surely expect to return to his own home (unless?)

You think the person who left the door open didn't know there was something that could decompose inside? So either very inattentive, OR, the death occurred after the door was left open?

Do you think it's possible that someone transported a dead body from the mobile home (after enough time for decomp occurred)? Who could it be? Surely it's not a random person. The most likely people would be JF or JRF - certainly not the only other person known to be in there, as he's still alive.

to me, leaving hurriedly when a place contains a dead person is not surprising - but not reporting that dead person and trying to get aid is inexplicable.

Who does that?

Sorry I didn’t describe in more detail. It’s uncomfortable expressing this.

I was thinking of a scenario of JRF leaving the home hurriedly after quickly loading his truck with the deceased. It’s hard physically enough to carry and place in the truck without being seen, and once he’s out the door of his house, he hops into the driver’s seat to drive off immediately, not intending to return.

His intention initially is to hide the body somewhere, then run off somewhere to escape being caught.

i’m ignorant to this point, but If there’s blood/bodily fluids/bits of flesh left behind, would that be enough to leave an odor to be described as decomposition?

I‘m thinking—if it can, the deputies came on 8/1, so those fluids would have been in a maybe un- air conditioned home for days, building up a stronger bad smell by the day even if the body was no longer there.

Under the statement of probable cause portion of the search warrant it said:
”While inside Crowl located items belonging to Jin inside of the residence and the odor of decomposition.” (bolded by me)

It said “while inside”… so maybe it wasn’t detected from outside? Not as strong as if a whole body had been there?

Just thoughts. Holes in my ideas, I’m sure. But, just thoughts.

 

[Interested_But_Confused]

i did actually look up what animals might be around:
What animals are in the Morongo Valley?


The Preserve is home to a number of mammals, including mule deer, desert bighorn sheep, raccoons, bobcats, coyotes, and kangaroo rats and other rodents.

Ecosystem - Big Morongo Canyon Preserve​

around here there are frequently road kill deer and they smell awful if they are not removed. Now, do I think a mule deer could have been stuck under JRF's trailer? Seems unlikely. A racoon, coyote or rodent- maybe. I also think if JRF and FJ left garbage, in the super hot summer heat, it could have smelled as bad as a dead body IMO, and if I were LE looking for missing people, I would be making note of the smell. Hoping they took samples for lab analysis.

Thank you, that's exactly the kind of thing I've been talking about.

I'm sure LE have already investigated the source of the smell, and that they do know what it was. I just don't want to make assumptions about something nefarious having happened until LE indicate that was the case.

Up to now, everything I've seen could have both an innocent AND a nefarious explanation.

 

[ch_13]

One thing I've been puzzling over is why the sheriff's department has been less than truthful about their investigation.

In early August the police were claiming that the pair were "voluntarily missing" and people on this board were discussing how to get them to take the disappearance more seriously. And on August 10, the Public Information Officer told a local news channel that "it was not a criminal investigation...and there were no suspects."

We now know that by August 1, the odor of decomp had been detected and a search warrant was served on JRF's property. Saying "no comment" would have been the normal course of action, but the public information officer seems like she was actively trying to mislead. Why?

This is speculation, but I'm wondering if they thought that JRF left to dispose of the body and expected him to return home at some point with a convenient story about how FJ went her own way. if so they may have wanted him to think they weren't investigating, so as not to scare him off before they could take him into custody. Of course that would have all gone out the window when they discovered his truck and his body.

 

[ZVT24]

I'll say IMO because I'm not a verified expert, but generally cell phones "ping" (it's not really a ping in the strictest networking sense, it's more like a location beacon) the nearest cell tower at regular intervals. If the phone is turned on those pings should happen even if you're not using the phone; it's how the phone checks to make sure it has a signal, otherwise you'd never know if your phone was going to work when you tried to use it.

It's important to know if JF's phone was turned on for the few days before the battery died, because if it was, it should have been pinging its location the entire time. JRF's phone last pinged in Julian on the 24th, so I'd guess that is when it either ran out of battery, was turned off, or was perhaps even smashed. Both JRF's remains and the car were found somewhat in the vicinity of Julian, so the location of his last phone ping makes sense.

The fact that JF's phone is a Huawei isn't really what's important. You need to know who JF's service provider was, because they will (or at least should) have all of her phone records. But if her service provider is in China I have no idea how easy it would be to get those records, nor what the rules are on how long they have to keep them.

An alternative to getting JF’s carrier’s records from China, is for LE to get tower data dump(s) to see if JF’s phone pinged on the same towers as JRF’s phone, assuming the roaming network that JF’s carrier uses is the same as JRF’s. Even if the carriers are different, LE could look at the closest towers of JF’s roaming carrier to the pinged towers owned by JRF’s carrier. I’m not sure which is more difficult- getting FJ’s location data out of China or having to analyze 10s (100s?) of cell tower data dumps.

 

[acutename]

An alternative to getting JF’s carrier’s records from China, is for LE to get tower data dump(s) to see if JF’s phone pinged on the same towers as JRF’s phone, assuming the roaming network that JF’s carrier uses is the same as JRF’s. Even if the carriers are different, LE could look at the closest towers of JF’s roaming carrier to the pinged towers owned by JRF’s carrier. I’m not sure which is more difficult- getting FJ’s location data out of China or having to analyze 10s (100s?) of cell tower data dumps.

not that many towers where they were and maybe not too many people either IMO

 

[Interested_But_Confused]

An alternative to getting JF’s carrier’s records from China, is for LE to get tower data dump(s) to see if JF’s phone pinged on the same towers as JRF’s phone, assuming the roaming network that JF’s carrier uses is the same as JRF’s. Even if the carriers are different, LE could look at the closest towers of JF’s roaming carrier to the pinged towers owned by JRF’s carrier. I’m not sure which is more difficult- getting FJ’s location data out of China or having to analyze 10s (100s?) of cell tower data dumps.

Absolutely. I mentioned in an earlier post (Link) that you can get the data from some cell tower operators, but like you I'm not sure how easy or likely that is. A service provider should have each client's usage already itemized, but a cell tower dump... I have no idea.

If it's anything like a server log, searching through it could range from really simple to an absolute nightmare.

 

[patternsfinder]

One thing I've been puzzling over is why the sheriff's department has been less than truthful about their investigation.

In early August the police were claiming that the pair were "voluntarily missing" and people on this board were discussing how to get them to take the disappearance more seriously. And on August 10, the Public Information Officer told a local news channel that "it was not a criminal investigation...and there were no suspects."

We now know that by August 1, the odor of decomp had been detected and a search warrant was served on JRF's property. Saying "no comment" would have been the normal course of action, but the public information officer seems like she was actively trying to mislead. Why?

This is speculation, but I'm wondering if they thought that JRF left to dispose of the body and expected him to return home at some point with a convenient story about how FJ went her own way. if so they may have wanted him to think they weren't investigating, so as not to scare him off before they could take him into custody. Of course that would have all gone out the window when they discovered his truck and his body.

This is the most persuasive analysis I've seen regarding why LE started off less than truthful. What is your theory about why they put under seal their findings from JRF being located? And also never changed Fang's status, and also didn't communicate to Fang's family about the updates (and instead prying reporters broke the news publicly)? I honestly can't come up with a cohesive theory myself regarding all of that, but since your above analysis is so insightful, I'm curious as to your thoughts.

 

[LucyOso]

I am blind in one eye and cant see out the other also but i'm certain even the SBCS missing poster says last heard from july 22nd...instead of 21st!!!!!! EYE YEY YEY!

https://www.facebook.com/MorongoBasinSheriffsStation/posts/pfbid0C6vjWhq1Fork22vLbHSzf1MBvb1yEnTFzP5VAXmd3kbADF6Y7UhZbzD3pHNeERcYl

I think the date discrepancy has to do with time zones. Late night July 21, would be 22 in Europe.

 

[ZVT24]

I'm almost positive that truck is 4WD.

I’m late to the discussion…according to vehiclehistory.com, JRF’s 2016 Toyota Tacoma is 4WD (“SR5 Double Cab Long Bed V6 6AT 4WD”).

MSRP:

 

[BlaiseFinlay]

I think the date discrepancy has to do with time zones. Late night July 21, would be 22 in Europe.

And it should be noted the police affidavit said the 22nd too. A reporter is likely to consider that the most authoritative source.

 

[tarabull]

I think the date discrepancy has to do with time zones. Late night July 21, would be 22 in Europe.

YES IT DOES INDEED, but you would think SBCS could figure that out!!!!!!
This isn't Barney Fife!

 

[tarabull]

And it should be noted the police affidavit said the 22nd too. A reporter is likely to consider that the most authoritative source.

Seriously EYE YEY YEY!

 

[BlaiseFinlay]

This is the most persuasive analysis I've seen regarding why LE started off less than truthful. What is your theory about why they put under seal their findings from JRF being located? And also never changed Fang's status, and also didn't communicate to Fang's family about the updates (and instead prying reporters broke the news publicly)? I honestly can't come up with a cohesive theory myself regarding all of that, but since your above analysis is so insightful, I'm curious as to your thoughts.

How often was FJ's family in contact with LE? Would LE share information with someone (friend, PI) who is not next of kin when there is a language barrier? How much do they typically share about their investigation in a missing person case?

I wonder how much of this can be explained by standard operating procedures -- especially when you consider that often women who are missing under suspicious circumstances were killed by their next of kin (husband), so while not applicable here, I would assume that consideration informs their standard procedures.

I'll note that in all events, we know they'll inform next of kin first, and it was only a matter of days between JRF's family being notified and the reporter being in contact with the SBCSO. And the reporter reached out to LE. Was the family in contact with SBCSO and getting different information during that time?

Basically, did the PI do the same level of investigation as the reporter? When was the search warrant made public? I'm assuming it was obtained directly from the court and could have been obtained by the PI.

Ultimately, LE investigates these crimes on behalf of the public, not on behalf of the family. The victim's advocate route that someone suggested was a really good recommendation.

 

[Steelhead]

I know this is out there, but the photos of JF cleaning made me think of this. Could someone else have been impersonating JRF during LE’s first visit to his home? Could the decomp smell be from JRF’s remains? Still trying to figure out how that would play out, but maybe the perp then stole his truck, taking FJ with him, dumped JRF, beating up the truck in the process, then abandoned it. But where is FJ?

What date was the first visit to JRF’s trailer by LE (when they smelled decomp)?
What date were the photos taken of FJ cleaning?

IMO LE is staying close-lipped and misleading because they are on to something.

 

[I'm Nobody]

I had ruled out a third party involved in this a while ago but great speculations have made me wonder if LE may suspect someone other than Fitzpatrick & didn't want to spook a 3rd party. So now thanks to many of you, I've put 3rd party involvement back on my "what if" list.

Sort of wondering like @Steelhead (post above) if someone kidnapped JF and then staged the truck & JRF.

This is probably way out there too, but here goes:
IMO Fang looks much much younger than 47, her build, size, cute, petite. She could almost pass for a teenager. Got me wondering if there were any sex offenders in the area? Sex offenders registry, we all know, put in an address, up pops the local sex offenders. I actually gasped when I saw the the result.
JRF lived: 51063 29 Palms Hwy #48 Morongo Valley, CA 92256
What would be the address next door to JRF? Would that be #49?
IMO LE prob checked out everyone at Roadrunner. Cleared them all straight away I'd guess.
But what if.......


JMO which keeps changing.

Disclaimer - Megan's Law Website

www.meganslaw.ca.gov

 

[ch_13]

This is the most persuasive analysis I've seen regarding why LE started off less than truthful. What is your theory about why they put under seal their findings from JRF being located? And also never changed Fang's status, and also didn't communicate to Fang's family about the updates (and instead prying reporters broke the news publicly)? I honestly can't come up with a cohesive theory myself regarding all of that, but since your above analysis is so insightful, I'm curious as to your thoughts.

Good questions, and I presume they have their reasons, but I really couldn't even guess at their motivation.

Edit - What @BlaiseFinlay wrote above makes a lot of sense.

 

[hazel324]

I've been looking into where vehicle was found and came across this info about driving there. Explorers were sharing their pics of that very area when one asks another...

Q "It's ok to drive in Pinyon wash huh?
But not in Harper valley or Harper flat correct?"

A "Yea, Harper Valley/Harper Flat are off limits to vehicles, although every time out there I have seen motorcycle tire tracks going through there."

Pinyon Wash Overnight - Completed Trips - Anza Borrego Desert

anzaborrego.net