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

[ClaireNC]

We are waiting for the report of our PI where the info should be where and when and in which condition and with which belongings of JF inside the truck of JRF was found .... Can somebody help us in meantime already with exact location and timestamp when and where car was found or is this info not public yet in the USA ?
Thx alot for helping the progress in this terrible search

I don’t think that information has been publicly released. I’ve seen it reported as Harper Flat and I believe you mentioned it was found in Pinyon Wash. I added both to the map, but don’t have clarification on the details of where or when the truck was found. Fang Jin Case Map

 

[10ofRods]

Im pretty sure she is mopping FWIW...just saying.

Most Americans use a mop. Mopping by hand is very peculiar to ask of a guest, IMO.

simple Q here- is the CA driver's license laminated? my state's is just paper and flooding severe enough to separate a skull and teeth would practically dissolve it. I do not understand not having clothing with the body- maybe the pictures in MSM are incomplete or not accurate. Clothing does not just disappear quickly. Seems not-like-an-accident and I do not understand the mobile home unlocked, the decomp, Fang missing. Maybe homicide and accident and flooding? I imagine they can tell if the truck was damaged by flooding or some other cause. Maybe there are sand washes and things are now buried?

Yes - ours are laminated. Great question, BTW. The standard explanation for the missing clothing (on a skeleton) is sun damage and burrowing/nesting animals - including insects. The place is full of sandy areas, so it is possible that some clothing is still buried.

In this case, we know we can add heavy rains somewhere around August 21 (the weather records show that as the time when the park got about 4 inches of rain in 24 hours - a lot for out there). I am sure they can tell whether the truck was damaged by flood waters. It's not impossible that it was pushed around a bit in that rain event.

It's a real world experiment in speed of skeletonization. Intense sun, some rain, overall very dry conditions - it still surprises me a little that it happened so quickly (end of July-ish to mid-September isn't that long). At any rate, skeleton (with scattered parts) is what they found - so we have to assume the weather and animal scavenging have played a role here.

IMO

 

[10ofRods]

Maybe he dumped the body in Thermal ...and that could be the reason that his rear back window of his Truck is open at the Thermal picture ????

The problem is that the Thermal sighting is on 22 July, IIRC. And Jin Fang was still alive (we think) on 21 July. Not much time for decomp in the trailer, which is why it is puzzling. It's only about 40-45 minutes from Morongo Valley to Thermal, though. Did he go back home on that same day? The Thermal area is more populated and way less remote than Harper Flat.

Anyway, LE is surely using data from his truck to try and pinpoint where he stopped. It's a lot of missing time if he only drives 45 minutes to get to that campground near Thermal. And it's only about an hour from Thermal to Harper Flat/Pinyon Wash.

IF JRF did kill Jin Fang on the evening of the 21st or during the early hours/day on the 22nd, did he panic and run to Thermal, leaving her body in the trailer for a couple of days before working up the "courage" to deal with the situation?

Did he find spots near Thermal that suited his body disposal purposes? If he did return to the mobile home after camping in Thermal. That could mean as much as 36 hours had passed.

The area east of Thermal is a vast desert wasteland, barely used by anyone for anything. Part of it is in a wilderness preserve (Mecca Hills Wilderness Preserve/BLM land). Desolate. Parts of it are accessible by road, though.

 

[justtrish]

Most Americans use a mop. Mopping by hand is very peculiar to ask of a guest, IMO.



Yes - ours are laminated. Great question, BTW. The standard explanation for the missing clothing (on a skeleton) is sun damage and burrowing/nesting animals - including insects. The place is full of sandy areas, so it is possible that some clothing is still buried.

In this case, we know we can add heavy rains somewhere around August 21 (the weather records show that as the time when the park got about 4 inches of rain in 24 hours - a lot for out there). I am sure they can tell whether the truck was damaged by flood waters. It's not impossible that it was pushed around a bit in that rain event.

It's a real world experiment in speed of skeletonization. Intense sun, some rain, overall very dry conditions - it still surprises me a little that it happened so quickly (end of July-ish to mid-September isn't that long). At any rate, skeleton (with scattered parts) is what they found - so we have to assume the weather and animal scavenging have played a role here.

IMO

It appears to me in the first photo she's maybe wiping something up and in the second photo she has a mop in her hand.

I can think of many reasons this might be happening. She spilled something, perhaps a drink, and was wiping the liquid up and then followed up with a mop of the area. She noticed something on the floor like a stain or something that needed a little scrubbing first, then mopped. She could have been picking up items in the first photo and then mopping

On other thought that occurred to me as I was cleaning today.. I live in a desert environment and the dirt is RIDICULOUS! I came from a tropical environment where there just wasn't much dust.. sand yes, but dirt, dust, etc.. not so much. It's been an adjustment moving and now sweeping one day and the tomorrow the floor is dusty again. JRF's house is in a desert like area correct? Maybe JF just wasn't used to that and was being helpful because she wanted to not because he was expecting her to clean or something like that.

 

[justtrish]

Maybe this has been mentioned and I missed it, but do we know what day the photos of JF were taken in JRF house?

If that was a camera set up in the house to record the door area (I know many people that have a camera INSIDE and outside their house. Is it possible it records all the time or it's motion activated and those still photos came from recordings that were made, not on purpose (as in a guy sitting there taking photos of a woman cleaning), but just the camera activated and records and then someone did a screenshot of the video at some point?

 

[10ofRods]

It appears to me in the first photo she's maybe wiping something up and in the second photo she has a mop in her hand.

I can think of many reasons this might be happening. She spilled something, perhaps a drink, and was wiping the liquid up and then followed up with a mop of the area. She noticed something on the floor like a stain or something that needed a little scrubbing first, then mopped. She could have been picking up items in the first photo and then mopping

On other thought that occurred to me as I was cleaning today.. I live in a desert environment and the dirt is RIDICULOUS! I came from a tropical environment where there just wasn't much dust.. sand yes, but dirt, dust, etc.. not so much. It's been an adjustment moving and now sweeping one day and the tomorrow the floor is dusty again. JRF's house is in a desert like area correct? Maybe JF just wasn't used to that and was being helpful because she wanted to not because he was expecting her to clean or something like that.

Excellent points. You're right - those pictures could show Jin Fang being a courteous guest. I think the puzzling part is that pictures were taken. And that DH decided to share them. He probably provided some context to LE when he did so.

If it turns out that the pictures were then given to reporters by LE (how did CBS get the pictures?), then I'm going out on a limb and saying that LE is boosting a narrative in which Jin Fang was subservient. If it is DH who gave the pictures to reporters, that is also interesting. We still don't know if he took the pictures or if instead he got them from some kind of camera inside the home.

But very good point about the sand/dust thing out that way. And it's entirely possible that she just wanted to help, by cleaning. I sure wish we knew the date for the LE visit when JF and JRF were both present and alive.

 

[10ofRods]

Maybe this has been mentioned and I missed it, but do we know what day the photos of JF were taken in JRF house?

If that was a camera set up in the house to record the door area (I know many people that have a camera INSIDE and outside their house. Is it possible it records all the time or it's motion activated and those still photos came from recordings that were made, not on purpose (as in a guy sitting there taking photos of a woman cleaning), but just the camera activated and records and then someone did a screenshot of the video at some point?

We don't know the date, but didn't DH go to the house on the 17th? And if a screenshot was made, it came into the hands of DH somehow. Why would DH be taking screenshots of JF cleaning a floor? Did he have other screenshots, just not put out in front of the press?

Typically, the only person with access to security cameras is the owner - most people I know have an app on their phone to monitor their cameras. Maybe DH and JRF were close enough (or DH did occasional housesitting) so that he had access to it. It's still possible that DH simply took those pictures with his phone.

It's just weird to me that DH had access to security camera pictures - but certain explainable if DH was out at JRF's place a lot.

 

[Ravenmoon]

Can someone tell me what this location might be???

34°02'42.1"N 115°42'04.3"W · 34.045028, -115.701194

www.google.com

@tarabull

The thing that stands out the most to me about this particular location is the proximity to the Rose of Peru mine where Erin Corwins body was found.

 

[justtrish]

We don't know the date, but didn't DH go to the house on the 17th? And if a screenshot was made, it came into the hands of DH somehow. Why would DH be taking screenshots of JF cleaning a floor? Did he have other screenshots, just not put out in front of the press?

Typically, the only person with access to security cameras is the owner - most people I know have an app on their phone to monitor their cameras. Maybe DH and JRF were close enough (or DH did occasional housesitting) so that he had access to it. It's still possible that DH simply took those pictures with his phone.

It's just weird to me that DH had access to security camera pictures - but certain explainable if DH was out at JRF's place a lot.

So he visited on the 17th..

Then JRF and JF head out to "camp"

DH didn't hear from his friend and got worried so if that were me I'd head over to the house to check before calling police to make a report.

IF he did that, the door was open. Did he go inside and review any video footage?

OR something else that just occurred to me if you have cameras you can share access to anyone you want. We used to share our camera access with our neighbors at the last house we lived in. We each could see the others videos. WE had motion activated outside cameras though and we had issues with break ins. If JRF gave access to his good buddy, maybe his friend could view the cameras from where he was and didn't have to go to the house? Maybe not as likely with inside cameras, but I suppose given the military connection and history they shared, it's possible they did share that to look out for one another.

 

[vereb]

We don't know the date, but didn't DH go to the house on the 17th? And if a screenshot was made, it came into the hands of DH somehow. Why would DH be taking screenshots of JF cleaning a floor? Did he have other screenshots, just not put out in front of the press?

Typically, the only person with access to security cameras is the owner - most people I know have an app on their phone to monitor their cameras. Maybe DH and JRF were close enough (or DH did occasional housesitting) so that he had access to it. It's still possible that DH simply took those pictures with his phone.

It's just weird to me that DH had access to security camera pictures - but certain explainable if DH was out at JRF's place a lot.

The search warrant says that police took an SD card from the Ring camera in JRF's home. DH also could've removed the card, copied the video/data on it, and then put it back in the camera.

 

[LucyOso]

I‘m wondering if they were able to recover JRF’s phone.

Did he have it on his person in the place his remains were found? Or in his pickup truck?

If in either of these two locations, could they have been so damaged by the extreme heat temperatures they’re not operable anymore? Would forensics still be able to retrieve data somehow?

Or, if out in the elements and a storm came through, would the water have damaged it or caused it to be buried?

Questions, questions.

We don't know if they have the phone he is shown with in photos. However, if he has old iPhones at home, they might be still logged into his Apple ID. If they can unlock those, they can access iCloud, messaging, email, calendar, and sometimes location services. If he had his new phone setup with iCloud sync, it automatically uploads photos, messages, and other information. The old phones then can be synced with iCloud and they would have fairly recent information on his primary device. Almost as good as having the devices itself.

 

[Ilex]

The problem is that the Thermal sighting is on 22 July, IIRC. And Jin Fang was still alive (we think) on 21 July. Not much time for decomp in the trailer, which is why it is puzzling. It's only about 40-45 minutes from Morongo Valley to Thermal, though. Did he go back home on that same day? The Thermal area is more populated and way less remote than Harper Flat.

Anyway, LE is surely using data from his truck to try and pinpoint where he stopped. It's a lot of missing time if he only drives 45 minutes to get to that campground near Thermal. And it's only about an hour from Thermal to Harper Flat/Pinyon Wash.

IF JRF did kill Jin Fang on the evening of the 21st or during the early hours/day on the 22nd, did he panic and run to Thermal, leaving her body in the trailer for a couple of days before working up the "courage" to deal with the situation?

Did he find spots near Thermal that suited his body disposal purposes? If he did return to the mobile home after camping in Thermal. That could mean as much as 36 hours had passed.

The area east of Thermal is a vast desert wasteland, barely used by anyone for anything. Part of it is in a wilderness preserve (Mecca Hills Wilderness Preserve/BLM land). Desolate. Parts of it are accessible by road, though.

Isn't Thermal on the way to Harper's Flat? Could they have passed through Thermal on the way?

 

[Dhighsmith]

Apologies - sounds like I’m only familiar with “trailer” stereotypes we see in movies and books over here (England)!

Movies have tendency to create dilapidated images but not true depiction of mobile homes. You’re spoiled by all the beautiful country estates [smiley face], always love visiting England.

 

[LucyOso]

It's the fact that JFR is sitting in the background, not helping her do whatever she's doing that I think says something about the relationship dynamic. NO way a guest in my house would be doing that (or, in the house of most of the people I know; nor would my husband ever let a lady clean the floor...)

You can see JFR sitting impassively while his new friend/guest is wiping the floor. DH's view on why he took the picture and what he thought was going on is unknown to us - but crucial testimony.

IMO.

I agree with this. It looks like he recorded the situation unbeknownst to them. Hiding that he was recording. That's why it was angeled and to the side it looks like his shirt was in the way. Like pretending he was just holding his phone. That is what is concerning, he felt concerned enough to secretly record a situation. A situation we have no context into. And I am guessing he knows far more about his friend JRF, that would cause concern.

And also wonder about the timing of his visit. Did he randomly stop by and capture the situation. Was it a planned visit?

 

[slowpoke]

It appears to me in the first photo she's maybe wiping something up and in the second photo she has a mop in her hand.

I can think of many reasons this might be happening. She spilled something, perhaps a drink, and was wiping the liquid up and then followed up with a mop of the area. She noticed something on the floor like a stain or something that needed a little scrubbing first, then mopped. She could have been picking up items in the first photo and then mopping

On other thought that occurred to me as I was cleaning today.. I live in a desert environment and the dirt is RIDICULOUS! I came from a tropical environment where there just wasn't much dust.. sand yes, but dirt, dust, etc.. not so much. It's been an adjustment moving and now sweeping one day and the tomorrow the floor is dusty again. JRF's house is in a desert like area correct? Maybe JF just wasn't used to that and was being helpful because she wanted to not because he was expecting her to clean or something like that.

Maybe this has been mentioned and I missed it, but do we know what day the photos of JF were taken in JRF house?

If that was a camera set up in the house to record the door area (I know many people that have a camera INSIDE and outside their house. Is it possible it records all the time or it's motion activated and those still photos came from recordings that were made, not on purpose (as in a guy sitting there taking photos of a woman cleaning), but just the camera activated and records and then someone did a screenshot of the video at some point?

Hah, you and I are on the same wavelength; I had much the same thoughts. Although, I couldn’t make out the mopping. Pretty poor picture, and my eyes aren’t that great.

We do know JRF had a Ring Camera from the Search Warrant‘s “Items Taken” list—“SD card from Ring camera (128”. So curious to know if the cleaning photos were from that, or taken by DH.

If taken by DH, it is a very odd shot—on the face of it—to take, as it seems as if taken surreptitiously. Not a smiling posed photo. Something hanging in front of the camera’s view. Sun glare.

Makes more sense if it were taken by the security camera, then. But, it’s curious how DH would have accessed it, if that’s the case.

 

[Centaurus]

So the one Ring camera he owns is pointed inside his house at his kitchen? I’m not buying that.

 

[10ofRods]

@tarabull

The thing that stands out the most to me about this particular location is the proximity to the Rose of Peru mine where Erin Corwins body was found.

I think that's strange too - it is very close. However, in wandering around on maps.google this morning I'm seeing that there's more than one dropped pin out that way - with the name of a school. It's also an area where people go for geology fieldtrips (because of the minerals, because of the lava flow).

Isn't Thermal on the way to Harper's Flat? Could they have passed through Thermal on the way?

Yes, but that does NOT solve the problem of the decomp. In my view, the very earliest it could have been detected was 12 hours after death - and that would be highly unusual, out of the edge of statistical probability. For the decomp smell to have released enough into the home to be detectable on August 1, then perhaps whoever moved the body did so about 18 hours after death (although that's still stretching it - but it was hot out there, for sure).

IF JRF is the suspect, then I assume he arrived in Thermal in late afternoon/early evening. If JF was no longer alive at midnight on the 21st (just 1.5 hours or so after her last video), then the body had to remain in the trailer until around noonish the next day (and if the A/C wasn't on, then 18 hours would produce some products of decomp). But that means he didn't move the body to Thermal until about 6 pm - which is possible. We don't know what time the Thermal sighting was.

In that case, she is very near Thermal and probably not far off a road. It was done in panic and haste, IMO. Given that no attempt was made to remove JF's belongings from the mobile home, it seems reasonable to think he could have gone to Thermal with the specific goal of body disposal - but it really pushes the timeline into a specific position.

Because the smell of decomp was still detectable (even with the door open) on August 1.

Therefore, with this particular theory, I think we have to consider that there was a homicide (someone moved a body out of the mobile home - that's consistent with homicide, obviously). And it would have taken place at around midnight July 21-22.

On July 21, the high temperature in Morongo Valley was 120F (48.9C). The hottest point of the day for both July 21 and 22 was around 3 pm. The 22nd was a bit cooler (high was 114F), but the heat was more sustained (it was already 98F at 9 am on the 22nd). The overnight low was 88F (hot enough to heat a car past the point of sustaining life if the windows were up - I like to remember that 88F is still pretty warm). Surely JRF had A/C though?

It's still possible that he managed to leave the mobile home late afternoon/early evening on the 22nd and perhaps it was because the situation was rapidly and thoroughly going south (if it was an impulsive crime, JRF had to have spent time pulling himself together and planning.

This leaves his whereabouts on the 23rd a mystery. I'm sure LE is pondering these same questions. Rigor mortis, decomp rates, etc. And if someone used JRF's truck to move a body that was already into the second stage of decomp, then that truck will give evidence of that (cadaver dogs should be able to smell it, for sure).

It's even possible that JRF (or whoever was driving the truck) had the body with him at the Thermal campground (another explanation for the windows being down). In that case, the actions of that truck on the 23rd must surely be a big focus of this investigation. LE's first priority is to find Fang, of course. Organizing several desert searches is not easy - but I imagine they are making progress.

IMO.

 

[vls12345]

To me, the cleaning photos make sense from an interior ring camera. It looks like it is inset (inside a doorway or closet maybe ?) and there is a pair of pants hanging on the left side of the frame (like one might hang damp pants on a hanger on the edge of a doorframe to let them finish drying). I do not see anyone other than FJ in the photos. The couch under the window looks like it has some stacks of clothing or other items. MOO.




Screenshots taken from the video:

Family notified ex Navy SEAL found dead in desert, female companion still missing

Bones found in the Harper Canyon area of Anza-Borrego on September 17.

www.cbs8.com

 

[LucyOso]

Most Americans use a mop. Mopping by hand is very peculiar to ask of a guest, IMO.



Yes - ours are laminated. Great question, BTW. The standard explanation for the missing clothing (on a skeleton) is sun damage and burrowing/nesting animals - including insects. The place is full of sandy areas, so it is possible that some clothing is still buried.

In this case, we know we can add heavy rains somewhere around August 21 (the weather records show that as the time when the park got about 4 inches of rain in 24 hours - a lot for out there). I am sure they can tell whether the truck was damaged by flood waters. It's not impossible that it was pushed around a bit in that rain event.

It's a real world experiment in speed of skeletonization. Intense sun, some rain, overall very dry conditions - it still surprises me a little that it happened so quickly (end of July-ish to mid-September isn't that long). At any rate, skeleton (with scattered parts) is what they found - so we have to assume the weather and animal scavenging have played a role here.

IMO

BBM me. There were two pictures, one she is cleaning by hand, another with a mop. If there was broken glass or a really sticky mess, she might be crouched down cleaning it up.

 

[Ilex]

Just trying to get in my head a more definitive timeline and area. Please let me know if I have anything wrong.
-7/21 JF sends a video to family while travelling north at 10:19pm on Adobe Road in Twenty-nine Palms. This is the last contact with JF.
-7/22 JRF's truck is captured on camera at Thermal, CA just south of Indio, 60 miles north of where his vehicle would be found
-8/1 Welfare check at JRF's home on Twenty-nine Palms Highway. Front door open, smell of decomposition.
-8/3 Second search of JRF's home, 3 cellphones taken as evidence.
-unknown date-At some point JRF's truck is found "pretty wrecked" in Harper's Flat.
-9/17 JRF's body is found, 2 miles from his truck, in Harpers Valley. Both the truck and his remains are south of Route 78 where our VI tells us JF's backpack is found.