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

[Megnut]

JF's last message might not have come from her.

That her things remained in the trailer and his remained in the truck (IIRC) suggests at least one person intended to return, no?

If JRF had a camera in his house and planned something nefarious, wouldn't he himself have disconnected it?

Without knowing JRF's cause of death, it's hard to guess what might've happened...

Jmo

 

[Interested_But_Confused]

I've read through the thread and don't think this has been mentioned.

Many modern security cameras (Ring, etc.) are IoT and connected to the cloud. You can access the footage using a phone app when you're away from home, and they can also send alerts to the app if they sense movement.

If JRF and DH trusted each other enough, it's possible DH had remote access to JRF's cameras to keep an eye on the trailer. That could explain him having access to images (of JF) taken from JRFs cameras.

 

[Ravenmoon]

I've read through the thread and don't think this has been mentioned.

Many modern security cameras (Ring, etc.) are IoT and connected to the cloud. You can access the footage using a phone app when you're away from home, and they can also send alerts to the app if they sense movement.

If JRF and DH trusted each other enough, it's possible DH had remote access to JRF's cameras to keep an eye on the trailer. That could explain him having access to images (of JF) taken from JRFs cameras.

I have followed this case off and on.
Can someone direct me to a source that will reveal who DH is?

Thank you.

 

[slowpoke]

I have followed this case off and on.
Can someone direct me to a source that will reveal who DH is?

Thank you.

Long-time friend of JRF, from military days.
Mystery surrounds missing San Bernardino man found dead in Anza-Borrego state park

 

[charminglane]

I have followed this case off and on.
Can someone direct me to a source that will reveal who DH is?

Thank you.

Mystery surrounds missing San Bernardino man found dead in Anza-Borrego state park

EAST COUNTY — A mysterious death, a missing woman and many unanswered questions are at the heart of an investigation into a 52-year-old man found dead last month in Anza-Borrego Des…

www.sandiegouniontribune.com

"Fitzpatrick, a former Navy SEAL and San Bernardino resident, was reported missing to San Bernardino officials on July 30, according to the man’s longtime friend, Darryl Hoss. The two had served together in the military, he said."

 

[Interested_But_Confused]

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.

You raise a very interesting point. There should be much more Ring footage of JF than just the two images of her cleaning the trailer. Somebody, be it DH or LE, released those specific images for a reason.

I can only think of two obvious reasons: either as you suggest, to push the narrative of JF being subservient; or to push the narrative that there's something suspicious about JF cleaning the trailer.

I'm not suggesting JF is guilty of anything, but it's possible that someone wants to make it look like she is.

 

[megs1477]

For anyone who is still uncertain what a "trailer" or manufactured home is. This is a listing for another trailer in the same neighborhood/mobile home park that includes interior and exterior photos. It might help clear up some of the confusion.

51063 29 Palms Hwy #55, Morongo Valley, CA 92256 - MLS #JT22141734 | BEX Realty

51063 29 Palms Hwy #55, Morongo Valley, CA 92256 is a 1 bed, 1 bath, 850 sqft home in Roadrunner Mobile Home Park, Morongo Valley, California and was sold on 2022-08-05.

www.bexrealty.com

 

[slowpoke]

Looking for a side by side of JRF as seen in previous sources and the JRF/the man in JF's photos.

Anyone?

First time I’m trying this collage thing. Is this what you are wanting?

 

[Ravenmoon]

@charminglane
@slowpoke

Thank you.
I was kind of hoping it could have been someone I knew.
Pretty sure I don't know this man at all.
Is he one of the 2 people whose faces are blurred out in photos earlier in the thread?

 

[Dhighsmith]

So you think the responding officer lied about this crucial detail? They did NOT need to add in the homicide appendix - they still would have gotten their SW without that extra appendix.

If the responding officer made it up to get a warrant, that's absolutely illegal and terrible. So I don't think that's what happened. The door was standing open for a reason, IMO. The officer did the right thing in noting the decomp smell and going for a warrant - to preserve the investigation ahead.

By now, surely they've sent some kind of forensic people to that mobile home, so LE knows for sure whether there's decomp products in there - and it would be absolutely the worst policing to continue to allow the public to believe there was a dead body in that mobile home, if there's no evidence at all.

It is now one of the central facts of this case and very alarming. I've known of several missteps by SBCSO in the past, but never have I seen an actual document go to a judge with a blatant lie in it.

I’m thinking the sealed Search Warrant contains valuable info especially on the forensics.

 

[cenazoic]

What I want to know is why LE went to the mobile home before August 1 (it's listed right after events of the 22nd are mentioned in the search warrant application). When was that visit?

When LE was there is ambiguous, but so is the reason why/who they were visiting.

The search warrant does not say anything about LE being there for the purpose of talking to JRF, just that they did.

“Jin was last from by friends on July 22 [sic]. Deputies were in the Roadrunner Mobile Home Park and spoke to Fitzpatrick, an unknown Asian female adult was seen with him.”

https://interactive.cbs8.com/pdfs/fitzpatrick_search_warrant.pdf

 

[Teche]

First time I’m trying this collage thing. Is this what you are wanting?
View attachment 454954

He looks so different. In the more recent pictures, JKF looks thinner and younger.

 

[AnyNameIWish]

Great to see the collage, helps to see it all in one place.

Upper left pic is An OLD picture... I only saw it when the announcement of his found body was made in San Diego news.

Upper middle is mug shot from his assault charge (?) ....so, 2 years ago?

The other 4 are from selfies taken with Fang in the days leading up to his disappearance and ultimate death.

I wonder what pic he used as his profile pic with Fang?

About the sunblock/cosmetics I 100% agree with you- she is very fair and not tanning/not becoming dark is a HUGE thing among a certain subset of Asian ladies so being in Joshua Tree IN JULY is absolutely NOT huge on the list of things they'd enjoy. (I cannot even get my mom to visit Hawaii....)

 

[slowpoke]

Great to see the collage, helps to see it all in one place.

Upper left pic is An OLD picture... I only saw it when the announcement of his found body was made in San Diego news.

Upper middle is mug shot from his assault charge (?) ....so, 2 years ago?

The other 4 are from selfies taken with Fang in the days leading up to his disappearance and ultimate death.

I wonder what pic he used as his profile pic with Fang?

About the sunblock/cosmetics I 100% agree with you- she is very fair and not tanning/not becoming dark is a HUGE thing among a certain subset of Asian ladies so being in Joshua Tree IN JULY is absolutely NOT huge on the list of things they'd enjoy. (I cannot even get my mom to visit Hawaii....)

The upper middle one might be from a driver’s license. Mine has a background that looks close to that color. You know how DL photos rarely make one look good!

I do see how he appears heavier and less healthy looking in that one. But the angle of the photo is unflattering, too.

 

[acutename]

If JRF was killed on the night of the 21st, it is nearly impossible for there to be a decomp smell (much less enough to persist for 10 days) after just 12 hours. Is JF also killed at the same time in this scenario?

Whoever died in that trailer, if they died at around midnight July 21-22, then a faint smell of decomp MIGHT have occurred by 12 noon on July 22. That would make it very rapid decomp, so we must posit that the mobile home had the A/C off. Why would someone linger in the mobile home for 12 hours, after murdering 1-2 people? Nothing is stolen (except, apparently, in this scenario - JRF's truck).

Average time to smelling decomp is 24-48 hours (24 in hotter climes and using data from average people doing the smelling). When a place still smells of decomp 10 days later, it's a safe bet that quite a lot of decomposition went on (although the mobile home is small and sealed off from the elements - so that's another variable).

Still, it's really really pushing the science to an unusual load level, using unusual probabilities, to say that there could have been time for decomp to be detectable at noon on the 22nd. Given the heat that day, I'd say it would have to be more like 18 hours (still pushing on the tables used by medical examiners - I wish I could find some tables just for desert conditions in that area - the actual medical examiners will have compiled their own, no doubt).

So in your view, what is JF doing while this is going on? JFR's truck is seen around 8 pm in Thermal, someone posted today. What has the third party done with JF? Is your view that JF was still alive during this? Whoever drove JF and JRF out to Harper Flat area did so without stealing her backpack and without taking her money from the mobile home.

They then had to walk to Highway 78 from the Harper Flat area. Sure seems to me more likely instead of someone dragging JRF 2 miles from where his truck was found, that JRF was still able to ambulate and got himself 2 miles away from the truck.

IMO. (I enjoy all the alternate theories - it's the only way we can get closer to knowing where people should be looking - with the goal right now to alert members of the public that if they find skeletonized remains out in any of these areas, to contact LE and particularly SBCSO). I hope reporters in the area are in daily contact with LE (unfortunately, Thermal is not in the same county as the last known location of JF, but hopefully reporters are in contact with all the various LE).

did they (LE) ever say for certain that the decomp smell was from human decomp and not from food/garbage/dead animal? Any of those might still make an investigation seem necessary but....
curious what kind of door locks were on the trailer and if there might have been some other explanation for the door being open- warps/sticks/he doesn't always lock it, etc.

 

[Ilex]

If JRF was killed on the night of the 21st, it is nearly impossible for there to be a decomp smell (much less enough to persist for 10 days) after just 12 hours. Is JF also killed at the same time in this scenario?

Whoever died in that trailer, if they died at around midnight July 21-22, then a faint smell of decomp MIGHT have occurred by 12 noon on July 22. That would make it very rapid decomp, so we must posit that the mobile home had the A/C off. Why would someone linger in the mobile home for 12 hours, after murdering 1-2 people? Nothing is stolen (except, apparently, in this scenario - JRF's truck).

Average time to smelling decomp is 24-48 hours (24 in hotter climes and using data from average people doing the smelling). When a place still smells of decomp 10 days later, it's a safe bet that quite a lot of decomposition went on (although the mobile home is small and sealed off from the elements - so that's another variable).

Still, it's really really pushing the science to an unusual load level, using unusual probabilities, to say that there could have been time for decomp to be detectable at noon on the 22nd. Given the heat that day, I'd say it would have to be more like 18 hours (still pushing on the tables used by medical examiners - I wish I could find some tables just for desert conditions in that area - the actual medical examiners will have compiled their own, no doubt).

So in your view, what is JF doing while this is going on? JFR's truck is seen around 8 pm in Thermal, someone posted today. What has the third party done with JF? Is your view that JF was still alive during this? Whoever drove JF and JRF out to Harper Flat area did so without stealing her backpack and without taking her money from the mobile home.

They then had to walk to Highway 78 from the Harper Flat area. Sure seems to me more likely instead of someone dragging JRF 2 miles from where his truck was found, that JRF was still able to ambulate and got himself 2 miles away from the truck.

IMO. (I enjoy all the alternate theories - it's the only way we can get closer to knowing where people should be looking - with the goal right now to alert members of the public that if they find skeletonized remains out in any of these areas, to contact LE and particularly SBCSO). I hope reporters in the area are in daily contact with LE (unfortunately, Thermal is not in the same county as the last known location of JF, but hopefully reporters are in contact with all the various LE).

So we have them alive and well on 7/21 (or so assumed due to the video). But no contact with JF after that date, so my assumption is that by the time the truck was caught on camera in Thermal on 7/22, JF was no longer communicating with family or friends. Then LE does a welfare check on 8/1 and notices the smell of decomposition. How many days would it take for that smell to be noticeable and how long would it last in an area where there is no body? Was JRF already dead by this time? I had thought because he was skeletonized by the time he was found he was most likely already deceased by 8/1.
I know there's also conflicting reports on the nature of the relationship between JF and JRF, but I think it's fair to say JRF had a difficult marriage that was still working through the court systems. I wonder how that played into this situation.
Just wanted to edit to add I believe JF's body is most likely within a 2 mile radius from where the truck was located. JMO, but given where JRF and JF's backpack were found, I just think it makes sense.

 

[Dhighsmith]

View attachment 454937

JF told family members she was going camping, correct? Maybe the two simply drove to Anza Borrego (past the billboard) and ended up off-roading on Pinyon Mtn Rd. MOO. It would have taken a couple hours to drive there and cell phone signal would have been spotty through the Salton Sea area. Going through Anza Borrego, JRF's cell phone might have pinged in Julian.

View attachment 454933

This map below shows the on and off-road driving routes in yellow surrounding Harper Canyon/Flat. You cannot drive a truck onto Harper Flat itself from either Pinyon Wash (blocked by boulders) or from Pinyon Drop-Off area (blocked by a fence), I am told by a frequent camper. IMO it seems the truck became disabled either in Pinyon Wash or near Pinyon Drop-Off. (The date and location have not been reported). If the truck was damaged and disabled in Pinyon Wash, the logical direction to escape the area on foot would be north back to Hwy 78. On the other hand, if the truck was disabled near Pinyon Drop-off, the logical escape route would be toward Harper Flat and Harper Canyon.

The area to search for FJ depends on whether she walked WITH JRF up to Harper Canyon, or whether she stayed with the truck IMO. The backpack report (above) suggests she may have walked up Harper Canyon with him. MOO.

View attachment 454934

Edit: The other possibility is the remains are FJ's and her backpack washed down Harper Canyon from that body location. Or JRF was carrying FJ’s backpack.

From everything currently known plus reports of flooding from Hurricane this is likely the best description of location in search of JF.

 

[sfinkz]

The last verified contact by FJ was the 22:19 July 21 video sent to friends/family, in motion, northbound on N. Adobe Rd, -1.2 miles (2 km)
N of Highway 62.
Ostensibly on the way to the marine base to purchase fuel? The fuel pumps, at the northern edge of the sprawling base, were still nearly 9 miles (14 km) away. The commissary closed for three hours.
Interestingly, fuel seems to be one of few products on base not exempt from taxes.
Gas taxes in CA are 78 cents a gallon, highest in nation. According to gasbuddy.com prices at the base pump do appear to average 15-20 cents cheaper than in town.
Would JRF make a 20-mile detour (recalling my younger self making 20-mile detours to avoid 50c tolls when gas was 70c/gall but JRF is no kid), late at night, to save a coupla bucks? What was he really up to that night?
Now the weather report. 100 deg F (37.8 C) in Borrego yesterday, prolly last triple digit with six month high-season (Nov-April) approaching. That two-month stretch mid-July-to-mid-September, when JRF disappeared until recovered, punctuated with a hurricane in the middle, dropping a years worth of rain in two days, was brutal.
(Finally the traffic report and a fun fact: the aforementioned last contact 22:19 7/21 video appears to capture traffic exiting southbound from Smith’s Ranch Drive-In Theater, 2 km north of vid, a uniquely-American experience and one of the last (actually ~300) remaining venues.
Believe the latest Indiana Jones flick in the middle of a three-night run was being shown that Friday evening. Bring the lawn chairs, the desert comes alive at night. Showtime 19:30, runtime 2:34. JoBob sez check it out. I know, tmi).

ETA: “What was he really up to that night?”

 

[sfinkz]

Just to be clear, Indiana Jones is an archaeologist, defined, I believe, as someone who likes hanging out with anthropologists, of which 10ofRods, a true superhero, is my fav.

 

[slowpoke]

did they (LE) ever say for certain that the decomp smell was from human decomp and not from food/garbage/dead animal? Any of those might still make an investigation seem necessary but....
curious what kind of door locks were on the trailer and if there might have been some other explanation for the door being open- warps/sticks/he doesn't always lock it, etc.

Since he has a Ring Camera installed, he must’ve been concerned about home security, so I would think he would normally make a practice of locking doors and windows when going out.
JMO