CA CA - Matthew Weaver, 21, Santa Monica Mountains, 10 Aug 2018

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wildcats821 said:
Colleen Weaver-Ferrall

Here’s the link I posted before/after pictures and the videos. Feel free to ask any questions
Click to expand...

Here is what I noticed when viewing the videos and photos.

To start, it looks like they maybe fingerprinted some things but not others. It looks like at least the stereo, the mouthwash bottle and maybe the air freshener were processed with black powder. It does not appears that the exterior of the vehicle was fingerprinted (unless they washed it) and other items, like the box for the phone that is right next to other items that looked fingerprinted.

It is kind of curious, being that there is some indication of suspicion with the texts, that the cigarette butts were not collected and any drinking containers for DNA. They could have swabbed the containers, but the cigarette butts would have been collected as a whole, unless they only took a representative sample (like one of each brand).

Damage to the gear shift cover could be from tow. Without the key, there is generally a gear disengage button or switch under there somewhere that would need to be tripped to get the car out of gear for towing. You don't always have to take the whole cover off, but it depends on the car.

The damage to the trunk latch area could be the same, but it's hard to say without knowing exactly how the car was found. Generally you try to get in the trunk when you process a vehicle. I've even sawed through trunk latches before.

The trunk also seems like it may be missing items? Again it's hard to say without knowing the exact state of the car when initially found, but the photos at the scene, the trunk looks completely full. In the video it's maybe half full and it just looks like there were more clothes in the trunk at the scene. Maybe see if they collected anything from the trunk and why.

The tire iron/lug wrench is out in the passenger seat at the scene in the tow yard (videos). This seems like a strange place to keep a tire iron, but it could be related to the full trunk. It's hard to see in the scene photos, but from the front, you can see one end of it sticking up through the windshield.

As mentioned above, the position of the car sticks out. How did the front wheels make it over the wash and not the back? Seems like even with rear wheel drive, there wouldn't be enough traction to force the front tires out of the washout without some sign of tires digging into the dirt and acceleration marks. Was it raining anytime from the day he went missing to when the car was found? It could have been parked there, then the road washed out later.

In the video, at 0:16, the sock in the trunk looks like it either has a red stain or maybe red lint/string, but maybe worth taking another look at.

This is super long, but again, I hope it helps in some way.
 
hxckirkle said:
Here is what I noticed when viewing the videos and photos.

To start, it looks like they maybe fingerprinted some things but not others. It looks like at least the stereo, the mouthwash bottle and maybe the air freshener were processed with black powder. It does not appears that the exterior of the vehicle was fingerprinted (unless they washed it) and other items, like the box for the phone that is right next to other items that looked fingerprinted.

It is kind of curious, being that there is some indication of suspicion with the texts, that the cigarette butts were not collected and any drinking containers for DNA. They could have swabbed the containers, but the cigarette butts would have been collected as a whole, unless they only took a representative sample (like one of each brand).

Damage to the gear shift cover could be from tow. Without the key, there is generally a gear disengage button or switch under there somewhere that would need to be tripped to get the car out of gear for towing. You don't always have to take the whole cover off, but it depends on the car.

The damage to the trunk latch area could be the same, but it's hard to say without knowing exactly how the car was found. Generally you try to get in the trunk when you process a vehicle. I've even sawed through trunk latches before.

The trunk also seems like it may be missing items? Again it's hard to say without knowing the exact state of the car when initially found, but the photos at the scene, the trunk looks completely full. In the video it's maybe half full and it just looks like there were more clothes in the trunk at the scene. Maybe see if they collected anything from the trunk and why.

The tire iron/lug wrench is out in the passenger seat at the scene in the tow yard (videos). This seems like a strange place to keep a tire iron, but it could be related to the full trunk. It's hard to see in the scene photos, but from the front, you can see one end of it sticking up through the windshield.

As mentioned above, the position of the car sticks out. How did the front wheels make it over the wash and not the back? Seems like even with rear wheel drive, there wouldn't be enough traction to force the front tires out of the washout without some sign of tires digging into the dirt and acceleration marks. Was it raining anytime from the day he went missing to when the car was found? It could have been parked there, then the road washed out later.

In the video, at 0:16, the sock in the trunk looks like it either has a red stain or maybe red lint/string, but maybe worth taking another look at.

This is super long, but again, I hope it helps in some way.
Click to expand...

Had many of the same thoughts as you.

@wildcats821 thank you for these! Looking at the car and how it was positioned, there is NO way someone who saw the car would have thought everything was fine. Anyone who saw the car that morning would have thought something was wrong and gone to help or called 911 IMO.

I think I see dusting from fingerprints on the radio and possibly the steering wheel. There is so much in the car, including the cigs, that could be a treasure trove of DNA. It’s a little overwhelming . Where do you even start?

Have you had any luck getting the items back from LE? I am an attorney but I’m not licensed in CA and am not a criminal lawyer. So I don’t know how helpful I can be! But let me know if you have any general legal questions. I can find the answer if I don’t know.

I listened to the podcast. It was definitely informational. I agree with the four possible scenarios. I really feel for your brother. Being a young adult can be hard. Still trying to figure out who you are and what you want to do in life.

Thoughts & prayers.
 
wildcats821 said:
Colleen Weaver-Ferrall


Here’s the link I posted before/after pictures and the videos. Feel free to ask any questions
Click to expand...
I wonder if Matthew tried to back up but quit when he realized he was off the road.

I can now see where he would have exited the vehicle from the driver's side and been Ok. The dogs picked up his scent there and followed his scent back to the beginning of the "road he found himself on". Would he have looked for the best/fastest way to walk out or down the mountain? Why did he go to the other side opposite from where his car was found? Could he have slipped and tumbled to the place where his hat was found? Or somewhere just above where his hat was found? I know you said the brush was dense but were you able to search the area above where the shirt and hat was found?

Also, you found his car keys if I'm not mistaken but I don't remember exactly where.

I can't help but think he's somewhere among the brush on the side his hat was found. It's the one thing that makes the most logical sense.

Did he wear a ring or some form of jewelry? An earring, a necklace or a watch maybe. Any chance that area could be scanned with a metal detector?
 
hxckirkle said:
Here is what I noticed when viewing the videos and photos.

To start, it looks like they maybe fingerprinted some things but not others. It looks like at least the stereo, the mouthwash bottle and maybe the air freshener were processed with black powder. It does not appears that the exterior of the vehicle was fingerprinted (unless they washed it) and other items, like the box for the phone that is right next to other items that looked fingerprinted.

It is kind of curious, being that there is some indication of suspicion with the texts, that the cigarette butts were not collected and any drinking containers for DNA. They could have swabbed the containers, but the cigarette butts would have been collected as a whole, unless they only took a representative sample (like one of each brand).

Damage to the gear shift cover could be from tow. Without the key, there is generally a gear disengage button or switch under there somewhere that would need to be tripped to get the car out of gear for towing. You don't always have to take the whole cover off, but it depends on the car.

The damage to the trunk latch area could be the same, but it's hard to say without knowing exactly how the car was found. Generally you try to get in the trunk when you process a vehicle. I've even sawed through trunk latches before.

The trunk also seems like it may be missing items? Again it's hard to say without knowing the exact state of the car when initially found, but the photos at the scene, the trunk looks completely full. In the video it's maybe half full and it just looks like there were more clothes in the trunk at the scene. Maybe see if they collected anything from the trunk and why.

The tire iron/lug wrench is out in the passenger seat at the scene in the tow yard (videos). This seems like a strange place to keep a tire iron, but it could be related to the full trunk. It's hard to see in the scene photos, but from the front, you can see one end of it sticking up through the windshield.

As mentioned above, the position of the car sticks out. How did the front wheels make it over the wash and not the back? Seems like even with rear wheel drive, there wouldn't be enough traction to force the front tires out of the washout without some sign of tires digging into the dirt and acceleration marks. Was it raining anytime from the day he went missing to when the car was found? It could have been parked there, then the road washed out later.

In the video, at 0:16, the sock in the trunk looks like it either has a red stain or maybe red lint/string, but maybe worth taking another look at.

This is super long, but again, I hope it helps in some way.
Click to expand...


Yes I believe that they finger printed some of the items and I am not sure if they did the outside. I’m also unsure why they did not take out all of the cigarettes. I think they left the trunk open after they pulled it out. I’m pretty sure they took some of his clothing to. The ditch was not there before it broke under neath his back tire after he was already parked there. No it also did not rain that day. It rained months later though.
 
LVatty10 said:
Had many of the same thoughts as you.

@wildcats821 thank you for these! Looking at the car and how it was positioned, there is NO way someone who saw the car would have thought everything was fine. Anyone who saw the car that morning would have thought something was wrong and gone to help or called 911 IMO.

I think I see dusting from fingerprints on the radio and possibly the steering wheel. There is so much in the car, including the cigs, that could be a treasure trove of DNA. It’s a little overwhelming . Where do you even start?

Have you had any luck getting the items back from LE? I am an attorney but I’m not licensed in CA and am not a criminal lawyer. So I don’t know how helpful I can be! But let me know if you have any general legal questions. I can find the answer if I don’t know.

I listened to the podcast. It was definitely informational. I agree with the four possible scenarios. I really feel for your brother. Being a young adult can be hard. Still trying to figure out who you are and what you want to do in life.

Thoughts & prayers.
Click to expand...


Most people do not go around that side of the mountain unless they are going down backbone trail. They usually just go to the platform and then go back. You also cannot see the car from the platform. You would have to walk around the corner to see the car. I honestly have no idea there really is so many things in the car to test. No we have not had any luck with the items and every time I try to call Detective Palmer she is conveniently not working or has the day off. Yes. I have a couple of questions.
 
Razz said:
I wonder if Matthew tried to back up but quit when he realized he was off the road.

I can now see where he would have exited the vehicle from the driver's side and been Ok. The dogs picked up his scent there and followed his scent back to the beginning of the "road he found himself on". Would he have looked for the best/fastest way to walk out or down the mountain? Why did he go to the other side opposite from where his car was found? Could he have slipped and tumbled to the place where his hat was found? Or somewhere just above where his hat was found? I know you said the brush was dense but were you able to search the area above where the shirt and hat was found?

Also, you found his car keys if I'm not mistaken but I don't remember exactly where.

I can't help but think he's somewhere among the brush on the side his hat was found. It's the one thing that makes the most logical sense.

Did he wear a ring or some form of jewelry? An earring, a necklace or a watch maybe. Any chance that area could be scanned with a metal detector?
Click to expand...

Matthew knows that hiking area well. He would have just walked back down the trail and went to the main road unless someone was following him or something made him walk down the mountain. Yes we searched the whole area where the hat had T-shirt were found with about 12 family/friends. Yes someone found his car key by a rock by the car. No he did not have or wear any jewelry
 
wildcats821 said:
Matthew knows that hiking area well. He would have just walked back down the trail and went to the main road unless someone was following him or something made him walk down the mountain. Yes we searched the whole area where the hat had T-shirt were found with about 12 family/friends. Yes someone found his car key by a rock by the car. No he did not have or wear any jewelry
Click to expand...
Bumping for Matthew! Hang in there. I can't imagine how hard this has been.
 
General question for WS CSIs- With regard to fingerprints, how often are past crime scene prints re run against updated catalogue. For example Over the years I’ve had my house and office broken into. the techs captured fingerprints but no matches were in the system at time. Not sure how common it is for someone with zero criminal record to participate in a more serious crime unless they were young and not in the system yet. In that case would the mystery prints stay on file so that if they did get arrested there would be an efficient systematic way to match them to past crimes? Ie If they collected unidentified fingerprints on items from Matthew’s car, will they get flagged for review if someone is arrested and gets entered into the system?
 
hardeeboy said:
General question for WS CSIs- With regard to fingerprints, how often are past crime scene prints re run against updated catalogue. For example Over the years I’ve had my house and office broken into. the techs captured fingerprints but no matches were in the system at time. Not sure how common it is for someone with zero criminal record to participate in a more serious crime unless they were young and not in the system yet. In that case would the mystery prints stay on file so that if they did get arrested there would be an efficient systematic way to match them to past crimes? Ie If they collected unidentified fingerprints on items from Matthew’s car, will they get flagged for review if someone is arrested and gets entered into the system?
Click to expand...

Yes. Much like the DNA database .
 
hardeeboy said:
General question for WS CSIs- With regard to fingerprints, how often are past crime scene prints re run against updated catalogue. For example Over the years I’ve had my house and office broken into. the techs captured fingerprints but no matches were in the system at time. Not sure how common it is for someone with zero criminal record to participate in a more serious crime unless they were young and not in the system yet. In that case would the mystery prints stay on file so that if they did get arrested there would be an efficient systematic way to match them to past crimes? Ie If they collected unidentified fingerprints on items from Matthew’s car, will they get flagged for review if someone is arrested and gets entered into the system?
Click to expand...

From personal experience, I always had to ask for prints to be compared to new suspects in "low level" crimes like burglary. There are instances even in murder cases (think golden state killer) where prints and DNA have been found, but never hit in a database. A completely new technique had to be used to solve the golden state killer case for example.

Another issue can be if the evidence is retained. Latent print cards and swabs get destroyed after the statute of limitations expires or based on department policy. Hits in databases have to be confirmed by an analyst, which is hard if the evidence has been destroyed.
 
hxckirkle said:
From personal experience, I always had to ask for prints to be compared to new suspects in "low level" crimes like burglary. There are instances even in murder cases (think golden state killer) where prints and DNA have been found, but never hit in a database. A completely new technique had to be used to solve the golden state killer case for example.

Another issue can be if the evidence is retained. Latent print cards and swabs get destroyed after the statute of limitations expires or based on department policy. Hits in databases have to be confirmed by an analyst, which is hard if the evidence has been destroyed.
Click to expand...
Thanks for the reply. I’m amazed there is so little to work with in terms of evidence in this case. Especially if this was an unplanned or spontaneous crime how could they get that lucky to have no witnesses, no video, no evidence of a struggle, no clear motives & a victim having opportunity and means to communicate distress but still not enough to illuminate who or what was happening. Elaine Park & Mitrice Richardson cases also seemed to happen in an unlikely vacuum of witnesses and evidence and communicating with others shortly before they vanished. It makes you wonder.
 
If any of you can make it to the vigil let me know. I would love to meet all you guys in person. I did want to say thank you so much for the continued support and clues/theories you guys have all game up with. Any questions or tips you guys have submitted I immediately let my family know as well. Thank you again
 
wildcats821 said:
If someone could help me out locating a member, I cannot seem to find there profile. They had said somewhere in this thread that they were not a criminal attorney/lawyer just a regular one but could answer any questions if I need them too.
Click to expand...

Professional Posters & Verified Insiders

Skim down the list till you get to ‘lawyers.’ There’s a lot of them! Maybe a name will joggle your memory—or just ask at random. ;)
 
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