CO - Jessica Ridgeway, 10, Westminster, 5 Oct 2012 - #3

[JodyMT]

I think body language experts are usually full of you-know-what, especially in cases like this. There is simply no template for how a parent should act when a child goes missing.

One thing I do think is telling in watching these kinds of interviews, is crying-Is the parent crying? Is the display of emotion genuine, or are they scrunching up their face and making crying noises, but no tears are coming out? And, IMO most important-WHEN are they crying? At what point in retelling the story of their child's disappearance do they show the most emotion?

Both mom and dad cried "appropriately", for lack of a better word. Jessica's mother, for example, held it together fairly well until she started to describe that "pit in the stomach" feeling when she realized her child was taken. This is exactly the point I would expect a parent to break down if their child has gone missing and they are not involved. Because that is the moment it becomes every parent's worst nightmare.

AND, it is very possible that the mother or father has been heavily medicated, as you can imagine they would need to be. Sedatives, sleeping pills and anti depressants.

 

[carbuff]

I don't understand this at all. Here in Texas, public school bus service has always been a part of our school taxes. Do people in Colorado and California not pay school taxes? Obviously if they do, bus service for their children is not part of it, which is sad. No child should have to be expected to walk to a public school imo.

We would raise all kinds of hell if the schools tried to charge us for carrying our kids back and forth to school because we do pay so much in taxes every year.

OT -- When taxes can't be raised and budgets have been cut to the bone, revenue has to come from somewhere. Athletic fees, activity fees, bus fees -- they're all common in New England.

 

[shefner]

EVERY Websleuther has input of value and merit. I respect every point of view. We are here to help and it can be tough to do. I try very hard to leave every idea open to some degree, so that we can be prepared emotionally for anything.

I said it earlier and I repeat: I treasure every one of you!

 

[momtective]

Operators of the landfill at Hampden and Tower Rd. in Arapahoe County have been told to keep workers and trash away from area that garbage from Jessica Ridgeway’s neighborhood has been dumped during the last few days. While there has been no police activity at the dump, police want the integrity of that area maintained, just in case the investigation takes them there in the future.
http://kdvr.com/2012/10/08/live-blog-search-continues-for-jessica-ridgeway/

 

[gam]

for what its worth, in my neck of the woods (in Cali), the small token amount for the bus is $400 per year. Also, buses are not provided for any child who lives within a 1.5 miles of the school. Doesn't matter if they are kindergarten or not. Drives me mad. Often doesn't leave many options for working parents...

No charge where I live yet, but it's 1 mile for elementary and 1.5 for middle and high school.

Problem is a bus is not going to stop child abductions. As children who ride the busses must walk to the bus stops and stand around about 10 minutes waiting.

Kids are abducted walking to the bus stop and standing at the bus stop all the time. I can't see my grandsons bus from my house, I have to walk him to the bus stop. It's the reason why my daughter moved into my home with her children after she became a single mother. She has to work and can't get the children off to school. Latch key starts at 6:30am she leaves for work at 6am.

She often works midnights, comes running in the door at 8:15am to pack lunches and get kids out the door. It's very hard for her to stay awake even for a half hour to get the kids to the bus stop.

So I truly feel for this single mom, working midnights, she was doing the best she could. As you said the options are not always good for working parents.

 

[shefner]

I do not find anything wrong with Jessica walking to school...she was 10 and not far from her school location. She also had arrangements to walk with others. What is sad is that our children can no longer do the simple things that made growing up fun.

 

[GrainneDhu]

Thanks for clarifying.

Using google maps, I have viewed images of the location where the bag was found. What can be learned from those images?

(1) The back-pack was placed where it could be easily discovered.
(2) There are only two streets that allow access to the neighborhood in which the back-pack was discovered.
(3) The back-pack was placed at a point where the person who left it there would be least likely to be seen by a resident: no window looks out onto the sidewalk where the back-pack was found.

The person who left the back-pack did so more than 36-hours after the victim's disappearance (based upon published statements aboutwhen the man who found it believed itwas not there, c. 6:45pm Saturday, when he and his wife left their home). Assuming that this person or persons who committed this crime knew that they would be implicated if stopped by police and the back-pack was found in the person or person's possession, then the perpetrator(s) was/were taking significant risk to drive (assuming a car was used) to this location and leave the back-pack.

Has anyone given any thought to the possibility that the perpetrator(s) wanted to send a message to police, and that the message was so important to the perpetrator(s) that the risk of being caught with the back-pack was out-weighed by the desire to be certain that the police should find the back-pack?

I'm sure that at least part of the message was: "Look here! Look here! See, I'm showing you a big shiny object here!"

I think the perp may have been getting nervous over the attention being paid to Jessica's neighbourhood and was hoping to suck LE attention in a different direction.

I'm also 95% sure that the perp is sure that the neighbourhood where the backpack was found will not lead LE back to him.

 

[Footwarrior]

I don't understand this at all. Here in Texas, public school bus service has always been a part of our school taxes. Do people in Colorado and California not pay school taxes? Obviously if they do, bus service for their children is not part of it, which is sad. No child should have to be expected to walk to a public school imo.

Jessica's walk to school was only a few blocks. Not much further than the kids that live on my street have to walk to catch the school bus.

 

[hollyblue]

I just posted the same thing above your post. Jessica's mother did not say the friend was walking with her.

First, I'm not implying anything of the mother being involved, but there is something off at the point of telling about the door and the friend, and the walking. Every aspect of her telling what took place that morning from the alarm to her putting on her coat was in clear chronological order....then it jumped to the friend, the snowing. It became a little fractured and jumbled..... and you have to surmise old those little pieces together for yourself to complete the picture. There was no clear storyline after her putting on her coat....and you could see it in her face and her actions. Again, I don't believe the mother had anything knowingly to do with JR's disappearance, but there is just something at that point that is very troubling for her. IMO

This also is in conflict what we were previous told....about her standing outside to watch JR until she could no see her. <modsnip>

Was the older child a bully? Male or female....she never said? Does middle school end in 6th or 8th grade there?

JMO

 

[Marilynilpa]

Thanks for clarifying.

Using google maps, I have viewed images of the location where the bag was found. What can be learned from those images?

(1) The back-pack was placed where it could be easily discovered.
(2) There are only two streets that allow access to the neighborhood in which the back-pack was discovered.
(3) The back-pack was placed at a point where the person who left it there would be least likely to be seen by a resident: no window looks out onto the sidewalk where the back-pack was found.

The person who left the back-pack did so more than 36-hours after the victim's disappearance (based upon published statements aboutwhen the man who found it believed itwas not there, c. 6:45pm Saturday, when he and his wife left their home). Assuming that this person or persons who committed this crime knew that they would be implicated if stopped by police and the back-pack was found in the person or person's possession, then the perpetrator(s) was/were taking significant risk to drive (assuming a car was used) to this location and leave the back-pack.

Has anyone given any thought to the possibility that the perpetrator(s) wanted to send a message to police, and that the message was so important to the perpetrator(s) that the risk of being caught with the back-pack was out-weighed by the desire to be certain that the police should find the back-pack?

You might want to check out Thread #2, I believe we discussed this quite a bit on that thread. I think the backpack was left there in an attempt to divert the investigation. JMO

 

[TreeClimbingGirl]

I don't want anyone to be upset with me. My opinion is like most, simply based on my own background and experiences.

I am not trying to pick apart the statements of the family in order to discredit them. But several things stand out to me as being uncomfortable. Even so, I recognize these individuals are victims and my heart goes out to them.

In my own case, I cannot ever imagine saying, "we are strong," "we will take care of our child," "this is terrible for us." My first thought, when my child was gone, was, "where is he," "what can I do," "who has him," "is he hurt," "is he hungry," "is he alive," "is he cold," and my true desire...my unwavering obsession...my whole being pulsated without fail to reach out to him and to simply hear the sound of his voice...or just for him to hear the sound of mine saying...."We are coming for you...I love you...please hold on...you are not alone....we will find you....I love you....I cannot live without you"

I'm not upset with you :hug: Honestly, I found some of mom's statement a bit odd, but I got the impression she was really, really nervous about being on camera and kind of lost her train of thought a few times. I think the questions the interviewer asked were not entirely appropriate either...he didn't ask about what her fears were for her child, or what she would want to say to her child-he asked "how did you feel?" and "what happened that morning?". It was an odd interview, IMO.

 

[shefner]

I think body language experts are usually full of you-know-what, especially in cases like this. There is simply no template for how a parent should act when a child goes missing.

One thing I do think is telling in watching these kinds of interviews, is crying-Is the parent crying? Is the display of emotion genuine, or are they scrunching up their face and making crying noises, but no tears are coming out? And, IMO most important-WHEN are they crying? At what point in retelling the story of their child's disappearance do they show the most emotion?

Both mom and dad cried "appropriately", for lack of a better word. Jessica's mother, for example, held it together fairly well until she started to describe that "pit in the stomach" feeling when she realized her child was taken. This is exactly the point I would expect a parent to break down if their child has gone missing and they are not involved. Because that is the moment it becomes every parent's worst nightmare.

ETA-This was in response to shetner's comment about mom's body language during the press conference, I forgot to quote!

I think certain body language experts have acute and meaningful observations. I find much in their discussions that help me. However, I agree that no two people will act the same when discussing certain terrifying events.

 

[Cubby]

There are way too many posts here and downstairs to read them all so please forgive me if the following question has been asked and answered.

Do we know if LE has verified Jessica did in fact contact a friend Friday morning to confirm this friend was walking? Has it been confirmed how the friend arrived at school? Did the friend walk or get a ride? And can neighbors confirm if the friends parents vehicle was home or not at the time Jessica would have been walking to school?

I think those are valid next questions after MSM has aired mom's statement Jessica contacted a friend to verify whether or not that friend was walking to school.

 

[Cosmith]

There were 11 family members in the interview. I find that to be wonderful and amazing- and my heart goes out to each of them. I just don't believe that Mom or Dad were involved in any way, shape, or form- I just don't. I'm deeply concerned about the possible connection to the Cody, WY case- that just seems too coincidental. However, in Cody, the victim was released alive. If it was the same perp- why harm Jessica? Why dump her back pack? It seems as though Mom and Dad are both cooperating fully. Note that the press did not say anything about the FBI obtaining search warrants- I believe that this is a strong indication that the searches were done in full compliance of every member of the household. It makes sense to me that the searches would be coordinated with the family being out of the house. (Just my opinion, FWIW)

 

[JodyMT]

First, I'm not implying anything of the mother being involved, but there is something off at the point of telling about the door and the friend, and the walking. Every aspect of her telling what took place that morning from the alarm to her putting on her coat was in clear chronological order....then it jumped to the friend, the snowing. It became a little fractured and jumbled..... and you have to surmise old those little pieces together for yourself to complete the picture. There was no clear storyline after her putting on her coat....and you could see it in her face and her actions. Again, I don't believe the mother had anything knowingly to do with JR's disappearance, but there is just something at that point that is very troubling for her. IMO

This also is in conflict what we were previous told....about her standing outside to watch JR until she could no see her. +++++ the friend wasn't mentioned. Was it Jeremy or the middle schooler?...or both? Jeremy and LR walking out the door and the older child waiting for them in front of the house...or on the side and he/she were going to walk too?

Was the older child a bully? Male or female....she never said? Does middle school end in 6th or 8th grade there?

JMO

I can only imagine that with the pure hell she has been going through since Friday, nothing in her mind is very clear right now. I know it wouldn't be in mine. Think of everything she is going through with desperately missing her daughter, dealing with family, trying to answer the cops and FBI questions and now trying to hold it together for the media.

She held up a lot better than I would have.

 

[Foxfire]

I'm sure that at least part of the message was: "Look here! Look here! See, I'm showing you a big shiny object here!"

I think the perp may have been getting nervous over the attention being paid to Jessica's neighbourhood and was hoping to suck LE attention in a different direction.

I'm also 95% sure that the perp is sure that the neighbourhood where the backpack was found will not lead LE back to him.

Guess, he doesn't know about touch DNA, huh?

http://www.forensicmag.com/article/touch-dna

As the name implies, touch DNA is used to process an item someone has touched. Because we are constantly shedding skin cells, when we touch something, we leave skin cells behind. Even if suspects leave only 6-8 skin cells from the outermost layer of their skin, scientists can use those cells to develop a DNA profile. With Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) analysis, scientists can take a small sample of skin cells and make as many copies of the DNA as they need to perform their analysis. This process provides a highly specific genetic portrait of the person profiled. And the whole process only takes a few days—much less time than is needed for traditional DNA processing.

 

[shefner]

I'm not upset with you :hug: Honestly, I found some of mom's statement a bit odd, but I got the impression she was really, really nervous about being on camera and kind of lost her train of thought a few times. I think the questions the interviewer asked were not entirely appropriate either...he didn't ask about what her fears were for her child, or what she would want to say to her child-he asked "how did you feel?" and "what happened that morning?". It was an odd interview, IMO.

Right...and as I stated last night, personality characteristics (which are infused into our being almost from birth...or before) have much to do with how we respond to a crisis.

 

[shefner]

I can only imagine that with the pure hell she has been going through since Friday, nothing in her mind is very clear right now. I know it wouldn't be in mine. Think of everything she is going through with desperately missing her daughter, dealing with family, trying to answer the cops and FBI questions and now trying to hold it together for the media.

She held up a lot better than I would have.

To be honest, you actually have so much adrenaline running through your system that your mind tends to become sharper and you become more alert. Or at least, that was my experience. I used no medications during the days my son was missing...and I had very little sleep. I was so restless, I was begging for things to do. Every sound, every question, every motion drew my attention. Everything sharpened for me. So much so, that I can close my eyes, and almost see small details like it was 8 years ago.

Occasionally I run into the chief officer in my son's case. When I round the corner at Walmart and see him...or even when I hear his name...my pulse quickens, going back to the days of that indelible time.

 

[JodyMT]

Right...and as I stated last night, personality characteristics (which are infused into our being almost from birth...or before) have much to do with how we respond to a crisis.

I know I wouldn't hold up well at all because I am a nervous nelly and very high strung.

 

[Foxfire]

Coed Morgan Harrington was abducted during a rock concert. Her mother Gil Harrington, gives some spiritual insights to the constant thoughts and demeanor of a parent of an abducted/murdered child:

http://findmorgan.com/family-blog/gil-harringtons-thoughts-from-september-18-2012/

Gil Harrington&#8217;s Thoughts from September 18, 2012
ON SEPTEMBER - 18 - 2012
September 18, 2012
Autopsy Report
Which seat do you choose? Among all the comfortable chairs in this house, which one is the right one to support me as I open and read the Medical Examiner&#8217;s autopsy report for our slain daughter, Morgan Dana Harrington?
It is a thick envelope. The kids always said a fat envelop was a good sign; typically meaning something positive, like an acceptance to college. Thick or pancake flat envelope makes no difference in this missive; it is all bad news. It is stupid of me to be so avoidant of this written document. I have seen the damage, felt the bones, smelled the rot. Still to experience the objectivity and scientific analysis inherent in the autopsy report is going to be so disturbing. She wasn&#8217;t a 20 year old white female, 5feet7 inches&#8230;&#8230; She was Morgan, our baby girl with shiny hair, flashing eyes and such sweet silky soft skin. How could he have ended all that? I will never understand the evil, the cruelty of this killer
As time passes, Morgan, I feel mounting urgency about other young women that may fall in this predator&#8217;s path. I feel his blood lust growing and am frantic in my determination to Help Save the Next Girl.
continued-

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ElCIGdLx4UM"]Bleed Red -- Ronnie Dunn (LYRICS!) - YouTube[/ame]