FL - Dr Teresa Sievers, 46, murdered in home, Bonita Springs, June 2015 #4

[FelicityLemon]

I always say that I have no clue about this murder, we just don't have that much to go on. While I personally think, IMHO, that it is an "insider" case, the house itself makes me wonder about a random crime.

I consider myself a "professional" house-hunter who spent a long time looking for a new house while my husband was in Saudi Arabia during Desert Storm. I learned a great deal from my Realtor and my own observations.

This house was built on an "infill" lot, an empty lot in a well-established community. If you look at the specs on other houses they are older homes and range roughly from 800 to 2,800 sq. ft. They are traditional ramblers. The Sievers' house is about 31,000 sq. ft. (IIRC) and of a much newer style. It sticks out like a sore thumb of affluence.

That is one type of house I would never build/buy. My current house was built by the same builder as the rest of the houses on my street, so it doesn't stand out. However, it is one of two one-story houses (with full basement) on the street. People driving in visually pass by the house to look at the "bigger" houses around it. It's only when they come into the house that they find out it is double-deep and very roomy. With most of the basement finished, it comes out to around 31,000 sq. feet.

We did this on purpose. One should never have the best or worst house on the block.

LOL, 31,000sf is basketballer mansion huge, larger than the Sievers' lot itself.

The home is 2,885sf according to several real estate sites.

The Sievers lot is similar in size to 50% of the lots on their side of the street & smaller than the neighbor immediately to the south

 

[FelicityLemon]

Opposite coast, but murder by hammer in the morning. Although we don't know what time Teresa Sievers was attacked or the circumstances.

"Police say Marilyn Pharis was beaten with a hammer and sexually assaulted in the morning attack, and died later at a local hospital."

http://www.foxnews.com/us/2015/08/0...ape-murder-california-woman-was-on-probation/

 

[FelicityLemon]

Looks blurred out to me. I also noticed another gate. So there are 2, one on each side?

I kept trying to blow it up and sharpen it to see what could have been there. :/ I'm not sure it is blurred, just an artifact of digital photography? I thought what in the world could have been there to hide from all but LE?

 

[SurfieTX]

I kept trying to blow it up and sharpen it to see what could have been there. :/ I'm not sure it is blurred, just an artifact of digital photography? I thought what in the world could have been there to hide from all but LE?

The hammer? That would be the side of the house where the door was jimmied, IIRC?

 

[oceanblueeyes]

Opposite coast, but murder by hammer in the morning. Although we don't know what time Teresa Sievers was attacked or the circumstances.

"Police say Marilyn Pharis was beaten with a hammer and sexually assaulted in the morning attack, and died later at a local hospital."

http://www.foxnews.com/us/2015/08/0...ape-murder-california-woman-was-on-probation/

Over the years I have read about several cases where a stranger murderer used a hammer or some other bludgeoning weapon to murder their victim/s. It is seen to some as an up close and personal weapon leading them to believe the offender had to know the victim. However while that may be true in some cases I don't think it is in all cases. It is a weapon that doesn't make a noise like a firearm but can be just as deadly and that is why it is used by those who don't even know the victim/s. Just like Joseph Duncan used a maxi-hammer to murder three in the Greone home.

We tend to think hammers and other bludgeoning weapons are overkills making us believe the murder was personal but the truth is even total stranger offenders today are doing some of the most horrific brutal overkills imaginable.

I still do not think the motive for Dr. Teresa's murder will be complex. There will be no conspiracy involving multiple others I don't think. The easiest cases to solve for LE are the ones where the offender and the victim have a familiar link to each other in some manner. The ones which are the hardest is when the offender has no familiar linkage to the victim.

There are times in some murder cases the victim turned out to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. I think that is still a likely possibility in this case and why its taking LE so long to find the suspect.

I read a post the other day saying a claw hammer couldn't jimmy open the door, and I respectfully disagree with that. If the claw end of the hammer was used it certainly would be capable of opening the door. IMO

I think this could have been a breaking and entering gone wrong similar to when the Husted parents found a man inside of their home who had planned to rob it. He killed them both so they couldn't ID him. Because he had no familiar link with the parents it took LE quite awhile to arrest him and IIRC his arrest came about because he went on to invade another home and tried to kill another lady who found him in her home.

It could be someone from the neighborhood that may not have known Dr. TS or her family personally but knew they were gone on vacation.

IMO

 

[Matlacha]

I kept trying to blow it up and sharpen it to see what could have been there. :/ I'm not sure it is blurred, just an artifact of digital photography? I thought what in the world could have been there to hide from all but LE?

Could easily be an artifact of downsizing the original, much larger, image. A white surface that isn't uniformly white can get blotchy like that when downsized. There are other blotchy areas in the photo, though much less obvious, along with sharpening artifacts on all the straight edges. That said, the area in question is really blotchy. If something were cloned out, two possibilities would be writing of some kind (the blotches are linear) or gang graffiti like what was on the Neighborhood Watch sign.

 

[No it's not]

How did you get 31,000 sf? If you are referring to the property size, it was 35,719 sf before the lot was split into 2 properties. The Sievers property is a 0.59 acre lot or app. 25,700 sf.

-Nin

The Lee County Tax Collector site actually lists 166/150 as Depth/Frontage in liner feet. That would add up to 24,900 sf.

http://www.leepa.org/Display/Displa...Details=True&PermitDetails=True#PermitDetails

On the other hand, the Lee County Permit No RES2005-19905, Parcel permit approval, lists 0.59 +/- acres, which would be 25,700.4 sf.

http://permits.leegov.com/tm_bin/tm...iewParcel&shl_prc_parcel_no=364725B1014000300

Just wanted to be accurate, thanks.

-Nin

 

[kammiemc]

Great journal! Thank you for posting. The last sentence in your paragraph is very true and captured my interest. Later.

-Nin

This article on staging was fascinating! I also think the last sentence is pretty interesting. I was off this thread for a bit. Was it ever cleared up who discovered the doctor and the gruesome scene.

It's interesting that very early on TS's sister talked about TS always saying the truth (seeming to imply there might be a connection to someone coming after her). I wonder who gave the sister that theory--was it LE or was it someone else who might want to be saying to the sister "look over there, not here!" (And I don't mean TS's husband, just anyone else who might know TS well enough to have felt comfortable talking to the sister about a theory.)

It's a head scratcher at this point. This could be a crime targeting the house because the house, itself, looked vacant and fruitful to a burglar, and she just happened to be home or come home. But if it's true that emails and texts were important evidence (someone here indicated that) it seems like it was personal. And the notion that there is tons of evidence makes it seem it's more complex. (And movie-worthy!! Such a weird statement.)

 

[kammiemc]

Opposite coast, but murder by hammer in the morning. Although we don't know what time Teresa Sievers was attacked or the circumstances.

"Police say Marilyn Pharis was beaten with a hammer and sexually assaulted in the morning attack, and died later at a local hospital."

http://www.foxnews.com/us/2015/08/0...ape-murder-california-woman-was-on-probation/

I don't have a link because I read this so long ago, but the information always stuck with me that the most popular time for rapists to break into houses to do their crime is very early morning. (IMO, not verified!) I know that's not always the case. I think I recalled it because, indeed, a sex offender did try to break into my house in college (I lived with lots of young women) at about 5 AM. Lock your doors.

 

[No it's not]

Could easily be an artifact of downsizing the original, much larger, image. A white surface that isn't uniformly white can get blotchy like that when downsized. There are other blotchy areas in the photo, though much less obvious, along with sharpening artifacts on all the straight edges. That said, the area in question is really blotchy. If something were cloned out, two possibilities would be writing of some kind (the blotches are linear) or gang graffiti like what was on the Neighborhood Watch sign.

I would say it's an artifact. Can't see anything here:

 

[creepingskills]

This article on staging was fascinating! I also think the last sentence is pretty interesting. I was off this thread for a bit. Was it ever cleared up who discovered the doctor and the gruesome scene.

It's interesting that very early on TS's sister talked about TS always saying the truth (seeming to imply there might be a connection to someone coming after her). I wonder who gave the sister that theory--was it LE or was it someone else who might want to be saying to the sister "look over there, not here!" (And I don't mean TS's husband, just anyone else who might know TS well enough to have felt comfortable talking to the sister about a theory.)

It's a head scratcher at this point. This could be a crime targeting the house because the house, itself, looked vacant and fruitful to a burglar, and she just happened to be home or come home. But if it's true that emails and texts were important evidence (someone here indicated that) it seems like it was personal. And the notion that there is tons of evidence makes it seem it's more complex. (And movie-worthy!! Such a weird statement.)

My guess would be that Dr. Sievers spoke about a situation that required truth telling. For example, maybe she was anxious about an uncomfortable or confrontational event on the horizon, which in hindsight (to the sister) appears to be connected.

I am also wondering who discovered the scene. I know its been reported that someone called the office and reported to the front desk that there was crime scene tape up. And also that the office called the cops when she didn't show up to work after 9AM. I wonder who made that call, and who called the front desk to report what was going on at Jarvis. I'd imagine the call was made and someone simultaneously drove over to Jarvis? It seems odd that they (the office) didn't first go to the house (or call Mark?) before calling the cops, but on the other hand, I'm not sure what I would do either.

Records show dispatch for homicide at 9:43 - does anyone know the time of the actual 911 well being check call? I would imagine the 9:43 record was after the body had been discovered.

 

[No it's not]

Over the years I have read about several cases where a stranger murderer used a hammer or some other bludgeoning weapon to murder their victim/s. It is seen to some as an up close and personal weapon leading them to believe the offender had to know the victim. However while that may be true in some cases I don't think it is in all cases. It is a weapon that doesn't make a noise like a firearm but can be just as deadly and that is why it is used by those who don't even know the victim/s. Just like Joseph Duncan used a maxi-hammer to murder three in the Greone home.

We tend to think hammers and other bludgeoning weapons are overkills making us believe the murder was personal but the truth is even total stranger offenders today are doing some of the most horrific brutal overkills imaginable.

I still do not think the motive for Dr. Teresa's murder will be complex. There will be no conspiracy involving multiple others I don't think. The easiest cases to solve for LE are the ones where the offender and the victim have a familiar link to each other in some manner. The ones which are the hardest is when the offender has no familiar linkage to the victim.

There are times in some murder cases the victim turned out to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. I think that is still a likely possibility in this case and why its taking LE so long to find the suspect.

I read a post the other day saying a claw hammer couldn't jimmy open the door, and I respectfully disagree with that. If the claw end of the hammer was used it certainly would be capable of opening the door. IMO

I think this could have been a breaking and entering gone wrong similar to when the Husted parents found a man inside of their home who had planned to rob it. He killed them both so they couldn't ID him. Because he had no familiar link with the parents it took LE quite awhile to arrest him and IIRC his arrest came about because he went on to invade another home and tried to kill another lady who found him in her home.

It could be someone from the neighborhood that may not have known Dr. TSs or her family personally but knew they were gone on vacation.

IMO

Regarding the claw hammer: A standard claw hammer will NOT work because of the angle. The handle is in the way and preventing the claw from reaching into the gap between door and frame. It won't even come close. Try.

I agree, the hammer could have just been a fast grab of something laying around or it could have been taken out of Dr Sievers' hands.

-Nin

 

[oceanblueeyes]

Regarding the claw hammer: A standard claw hammer will NOT work because of the angle. The handle is in the way and preventing the claw from reaching into the gap between door and frame. It won't even come close. Try.

I agree, the hammer could have just been a fast grab of something laying around or it could have been taken out of Dr Sievers' hands.

-Nin

Okay, I will try it. We have plenty of hammers laying around since we are right in the middle of adding an addition on to our home.

I am not going to try it on our new beautiful entry door though. I can go out to one of our out sheds and try it on that door and frame.

I still don't understand how the handle would be in the way. When the claw end is put into the door jam area the handle would be at an angle toward the person's body not the door the way I see it. I wouldn't try to put pressure on the door but put pressure on the outside frame/door jam. But I could be wrong of course. Also they could have used the hammer to hit a small chisel or whatever to get the door jimmied open.

 

[FelicityLemon]

I don't have a link because I read this so long ago, but the information always stuck with me that the most popular time for rapists to break into houses to do their crime is very early morning. (IMO, not verified!) I know that's not always the case. I think I recalled it because, indeed, a sex offender did try to break into my house in college (I lived with lots of young women) at about 5 AM. Lock your doors.

Holy cow on both counts! Your home and 5am

 

[Arachne 1]

I always thought the intruders might have used a hammer-- in conjunction with-- a crowbar, or a big fat standard screwdriver. Whatever they used to get in, it worked. So, we are NOT even safe with a dead bolt. The doorjamb could always be busted in, with the right tools. This is even MORE of a reason to be active in your neighborhood watch. Don't just think a sign is going to deter criminals. They might not see the sign, or think it's a big joke, like the Vatos Locos did. They might not even be able to read in English. It's not enough to have a sign posted for Neighborhood Watch. If you SEE something, SAY something. If you HEAR something, in an otherwise quiet neighborhood, SAY something. If you SMELL something, SAY something. Somebody's house may be burning down. If you FEEL something...it may be TOO LATE.

The world is getting bigger, day by day. You never know who's visiting YOUR neighborhood. I would rather have the cops think I'm a fruitloop, than to have to live with myself the rest of my life, thinking I should've said something. Let it be on the cops. That's THEIR job. That was part of their training. Who cares if they think I'm a fruitloop? I knew that-- WAY before they did. And I can LIVE with that!

 

[creepingskills]

I always thought the intruders might have used a hammer-- in conjunction with-- a crowbar, or a big fat standard screwdriver. Whatever they used to get in, it worked. So, we are NOT even safe with a dead bolt. The doorjamb could always be busted in, with the right tools. This is even MORE of a reason to be active in your neighborhood watch. Don't just think a sign is going to deter criminals. They might not see the sign, or think it's a big joke, like the Vatos Locos did. They might not even be able to read in English. It's not enough to have a sign posted for Neighborhood Watch. If you SEE something, SAY something. If you HEAR something, in an otherwise quite neighborhood, SAY something. If you SMELL something, SAY something. Somebody's house may be burning down. If you FEEL something...it may be TOO LATE. The world is getting bigger, day by day. You never know who's visiting YOUR neighborhood. I would rather have the cops think I'm a fruitloop, than to have to live with myself the rest of my life, thinking I should've said something. Let it be on the cops. That's THEIR job. That was part of their training. Who cares if they think I'm a fruitloop? I knew that-- WAY before they did. And I can LIVE with that!

ARGEED. We should never assume someone else is going to call in suspicious behavior!

 

[Arachne 1]

For the record: When I use quotation marks on the word, "connectivity", I mean no disrespect to the sheriff. "Connectivity" is a legitimate word, in and of itself. Nowadays, it is also used to describe how communications, (messages on phone calls, texts, computers, alarm systems), relate to one another. How it all connects. The sheriff has, merely, just "coined" the word, by his public usage.
(As you may recall, LE took computers and other documentation from the Sievers' home.)

I, for one, hope the sheriff finds as much "connectivity" as possible!

 

[Riversinthedesert]

I, for one, hope the sheriff finds as much "connectivity" as possible!

If only we knew what the "connectivity" is, and "the truth" that TS spoke, we would have the answers we seek.

 

[Landchick]

Just checking in again to see that there are no new updates. Wished there were because we have been grasping for almost the entire time since the murder. I'm wondering if this case will be solved before the Sheriff election.

 

[msboo]

I also AGREE, Arachne 1. I'm usually the 1st, lots the time the only one, to call the police. I later find out others may have heard or seen something but don't do anything! I've even heard people say they figure someone else will call---that drives me up the wall! Years ago I was head of our Neighborhood Watch---I couldn't believe how people would call me instead of the police when their unlocked car was 'broken into' (duh!) or for vandalism. Yes, a NW is good to have and neighbors should keep each other informed BUT when something happens you need to call LE. When setting up that NW, our neighborhood association met with a LE officer. I'll always remember the first thing he said.... "be nosey neighbors", know what goes on around you.