When the story was the car only had one partial print it really threw me off. I didn’t think the car had been that throughly wiped down due to the dust particles on the console between the seats. I didn’t think there was a struggle due to the way the key, aspirin, and sunglasses were still sitting on the console. I didn’t think anything violent happened in it due to the lack of evidence. Now what I’m seeing makes more sense to me. I don’t think he felt the need to clean the car’s interior. He probably got into it with latex gloves on and moved it. I think he had to move it because wherever it was parked would have pointed to him. I think he moved it at noon because he knew the family was on the way. I’ve heard Drew say that he didn’t think she was placed in that car after she was abducted.At least we can say for sure that the car was moved from somewhere by someone other than Jennifer to the HOTG. That is one of the very few things we can be sure of with this case. And thank goodness for the video, because without it people would be arguing that she hitchhiked to the airport and left because she decided to do so on a whim.
It's important to note that we don't know when Jennifer's car left her condo parking spot in the Mosiac, or even where she parked it when she arrived home on the 23rd. There are rumors but nothing through law enforcement.
It was released in an article by the media that Jennifer filled her gas tank in Ft Lauderdale and after mileage calculations were completed, there wasn't a lot of "missing" fuel. I guess that helps with knowing her vehicle was not driven far. There are, however, a few interesting characters that lived within the latitude of the "missing" fuel range.
When Jennifer's car was discovered at the HOTG (on the morning of the 26th) law enforcement seized it and had it towed to their garage to be inspected by crime scene technicians. So, it was treated as the crime scene. LE didn't release the Malibu until around February 24th. Hopefully, that is some indication they did a thorough job on the forensics.
At the time, not much seemed to have been found in the vehicle.
It would have taken the killer or killers a fair amount of time to do a good cleaning job.
I know now we're talking about 100 fingerprints and a couple of hairs, but he said years ago that all the many fingerprints found were Jennifer's, maybe a few of Rob's. I don't know about the hair. My guess would be it's Jennifer's. (And 100 fingerprints perhaps should make one question the quality of the cleaning job done by the killer or killers).
And I don't want to forget to mention the possible "struggle" visually evidenced on the outside of the hood as well as the large boot print on the floor mat of the driver's side. All were duly noted and most likely properly processed by LE at the time, even though we would not hear of them for years. I've gone back and looked at old pictures of Jenn's vehicle and the "struggle" marks were visible way back when. Just never noted by anyone.
There is a case where a stepmother strangled her young stepson from the backseat of a vehicle while her female friend did the driving. That youngish (7-to-10-year-old) child left deep scrap marks and gouges with his feet on the dash as he fought for his life. I think we would see something like that in Jennifer's case.
Jennifer's father had done a deep clean on Jennifer's vehicle when she was home for Christmas in 2003. Thus he should have been able to point out any recent interior scraping and/or gouging or any types of marks indicating a violent struggle.
I'm rambling, but my point is that I would expect much more evidence to have been found in Jennifer's car were it to have been the actual and only crime scene. I certainly agree that it was part of it.
It's been said in media articles and by the family that a small amount of DNA was found in the trunk of Jennifer's vehicle. Will it be like the partial palm print on the DVD player in the backseat which was later ruled to be Jennifer's? We don't know. Is it enough to be sent to a genealogy lab to find a match? I've heard it doesn't take much--so maybe.
Just maybe that's the only hope if there is any. But will the person be still alive and will they reveal where Jennifer is?
That boot print could have been from before she went missing. I think that’s most likely. Her passenger mats are nasty too. Normally when I get that type of stains on my floor mats it’s because of rain or snow mixing with crud on the asphalt. I don’t think it rained during the time we can’t account for the car. It would not surprise me if that boot print was from a male that she let drive her car such as her dad, brother, or boyfriend.
I‘m not sure what I’m seeing with the hood. I don’t see finger or hand prints though. I wish I had a good suggestion of what could have caused those marks. You’re right. No one saw the “struggle” until they were told to see it. I do think it’s possible she could have been attacked while standing beside the car and put into another vehicle. You would think if those marks were caused by an attack there would be some sort of body fluid found on the hood (saliva, mucus, blood). The cops did notice the marks the day it was found. It’s in the police report. I hope they tested the hood for body fluids.