FL FL - Jennifer Odom, 12, Blanton, 19 Feb 1993

[Skully]

That answers it very well, thank you.

Do they know how long it was between when she was killed and when she was dumped?

Sorry I read you question wrong. They think she was dead shortly after she was taken. So I don't know why that is, maybe the autopsy report revealed that, I really don't know. But I read that was the what they thought. I don't have a link but it is in one of these articles here on the site. Check St Petersburg Times as they did most of the articles on her.

 

[Skully]

Number three gave me high anxiety all through it. Think he lives or lived right near this area.

Maybe the music? It is by Zoe Keating. I thought it was appropriate, no words, just emotion.

 

[Skully]

I went back through the articles and not one says whether or not she was molested. I realize being left naked would make one draw that conclusion, but I wonder why no DNA match? So hold your tomatoes please, but if she wasn't raped, could a woman who was jealous of her have done this? Maybe she thought her husband liked her, (one of the workers) and she was enraged. The way she was left and how she was killed makes me think this person was so angry and spiteful. I don't know if the grove was done and already picked, but if so, that means no workers around to have seen anything. In the first video the crop is about 1/2 done. That was Jan, 31. Just thinking again. I do that a lot. I have been reading up on the Day of the Dead in Mexico. Death and Life are celebrated, they are one. Mexicans bury the dead in a coffin, just as we do in the states. To leave a body face down, naked and just tossed to the side of a horse trail is just so evil and disrespectful of the body and life of the person. So if she wasn't molested, you can't rule out a woman.

I am starting to feel like I have my own blog here.

 

[carbuff]

Well, one reason for no DNA match even if some was recovered would be that the person who attacked her was never caught for another crime.

 

[DreamyEye]

I have a question. The bus lets her out facing the drive way or Jim Denney road, and she goes E like on the map up the road towards the house. Now, if the bus stops and lets her out, and then closes the door and drives N, how does the truck follow her up the drive way in time for the kids to see this happening? They say it is sitting there, so do they mean facing E towards the house, pulled off to the side of that road? She would then have to walk past the truck in order for it to be following her. How long did the bus sit so the kids would see this take place? Or were the kids in the back of the bus looking out the back window and seeing him start up the truck and follow her?

Eerie, Bern! I'm reading Jennifer's thread for the first time, and when I looked at your map a couple of posts before this one, I thought "well, either the truck had to be following the bus, or it had to pass behind the bus and turn onto Jim Denney--or, Jennifer had to walk past it before it started following her. And all this had to happen in the time that the bus stopped, Jennifer disboarded, and before the bus started moving again--or just moments after it started moving.

I can see how it could easily have been concealed in the orange grove and then pulled out behind her after she walked by ... but it had to have happened in a time frame that allowed the kids to see it. If it was just one or two kids who saw it, I'd wonder how much weight to give this ... but if it was more than two kids, it seems more suggestive.

It would be interesting to know how thoroughly the kids on the bus were interviewed by the police, or whether there are any transcripts of these interviews. It might be telling to have a look at 1) the exact wording used by each kid to describe what he or she saw; and 2) how consistent were the witness accounts from child to child?

 

[DreamyEye]

the video showed a home with a pool, but the article said, she walked past the orange grove and past her grandmother house but never made it.

How do they know she walked past her grandmother's house? If the kids on the bus saw that, the bus must have sat there for awhile. Would that be typical?

 

[DreamyEye]

I have been following the idea that this was someone she knew but I'm not sure anymore. I cannot find any local cases simular to this one and this perp IMO would not have stopped with one killing. Also, if the fingerprint is his then he has not been caught either so he may still be out there.

I'm leaning toward thinking that she knew the driver of the truck and went willing. In order for this to be true, though, she had to know him--and probably know his truck as well--while the other kids on the bus did NOT seem to know the truck. I haven't read anything yet to suggest that any of the kids thought they recognized the truck, as in saying something like 'it looked like old man Geezer's' truck ... or 'it might have been Fred's brother's truck."

When I was Jennifer's age, I might have been interested in a boy old enough to drive, or even a youngish man ... but I also (sorry to say) would have "sung like a bird" to anyone who'd listen to me ... such and such guy winked at me; or this certain guy always talks to me; or I think this certain guy kinda likes me.

So it seems like an odd set of circumstances, if she knew the driver of the truck, but no one on the bus recognized the truck ... and none of her friends (or her sister) reported that she was excited about someone who was paying special attention to her.

 

[DreamyEye]

I never thought of that! He did have a blue truck!!

I don't think he'd be a good suspect in Jennifer's case for a couple of reasons.

He stayed local. And targeted prostitutes.

There is no DNA in Jennifer's case. Unless LE is keeping that hush.

I live close to the Green River area and followed the Green River cases pretty closely. It is thought that Ridgeway quit killing for a short time because he married, and while the marriage was going well, perhaps he made a real effort to stop consorting with prostitutes and stop killing. I think in order to rule him out in Jennifer's case, we'd have to go over his known doings around the time of her death to see if there was a window when he could have visited FL. Ridgeway worked for the same company for 20 years or more and was a reasonably conscientious employee. The only way he could have been in FL for a time would be if he went there on vacation. It's not a case where he would have done it while 'AWOL' from his job.

Even though Ridgeway is primarily known for killing prostitutes, his first known crime was that of befriending a young boy in a park ... and then slashing the child's throat and leaving him for dead. The boy asked Ridgeway 'why did you kill me?' Ridgeway was without remorse and said something to the effect of sorry kid, but I wanted to find out what it would feel like. (The little guy nearly died but did recover, and after Ridgeway's arrest, did many crime show interviews about his close call at the hands of Ridgeway. By the time of the interviews, of course, he had grown up.)

While that was the only instance I've ever heard of in which he carried out violence against a person known to be a child, bear in mind that Ridgeway also used his own son as something of a decoy or 'cover.' He took the child in his truck to some of the sexual encounters and killings, after learning that the presense of a child often led prostitutes to assume that Ridgeway was a "safe" client.

I don't think the list of Ridgeway's known victims included many girls who were extremely young ... but in any area of heavy prostitution activity, some of the 'working girls' are bound to be pretty young. I would never rule out Ridgeway as a possibility just because the victim was younger than his typical victims.

I would say that if there is any chance at all that Ridgeway could have been in FL at the time of Jennifer's killing, his DNA should be checked out.

 

[Skully]

How do they know she walked past her grandmother's house? If the kids on the bus saw that, the bus must have sat there for awhile. Would that be typical?

The article was referring to past history of her walk. The kids on the bus saw a blue truck with a ladder and pipes (maybe poles) with a hitch and bumper painted silver. They said as the bus left, the truck pulled up the long driveway, slowly behind Jennifer. It would be interesting to know the full accounts of the eyewitness. I am sure each kid saw a bit of this and another saw a bit of that. But kids look out the window and it would be something to draw attention too as the road is usually isolated unless the groves are being picked. So maybe the this grove was done but they send someone around to check the groves to see if everything is all picked up, like ladders or poles or empty sacks that the oranges are put in as they climb those long ladders. I think if a worker was to blame, it is a good theory that she was put into one of the sacks you see in the video. She wasn't covered in a blanket or hidden in a rug, so I think she may have been transported in that sack, then taken out and left. He wouldn't leave a sack from a grove as it would be a huge indicator of who did this. I think her cloths are discarded in a dump site or field along that drive as well. It is a long drive and longer to Oak Hill, so any place along the way could have that sack and her cloths.

 

[Beatrice]

Final Video,..
Video # 3 on Vimeo

One thing that jumped out at me was at 4:44 there is a woman walking along the road. I can't imagine where she is going as it is so desolate.

 

[carbuff]

I'm leaning toward thinking that she knew the driver of the truck and went willing. In order for this to be true, though, she had to know him--and probably know his truck as well--while the other kids on the bus did NOT seem to know the truck. I haven't read anything yet to suggest that any of the kids thought they recognized the truck, as in saying something like 'it looked like old man Geezer's' truck ... or 'it might have been Fred's brother's truck."

When I was Jennifer's age, I might have been interested in a boy old enough to drive, or even a youngish man ... but I also (sorry to say) would have "sung like a bird" to anyone who'd listen to me ... such and such guy winked at me; or this certain guy always talks to me; or I think this certain guy kinda likes me.

So it seems like an odd set of circumstances, if she knew the driver of the truck, but no one on the bus recognized the truck ... and none of her friends (or her sister) reported that she was excited about someone who was paying special attention to her.

Well, there are two different sides I see here.

One is that she wasn't interested in him, but had met this guy under circumstances that made her categorize him as something other than a stranger -- church, a store she visited regularly, relative of a friend or neighbor, even a grove worker she saw regularly. Friend. Non-threatening. Possibly somebody she had known for some time.

The other is that she was interested in him but knew that her mother would disapprove. Somebody older, somebody dangerous, maybe somebody off limits because he was married to a relative -- something along those lines.

I don't think it means anything that the kids on the bus didn't recognize the truck -- they would probably remember vehicles they see regularly, but if it looked like a grove worker's truck, would they have thought anything of it?

 

[Skully]

Well, there are two different sides I see here.

One is that she wasn't interested in him, but had met this guy under circumstances that made her categorize him as something other than a stranger -- church, a store she visited regularly, relative of a friend or neighbor, even a grove worker she saw regularly. Friend. Non-threatening. Possibly somebody she had known for some time.

The other is that she was interested in him but knew that her mother would disapprove. Somebody older, somebody dangerous, maybe somebody off limits because he was married to a relative -- something along those lines.

I don't think it means anything that the kids on the bus didn't recognize the truck -- they would probably remember vehicles they see regularly, but if it looked like a grove worker's truck, would they have thought anything of it?

I am torn between her knowing this person as in someone she saw, so he didn't seem like a stranger, or this person had a gun, or some other lure to get her to get into the truck. Either way, he knew her, or at least watched for an opportunity to grab her.

 

[Astrella613]

She was left on the horse trail, like just off the side in the pines. The area today is very over grown and I would think 18 yrs ago, it was more like woods and trails for people to ride horses and walk. This trial was used everyday. So she was found 6 days after she disappeared. People were searching near her home, some 10- 15 miles away. They searched the groves near her home and this couple was one of the searchers. They were walking this horse trail and found her. So he wanted her found because there are so many places he could have hid her body, including water with gators and they wouldn't have found her that fast. So I don't really know how to answer your question.

Oh, I didn't know that they were searchers. I thought I read that they were just taking a walk and happened upon her. If the trail was used everyday, yet it took six days to find her, she must have been somewhat hidden.

 

[Skully]

Well, there are two different sides I see here.

One is that she wasn't interested in him, but had met this guy under circumstances that made her categorize him as something other than a stranger -- church, a store she visited regularly, relative of a friend or neighbor, even a grove worker she saw regularly. Friend. Non-threatening. Possibly somebody she had known for some time.

The other is that she was interested in him but knew that her mother would disapprove. Somebody older, somebody dangerous, maybe somebody off limits because he was married to a relative -- something along those lines.

I don't think it means anything that the kids on the bus didn't recognize the truck -- they would probably remember vehicles they see regularly, but if it looked like a grove worker's truck, would they have thought anything of it?

I agree, the kids wouldn't think twice about a truck in the area at harvest time. If you look at the video, there are trucks all around, parked by the groves and trailers filled with the fruit, ready to be shipped. So I think it was the same in 93 only more so. Many of the groves are gone today, and yet there are still lots in the video left.

Also, he didn't care the truck would be seen, why? I think because by the time the cops knew about the truck, it was heading out of state, or to another area. Like the stats show, they go from place to place harvesting fruit. So he could have been on his way to say GA to pick peaches, and decided this would be a good time to take her and no one would see the truck again. He could have gotten rid of it or painted it in another location, comes back to Hernando for harvest season the next year and dumps the back pack and case.

 

[Skully]

Oh, I didn't know that they were searchers. I thought I read that they were just taking a walk and happened upon her. If the trail was used everyday, yet it took six days to find her, she must have been somewhat hidden.

The article says the trial was used everyday. So that means he took a huge chance placing her there for one, and for two I think he wanted her to be found. I think the searches started closest to her home and worked there way out like with the other cases here. So if she was just off the trial in the pines, it would be about a week or so to find her. I think the couple helped search, but when they found her, they happened to be just walking that trail.

 

[Astrella613]

Maybe the music? It is by Zoe Keating. I thought it was appropriate, no words, just emotion.

Not sure, maybe. Might have been the coffee too, that's what I blamed.

Sorry for the other, edit option not available.

 

[Astrella613]

The article says the trial was used everyday. So that means he took a huge chance placing her there for one, and for two I think he wanted her to be found. I think the searches started closest to her home and worked there way out like with the other cases here. So if she was just off the trial in the pines, it would be about a week or so to find her. I think the couple helped search, but when they found her, they happened to be just walking that trail.

Were the pines there back then or was it just the orange groves? Do you know how far this was from her home? Not too good with maps and geography but I thought it was kind of far from what I remember.

 

[Astrella613]

One thing that jumped out at me was at 4:44 there is a woman walking along the road. I can't imagine where she is going as it is so desolate.

I kept thinking, who would want to live there? I couldn't do it, but I know that many people love that.

 

[Skully]

Were the pines there back then or was it just the orange groves? Do you know how far this was from her home? Not too good with maps and geography but I thought it was kind of far from what I remember.

She was discovered on a horse-riding trail among groves of orange and pine trees near Spring Lake, (the place, not the lake) in Hernando county. About 10 miles from her home according to the paper.

 

[Skully]

Were the pines there back then or was it just the orange groves? Do you know how far this was from her home? Not too good with maps and geography but I thought it was kind of far from what I remember.

Yes it was pretty far because if you go back and watch each video (I pick up where we leave off) it is a long ride IMO. I don't know how you would keep a person that age in a old truck (no automatic door locks) for a drive that long unless you had a gun on them or they were already deceased before you took that long ride to the horse trail area. I think that is another reason LE felt she died shortly after she was taken. I kind of think there must have been a place he took her or he killed her in his truck. I am now leaning towards a trailer of some sort. If he was leaving town, maybe no one realized it was a crime scene if it was a rented trailer. People live up North and rent out house and trailer here. Many have agents that run an add or rent the property for them. He may not have even left, just not a suspect so no one ever looked at his place for evidence or a crime.