FL - Somer Thompson, 7, Orange Park, 19 Oct 2009 #25

[Ms Suzanne]

I often wondered who dressed Somer for school, or who helped her pick out her clothing.....cranberry jumpsuit with pink strips, black T, blue striped socks, red hair bow, and rainbow colored shoes........??

LOL.My little girl is 7 years old and she tries to be independent and dress herself and she takes great pride in it.I want her to have a good self esteem.But sometimes she just doesn't match and I don't want to hurt her feelings.So I try to work with her as long as she doesn't look too hideous leaving for school I will work with her.

 

[eyes4crime]

I think more then the walk home with alot of school kids is who watched them from 3:05 untill whatever time parents came home. SP babysitting was a one time thing. They had a pool too and kids dont follow the rules thats a fact

Please - how a bout a link showing there was a babysitter only once. Maybe I missed it, but you seem to know the family well...are you a neighbor? TIA

 

[ccane]

If Diena had a list of friends for MR to call, then she must have experienced Somer wandering off.

I think her saying that Somer had never done anything like this was that she never had stayed away hours and hours without a call. That is JMO though.

If not then the contradiction between what MR said and what Diena said would be a red flag to check out.

How old was the baby sitter. I believe it was summer time and the kids would have been out of school all day. If the sitter was young she may have been on the phone, watching TV, friends over and sending them out to play so she could kick back. Maybe she didnt tell DT she let them run the neighborhood

 

[New1]

I think there are abandonment laws. If the wife leaves, she gets nothing. Now if she takes the kids without his permission out of state that too means nothing for them, unfortunately. She did a lot of things wrong.

I don't think that is true in ALL states. I know someone whose wife ran off with someone she met on the internet, moved the kids about 1,000 miles away before he even knew they were gone. He is still paying child support.

 

[camcneishg]

My guess was that it was Somer -- all Somer!

I have an almost 4 yo and have started letting her pick what to wear. Not just from the two choices in front of her but from all her clothes. I have to grin and bear it with some of the outfits but it gives her a sense of pride and accomplishment. I only hope her sense of style is better than mine.

ETA: So far not much hope.

that's my point...I am sure it was all Somer.....why? Teach her how things match, teach her the proper way to dress....my 11 yr old comes out is some of the craziest outfits for school, but I have to explain over and over that stripes and plaid don't go together, or orange and read....kwim?? Heck, DT didn't even know what back pack she took...what did she know?? only that her child did not make it home from school, and her gut told her something was wrong....by 4:00, I don't buy it.....I think there is a lot more to this family....I do not know what it is, but it does not make sense to me at all....the whole time line thing.....MO
(I take that back, she did know what Somer was wearing....wonder how she felt as a parent telling the world how her daughter was dressed for school)

 

[ccane]

Please - how a bout a link showing there was a babysitter only once. Maybe I missed it, but you seem to know the family well...are you a neighbor? TIA

I am not going to go find the interview right this second but she stated the neighborhood looked after them .. ie we watch out each other kids

 

[Dr.Fessel]

I think more then the walk home with alot of school kids is who watched them from 3:05 untill whatever time parents came home. SP babysitting was a one time thing. They had a pool too and kids dont follow the rules thats a fact

For some reason anytime pool, or cespool or water is mentioned in this case my ears perkup. What do you know about their pool or somner not following the rules or maybe somner going swimming in other peoples pools? Does anyone know anything about this?

 

[eyes4crime]

that's my point...I am sure it was all Somer.....why? Teach her how things match, teach her the proper way to dress....my 11 yr old comes out is some of the craziest outfits for school, but I have to explain over and over that stripes and plaid don't go together, or orange and read....kwim?? Heck, DT didn't even know what back pack she took...what did she know?? only that her child did not make it home from school, and her gut told her something was wrong....by 4:00, I don't buy it.....I think there is a lot more to this family....I do not know what it is, but it does not make sense to me at all....the whole time line thing.....MO
(I take that back, she did know what Somer was wearing....wonder how she felt as a parent telling the world how her daughter was dressed for school)

You are very lucky cam - never to have worked with kids is a blessing. mho

I'm sure mom D. telling the world how her daughter was dressed was nothing. Especially when compared to telling the world that her daughter was murdered and found in the garbage dump.

 

[txsvicki]

Looks to me like little Somer was beginning to dress herself. At some point, all parents have to deal with the little person's need for independence. the way she was dressed really sounds adorable - just like a 7yo. mho

I picked up my 13 year old grandson from his aunt and uncle's to take him to school and got him there when I noticed he had on two different shoes, lol. Somer did pretty good if she chose her own clothes, but I thought Diena said that she put her hair into a ponytail that morning, so she may have known what Somer wore.

 

[camcneishg]

I remember someone saying that Somer liked tree houses and pools, I am thinking it was a neighbor??

 

[pinamia]

NEGLIGENCE - The failure to use reasonable care. The doing of something which a reasonably prudent person would not do, or the failure to do something which a reasonably prudent person would do under like circumstances. A departure from what an ordinary reasonable member of the community would do in the same community.

BBM JMO but I don't think she fits the definition legally.
http://www.lectlaw.com/def2/n010.htm

Child neglect is very different.


Physical neglect also includes child abandonment, inadequate supervision, rejection of a child leading to expulsion from the home and failure to adequately provide for the child’s safety and physical and emotional needs.

http://www.americanhumane.org/about-us/newsroom/fact-sheets/child-neglect.html


There is no question Somer was neglected. She was seeking love by hugging others at the age of 7. She was denied access to her dad, etc. Final act of neglect was not providing adult supervision for her that day, a day she wasn't feeling well but yet having time to have lunch with SP.

DT has a lot of guilt especially for the neglect that day. I must say I also think she is guilty of neglecting the other kids since how can a 10 year old watch 2 kids. She wasn't their mom. She was just 3 years older than them.

 

[zannah]

For some reason anytime pool, or cespool or water is mentioned in this case my ears perkup. What do you know about their pool or somner not following the rules or maybe somner going swimming in other peoples pools? Does anyone know anything about this?

http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory?id=8923657

Neighbor AB mentioned how she loved to swim in her family's pool. But since it was chilly for FL that day, I'm doubting a pool was involved in this case.

 

[eyes4crime]

I am not going to go find the interview right this second but she stated the neighborhood looked after them .. ie we watch out each other kids

Watching out for each others children in no way means she had a babysitter only once! Not sure how you get to these conclusions.

 

[camcneishg]

Child neglect is very different.


Physical neglect also includes child abandonment, inadequate supervision, rejection of a child leading to expulsion from the home and failure to adequately provide for the child’s safety and physical and emotional needs.

http://www.americanhumane.org/about-us/newsroom/fact-sheets/child-neglect.html


There is no question Somer was neglected. She was seeking love by hugging others at the age of 7. She was denied access to her dad, etc. Final act of neglect was not providing adult supervision for her that day, a day she wasn't feeling well but yet having time to have lunch with SP.

DT has a lot of guilt especially for the neglect that day. I must say I also think she is guilty of neglecting the other kids since how can a 10 year old watch 2 kids. She wasn't their mom. She was just 3 years older than them.

I am with ya on this one!! When I pick my son up from school, we always see this little red headed girl about 8 yrs old walking down the busy busy road after she gets off the bus....everyday she stands by that busy busy road and just waves at every car that passes by with the biggest smile on her face, and I am always so worried for her.....When this first happened with Somer, my son said that this little girl was his first thoughts.....I am always watching in my rear view mirror to see that this little girl gets a bit closer to her home....makes me sick....I have no clue if anyone is even home for her when she gets there....

 

[houndstooth]

I don't know who was the first one to use jumpsuit. Whether in her state of distress Diena used the wrong word or whether the LEO wrote down jumpsuit for sweat suit or jogging suit.

In the video, the description is that it is two piece.

OK. I had thought she used it again when describing her outfit on the news conference, too as in "a cranberry jumpsuit..." I went to firstcoastnews again because I thought sure I had seen that video linked there, but couldn't find it at all now!! Then I went to youtube, to watch it there. And every single one posted now is cropped to 1:13 and stops before it gets to that point. Now, I just don't know what to think. I've been there before and the videos used to vary in the times of footage depending, so I would go to the one that had the whole thing. hmmmmm.

 

[Dr.Fessel]

I am not going to go find the interview right this second but she stated the neighborhood looked after them .. ie we watch out each other kids

is this the one?

Anna Braddy, who lived two houses away from the Thompsons, said outside the service that Somer loved to swim in her pool and play with other children, including her 9-year-old daughter, Kayla.

"She was the little sister to all the kids in the neighborhood," Braddy said. "It has affected the whole community."

http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory?id=8923657

 

[eyes4crime]

Child neglect is very different.


Physical neglect also includes child abandonment, inadequate supervision, rejection of a child leading to expulsion from the home and failure to adequately provide for the child’s safety and physical and emotional needs.

http://www.americanhumane.org/about-us/newsroom/fact-sheets/child-neglect.html


There is no question Somer was neglected. She was seeking love by hugging others at the age of 7. She was denied access to her dad, etc. Final act of neglect was not providing adult supervision for her that day, a day she wasn't feeling well but yet having time to have lunch with SP.

DT has a lot of guilt especially for the neglect that day. I must say I also think she is guilty of neglecting the other kids since how can a 10 year old watch 2 kids. She wasn't their mom. She was just 3 years older than them.

When giving a 'hug' one can also be giving love. Not necessary seeking it. I mean really - how much love can a child get from a brief hug with a crossing guard?

The person driving Somer to school that morning said she was perfectly fine...nothing different. So maybe mom knew best that her child wasn't really sick. How about some credit for moms knowing their babies.

Mom D. did make sure there was an adult waiting for the children that day. How is that neglect?

 

[Noway]

In this video the Sheriff says that he has been told that Somer has a "slight history" of wandering off but that they cannot assume that is what happened.

He also asks that people look around their house for the backpack or the clothing described (at this point jumpsuit but by 10/20 it was sweat suit).

I think this was about 7 hours missing. They also say that she was last seen at Gano and DeBarry but that has since been changed.

Jennifer Waugh reporting http://www.news4jax.com/video/21344324/index.html

 

[Ms Suzanne]

I picked up my 13 year old grandson from his aunt and uncle's to take him to school and got him there when I noticed he had on two different shoes, lol. Somer did pretty good if she chose her own clothes, but I thought Diena said that she put her hair into a ponytail that morning, so she may have known what Somer wore.

LOL.I'm not a morning person.But I have to be.I have no choice.I'm divorced and it's up to me to do everything the best I know how now.But one morning we rush to the bus stop coffee and all trying to wake up.Luckly thank God it's right across the street now and my 6 year old son was 5 at the time had his shoes on the wrong feet.I was sooo embarrassed.I didn't even see it.Thank God we had time to change them before he got on the bus.

 

[paris_paris]

I'm not comfortable with the distance these 3 children were walking... with a 10 year old in charge. It obviously wasn't working because Somer often took off or lagged behind. Now you have a 7 year old walking alone.

The only good thing about them walking is it meant they got home a little later, so were at home alone for a shorter amount of time. The neighbours keeping an eye out for them only works if it's confirmed every single day that at least one of the neighbours is going to be home.

Anna was home after school that day. She said she couldn't take Somer and her siblings because she didn't have room for all 3 in the car. She didn't say she had an appointment or had to go elsewhere.

If Anna was home, then why was SP needed?

I think nobody saw Somer because she hid behind the tanks, then hung out at 1080 Gano for a bit. By the time she was on her way home, all of the other school kids had passed and the crossing guards were gone. I think she cut through the park and met up with her killer there.