GA GA - Jenna Van Gelderen, 25, Atlanta, 18 Aug 2017 #5

[bleuboy]

This was one of the first cases I posted on and Jenna is still on my mind.
I am hoping if she is deceased, 2 people were involved. Lots of cases have been solved 10-20 years later when a couple splits up and gets with new partners and tells them. Or a drunken night confession to a friend who that person then has a major falling out with.

I am hoping someone slips up to someone and that someone does the right thing and helps this distraught grieving family.

Giving them some answer to what happened to their loved one might give them a little peace.

 

[Ozoner]

This was one of the first cases I posted on and Jenna is still on my mind.
I am hoping if she is deceased, 2 people were involved. Lots of cases have been solved 10-20 years later when a couple splits up and gets with new partners and tells them. Or a drunken night confession to a friend who that person then has a major falling out with.

I am hoping someone slips up to someone and that someone does the right thing and helps this distraught grieving family.

Giving them some answer to what happened to their loved one might give them a little peace.

Well, I think two people were involved. I think that either her boyfriend and her roommate killed her together or her boyfriend killed her and her roommate helped him get rid of Jenna's body.

 

[dixiegirl1035]

Her father, Leon Van Gelderan often posts on his public FB page where he gives updates on the case, and I think prior we are allowed to "paraphrase" vs. link. 2 days ago he gave an update on his comments/impression as to the investigation.

 

[Bit of hope]

Her father, Leon Van Gelderan often posts on his public FB page where he gives updates on the case, and I think prior we are allowed to "paraphrase" vs. link. 2 days ago he gave an update on his comments/impression as to the investigation.

Read the post....Don't know what to say right now....

 

[JnRyan]

Well, the 4 year mark has come and gone. I see very little in the press or from LE, if any.

 

[subie_climber]

Hey all,
Decided to check in on this board. It's been a minute.

For those asking about updates , well unfortunately we don't have any.

We decided to do a memorial for Jenna on the 4 year mark

Little press coverage because the Authorities won't disclose info on the case, and we were scolded for having too many podcasts done.

Unfortunately this feels like the exact opposite of what should be done. We are working with stage representatives to see how policies in GA can be changed. Way too many mistakes and communication issues .

 

[Bit of hope]

Hey all,
Decided to check in on this board. It's been a minute.

For those asking about updates , well unfortunately we don't have any.

We decided to do a memorial for Jenna on the 4 year mark

Little press coverage because the Authorities won't disclose info on the case, and we were scolded for having too many podcasts done.

Unfortunately this feels like the exact opposite of what should be done. We are working with stage representatives to see how policies in GA can be changed. Way too many mistakes and communication issues .

Hi @subie_climber, it's been a long time, many years have passed. I'm so very sorry Jenna (or her remains) is still not found. I feel so sorry for you and others who love her and miss her, until this day. It will never go away. The struggle for justice, must have taken it's toll. All the energy you all put in it....never lead to something real. Keep on putting Jenna's case in the light, no matter what LE has to say about it. Bless Jenna and bless you and your family.

 

[happy128]

Family Decides to Mourn Jenna Van Gelderen

I have hoped for years this one would be solved.

A memorial service for Jenna Van Gelderen, who was 25 years old when she went missing four years ago, was held at Shearith Israel on Sunday evening, Aug. 29. Without so far finding her, it is the first time Jenna’s family and the community have formally mourned her.

 

[Bit of hope]

Family Decides to Mourn Jenna Van Gelderen

I have hoped for years this one would be solved.

A memorial service for Jenna Van Gelderen, who was 25 years old when she went missing four years ago, was held at Shearith Israel on Sunday evening, Aug. 29. Without so far finding her, it is the first time Jenna’s family and the community have formally mourned her.

While there have been no confessions or arrests in the case, the family feels certain that Jenna was murdered and last week made a statutory petition to declare Jenna dead. The family continues to plead for anyone who has information to come forward and bring closure to the case.

Would that mean in Georgia LE is closing the case after she is declared dead?

 

[happy128]

While there have been no confessions or arrests in the case, the family feels certain that Jenna was murdered and last week made a statutory petition to declare Jenna dead. The family continues to plead for anyone who has information to come forward and bring closure to the case.

Would that mean in Georgia LE is closing the case after she is declared dead?

That is an interesting question.. I mean, I wouldn't think they would close it, right? She is still missing, possibly deceased as result of a crime. Maybe it would sit as cold case until she is found and circumstances are then investigated. Gosh, I hope they would leave it open but have no idea for sure.

 

[Bit of hope]

That is an interesting question.. I mean, I wouldn't think they would close it, right? She is still missing, possibly deceased as result of a crime. Maybe it would sit as cold case until she is found and circumstances are then investigated. Gosh, I hope they would leave it open but have no idea for sure.

Maybe a local can help out. My believe is that Jenna was murdered and they dumped her body in a landfill (last ping was around there) Off course when LE start looking into the case more seriously (IMO, they messed up from the get go) years had went by, the chances of finding her remains were nil by that time.

 

[CastlesBurning]

Eight years of Dateline's Missing in America: 169 still missing

Jenna Van Gelderen was last heard from while pet sitting her parents’ cat in the Druid Hills neighborhood of Atlanta on the night of August 18, 2017. The 25-year-old had plans to meet a friend the next day. But when the friend arrived at Jenna’s house, neither Jenna nor her vehicle was there. Jenna’s brother, Will, was contacted and he found their parents’ home in disarray. Many of Jenna’s belongings were left behind; all that was missing was a WWII tapestry. After three days of not hearing from Jenna, the family reported her missing. Jenna’s dark blue Mazda 6 was found a couple of weeks later parked along a road in northwest Atlanta. According to Detective Shiera Campbell of the DeKalb Police Department, there was nothing left in the car and the gas tank was empty. In August 2021, a memorial service was held at Shearith Israel, the first time Jenna’s family and the community have formally mourned her. Police say the investigation remains ongoing and any tips should be given to the DeKalb Police Department at (770) 724-7600 or https://gbi.georgia.gov.

 

[ChatteringBirds]

May support and comfort surround her family.

I wonder what "motive" would have been? Let's hope this does not become a cold case. She deserves justice.

 

[Teegee]

Hello, I'm new to this site and I heard about Jenna's case a while ago. I was recently listening to the Crime Junkie podcast that made me think about this case and it may be a reach, but I really wanted to get this out there. The podcast is on a woman named Erica Gene Shultz, another woman with autism, age 26, who went missing in 2020 in Pennsylvania. A now known serial killer (a transient truck driver who has moved all around the US), Harold David Haulman has pleaded guilty to her murder and to the murder of another woman, Tianna Phillips, 25, who went missing in 2018. He also admitted to the 2005 murder of Ashley Parlier, 21 (Michigan). These three women all had disabilities that made them vulnerable to being taken advantage of. They were very trusting. He would meet his victims on online dating apps spending weeks or months gaining trust. With Erica, he surprised her at her apartment and asked her to go for a drive. She left all her belongings and her beloved cat behind. He led her out to the woods and killed her. He drove the phone to another location to dump it. I feel like there are lots of similarities in these cases and Jenna's case. It is also believed he has other victims out there... No one knows what he was doing between 2005 and 2018. Please listen to this podcast and check out this story. I sent an email to the case worker that was listed on Namus and I also sent an email to the findjenna just to make sure someone sees this. Here is a link to the episode on spotify and a news link. MURDERED: Erica Gene Shultz
Tracking A Killer: Harold Haulman III

 

[Ozoner]

Hello, I'm new to this site and I heard about Jenna's case a while ago. I was recently listening to the Crime Junkie podcast that made me think about this case and it may be a reach, but I really wanted to get this out there. The podcast is on a woman named Erica Gene Shultz, another woman with autism, age 26, who went missing in 2020 in Pennsylvania. A now known serial killer (a transient truck driver who has moved all around the US), Harold David Haulman has pleaded guilty to her murder and to the murder of another woman, Tianna Phillips, 25, who went missing in 2018. He also admitted to the 2005 murder of Ashley Parlier, 21 (Michigan). These three women all had disabilities that made them vulnerable to being taken advantage of. They were very trusting. He would meet his victims on online dating apps spending weeks or months gaining trust. With Erica, he surprised her at her apartment and asked her to go for a drive. She left all her belongings and her beloved cat behind. He led her out to the woods and killed her. He drove the phone to another location to dump it. I feel like there are lots of similarities in these cases and Jenna's case. It is also believed he has other victims out there... No one knows what he was doing between 2005 and 2018. Please listen to this podcast and check out this story. I sent an email to the case worker that was listed on Namus and I also sent an email to the findjenna just to make sure someone sees this. Here is a link to the episode on spotify and a news link. MURDERED: Erica Gene Shultz
Tracking A Killer: Harold Haulman III

I am convinced that Jenna was killed by someone (or possibly two people) that she knew, but all possibilities should be considered.

 

[Teegee]

I am convinced that Jenna was killed by someone (or possibly two people) that she knew, but all possibilities should be considered.

The thing is, he got to know his victims for months before he killed them. So what if she had been talking to him? He could easily have been someone she knew and trusted. I read somewhere that Jenna had an abusive boyfriend previously and no one knows who he was?

 

[Ozoner]

The thing is, he got to know his victims for months before he killed them. So what if she had been talking to him? He could easily have been someone she knew and trusted. I read somewhere that Jenna had an abusive boyfriend previously and no one knows who he was?

I don't know whether the boyfriend's name has been made public, but unless I'm mistaken, LE knows who he is.

 

[Teegee]

Since I can't get this off my brain and it's all floating around in my mind. I feel like I need to write it all down in one place. - Here are some things that really stand out to me that could support the theory:

-Three women all mid 20s, with vulnerabilities and kind hearts all seem to disappear out of nowhere leaving their routines and belongings behind, “The efficiency of his killing method is something we’ve also never seen before. It’s not a lot of contact with his victims, get them to where he wants to get them, they walk in the woods, he walks out. Doesn’t take anything from them,” Jenna fits the MO.
Haulman kills without motive, he just likes to do it.
There was a block of time between 2005-2018 that are unaccounted for and he's the kind of killer that doesn't stop until he's caught. Jenna went missing during this time frame.
Tracking a Killer: Part Two | Eyewitness News

-Haulman liked living near the Appalachian trail, he took all his victims to the woods to kill them.
Tracking a Killer | Eyewitness News
GA is woodsy and is part of the Appalachian trail. Jenna's last phone ping was in a wooded area.

-Jenna was looking to be more independent, wasn't sharing much with her family, much of her social life seems to be a mystery. She easily could have been talking to people on dating apps without others knowing. Haulman used “Meet Me” to find his victims. - I wonder if Jenna ever used this app?

-Haulman used burner phones to message his victims -https://www.pahomepage.com/tracking-a-killer-harold-haulman-iii/tracking-a-killer-part-3-harold-david-haulman-iii/
In Jenna's case "The family learned that someone — they don’t know who — had been pressuring Jenna to leave her parents’ house and return to her apartment that night"
- Could this have been Harold Haulman?
The Timeline Of The Jenna Van Gelderen Disappearance | Oxygen Official Site

-The last text she sent was a succinct 'Lying Down.' Which was strange wording for Jenna
Haulman's text to Erica when he surprised her at her apartment before killing her were just - 'Surprise' and 'Knock-knock'
DA: Accused killer and victim met on a website | wnep.com

-Jenna had been making payments to an unknown person since 2015 True Crime Society - Jenna Van Gelderen and the missing Egyptian tapestry

- "In April 2017, four months before Jenna went missing, a message was sent to Jenna and her father. The message was a picture of Jenna stating that she was missing." Who sent this message? I wonder what the source was for this tweet?
https://twitter.com/CaseWarriors/status/1031224260612612096

-For the case of Ashley Parlier, who he has admitted to killing in 2005 - she had been a cold case for 15 years up until 2020, and no one seems to have realized that she was in contact with him or linked her disappearance to him until after he was caught for Erica's murder in 2020. They seemed to have been in a "non-committed" dating relationship prior to her disappearance, but he was never on the radar for police until now. Suspected Serial Killer Charged for Michigan Murder | Eyewitness News

-Was Jenna in a relationship with Haulman? Was the ex jealous? Maybe that's why she and the unnamed ex broke up that night. Maybe he felt scorned, which is why he said those nasty things about Jenna being a prostitute.

-The missing tapestry - a bizarre trophy for a serial killer? Who else would be so meticulous and then put the frame back neatly in its place on the wall?

-There was an abusive ex (not the same one interviewed by police?) that she did not tell anyone details about. - I can't remember where I read this or what the source was on this one.

--

I almost feel like the 'friends' in Jenna's life that we keep hearing about were horrible to her and are sketchy people, but they are red herrings in the case. There seems to be unknown parties or party that hasn't been looked into. I feel like Haulman fits in those empty spaces. He seems to weasel his way into women's lives without anyone noticing.

 

[Ozoner]

I almost feel like the 'friends' in Jenna's life that we keep hearing about were horrible to her and are sketchy people, but they are red herrings in the case. There seems to be unknown parties or party that hasn't been looked into. I feel like Haulman fits in those empty spaces. He seems to weasel his way into women's lives without anyone noticing.

You could make any number of perpetrators fit Jenna's disappearance, but there's no evidence pointing to Haulman.

 

[TootsieFootsie]

Possible human remains found by police officer in NW Atlanta

Atlanta police are investigating after an officer discovered what authorities believe are human remains Thursday afternoon.

Police were called to 708 Jefferson Street in northwest Atlanta and found the bones, which appeared to be human, according to a news release.