Hi everybody! long time no talk, though I have been lurking on and off since....
Great to see some familiar names still contributing from last time the discussion was this hot.
What follows will be a somewhat lengthy post, but there are a few discussions happening on here that I feel have run their course, and I'll give my (At times professional) opinion on them.
1. Gererd (Or is it Geraaard?) Using some elaborate rope system to lower a body.
I'm afraid there's no way this happened. Believe it or not, ropes will always put you at a disadvantage unless they are coupled with a mechanical aid.
Ropes lose their load capacity incrementally over distance, not to mention the weight of the rope adding to the pressure on the anchor point-which some have suggested may have been GBC himself.
Personally, I've seen 5tonne chains fail on a lift of 2tonne... because the inclusive chain angle was more than 120 degrees. Anyone with a DG ticket would know what I'm on about.
Load + Angle and/or length = fail
Anchoring yourself into such a situation would be Suicide....And only one 'Suicide' was meant to happen that night.
2. The hair in the Captiva.
Nothing of significance Imo. The blood is a big deal, especially how vividly it shows up under luminol.
The hair on the other hand?
It was always going to be in the car.
My (Thankfully) Ex girlfriend had very long hair. She was only ever in my ute about 2 days of the week maximum, yet every time I rolled my window down to have a smoke while driving *Whap* Huge piece of hair would wrap around my face/eyes.
Ladies, you shed more hair than you'd like to admit!
As for it being stuck to the blood, Defence could argue blood was there first and the hair found its way there afterward.
3. The leaf matter....
I find it hard to believe that the leaf matter collected from Allissons Hair could have only come from the carport.
You only have to take a wander along any watercourse to see the variation in vegetation etc.
Not to discount the Botanist, but how far did he travel in his observations? We are talking about a tidal creek which had suffered significant rain activity over a 10 day period.......If I were on the jury, this is the kind of evidence I'd throw over my shoulder, sorry to say.
4. Injuries
Now here is something that really got me thinking.......
Allissons injuries. The Chipped tooth, Decomposition in the jaw
Smacks of an uppercut punch. Would explain the bleeding (Bit tongue)
Chipped tooth from both jaws slamming together?
Now as far as I'm concerned;
Did he do it? of course.
Can I prove it? nope
Does the prosecution have more up their sleeve?
You betcha!
Stay safe everyone, been great to see some familiar names as always
-Breno
A well thought-out post. Just a couple of comments on those points, though:
Agree with you completely about the use of ropes etc. Not even a vague possibility - not to mention how or where he got the ropes or disposed of them. Or how he disengaged the rope from the body once it was down below.
Now the hair in the Captiva - I would disagree with you on that - I think that is highly significant. Yes ladies (and long-haired gents) can shed hair, and she obviously did. But if the hair WAS stuck in the blood, then that implies strongly that the blood was still at least semi-fluid when the hair got there. In other words - fresh. So the hair arrived after the blood. And if your point is that it could have been shed earlier, and just blown around the back of the car, that is a reasonable point. But once again, the condition of the hair (colouring etc) could indicate that it could only have happened SINCE the hair appointment the evening before. But we haven't heard that yet.....
The leaves and the botanist's evidence I think ARE relevant. Kholo creek is tidal, yes - but the vegetation down anywhere near water level is sparse at best - it is very muddy. And although I am no botanist, I think that the leaves from plants that were growing in the back garden of the BC house up against the patio would be a particular combination that would be unlikely to be replicated elsewhere, especially in the wild at Kholo. If it were just 2 or even 3 plant types, maybe. But SIX (on both the body AND next to that back patio)? I think that is almost a signature combination.
Your comment about the chipped tooth is possibly valid, but there was NO evidence of decomposition of the jaw/mandible. It was intact on both the CT scan ond on Dr Forrest's odontology evidence too, where he specifically stated "Examination of the teeth and jaws of the deceased demonstrates no obvious signs of trauma apart from a small mesio-incisial chip on tooth 33, which may or may not be of recent origin".
Mesio-incisal is on the SIDE of the tooth, not the tip or biting edge. Also, tooth 33 (using the FDI numbering system) is the left LOWER canine next to the incisor. There is no other "tooth 33" given that we only have 32 teeth. So the chip is off the side of the canine that faces the incisor next to it. Which doesn't appear to me, at least (I'm not a dentist), to be due to a blow from below, or even from the front.
So, in summary, and with respect to your well considered post, I'd agree that no ropes were used, but I think the evidence about the hair and the leaves ARE relevant, and the small chip on the SIDE of one lower jaw tooth does not suggest an uppercut punch to me.
Ain't it great that we can have civilized discussions and disagreements without being offended - I hope? :blushing: