Hannah Graham: Body Recovered, 18 Oct, 2014 **Awaiting Forensic Confirmation** #5

[Le Singe]

Surely that's too many cars!?? No disrespect to Hannah, of course, but why so many units at the scene for "just" one body? I know they're doing forensics, I appreciate they have to get it right but surely - surely! - there has to be something bigger going on here.....??

I don't even really know what a hinky-meter is but I think mine is going off!

i think they are searching the whole area like all the way to the park and all through the park extremely thoroughly like almost hands and knees. I bet our new posters story is accurate and I be she is not the only one with that type story. I bet over the years he had several aborted "missions" (sorry can't think of any other way to put it) I think that is common for these guys. I also think they now have the body but because of the condition of the remains they have nothing concrete linking him to the body also some news we got today suggest possible that link did not exist with MH which we previously thought it had. To have a super slam shut case it would really help to have some link to the body so I think they are throwing out all the stops trying to find some type of physical evidence that links him to the scene.

 

[Le Singe]

Maybe you answered this already, do you know if she reported this to police?
Also, did she ID JM as the driver? I hope she has reported this chilling encounter.

lol she answer it in the post you quoted :laughing::loveyou:

 

[LLLindsayy]

Does anyone know or remember if there was an extensive search in the areas surrounding MH's remains? And if not, something must make this discovery different?

 

[RSC]

At about 1:26 in the video at this link, there's a statement by Jeffrey Ban of the Va Dept of Forensic Science about the clothes found with the remains. He's actually talking about retrieving DNA from clothing, and an "AHA" effect of finding DNA that shouldn't be there. I get the impression that he is speaking in a general way about evidence collection, especially DNA on skeletal remains and clothing. Then in what sorta seems like a separate, second statement, he says, "the bloody clothes were found out in the woods, so they've been sitting out in the environment for a long time, so you've got degradation, you've got sun, you've got moisture, you've got chemical...thing...you know, that could cause degradation..." and that's where the video ends.

Do you get the impression that he is speaking generally or specifically in the second statement? The reason I ask is because if he's speaking specifically, he's just told us that the clothes found with the remains are bloody. And I think another poster mentioned earlier this week that he may have slipped when he started to speak about the "chemical...thing." He does hesitate fairly noticeably there.

I thought he was speaking very generally.

 

[Ghostwheel]

AMEN!!! I think the media is trying to fill the dead space while we wait for the autopsy report with anything even remotely related. "Oh, let's talk to the guy who found the shirt!"

So to get this post back on topic . . .

I am extremely worried that it's now Wednesday afternoon in VA and we still don't have confirmation of identification. Morgan's body was exposed for much longer and was ID'ed faster. I really feel like there is something odd going on here.

I'm rather thinking that in Morgan's case, there would not be as much to be found (forensically) because the body had been exposed for so much longer. Not to be too graphic here, but if the buzzards were still around, they had to be there because it was a food source, meaning there would be a lot more evidence to go through. LE may want to confirm that Hannah's actual body is there, not just her skull and someone else's skeleton. So while they might have confirmed that it was Hannah's skull, they don't want to release that information until everything else has been removed, examined and identified. It may also be that there is damage to the skull and that may hold the cause of death, so they are waiting to determine that before releasing any information, possibly to make sure that cause of death is NOT released to the public if it might affect the investigation. But those are just my own random thoughts.

 

[HartsX3]

i think they are searching the whole area like all the way to the park and all through the park extremely thoroughly like almost hands and knees. I bet our new posters story is accurate and I be she is not the only one with that type story. I bet over the years he had several aborted "missions" (sorry can't think of any other way to put it) I think that is common for these guys. I also think they now have the body but because of the condition of the remains they have nothing concrete linking him to the body also some news we got today suggest possible that link did not exist with MH which we previously thought it had. To have a super slam shut case it would really help to have some link to the body so I think they are throwing out all the stops trying to find some type of physical evidence that links him to the scene.

Exactly! Assuming this is HG and what the Sgt originally stated was fact... didn't appear to have broken bones, and completely skeleton... without any other physical evidence they might have a hard time convicting the murderer. But I also believe they had other physical evidence before hand to file the abduction with intent charges... look at all the evidence that came out in court with RAT to get that conviction - without a body. They are looking for any strand of evidence just for HG's case...I believe they would do this even if there was only one known victim involved after finding a skeletonized body

 

[Ghostwheel]

Does anyone know or remember if there was an extensive search in the areas surrounding MH's remains? And if not, something must make this discovery different?

Buzzards that might have carried something away and dropped it?

 

[EHE]

I can't help but think this, too. The scope of the ongoing search is HUGE, and has ranged far afield from the site where remains were found. <total_speculation> Perhaps they already know that the remains aren't HG, but those of another of LJM's possible victims, and they're hoping to find HG's remains elsewhere in this "dumping ground"... Ugh. </total_speculation>

Can't they just luminol the whole woods back there? Jk...kind of

 

[Le Singe]

What could be going on that's odd?

- not HG

- Some bones were HG, and some were from someone else (imagine if JM constructed a skeleton made up of bones from 6-7 different women? An arm bone from one, a leg bone from another, etc. Sick thought).

- they are waiting from the MEs office, too, and want to get as much evidence from the scene as possible.

I suspect they have found evidence that this is a dumping ground, either from multiple bodies or other evidence, like DNA found in the buildings...

Do we know if LE has gone into the structures to seek evidence?

It's a good question they must be waiting on something, but I can't think of any reason they would. No way they are planning on not confirming it within a few more days they will have to say something.

 

[ZsaZsa]

Surely that's too many cars!?? No disrespect to Hannah, of course, but why so many units at the scene for "just" one body? I know they're doing forensics, I appreciate they have to get it right but surely - surely! - there has to be something bigger going on here.....??

I don't even really know what a hinky-meter is but I think mine is going off!

The last crime scene I watched was the Caylee Anthony murder, and there were many LE evidence tech cars there for days. They did fingertip searches and many staff sieved the soil for days, looking for tiny remains

 

[Justice101]

folowing

 

[ksj3]

I'm beginning to wonder if they haven't found not just a dumping ground, but a hunting ground or "play" ground... like alaska.

 

[2Hope4]

The longer this takes to let us know, the more worried I'm getting. I do believe it's Hannah but I'm afraid of what else we may hear next. Especially when they said no press release when it identification happens, it'll be a written statement. That way they won't be pressured to answer questions!

 

[ChristineD]

I've seen the question about how do they know the pants are "tight" a couple of times in the threads. You'd know the same way you could hold up a pair of jeans and see they are "skinny jeans" or bell bottoms without having a body or bones at all alongside them. You could tell that stretchy skinny leggings would be tight on an adult woman by looking at them, I'm thinking ...

 

[eileenhawkeye]

The last crime scene I watched was the Caylee Anthony murder, and there were many LE evidence tech cars there for days. They did fingertip searches and many staff sieved the soil for days, looking for tiny remains

Yep, there have been plenty of victims in the past who got huge searches and resources put into their case, and they were not killed by a serial killer. I don't think it necessarily means there is something bigger going on.

 

[MtnLaur]

It's weird seeing all the skeleton decorations all over the place, thinking about this case where an actual skeleton has been found. Too close to Halloween for me...

It's sad...and also tv commercials featuring skulls, etc. I often see things in the media like this, ( say, even the movie, "Gone Girl,") and wonder if the families happen to see these things.... So sad...life goes on, it seems, no matter what......

 

[Ghostwheel]

Maybe her phone or shoes?

Again, apologies for the graphic, but if there were indications of blunt force trauma to the skull, perhaps looking for a weapon?

 

[RSC]

In California, there is a public website that lists the names of autopsies waiting to be performed and that were recently performed, and the date the body was found. Someone posted it on the forum for Erin Corwin. I am guessing that in the case of Hannah, the name would "unidentified".
1. Does anyone from the EC forum remember the name of the website? I know it would be different in California than Virginia, but at least we would know what direction to go in searching for this site, if there is one in Virginia.
2. Any of the locals here ever heard of a website such as this?

I realize I am grasping at straws and I realize this case is treated as confidential, but if we can glean anything right now, it sure would be nice.

Side note: About 60% of the recent deaths listed on that site were from motorcycle accidents. I found that weird.

"The Code of Virginia classifies any information regarding a medical examiner case as confidential "
http://www.vdh.state.va.us/medExam/InfoNewsMedia.htm

And here are some useful FAQs: http://www.vdh.state.va.us/medExam/FriendsFamilyFAQ.htm

 

[ZsaZsa]

Again, apologies for the graphic, but if there were indications of blunt force trauma to the skull, perhaps looking for a weapon?

He was seen out there at the Trading Post store sometime after he killed Hannah, which is on the same road. No telling
what he did. I wish they'd had a GPS on his car then.... but I'm not sure if they were even aware who he was at that stage.

 

[Teche]

Bessie, thanks for all you do, especially when it's a case such as this!