Hannah's Journey on 09/13

[klily444]

Is there anywhere, besides the Daily Mail, that claims the "guy with dreads" was already spoken to, and has been cleared? I've only seen this statement in the Daily Mail article and I'm not sure we should give it much credence, unless it was also reported another MSM outlet. And the reason I bring this up is because it is a very important fact in the investigation, IMO. It speaks volumes to LE tactics, and I have a feeling the statement is just...unfounded.

I'm sorry I wasn't clear. I was referring to JM in the HG investigation, not MH. In the beginning we heard from the Daily Mail that JM (the guy with dreads on the surveillance video) is not a suspect and has been talked to and cleared. I have a feeling this is not true and Daily Mail put out some poor reporting.

 

[klily444]

Yes, the black man (Dameon Bradley) who Randy Taylor accused was questioned by LE and actually testified at RAT's trial.

October 2014 press release from Nelson Co. Commonwealth's Attorney Anthony Martin about Bradley and Matthew in response to RAT's attorney.
http://www.newsplex.com/home/headli...tthew-Connection-277932552.html?device=tablet

I'm sorry I wasn't clear. I was referring to JM in the HG investigation, not MH. In the beginning we heard from the Daily Mail that JM (the guy with dreads on the surveillance video) is not a suspect and has been talked to and cleared. I have a feeling this is not true and Daily Mail put out some poor reporting.

 

[hambirg]

Is there anywhere, besides the Daily Mail, that claims the "guy with dreads" was already spoken to, and has been cleared? I've only seen this statement in the Daily Mail article and I'm not sure we should give it much credence, unless it was also reported another MSM outlet. And the reason I bring this up is because it is a very important fact in the investigation, IMO. It speaks volumes to LE tactics, and I have a feeling the statement is just...unfounded.

Thinking about this last night, it occured to me that that information may have come from JM's grandma. I could very logically see that being part of his "I bought her a drink and we parted ways" story. Grandma said she recognized JM from the video right away. I'm sure his family memebers called him. He likely told them he already spoke to the police and had been cleared. DM reported it as if it came from LE, but maybe it really came from Grandma.

 

[Skigirl]

Is there anywhere, besides the Daily Mail, that claims the "guy with dreads" was already spoken to, and has been cleared? I've only seen this statement in the Daily Mail article and I'm not sure we should give it much credence, unless it was also reported another MSM outlet. And the reason I bring this up is because it is a very important fact in the investigation, IMO. It speaks volumes to LE tactics, and I have a feeling the statement is just...unfounded.

Yes, that bit about JM having already having been cleared was also mentioned in an opinion piece masquerading as an in-depth analysis in the Washington Post.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/...-sleuths-help-and-hurt-police-investigations/

"...Even as I write this, armchair detectives on Facebook and YouTube are demanding to know why police haven’t arrested the “dreads guy” — a man with dreadlocks seen in two surveillance videos who was conclusively ruled out as a suspect."

It is amazing to me that the paper hasn't issued a correction, but I don't think they have. Multiple people pointed out to the author, in comments, that the "dreads guy" she mentioned is actually the primary suspect and is under arrest, but to no avail.

 

[Evie Ivy Over]

Thinking about this last night, it occured to me that that information may have come from JM's grandma. I could very logically see that being part of his "I bought her a drink and we parted ways" story. Grandma said she recognized JM from the video right away. I'm sure his family memebers called him. He likely told them he already spoke to the police and had been cleared. DM reported it as if it came from LE, but maybe it really came from Grandma.

Longo said LE did speak briefly to JM...we don't know what JM said to them. Obviously, nothing that was necessary to proceed, but perhaps he even told them this much. Who knows?

 

[Evie Ivy Over]

Another poster questions why LE was initially interested in JM's car before they were interested in JM. I go back to being turned around, or lost, and wonder if she had been intending to go the Downtown Mall, but took the wrong route--rather than head straight down Main St., she mistakenly took a wrong turn and that's why she was lost--saying she didn't end up at the Mall because she was lost, but that she got lost getting there. What if she did hook up with JM through social media or some other mean, and she was, in fact, looking for him? Could LE have found something in her text records with a description of the car she should be looking for? According to the reports, she was spotted in the area of where the car was parked.

 

[hambirg]

Another poster questions why LE was initially interested in JM's car before they were interested in JM. I go back to being turned around, or lost, and wonder if she had been intending to go the Downtown Mall, but took the wrong route--rather than head straight down Main St., she mistakenly took a wrong turn and that's why she was lost--saying she didn't end up at the Mall because she was lost, but that she got lost getting there. What if she did hook up with JM through social media or some other mean, and she was, in fact, looking for him? Could LE have found something in her text records with a description of the car she should be looking for? According to the reports, she was spotted in the area of where the car was parked.

I just posted in the abduction thread asking if it's possible Hannah was using Uber or Lyft that night. It would fit right in with JM's MO and it might explain why she made a beeline for the mall.

 

[Evie Ivy Over]

In the Mall video at Sal's, you can see JM walking and looking forward, then all of a sudden turning to go to the other side and meeting up with HG. He couldn't have spotted her for even a minute when he veered over to the other side. To make a decision that quick to make an encounter with HG without previously seeing her is very puzzling.

And WG...he was walking in front of HG, right? Then decides to tuck himself in an alcove until she walks by so he can follow her to make sure she's okay.

Something must have been going on to draw the attention of two separate individuals at this moment in time. Was she crying, moaning in some sort of pain? Or were those people behind her giving her a hard time?

I'm curious about what was happening before that video clip.

 

[MJPeony]

In the Mall video at Sal's, you can see JM walking and looking forward, then all of a sudden turning to go to the other side and meeting up with HG. He couldn't have spotted her for even a minute when he veered over to the other side. To make a decision that quick to make an encounter with HG without previously seeing her is very puzzling.

And WG...he was walking in front of HG, right? Then decides to tuck himself in an alcove until she walks by so he can follow her to make sure she's okay.

Something must have been going on to draw the attention of two separate individuals at this moment in time. Was she crying, moaning in some sort of pain? Or were those people behind her giving her a hard time?

I'm curious about what was happening before that video clip.

Me too. Statistically, I think it's amazing there is a video camera that was on and captured the exact moment JM encountered, and began following his victim. It has astounded me from the start. Wow, amazing providence in that regard. However, yes, to just have a wee bit more of a camera span, or another camera placed right before would be enlightening.

The whole WG guys is baffling to me. I've just decided to put it out of my mind and trust that LE knows what they're doing on that one and he's not a thought for me anymore. But it really is bizarre.

 

[Bonacker]

She was a noticeable young woman to begin with --- very tall, dressed to party in a sparkly top, and also freckle-faced and young and innocent-looking. And she was staggering a bit. And it was 1 in the morning. That combination would absolutely draw the attention of plenty of men in a party spot like the mall. I'd expect men (just garden-variety creeps, or drunk frat bro's, not even psychos) to approach a young woman in that situation, even if she wasn't clearly intoxicated, as witnesses say HG was.

Don't you think so, ladies?

I can remember being 20, and I can remember going clubbing, and I can definitely remember men coming on with all sorts of approaches and unwanted attention. Oh, yeah, it's familiar.

ETA: I think being approached / followed / hassled on the street is, unfortunately, something most young women living in a city are subjected to. When I was college-age, I experienced it all, from catcalls to actually being chased up the street (after getting off my bus) by a muscular young man who had his business out and was jerking off. Yep. So, not one but at least two men started trailing after HG, who looked as she looked and was visibly "in distress"? Count me as not shocked by that part of the story.

 

[Evie Ivy Over]

She was a noticeable young woman to begin with --- very tall, dressed to party in a sparkly top, and also freckle-faced and young and innocent-looking. And she was staggering a bit. And it was 1 in the morning. That combination would absolutely draw the attention of plenty of men in a party spot like the mall. I'd expect men (just garden-variety creeps, or drunk frat bro's, not even psychos) to approach a young woman in that situation, even if she wasn't clearly intoxicated, as witnesses say HG was.

Don't you think so, ladies?

I can remember being 20, and I can remember going clubbing, and I can definitely remember men coming on with all sorts of approaches and unwanted attention. Oh, yeah, it's familiar.

ETA: I think being approached / followed / hassled on the street is, unfortunately, something most young women living in a city are subjected to. When I was college-age, I experienced it all, from catcalls to actually being chased up the street (after getting off my bus) by a muscular young man who had his business out and was jerking off. Yep. So, not one but at least two men started trailing after HG, who looked as she looked and was visibly "in distress"? Count me as not shocked by that part of the story.

So maybe she was in distress because of all the men who were coming at her once she entered the Downtown Mall? Probably outside of it, too?

 

[Piaget]

I keep think about that clip too. Asked my college-aged daughter for her thoughts and her instinct was that Hannah had dressed for a theme party that night, something that is pretty frequent on campuses, and would have caused her to attract more attention. Of course, drugs are another frequent occurrence, and it's naive IMO not to consider the possibility that the two of them did indeed know each other in that context. Jm has been referred to as a dealer and was in all likelihood on Molly that night himself (excessive sweating is a sign). Even LE referred to her as walking "with purpose," and it's easy to get the impression that she's looking for someone -- if not JM, then perhaps just a particular guy, someone she wanted to see her sparkling, in that sad time of night when everyone else seems to have someone to go home with but you....

 

[Bonacker]

...It's easy to get the impression that she's looking for someone -- if not JM, then perhaps just a particular guy, someone she wanted to see her sparkling, in that sad time of night when everyone else seems to have someone to go home with but you....

Yes, exactly. I feel the same thing. I lived in NYC for years as a single woman, and I certainly moved around at night alone. But leaving a party alone and then going on foot for over an hour, alone, covering such a distance? I also have the feeling she was looking for someone, and I'd also be inclined to guess a love interest: What else would send an (apparently well-adjusted, healthy) girl of 20 on such a hike?

 

[Evie Ivy Over]

Well, when it's all said and done, I'm sure LE knows whether or not HG was looking for someone because they have the phone records. And if JM somehow hooked up with her in advance, they know that, too, from his phone records.

At this point, it's really difficult to know what to believe from the information that's been released in the press. But, if there was a prearranged meeting, it could be used in some way by the defense based on what JM's story happens to be about what transpired between the two of them that night.

 

[PurpleBunnyEars]

I thought of something the other day that I hadn't seen mentioned. She went a long ways at one stretch - could someone maybe even JM, taken her to the mall area? I know she supposedly ran part of the way but based on her progress throughout the evening, it was still a good distance in a short amount of time. Say, perhaps, if JM picked her up and somehow she got out of the car, which may be why she was running, and then he caught up with her and was following her a short ways before he finally found her and off they went again.

I still don't understand how a girl who was supposedly that drunk could run and cross streets and stuff and either not fall down or have no one offer to help her.

 

[human]

http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2014/10/16/graham-mystery-murder-charlottesville/17216765/

McGrady's asks if she needs help.

she says that she is just walking???????

 

[MomnVA]

http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2014/10/16/graham-mystery-murder-charlottesville/17216765/

McGrady's asks if she needs help.

she says that she is just walking???????

human, I have this mental image of her answering in the same way I'd answer a sales clerk asking to help me, "it's ok, I'm just looking." I picture her maybe just looking around for people she knows, hoping to continue a fun night, with a bit of a buzz, enjoying walking around as she probably does a lot. When it starts getting pretty late, with buzz wearing off, having found no friends or acquaintances around, she's willing to slow down and talk (& probably drink-my gut says that's who the 2nd beer at Tempo was for) with a friendly stranger in public. She's probably too kind to be rude to him (as in, telling him to **** off or something assertive), and getting tired too. All my opinion & 100% speculation. No secret mission, no hunt for drugs or anything. Just a night out, not wanting it to end. My heart breaks.

 

[human]

makes sense Mom. Looking for action.

but why not stay in the college area?

 

[wall0214]

makes sense Mom. Looking for action.

but why not stay in the college area?

As someone who attended UVA and worked there for several years - yet who is also "directionally challenged," I can attest to the fact that the downtown mall can be confusing to navigate.

If Hannah had been drinking, I could see where she could easily get confused, yet if she'd been drinking, in her mind, her actions could have made sense - as if she had a purpose and a destination, when in reality, she was lost, yet if she was impaired, it would be difficult to acknowledge that.

 

[MomnVA]

makes sense Mom. Looking for action.

but why not stay in the college area?

the Downtown Mall is actually a really nice place to wander. lots of variety, artsy, eclectic, nice boutique/shop windows, to see even if shops are closed, contained (no cars) and unobstructed walking, not like the Corner (college area with narrower sidewalks & street crossings & traffic to navigate). I think she could have felt done with the crowded Corner/party scene for the night, just wanted more air and a change of scenery. Perhaps thought she might find other like-minded people/acquaintances at the Downtown Mall. I haven't gone back to check the weather that night. If it was a nice night, man, Cville is a beautiful place to wander around in the Fall! and I get the impression she really likes being outdoors.