How Did the Side Door Get Opened?/Door Locks/Use of Cinder Block**REVISITED**

[SeriouslySearching]

I think it is entirely possible it was placed there by a stranger for an easier access out of the mh, but he couldn't get the lock opened from the outside so he used the front door (which has never been mentioned to be certain was locked). He could have flipped the light on and opened the back door at this juncture before picking up Haleigh to flee. There was no one in the home next door at that time and the light which would have lit the entire end of the house was not working, IIRC. It would only have been the moonlit shadows that anyone could have seen exiting from there and a quick dart behind the mh puts them out of view immediately.

That is definitely not what was used on the door to hold it open, imo. LE would have taken it in as the first piece of evidence since both said it was not there prior to that night unless LE was remiss about this, too. (I keep going back to them stating they pulled the sheets and blanket out onto the ramp to scent the dogs. Ugh! So stupid!)

 

[elle1919]

Your theory is plausible, it could have been a SO. Now, why is there a second cement slab there? Did LE decide to pick one up in the yard to put on the ramp to prop open the door to inspect the lock on the other door perhaps? So many bricks, so little time to find Haleigh before all the evidence is gone.

Hi Bern, ya know I don't know why that second slab of cement is there. What I wonder about is probably what you wonder about. The thing that sticks out with me is the statements made by family members, TN specifically when she was giving the tour of the home. She said there was usually a pile of laundry there, right? I think that before the tv crews came in they cleaned up a bit. I would too! I didn't see fingerprint dust anywhere so someone had to do something. I don't think stuff was cleaned up intentionally, or that things(the brick) were put there intentionally. Fact is we just don't know because LE has released nothing.

SS...once again, very astute thinking involving the front door. Another theory that would make plenty of sense. Enter through the front exit through the rear? We just can't know. I just hope that LE focused on all these scenario's before it was too late to get evidence. We can safely assume that they have something, because they came back to get the back outer door(some door) after initially gathering evidence.

 

[Whisperer]

Well, LE didn't take the screen door for a long time. What m.akes anyone think they took the concrete immediately? That is just your opinion. Pic may tell the story

That block was mostly there all along. It looks like it slides under the screen door. If anyone is going to suggest a perp came there and looked around or brought a paver with him that slipped under that door than one is clearly logic free. This ramp was well lit. Look at the size of the lamp post next to it! It leads out, facing the neighbors property. The story told by Misty and Ron is clearly self-serving.

 

[Whisperer]

Bern, I doubt LE would brick he door again...pretty crazy if they want to find evidence. I know LE makes mistakes but this would be way over the top. The screen door should not be propped again. It was still there when pic was taken and I bet that is THE brick also. Can not fathom them using another brick...they could use rubber to preserve the door evidence.

 

[Skully]

Hi Bern, ya know I don't know why that second slab of cement is there. What I wonder about is probably what you wonder about. The thing that sticks out with me is the statements made by family members, TN specifically when she was giving the tour of the home. She said there was usually a pile of laundry there, right? I think that before the tv crews came in they cleaned up a bit. I would too! I didn't see fingerprint dust anywhere so someone had to do something. I don't think stuff was cleaned up intentionally, or that things(the brick) were put there intentionally. Fact is we just don't know because LE has released nothing.

SS...once again, very astute thinking involving the front door. Another theory that would make plenty of sense. Enter through the front exit through the rear? We just can't know. I just hope that LE focused on all these scenario's before it was too late to get evidence. We can safely assume that they have something, because they came back to get the back outer door(some door) after initially gathering evidence.

OMG Elle think about what you just wrote... She said there was usually a pile of laundry there... How do you push in a door that has a pile of laundry there? Wouldn't it obstruct the door from opening? Ok, it may just push it out of the way, but if you ever tried to open a door that has laundry sitting in front of it, I have, it can get sucked under the door and makes it hard to open. Anyway another visual for me.

 

[Skully]

Bern, I doubt LE would brick he door again...pretty crazy if they want to find evidence. I know LE makes mistakes but this would be way over the top. The screen door should not be propped again. It was still there when pic was taken and I bet that is THE brick also. Can not fathom them using another brick...they could use rubber to preserve the door evidence.

The discoloration on the ramp tells me some object sat there.

 

[elle1919]

Well, LE didn't take the screen door for a long time. What m.akes anyone think they took the concrete immediately? That is just your opinion. Pic may tell the story

That block was mostly there all along. It looks like it slides under the screen door. If anyone is going to suggest a perp came there and looked around or brought a paver with him that slipped under that door than one is clearly logic free. This ramp was well lit. Look at the size of the lamp post next to it! It leads out, facing the neighbors property. The story told by Misty and Ron is clearly self-serving.

Whisperer, I will have to go back and look for a link to the video's I speak of...but every tom dick and harry from Cnn to HLN to Foxnews were SPECULATING about what evidence could be found on the block that LE took. On Foxnews specifically one evening I believe it was Dr. Biden speculating if DNA could be retrieved from the block. Also Nancy grace asked one of her guests if forensic results could be lifted from the block. I will go find it.

The door was taken much later, we do agree on that whisperer.

 

[Whisperer]

Thanks, Elle,

I don't know how they can get much from the block because it is porous. They could match the block marks to the bottom of the screen door though.

I don't see any FBI work being done in this case....from cars to cadaver dogs to
bricks and doors. This is startng to remind me of Tara Grinstead and those 'good ole boys'...don't like it one bit either.

 

[Whisperer]

I am surprised that floodlight to light the house wasn't working. That should have been high priority. It is pitch black there. Was it not working or did RC disconnect it? I have not heard this before. I heard Ron say he installed new dead bolts (way up high) so Haleigh couldn't reach them.....no sign of that either. They appeared to be at average height. These are some of the things that bother me about him. If you live in the woods with small children, any normal person would make sure their lights work.

I am going to stand by my statement that the concrete was always there and used by RC and Misty when they used that door. IMO, Misty is lying about never seeing the concrete prior to the 10th of Feb.

 

[Whisperer]

Can anyone tell me how they know the floodlight was not working?

Reasoning is if was pitch black back there, it is more likely that no stranger was hunting around the blackness of night for a door prop....logic dictates that thought process.

 

[mysticrose]

I think the whole bricked door thing was staged. I think it was staged by Misty. If there were laundry sitting in front of that door you would have a he** of a time getting it open enough to get through it. Another thing is I never did hear Misty state that the laundry was pushed out of the way as well, did you? You would be an idiot to go that way, someone could easily trip over the laundry trying to leave. I've tripped over laundry the damn t-shirts seem to wrap around your feet...lol JMO of course.

 

[elle1919]

Thanks, Elle,

I don't know how they can get much from the block because it is porous. They could match the block marks to the bottom of the screen door though.

I don't see any FBI work being done in this case....from cars to cadaver dogs to
bricks and doors. This is startng to remind me of Tara Grinstead and those 'good ole boys'...don't like it one bit either.

Didn't exactly find the transcript I wanted but I will keep looking....in the meantime this was an interesting read. Mike Brooks was in for Nancy grace and AMW's Jon Lieberman was on,

http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0902/13/ng.01.html

on down in the discussion it say:

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes. I want to know about the brick that was used to pry the back door open. Supposedly, the bricks -- there was a pile of them that was located near the woods. If the father didn`t know that the bricks were there, which he said he did not know, who knew those bricks were there? And is it possible somebody came in through the front door? Was that front door locked?

BROOKS: That`s a great question. Jon Leiberman?

LEIBERMAN: That is a great question. First, as to the brick, that is now at the crime lab. They`re checking it for anything they might be able to get off of it because, clearly, it was propping open that side door. Now, of course, another scenario -- to talk to your caller -- is, did this little girl for some reason wander outside, and then she was somehow snatched or something like that?

So the brick was at the crime lab and I believe they got something.....maybe not prints, but skin cells or something. Why do I believe that? Because they came back much later to get the door, and a brick is a scratchy rough surface and something was left. I am going to look for that now,

 

[TxLady2]

Bern, I doubt LE would brick he door again...pretty crazy if they want to find evidence. I know LE makes mistakes but this would be way over the top. The screen door should not be propped again. It was still there when pic was taken and I bet that is THE brick also. Can not fathom them using another brick...they could use rubber to preserve the door evidence.

If that pic was taken after LE had been there and then took the screen door, don't you think they would have taken the slab, brick or whatever it is, for evidence already? Possibly fingerprints? (Although I think it's more difficult to get prints off a rough surface.)
This little fragment of concrete could have been used by LE to prop open the door as they were carrying evidence out of the house. It may or may not be the brick that propped open the screen door that night.
But I agree it does not look like a paver or a cinderblock, unless part of it was broken off. Pavers are usually flatter, no more than an inch or so thick. If it was the brick that Misty saw propping open the door, it could have been leaned against the door rather than pushed flat up against it. We just don't know if it was the same one or not.
That ramp looks to be pretty unsteady... kind of rotted looking in places. No wonder they never used it.
As to the question of whether some SO would prefer to exit from the back door rather than the front door... keep in mind that the tree line is much closer to the back... if they went out the front, they have to either go across the road, or clear around the side of the house to the woods.. better chance of being seen.

 

[Whisperer]

So this master burglar/child abductor came in the dead of night through a dead bolted door. He also had to be using quite a good-sized flashlight.....total blackness there....he had to find a piece of concrete and walk over clothes....then this master burglar turns on the lights in the house...okiedokie then....no problem, if you say so.

 

[mysticrose]

Wether Misty was home or not has yet to be proven. If she was home it is moo that she had company over and was being distracted while some one took Haleigh out of that house. Misty prob wouldnt notice for some time that Haleigh was missing or she wasnt home , left the kids alone. When she returned she found Haleigh missing. I still think the witness that heard yelling around 2 am ish around Rons home falls in place here some where. I think it is the time that Misty discovered Haleigh missing, not 3 am as she states. She staged that door and made the story up out of fear of Ron and his actions. They had just made up after him kicking her out prior to this. If Ron were to find out about either company or worse her being out when she should have been home would have enraged Ron worse then this story made up. Of course JMO...

 

[Whisperer]

F or the people who believe a stranger came in through the back door, I appreciate your sticking with your theory. For me, this doesn't ring true. A burglar would do what you are suggesting but not the typical child abductor. A child predator looks for an opportunity, the easier the better. If he were to come upon this difficulty, he would leave and return when things were better and easier.

Looks like RC and Misty were familiar with this door bumping....all the more reason RC should have been more diligent taking care of the children. Between his lying about the lock being placed very high and now this and bumping, I can't see this man speaking with honesty. He is determined to sell this lock bump though...I don't buy it. A sexual predator would not go through this.....now an unlocked door, that's a different bag of chips.

 

[SeriouslySearching]

Well, LE didn't take the screen door for a long time. What m.akes anyone think they took the concrete immediately? That is just your opinion. Pic may tell the story

That block was mostly there all along. It looks like it slides under the screen door. If anyone is going to suggest a perp came there and looked around or brought a paver with him that slipped under that door than one is clearly logic free. This ramp was well lit. Look at the size of the lamp post next to it! It leads out, facing the neighbors property. The story told by Misty and Ron is clearly self-serving.

They would take the brick first thing to as it was mentioned in the call. The pic cannot tell any story other than what was available at the time the photo was taken which was long after LE was there initially.

Yes...I am going to say he could have found a cement block out by the shed where Ronald said some were stacked. There were also some underneath the mh, but not sure if they were in view at the time.

The ramp was certainly not well lit as the lamp on the pole was not activated at the time she went missing. It is a paid light and evidently wasn't paid for at the time or was not working. This was confirmed.

The story told by Misty and Ronald wasn't self serving, IMO. If they wanted to stage the scene to appear to be a break in and abduction...they would have made it so LE could easily tell someone broke in and they would have staged her bedroom to appear the abduction happened there. Nothing about what they told LE helped them in any way which is another reason I believe them.

 

[Busylady]

RC never stated the lock was up high - an old tenant from 10 years ago made the comment about the lock up high - since the photos show no holes or lock up high I am assuming at some point during the 10 years they replaced the door.

He was also so concerned about the back door not being secure, he and a friend installed a sliding lock.

"My son was a short 9," Smallwood tells us, "and we put the latch up too high for him to reach."

http://www.firstcoastnews.com/news/amberalerts/news-article.aspx?storyid=131566&catid=295

RC stated he bought two new locks from Walmart and replaced the existing locks.

CUMMINGS: As I believe it is the reverend`s mother and father. And I think they deceased here in the home. I`m not sure. You would have to ask them. But I do know that I personally went to Wal-Mart and bought the deadbolts and the locks that were on there so nobody else had a key to this house.

GRACE: OK, because I believe that he told me, the former owner, the reverend, that he had placed a lock on that back door but you also placed locks as well, correct? Got it.

CUMMINGS: Yes, ma`am, they were there. I took them off and put my own on.
http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0903/16/ng.01.html

 

[SeriouslySearching]

F or the people who believe a stranger came in through the back door, I appreciate your sticking with your theory. For me, this doesn't ring true. A burglar would do what you are suggesting but not the typical child abductor. A child predator looks for an opportunity, the easier the better. If he were to come upon this difficulty, he would leave and return when things were better and easier.

Looks like RC and Misty were familiar with this door bumping....all the more reason RC should have been more diligent taking care of the children. Between his lying about the lock being placed very high and now this and bumping, I can't see this man speaking with honesty. He is determined to sell this lock bump though...I don't buy it. A sexual predator would not go through this.....now an unlocked door, that's a different bag of chips.

Because the back door was left unlocked doesn't mean he entered through there. They have never said for certain the front door was locked.

Again, I can give you case after case where a child predator entered a home with people sleeping inside where they took their time in doing so. When a predator has his mind set on gratification of his act...not much would stand in his way.

The reason they bring up lock bumping is because they were trying to figure out a rational way for the perp to get in the back door without causing damage...not realizing he could have used the front door, imo. They were trying to apply their own theory as to what they thought happened...imo (which is why it doesn't sound honest...because it is only a theory).

 

[SeriouslySearching]

Wether Misty was home or not has yet to be proven. If she was home it is moo that she had company over and was being distracted while some one took Haleigh out of that house. Misty prob wouldnt notice for some time that Haleigh was missing or she wasnt home , left the kids alone. When she returned she found Haleigh missing. I still think the witness that heard yelling around 2 am ish around Rons home falls in place here some where. I think it is the time that Misty discovered Haleigh missing, not 3 am as she states. She staged that door and made the story up out of fear of Ron and his actions. They had just made up after him kicking her out prior to this. If Ron were to find out about either company or worse her being out when she should have been home would have enraged Ron worse then this story made up. Of course JMO...

If Misty was not home and was with other people...LE would know by now and they have said there has been no one to say she was not there. I believe them.

Staging the backdoor with the block and having it unlocked isn't very adequate staging to convince LE. Cutting the screen on her window, leaving it unlocked, and her mattress found in her room would be staging an abduction.

ETA: I misread the post (again). Sorry! I edited my comment.