GUILTY IL - Antinette 'Toni' Keller, 18, DeKalb, NIU Student, 14 October 2010

[Soul125]

Many students just go behind the buildings at Junction Station/Shopping Center and go down the embankment, up the other side of the embankment, over the RR Tracks and backdown the embankment to get to the park. They don't use the official entry.

Also, not certain how long it's been since you've been a student there, but you have to realize how much that area has grown, including the college. Where the Junction Station is, is not very far from the dorms at all, mere blocks and there is usually a lot of foot traffic in the area when school is in session. It isn't really like going uptown either.

Yes, in front of junction station that is a great deal of foot traffic with students walking all day. Nobody would stand out unless they went behind the buildings imo. I never entered the park that way, but I guess students now use it as a shortcut. I bet that the person who murdered her was likely already in the park though and not following her. Like others have said, it does seem odd that a homeless person would do something like this. I can see a homeless person robbing someone, maybe for her camera, but it is difficult to imagine a murder and a homeless person burning her body. Does anybody know if there are that many of these homeless people in the area? I haven't been to Dekalb in about 2 years or so.

 

[Dipcheese]

I haven't heard yet if they actually found a skull. Maybe the perp kept it.

Although in his press conference where the Chief stated that they searched via land and air, he did not specifically mention by water. However, I thought I saw video of a truckload of men wearing cold water dive gear (minus the SCUBA) at the site. Also, the Kish weaves its way through the Park, basically wedging the path itself between the railroad tracks and the River for quite a good stretch within the Park boundary.

 

[Vresia]

Please delete this post if it is too wildly speculative-

From reported comments that students that knew Antinette have made, one student has stood out to me among the group of clearly caring friends. At first, I thought he was the ex-boyfriend. I have since seen a quote from him saying that he only knew her a week when she disappeared. This is the fellow that was quoted as saying "All she wanted to do was sit out, eat her Snickers and look up at the stars".

According to the media reports, this fellow saw Antinette just before she went to the park, had an arrangement to call her when he got out of his class at 3PM that day, he went alone to the park (which he had previously been to with Toni & others), he organized a search effort to look for her, he is reported to have started the Missing Antinette Keller FaceBook page.

These actions suggested a possible budding romance to me. If true, this makes me even sadder, if that's possible. I have seen only the briefest mention about a recent break-up with another NIU student (as mentioned in Disney post). This suggests that Antinette could have ended one relationship to explore a new one.

This is a potential bright red flag. Not only is there a jilted ex but he is on the same campus.

An ex would know where she goes in the park and maybe the times she was likely to go there. As an earlier poster mentioned, the attack on Antinette may have happened shortly after she got to the park. If she left at noon and missed her 2PM class, it may have been between in that 2 hr window. If you deduct the time it takes to walk from Neptune North to the Elks Club (about a mile according to Google maps), the window shrinks to about a 1 hr 40-45min.

I bet they have spoken to the ex a whole lot more than 2 times.

 

[Dipcheese]

Please delete this post if it is too wildly speculative-

Which leads to the first question in investigating a worst-case scenario...

Did she know her attacker(s)?

Yes and No are answers that will take very different invesitgative paths, but each still require the accumulation and analysis of evidence. Which also happens to be the very first step in resolving a crime profile.

If Yes- Proceed directly to NIU campus.

 

[Dipcheese]

Still, would love to see a profile of this type of perp....

Hopefully we hear from a profiler on the news tonight. moo

There are several stages in profiling a criminal that need to take place. First and foremost is the accumulation and analysis of crime scene evidence. They need to know if those remains are those of Antinette. Again, answers of Yes and No will lead down different investigative paths of determining the proper profile of the crime(s) and individual(s).

 

[Quad]

Hi,
I am new to websleuths.. this is the case that has gotten to become a member. I am local to the area and altho, Ive never been in the park, I do know the areas around it. I might be able to answer some questions.

 

[Joe Friday]

Welcome to WS, Quad.

 

[Dipcheese]

Hi,
I am new to websleuths.. this is the case that has gotten to become a member. I am local to the area and altho, Ive never been in the park, I do know the areas around it. I might be able to answer some questions.

Welcome.

I have been in the Park, numerous times.

 

[Dipcheese]

Like others have said, it does seem odd that a homeless person would do something like this. I can see a homeless person robbing someone, maybe for her camera, but it is difficult to imagine a murder and a homeless person burning her body. Does anybody know if there are that many of these homeless people in the area? I haven't been to Dekalb in about 2 years or so.

You might be mixing up a local homeless person (and Dekalb has plenty of sheltered people that appear homeless) with a transient passing through via rail. Life on the rails presents a whole new defition of rough. Railroad transients live in a much different, often brutal, world.

 

[Joe Friday]

I haven't heard yet if they actually found a skull. Maybe the perp kept it.

If they only found bits and pieces of bones and no skull, that could be why they were unable to identify it as human at the start.

I guess it's hard for me to picture this because I think of Little Caylee and how her bones were so scattered and small but they could identify them.

Adult bones are so much bigger and should be easy to identify. Do they mean that the bones have been incinerated so much they have turned to dust?

BBM

I had once read that when a body is burned many times the skull will explode due to the gases expanding inside the cranium if the victim had not suffered a gunshot wound to the head or blunt force trauma prior to being burned. In the article linked below they say that isn't so.

I was trying to come up with a reason why LE might not have found a skull when they came across Antinette's remains. (If they are her's) But after reading this article I'm back to either the perp crushed the skull into unrecognizable pieces after burning the body or maybe disposing of the head or skull in another location to make it more difficult to ID the body.

Interesting reading for anyone interested what happens when a body is burned. The fatty tissue within the body under the proper conditions is enough to sustain the fire by itself for around seven hours. (**Caution** Somewhat graphic)

http://www.sott.net/articles/show/185067-Body-burners-The-forensics-of-fire

 

[Cubby]

Welcome Newbies!

 

[Soul125]

BBM

I had once read that when a body is burned many times the skull will explode due to the gases expanding inside the cranium if the victim had not suffered a gunshot wound to the head or blunt force trauma prior to being burned. In the article linked below they say that isn't so.

I was trying to come up with a reason why LE might not have found a skull when they came across Antinette's remains. (If they are her's) But after reading this article I'm back to either the perp crushed the skull into unrecognizable pieces after burning the body or maybe disposing of the head or skull in another location to make it more difficult to ID the body.

Interesting reading for anyone interested what happens when a body is burned. The fatty tissue within the body under the proper conditions is enough to sustain the fire by itself for around seven hours. (**Caution** Somewhat graphic)

http://www.sott.net/articles/show/185067-Body-burners-The-forensics-of-fire

Wow, that is truly a horrible thought, but something that is possible. I didn't realize that they didn't find a skull. Or maybe that just didn't feel the need to release that info. I just heard that they found burned remains. But like another poster said, if they did find a skull they would have known if was human remains right away. Got me thinking now.

 

[Dipcheese]

BBM

I was trying to come up with a reason why LE might not have found a skull when they came across Antinette's remains. (If they are her's) But after reading this article I'm back to either the perp crushed the skull into unrecognizable pieces after burning the body or maybe disposing of the head or skull in another location to make it more difficult to ID the body.

http://www.sott.net/articles/show/185067-Body-burners-The-forensics-of-fire

Thanks for the link! I was thinking maybe the perp(s) used the rubber tire method to help with acceleration and masking. It leads me to think of someone not very bright if those are her remains, but experienced enough to know about destroying the body.

 

[dreamweaver]

I agree with some of the earlier posts that there is no mistaking the smell of burning flesh.
There is little to disguise that kind of smell.

I suppose a strong accelerant and very little wind that day might have kept
the smell confined to a small area.


slightly off topic:
When I was growing up, a cow that was pastured next to our house slipped down an embankment into the creek. She had to be put down. But then the owner burned the remains using an old tire and gasoline. The smell was still very distinctive.

 

[Joe Friday]

Wow, that is truly a horrible thought, but something that is possible. I didn't realize that they didn't find a skull. Or maybe that just didn't feel the need to release that info. I just heard that they found burned remains. But like another poster said, if they did find a skull they would have known if was human remains right away. Got me thinking now.

BBM

I don't know if for certain they did not find a skull so please do not come to that conclusion after reading my post. If you read my statement it says "I was trying to come up with a reason why LE might not have found a skull when they came across Antinette's remains." This was in response to watcher9's post about "I haven't heard yet if they actually found a skull. Maybe the perp kept it."

Yes you would certainly think that if a human skull was lying there as we know a human skull should look, LE would have certainly known the remains were that of a human and it wouldn't have taken a week or so before they announce they had found human remains. Which leads me to believe and others to I think speculate that the skull might be missing or at least the skull was not reconcilable as a human skull in the form which we think a human skull should look and that is why it took so long to announce they had found remains of a human.


But then again this is LE and they would look pretty incompetent if they were to announce that they had found human remains only to have to come back a few days later and say something like this "Opp's we made a mistake. We just heard back from the lab and it just so happens that the remains we said were human remains turned out to be that of some sort of dead animal. Sorry everyone for the mix up, the search is back on."

Can you imagine what everyone would be saying if that had happen. Skull or not LE is going to cross their T's and dot their I's.

 

[Woe.be.gone]

Woe-

I needed to get an idea of the proximity of locations and Antinette's possible route too.

Newspapers reported that the remains were found in the park behind the Elks Club. A cross memorial has been put up in the area ( http://bit.ly/9lhHqK ).

I googled the address for the Elks Club (209 S Annie Glidden Rd, DeKalb, IL 60115) and Antinette's dorm, Neptune North, (750 Lucinda Ave., DeKalb, IL 60115) and got this map: http://bit.ly/d87cUg

I should probably catch up reading the new posts before I reply but I thought I read that Toni was last seen at 1st and Franklin streets. I did a search on this thread and those words didn't come up which means I probably read that within a link. I couldn't figure out why she would start out walking east versus directly south but I don't know where the entrances are to the 'park'.

When researching the 'park' it must not be considered a 'park' per se - it's more of a nature area with a disc golf course in the lower (southern) tail of the space. On the DeKalb park map the parks are shaded in green but the borders of Praire Park are not earmarked. It seems like more of a conservation area to me.

The housing areas south of the campus must have been built in the 90's. I visited NIU in the late 90's but may not have paid any attention to the surrounding area.

Is anyone sure of where Toni was seen last? Was she on the west or east side of the park?

 

[Woe.be.gone]

Look how vast the area looks. Elks Lodge is East of Annie Glidden on the edge of the park?

http://maps.google.com/maps?hl=en&i...c=A&ved=0CG8QpQY&sa=X&ei=fpvITLj8F5L0MtT30bMD

Please click on street view to see what I mean below the picture.

 

[italianangel2411]

<mod snip>

I also saw the posting mentioned about sitting and eating her snickers bar and suppose to meet up with her. I find it interesting as well. I wonder if there was a snickers bar found close by.

 

[italianangel2411]

Is there constructon going on currently???
I see there is a liquor store close by, could alcohol be the accelerant?

 

[rodie]

I'm also a new member of websleuth as of this morning. There seems to be more questions/gaps then facts concerning the remains that have been found. I hope bringing in the FBI and using their available manpower and expertise can help solve this quickly or at the very least establish the identity of the remains. Unbelievable that it has been 11 days since the family has been told "maybe it's Toni". Has anyone done an updated "facts as we know them" sort of list from which to brainstorm? Simpler than it sounds...I know.