GUILTY IL - Willow Long, 7, Watson, 8 Sept 2013 - #4

[windstorm]

I haven't been able to keep up the last two days and now there's a timeout? Maybe I'll get caught up now.

 

[seguek9]

Does it really work like this? Are we really in time out? If so, this is the best forum ever. (I have nothing to add to the discussion. I'm camping with my kids and haven't caught up. Now everyone else is sleeping and I came back to a timeout!)

Oh hello no...if you were in a time out you would know it!! Lol...just a gentle reminder to be cautious

Have fun camping!

 

[Brightbird]

Just personally, I don't expect the mother to make any public appearances. She doesn't owe anyone anything. She's suffering unimaginable pain as it is. Ok, she stuffed up big time with the lie and I'll bet she leaves Watson for good. But how is going public supposed to help? If she wants to hide under the bed covers I'm ok with that. I don't think CD knew the fate of her daughter when the town was out looking for her. Her intentions in lying were naïve imo.

And I don't really understand people's anger at being deceived. Well, except towards JD who knew the truth. In the end, Willow was found and brought home sooner because of the massive effort. Everyone should still be proud of helping bring justice to Willow. That's a pretty remarkable community achievement in itself.

 

[windstorm]

Just personally, I don't expect the mother to make any public appearances. She doesn't owe anyone anything. She's suffering unimaginable pain as it is. Ok, she stuffed up big time with the lie and I'll bet she leaves Watson for good. But how is going public supposed to help? If she wants to hide under the bed covers I'm ok with that. I don't think CD knew the fate of her daughter when the town was out looking for her. Her intentions in lying were naïve imo.

And I don't really understand people's anger at being deceived. Well, except towards JD who knew the truth. In the end, Willow was found and brought home sooner because of the massive effort. Everyone should still be proud of helping bring justice to Willow. That's a pretty remarkable community achievement in itself.

I respectfully disagree with some of this. It is very possible that she was naive with her intentions. However, if she had been honest with LE in that she was gone all night and Willow had been with her brother since Saturday evening, I think they would have questioned him immediately. It's always possible that somebody seen something Saturday evening (him leaving the house, his car on a specific road at a specific time), but disregarded it because Willow wasn't supposed to be missing until Sunday morning. If the truth had been told right away, it may have saved a whole lot of time, effort and money in searching. It would not have saved Willow's life at that point, but it sure could have possibly narrowed down the search effort and possibly directed the investigation in the right direction a lot sooner.

 

[AngelWings444]

I can only speculate that mother and grandparents were at odds over mother's lax attitude toward parenting. (Think Casey Anthony) The grandmother says CD had no plans to go out, which makes me think that was a promise she made to her parents. But, perhaps friends called to invite her out, and when her brother "offered" to watch the kids, she reneged on her promise.

Nothing suggests that she was not supposed to leave the children with the brother, specifically. If my scenario is correct, she was supposed to behave like a responsible parent, and stay home and take care of her children, herself.

RBBM: I am getting the Casey and Cindy Anthony vibe. Mom has lied from the start and the story keeps changing. I don't like it one bit. Again, if you have nothing to hide, you tell the truth. Now, Grandma is being used as the Mom's mouthpiece. Not liking it one bit. :moo:

 

[human]

I agree. While I do wish that all missing would get the same kind of attention I know that is not possible. I do think LE and media should work together and get missing person alerts out there so we know who is missing though. An Amber Alert would not have saved Willow. Have a ticker or something on the screen during evening or night news that alerts to those who are known to be missing in the area would be great.

I get different things on my FB from friends about missing kids. There is never any follow up so I have quit paying attention to them. I feel badly about it, but I search around the net and find no info.

I don't know what the answer is. I would totally freak out if my child was missing and since no car was noticed, nothing could be done. Ugh

 

[IHAVENOCLUE]

​

Excuse me, Miss Bessie...

I have to go to the bathroom....

lease:

 

[CarrieBean]

I have nothing to wear to a funeral. So I just don't go.
If one was occurring that I had no choice but to attend, I would have to go shopping first. :twocents:

Been following this case for a couple of days, not signed in, but missed the last few hours.

Not sure what this comment refers to but I can relate. My wardrobe consists of casual wear. I don't need to dress up for work and I'm not much of a diva, so when my Son passed away unexpectedly I felt obligated to go find something nice to wear for his service. Obligated to my Son , even though he was gone. Just over a week later was my younger Boy's Birthday. I went shopping again (and broke down again)...pretty much bought the first thing my friend said was nice.

I'm letting my first impressions of Mom, GPA, and GMA go until I hear more because I know how losing your child unexpectedly can mess with your mind (way different situation than mine). I, who cries for everything, didn't cry at my Son's funeral. It didn't feel real to me at the time. I was sure it was a bad dream I would wake up from. Shock maybe, I don't know. I always expected some sort of familiar reaction from people before, but whoever else was expecting it from me certainly didn't get it.

Losing a child unexpectedly can seriously mess with your mind. In the past I would have questioned some reactions from Willow's family, but not now...not yet, anyway.

 

[Brightbird]

I respectfully disagree with some of this. It is very possible that she was naive with her intentions. However, if she had been honest with LE in that she was gone all night and Willow had been with her brother since Saturday evening, I think they would have questioned him immediately. It's always possible that somebody seen something Saturday evening (him leaving the house, his car on a specific road at a specific time), but disregarded it because Willow wasn't supposed to be missing until Sunday morning. If the truth had been told right away, it may have saved a whole lot of time, effort and money in searching. It would not have saved Willow's life at that point, but it sure could have possibly narrowed down the search effort and possibly directed the investigation in the right direction a lot sooner.

True. Ideally, she would have told the truth and JD would have confessed under the pressure from LE and taken them to Willow. But what if she did tell her side truthfully and JD still pulled off a story about Willow walking off? The search would have happened anyway. Or what if he confessed to the murder but refused to take them to the body and Willow wasn't found for months and evidence was lost? I suppose what I'm saying is that the world works in mysterious ways and the chain of events that occurred still led to a satisfactory outcome. Willow was found in less than 48 hours. I think the county will recover from the expense in time. So many what ifs to ponder.

 

[LaborDayRN]

Been following this case for a couple of days, not signed in, but missed the last few hours.

Not sure what this comment refers to but I can relate. My wardrobe consists of casual wear. I don't need to dress up for work and I'm not much of a diva, so when my Son passed away unexpectedly I felt obligated to go find something nice to wear for his service. Obligated to my Son , even though he was gone. Just over a week later was my younger Boy's Birthday. I went shopping again (and broke down again)...pretty much bought the first thing my friend said was nice.

I'm letting my first impressions of Mom, GPA, and GMA go until I hear more because I know how losing your child unexpectedly can mess with your mind (way different situation than mine). I, who cries for everything, didn't cry at my Son's funeral. It didn't feel real to me at the time. I was sure it was a bad dream I would wake up from. Shock maybe, I don't know. I always expected some sort of familiar reaction from people before, but whoever else was expecting it from me certainly didn't get it.

Losing a child unexpectedly can seriously mess with your mind. In the past I would have questioned some reactions from Willow's family, but not now...not yet, anyway.

CarrieBean, I'm so very sorry for your loss. I can't imagine the pain of losing a child. Hugs to you.

 

[CarrieBean]

CarrieBean, I'm so very sorry for your loss. I can't imagine the pain of losing a child. Hugs to you.

Thank you.

I heard about Willow somewhere online and it caught me, so of course I came here. Been lurking since Monday. There is occasionally a case that really grabs me. I think this is the first since Shaniya Davis.

 

[AnjL]

Oh-oh, how long do we have to sit in the chair?

We could maybe discuss what is appropriate funeral wear. In the movies there's always a woman with a big hat and a veil. I don't know if I could pull that off. I'm petite and it might look like a sombrero.

As it turns out, I have to go to a funeral tomorrow (wait...today! It's after midnight) for a good friend who just passed. Actually he passed the same day Willows body was found We knew his time was coming soon, so I had my black outfit all planned....was told earlier today, his only request was NO BLACK! Eeek! I will be wearing purple to his service. To honor his request, and in memory of Willow. And a big hat with a purple band

ETA and now flip flops too thanks to all of your advice! :lol:

 

[RT51]

I can not be critical of no tears from gma. I am not a crier myself. I did not cry at my mother's, or father's funeral. It's not because I don't care, or hurt, it's just me.

I think sometimes we observe and associate how we personally would deal with a crisis, and then become critical if the person does not react emotionally like we would.

We've all seen this on this site many times: "my child ..." or "I would..." . While we all are different, including how we live our lives, we should also be more tolerant of other people, (victims included) reactions to a crisis.

JMO

 

[CarrieBean]

I can not be critical of no tears from gma. I am not a crier myself. I did not cry at my mother's, or father's funeral. It's not because I don't care, or hurt, it's just me.

I think sometimes we observe and associate how we personally would deal with a crisis, and then become critical if the person does not react emotionally like we would.

We've all seen this on this site many times: "my child ..." or "I would..." . While we all are different, including how we live our lives, we should also be more tolerant of other people, (victims included) reactions to a crisis.

JMO

Yes, thank you. You always think you might have a total breakdown if you lose someone you love...then it happens.

Gotta say, I watched the interview with GPA and just thought he was distraught. Watched the one with GMA and think the same, but also think she has been reading online too much and concerned about peoples opinions too much. I think it would be best for them all to stay away from social media and tv and deal with everything they need to. They don't need to worry about what people are thinking. The public...us...Shouldn't matter to them. They need to cooperate with LE. Hopefully they all have the sense to realize what they need to do.

 

[Curious Me]

As it turns out, I have to go to a funeral tomorrow (wait...today! It's after midnight) for a good friend who just passed. Actually he passed the same day Willows body was found We knew his time was coming soon, so I had my black outfit all planned....was told earlier today, his only request was NO BLACK! Eeek! I will be wearing purple to his service. To honor his request, and in memory of Willow. And a big hat with a purple band

ETA and now flip flops too thanks to all of your advice! :lol:

I'm sorry for your loss, AnjL. See, there's the big hat. No Black! Your friend must have loved color or was a colorful person. I think what you're going to wear is perfect and includes purple for Willow. If I was going to look down on my own funeral I'd much rather see lots of colors now that I think about it. I'm a painter, afterall.

 

[CarrieBean]

I'm sorry for your loss, AnjL. See, there's the big hat. No Black! Your friend must have loved color or was a colorful person. I think what you're going to wear is perfect and includes purple for Willow. If I was going to look down on my own funeral I'd much rather see lots of colors now that I think about it. I'm a painter, afterall.

AnjL, was typing something similar and my 'puter restarted.

If your friend didn't want black...wear whatever colour you're comfortable in. So sorry you lost your friend. May he rest in Peace.

 

[CarrieBean]

Personally, the whys will never be answered in a lot of these cases for me. All I can hope for is that questions will be answered for the family. And I hope for justice for Willow.

Good night all

 

[claudicici]

:waitasec: I have not read much about Willow.I have a niece who reminds me of her so this is one of the cases that absolutely breaks my heart.
I have a weird feeling about this one though.
The confession is outrageous.None of it seems to correlate with the actual evidence?
....and mom lies and changes stories....

 

[TravelingBug]

I am thinking he had this little kill kit prepared. The bags, tape etc. Maybe he was just planning on killing someone and the opportunity was there that night.

Though it'd seem the 3 year old would have been easier than Willow if it were him "just" wanting to kill someone.

Yes, then he'd have to worry about her possibly talking - but if he took Willow from the tub or the bed (two places she may not have been wearing her glasses) then you'd think N would also have been sleeping, so he could have taken him with far less effort since she'd not know if she were also asleep (until morning - but then, according to the initial reports, that's when N brought Willow being gone up anyway).

I wonder if he was counting on N not being able to convey much?

In some ways this reminds me of Leila Fowler's case.

 

[TravelingBug]

I wore flip flops. - I know but 6 hours in heels ( at the viewing) when you haven't worn them in 10 years causes really painful swollen feet!
I did apologize to my family!

Sent from my SGH-T679 using Tapatalk 2

My brother pretty much lives in flips.

At a family member's funeral a few years ago one of my best friends met him for the first time and commented to me (within his earshot) that he looked far different than in pictures and that she couldn't believe he was wearing flips to a funeral (in a church - for an immediate family member) and that she couldn't see how the two of us had any genetic link.

He turned to her and said "Oh, these are my dressy/special occasion flips." LOL