IN - Amanda Blackburn, 28, pregnant, murdered, Indianapolis, 10 Nov 2015 - #2

[Beachie]

http://www.foxnews.com/us/2015/11/1...nected-to-amanda-blackburn-case/?intcmp=hpbt4
Authorities may have recovered a weapon used in the murder of the pregnant wife of an Indiana pastor last week, police said Tuesday.

Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Lt. Richard Riddle said a resident recovered the weapon in a front yard of a home just blocks away from where Amanda and Davey Blackburn live, according to FOX59. The person took the handgun to an Indianapolis fire station and it was turned over to the police and crime lab technicians are analyzing the gun.

“It certainly is of interest to our detectives to see if that weapon has any connection to any crime in that area,” Riddle said. “But most importantly the Amanda Blackburn case at this point.”

FOX59 reports the gun appeared to be in good condition, which might indicate that it wasn’t sitting for long in the front yard of a home in the 2900 block of West 42nd Street. Riddle said handguns are found every day in Indianapolis, but the timing and the location of the discovery caught the eye of officials working on the Amanda Blackburn case.

“Our detectives are looking at the caliber of the handgun recovered, to see if it does in fact match the caliber of the weapon used in the Amanda Blackburn case,” Riddle said.

<modsnip>

 

[sumbunny]

Just some thoughts here....& questions...
I went and looked at sunrise/sunset times for Indianapolis for Nov 9th...
Sunrise is 7:22...
If the video capture/pictures shown on the street are the suspicious person arriving...*just after 6:10 approx correct?* wouldn't it have been pitch dark still? The latest it could be would be before 8:30 am when DB arrived back home and found Amanda...
So the video capture must use night vision or something similar? or would something like this have to be enhanced by LE when they are examining it? I know I can inverse in Photoshop...like reversing a negative...what's light goes dark and vice versa....I don't know about video surveillance cameras so?
Also....if you check out a view of the street...where their house is situated....it backs onto another little bay/cul de sac...Sunmeadow Circle...
I cruised into Sunmeadow Circle for a look-see...the only thing separating those backyards from the backyards in Sunnyfield Court...are short picket fences or hedge *or so it appears in Aug 2011 streetview*...you can 'see' right thru to the other houses....
I can't understand why...a person who is robbing houses...you would 'think' would not want to be seen or have to hide their face....would take the route right out in the open on the street ...when there are other entrance/exit points that are less visible...?
The only thing I can think of is...they may have still been under the cover of darkness and felt they were 'invisible' to a degree?
This is all so confusing....
Of course everything I say is just MOO....trying to make sense of the 'un' sensible....
I remember far back there had been mention too that a person or vehicle? had been seen a few blocks or a couple streets over? Maybe I'm remembering wrong...but maybe it was that other bay/cul de sac I mentioned earlier...maybe they'd tried burglarizing there first? So maybe that is why they didn't flee out that way? I just don't know but it's all been going thru my head....
As I said....all MOO...& JMOO...

We have infrared security cameras around our house, and yes, it shows up at black and white at night and color during the day. It was still dark

 

[Dushi]

so it seems the fox piece is an opinion piece.
I would like to hear a statement from LE, I know it will come in time
Just impatient

 

[LoriMcA]

We have infrared security cameras around our house, and yes, it shows up at black and white at night and color during the day. It was still dark

Thanks sumbunny! I figured it would still be dark for the most part...as we are here now too in the AM ...ugh...winter! :/ Infrared...that's the word I was looking for....thanks for that...I have no clue how they work or what appears on them!

 

[Beachie]

Why would a criminal throw a handgun into someone's front yard? Whether it is the gun that killed Amanda or not, that is strange, unless the person that had the gun wanted it to be found...

 

[sumbunny]

Thanks sumbunny! I figured it would still be dark for the most part...as we are here now too in the AM ...ugh...winter! :/ Infrared...that's the word I was looking for....thanks for that...I have no clue how they work or what appears on them!

Security cameras have come a long way! If you have a good megapixel camera. (Ours is 12 megapixels)
They take very clear and bright day time pictures, Unfortunately at night they can be slightly blurred.

 

[AnaTeresa]

Why would a criminal throw a handgun into someone's front yard? Whether it is the gun that killed Amanda or not, that is strange, unless the person that had the gun wanted it to be found...

The same person who doesn't think twice about using a victim's debit card - either very arrogant or very stupid.

 

[LoriMcA]

Just for a reference...possible gun....distance would depend on the exact # address in the 2900 of W42nd...fairly close...within 1/2 mile?

 

[MJPeony]

Just some thoughts here....& questions...
I went and looked at sunrise/sunset times for Indianapolis for Nov 9th...
Sunrise is 7:22...
If the video capture/pictures shown on the street are the suspicious person arriving...*just after 6:10 approx correct?* wouldn't it have been pitch dark still? The latest it could be would be before 8:30 am when DB arrived back home and found Amanda...
So the video capture must use night vision or something similar? or would something like this have to be enhanced by LE when they are examining it? I know I can inverse in Photoshop...like reversing a negative...what's light goes dark and vice versa....I don't know about video surveillance cameras so?
Also....if you check out a view of the street...where their house is situated....it backs onto another little bay/cul de sac...Sunmeadow Circle...
I cruised into Sunmeadow Circle for a look-see...the only thing separating those backyards from the backyards in Sunnyfield Court...are short picket fences or hedge *or so it appears in Aug 2011 streetview*...you can 'see' right thru to the other houses....
I can't understand why...a person who is robbing houses...you would 'think' would not want to be seen or have to hide their face....would take the route right out in the open on the street ...when there are other entrance/exit points that are less visible...?
The only thing I can think of is...they may have still been under the cover of darkness and felt they were 'invisible' to a degree?
This is all so confusing....
Of course everything I say is just MOO....trying to make sense of the 'un' sensible....
I remember far back there had been mention too that a person or vehicle? had been seen a few blocks or a couple streets over? Maybe I'm remembering wrong...but maybe it was that other bay/cul de sac I mentioned earlier...maybe they'd tried burglarizing there first? So maybe that is why they didn't flee out that way? I just don't know but it's all been going thru my head....
As I said....all MOO...& JMOO...

Thanks for the sunrise research!

The photo stills of the suspect look like it's about 7:00 "ish-ish" to me... lining up with the given supposed timeline and the sunrise. At least that's MO. Looks like the sun is about to rise. My thoughts are that it's the pic of the perp walking away from the Blackburns at some point after 6:45 (when gunshots were supposedly heard). I cannot IMAGINE the suspect hanging around long after that. I mean, truly. Would make no sense.

As for the gunshots being heard and why didn't the person who heard them call police (can't remember who commented on this, sorry!) - it would have been notable to that neighbor only when prompted by police questions after-the-fact. As in, they likely thought nothing of it at the time. Merely noticed in the back of mind a sound, could have been car back-fire, etc.- and then only after police asked, "Do you remember hearing or seeing anything unusual between 6:00-8:30 on Monday morning?" would they have made notice of that. Which, IMO is why this type of witness/neighbor testimony is highly unreliable. I have no data to support how often witnesses actually remember sounds correctly and timing correctly after-the-fact, but it's just my strong opinion.

For example, if the officer had asked "between the hours of 6:00-8:30?" since the neighbor had not registered in their mind at the time it was a gunshot (i.e. was not concerning to them) could the neighbor truly be able to accurately say it was 6:45 and not 6:15? What about a little after 6:00? Or would the neighbor only remember that it was after they'd started their coffee at 6:00 but before they had brushed their teeth at 7:00? IDK. Just seems unreliable after-the-fact.

 

[T4Tide]

I think the videos (which I have not seen) are pertinent in the fact that the killer very well could have watched her online. For those who have watched them, is Amanda wearing jewelry in them? Expensive clothing or anything else that would appear of resale value to a burglar?

Also, to those who have watched the videos in their entirety, since the videos are about marriage, are their daily routines ever referenced or discussed?

ie: Amanda may say "D gets up and goes to the gym early in the morning and I like to sleep in." Or D may say, "I go to the gym in the mornings and Amanda and W sleep in."

 

[oceanblueeyes]

I think the videos (which I have not seen) are pertinent in the fact that the killer very well could have watched her online. For those who have watched them, is Amanda wearing jewelry in them? Expensive clothing or anything else that would appear of resale value to a burglar?

Also, to those who have watched the videos in their entirety, since the videos are about marriage, are their daily routines ever referenced or discussed?

ie: Amanda may say "D gets up and goes to the gym early in the morning and I like to sleep in." Or D may say, "I go to the gym in the mornings and Amanda and W sleep in."

I don't think that would have to be confirmed by Amanda in a video. I have no doubt LE has checked to see if Davey goes to the gym often and the time he usually goes. The men in my family go to the gym about the same time he did (6-7am) and then goes back home and gets dressed for work.

The truth is though these home invaders are hitting all areas from the extremely poor areas to the middle class/upper middle class to the very wealthy. No class or race is immune.

I wouldn't think Amanda would be the kind to wear a lot of jewelry anyway but I may be wrong.

 

[MJPeony]

I think the videos (which I have not seen) are pertinent in the fact that the killer very well could have watched her online. For those who have watched them, is Amanda wearing jewelry in them? Expensive clothing or anything else that would appear of resale value to a burglar?

Also, to those who have watched the videos in their entirety, since the videos are about marriage, are their daily routines ever referenced or discussed?

ie: Amanda may say "D gets up and goes to the gym early in the morning and I like to sleep in." Or D may say, "I go to the gym in the mornings and Amanda and W sleep in."

In one video Amanda does say that DB gets up early for devotions and she used to sleep in-- than after being inspired by him and essentially feeling lazy (my word, I don't think she used that word)-- she got into the habit of early devotions and now loves it.

So MO is that through DB's videos and sermons and very public persona, much of both DB and AB's lives would be a fairly open book. Also, it was very obvious that they were opening-arms-type people to the community (the ForIndy stuff, playdates for the neighborhoods, etc) and to me, that means they would be much more trusting of people than the average Joe.

All just MOO's.

 

[oceanblueeyes]

Exact quote from Fox News: "The police have a new clue in the murder mystery in the heartland. Investigators found a gun near the home where an Indpls pastor's pregnant wife was fatally shot. That pastor also speaking out for the first time. With more on this case lets bring in attorney and Fox News anchor Greg Jarret. Obviously the gun is a huge clue. They will be able to trace the serial number assuming its not been obliterated, find the history of that weapon, where it came from, find out who had it last. fingerprints, DNA, all of that is going to be important. It could be incriminating of the pastor or exculpating of the pastor. And remember, technology is so sophisticated now you can exactly match the slug to the barrel of the gun, just like finger prints so that will be key. But nobody is thinking that the pastor... well... he... the police basically said he is not a suspect. Yes, that is what they say. They have not named him a suspect or person of interest. But they cannot ignore him, they have to check out his story. Why? Because statistically husbands and boyfriends are the highest percentage of killers of female murder victims. It is 35% according to the Dept of Justice. That is very high. Law enforcement knows this. And the problem here for the pastor is, they can't pin down when she was shot, because she survived, languished, went to the hospital and later died. So it is all together possible, theoretically, that she was shot before the pastor left the house at 6 AM and went off to the gym.
But what about this guy who was seen in the neighborhood, they even have surveillance pictures of this small in stature guy in the hoodie, walking around who is supposed to be a suspect. He is supposed to be a suspect, but there is a problem with inconsistencies there. He broke into another home. Broke in and stole televisions and put them into a dark SUV and drove off. There is no surveillance of the SUV returning. <modsnip>

I watched the entire opinion piece. I think Fox needs to get the latest update before they speak out. Didn't LE say now the gun found has nothing whatsoever to do with the Amanda Blackburn case???

Greg is an old Prosecutor so of course he is going to put a suspicious spin on it. I really like it a lot more when Fox has both a Prosecutor and a Defense attorney so that it is more fair and balanced.

IMO

 

[T4Tide]

I don't think that would have to be confirmed by Amanda in a video. I have no doubt LE has checked to see if Davey goes to the gym often and the time he usually goes. The men in my family go to the gym about the same time he did (6-7am) and then goes back home and gets dressed for work.

The truth is though these home invaders are hitting all areas from the extremely poor areas to the middle class/upper middle class to the very wealthy. No class or race is immune.

I wouldn't think Amanda would be the kind to wear a lot of jewelry anyway but I may be wrong.

I wasn't talking a lick about alibies. I was talking about the perp watching the videos and knowing when they would or would not be home.

 

[Dushi]

If she was in the habit of getting up early , I wonder if the lights were on when Davey left.

I understand what is being said about no one being immune from this kind of crime, but wouldn't most criminals choose an empty house over an occupied one?

I mean, isn't the idea to get in, get as much as you can and get out?

 

[T4Tide]

I don't pretend to know how criminals think, but there's got to be reason why....if these two break ins are related for the purpose of burglary, that the perp chose one house over another. They aren't adjacent, right? What made him skip the house(s) in between?

I'd probably look for a well manicured lawn, nice vehicles? I'd probably skip rum down, not very well cared for houses. Or ones with big windows in the front.

 

[Dushi]

Would there be blood clearly evident on the shooters clothing?
Or only if shot at close range?

 

[Dushi]

evidence left at crime scene

Fingerprints?
Footprints?

 

[LINEViBE]

I don't even think the evidence supports that notion though. Not one word has been said or inferred by LE indicating they think he is a suspect in this case. In fact the opposite has been said and LE never clears someone who later on has any involvement in a case. It just doesn't happen and it will not happen in this case either.

That is like pretending things like home invasion murders don't happen when they do.

I have never seen a hired hit man go two doors down, invade it first, steal possessions, and there are cameras inside of that home from what we have been told, and then goes on to do a hit on someone. Also hit men don't let several neighbors see them in the area nor do they let the neighbors see the stolen black suv that was involved.

I have watched the videos and as a Christian all of my life I don't find anything wrong with them at all. She may have been shy but that doesn't mean she was unhappy. I think she was very happy with her church family, hubby, Weston and they were both happy to be expecting their second baby.

Not one word has come out since Amanda was killed that has even remotely suggests this couple was anything other than a very close couple who worked together to spread the Gospel.

There always will be those who cast suspicion on family members of loved ones who have been murdered. Sadly, it happens more frequently than not.

WS moderators have had to control it here for many years now, rightly so. Because in the end in so many of those cases the victims' family members were totally innocent people while others were determined to make them guilty before the evidence was even known.

Bessie has made it very clear Davey is not to be treated in any other way other than a grieving husband who has lost his wife to a murderer. Believe me the Moderators have seen all of this playout before many times and that is why they stay on top of it like they do. They have a very valid reason for doing so. They are not only protecting WS, as they should. but they are also protecting us who post

IMO

Did I miss something? Was the dark-colored SUV reported stolen?

Also, has it dawned on anyone that there was a black SUV parked in the Blackburn's driveway recently (see link)?

http://www.wthr.com/story/30542102/...found-15-blocks-away-from-fatal-home-invasion

 

[oceanblueeyes]

Why would a criminal throw a handgun into someone's front yard? Whether it is the gun that killed Amanda or not, that is strange, unless the person that had the gun wanted it to be found...

Its just impossible to figure out why violent people do the things they do and in the way they do them. I don't think this gun has anything to do with this case but there have been murder suspects in the past who did throw away their weapon very quickly close to the murder scene. They have been known to throw it under a bush or other growth in someone's yard and its concealed until LE finds it there.

The only thing I can figure out why some do this is they may think someone heard the gunshots and if the police comes fast to the scene then they wont be found with the weapon on them.

That usually happens in kidnapping/murder cases as well. The suspect will do the deeds and quickly discard the body of the victim. There again, it must be because they don't want to be caught with the body inside of the trunk or inside the car if there is a police roadblock quickly put up.

That's all I can figure out. lol And some are just damn dumb as a box of rocks. Lets hope this one falls in that category.