IN - Amanda Blackburn, 28, pregnant, murdered, Indianapolis, 10 Nov 2015 - #3

[DexterMorgan]

Just yesterday I had someone come to the door wearing regular street clothes and a mesh trucker style had with some kind of construction/renovation company name on the hat. He seemed to be asking if our house need any kinds of repairs, roof , siding etc. Our dogs were at front window going nuts and I told him now was not a good time, but if he had a card i'd take that. He had no card, he had no clipboard to write anything down (which when others doing this have come by for this kind of thing, have had), and he was walking on foot through the neighborhood.

He ended up just pointing to the name of the company on the hat, which was like four big words, one construction I think, haha. Then he just left and headed down the road.

Also should note that at the time, no car was in the driveway, but in the garage. middle of the day, early afternoon i think.

well, thanks for making me even more suspicious of anyone coming door to door.

Lol. Just yesterday a jehova witness and I think her grown daughter knocked at my door.

But they realized that I was a Websleuth member fairly quickly. Lol

Trust no one and only peek out and tell them that you are not interested.

I'm sure they understood my concerns without me needing to tell them why I will not dive in to opening my door even if I knew their intent. Jmo

 

[Ontario Mom]

Converse's behavior during that presser drove me crazy. Even after he spoke, when a subsequent guy was speaking, Converse was shaking, jerking around and looked like he was going to have a breakdown. I was worried that he was having a heart attack or something. It certainly did not convey confidence, and I keep wondering whether he's got his act together.

I can't think of a reason why he would be so freaked out. But showing the dog photo....awkward! Perhaps there was an underlying reason for showing it. Idk, it's all very strange, everything about this case is strange.

Showing the dog pic and relaying how kind the dog was, seemed to me his way of injecting a little sanity into a scene that was nothing close to sane.

 

[LINEViBE]

What is the reason I wonder for LE not choosing to confirm whether or not Amanda Blackburn was raped/sexually assaulted?

In what way could keeping that to their chest possibly help their investigation?

They've already mentioned that the robberies are connected.

Perhaps LE is currently unable to confirm that it was "Assault" that caused the sex wounds found on Amanda.

 

[Ontario Mom]

Thank you for sharing. With all due respect to your friends and their experiences in LE, I can honestly say that I've talked to several homicide detectives who have become numb to the graphic violence they see day in and day out. There are going to be stories supporting both sides of this theory. I want to know what Converse said when the audio was scrambled. Something isn't adding up and it starts with the timeline. The current timeline has holes and gaps....too many, in fact.

Yes, that's what they say, and they believe they have. Until they realize they haven't, and their performance suffers (relationships, marriages, etc.) as a direct result. That's all I'm saying.

 

[bluesneakers]

Thank you for sharing. With all due respect to your friends and their experiences in LE, I can honestly say that I've talked to several homicide detectives who have become numb to the graphic violence they see day in and day out. There are going to be stories supporting both sides of this theory. I want to know what Converse said when the audio was scrambled. Something isn't adding up and it starts with the timeline. The current timeline has holes and gaps....too many, in fact.

Did you search for any other videos of him? His demeanor is similar in every one I found. I can see where maybe he's more nervous or jittery in the press conference about Amanda, but I think you might be reading too much into it. It appears that's just how he is. Maybe he gets rattled when he's being interviewed or maybe he's just a nervous, twitchy kind of guy, but he's been doing this job for years. I assume that's because he's reliable and does it well.

Here are two more, but there are more out there, of course.

http://www.theindychannel.com/news/local-news/victims-godmother-raises-money-for-headstone

http://www.theindychannel.com/news/teen-charged-with-murder-has-history-of-high-profile-crimes

 

[Hippiemomof5]

I live in a very small town (population 1,000) and I do teach my children not to open the door for strangers but we've never had anyone come to the door selling anything. We have recently had a stretch of what I'd consider odd strangers knocking but nothing nefarious.

Someone knocked and asked if the dodge Daytona in our driveway was for sale. It actually was even though it wasn't marked. So my dad (who lives next door) showed him the car, he ended up selling it to someone else though.

A young lady was very well dressed, came asking if someone could help her carry furniture that she just bought from an estate sale across the street, using the truck in our driveway. It was a Sunday afternoon and I could see the sale from my front door. We did not help her because it seemed quite odd. I actually felt bad about not being able to help her though.

And just last week someone came to my door, and said they'd seen the week of Halloween, we had a giant Tardis (from dr who) on our front porch. My mom painted a refrigerator box as the tardis and my dad sat next to it dressed as the eleventh doctor to hand out candy. The woman said she had a bunch of dr who games and a few other board games she wanted to give away and thought we must be big fans and we'd like them.

 

[bluesneakers]

Last time I saw a stranger ringing doorbells, I told both of my kids to be quiet when ours rang and the dog didn't even bark. Doh!

Sent from my SM-G920V using Tapatalk

Good dog!

I do this all the time but there's a big window on my front door, so if the person sees me I feel obligated to answer. I'm working up the courage to not answer even if the person is looking right at me.

 

[LINEViBE]

Did you search for any other videos of him? His demeanor is similar in every one I found. I can see where maybe he's more nervous or jittery in the press conference about Amanda, but I think you might be reading too much into it. It appears that's just how he is. Maybe he gets rattled when he's being interviewed or maybe he's just a nervous, twitchy kind of guy, but he's been doing this job for years. I assume that's because he's reliable and does it well.

Here are two more, but there are more out there, of course.

http://www.theindychannel.com/news/local-news/victims-godmother-raises-money-for-headstone

http://www.theindychannel.com/news/teen-charged-with-murder-has-history-of-high-profile-crimes

You keep showing me videos of him acting far more confident, collected, and prepared than he was in the presser. Are you sure that it's me who is "reading too much into it"? :fence:

I'm firm on MO regarding Converse's behavior in the presser. What he's done in other cases isn't my concern. As another poster said earlier, I'm looking forward to seeing more of Captain Converse in this case!

 

[Ontario Mom]

What is the reason I wonder for LE not choosing to confirm whether or not Amanda Blackburn was raped/sexually assaulted? In what way could keeping that to their chest possibly help their investigation? They've already mentioned that the robberies are connected.

As delicately as I know how...

It is entirely possible the "evidence" they thought they saw that pointed to some kind of assault was disregarded after an interview with the husband. I will leave it at that.

 

[MaxManning]

I live in a very small town (population 1,000) and I do teach my children not to open the door for strangers but we've never had anyone come to the door selling anything. We have recently had a stretch of what I'd consider odd strangers knocking but nothing nefarious.

Someone knocked and asked if the dodge Daytona in our driveway was for sale. It actually was even though it wasn't marked. So my dad (who lives next door) showed him the car, he ended up selling it to someone else though.

A young lady was very well dressed, came asking if someone could help her carry furniture that she just bought from an estate sale across the street, using the truck in our driveway. It was a Sunday afternoon and I could see the sale from my front door. We did not help her because it seemed quite odd. I actually felt bad about not being able to help her though.

And just last week someone came to my door, and said they'd seen the week of Halloween, we had a giant Tardis (from dr who) on our front porch. My mom painted a refrigerator box as the tardis and my dad sat next to it dressed as the eleventh doctor to hand out candy. The woman said she had a bunch of dr who games and a few other board games she wanted to give away and thought we must be big fans and we'd like them.

I would totally trust the last one.

 

[Hippiemomof5]

I would totally trust the last one.

We did! We've been enjoying our new games too! lol

 

[LINEViBE]

Here's a story about one person whom I don't believe killed Amanda Blackburn; Mr. Jalen E. Watson.

 

[Too Curious]

He seems like he's all over the place but I went looking for other video of him and I think that's just how he is.

This is from February. It's just an interview, not a press conference, but he still seems nervous and jittery.

http://wishtv.com/2015/02/13/grant-aims-to-help-impd-solve-cold-cases/

Ahhh. Poor guy may just need to switch to decaf in general. He's likeable, I don't mean to put him down.

 

[Cardinal47]

In regards to the dog:
During the intro to the press conference, Craig Converse with IMPD showed a picture of the dog and mentioned how much of a comfort the dog was to him and his men - she came out of the bedroom and gave them a bunch of licks and they took turns playing with her.
It can be viewed here:
http://www.wthr.com/clip/12000406/impd-discusses-blackburn-case

View attachment 84703

Was there just the one press conference and this was it? Looks a little different is why I am wondering. TIA

 

[lawstudent]

Yeah, I never get the hype on dogs in these cases, with a few exceptions where a dog's behavior is extremely noteworthy.

My dog is always on guard, but is not a big barker. Occasionally she will hear something like a coyote howl or whatever and go on a dramatic howling/barking fit. No one ever complains, as much as we try to shush her. She has different barks and we know when she actually sees another animal and becomes alarmed - then we rush out. But no one else does - the neighbors don't know her barks and are used to her random fits. She doesn't bark when people arrive or ring the bell - she gets excited and runs to the door, but is not territorial. She is much more vocal about the presence of a squirrel or something new a neighbor puts in his/her yard.

She's very smart, and has become aware that if a random person approaches our home and we do not appear to know that or welcome that person, she should issue a unique alarmed bark. But she doesn't attack or anything, and people not in my immediate family would never react. If she knew the person, there would be no reaction, even if they were violent I think. She'd be scared and confused at that point. And she's familiar with landscaping and snowplow equipment so when those people come, even though they vary, she has zero reaction. Not all dogs bark their heads off at strangers/someone in the house etc. And many bark for other reasons such that it is not alarming when they do.

 

[Cardinal47]

The perps across town, whether the same group of perps or not, robbed the home while the woman (and her daughters) were upstairs sleeping. Whether they knew or not, it doesn't matter, it goes to show that robbers don't always care if the house is empty.

http://fox59.com/2015/11/11/surveillance-photos-show-burglars-breaking-into-northeast-side-home-2/

While Searsbrook and her daughters slept, a nightmare was unfolding in the family room.

“We didn’t hear anything. I just really think it could have been different if my kids or me had woken up,”said Searsbrook.

But that one was different. They didn't rape and murder the women. They robbed them and left.

This killing of Amanda was mean and ugly and brutal. That poor woman.

 

[Cardinal47]

I am really confused. What was stolen a debit card or credit card?

Debit cards require security numbers be entered but lots of people don't even look at the person using a credit card. (think Casey Anthony at Target)

From the beginning I thought it was a debit card the killer TRIED TO USE. But since then it almost seems he did in fact use it?

Anybody know for sure about the card?

 

[Ontario Mom]

I'm not sure about US debit cards but I just had to replace mine here in Ontario (because the chip/stripe were both acting up from time to time) and once I activated the new one, all I have to do is tap and go with the chip. No PIN required. I have a Discover card (newly replaced also) that is exactly the same - and that's a US issued credit card.

 

[bluesneakers]

I am really confused. What was stolen a debit card or credit card?

Debit cards require security numbers be entered but lots of people don't even look at the person using a credit card. (think Casey Anthony at Target)

From the beginning I thought it was a debit card the killer TRIED TO USE. But since then it almost seems he did in fact use it?

Anybody know for sure about the card?

I posted this in an earlier thread:

Police believe the murder came after a second burglary in the northwest Indianapolis subdivision. Eyewitness News has learned someone used one of the 28-year-old mother's bank cards at a gas station at W. 71st Street and Michigan Road. There is also surveillance video from an ATM of someone using Amanda's bank card.

I'm assuming they used the card at a gas station and didn't need a PIN and they just swiped it at the pump. But at the ATM they would definitely need the PIN to get cash. So dumb to even try! I don't know if bank card refers to credit or debit card.

 

[bluesneakers]

I'm not sure about US debit cards but I just had to replace mine here in Ontario (because the chip/stripe were both acting up from time to time) and once I activated the new one, all I have to do is tap and go with the chip. No PIN required. I have a Discover card (newly replaced also) that is exactly the same - and that's a US issued credit card.

Chips still aren't widely used in the US afaik. I just got a new Visa with a chip for the first time but my other cards are still chipless.