Welcome to WS, EOA. You seem to have some well thought out posts, please allow me to dive in
Have read many to most of the threads but have not posted until now.
Wanted to mention a few items that I'm not sure have been vetted, but will post some separately to keep posting length short.
1) the basketball game that JW was supposedly at home watching during the evening, and the same game it was reported (though suspicious) that LS later went to watch with DR over at JR's.
-- the only game at any level played this June 2nd night was Game 2 of the NBA playoffs Dallas vs Miami. Per numerous MSM outlets the game was scheduled for a 9PM eastern-time start. (Bloomington is on eastern time though parts elsewhere of Indiana are on central time). Per basketball-reference.com, this game lasted 2 hrs 38 minutes, meaning, conservatively, it should've been completed by 11:45 eastern time even if starting as late as 9:07.
With ya so far, the above should be considered inarguable.
It has been reported in MSM and posted in numerous threads that boyfriend JW planned to get together with LS after the game, but that LS never returned calls/texts.
Often this non-contact was tied into LS leaving her phone back at the bar. However the phone was with LS until likely 1:__? if not 2:__?AM, thus the timeline of LS's whereabouts compared to the game-time ending refutes the lost/forgotten phone as being the sole reason LS & JW didn't connect that evening.
Agree that it was reported via HT that they JW and LS had plans to get together after the game, but I have not seen that she didn't return calls/texts, unless you are referring to the next morning.
HT has said LS was with her until 12:30 AM which would've been 45 min-1 hour after the game ended (& could've then been contacted post-game), then LS supposedly went over to JR's from 12:30 until awhile later (again could've then been contacted post-game), lastly from LS/CR's arrival at bar until phone was separated, again contact could've been made.
Agree, contact
could have been made, but again, I don't know that we've heard it was attempted. This is something LE would surely be aware of from LS phone records.
Secondly, HT's reported comments that LS went with DR over to JR's at 12:30 to watch "the basketball game" are suspect. Again, this had to be the same game and that game had already finished well earlier. While they theoretically could've watched some taped-delayed version, there's no explanation of what any of them were doing from 9PM to 11:45 PM that would've prevented them watching the game live.
I thought this was suspect at first too, but the more I thought about, I realized that my friends make this kind of reference all the time. Lets say HT talks to JR earlier at like 830 and he says you and LS should come over, we're gonna watch the game. HT will chat with LS and let her know JR and those guys are watching the game at his place later. If it comes out later that LS went over there, its not a jump for HT to say she went over there to hang out/watch the game, even if she has no idea if thats true or not.
Finally, JW is said to have been watching the game, then unsuccessfully trying to get hold of LS, before going to bed at 2:30 AM. This account leaves close to 3 hrs unaccounted for between game-time ending and bed-time.
Again, I haven't seen this part about him trying to get ahold of her before bed. Yes, there is a gap between the game ending and him going to bed, but as has been mentioned he seemingly does at least have a roommate that is vouching for him during that time.
Trying to think through the mechanics of how this altercation involving CR /ZO actually occurred.
My assumption here is based on the timeline of CR/LS being on video as entering Smallwood at 2:30AM and being on video as exiting Smallwood at 2:42 AM as is posted on this site's maps per page 1 of each thread. It also assumes what I believe to be reported that the confrontation happened on/at/near the Smallwood 5th floor elevator lobby.
--Assuming it took CR/LS 2-3 minutes from entering front door, walking to elevator to hit button, perhaps waiting for elevator, rising 5 floors, . . . . plus another 2-3 minutes of same actions upon return, that only leaves perhaps 6-7 minutes for actual altercation.
--Was ZO/friends already waiting at 5th floor lobby for CR/LS to get off the elevator? If so, how did ZO/friends know CR/LS were coming back there and soon enough to beat them to that spot . . . .unless ZO/friends were already at apartment (with HT as a wild guess??) LE must have Smallwood video of when ZO/friends entered Smallwood themselves and what points they were on camera throughout the building at various times.
--How did ZO/friends actually get up to the 5th floor? It's been posted that a resident card code was needed to activate the elevator upward. Was someone in ZO's party a Smallwood resident? IF ZO's party somehow knew CR/LS was coming to Smallwood, they could've had this quick altercation in the main floor lobby and made a much easier/faster "getaway" than on 5th floor. And why exactly did the altercation occur here inside at Smallwood in the first place and not outside? Would they not have preferred this "fight" to occur in the dark/outside as opposed to light/inside, & where no cameras were? Unless the altercation wasn't exactly pre-meditated but more stumbled upon via 5th floor elevator encounter.
--Has LS's apartment been confirmed to be on the 5th floor? Which floor did DR live on? IF both lived on the 5th floor, could it be assumed that CR/LS were returning to her apartment and not DR's? Would LS's apartment have been empty at 2:35? (where was HT at this time?) Was DR's apartment occupied only by DR at that 2:35-ish time?
--How and when did ZO's party exit Smallwood? Presumedly they didn't all share an elevator down with CR/LS. If CR/LS went down the elevator first and headed out the door, it would again have required ZO's party to have known where CR/LS were headed, and passed them or beat them to the spot via an alternate route (on cameras?) to have possibly met them again near the alley/gravel lot less than 10 minutes later if indeed that happened. If ZO's party went down the elevator first and left the building first, they could only have known where CR/LS were going if they lurked outside Smallwood and followed them to alley/gravel lot. Again LE should have Smallwood video confirming the correct sequence.
--Did no other resident on the 5th floor hear anything, or peek their head out of their door, or call for security at this hour? Surely someone was aroused from sleeping or already awake and heard raised voices, punch(es) thrown, bodies scuffling, etc. Even in this environment of a college town, this type of event at 2:35 AM would surely have to be unusual.
I will say I have to keep reminding myself that all of these events occurred so late in the evening (entirely in the morning actually) and all while dark, and all so compressed together in terms of time. For some reason I keep picturing the evening beginning while still dusk, and events happening over a much wider timeframe which tends to give a different perspective.
Easy stuff first, yes LS lived on 5th floor, DR apt is unknown.
As to the lead up to the fight, it's my theory and I think there has been a little support given toward this in the MSM, is that ZO and crew simply didn't like how CR appeared to be treating LS. Not that they recognized her, or knew her bf or anything, just that something CR did appeared offensive to them (aka most every intoxicated bar fight ever). It wouldn't shock me at all if they actually rode the elevator up to the 5th floor with LS/CR in the first place and perhaps overheard him saying something to her in the elevator. Maybe ZO destination wasn't even the 5th floor, but they got off there to continue altercation that started in elevator. As to how ZO party exited Smallwood, what if they just continued on to their original destination
in Smallwood. I'll have to disagree that this behavior would be unusual for that hour at Smallwood, and even if it was, there is another doorway before you get to the actual 5th floor apartments and it would be a lot emptier due to summer.
To be fair, as you may have concluded from above, I think the entire altercation to be a red herring for whatever happened to LS, thought admittedly without it, her night may have ended well.
Thought I would mention another thing which may be totally unrelated to the LS case, but you never know -- it at least gives background as to how I became more intrigued.
The Indiana High School state boys track meet was held at IU in Bloomington on Friday June 3rd. The meet began mid-afternoon and finished up early evening. The announced attendance was approximately 5000 people, and would've included many out-of-towners from all over Indiana. Some from the farther points away in the state would most certainly have arrived the night before (Thurs June 2nd) making the hotels near campus a bit more occupied than most Thursday nights in June would've been. There would've been a significant amount of out-of-area license plates leaving Bloomington the evening of June 3rd which is before the search really got going. If by chance a body was held for a few hours then transported out-of-town by car near the time the track meet was ending there surely would've been a steady stream of traffic from campus out to Hwy 37.
Even though probably unrelated, this is good info to have.
Also wanted to bring up the wardrobe.
Going to snip some here.
Almost certainly she is carrying a jacket in her left hand. Interesting.
Not meaning to corner you specifically, but why does everyone refer to that item as a jacket? (looks like elmomom beat me to posting the other side of this argument again
)
Even moreso, has LE released any statements whether that jacket was still with her, or on her, in any of the later video? Unless wearing the jacket, it's difficult to believe she managed to carry around/hold onto the jacket while losing the keys, the phone, the shoes, the purse, and so forth. The other items were found or turned in but I've not found official subsequent mention of the jacket. LE omits any mention that she was wearing an outer layer when they provide her official description, only describing the "white v-neck shirt of possibly distressed material, scooped at bottom in front and back, with elbow-length sleeves".
I've posted this before, but the initial description we received of her was wearing a long-sleeve button down. At least in my mind it clicked that later on in the night she was wearing the long sleeve item she is shown with in the picture.
There is no mention of her wearing any jewelry the night she went missing (other than what's seen on her right wrist which may be more related to a key than jewelry).
I agree that there wasn't much mentioned of her jewelry, please see
here for a better description.
