Thanks Jupiter. I went back and listened to it also. This time I heard "shoeless and intoxicated".
Which
suggests DR was repeating what he heard and not what he witnessed firsthand because by all reports, Lauren didn't remove her shoes until she arrived at the bar. Of course, we don't know for certain because the reporter was more interested in capturing a tantalizing sound bite than reporting the facts. :notgood:
The question of when Lauren became so intoxicated, if we're to believe the rumors, is an excellent one, imo. Does anyone recall who it was that said the group at JR's wasn't drinking? I know this has been discussed before, but it still bugs me. With all the talk of Lauren being intoxicated, severely so according to some, when and how did she come to be in that condition? She showed no signs of being inebriated walking out of SW, and if she didn't drink at JR's, that leaves Sports. But how long was she there? All of forty-five minutes? Another rumor implies she was taking Xanax. Well, that is a quick acting medication, and alcohol can intensify the effects, but still I'm bothered by the allegation. Now you've reminded us about DR's on camera statement, and as Jupiter pointed out, it does pose interesting questions.
I'm not doing a very good job of getting my point across. Not the first time, lol. :crazy: It's not the content of what DR said, nor is it a question of whether it's original or hearsay, it's the fact that he said it publicly. Who else among Lauren's friends outed her publicly? HT. Anyone else? I am reminded of the rumor that DR and HT were together that night.
Maybe they're just too young to know how to communicate sensitive info; maybe they have a shared motive for casting Lauren in a negative light. What might that motive be?
Sorry, Jupiter. I overlooked the post where you questioned whether DR was attempting to absolve himself. It's possible that he was caught off guard by the questions and is young enough to be a little naive about the press. I doubt he considered his first audible words would be "shoeless and intoxicated". So, I lean toward giving him the benefit of the doubt.
On the other hand, I think DR has won himself a pass. Generally speaking, it's been assumed that after he left JR's he was home all night. As others have posted, the cameras at SW would/should have recorded his comings and goings. CR and JR are known bad boys and were with LS in the hours before she disappeared. The altercation at SW, the mysterious walk through the alley, and the fact that Lauren was last known to be at JR's apartment, have fed suspicions about those two. Based on what little we know, they are the logical and most likely suspects. Beside a random abduction (which I still believe is a viable possibility), until now, I don't think I've ever seriously considered a scenario where JR and/or CR are not part of the equation.
I like imkeylime's bookend analogy, too. The phone call is significant for a few reasons. If LS was calling DR to open the door because she'd lost her keys, that would at least tell us she intended to go home and pretty much clears DR. If not that, what was the purpose of the call? There has been speculation that DR and HT were protecting JR. But maybe it wasn't JR at all, and we haven't asked enough questions regarding what happened
before Lauren left SW. What did Lauren and DR talk about that evening? Lauren and HT? Who else spent time with Lauren that day? We've never gotten a confirmed (by LE) accounting of Lauren's whereabouts and activities during the eight hours or so prior to leaving for JR's, have we? And
IF DR and HT are protecting anyone, who would that be? Is there a third party we're unaware of? Or no third party, but just themselves? So many questions, and we can only hope that LE knows the answers.