LA - Mickey Shunick, 21, Lafayette 19 May 2012 - #31

DNA Solves
DNA Solves
DNA Solves
Status
Not open for further replies.
When things like this happen it is wake up call and reminder. My dh and I go around about this all the time. I ride in very remote areas as I do more mountain than road biking and I go alone every day. he fears for my safety on several levels and while I am cautious it doesn't stop me, because it is my addiction. But tonight when I was riding I have to admit I looked behind me a lot more than usual- as a matter of fact so much so that I ate dirt due to my distraction LOL. It wasn't pretty.

Point is, I live nowhere near this situation, I was riding at twilight but still and all Mickey's case reminds me how vulnerable I make myself at times and it created a healthy "fear/caution-reminder" for me even though it is something I already know. I get lazy about it and I shouldn't.

JMHO of course.


Ditto there girl. Go to your local mechanic, ask him for suggestions for things that be clipped on the bike as a weapon. My SO has been in many fights and screaming matches during the years riding alone. He finally rigged up a handy, dandy steel bar that fits nicely across the part top of the frame.

If you must ride alone, make sure you have more than your wits and legs to save you. ;)
 
bumping-

http://www.theadvertiser.com/article/20120624/NEWS01/206240332


Coping with the trauma of Mickey's disappearance

12:48 AM, Jun. 24, 2012


There is no "normal" when it comes to coping with the loss a loved one. There is even less normalcy when that loved one is missing, when family and friends have no clues about his or her whereabouts, or whether the person is dead or alive.
 
Re: the idea that we're dealing with a serial killer who has been dormant for awhile:

The only known killer that I'm aware of is the Jennings SK. Eight women have been murdered and dumped between 2005-'09 in and around the small town of Jennings, LA, which is 35 miles west of Lafayette, down I-10. (One victim was dumped in Scott, 5 miles west of Lafayette).

But that killer seems to have stuck pretty closely to a certain profile:

The recurring motifs in all eight murders are impossible to ignore. Two of the victims had their throats slashed while the rest where found strangled or suffocated. All were found nude or partially clothed. And all except Guillory were dumped along rural roads, suggesting the killer is intimate with the area, and is hoping the alligators and the elements will destroy evidence.
Moreover, the victims were all drug abusers or in some cases traded drugs for sex, according to Jefferson Davis Parish Sheriff Ricky Edwards.

I'm not allowed to quote more of the article, but also the victims all had family or community ties to Jennings.

Here are two articles:

http://www.zimbio.com/Serial+killers/articles/YYJWhWxCH80/8+Women+8+Murders+Jennings+LA

http://www.truecrimereport.com/2009/10/eight_murdered_women_a_serial.php

IMO, Mickey doesn't fit the profile. Jennings is a different world than Lafayette, and I have seen no known ties for her.

The Jennings case was white-hot for awhile. Big media attention, and then allegations that the police weren't doing enough, and the families hired a PI, who got more info, and actually photographed one of the future victims while on a stakeout. But the PI became controversial and nothing ever came of it, and the killer went silent.

My opinion is that Mickey is a one-off case, or a new serial killer, possibly even connected to the Jaren case in New Orleans, but I can't think of any string of unsolved killings here except for the Jennings killer.
 
Right, I know when I am being followed. I seriously doubt many women do. I am sure ACI will say he could follow me without being caught. The truth is, he could not.

Every woman should be this way. If you are not, and you truly believe it will never happen to you, or you'd never do that..

You have the potential to be a victim. I really believe all women should be taught self defense/awareness at an early age.

I am glad for your sense of self-defense and awareness. I do think you could be followed even if you are careful - but only if it was someone you knew or had daily contact with such that your suspicions weren't aroused.
 
Just to add, re: the Jennings murders - the reason the PI became controversial is that he hinted that someone in LE or government was the killer, and some close to the families thought so, too, and boy did that cause an uproar.
 
PS: We had DTL and another one we have yet to identify.... the last thing we need is someone out there we have no idea how, why, or if it is his first and/or last... so yes, women in general are feeling uncomfortable with this entire investigation and the lack of information being provided.

I always thought that another guy was on the loose killing women, I think the majority were done by DTL, but someone else was killing as well.

Maybe a copy cat. Once DTL was nabbed he stopped for a while, but it is a distinct possibility he has started again.

Maybe this guy has been doing this for a while under the radar, and now that he grabbed someone who is not an "endangered runaway" he's feeling the heat.

JMO[/QUOTE]

The other guy was caught. Sean Vincent Gillis. His crimes were uncovered during the DTL investigation when the task force took a look at all Cold case murders involving women in/around Baton Rouge. He was caught when his tire tracks were found At the scene of his last victim, Donna B. Johnston. Apparently the tires he had were not being sold anymore and had fewer than 100 sets in Baton Rouge, iirc. He was linked by the tires, DNA, photo evidence found in his home and ultimately a confession. He is serving life without parole at Angola.
 
Just to add, re: the Jennings murders - the reason the PI became controversial is that he hinted that someone in LE or government was the killer, and some close to the families thought so, too, and boy did that cause an uproar.

There is a subgroup here on WS about the Jennings SK. Personally, I think the perp is serving time on unrelated charges because it's been years since he/she has killed.
 
Four corners...the corner of Cameron St. and University is notorious for prostitution and drug activity. I'll post pictures tomorrow. The only hotel on that corner is the sort that charges by the hour. It's not a place that is frequented by tourists... college students.. or anyone not interested in a fix stronger than pot or adult activities that aren't free.

It's maybe 4 or 5 blocks from where Mickey was taken. I've kinda wondered if someone weren't cruising that area, went too far went to turn around and saw Mickey vulnerable.

Maybe I'm being naive here, but don't you think it's time the Four Corners area was totally cleaned up? I guess the prostitution and drug activity would just show up elsewhere, but it would be good to have this piece of hell moved far away from the college campus. There's a good possibility that someone who should be in :behindbar was coming from that area and abducted Mickey. JMO
 
I think that is why the bike was found, and why LE believes they know when it was dumped...water marks, etc...if so, I don't think it was left there to be found, as in a taunt.

That would a be a good question to ask at a press conference ( :please: ):

You (LE) have stated that you believe the bike was disposed of at Whiskey Bay the morning that Mickey disappeared (May 19th) in a manner for it not to be discovered. Was that conclusion based on the “other evidence” you found at the site, a result of witness statements or because of natural occurrences such as changing water levels or algae accumulation?

To which LE might simply respond: We can’t comment on that at the present time.
 
I'm not from Lafayette, but I live in a smaller town about an hour and a half east of it. Lafayette and my city have similar business industries. For the non-locals, LOTS of companies in this area issue white trucks as company vehicles and to further that, many of them are purchased from and registrered in Texas. I don't think some of you realize exactly how common they are around here. As an expiriment, I took 10 minutes of my drive home from work last Friday to count white trucks. In that 10 minute span, I counted 70 white trucks. (After 10 minutes, I got bored). Again, I live in a city smaller than Lafayette. But that may be a jumping point on locating the vehicle. Start trying to find out which companies use that specific model/type of vehicle as their company vehicles...that is if we could ever get a definitive answer on what model/type vehicle we should be looking for.
 
Do we have a reference to BW saying he thought MS would take Parkside to St Mary?
Her not taking that route when he expected her to may indicate she saw something/someone further down Parkside that made her decide not to take that route. If anyone was stalking her it would not have been hard to figure out what way she may have gone. From Parkside you can see across the back parking lot ( or access it by turning on Azeala) of LCG and a bike rider could easily be seen on St. Landry. Not much further is the small bridge from Parkway over the coulee to behind M&C Funeral Home office. Continuing up Parkside puts you at St Mary just around the funeral home itself. A quick left turn & a right puts you by the old abandoned parking garage on your right and the hospital (closed) on the left. The night the video stills were released I went down St Landry from Circle K and went up & down the street several times. For some reason there were what appeared to be 5 street lights that were not on. To this day I can't figure out if they are on motion detectors or what because I have seen some of them on since then. That area was pretty dark. I have noticed since then there seems to be more lights being left on by local businesses.

Something is puzzling me. Lack of comminication in this day of cell
Phones, text messaging & computers. BW stated he and MS were to go to the stables the next morning to shoot a video of her horse. He didn't call her in the
morning when she didn't call him? Or call her house when he got no answer and they were supposed to go to the stables? Did he go to meet her at a certain time and she didn't show up? Or did he just blow it off? It seems like MS was reliable so I don't understand why he wouldn't have been concerned when he didn't hear from her. I also don't understand how MS & Charley went out Thursday to a graduation party and Charley was in town for graduation yet MS didn't know her sister had left Lafayette and gone an hour away to baton Rouge until late that night. I would have thought in both circumstances that at least a text message would have been sent.jmo

In reference to the similarities between MS & MH case I really wouldn't call going to hear a band at Artmosphere (small venue) going to a concert.

I think it's because of the hangovers. Maybe her sister didn't want to bother her and wanted her to rest so didn't tell her what was going on because of that. And maybe that's why BW wasn't overly trying to get ahold of her the next morning because MS was feeling bad the night before? just a theory
 
Do we have a reference to BW saying he thought MS would take Parkside to St Mary?
Her not taking that route when he expected her to may indicate she saw something/someone further down Parkside that made her decide not to take that route. If anyone was stalking her it would not have been hard to figure out what way she may have gone. From Parkside you can see across the back parking lot ( or access it by turning on Azeala) of LCG and a bike rider could easily be seen on St. Landry. Not much further is the small bridge from Parkway over the coulee to behind M&C Funeral Home office. Continuing up Parkside puts you at St Mary just around the funeral home itself. A quick left turn & a right puts you by the old abandoned parking garage on your right and the hospital (closed) on the left. The night the video stills were released I went down St Landry from Circle K and went up & down the street several times. For some reason there were what appeared to be 5 street lights that were not on. To this day I can't figure out if they are on motion detectors or what because I have seen some of them on since then. That area was pretty dark. I have noticed since then there seems to be more lights being left on by local businesses.

Something is puzzling me. Lack of comminication in this day of cell
Phones, text messaging & computers. BW stated he and MS were to go to the stables the next morning to shoot a video of her horse. He didn't call her in the
morning when she didn't call him? Or call her house when he got no answer and they were supposed to go to the stables? Did he go to meet her at a certain time and she didn't show up? Or did he just blow it off? It seems like MS was reliable so I don't understand why he wouldn't have been concerned when he didn't hear from her. I also don't understand how MS & Charley went out Thursday to a graduation party and Charley was in town for graduation yet MS didn't know her sister had left Lafayette and gone an hour away to baton Rouge until late that night. I would have thought in both circumstances that at least a text message would have been sent.jmo

In reference to the similarities between MS & MH case I really wouldn't call going to hear a band at Artmosphere (small venue) going to a concert.

Regarding the lack of communication, I've had instances where I'd make tentative plans with friends that werent followed through on by either party. Saturday was to be a pretty busy day for MS, so it's likely the plans were, "if you want to/have time to/are feeling up to going to the stables, let me know and we can go together." I know I've made similar arrangements many times, and didn't think twice about not hearing back because I assumed they were busy or what not and viceversa. For me, personally, it's not a situation that would immediately set off alarm bells and raise red flags.
 
I find myself wondering - maybe some here have some idea - whether 16 hours of questioning as has been tossed around from the beginning that BW underwent, is pretty normal for this type of case. I also wonder whether a polygraph is standard, or whether is is employed when the subject has given conflicting or vague answers.

Note - I am NOT sleuthing BW.

I would think that in a situation like this, the close friends would be checked out - which would lead me to think that maybe a lot of that 16 hours was spent having BW talk about her friends, and painting a picture of her circle.

The fact that BW allowed his computer to be searched would indicate to me that his online activity, such as Facebook, would have been checked right away. That then leads me to believe that LE would need to do a lot of checking of mutual friends, and not just BW. So likely, they have been pretty active under the radar, clearing her circle of friends.

I do wonder what prompts LE to do a polygraph. Would this be standard in a missing person, where only one person (BW) was the last to see her, as opposed to a group?

Just trying to put myself in LE's shoes and how I would go about looking for her.

My answer may be useless, because I can't remember where I read it, so I can't back it up. IIRC Holly Bobos brother underwent 12 or so hours of interrogation since he was the last to see her. I have my questions about that, but they don't belong here.
 
I hadn't thought about that scenario the next morning until now ...

IMO I imagine BW tried to call and received Mickey's 'phone is switched off' message or the call went straight to her messagebank? He may have assumed she was still asleep after not feeling well the night before, therefore not immediately too concerned?

On another note it might have already been asked and apologies in advance if it has - I have read a lot of Mickey's threads but may have skipped this one;

If Mickey only had one semester to finish WHY was she planning to move in July? Or was she planning to only move for a few months and return to Lafayette to finish? It may be irrelevant but I found it curious, realising she had been so close to moving. Do Anthropology students do work experience or intern in their final semesters? I am on the other side of the world and in my mind NOLA and Lafayette was a twenty minute journey until I just googled it!

Prayers for Mickey, as ever, and her family

In my experience and others I know we saved some of our easiest classes for that last semester or quarter. Not classes that built upon previous classes of course. Now adays the classes may be available online.
 
Before DTL was caught, I remember hearing that LE was looking for a white truck in that case. Did DTL drive a white truck, or is it possible that the driver of a white truck was responsible for some of the murders?
 
bumping-

http://www.theadvertiser.com/article/20120624/NEWS01/206240332


Coping with the trauma of Mickey's disappearance

12:48 AM, Jun. 24, 2012


There is no "normal" when it comes to coping with the loss a loved one. There is even less normalcy when that loved one is missing, when family and friends have no clues about his or her whereabouts, or whether the person is dead or alive.

That is so true. I lost a Grandpa in 1970, a baby brother in 78, Granpa 79, Dad 84, Grandma 85, Grandma 07, Mom 09 and Sister 2010. My close family is gone except for a younger sister. I didn't seem to under go the grieving processes I saw in others. It has bothered me greatly as I've gotten older, finally to the point of seeing a psychiatrist and psychologist. They assured me I was ok and I was dealing with it all within what my personality and beliefs were. I'm not posting this because I want pity, so please don't because everyone has lost a loved or will. I just don't like it when people say that family members aren't acting as they should over a deceased or missing loved one. Everybody is truly different.
 
That is so true. I lost a Grandpa in 1970, a baby brother in 78, Granpa 79, Dad 84, Grandma 85, Grandma 07, Mom 09 and Sister 2010. My close family is gone except for a younger sister. I didn't seem to under go the grieving processes I saw in others. It has bothered me greatly as I've gotten older, finally to the point of seeing a psychiatrist and psychologist. They assured me I was ok and I was dealing with it all within what my personality and beliefs were. I'm not posting this because I want pity, so please don't because everyone has lost a loved or will. I just don't like it when people say that family members aren't acting as they should over a deceased or missing loved one. Everybody is truly different.

Yes, dejavoodoo64, everyone belonging to the involuntary fraternity of the new life's normal will grieve in their own way, and in their own time.
 
Just to add, re: the Jennings murders - the reason the PI became controversial is that he hinted that someone in LE or government was the killer, and some close to the families thought so, too, and boy did that cause an uproar.

Brutal Bayou

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lk67wXqDX2k&feature=youtu.be

Phelps travels to the Deep South to investigate the murder of 8 girls over 4 years. But a maverick private investigator, multiple persons of interest, and rumors of police corruption make this case murkier than a Louisiana bayou.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Members online

Online statistics

Members online
187
Guests online
1,039
Total visitors
1,226

Forum statistics

Threads
599,304
Messages
18,094,293
Members
230,844
Latest member
Warden2024
Back
Top