LE wants to interview the parents separately

[alwaysonmymind]

I'm having a lot of trouble wrapping my brain around the fact that the parents of a reportedly "kidnapped" baby are forcing LE to negotiate an interview with them. Really?

Seems like we've got the tail wagging the dog, yes??

 

[BritsKate]

This would be a second interview or third depending on how many questions were already asked by LE. IMO, by the first or second interview, LE should already have a good idea and possible theory as to what may have happened to the child. There would be no need to keep reinterviewing the parents a third time.

Interviews:

1) The initial questions following the 911 call. The basics. Timeline, child's clothing, photos of the child, etc.

2) Possible persons of interest, review timeline, employers (if any), names of family members, friends, coworkers, neighbours. Questions about the child. daycare, health issues, siblings, etc.

Then it's up to LE to investigate everything. If stuff was found in their investigation that needed to be addressed then bring in the parents again for an interview.

In this case, they did it backwards, imo. Show the parents (mom) the burnt clothing which may or may not have been the child's. Accuse her of killing the child.

Of course, I'd be frantic if I was innocent. This clearly shows they have tunnel vision. I would do exactly what mom and dad did in this case. Lawyer up

BBM

Even if new information has surfaced since the last interview? Like Mom drinking that night, by her own admission, to possible blackout status?

 

[luckyme]

GMA says boys are going to be interviewed by LE!

 

[Donjeta]

This would be a second interview or third depending on how many questions were already asked by LE. IMO, by the first or second interview, LE should already have a good idea and possible theory as to what may have happened to the child. There would be no need to keep reinterviewing the parents a third time.

snipped for space.

I'm not ready to agree with this. You can't ask every possible question the first time, there will likely be things that LE learns later that need clarification and make it necessary to conduct new interviews. And a lot would depend on whether the parents are truthful, do not change their story and if their timeline stays constant IMO. If they have itty bitty four hour gaps in their timeline that they are unable or unwilling to fill in of course they'd need to be reinterviewed IMO.

LE would have tunnel vision if they decided the parents can't have done it, we can't ask them about it.

If they find remnants of clothes that could possibly belong to the child of course they should show them to the parents and see if they can identify them. I don't even begin to understand why they object to that. It seems SOP to me.

 

[CharlestonGal]

I can understand why. If what mom said happened during the first interview session is true, I'd want to negotiate an interview as well.

If I was truly innocent, showing me burnt clothing and accusing me of harming my child would indicate and convince me that they are narrow minded and are not looking for my abducted child.

I'd negotiate a deal to ask any questions that would not point the finger at me and I would want proof that they are following up on all potential leads in the case.

That is not the way it works. The parents called LE to report a crime. It is the job of LE to investigate that crime and to decide which questions to ask of which people. The parents don't "hire" LE, make decisions about what questions to ask or whom to ask them of, or to demand LE provide them "proof" that LE is conducting the investigation the way they (the parents) think they should. LE does not work for them and their whims.

In addition, I hestitate to accept DBs version of the interactions between her and LE. She holds no credibility with me.

 

[josie1986]

GMA says boys are going to be interviewed by LE!

finally,i hope this is true!

 

[luckyme]

finally,i hope this is true!

Im waiting for it to be posted from website. I saw it this morning with Dan. moo

 

[mlc9852]

No they havent answered specific questions, I will take LE's word for this. If you are innocent, you have no problem doing this. And I believe someone had added up the time they spent with LE answering questions and LAST WEEK that averaged out to be less than an hour a day. Now its a shorter amount of time. There is no excuse for that behavior and they want special and different LE brought in for this. You dont get a choice in the matter. The FBI should be grilling them in separate rooms. Just like they do on TV.. Put one against the other so one of them talks. I have no issue with this at all. One of them will talk. They need to get them apart and as far as I know this hasnt been done yet. Its been BOTH parents. Not just one at a time. They need separate lawyers for this. Thats also how you can tell this hasnt been done because one lawyer cannot do both clients questioned separately. Conflict of interest.

I am a newbie but have been a lurker for some time.

I know we don't know everything LE is doing or has done, but seems to me they would concentrate on the witnesses, especially the husband and wife who live right down the street, who saw a man with a baby that morning. Have they sat down with them, have they talked to the people who live where the man reportedly walked up to the house? Another question - have the witnesses who said they saw a man with a baby described the man as having facial hair or glasses? So many questions...

 

[mlc9852]

I don't their refusal to answer questions against them but I do view it as evidence of their guilt. If LE eventually takes the death penalty off the table for the first one to crack, I'm okay with that.

JMO

Can you explain the sightings of a man carrying a baby that morning?

 

[Donjeta]

IIRC the neighbor lady said they've been interviewed four times. Maybe someone can find the link.

 

[katshep]

I'm having a lot of trouble wrapping my brain around the fact that the parents of a reportedly "kidnapped" baby are forcing LE to negotiate an interview with them. Really?

It's very frequent to negotiate the terms of an interview. People bring in lawyers to protect them from excessive behavior by government officials. If you think about it, the purpose of the Constitution is to protect the citizenry from abuses by the government.
There is a always a tension in this situation between competing objectives. LE just wants to get a signed confession and move on to the rest of the sludge in the system. (It really is not so much about finding the baby at this point.) Lawyers want to protect their clients from abuses by LE in their desire to get a confession.
The lawyers will most likely work out terms for the Irwins to be interviewed by different detectives. The Irwins did an earlier unrestricted interview that apparently went awry with very aggressive detectives. If the Irwins are innocent and they feel that LE is having a narrow focus on them instead of following other leads to find their baby, you can understand why relations have soured.
I don't know what happened here. I am in favor of due process so that if the Irwins are culpable, they are treated fairly under the law and the conviction sticks.

 

[mlc9852]

One key point to remember is that the only people saying that the police were big meanies are the same folks who are the most likely culprits in this crime.

On one side we have mommy with her ever-changing story, a woman with essentially zero credibility at this point, and on the other we have LE who have been the very definition of professional.

Why would anyone believe anything mommy has to say?

The only thing I want to know is where she hid Lisa. She can save the rest of her BS for the book deal I am sure she is working on.

MOO

I have a heard time believing a drunk high school dropout has been able to outwit the local police, state police and FBI. I just wish we knew what LE knows.

 

[~n/t~]

BBM

Even if new information has surfaced since the last interview? Like Mom drinking that night, by her own admission, to possible blackout status?

IMO, LE already had that information and if not, mom should have told LE in the interview. I agree that would be something to address if she hadn't told them but we don't know if she did or not.

Apparently, they found a receipt and went to check out the store she bought the wine. The clerk, IIRC, was asked about mom's behaviour that day. She found nothing suspicious and went on to say that whenever she saw the children with her, they were always happy and good kids.

Links are here somewhere.

 

[dizzychick]

IMO cops only want to conduct this interview with them and the kids to see if they can get something on them. I cant see how anything they can say now would do anything but hurt them.. I would tread carefully and always with my lawyer. You just cant trust anyone these days.

 

[mistermissy]

Can anyone share more with me about JI work schedule that night? It bugs me that:

1. JI left for work at 5:20pm
2. Expected to work until 10:00pm
3. JI returns home and makes 911 call at 4:00am

So, instead of working a 4-4.5 hour shift that night, he works until 3:00 or 3:30am, assuming a half-hour or so drive home.

Did he get a lunch or dinner break during his shift?

Was there really not any communication between DB and JI about his working an additional 5 or so hours that night/morning?

I mentioned before how pizzed I would be if my baby daddy showed up 5 hours late from work!!!! Well, worried, and then pizzed.

Am I off-base here?

 

[Truthwillsetufree]

Constitutional rights vs. a chance of finding my baby who has been gone almost a month now and without a doubt I'd be raising my hand, dialing that phone and saying come pick me up I'd like to answer any and all questions. NO problem if I am innocent. My baby would come first a million times over before I'd worry about my rights.

LE isn't trying to make a parent a suspect or POI they are trying to eliminate them and ask questions which may be important to a clue of what happened that night. If it turns out one or both are arrested well I guess that will tell us that some evidence is there that we don't know about. Because we don't know much at all about the evidence.

I'm not going to put LE down for doing their jobs. They got a call at 4:03am saying a kidnapping had occurred. They were asked for help. That help came and so did the cavalry. Now we don't want to talk anymore? WHY? Baby vs. Rights? If they are not guilty that baby is in the hands of someone bad, the baby is in danger. It is long past time to end these word games, changed stories and worthless actions like a website. Help find your baby by helping the police. MOO

BBM - You are so correct in this statement. That very thought has rolled around in my head for days now. Everyone has the Constitutional right to remain silent and there are times when one should but when a child is missing, one's own child, the right to remain silent shouldn't be a concern. FWIW, LE wouldn't be able to shut me up, they would be on my speed dial at home and would be my new BFF's on my cell. I would insist that LE move mountains to find my child.....

I don't doubt for one second that this LE team has done everything humanly possible to locate this child. I am in awe at the quick response in which they have done things. Some missing chldren cases have not had such a thorough investigative team. I can imagine their frustration with the parents, I can only surmise that some of this LE have children and grandchildren of their own. LE has gathered evidence (as seen in the media pics) from the home. I would have to theorize that not only what they have found but it is also what they have not found that is leading to more questions that need answered.

The "Thanks" button just wasn't enough...had to add my own :twocents: to your fabulous post!

 

[~n/t~]

That is not the way it works. The parents called LE to report a crime. It is the job of LE to investigate that crime and to decide which questions to ask of which people. The parents don't "hire" LE, make decisions about what questions to ask or whom to ask them of, or to demand LE provide them "proof" that LE is conducting the investigation the way they (the parents) think they should. LE does not work for them and their whims.

In addition, I hestitate to accept DBs version of the interactions between her and LE. She holds no credibility with me.

The procedure in which they were interviewed, imo, was wrong. Again, we are going with what the parents have told the media.

Both were questioned for 11 hours or more. Mom volunteered to take a poly. She was told she failed and it escalated from there. She was told she was responsible for Lisa's disappearance. She was shown burnt clothing and they continued to harp on that until dad finally said he needed a break.

Following that, cops came out and said the parents were not cooperating any longer.

That is how it was reported in MSM as far as I know.

 

[~n/t~]

IMO cops only want to conduct this interview with them and the kids to see if they can get something on them. I cant see how anything they can say now would do anything but hurt them.. I would tread carefully and always with my lawyer. You just cant trust anyone these days.

I'm surprised they allowed the kids to be interviewed. I know I wouldn't unless there was an attorney and/ or child psychologist present.

I hope that's what the arrangement is.

 

[LaLaw2000]

Splitting DB & JI up for more questions would be SOP. I'm sure that this was done to a point the first day, but may not have happened until the second day. I would have thought it would have been done even in the beginning in their front yard. That is SOP as well to compare each of their statements as to what happened.

LE and the FBI have had time to develop more evidence and clues since having sat down with the both of them. Computer forensics have been done now and maybe there are questions for each of them that need to be asked concerning computer usage. Deborah may have extensive computer footprints. I can understand how LE/FBI might want to ask each DB and JI about that out of the others' presence.

I think JI has become reliant on DB to answer questions. He seems to defer to her all of the time, or either she talks over him when he is asked a direct question.

There could be people Deborah has been in contact with online and LE wants to see what his/her individual reactions are to certain names and what that person may mean to each.

At any rate, LE has reasons for wanting to question each individually and should be allowed to do so, IMO. Let their lawyer sit in on the questioning if Cyndi or JT has to.
I cannot understand DB & JI's reluctance to do so at all unless they each have something to hide.

This may not be the right thread for it, but I feel LE is about to bring the hammer down. There is a monumental amount of work in preparing a case to give to the DA/Prosecutor, and I feel it is in the works.

I honestly feel LE should charge Deborah with child endangerment and neglect due her own admission of being drunk. That admission is on video. Plus there are all of the other videos that could show deceptive statements. Get her for those charges, then finish the bigger case of a possible accident/murder. There are no time restraints on murder charges. Of course there may not even be an accident or a murder here.

All of my comments are my own opinion and thoughts only.

 

[SilkySifaka]

The procedure in which they were interviewed, imo, was wrong. Again, we are going with what the parents have told the media.

Both were questioned for 11 hours or more. Mom volunteered to take a poly. She was told she failed and it escalated from there. She was told she was responsible for Lisa's disappearance. She was shown burnt clothing and they continued to harp on that until dad finally said he needed a break.

Following that, cops came out and said the parents were not cooperating any longer.

That is how it was reported in MSM as far as I know.

I agree with you n/t. I also think the very fact that LE went to the news rather than the attorneys to say they wanted to interview them separately tells me a lot. It isn't very professional, they know how to ask the attorneys for interviews with their clients and going public doesn't accomplish that..if anything it makes them dig in heels more.

I don't think LE is stupid but they are showing ego here cause they have to know that attacking them publicly is going to make it look like they only want to focus on the parents which is why there is tension in the first place.