MA - Vanessa Marcotte, 27, murdered, Princeton, 7 Aug 2016 #1

[masootz]

Yes - that's my question. How do those pings work? How close do they pinpoint the location?

i question what is meant by "ping". iirc her mother told a neighbor her phone had pinged at that location and this was told to the neighbor the same afternoon she went missing. there's no way to pull actual phone provider ping data that fast and certainly not without a warrant. it's possible an app she had on her phone had a public interface (jogging app with a login, "find my friends" app on iphone) but the legitimacy of that location data depends on the application itself.

 

[Tempura]

She would def have to leave by 4 pm at the latest. It's about 20 miles from her house to the bus station in downtown Worcester. You can go through Holden or take 140 to 190 but either way it's a solid 30 minute drive.

I agree. She could have done that loop in an hour and a half and gotten home with plenty of time to shower and make it to the station.

I'm not completely convinced she was actually in the area of the Mountain Barn though. I'd find it harder to believe the perp knew where to leave her on her mother's street. I'd like to know more about how cellphone pinging works.

 

[Inthedetails]

i question what is meant by "ping". iirc her mother told a neighbor her phone had pinged at that location and this was told to the neighbor the same afternoon she went missing. there's no way to pull actual phone provider ping data that fast and certainly not without a warrant. it's possible an app she had on her phone had a public interface (jogging app with a login, "find my friends" app on iphone) but the legitimacy of that location data depends on the application itself.

Yes, I think the word "ping" isn't really what it was - but rather it was some app the mom/aunt used to locate Vanessa.

 

[ThinkHard]

She could have been in the area of mountain barn technically without actually being there.
If you look at a map you'll see the only thing seperating her house from the mountain barn is woods, the same woods she was found in. So it may have pinged from that location if she was in those woods at that time.

 

[Tempura]

She could have been in the area of mountain barn technically without actually being there.
If you look at a map you'll see the only thing seperating her house from the mountain barn is woods, the same woods she was found in. So it may have pinged from that location if she was in those woods at that time.

Good point. Is there a map anywhere showing the location in which she was found?

 

[Inthedetails]

She could have been in the area of mountain barn technically without actually being there.
If you look at a map you'll see the only thing seperating her house from the mountain barn is woods, the same woods she was found in. So it may have pinged from that location if she was in those woods at that time.

So the "ping" doesn't necessarily tell us much except the phone was still activated at the time.

I was thinking that the perp abducted Vanessa and committed the crime somewhere other than where she was found (mainly because of the burning he did). But maybe it was done where she was found?

 

[Inthedetails]

Okay, this is weird:

https://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2...nt-rampage/iUWwEF6YtWCvOQHct80ewM/story.htmlA "Worcester man rampaged through the city Tuesday in a burst of alleged violence that included rape, strangulation, sexual assault, an armed robbery, and threatening to “spray” police officers with an assault weapon, authorities said."

 

[ThinkHard]

Not from what I've seen. But based on photos they've released it looks like she was found in the woods somewhere near the bend in the road as you get nearer to the town center. I'm not sure on which side of the road though.

 

[ThinkHard]

Okay, this is weird:

https://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2...nt-rampage/iUWwEF6YtWCvOQHct80ewM/story.htmlA "Worcester man rampaged through the city Tuesday in a burst of alleged violence that included rape, strangulation, sexual assault, an armed robbery, and threatening to “spray” police officers with an assault weapon, authorities said."

Weird yes. But very unlikely to be related I'd think. It sounds like he didn't have his own vehicle so it would be tough to commit a crime out in Princeton without a vehicle.

 

[Tempura]

Not from what I've seen. But based on photos they've released it looks like she was found in the woods somewhere near the bend in the road as you get nearer to the town center. I'm not sure on which side of the road though.

For what it's worth, on the recorded running routes of hers, she always traveled north up her mother's street.

 

[Tempura]

I was thinking that the perp abducted Vanessa and committed the crime somewhere other than where she was found (mainly because of the burning he did). But maybe it was done where she was found?

The only thing that gives me pause is that we've had a severe drought here (other than today, finally) and feel as though it'd be hard to contain a fire in the middle of the woods. Other than that, I really do think it all took place where she was found.

 

[snowleopard]

I don't run, not very ap savvy on cell phones, so does the 'Map My Run' ap allow anyone to access a persons map info if they know the name? Including, say, any nearby runner or person with the ap?

 

[Inthedetails]

The only thing that gives me pause is that we've had a severe drought here (other than today, finally) and feel as though it'd be hard to contain a fire in the middle of the woods. Other than that, I really do think it all took place where she was found.

Just a wild thought - not based on any facts provided.

What if the "burns" were not from fire, but from acid? That could be done without detection in the wooded area.

Just thinking aloud here...

 

[Tempura]

I don't run, not very ap savvy on cell phones, so does the 'Map My Run' ap allow anyone to access a persons map info if they know the name? Including, say, any nearby runner or person with the ap?

Yes! I posted earlier that I was able to look her up by name and see all of her usual routes.

 

[Tempura]

Just a wild thought - not based on any facts provided.

What if the "burns" were not from fire, but from acid? That could be done without detection in the wooded area.

Just thinking aloud here...

That could possibly explain the locations of the burns too, right? If it was thrown at her? Perhaps she covered her face with her hands and it splashed at her feet? Not sure if the burns would appear different.

 

[kimi_SFC]

Good point. Is there a map anywhere showing the location in which she was found?

I went through the thread and found these two posts.
:bump:

I wonder if she had gone out the night before or made connections to any of her old friends.

eta:

Channel 5 has posted a slide show with some pictures of the area. Looks like it was right near where Brooks Station Road and Radford Road meet: View attachment 99614 View attachment 99615

That's not very far away from the downtown. https://goo.gl/maps/NTGSoD6xp8q

The Google picture was taken when the leaves were off the trees so it looks open, but right now you probably can't see more than three or four feet past the side of the roads.

:bump:

I'm not sure where the info that her phone pinged in front of the mnt barn came from, but if it is true, I put together this map of the area and perhaps her run route.

It occurred to me if she did take this route she might have been running on 31 and looped back into back roads from the center of town. The point is if she did take this route, it increases the chances that a random person could have spotted her and followed her when she turned back down into a more secluded section.

View attachment 99630

HTH...
:sleuth:




Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Tempura]

I know they had the road blocked off for quite a long time. I think they just chose to block it at that intersection. If she was found on the northern end of Brooks Station then I would assume she was attacked toward the start of her run. If it was at the southern end of Brooks Station then I would think it was possible she was followed from rt 31 where there's more traffic than on her mother's street.

 

[ThinkHard]

Interesting. That means if she was going her normal route, and she was found closer to the town center end of the road, she would have been taken early on in her run.

 

[ThinkHard]

The only thing that gives me pause is that we've had a severe drought here (other than today, finally) and feel as though it'd be hard to contain a fire in the middle of the woods. Other than that, I really do think it all took place where she was found.

I agree if she was set on fire in the woods it seems like it would have drawn attention. As well as caught other things on fire.

 

[Tempura]

I agree if she was set on fire in the woods it seems like it would have drawn attention. As well as caught other things on fire.

I wonder if there's a difference in appearance between chemical burns and heat burns.