GUILTY MI - April Millsap, 14, Armada, 24 July 2014 #1

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Topend22 said:
I'm not sure about the forum rules. Can we post a theory? My theory would be: could this be a case where April was killed to keep from testifying if she was a possible witness? Could she have been involved in reporting this man to authorities? Could this be a revenge killing? This man was just arranged and the case against him has not started yet.
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Welcome to Websleuths!!!!
 
don't sweat it WKW. A direct link is always preferred but what sort of sleuths would we be up in here if we couldn't locate it? :D
 
I made a detour thru Armada today and it was pretty quiet. No police presence although I odd not go out to the lake and Omo road. I did see a number of bicycles on the trail. I noticed on one of the benches near the entrance to the trail some stuff that was probably a memorial for April. My DIL mentioned her brother went thru the roadblock; they asked if he saw anyone on the trail. Sounds desperate!
 
I still think it was teenager(s) close to her age. The sketch looks youngish and the lack of sexual assault weighs towards someone younger as well. Possibly a jealous girl and her boyfriend, or group of girls. Could even be a lone mentally disturbed boy or sadistic brothers in the area, something like that. I wonder how serious LE is looking at teens in the area, including Armada but also nearby towns like Richmond, etc.?

If they went off in the direction of the lake then they probably live in the area though.
 
A iPod? A necklace from her boyfriend. It seems like in one of her pictures she had a necklace on. In response to what else could April have had with her.
 
Ven said:
I still think it was teenager(s) close to her age. The sketch looks youngish and the lack of sexual assault weighs towards someone younger as well. Possibly a jealous girl and her boyfriend, or group of girls. Could even be a lone mentally disturbed boy or sadistic brothers in the area, something like that. I wonder how serious LE is looking at teens in the area, including Armada but also nearby towns like Richmond, etc.?

If they went off in the direction of the lake then they probably live in the area though.
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Entirely possible, especially in light of reported lack of SA. The RSO angle seems less likely to be a factor unless an attempted abduction for those purposes went awry.
 
Was it ever revealed where April was found? I'm looking on Google Earth and there appears to be a heavily wooded area north of the Trail and west of Lake Omo...that's east of tlcya's map location but I kinda get the hunch she was found in there. I wonder if the phone was found on the west shores of Lake Omo, further away from the houses where the murderers might have fled more undetected. From there it's a walk due north to a private street and then Armada Ridge Rd. and houses / neighborhoods again. If the phone was found on the remote shore of the lake it might suggest the murderer(s) fleeing that way, but if it was found on the homeside shores then that's a bit more perplexing, as that would literally be walking through someone's backyard.

Those houses on the lake all look nice too ... I sleuthed a witness who reportedly lives right there, but I don't know which house exactly ... that person also has an address listed in a really shady neighborhood of inner Detroit ... made me wonder why someone living in a nice rural lakefront home would have an address listed for a small apartment in a really bad neighborhood in Detroit.
 
WhoKnowsWhat said:
Some jobs located in Detroit require that you have a Detroit address.
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Can you elaborate? What are you thinking? That LE are missing someone as a suspect because they live in or around Armada because their official address of record is Detroit for work purposes?
 
Ven said:
Was it ever revealed where April was found? I'm looking on Google Earth and there appears to be a heavily wooded area north of the Trail and west of Lake Omo...that's east of tlcya's map location but I kinda get the hunch she was found in there. I wonder if the phone was found on the west shores of Lake Omo, further away from the houses where the murderers might have fled more undetected. From there it's a walk due north to a private street and then Armada Ridge Rd. and houses / neighborhoods again. If the phone was found on the remote shore of the lake it might suggest the murderer(s) fleeing that way, but if it was found on the homeside shores then that's a bit more perplexing, as that would literally be walking through someone's backyard.

Those houses on the lake all look nice too ... I sleuthed a witness who reportedly lives right there, but I don't know which house exactly ... that person also has an address listed in a really shady neighborhood of inner Detroit ... made me wonder why someone living in a nice rural lakefront home would have an address listed for a small apartment in a really bad neighborhood in Detroit.
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Saw another article where a resident was identified as a Detroit fire fighter. Most Detroit fire fighters live outside the city but in the days of residency requirements, several fire fighters would chip in and "rent" an apartment in the city to give them a Detroit address.

See this article where he is identified as well as narrowing down where the body was found.

http://www.macombdaily.com/general-...y-beautiful-goodbye-at-april-millsaps-funeral

In this article I found this:

http://www.theoaklandpress.com/gene...ounted-as-probe-continues-into-aprils-slaying

"April’s body was found July 24 off the trail east of Fulton Road in Armada, near the 17-mile marker"
 
caspermi said:
Saw another article where a resident was identified as a Detroit fire fighter. Most Detroit fire fighters live outside the city but in the days of residency requirements, several fire fighters would chip in and "rent" an apartment in the city to give them a Detroit address.

See this article where he is identified as well as narrowing down where the body was found.

http://www.macombdaily.com/general-...y-beautiful-goodbye-at-april-millsaps-funeral
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Thanks, that explains it then. I was trying to find where that family lived, in order to determine where April was found, and instead I got a return for that Detroit address and though "huh?" Makes sense now.
 
tlcya said:
ven there was one news report that reported LE activity and her body possibly being found off Liberty Lane. It was on my map but the pin is now missing. Let me add it back and I will post the link. I think it may be the area you are describing. https://www.google.com/maps/ms?msid...ll=42.852184,-82.866783&spn=0.042977,0.064974 Is this in the general vicinity of what you were thinking? See the blue pin
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Yeah that blue pin is what I'm thinking. It's the most secluded part of the trail in that area and right next to the lake.

There looks to be a 4-wheel path or trail that heads between those woods and Lake Omo. The paths lead either left to the neighborhood that includes Liberty Lane ... or into what looks like a parking lot off Main St / Armada Ridge Rd. Alternatively, someone could have hugged the shoreline of Lake Omo and just followed it north to a private street and any of those houses or right back onto Main St.

So far I only saw in the media that the phone was recovered near the shoreline, but I suspect it must have been on that remote, western shore, across the lake from any houses. It would be pretty brazen for anyone to be hugging the east shore and literally walking right through multiple backyards.

ETA:
That parking lot looks like it might be the church.
 
Just found this video of the trail taken from the perspective of the rider. For those of us not able to see the trail it offers a look at what being on the trail is like. [video=youtube;MvX4JAgSa-w]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MvX4JAgSa-w[/video]

I wish I could figure out where on google maps mile marker 17 on the trail was - sigh
 
I wonder if there is any surveillance video available for the church parking lot on Armada Ridge Rd? Checking it out from Google Maps, the image from July 2013 (same time of year) shows where the path leads from the parking lot into those woods, and the occasional stray truck parked out that way. Looks like people may just park out there and head into those woods. Killer(s) could have done the same.
 
Btw it looks like that's the Catholic church where April's funeral was held. Maybe that's why undercover LE officers were present at the funeral, if that trail into the woods goes to nearby where April's body was found.
 
tlcya said:
Just found this video of the trail taken from the perspective of the rider. For those of us not able to see the trail it offers a look at what being on the trail is like. [video=youtube;MvX4JAgSa-w]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MvX4JAgSa-w[/video]

I wish I could figure out where on google maps mile marker 17 on the trail was - sigh
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I believe if you start at 57:37 that will put you @ Depot St. and Church St.

And that's kinda freaky, whoever shot this video posted it 2 days before April was murdered.
 
tlcya said:
Just found this video of the trail taken from the perspective of the rider. For those of us not able to see the trail it offers a look at what being on the trail is like. [video=youtube;MvX4JAgSa-w]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MvX4JAgSa-w[/video]

I wish I could figure out where on google maps mile marker 17 on the trail was - sigh
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The video was taken traveling east on the trail.

Approaching Fulton St at 57:35 (though there is a break in the video when Fulton is crossed.

Oma Rd at 1:01:34
 
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