MI MI - Julia Niswender, 23, EMU student, Ypsilanti, 10 Dec 2012 - #1

[justnosey]

Wouldn't you all agree that a murder by drowning falls into the category of a crime of passion or some intense feelings of hatred? I can't think of any random killers that have utilized drowning as part of their MO. Usually people that are killed by some random whacko are usually stalked and the manner of death is usually some type of fetish. I could see a scenerio of she was taking a bath or about to take a bath, and this person that she knew was enraged and pushed her out of anger and she hit her head, knocking her unconscious and she ultimately drowns. But this does not seem to be the case from what we have learned. I also kind of wonder if her room was in disarray as part of a cover-up? Someone trying to make it look like something else...but why lock the door? Mistake?
The more I think about this, the more I am convinced this is someone Julia knew :/ Also, if this was planned (and it seems that it was), the killer would have to know that one or both roommates would not be home, and that Julia would be alone.

 

[BetteDavisEyes]

Wouldn't you all agree that a murder by drowning falls into the category of a crime of passion or some intense feelings of hatred? I can't think of any random killers that have utilized drowning as part of their MO. Usually people that are killed by some random whacko are usually stalked and the manner of death is usually some type of fetish. I could see a scenerio of she was taking a bath or about to take a bath, and this person that she knew was enraged and pushed her out of anger and she hit her head, knocking her unconscious and she ultimately drowns. But this does not seem to be the case from what we have learned. I also kind of wonder if her room was in disarray as part of a cover-up? Someone trying to make it look like something else...but why lock the door? Mistake?
The more I think about this, the more I am convinced this is someone Julia knew :/

BBM. Yes. To me, drowning seems very personal - an in-your-face confrontation during which the victim can see the perpetrator while he/she forces the victim under water. Stabbing is personal, as well, as it necessitates being in very close personal contact with the victim. I, too, think that the perp is someone who was known to Julia.

 

[fred&edna]

BBM. Yes. To me, drowning seems very personal - an in-your-face confrontation during which the victim can see the perpetrator while he/she forces the victim under water. Stabbing is personal, as well, as it necessitates being in very close personal contact with the victim. I, too, think that the perp is someone who was known to Julia.

BBM
This is why I've always assumed LE saying there was no immediate threat to the general public (paraphrasing). It was personal.

Also, I've been wondering about ICE involvement, cyber crime, etc.
Was she threatened in some way (email) prior to her death? Had someone used her identity online? Did she meet someone online from another country... or maybe a foreign exchange student in Michigan or on her trip to NYC.

 

[springpeonies]

BBM
This is why I've always assumed LE saying there was no immediate threat to the general public (paraphrasing). It was personal.

Also, I've been wondering about ICE involvement, cyber crime, etc.
Was she threatened in some way (email) prior to her death? Had someone used her identity online? Did she meet someone online from another country... or maybe a foreign exchange student in Michigan or on her trip to NYC.

I'm thinking the same thing about some relation to the internet. If theyre "supporting the investigation with computer and digital forensic expertise through our cyber investigations unit" it makes me think maybe it was some kind of cyber stalker, person she met via the internet, or threats as fred&edna said.

 

[nursebeeme]

ICE can also be involved because we are close to Canada possibly?

 

[nursebeeme]

Gress said police are hoping between the release of the cause of death and an offer for a reward for information on the case, some new leads will be brought forward.

"Hopefully it will stir stuff up," Gress said.

http://www.heritage.com/articles/2013/04/12/ypsilanti_courier/news/doc5165a6524e1e9063170660.txt

 

[nursebeeme]

http://www.toledoblade.com/local/2013/04/12/Private-eye-firm-offers-reward-in-homicide.html

 

[AD0086]

Awful! I thought for sure she had been poisoned. Just some random thoughts here..

It's baffling to me that EMU rents out rooms to non-students. When I was studying there from 2004-2009, that was unheard of. That really scares me.

Also, people who are drowned don't go quietly. They're kicking and flailing. You're telling me she had zero defensive wounds?

I'm with the scenario that she was preparing a bath and her killer snapped...

Also, as morbid as this is, she was in the tub for days ... it's odd or something that she had an open casket, no? Wouldn't she have had severe water damage/bloating?

 

[justnosey]

Her apartment was off campus and not owned or run by EMU (technically, it is across the street from EMU). I know nothing about mortuary science...But, I am sure that there is a lot they can cover up.

 

[AD0086]

Her apartment was off campus and not owned or run by EMU (technically, it is across the street from EMU). I know nothing about mortuary science...But, I am sure that there is a lot they can cover up.

I'm just speaking from my time there. They built those apartments around my second year there and they were for students at the time. They were considered "luxury" apartments at the time - although the neighborhood right behind them does not say luxury in any way, shape, or form to be honest. A lot of my alumni friends and I figure that EMU was losing money on them which was the reason why they began renting them out to randoms. They're super expensive.

 

[electric_rainbow]

Peninsular Place apartments are geared toward students, but they have NEVER been run by or affiliated with EMU. The apartments were built by Ohio-based Edwards Communities Inc. and sold to American Campus Communities Inc. of Austin TX in 2007. They are apartment holdings & management companies that cater specifically to student-style housing close to college campuses.

 

[eileenhawkeye]

How many EMU students have been murdered in the past 5 years in Ypsilanti?

 

[BetteDavisEyes]

^ I recall Laura Dickinson in 2006 and Julia Niswender in 2012.

 

[Trojan1966]

There's a news article in the Detroit Free Press concerning Julia's death. There's also a good video as part of the article. It's interesting and updates some information.

http://www.freep.com/article/20130414/NEWS06/304140107/Family-of-slain-EMU-student-waiting-for-answers-justice-Julia-Niswender

 

[BetteDavisEyes]

For those who might not recall these Ann Arbor/Ypsilanti area murders in the late 1960s, this is a good synopsis of the case of serial killer, John Norman Collins.

http://www.trutv.com/library/crime/serial_killers/predators/collins/body_1.html

 

[AD0086]

For you forensic experts out there, what would constitute an unnatural position pointing to homicide? Say she slipped and hit her head, landing in the water? I'm so curious about this case and its details ..

 

[justnosey]

Wow!! ^ That is a very good, informative article!! Loads of new info to process... The date Saturday night (although that person was cleared...I wonder who he is?), the texts with her sister at 10:30pm Sunday night, that she was a no-show to class Monday (narrows down the time frame). I have no forensic expertise, but I would assume "unnatural positioning" would mean face down lengthwise or face down over the side of the bathtub with head and torso in and legs out. Police have stated that they do not believe that she was taking a bath or preparing to take a bath. The only thing I can think of that would prevent a struggle would be some type of drug/s maybe taken unknowingly, dragged to her bathroom, and placed face down in the water. They did run toxicology twice so I think that this may be a possibility. Julia did not look like a small girl...she had a voluptuous build so I don't think one of her roommates (like Kortney) could drag/carry her alone. Just giving an example...not implying it was Kortney. Again, just playing devils advocate...after trolling through Kortney's FB, Twitter, and Instagram...she seems like a very jealous and insecure person with regards to her boyfriend. Both Kortney and Julia have Instagram photos with the three of them together hanging out. But then again, looking back when I was 20 something, I too was jealous and insecure with boyfriends!! There was a photo on Kortney's Instagram a few weeks after Julia's death with a comment that has since been removed (which has always bugged me) of a photo of Kortney that said "and the best part is now you are all mine". Who knows what that means. I am sure I took it completely out of context. Just a weird thing to post.

 

[justnosey]

Oh AND LE does not think this was a burglary!

 

[jellybeanz]

IIRC KM started dating her current boyf mid December.

That same guy, like you said justnosey, was in a few pictures taken in Julias apartment in the weeks before her death.
Was he her date that Saturday night?

 

[justnosey]

Who knows...but even if he wasn't...maybe there could have been some jealousy on KM's part? He is an EMU football player. I have trolled his social media as well. He seems like a pretty normal guy to me.