GUILTY MO - Ebony Jackson, 30, St Louis, 4 January 2013

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Did the cops bungle the Ebony Jackson case? (St. Louis Post-Dispatch)
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“It sounds to me like there were a lot of things that weren’t done,” complained Joe Giacalone, a criminal investigation expert and retired New York police detective consulted by the Post-Dispatch.
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In an interview, he said police could have checked renters in the apartment complex for criminal records, researched Jackson’s Internet habits and contacted law enforcement liaisons for her cellphone and GPS providers.
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Jackson’s family questioned why a larger police department was not brought in sooner.
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St. Louis Police Chief Sam Dotson had little to say about the case this week, except to explain, “We’re starting this investigation from scratch because we don’t want to rely on the investigation of other departments.”
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Breckenridge Hills police handed St. Louis detectives an investigation lacking many of the basics — including Jackson’s cellphone records and recent credit card history — according to interviews and court documents.
the rest at the link above
 
Oh wow. Not good.

They still haven't processed the baby's car seat for fingerprints or other evidence? :waitasec:

These small police departments aren't used to handling murder and kidnapping cases, but they should call in the larger police departments right away.
 

OMG. After reading the timeline at the link, I am absolutely LIVID. LE didn't even apply for the court order to activate the GPS until January 7! They didn't process the scene where the baby was found for evidence? No tests for prints on the carseat? Regardless of whether or not people truly believe that race played a factor in this case, or whether the police were just grossly negligent regardless of Ebony's position in life/skin color, can anyone really blame Ebony's family for thinking their loved one got bumped to a lower priority because of her race?

I was watching an episode of Disappeared recently- Amy Bechtel's disappearance was profiled. Within 24 hours of her disappearance, LE had called in TWENTY-FIVE FBI agents. I'm sure Ebony's family would have been thrilled if the police had simply done the basics in her case, let alone called in a SINGLE RESOURCE from elsewhere.

Unbelievable. I am so upset by this. Fit to be tied.
 
Love the expression "fit to be tied" and yes, it fits what we now know. Shoddy, unprofessional workmanship.
 
They still haven't processed the baby's car seat for fingerprints or other evidence? :waitasec:

These small police departments aren't used to handling murder and kidnapping cases, but they should call in the larger police departments right away.

Here's why I won't give Breckenridge Hills PD any slack for their "small" police department. That area is one of the more crime-ridden areas of the metro area. It's not the worst of the worst (that'd be where the car was later located), but it is by NO MEANS a low crime area. They are accustomed to missing persons, they know all about carjackings, and a whole lot more. They're not Mayberry PD by any means. Also, since they aren't technically St. Louis City, they have the full force of the St. Louis County Police Department at their disposal- just a phone call away. These "officers" (I use the term very loosely) were cocky, made assumptions about what they were dealing with in the absence of a single shred of evidence, and due to their negligence and dangerous assumptions, likely allowed a killer to go free. I know nothing about civil cases, but IMO, if one was ever warranted, it's a case like this. Ridiculous!

(Please know my anger is in NO WAY geared to you at all- 100% at the people who allowed this case to fall by the wayside) :)
 
Also, according to the article, Breckenridge Hills has routinely turned turned over various criminal cases- like homicide and arson- to St. Louis County PD. Had they asked for the County's help in this case, Ebony would have immediately been entered into the FBI's national database for missing persons, AND Missouri's database. That means every single police department in the state of MO would have known to be on the lookout for her car. It probably would have been found by Friday or Saturday, at the latest. All they had to do was make the D@mn call.

In the last two years, Breckenridge Hills has, in fact, asked St. Louis County police to oversee homicide and arson cases.

Under its policies, county police require that anyone missing under suspicious circumstances be entered immediately into the FBI’s National Crime Information Center and the Missouri Uniform Law Enforcement System. That means any police agency in the country would report contact with the person, Chief Tim Fitch said.

And the one little piddly database they DID enter her into had her listed as a person who was WANTED for child abandonment. I understand they didn't have any evidence to say she didn't abandon Donovan, but they didn't have any evidence to say she DID abandon him either. Fine, list her as a possible suspect, but can they not also list her as a possible crime victim?

I swear... I feel so helpless, and I'm so angry. Lucky for you guys, all I can really do is go on rants here. Sigh.
 
A well-reasoned rant is a wonderful thing.

And they MAY have had evidence that Ebony didn't abandon Donovan had they processed the flippin' car seat!!

Ok. Pulling back now.
 
Still nothing on Ebony in Daily Oklahoman. (Or "Daily Disappointment" as it's known state-wide.) Hoping for tomorrow. Would be nice if they raised a ruckus over the investigation, or lack of it, rather.

Baby left in the hallway still absolutely baffles me.
 
I'm sick after reading that article. Ebony and her beautiful baby were completely and utterly failed by LE and their practically nonexistent investigation. She laid in the trunk of her own car dead or dying for days while her child was in the care of strangers and LE enjoyed their damn weekend. That is inexcusable.

I hope the new investigators will find justice for her but I have little faith now. I also hope her family doesn't let this go. I want to join them in screaming from the rooftops that Ebony was failed and more than one person needs to answer for that.

Sweet Ebony, you suffered so much long before your death and if anybody deserved the opportunity to watch their baby grow up into a wonderful man and have him fill their lap with grand babies it was you. I can't fathom the kind of evil that took your life and denied little Donovan a childhood made wonderful by a mother that loved him more than life itself but if there is any justice in this cruel world your death will not be in vain. Many of us never knew you in life but through your death we have became better mothers. Your baby and all of ours are your legacy. Through them you will live on. RIP Ebony, you deserved better.
 
If her killer was indeed the 'friend' that was riding around in the car with her and they get zero evidence to prove this case I will be furious!
 
I'm sick after reading that article. Ebony and her beautiful baby were completely and utterly failed by LE and their practically nonexistent investigation. She laid in the trunk of her own car dead or dying for days while her child was in the care of strangers and LE enjoyed their damn weekend. That is inexcusable.

I hope the new investigators will find justice for her but I have little faith now. I also hope her family doesn't let this go. I want to join them in screaming from the rooftops that Ebony was failed and more than one person needs to answer for that.

Sweet Ebony, you suffered so much long before your death and if anybody deserved the opportunity to watch their baby grow up into a wonderful man and have him fill their lap with grand babies it was you. I can't fathom the kind of evil that took your life and denied little Donovan a childhood made wonderful by a mother that loved him more than life itself but if there is any justice in this cruel world your death will not be in vain. Many of us never knew you in life but through your death we have became better mothers. Your baby and all of ours are your legacy. Through them you will live on. RIP Ebony, you deserved better.

Thank you for saying this. It brought tears to my eyes. Like you, I have little faith in this investigation, but also like you, I pray justice will be served.
 
I have nothing to base this on-just reaching, so please bear with me as I say this as tactfully as I know how: is it possible that this crime is a bit more "close to home" so to speak? That perhaps someone wasn't all that okay with Ebony taking the newborn on a spur of the moment trip? That perhaps someone followed Ebony to St Louis and made contact with her there? A parent who loved their newborn baby would take pains to ensure baby was safe while covering the tracks of a horrible mistake.
 
I have nothing to base this on-just reaching, so please bear with me as I say this as tactfully as I know how: is it possible that this crime is a bit more "close to home" so to speak? That perhaps someone wasn't all that okay with Ebony taking the newborn on a spur of the moment trip? That perhaps someone followed Ebony to St Louis and made contact with her there? A parent who loved their newborn baby would take pains to ensure baby was safe while covering the tracks of a horrible mistake.

If you are implying the baby's father, he was cleared IIRC. He was at work.
 
Thank you vasportsmom-I looked and could find very little msm on him. His heart must be breaking. If he has been cleared, I expect and hope that we'll see a news piece on his reunion with his son soon, then.
 
I have nothing to base this on-just reaching, so please bear with me as I say this as tactfully as I know how: is it possible that this crime is a bit more "close to home" so to speak? That perhaps someone wasn't all that okay with Ebony taking the newborn on a spur of the moment trip? That perhaps someone followed Ebony to St Louis and made contact with her there? A parent who loved their newborn baby would take pains to ensure baby was safe while covering the tracks of a horrible mistake.

I've wondered about this as well, but according to LE (whatever that may be worth in this case) he is not a suspect. We've all seen cases in which people who weren't previously named as suspects were ultimately arrested, though. I guess until LE tells us more about Donovan's dad, or names him as a person of interest, we can't even speculate much. I didn't want you to think you were totally alone in your thoughts, though. Me personally, unlike LE, I am unwilling to discount anything at this point.

I guess I just don't see the dad risking his baby's safety, even for a moment, by leaving him in that apartment building. He could have left the baby with someone else, or even just kept him with him instead of leaving him somewhere and still done something to Ebony if that was his plan. For me, it doesn't wash with what little bit we do know of him.
 
I am so discouraged and saddened how this case turned out....

:praying: for Ebony, her son and her family...

There is another person whom my heart is breaking for...

Ebony's live-in BF/baby daddy came home one day to a note telling him his gf, whom he seemed to love, had left for an indefinite amount of time... And she had his son with her... Whom he adored...

He had to drive a great distance (possibly alone) under emotionally charged conditions... Only to have to return a few days later to prove paternity of his son....

He lost his gf, emotionally, his son... Then the biggest blow... Lost his gf to a brutal murder...

I am going to keep this young man/father in my prayers, too... And hope he has a strong support system.... Because he is certainly going to need one has he goes forward...

:praying:

JMO
 

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