Found Deceased MO - Titus Tackett, 3, Killarney Shores, 10 Feb 2016

[AmyPond]

According to the article below, the boy was left with the father of the ex-boyfriend and the ex-boyfriend is not the father of Titus. So this guy wasn't even Titus' grandfather. Anyways, one of my thoughts goes along with yours in that he may have had no idea he was babysitting. Plus, who knows how well he knew Titus? This may have been the first time the older man had met Titus and had no idea Titus was capable of being an escape artist. Or, maybe Titus woke up, discovered his mother was gone, found himself in a strange house with this man he barely knew, and who might've been sleeping, Titus panicked and ran out the front door looking for his mother. All JMO.

"Amber Tackett, the boy's mother, said she and an ex-boyfriend left the house for a late-night errand and returned about 1:30 a.m. to find a door open and Titus missing. The friend's father had been at the house. The Tacketts, of Potosi, were visiting the ex-boyfriend, who is not the boy's father."

http://www.stltoday.com/news/local/...cle_cdf2e9c8-339f-59a2-a736-829b5ee2e5e7.html

"The friend's father was at the house." What friend? I am confused by that sentence.

I think this is the video you are looking for Amy, a lot of great aerial views of the home, van, etc. There were a LOT of people there, some of them approach the van and appear to look in the back behind the driver's seat, I didn't notice anyone touching the van thank goodness.

http://fox2now.com/2016/02/10/toddler-reported-missing-in-iron-county/

Thank you. Yes...that is the one I was talking about.

Is it normal for that many people to be wandering around like that? And are all those cars the cars of LE or volunteers or what? If there was at all a chance that there was foul play...I feel like having all those cars driving up and parking there would be bad. As well as having so many people hanging around.

 

[white rabbit]

or, as another poster already stated, he was never actually at the house nor was "grandpa" babysitting.

questions:

- three generations (grandparent age, parent age, toddler) all awake at midnight on a Wednesday. just seems odd to me. if AT and her ex left everyone sleeping, why not just say so? adds to credibility, IMO. toddler woke, left, not under any suspicion then? the coroner himself stated that many in the family were/are mechanics. realizing that not all are 9-to-5'ers why were all these people awake and running errands/babysitting on a random weeknight in freezing temperatures?

- Cole said there was no bruising or signs of abuse. http://fox2now.com/2016/02/11/questions-remain-after-3-year-old-found-dead-in-van-in-iron-county/
The same source (Cole) plus an uncle also said that this recently-turned 3 year old climbed in and out of cars, and started ATV's on his own. no bruises? no way. I'm raising 3 boys and believe me, there are bruises all over and I don't abuse them. it's called childhood.

- the pathologist performs the autopsy, the coroner then states in a written report the cause of death. IMO it's interesting (and wrong, JMO) for the coroner to be speaking directly to the press, as a family friend, immediately dismissing future prosecution of any person of interest. then the sheriff has to state to the media that no one has been cleared? my guess is we have a bit of a power struggle here. MOO...

has nothing to do with the investigation, but has anyone here ever seen an obituary stating that "in lieu of flowers, memorials and donations can be made to the family"? like, write a check? this is in no way accusatory of any wrongdoing, IMO just feel that it's odd. never seen that before, in an obit.

thoughts?

 

[DropthePuck]

"The friend's father was at the house." What friend? I am confused by that sentence.

I took that to mean the ex-boyfriend's father but I could have interpreted that wrong.

 

[cobalt sky]

I don't understand why someone would put him in the van either, if there was foul play. Why not just leave him on the sidewalk, or behind a wall, or under a bush?
What did they do, walk up and down the street trying every car door until they found one that was open? Far too risky. And it would also be too risky to approach a property with loose dogs - unless maybe they knew the people who lived there, knew the dogs and knew the vehicle would be unlocked.

This is why I think there is a possibility that Titus entered or was placed in the van at a location other than the Collins Ln house.

 

[white rabbit]

hmmm...julyruby, can you explain (without violating TOS)? interesting angle...

 

[Hatfield]

I can give a really simple example of why it is not necessarily good to have a funeral home or its owners be the same ones doing autopsies.

The funeral home is inherently wanting to get the funeral and burial over with so they can get the funds for their services.

So it is not like they would be fond of any delays. So they may not be looking as closely as others would be for any possibility of wrongdoing because anything that would cause a delay in things goes against what they are trying to do with their funeral business.

Its a definite inherent conflict of interest. Whether on purpose or just with human nature it is a definitely conflict. Not good IMO

 

[white rabbit]

SO RIGHT hatfield. I can't launch it from ye olde laptop, but there's a pdf that explains your point perfectly. not that you're looking for a link but...

www.funeralethics.org/PACoroners.pdf

 

[DatelineFan]

Someone asked if it's common for people to ask for donations in lieu of flowers. I have seen this many times. Sometimes they actually list an account to donate to.

 

[white rabbit]

ok, dateline...i'll agree with you. but there's no account. it was (IMO) a direct request for money. no snark, the pages bother the crap out of me. just seemed odd in an obituary...

nevermind...:silencednward...

 

[courtneyb]

Please tell me that the coroner/funeral director/unofficial media liaison is not also the sheriff and the prosecutor. [emoji57]


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[AbbeyBabbey]

http://dailyjournalonline.com/news/...cle_ecd34be7-20df-51f4-85cf-4b07d4244282.html

funeral arrangements. guess where.

Full obit:

http://www.colefamilyfuneralhomes.com/obituaries/Titus-Tackett/#!/Obituary

"He was born January 24th, 2013 to his loving parents Amber Tackett and Frankie Garrett who survive."

 

[DatelineFan]

ok, dateline...i'll agree with you. but there's no account. it was (IMO) a direct request for money. no snark, the pages bother the crap out of me. just seemed odd in an obituary...

nevermind...:silencednward...

Oh, I hear you! I'm just saying I've seen it before. I can't really say anything about it, either way, right now.

As for the whole story, as we know it: I'm stuck. On one hand, I don't believe that a barely two year old made this trek. On the other, I think it would be just stupid for any perp to go put him in a van. That's so risky!

 

[kimi_SFC]

It does seem very odd to place a child's body in a car. But I know of one recent case, can't remember the sweet baby's name right now---blocked it because she was raped and killed by her sick, twisted father, then placed in a car that he found nearby, that was unlocked. She was only a month old. :cry:

I think I know which case you're referring to.

Her name was Baby Ellorah Rose Warner. He placed her in a pickup truck in a Park N Ride, where she was discovered after an extensive search. It played out on live TV as well in SoCal (Newhall is north of Los Angeles near Santa Clarita).

I remember it like it was yesterday (and wish I could forget). Every time her thread alerts, my heart sinks, and I'm taken back to when it all happened. I was on the case on her thread and in the basement when her case broke, when she was found. It was actually worse when they released her COD.

This is NOT for the faint of heart. She wasn't even a month old, IIRC she was less than 3 weeks old :tears:

Here's the link to her thread:

CA - Ellorah Rose Warner, 3 wks, Santa Clarita, 23 Jan 2015
http://www.websleuths.com/forums/showthread.php?t=269216

Sorry for the O/T - this one REALLY hit home....

:rose:




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[AbbeyBabbey]

ok, dateline...i'll agree with you. but there's no account. it was (IMO) a direct request for money. no snark, the pages bother the crap out of me. just seemed odd in an obituary...

nevermind...:silencednward...

There was an article that had a link but it didn't work for me. I couldn't find it on the site either.

 

[courtneyb]

Ive had this horrible thought that they may have come home and seen the door open and went looking for him and found him on the side of the road frozen to death.

But if something like that happened then why not just call 911?

It doesn't make sense to coverup anything if its an honest accident and since the autopsy so far has indicated no physical trauma it does make me lean towards the possibility the boy could have gone out on his own.

Just seems almost impossible the boy made that walk in freezing temps and especially with a house right there and even a couple other houses he would have passed that likely had lights on that he would have spotted from that road.

But when I try to think of why someone would try to coverup an accident then that seems unlikely too unless something like the toxicology report will uncover something we are not aware of.

This case is another real stumper.
So many of these cases like the Deorr case are very difficult. They seem easy at first but then they begin to get complex.

The only reason I can think of that might make sense regarding not wanting to call 911 if your child died accidentally would be if the parent had been engaged in an illegal activity at the time of the accident. People panic at the thought of getting caught/getting in trouble and may rationalize it as something like "I've already lost my child, nothing is going to change that, but if I get busted for ........ And go to prison on top of losing my child...I can't handle that too. That would be too much to bear."

It seems far more likely to me that a parent would lie about an accident if they know the child is dead and there is no hope of him living. If a child is truly missing and the parent is desperate to find them, they would be much more likely to spill their guts to help police find him.

If there is an accidental death of a child, I can see zero reason a parent would lie about what happened unless they are/were involved in something that will get them in trouble.

Not saying this is what happened here. But the vague late night errand that lasts until 1:30 am, that involves people not well known to Titus, left home to watch this child, sounds like errands that people like you and I don't run. During the day OR the night. What is open at that time of night near there? And if they went to Walmart or something why not just say, "We had to run to Walmart to get snacks because we forgot tomorrow is Titus's snack day at daycare."? Or whatever.

People don't "run errands" from midnight to 1:30 am. Errands are the bank, the post office, paying the light bill. When you leave your house in the middle of the night, you are going someWHERE SPECIFIC. Not on an "errand".

MOO, of course.


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[courtneyb]

ok, dateline...i'll agree with you. but there's no account. it was (IMO) a direct request for money. no snark, the pages bother the crap out of me. just seemed odd in an obituary...

nevermind...:silencednward...

I have someone I am Facebook acquainted with put up a page so that he could take his kids to Disney because they wanted "The trip of a lifetime". I was mortified. I just muttered, "me too, buddy." then unfriended him and never looked back, lol!


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[cobalt sky]

hmmm...julyruby, can you explain (without violating TOS)? interesting angle...

I don't really know White Rabbit, it's just something I've kept in the back of my mind as a possibility.

Using Google Street View I walked the route that Titus would have taken if he actually did walk all that way (Hwy 72). If it were daytime and above freezing temperatures, I can totally see an adventurous 3-year-old doing that walk. But it was in the middle of the night, freezing cold, there are no streetlights along the route that I could see. It would have been totally dark. There are other homes and roads along the way that I'm sure some of them have lights on at night and could have attracted him. So it is very hard for me to believe he made it all the way to Collins Rd before veering off to one of the other houses or dirt roads/driveways along the way, as he would have been freezing and extremely uncomfortable within minutes of being outside. Also a miracle nobody hit him with a vehicle because from what I understand a lot of truckers travel that highway. It would be more believable if Titus had visited the Collins Rd house many times and knew the route to get there and was familiar with the vehicles parked there, but according to LE there are no connections between the families so scratch that theory...for now anyways...I wouldn't be surprised if it ends up that there is some connection imo.

So if Titus didn't enter the van himself, how did he get in there? I'm sure that LE is questioning the residents of the Collins Ln home and the owner/s of the van. I thought maybe it was a hit & run situation, except someone panicked and "ran" with the body, but the autopsy doesn't appear to support that. If the Collins Ln residents are not involved, and the van had been on their property in the location where Titus was found in it, then someone had to have come up to the property and placed Titus in there. It's not impossible, but imo very risky with dogs running around, how did the person know the van was unlocked? Just lucky? Or familiar with this home and its routine? Also look how close the van was parked to the house, right next to those windows. Nobody heard anything? That's why I wonder, if Titus didn't get in it himself, then maybe the van was somewhere else besides the Collins Rd location when he was placed in it. I don't have a specific theory on that yet, just some ideas that I'm sure others might be wondering about too. I really wish we knew if Titus's fingerprints were anywhere on/in that van.

Also, a MSM report I don't remember seeing before... the reporter confirms that Titus's little sister was also there at the home when Titus went missing. http://www.kmov.com/story/31201735/...-county-toddler-may-have-died-of-hypothermia#

 

[Zuri]

It sounds as though the Missouri State Police, the FBI and some other agencies are involved in this investigation IIRC. I would like to think that they will figure out what happened, without compromise.

 

[AmyPond]

The only reason I can think of that might make sense regarding not wanting to call 911 if your child died accidentally would be if the parent had been engaged in an illegal activity at the time of the accident. People panic at the thought of getting caught/getting in trouble and may rationalize it as something like "I've already lost my child, nothing is going to change that, but if I get busted for ........ And go to prison on top of losing my child...I can't handle that too. That would be too much to bear."

It seems far more likely to me that a parent would lie about an accident if they know the child is dead and there is no hope of him living. If a child is truly missing and the parent is desperate to find them, they would be much more likely to spill their guts to help police find him.

If there is an accidental death of a child, I can see zero reason a parent would lie about what happened unless they are/were involved in something that will get them in trouble.

Not saying this is what happened here. But the vague late night errand that lasts until 1:30 am, that involves people not well known to Titus, left home to watch this child, sounds like errands that people like you and I don't run. During the day OR the night. What is open at that time of night near there? And if they went to Walmart or something why not just say, "We had to run to Walmart to get snacks because we forgot tomorrow is Titus's snack day at daycare."? Or whatever.

People don't "run errands" from midnight to 1:30 am. Errands are the bank, the post office, paying the light bill. When you leave your house in the middle of the night, you are going someWHERE SPECIFIC. Not on an "errand".

MOO, of course.


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I think someone earlier in the thread said that they run errands late at night. Obviously not to places like the bank since they are closed. But I'm sure plenty of people go to the store or Walmart late. Especially those who work odd hours. If people didn't shop at those times, I don't think places would stay open.

Some people refer to trips to the store and Walmart as "errands" (I do.)

 

[white rabbit]

great post, Courtneyb (IMO). good questions and analysis. copy and post that to the deorr kunz thread. lol (not really laughing though the parallels are uncanny).

julyruby, amazing food for thought. after my (amateur) posts regarding the coroner, next questions regard the neighbor. who is he/she/they and when/what/where were their routine or employment? and why haven't anyone (LE, family, friends) commented on the discovery?

I don't disagree with your theory either. perhaps the minivan was driven back to the house? from where I don't know, nor for what reason. but definitely a whole different angle on the case...