GUILTY MS - Alexandria "Ally" Kostial, 21, Ole Miss student found dead, Harmontown, 20 Jul 2019 *ARREST* #2

[JudgeJoe]

Re: the kidnapping. So, my understanding of the grand jury phase is to determine if there is enough evidence for the case to go forward. The fact that there is a kidnapping charge implies that there is evidence of a kidnapping, correct? (Someone can clarify...I am not an attorney.) I am curious as to how they know she was kidnapped. Did they find evidence on/with her body? Did she text a friend that night to say that Brandon was taking her somewhere? Was a kidnapping evident on the convenience store surveillance video*? Law enforcement must have gotten this info somehow and it must have been very reliable.

MOO/my theory is that Ally texted a friend that she was being taken somewhere, or perhaps that Brandon was acting erratically and she was scared. Stay with me here...I always thought it was SO coincidental that an officer happened to check the lake area -- that specific spot -- and came upon her body a mere hours after she died. LE said it was a routine check of the area -- but was it really? Maybe this wasn't a coincidence...perhaps a friend received this weird text from Ally, and alerted authorities about it, which is why they went checking around the area. They seemed to home in on Brandon pretty quickly.

My other question -- what do you think of this "information" that Farese received the day before the bond hearing? What do you think it was? I wonder if they received notification that there was evidence that he kidnapped her, which would make it a capital case. MOO of course.

* I always thought it was strange that the surveillance video wasn't ever revealed. I believe a reporter asked for it early on. If the two of them had simply been on camera buying beer and cheetos, wouldn't it have been released like the video of Ally walking and texting in Oxford? I wonder if there was something incriminating on that video and the DA was just waiting to reveal it at the right time....again just my own supposition.

IMO... d) none of the above
She was “kidnapped” because MS statutory code defines it as using persuasion, deception, flattery (inveigle) to entice someone to go somewhere willingly for nefarious purpose.

In MS, kidnapping elements include...
“Every person who, without lawful authority... inveigle... with intent... to cause a person to be secretly confined or imprisoned against his or her will... or to cause a person... to be deprived of his or her liberty... or in any way held to service against his or her will.”

I think he lured her to “talk”. In that remote location. Where there was no one to hear & no place to run.

MOO based on tidbits we have so far from LE & MSM.

Edited to add link explaining kidnapping in MS: Mississippi Kidnapping/Abduction Laws – Kidnapping

 

[kbpirate]

Re: the kidnapping. So, my understanding of the grand jury phase is to determine if there is enough evidence for the case to go forward. The fact that there is a kidnapping charge implies that there is evidence of a kidnapping, correct? (Someone can clarify...I am not an attorney.) I am curious as to how they know she was kidnapped. Did they find evidence on/with her body? Did she text a friend that night to say that Brandon was taking her somewhere? Was a kidnapping evident on the convenience store surveillance video*? Law enforcement must have gotten this info somehow and it must have been very reliable.

MOO/my theory is that Ally texted a friend that she was being taken somewhere, or perhaps that Brandon was acting erratically and she was scared. Stay with me here...I always thought it was SO coincidental that an officer happened to check the lake area -- that specific spot -- and came upon her body a mere hours after she died. LE said it was a routine check of the area -- but was it really? Maybe this wasn't a coincidence...perhaps a friend received this weird text from Ally, and alerted authorities about it, which is why they went checking around the area. They seemed to home in on Brandon pretty quickly.

My other question -- what do you think of this "information" that Farese received the day before the bond hearing? What do you think it was? I wonder if they received notification that there was evidence that he kidnapped her, which would make it a capital case. MOO of course.

* I always thought it was strange that the surveillance video wasn't ever revealed. I believe a reporter asked for it early on. If the two of them had simply been on camera buying beer and cheetos, wouldn't it have been released like the video of Ally walking and texting in Oxford? I wonder if there was something incriminating on that video and the DA was just waiting to reveal it at the right time....again just my own supposition.

Possibly buying a pregnancy test? Just a thought.

 

[Seattle1]

Re: the kidnapping. So, my understanding of the grand jury phase is to determine if there is enough evidence for the case to go forward. The fact that there is a kidnapping charge implies that there is evidence of a kidnapping, correct? (Someone can clarify...I am not an attorney.) I am curious as to how they know she was kidnapped. Did they find evidence on/with her body? Did she text a friend that night to say that Brandon was taking her somewhere? Was a kidnapping evident on the convenience store surveillance video*? Law enforcement must have gotten this info somehow and it must have been very reliable.

MOO/my theory is that Ally texted a friend that she was being taken somewhere, or perhaps that Brandon was acting erratically and she was scared. Stay with me here...I always thought it was SO coincidental that an officer happened to check the lake area -- that specific spot -- and came upon her body a mere hours after she died. LE said it was a routine check of the area -- but was it really? Maybe this wasn't a coincidence...perhaps a friend received this weird text from Ally, and alerted authorities about it, which is why they went checking around the area. They seemed to home in on Brandon pretty quickly.

My other question -- what do you think of this "information" that Farese received the day before the bond hearing? What do you think it was? I wonder if they received notification that there was evidence that he kidnapped her, which would make it a capital case. MOO of course.

* I always thought it was strange that the surveillance video wasn't ever revealed. I believe a reporter asked for it early on. If the two of them had simply been on camera buying beer and cheetos, wouldn't it have been released like the video of Ally walking and texting in Oxford? I wonder if there was something incriminating on that video and the DA was just waiting to reveal it at the right time....again just my own supposition.

Good questions and summary of account.

Relative to "kidnapping charge"-- important to understand that the legal definition of kidnapping for criminal charges is not at all similar to the public definition of kidnapping.

Regardless of the what State a crime occurs, you can pretty much assume there will be a kidnapping charge whenever a murder victim is unable to escape injury from their perpetrator. The fact that Ally willingly or not left with BT to talk, or whether he intended to shoot Ally when he picked her up would have no bearing here -- only that Ally was unable to avoid the gunfire aimed at her at the particular location they stopped constitutes "kidnapping" under MS law. (We also saw this with M. Lueck who willingly took Uber from SLC airport to park to meet and leave with her assailant -- also charged with kidnapping when she could not avoid being bludgeoned by him) whether forcibly held or not.

Officer routine patrols of Sardis Lake area is reportedly true. In fact, msn and locals indicate the area "heavily patrolled." Just weeks ago there was report of young sisters and attempted kidnapping when they came out of the restroom at Sardis Lake camp area. Sheriff said the area is heavily patrolled with usually no problems. They're still investigating, and deputies are unsure if the man was actually attempting to abduct the girls or trying to scare them.

The alleged video of BT and Ally at the deli puts the defendant and victim together near the location of where her body recovered is relevant circumstantial evidence. Released video of Ally and others walking/driving in the Square not the same.

I believe the evidence defense allegedly received prior to the bond hearing may have been as simple as private investigator report proving to defense that BT was not truthful with his lawyers (BT believes his own lies), requiring change in strategy, or maybe the autopsy report released to them. Difficult to know with sealed case.

With capital murder indictment in the works, I don't believe Judge would have allowed BT released on bail-- reasonable amount or not. MS employs a "bail schedule" for criminal charges -- can be found posted earlier in thread.

MOO

ETA: Attach great map/graphic of Sardis Lake and public rec areas

https://www.mvk.usace.army.mil/Portals/58/docs/Lakes/Mississippi/Sardis/Sardis Lake Brochure Map.pdf?ver=2013-01-30-145935-713

 

[MemPat]

Re: the kidnapping. So, my understanding of the grand jury phase is to determine if there is enough evidence for the case to go forward. The fact that there is a kidnapping charge implies that there is evidence of a kidnapping, correct? (Someone can clarify...I am not an attorney.) I am curious as to how they know she was kidnapped. Did they find evidence on/with her body? Did she text a friend that night to say that Brandon was taking her somewhere? Was a kidnapping evident on the convenience store surveillance video*? Law enforcement must have gotten this info somehow and it must have been very reliable.

MOO/my theory is that Ally texted a friend that she was being taken somewhere, or perhaps that Brandon was acting erratically and she was scared. Stay with me here...I always thought it was SO coincidental that an officer happened to check the lake area -- that specific spot -- and came upon her body a mere hours after she died. LE said it was a routine check of the area -- but was it really? Maybe this wasn't a coincidence...perhaps a friend received this weird text from Ally, and alerted authorities about it, which is why they went checking around the area. They seemed to home in on Brandon pretty quickly.

My other question -- what do you think of this "information" that Farese received the day before the bond hearing? What do you think it was? I wonder if they received notification that there was evidence that he kidnapped her, which would make it a capital case. MOO of course.

* I always thought it was strange that the surveillance video wasn't ever revealed. I believe a reporter asked for it early on. If the two of them had simply been on camera buying beer and cheetos, wouldn't it have been released like the video of Ally walking and texting in Oxford? I wonder if there was something incriminating on that video and the DA was just waiting to reveal it at the right time....again just my own supposition.

Regarding the kidnapping charge, I believe probable cause of kidnapping had to be shown for them to indict on that. The murder charge seems to be a no-brainer with bloody clothes and the gun (assuming ballistics match).

I wouldn't be surprised if Ally slipped a note to the store clerk or looked like she was frightened and he/she called LE, hence the drive around the lake area and the early lock-in on Brandon. MOO

 

[justiceforwomen27]

As far as the kidnapping goes, I think he lured her outside and into his car to talk. And I think the conversation either didn’t go his way, or maybe there wasn’t much of one, and he drove off with her. Or maybe drove around and talked, and once they got near the highway, where the likelihood of unlocking the door and jumping out is slim because your going 60-65 MPH, he took off. We never heard of her vehicle being found by her body, so we can assume either A) he picked her up at her apartment B) she met him somewhere in oxford or C) she met him at his apartment.

 

[Seattle1]

Brandon Theesfeld indicted on capital murder in slaying of Ole Miss student Ally Kostial

8/30/19 - Clarion Ledger

 

[JudgeJoe]

Still chewing on the kidnapping aspect.. Snipped these to shorten...

I wouldn't be surprised if Ally slipped a note to the store clerk or looked like she was frightened and he/she called LE, hence the drive around the lake area and the early lock-in on Brandon. MOO

..once they got near the highway, where the likelihood of unlocking the door and jumping out is slim because your going 60-65 MPH, he took off. .

It’s true there could have been a point when Ally realized she was in danger & tried to escape or alert someone- or been at gunpoint. But I fear it to be more like the video interview of a neighbor of BT who described him as having “played her to the very end”. From all accounts, I think she thought this would all work out (pregnancy or no pregnancy), he’d come to his senses & love her the way she loved him & they’d marry & live happily ever after. They could have even “made love” by that lake in the moonlight moments before the first bullet hit.

I don’t think she knew she was in danger until after the impact of that first shot hit her & the sight of blood was on her hands. I think she was still alive when she felt more shots hit her abdomen & heard the sound of his tires crunching on the gravel as he drove away without looking back. Then & only then- as she lay there dying in the moonlit silence- do I think she realized she was in trouble, that she would never see her family again, never hold a baby or ever be loved by BT in any way. With many shots, death likely came quickly. But so did her final thoughts.

I wonder if autopsy shows evidence of sexual activity shortly before death & if there were sideways dried tears as they might have rolled into the field as she lay there knowing her life was ending that way that night.

This case breaks my heart- I hate the thought of her lying in the grass by the lake bleeding to death, alone & heartbroken right before or at daybreak. It’s excruciatingly sad- I think I’d feel better somehow if she’d had the chance to fight him or escape. But I really think the kidnapping charge was from pure lure, manipulation & evil. I really want this selfish spoiled cruel-beyond-words-a-hole to go away somewhere really miserable for the rest of his sorry existence.

 

[Seattle1]

Regarding the kidnapping charge, I believe probable cause of kidnapping had to be shown for them to indict on that. The murder charge seems to be a no-brainer with bloody clothes and the gun (assuming ballistics match).

I wouldn't be surprised if Ally slipped a note to the store clerk or looked like she was frightened and he/she called LE, hence the drive around the lake area and the early lock-in on Brandon. MOO

I recall the surveillance from Lakeside Market in Como, MS (near Sardis Lake) was allegedly for gas purchase, and Ally never got out of the vehicle. MOO

 

[borndem]

I recall the surveillance from Lakeside Market in Como, MS (near Sardis Lake) was allegedly for gas purchase, and Ally never got out of the vehicle. MOO

That's what I recall as well -- she never got out of the vehicle.

 

[TigerGal]

That's what I recall as well -- she never got out of the vehicle.

Oh, I didn't see that reported. I hope to hell that they have a very clear visual on her if she's in the car so her identity cannot be disputed. Remember his dad asserted that BT had an alibi. Of course, you can take whatever he says with a grain of salt (that applies to both father and son).

 

[Kittybunny]

Still chewing on the kidnapping aspect.. Snipped these to shorten...





It’s true there could have been a point when Ally realized she was in danger & tried to escape or alert someone- or been at gunpoint. But I fear it to be more like the video interview of a neighbor of BT who described him as having “played her to the very end”. From all accounts, I think she thought this would all work out (pregnancy or no pregnancy), he’d come to his senses & love her the way she loved him & they’d marry & live happily ever after. They could have even “made love” by that lake in the moonlight moments before the first bullet hit.

I don’t think she knew she was in danger until after the impact of that first shot hit her & the sight of blood was on her hands. I think she was still alive when she felt more shots hit her abdomen & heard the sound of his tires crunching on the gravel as he drove away without looking back. Then & only then- as she lay there dying in the moonlit silence- do I think she realized she was in trouble, that she would never see her family again, never hold a baby or ever be loved by BT in any way. With many shots, death likely came quickly. But so did her final thoughts.

I wonder if autopsy shows evidence of sexual activity shortly before death & if there were sideways dried tears as they might have rolled into the field as she lay there knowing her life was ending that way that night.

This case breaks my heart- I hate the thought of her lying in the grass by the lake bleeding to death, alone & heartbroken right before or at daybreak. It’s excruciatingly sad- I think I’d feel better somehow if she’d had the chance to fight him or escape. But I really think the kidnapping charge was from pure lure, manipulation & evil. I really want this selfish spoiled cruel-beyond-words-a-hole to go away somewhere really miserable for the rest of his sorry existence.

Oh my god. This just brings it home. Poor poor Ally!

 

[JudgeJoe]

DBM- wrong thread!

 

[ilovechili]

Bumping.

 

[ilovechili]

I just watched people having fun tailgating at Ole Miss on HLN. A bit better PR than this case. I guess the fall semester is well underway missing a few students--one dead, one in jail and possibly his sister...

 

[JudgeJoe]

I wonder how the ol’ psychiatric exam is comin’ along. The Mississippi State Hospital is in Pearl, MS. I wonder if they transport him there in his lil’ orange lounge wear & shackles, or if the examiner comes to him. Or maybe this is all just a stall tactic to delay his arrival at the Big House.

 

[Seattle1]

I wonder how the ol’ psychiatric exam is comin’ along. The Mississippi State Hospital is in Pearl, MS. I wonder if they transport him there in his lil’ orange lounge wear & shackles, or if the examiner comes to him. Or maybe this is all just a stall tactic to delay his arrival at the Big House.

8/22/19-- Defense withdrew the bond hearing request, allegedly because of new information received, and requested mental evaluation of their client, and prosecutor agreed.

A week later, BT indicted for capital murder. This is the norm given the charges, and best to get this out of the way long before any reason for appeal.

I don't believe this a delay tactic, and although prosecutor stated he doesn't expect any delay with trial, BT's defense immediately complained about the back-up at MS State Mental Hospital.

"We have problems at the state hospital, we're backed up, and we will be one of many people waiting for an evaluation," Farese said. "Unfortunately, that is a problem in our system in Mississippi but we'll work through that and get in line and they will get us evaluated as soon as possible."

Man Accused Of Killing Ole Miss Student Ally Kostial Requests Psych Evaluation

 

[Quill]

I wonder how the ol’ psychiatric exam is comin’ along. The Mississippi State Hospital is in Pearl, MS. I wonder if they transport him there in his lil’ orange lounge wear & shackles, or if the examiner comes to him. Or maybe this is all just a stall tactic to delay his arrival at the Big House.

Well, let me tell ya... if he hasn't been smacked into reality yet, he soon will be as an inmate at Whitfield. Even if it's only temporary it will be a very rude awakening for this guy. It has a beautiful campus with stately old brick buildings with the long driveway entrance being reminiscent of a scene from one of those typical mysterious/creepy movies often set in the south. The harsh reality of the interior contrasted against the pretty landscape is surely straight out of a movie.

 

[borndem]

Well, let me tell ya... if he hasn't been smacked into reality yet, he soon will be as an inmate at Whitfield. Even if it's only temporary it will be a very rude awakening for this guy. It has a beautiful campus with stately old brick buildings with the long driveway entrance being reminiscent of a scene from one of those typical mysterious/creepy movies often set in the south. The harsh reality of the interior contrasted against the pretty landscape is surely straight out of a movie.

Thanks for the info!
A little bit of hell won't hurt him!

 

[oviedo]

I'm very glad that he is not getting special treatment due to possible family connections IMO. Thanks for posting the updates.

 

[Seattle1]

Well, let me tell ya... if he hasn't been smacked into reality yet, he soon will be as an inmate at Whitfield. Even if it's only temporary it will be a very rude awakening for this guy. It has a beautiful campus with stately old brick buildings with the long driveway entrance being reminiscent of a scene from one of those typical mysterious/creepy movies often set in the south. The harsh reality of the interior contrasted against the pretty landscape is surely straight out of a movie.

Welch said the State Hospital at Whitfield, which has 476 hospital beds, 80 of which are for chemical dependency programs, has never been expanded. He said local jails have mentally ill people arrested for felony crime who are awaiting trial or those convicted of felonies awaiting pickup by MDOC.

Prisons largest mental institutions, study shows

I wonder if they ever send personnel to the jail to conduct mental evaluations as seen in other states. BT is not the typical mental inmate, and as far as we know, has no history of hospitalization in psych ward.