ND ND - Thomas 'Tom' Bearson, 19, Fargo, 20 Sep 2014 #4

[CantNotCare]

We have respectfully disagreed on aspects of this case in the past, but I think you are spot on with those questions. Specifically 1-4.
1) Even if they don't know the exact COD (though I expect they do by now), at the very least LE has been able to eliminate many causes. I would like to know what those are.
2) Knowing whether or not the murder occurred at the RV place would tell a lot about the way the murder went down. If he was killed there then the obvious question would be why was he there? If he was dropped there after he died then it would tell us that the location of the murder probably was a place that would make it easier to identify a suspect. Otherwise, why move the body?
3) There was a story on the nightly news that said it was an "interview" that lead police to the body. It was a newscaster who used that word so I don't know if it is accurate. If that was the case then the person who directed police to that location would have to know more about the circumstances of his death. If it was a "tip" (like the people who owned the RV place called police to tell them there was a dead body on the premises) then it would be less meaningful.
4) To me this is the big one. I have never accepted the statement that he left the house at 3:40am as a fact. I haven't heard any verification from LE on that statement, and there is reason to be suspicious about the guys who live at the house so unless that statement has been verified it means nothing to me. If this can't be verified, a lot of the suspicion should fall on the guys at the house.
5) I still don't think the simple fact that he had a backpack with him is out of the ordinary. I have always thought that he was probably carrying drugs or alcohol. Leaving his dorm late on a Friday night to go meet friends...I'm sure he didn't have his biology books in there. In college I left my dorm room late on a weekend night with a backpack on many occasions, and in most cases the backpack was to carry along my good friend Jack Daniels. But I would like to know if the backpack has been found, and more importantly if it has been found I would like to know where.
6) I think NDSU has admitted that some cameras were not functional, but there has to be SOME footage of him as he walked across campus. I'm sure it's not super HD video, but enough to verify when he left his dorm and around the time he was supposed to return. I assume at least a few cameras were functional.

http://m.bismarcktribune.com/news/s...11e4-9abf-17be39785e71.html?mobile_touch=true

“In an interview Monday, the recipient of the tweet, Cody Mead, said Bearson and “Jake” found a ride to Mead’s house in north Fargo after that tweet."

 

[CantNotCare]

Looks to me like the time stamp on the tweet is just '6 months ago'?


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Not the one I saw, but it wasn't on here. The one I saw was 06ish am on 9-20-14

 

[georgihx]

Not the one I saw, but it wasn't on here. The one I saw was 06ish am on 9-20-14

I just assumed that it said that time because the person who screenshotted it was in a different time zone. The 'lost' tweet shows as being sent at 7:23 in the morning because my twitter is set to GMT


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[georgihx]

Another thought, not sure how old CM is (whether he's underage or not?) but he could have deleted that tweet about being 'sloshed' because they showed the 'lost' tweet all over the news etc and he didn't want the police to see that he had been drinking underage? Not sure if it's possible to get in trouble just for tweeting about drinking, but just a thought...

Edit: looking back through my posts and I'm aware that it looks like I'm incessantly trying to defend CM and his friends, this isn't on purpose I'm just trying to fit things together and part of that is trying to think of other reasons that things could have happened (If that makes sense, it probably doesn't...)

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[Justiceforall99]

I don't know why the big secret either about "how" he died and how they were sure the public was not at risk. That just tells me they have some idea this was somewhat personal and not just a random event.
His backpack probably was found, and they probably have some DNA, etc, but no one to match it to- yet.
Kenzie was reported to have seen him "walk away alone" from the party. Did that mean she was outside as he was leaving? Or did she watch him out the window like adults do when their kids walk to the bus/get in the car with friends, etc? We don't even know what direction he started walking. If he had never been to that house before, he may not known exactly how to get back to the dorm even though it was a straight line. But he probably didn't know that. He could have even started walking and realized he was not going even in the right direction and someone offered him a lift.
I always had the impression that this was a small gathering at the trap. Like mentioned earlier "I was one of the last 3 people...." Well I can think of 4 people plus Tom that would have been there.
And I think that the CW tweets were actually on Sunday. That is when everyone seemed to realize he was gone. Except of course his friends he was to come home with and his parents.

 

[AmandaReckonwith]

Please refresh my memory... who is Kenzie?

 

[Justiceforall99]

http://ndsuspectrum.com/missing-ndsu-student/

"He is described by fellow Sartell-native Kenzie Grabow as being over six feet tall and athletic, often wearing hats with Nike shoes and taller socks.

She said Bearson was going back to the resident halls after being with friends."

 

[MINNESOTA-MOM]

(modsnip)

Thank you. Yes, the article I posted yesterday now says "six months ago" instead of the actual time.

9/19/2014 10:00pm: According to news reports, 2 people state Tom leaves the dorm carrying his backpack.

9/19/2014 10:30pm: Tom sends "bored" tweet (FROM WHERE?)

9/20/2014 1:23am: PF sends Snapchat to Tom that is never opened but reports that they had been snap chatting throughout the night..

9/20/2014 1:30am: JW sends "lost tweet" from Tom's phone

9/20/2014 1:30 - 3:40am: CM tells reporters that JW & TOM return to address of 824 14th St North and "hung out for awhile.."

9/20/2014 3:40am: CM reports Tom leaving his house. When asked who he left with, CM states "said something about meeting some baseball players."

9/20/2014 6:24am: CM sends response (subtweet) to the lost tweet, "sloshed at the trap.." Etc..

9/21/2014 UNKNOWN TIME: CM deletes the response tweet.

9/23/2014 11:20am: Tom's body found at Larry's RV in Moorhead, MN.

Seems all a bit strange to me. By the way.. All of this information taken from news reports and MSM.

 

[Justiceforall99]

CM more than likely deleted his tweets because he was tired of them being shown on the news, etc. If Tom and JW needed a ride back to "the trap", how did they get there in the first place? Perhaps they got a ride and that person just dropped them off. Maybe that person wanted to stay and Tom and JW were ready to go. Maybe a fight broke out or crazy things started happening and they just left and went outside or started running and realized they were "lost". And the number they gave was for someone that was outside with them because Tom's phone was about dead. Why didn't JW just use his own phone? Who knows. I feel like we will never know.

 

[bessie]

Screenshots of social media posts are not allowed. If you have a question about the rules, pm a mod.

 

[bessie]

Why are posts missing?
https://storify.com/robbeer/missing-ndsu-student-tommy-bearson

Rob Beer is a reporter for the Forum in Fargo. Here is the story "taken from the Forum" that includes the tweets from CM. If MSM reports it, I believe it's fair game to discuss here, isn't it? Clearly the article has CM's response to lost tweet at 6:34AM.. Which calls into question everything CM has stated and it's no wonder he deleted it.

Posts are missing because screenshots of social media posts are not allowed. Next time, pm a mod instead of complaining in the thread. Also not allowed.

No one said that you cannot discuss the tweets if you have a link from MSM.

So what is the big mystery? The article you linked includes many tweets by CM. The only issue in question that I can see is the time of one tweet. That tweet being the one in which CM tells TB they are "all sloshed at the trap. Send me your address through text after I call you." The time of the screencap in the article reads "six months ago". Bankingonit's screencap (which was removed per TOS) reads Saturday, September 20, 6:24:21. Several tweets from CM follow, and can be viewed in the article with the dates and times intact.

https://storify.com/robbeer/missing-ndsu-student-tommy-bearson

 

[CantNotCare]

I am confused. If I recall correctly this thread began with links of social media and screenshots of tweets related to this case? Thread #1, posts #5 & #10, for example, still intact.

 

[bessie]

Posts #5 and #10 in Thread #1 contain links to the victim's SM profiles, not screenshots.


http://www.websleuths.com/forums/sh...rgo-20-September-2014&p=10992158#post10992158

http://www.websleuths.com/forums/sh...rgo-20-September-2014&p=10992484#post10992484

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Also, social networking pages may only be linked if they are directly related to a case, i.e. the victim or suspect. We don't want to post to someone's mother, brother, employer, milkman, or postal carrier just because they know the main player. We also NEVER link to minor's pages (unless they are the victim). And be sure that the page actually belongs to the person being discussed. Do not link to someone if you are not 100% sure it is the correct person. And if a social networking is set to private and you get in the back way, you may not post what you find. Private means private!

Rules: Etiquette & Information

 

[onamission]

CM more than likely deleted his tweets because he was tired of them being shown on the news, etc. If Tom and JW needed a ride back to "the trap", how did they get there in the first place? Perhaps they got a ride and that person just dropped them off. Maybe that person wanted to stay and Tom and JW were ready to go. Maybe a fight broke out or crazy things started happening and they just left and went outside or started running and realized they were "lost". And the number they gave was for someone that was outside with them because Tom's phone was about dead. Why didn't JW just use his own phone? Who knows. I feel like we will never know.

This is the million dollar question ..How did Tom "GET" to wherever he was when the tweet was sent??..Who picked Tom up from is dorm? The answer to this question is key in my opinion.

 

[MINNESOTA-MOM]

We have respectfully disagreed on aspects of this case in the past, but I think you are spot on with those questions. Specifically 1-4.
1) Even if they don't know the exact COD (though I expect they do by now), at the very least LE has been able to eliminate many causes. I would like to know what those are.
2) Knowing whether or not the murder occurred at the RV place would tell a lot about the way the murder went down. If he was killed there then the obvious question would be why was he there? If he was dropped there after he died then it would tell us that the location of the murder probably was a place that would make it easier to identify a suspect. Otherwise, why move the body?
3) There was a story on the nightly news that said it was an "interview" that lead police to the body. It was a newscaster who used that word so I don't know if it is accurate. If that was the case then the person who directed police to that location would have to know more about the circumstances of his death. If it was a "tip" (like the people who owned the RV place called police to tell them there was a dead body on the premises) then it would be less meaningful.
4) To me this is the big one. I have never accepted the statement that he left the house at 3:40am as a fact. I haven't heard any verification from LE on that statement, and there is reason to be suspicious about the guys who live at the house so unless that statement has been verified it means nothing to me. If this can't be verified, a lot of the suspicion should fall on the guys at the house.
5) I still don't think the simple fact that he had a backpack with him is out of the ordinary. I have always thought that he was probably carrying drugs or alcohol. Leaving his dorm late on a Friday night to go meet friends...I'm sure he didn't have his biology books in there. In college I left my dorm room late on a weekend night with a backpack on many occasions, and in most cases the backpack was to carry along my good friend Jack Daniels. But I would like to know if the backpack has been found, and more importantly if it has been found I would like to know where.
6) I think NDSU has admitted that some cameras were not functional, but there has to be SOME footage of him as he walked across campus. I'm sure it's not super HD video, but enough to verify when he left his dorm and around the time he was supposed to return. I assume at least a few cameras were functional.

I can't recall us disagreeing before. I don't hold grudges.

Regarding point #5.. In my post, I never said it was suspicious that he left with a backpack. My question is WHERE IS IT? I assume it had to be found with his body since the police aren't looking for it. I can safely assume he wouldn't have left it at the trap house or it would have been mentioned by CM when contacted about Tom's whereabouts.

#6.. I'm refusing to believe all of these cameras conveniently don't work in areas of interest. (In the Sadek case, the video surveillance in the parking lots "conveniently" weren't working despite NDSCS knowing they were using kids as CIs and setting up the deals on campus in parking lots!) I would have to believe that at least three maybe as many as six weren't working in the Bearson case. NDSU has a lot of cameras. Look on their website about how "secure" the campus is. So why is there none?

Respectfully, these are my rebuttals. I still think my questions are ones that need answers -- all six of them..

 

[IBsleuthin]

:bump: Just to keep this young man's memory alive.

 

[georgihx]

What do you guys think the cause of death was? I'm angling towards internal bleeding or a head injury. I wonder why the police are being so secretive?

I feel like if they released more details it might jog peoples memories. For example maybe someone saw a fight or the beginnings of a one on that night, but didn't think anything of it (boys fight all the time, usually without serious outcomes) or didn't want to get involved. If the police then said that Tom had injuries that could have been sustained in a fight, people might remember seeing something. 'Homicidal violence' probably won't mean much to many people. I'm not even entirely sure I understand what it means myself. Surely all homicides are violent?


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[Justiceforall99]

I thought head bleed/injury at first too. But I am now thinking possibly strangulation. Only because he could not do that to himself and it could then be called a homicide. And I agree- why all the secrecy? How could that hamper the investigation? The only thing I can think of is if he had all kinds of injuries, etc. and multiple people inflicted those injuries. In order to blame one person for "murder" the exact and final injury that caused his death would need to be determined and probably kept quiet until they bring in the suspects.

 

[human]

In other cases they have kept COD secret so that if anyone confesses or provided info, they can tell if the info is correct or just crackpot

 

[bizzle2]

What do you guys think the cause of death was? I'm angling towards internal bleeding or a head injury. I wonder why the police are being so secretive?

I feel like if they released more details it might jog peoples memories. For example maybe someone saw a fight or the beginnings of a one on that night, but didn't think anything of it (boys fight all the time, usually without serious outcomes) or didn't want to get involved. If the police then said that Tom had injuries that could have been sustained in a fight, people might remember seeing something. 'Homicidal violence' probably won't mean much to many people. I'm not even entirely sure I understand what it means myself. Surely all homicides are violent?


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I lean toward internal bleeding/injury or some type of head trauma as well. I'm not a doctor so I can't get too specific there. With the causes that have been officially ruled out plus some logical reasoning based on the statements the police have made (the statement about COD not being obvious rules out a shooting or stabbing in my mind) I think it was probably a beating that possibly involved something like a bat or tool.

One question: Does anyone know if Tom was in the process of joining a fraternity? Probably not relevant, but you hear stories every year about fraternity initiations going too far. And since Tom was a freshman during the first semester I believe that would be the time fraternity initiations happen.