OH OH - Brian Shaffer, 27, Columbus, 1 Apr 2006 #5

[Joshmx]

Just to add to my theory, if there is a smiley face killer at work here, who's waiting outside of a bar for a drunk victim, it would make far more sense that they were lurking around the back (construction exit), rather than at the front entrance where there's crowds of people.

I've also attached an image of the construction exit, showing how close it is to the parking area (assuming this is indeed where the girls were parked), it would make complete sense for brian to take this exit to catch up with them.

Furthermore, a reason the dogs may have lost scent after the construction area, is because Brian was bundled into a vehicle, and so wasn't ever seen on other places cctv.

I'm convinced that brian was murdered that night, and that his body could have been disposed of absolutely anywhere. I've seen enough murder documentaries to know that these types of cases only tend to get solved when the suspect is arrested for something else, and they later admit to past crimes. For all we know though, whoever did it could be dead by now, and we can only hope to find a body some day.

One last thing
Does anyone know if vehicles caught on cctv around UTS at 2am-2:10am were tracked? IMO it's entirely possible brian was in one them (likely against his will, or even while unconcious following an altercation).

 

[neesaki]

I suppose we can only speculate as to if brian put something in brightans purse as the video is unclear, though it does look like he has his phone in his hand atleast at some point (given his head movement).

However, strangely one of the guys in front of brian and co, seems to put or take something from one of the other guys pocket just a second later? Which seems a strange coincidence (see attached).

Also do we have any idea where the random girl coming up the escalator was going? She turned the opposite way to UTS yet there was nothing on the other side except the door to a construction site and of course brian/amber/Brightan? Do we know who this girl even is?

Also, we know as per Amber that you could indeed open the construction site door as she had previously used the room to call her boyfriend on a different night at UTS.

Brian said he wanted to walk the girls back to their car, but they'd already left while Brian (presumably) stayed back to chat to the band members (as per Clint and meredith). IMO Brian probably tried to catch up with the girls after they left by taking the construction site exit, forgive me if I'm wrong but I'm 90% sure this exit takes you out on the side of the car park, where the girls would have been parked. Brian probably knew this exit was on the car park side and used it to try catch up faster with the girls.

Whatever happened to him after walking through that door is anyone's guess. I'm personally not sold on the idea he made it as far as Wendys (given that there's no cctv footage of him). I could be being naive here, but couldn't Brian have been at wendys earlier on in the day? Or even the day before? And that's why the dogs picked up his scent there? The dogs were also interested in the construction site, which would support my theory of him atleast being, but not necessarily dying there.

Assuming he did make it out of UTS alive, I know alot of people will say the chances of the same person being attacked by a serial killer, or falling into a river, being the same person that just so happened to be the only person not seen leaving UTS that night, are very low. Personally, given that we know brian was drunk and had a tendency to mouth off at people (as per Clint and also Brian's MySpace bio which reads "PISSS OFF YA ******") I think its entirely possible he ran into trouble outside of UTS, perhaps one Smiley Face Killer.

I think that whatever it was that Brian was doing with his phone (as seen in the uncropped video), it resulted in his phone being turned off, for whatever reason. I believe i'm right in saying, his phone was then turned back on about 10 minutes later, could this have been an unsuccessful attempt to try and call the police, whilst being attacked?

On a side note, i did stumble across what is presumably a youtube troll, who was posting comments on videos about brian, saying he knew what happened to him. Usually, i'd dismiss this as a typical internet troll, however i've never seen a troll with a video as creepy as this one on their channel:

Can you point me to which videos about Brian the troll was commenting on? TIA

 

[Joshmx]

Can you point me to which videos about Brian the troll was commenting on? TIA

99% just a troll, but that video he posted is bizzare

 

[neesaki]

99% just a troll, but that video he posted is bizzare

Thank you. Yes, most likely a troll, but agree that the fun house thing is rather bizarre. Does make one wonder.

 

[Evilxelvis138]

99% just a troll, but that video he posted is bizzare

Another troll replied to his comment saying he knows what happened to Brian as well. This other guys has a few less creepy videos, but seems like someone I would not want to meet alone at night.

 

[Ozoner]

One last thing
Does anyone know if vehicles caught on cctv around UTS at 2am-2:10am were tracked? IMO it's entirely possible brian was in one them (likely against his will, or even while unconcious following an altercation).

I'm certain that they wouldn't track vehicles at random. They wouldn't track a particular vehicle unless they had a reason to suspect that it was connected to Brian's disappearance.

 

[sandy_80]

i think the ( he arranged his disappearance ) theory is the most nonsense in this case...he could have taken off any time he wanted..he didnt need a sci fi kind of plotting where he vanishes into thin air while he is drunk !
HE needs to be some sort of a mastermind to pull all of this off ..as well as being a little unhinged to fabricate something so cruel
I ve always stopped at the roommate who refused a lying test or the women he talked to who weren't given a lie test ..as well as the two who were with him that night.. all options are open in this case except voluntary disappearance
JMO

 

[Ozoner]

i think the ( he arranged his disappearance ) theory is the most nonsense in this case...he could have taken off any time he wanted..he didnt need a sci fi kind of plotting where he vanishes into thin air while he is drunk !
HE needs to be some sort of a mastermind to pull all of this off ..as well as being a little unhinged to fabricate something so cruel
I ve always stopped at the roommate who refused a lying test or the women he talked to who weren't given a lie test ..as well as the two who were with him that night.. all options are open in this case except voluntary disappearance
JMO

I agree. The theory that he took off voluntarily is silly.

And contrary to what some people have tried to claim, LE does not "think he's alive."

Hurst said he's "25%" that Brian is alive and "25%" that Brian is dead—and "50%" no idea. That all means basically nothing. The bottom line is, LE doesn't know.

In my opinion, Brian could have died in the building in some weird way—maybe in a drunken state he found some crevice that he wanted to explore—or he could have met with foul play after leaving the complex. I also can't dismiss the possibility of suicide because sometimes the warning signs are very hard to spot, but I think suicide is unlikely.

 

[sandy_80]

I agree. The theory that he took off voluntarily is silly.

And contrary to what some people have tried to claim, LE does not "think he's alive."

Hurst said he's "25%" that Brian is alive and "25%" that Brian is dead—and "50%" no idea. That all means basically nothing. The bottom line is, LE doesn't know.

In my opinion, Brian could have died in the building in some weird way—maybe in a drunken state he found some crevice that he wanted to explore—or he could have met with foul play after leaving the complex. I also can't dismiss the possibility of suicide because sometimes the warning signs are very hard to spot, but I think suicide is unlikely.

right...and why you think he wasn't found till now if its suicide..or at least his phone ..
?
and what do you think about the (friend ) ..refusing the test and like the brother says ( showing brian in a negative light ) ..you find all of this a little concerning or its just a red herring..

 

[CountSnap]

right...and why you think he wasn't found till now if its suicide..or at least his phone ..
?
and what do you think about the (friend ) ..refusing the test and like the brother says ( showing brian in a negative light ) ..you find all of this a little concerning or its just a red herring..

Mel Wiley thinks he could be alive.

 

[Ozoner]

right...and why you think he wasn't found till now if its suicide..or at least his phone ..
?
and what do you think about the (friend ) ..refusing the test and like the brother says ( showing brian in a negative light ) ..you find all of this a little concerning or its just a red herring..

There is no reason to ever take a lie detector test; I would never take one under any circumstances. A person cannot "pass" or "fail." Lie detectors tests are pseudoscience; they have no scientific validity. That's why they're not allowed in court. They're a tool that LE uses to try to pressure people.

Personally, I think that Clint resents being dragged into the investigation of Brian's disappearance. He may have some anger towards Brian because of that. I very much doubt that he knows anything.

Suicide is unlikely, but a person could take pains to avoid being found after committing suicide. For instance, the person could climb into a dumpster with a contractor garbage bag and then tie himself in from the inside. He could then take some pills, slash his wrists, or simply wait to die of asphyxiation.

 

[CountSnap]

There is no reason to ever take a lie detector test; I would never take one under any circumstances. A person cannot "pass" or "fail." Lie detectors tests are pseudoscience; they have no scientific validity. That's why they're not allowed in court. They're a tool that LE uses to try to pressure people.

Personally, I think that Clint resents being dragged into the investigation of Brian's disappearance. He may have some anger towards Brian because of that. I very much doubt that he knows anything.

Suicide is unlikely, but a person could take pains to avoid being found after committing suicide. For instance, the person could climb into a dumpster with a contractor garbage bag and then tie himself in from the inside. He could then take some pills, slash his wrists, or simply wait to die of asphyxiation.

Just a little interesting note that some states do allow polygraph in court, as long as approved by the defense. This is the case in Ohio.
There is an example of this in a different case.

 

[Ozoner]

Just a little interesting note that some states do allow polygraph in court, as long as approved by the defense. This is the case in Ohio.
There is an example of this in a different case.

That doesn't reflect very well on Ohio because scientifically they polygraph tests are completely invalid.

 

[sandy_80]

There is no reason to ever take a lie detector test; I would never take one under any circumstances. A person cannot "pass" or "fail." Lie detectors tests are pseudoscience; they have no scientific validity. That's why they're not allowed in court. They're a tool that LE uses to try to pressure people.

Personally, I think that Clint resents being dragged into the investigation of Brian's disappearance. He may have some anger towards Brian because of that. I very much doubt that he knows anything.

Suicide is unlikely, but a person could take pains to avoid being found after committing suicide. For instance, the person could climb into a dumpster with a contractor garbage bag and then tie himself in from the inside. He could then take some pills, slash his wrists, or simply wait to die of asphyxiation.

yes .. i get that..still this friend attitude stays a little unusual in similar situation..he took a defensive attitude might be understandable but showing zero concern for a missing friend and talking about ( him being alive and showing him as the bad guy ) when he doesn't know he is alive ..i mean its been years and years.. why refuse to say a word for the media ?
anyway..it could still be a dead end
concerning suicide ..it depends if its planned or not ..what you describe is planned ..and is not really common
and you still have to solve how he left that building first..

 

[Ozoner]

yes .. i get that..still this friend attitude stays a little unusual in similar situation..he took a defensive attitude might be understandable but showing zero concern for a missing friend and talking about ( him being alive and showing him as the bad guy ) when he doesn't know he is alive ..i mean its been years and years.. why refuse to say a word for the media ?
anyway..it could still be a dead end
concerning suicide ..it depends if its planned or not ..what you describe is planned ..and is not really common
and you still have to solve how he left that building first..

Suicide has never been one of my main theories, so I haven't put too much thought into that angle. Regardless of his ultimate fate, I think that he likely entered the construction area at some point.

 

[neesaki]

Interesting points by those weighing in here. The least possibility IMO, is that he is buried under/in the building. It was searched multiple times by multiple persons and dogs. Not there.
Which leaves…. anything else is a possibility. Including voluntarily leaving. Why? We have no evidence that disputes that possibility. Although at the bottom of the list. JMO
Ok, go ahead, throw those tomatoes.

 

[Ozoner]

Interesting points by those weighing in here. The least possibility IMO, is that he is buried under/in the building. It was searched multiple times by multiple persons and dogs. Not there.
Which leaves…. anything else is a possibility. Including voluntarily leaving. Why? We have no evidence that disputes that possibility. Although at the bottom of the list. JMO
Ok, go ahead, throw those tomatoes.

Even if you discount the possibility of his remains being in the complex, there are many possibilities.

He never contacted his friends about the after party that was supposed to happen at his apartment; that suggests to me that he probably didn't make it home.

He could have been attempting to score some drugs for his after party and gotten into an altercation; the construction area might have even been the meeting place for the buy.

He could have exited the construction area and then popped off at the wrong person (since he apparently liked to run his mouth).

A healthy male his age and size would have been an unlikely target for a random street crime, but anything is possible.

Most people aren't good at keeping secrets. If Brian was murdered, it's doubtful that more than one person was involved—not many, anyway. "Three may keep a secret, if two of them are dead." (Ben Franklin)

 

[CountSnap]

That doesn't reflect very well on Ohio because scientifically they polygraph tests are completely invalid.

Yes. That is true. I just don't think it's ever been a priority to change the law because hardly any attorney would agree to the terms. So it hardly ever comes up.
Side note: last I checked there are 23 states in all that allow them in some form.

 

[wary]

That doesn't reflect very well on Ohio because scientifically they polygraph tests are completely invalid.

Well, I believe that the quoted comment was inaccurate.

Are polygraph tests admissible in court?

Other sources say the same thing. Polygraph results may be allowed in court, if the prosecutor, defendant’s attorney, and defendant all agree, and if the judge approves it. Maybe I lack imagination, but it’s hard for me to visualize a situation where this would happen.


MOO

 

[sandy_80]

Interesting points by those weighing in here. The least possibility IMO, is that he is buried under/in the building. It was searched multiple times by multiple persons and dogs. Not there.
Which leaves…. anything else is a possibility. Including voluntarily leaving. Why? We have no evidence that disputes that possibility. Although at the bottom of the list. JMO
Ok, go ahead, throw those tomatoes.

actually we hear there is a detective that thinks he is buried in concrete but the ppl responsible wouldn't be convinced to allow a search because of no real evidence or something like that ..
there one thing I dont understand..if he was shown outside at around 1:55 outside heading towards the entrance...his friends allegedly left around 2 ...thats just a window of minutes ? how can this be explained..did he ever get in...and is there another route for him other than the entrance