Found Deceased OH - Joey LaBute, 26, Columbus, 4 March 2016 #2

[ivtec]

Concerning the monies and the family wanting to give refunds, One thing that occurred to me is Joey may have a life insurance policy, or if not his work may offer with his employee bennifits a decent life insurance.
I think I read he was with Morgan Stanley, I am with competitor financial co. and I get 50K life insurance free with my employment benefits. Also the family likely has transferred any savings he had and closed his accounts. Maybe the family no longer needs the funds because these reasons and is so thankful of everyone’s help they want to give back.

 

[bighairdontcare]

I agree that there are clues in the communication(s) from the family. The first communication referred to Joey in the past tense, and spoke of bringing him "home," which I interpreted to mean find his body seeing as they were talking about him as if he'd already passed.
This most recent communication does not mention hoping for justice for Joey, or wanting a resolution to a crime, or anything that would hint at them still hoping for further investigation or action. They are refunding money or asking monies refunded be donated to charity in JL's name.
This leads me to believe they already have an idea of what happened to him, and are just waiting for confirmation. There is probably a lot of information we just aren't privy to.

I totally agree with you.
Now that you mention it, I do find it very odd that there isn't any pages/flyers/articles portraying "justice for Joey." The autopsy was inconclusive- and the COD was not ruled a homicide- the death is suspicious. Who is to say if this is an accident? Either way, if I didn't know how he ended up in the river and I knew that the person was in no way suicidal, I would be doing everything to find the suspected killer. I feel as though, if this was my loved one, I would feel the need to bring justice to that person (unless I already knew probable circumstances surrounding his death!). Like I had previously stated, I probably would have most definitely used the money that was raised to hire a PI to find the suspect and to trace Joey's last steps.The fact that it is going to be reimbursed or donated to a charity, leads me to believe something pertinent to the case has not yet been surfaced. If this is true, I am thinking that it is the family's choice- and, out of respect, it will be hidden from the public.
Who knows? All I know is that this case continues to bother me! Not having answers to something that hits close of home is extremely unsettling!

 

[Valiant]

Perhaps the family is content with whatever information has been provided to them, whether it leads to an arrest or not.
If that's the case, and nothing is made public, we'll just have to accept that and move on - barring an arrest and trial.

 

[janewall]

....
Now that you mention it, I do find it very odd that there isn't any pages/flyers/articles portraying "justice for Joey." The autopsy was inconclusive- and the COD was not ruled a homicide- the death is suspicious. Who is to say if this is an accident? Either way, if I didn't know how he ended up in the river and I knew that the person was in no way suicidal, I would be doing everything to find the suspected killer. .... leads me to believe something pertinent to the case has not yet been surfaced. If this is true, I am thinking that it is the family's choice- and, out of respect, it will be hidden from the public.

I suspect that the family may be cooperating with LE in minimizing the amount of information released about specifics of the case to the public, as much as they can. There has been a fair amount of public/community interest in the case, much of it related to defining plausible search areas in the days immediately after he went missing. The family is plugged into social media, and no doubt is keenly aware of the various routes speculation has taken regarding Joey's personal life and recreational habits, both among locals who may have known him, and among online communities such as this, who for the most part did not. They may find such speculation, especially involving recreational substances and dating apps, to be painful, distasteful, or invasive of his privacy, and not wish to feed into it with comments of their own, so they're not divulging any information about Joey's life that police are aware of but have indicated to them has no bearing on the case.

JMO!

 

[eric136]

I totally agree with you.
Now that you mention it, I do find it very odd that there isn't any pages/flyers/articles portraying "justice for Joey." The autopsy was inconclusive- and the COD was not ruled a homicide- the death is suspicious. Who is to say if this is an accident? Either way, if I didn't know how he ended up in the river and I knew that the person was in no way suicidal, I would be doing everything to find the suspected killer. I feel as though, if this was my loved one, I would feel the need to bring justice to that person (unless I already knew probable circumstances surrounding his death!). Like I had previously stated, I probably would have most definitely used the money that was raised to hire a PI to find the suspect and to trace Joey's last steps.The fact that it is going to be reimbursed or donated to a charity, leads me to believe something pertinent to the case has not yet been surfaced. If this is true, I am thinking that it is the family's choice- and, out of respect, it will be hidden from the public.
Who knows? All I know is that this case continues to bother me! Not having answers to something that hits close of home is extremely unsettling!

"the autopsy was inconclusive- and the COD was not ruled a homicide"
There are boxes on the final coroner report with those two categories (homicide and undetermined) among several other categories to choose from. However, the report has not been finalized and released, pending the toxicology results. Once the toxicology results are received by the coroner, all data will be compiled together and a judgement will be made as to the cause of death. The coroner will then mark one or more of those boxes. The coroner in a couple of statements indicated some initial findings, but didn't draw any conclusions (at least publicly).

 

[bighairdontcare]

"the autopsy was inconclusive- and the COD was not ruled a homicide"
There are boxes on the final coroner report with those categories (homicide and undetermined) among a couple of other categories. However, the report has not been finalized and released, pending the toxicology results.

Sorry about that- I reread my post and should have edited- what I had meant to say WAS... it has not been ruled a homicide YET.
And, it may not ever be ruled that. I am hoping that the toxicology report will shed light on HOW he died- cause of death (the immediate cause). If not, then I suppose the manner of death may be deemed as undetermined.
Lack of visible injury to the body rules out the manner of death as homicide (for now)- if there are drugs in his system, there is now way of knowing if he willingly and knowingly consumed such (unless Rohypnol is present). Unfortunately, the body can never be returned to, if need be.

 

[Rstlne]

Very much worth the time to watch.... Shows the chilling similarities between almost 40 different college aged males between 11 states with the emphasis on Joey's disappearance. Some of the information is already well known to most of us, however it is a great video for anyone willing to listen and refuse to continue to let this happen to another person. Pay particular attention to right around the 14:00 time stamp.


https://youtu.be/z6tINDWuXLo



Source: YouTube.com/occultinvestigationsInc



Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

[VTX88]

This whole case is just "off". Everything about is just wrong. I'm a believer in gut feelings and my guts tell me something fishy is going on. I really can't say what it is since we're restricted, but where we're restricted you can just use your imagination.

 

[ivtec]

Very much worth the time to watch.... Shows the chilling similarities between almost 40 different college aged males between 11 states with the emphasis on Joey's disappearance. Some of the information is already well known to most of us, however it is a great video for anyone willing to listen and refuse to continue to let this happen to another person. Pay particular attention to right around the 14:00 time stamp.

This is so interesting about all these college age guys missing and the smiley face killer..... next college age guy to go missing, is local for me Saint Louis that's been on the news in the past 2 days and has a thread here... MO - Brandon Kyle Bourbon, 24, Potosi, 2 April 2016 .... Odd there are not lots details about this one unlike joey being at union café the night he went missing.

 

[cwosigns]

This is so interesting about all these college age guys missing and the smiley face killer..... next college age guy to go missing, is local for me Saint Louis that's been on the news in the past 2 days and has a thread here... MO - Brandon Kyle Bourbon, 24, Potosi, 2 April 2016 .... Odd there are not lots details about this one unlike joey being at union café the night he went missing.

Potosi is my hometown. Weird that it's happening there after happening here.

 

[Embley]

Very much worth the time to watch.... Shows the chilling similarities between almost 40 different college aged males between 11 states with the emphasis on Joey's disappearance. Some of the information is already well known to most of us, however it is a great video for anyone willing to listen and refuse to continue to let this happen to another person. Pay particular attention to right around the 14:00 time stamp.

This is so interesting about all these college age guys missing and the smiley face killer..... next college age guy to go missing, is local for me Saint Louis that's been on the news in the past 2 days and has a thread here... MO - Brandon Kyle Bourbon, 24, Potosi, 2 April 2016 .... Odd there are not lots details about this one unlike joey being at union café the night he went missing.

I think Brandon's case is a bit different from these ones.

 

[ivtec]

I think Brandon's case is a bit different from these ones.

Agreed, the known details are so far a little different the joeys , however its all unknown and who knows how it could turn out, he is still missing and not real far from Mississippi /Missouri rivers.

 

[CARIIS]

I missed ya guys !!

Dear Mods,

I ended in a unmoderated forum. The most obnoxious human beings I recall dealing with. Learned your value! They were awful, why people go online a spew hate was stunning to me.

Most of them could not type more than 140 characters which I found amusing and scary as far the country goes, we ae lucky we wont be here when this gang grows up and are in charge!!! A bunch of Idiots!

It was truly mortifying!! Hi people that know how to have a thought that is more than 140 characters!!

So thanx!

Found this a nice summary (not Joey) but we all are aware:

Commonalities

• Male college students, Mainly White, between the ages of 17-27
  
  
• Good-looking, good-natured, well-known and well-liked
  
  
• No history of alcohol or drug abuse; No history of erratic behavior or unexplained absences
  
  
• Tend to be high-achieving, academic stand-outs
  
  
• Tend to be gifted athletes (or notably skilled in some other area)
  
  
• All disappeared at night -- always between the months of September and April
  
  
• All last seen drinking at a local bar with friends, or at a party
  
  
• Somehow become separated from friends, often in an area very close to home
  
  
• All immediately reported missing by classmates, friends and family -- who immediately sense something is wrong
  
  
• Student remains missing for weeks, sometimes months - yet his phone, wallet, baseball cap or other personal items are often found in unexpected places
  
  
• When recovered from a nearby river or lake, the victim's body has no signs of a shooting, stabbing, beating, or any other obvious mechanism of death; Authorities find no signs of foul play (NSOFP)
  
  
• Closed cases were determined to be accidental drownings -- often based solely on the fact that the remains were finally found in a waterway
  
  
• Many of the (presumed) drowning victims' remains were eventually located in the same general area where the student first went missing -- often in a place previously searched by divers who found nothing
  
  
  
• An undercurrent of suspicion runs through the story. There are too many odd occurrences -- too many mysteries. Too many missing pieces. The character of the student doesn't fit the plot.
  

http://vanceholmes.com/court/trial_missing.html

Interesting to see his writing style

https://www.linkedin.com/in/joseph-labute-90a91944

 

[bluesneakers]

Hi CARIIS!

 

[CARIIS]

Hi CARIIS!

Hi Blue missed ya !

This is so interesting about all these college age guys missing and the smiley face killer..... next college age guy to go missing, is local for me Saint Louis that's been on the news in the past 2 days and has a thread here... MO - Brandon Kyle Bourbon, 24, Potosi, 2 April 2016 .... Odd there are not lots details about this one unlike joey being at union café the night he went missing.

I first heard of it (Smiley) here and at first I did not look anything up. And I think what is "undermining" law enforcement from forming a task force is just the name. If it were called The Midwest Muderer , whatever , it might get more LE attn. And sadly I think $$$ is one real reason why they are classifing these as accidental, not all, but there without a doubt an MO here, thats just IMO silly. In fact quite a complicated MO IMO

This whole case is just "off". Everything about is just wrong. I'm a believer in gut feelings and my guts tell me something fishy is going on. I really can't say what it is since we're restricted, but where we're restricted you can just use your imagination.

Very much worth the time to watch.... Shows the chilling similarities between almost 40 different college aged males between 11 states with the emphasis on Joey's disappearance. Some of the information is already well known to most of us, however it is a great video for anyone willing to listen and refuse to continue to let this happen to another person. Pay particular attention to right around the 14:00 time stamp.



https://youtu.be/z6tINDWuXLo



Source: YouTube.com/occultinvestigationsInc



Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

Thank you Steph woman podcast thanx - was fascinating. Be warned she talks like i type !! but fascinating.

 

[anonypotomous]

Hi CARIIS!!

 

[Rstlne]

Its hard to think of a suicide based on what we were learning early on but maybe they recently found personal information that started to point more and more towards that.
I suppose we will have to wait for more information to know for sure what happened.

As far as how LE found the body I do remember reading an article where someone had spotted a body in the water. Sorry I don't have the link handy for that. That could have been after LE was already looking in a particular area too.
It just struck me as maybe that is how LE ended up finding him in the water that maybe that person saw it floating. And maybe by time LE could spot him and get him out then maybe it moved a ways away from where first spotted.

ETA I found an article and it was the Missing Persons Unit themselves that spotted the body so that is what I must have read. So it wasn't just a member of the public afterall. Which means detectives were looking in the area.

"Columbus police said detectives with the missing persons unit spotted LaBute’s half-submerged body near a boat launch."

http://www.daytondailynews.com/news/news/body-pulled-from-columbus-river-is-lakota-grad/nqwwX/

Most people who commit suicide want their body to be found. Very rarely will someone commit suicide in the hopes they will never be found. That's why a lot of suicides are accompanied with a note or letter many times explaining their distress and/or personal expressions to loved ones.

 

[trout]

<modsnip>I'm expecting an arrest based just on the fact that we have heard so little.

 

[Tiggerford]

Most people who commit suicide want their body to be found. Very rarely will someone commit suicide in the hopes they will never be found. That's why a lot of suicides are accompanied with a note or letter many times explaining their distress and/or personal expressions to loved ones.

Very good point! I agree most people don't want to be any more of a "burden" (not that they are, but that could be how they're feeing) on their family. Plus Joey seemed very very close to his family- and I don't think he'd put them through all that wondering/worrying intentionally. Plus, I just can't imagine anyone going out with friends/family and deciding to get up from the table to go commit suicide....

 

[CARIIS]

I am expericing some nagging notions about video. The had 14 cameras, so I think it is logical to assume a couple of them might be on entry door. I really cant imagine a "black friday stampede!!!! So........... blurry or not.......................freeze frame?

Same thing with a back door, a staff door, or a fire escape. I cant image a reverse black friday with the staff door, or a back door eitherand assume the fire escapes have an alarm

So whats up? I wonder if LE counted how many cameras were there. ANy locals next time you in there see if there are any on the entry, or what would your gerneral count be.

I am thinking if one came up with 16 that are visible to custumers then .........................

I have to assume management has at some point "seen" there output, and right when turning them over to LE cautioned that it was so busy that it would be hard. I would also assume the cash registers have them directly o them.

Again, were there so many bartenders behind the bar that one would not be able to see anything. "going to bar for a drink". Everyone at a bar standing still &#8203;?????????????

ALso, dont visualize black fridays with the restrooms in an establlishment, can get busy on busy night - but again if that busy, would have a line, people stand still waiting for ther room again ???????
=======================================


If this is in his blood, I dont think anyone vol eats this stuff to "party"...

Rohypnol is a tranquilizer about ten times more potent than Valium. T.... crush the pills and snort the powder, sprinkle it on marijuana and smoke it, dissolve it in a drink or inject it.

Rohypnol users often describe its effects as &#8220;paralyzing.&#8221; The effects start twenty to thirty minutes after taking the drug, peak within two hours and may persist for eight or even twelve hours. A person can be so incapacitated (made unable to act) they collapse. They lie on the floor, eyes open, able to observe events but completely unable to move. Afterwards, memory is impaired and they cannot recall any of what happened.
The person experiences loss of muscle control, confusion, drowsiness and amnesia.
Rohypnol is sold in Europe and Latin America as a sleeping pill, but it is illegal in the United States.



http://www.drugfreeworld.org/drugfacts/prescription/rohypnol.html

I am also not sure I ever remember really reading Justin was his roomate. On the only story I have seen "friend" was used in the intro to the interviews ?