OR OR - Heather Thompson, 39, Roseburg, 4 Aug 2010

DNA Solves
DNA Solves
DNA Solves
OMG it's been almost 2 years, and the police haven't done crap? There has to be something or someone they are looking into. This is no fair. I wish you guys could have met her. She was the most kind and thoughtful person. I pray everyday that today is the day the police gets this monster.
 
I recently traveled to the coast with a friend and we pulled off the road in Green.....just so I could see for myself where Heather lived. I sat for a while and meditated about the loss of this special woman. What a tragedy.

No news. No answers. No word. Nothing.
 
Hi Folks~Due to major changes in my life, I rarely check in with WS these days. However, there are some cases which continue to haunt me. Heather's murder is one of them. Most know that I live in Ashland. Ashland was the location of the brutal murder of David Grubbs in late 2011. That murder remains unsolved but I've never really sensed a connection to Heather's. However, who knows.

Then......our town was just alerted to yet another murder. Rare in these parts indeed. Frank Damiano (AKA Tony Della Penna) was found murdered this last Thursday (Oct. 10th). Our church led a short memorial to him this morning as a number of members have known him through local chorale groups.

I didn't immediately think of Heather and then I read some of the details. Hmmmmm. The thing that most concerned me is that Tony lived in a mobile home/trailer which is adjacent to I-5. Also, neighbors don't feel threatened. That strikes me as odd. Possibly the neighbors have far more info than most of us but that seems very similar to neighbors' response to Heather's death.

Just putting it out there:

http://www.ktvl.com/shared/news/top-stories/stories/ktvl_vid_9506.shtml

"ASHLAND, Ore.-Jackson County Sheriff's Office said Saturday the death of Frank Damiano was a homicide. "People stop and ask me or if I'm walking they stop and ask me. They've called me," said K..... M....., manager at Bear Creek Mobile Home Park.
M..... said she had a lot of questions about how her neighbor ended up dead.

Frank Damiano lived in Ashland and to many he was known as Tony. "He always came to the community barbecue and he was just a very open outgoing guy [...] he was into theater and he belonged to a couple different choruses," said M......

Jackson County Sheriff's Office said an autopsy answered one of M......'s lingering questions, Damiano was killed, but M...... said other residents in the area didn't seem worried their safety was at risk. "I haven't heard really any of them say they're afraid because it seems to be an isolated incident and this park this is the first thing anything like this has ever ever happened........."

More at link
 
In a couple days it will of been four years since Heather's murder... No answers, no clues, nothing... 4 years??? Oregon really needs to step up and solve this now long since cold case... Miss you Heather and happy late 43rd birthday!
 
Happy Un-Anniversary Heather... 20 years ago today we got married. I remember thinking I can't wait for this to end, I had never seen a ceremony so long! LOL

Do you have an old wedding photo of Heather from that day that you could or would share with us?
 
Sorry to say, I don't think I have any of them (I'll look though my photo box just in case)... She had them with her in Oregon and after she was killed, her parents kept everything...
 
Happy 44th Birthday Heather... It's been almost five years and still no arrests made, even though they know who did it... OR Police need to get off their *advertiser censored* and take care of this!
 
Five years ago today, Heather was taken from us by a ruthless piece of crap... I wish I could go into details of the brutal murder to make people understand what she must have gone through in her final moments...

Five years ago today and still no arrests... Still no answers... Still no justice...

I'm so sorry Heather... R.I.P.
 
Well...

I've spent the last several hours reading every post, doing research, trying to track down all of the links (90%+ of which are now defunct).

I'm new here, but I saw the call to check out cold cases. I wanted to find one from my beautiful home state of Oregon (I grew up in Eugene), and stumbled on this one. To say it makes me sad and angry is an understatement.

There's a lot of info from the early days of this that I haven't been able to track down (at least as of yet). I know some of the people who were really working on this originally aren't around much anymore, but if anyone is and has any info to share, I'm willing to take up the cause!

I have a multitude of questions! One thing that keeps coming back to me is the question of why Heather was afraid/didn't want to be alone on the night of the 3rd. From what I've read, she was going to stay with CS either after going to Albany or to make it easier to leave for Albany the next morning. I'm wondering what caused this fear. I know that those close to her said it was because there weren't many other homes around there, but I still wonder… Could she have been receiving threatening calls, saying something was going to happen on the 3rd? I'm just throwing this out there, but if the possible scammer duo wanted to get to her, they could have been trying to scare her enough to make her stay with CS that night.

Or, alternatively, was she actually afraid to stay with CS? I don't think that's been brought up anywhere—we still don't really know why she was suddenly worried to be home alone, and perhaps if she was actually telling someone she was afraid to be alone on the 3rd, specifically, it was BECAUSE she knew she was going to be with the "scam duo" (or at least CS) and THAT'S what was scaring her. I don't know, just throwing it out there.

I do want to say, with an open heart and an open mind, in writing these things I mean no disrespect to the family and friends of Heather. If anything, I want you to know that she hasn't been forgotten, and I'd like to look into her case and see what can be done about bringing her killer to justice.

I have many more thoughts/questions/theories, but these will have to wait as it's not only getting late but my brain is quickly moving into "percolation" mode. :) I think I'm going to sleep on all I've digested over the last 6+ hours and see where it all settles out tomorrow. In the meantime, if there's anyone around who was involved in the original investigation and can shed some insight given that so many of the links are no longer valid and therefore even the original press coverage is missing, I would greatly appreciate it! (I'll research more tomorrow, but any help is wonderful!)

Thanks!
 
Alright. So, I may just be talking to myself here, but thought I'd at least post some thoughts so far:

I spent a very restless night going over and over all of this in my head. (Don't worry, I'm a famous insomniac, even without any of my physical issues! :) ) I had many ideas, questions, concerns, thoughts, etc., swim through my head all night long, and I won't go into them all here as many are still percolating and need time to gestate. (Mixed metaphor much? HA!)

Anyway, there were many things that struck me odd in having the luxury of sitting down and reading months and months of all of the research, thoughts, conclusions, and work you all did at the time in one fell swoop. (One thing I didn't have access to were the vast majority of the news articles and other links included in the posts—I've pulled up some in the "wayback machine" but not enough.)

First, I do find MG and CS rather suspicious. I referred to them as the "scam duo" last night, but I still don't know if they were scamming Heather or what. I think Heather was a very open person who likely made friends easily—which is something that is actually relatively hard to do in Oregon (or at least to make friends in the way that most people I've met from pretty much anywhere in the US outside of the Pacific NW are used to).

As someone who is from Oregon originally, if you aren't from there it can be REALLY hard to make friends. It's difficult to explain, but people in Oregon are really friendly but it takes awhile to get close to people, especially to be invited over to people's homes. I try to compare it to France, where you have close friends but you only meet them at the cafe—to get invited to someone's home for dinner in France is a rare gift indeed. In Oregon, people are friendly and open, but they also mind their own business and generally keep to themselves—and home is sacred (at least for native Oregonians). So when people come from out-of-state, especially from places where it's easy to make fast friends, it can be a bit of a strange place. People in OR are so friendly and helpful, but then it doesn't translate from "hey, nice to meet you" into "hey, why don't you come over for coffee".

It's hard to explain, but I could see Heather, coming from Vegas (a place where it's definitely easy to make fast friends!) feeling out of sorts when she got to Roseburg. Not only is it a small community, but it's also Oregon—very different from Vegas or the midwest. While I'm sure she was welcomed into the smaller Wiccan community with open arms, it's still an Oregon community, which as friendly as they all probably were, it does take awhile to get close to native Oregonians. So she was probably reaching out to whomever she could in order to establish a base of friends within her community. MG and CS may have seemed like surrogate parents or grandparents, harmless, welcoming and open, and from what I've read they were both originally from out-of-state as well. So I could see a fast connection forming there when, if you're not a native Oregonian and don't understand the strange and delicate "friendship dance" we so love to do, it can be a bit of a lonely place. It's a huge part of what gives Oregon it's charm, allure, and mystery, and why so many celebrities have homes there—because they know they'll be treated like regular people and generally be left alone, especially at home! :)

OK, so that said, I'd still like to know if the police interviewed CS and MG, and if they interviewed each of them only once or on multiple occasions. According to stitches, in the short time he was around CS her story seemed to change so I can only imagine what LE would have thought during the course of an interview. Since CS is supposedly the one who called in that she was missing, I would think that LE would have interviewed her on at least a few occasions. I would love to know what their thoughts are on her, what she said during those interviews, and if her story ever waivered.

Same goes for MG. I can understand if CS was in Roseburg and MG was in N. Bend why he would urge CS to go check on Heather, I can buy that. I can even buy that CS wasn't sure she should even go over there in the first place—there are times that my mom is just as indecisive and worries about things that she shouldn't worry about, so then she second guesses herself when she is worried about something and things she shouldn't be worried when she actually should! I could also see that if CS originally went over alone, found the truck there and the door open, with the house being pretty isolated, why she wouldn't do a very complete search. As a woman, I'd be a bit freaked out to go in and search the house alone. I could also give reasonable doubt as to CS and MG being involved in Heather's death WRT their searching the house and not finding her: given the area and the general feel of the larger community, I would be hesitant as a person of color to go poking around too much for fear that if something bad did happen it could get pinned on me. Hell, even as a caucasian woman I'd be afraid of having something pinned on me! On the other hand, I can also see them going in and stomping around to muck up the crime scene if one or both of them were somehow responsible or at least accessories to the murder.

I just want to say that I don't know what happened. I'm not defending anyone here, I don't know why anyone did what they did or didn't do. I know how my brain works and what I would do in most situations, but I don't know how these two would act/operate since we know next to nothing about either of them and what we do know is hearsay at best. So please understand, if anyone is reading this, I am in no way trying to offend, upset, or hurt anyone with what I'm writing here. This is more of a brain dump of everything that's been going around my brain, given that I was able to take in months and months of amazing work that you all did in one sitting. And as for my comments about Roseburg, it is a beautiful town, in a very beautiful part of my home state. I don't mean any offense to anyone from that area, nor do I mean any offense to local law enforcement. I have generations of relatives in law enforcement and I have the utmost respect for everything LE does for us every single day.

So, again, I do apologize, many times over, if anything I've written above or may write as I go along is hurtful or upsetting. It's not at all intended to be. It's just my thoughts and questions that I've had swirling around as I'm trying to process this and look at it from some angles that I don't think have been vetted yet.

OK, so, please keep my apology in mind as I get to this next part. And again, this is not an accusation, or meant to be hurtful to anyone. I have a background in psychology, and am an attorney by trade, and am very good at reading people. I am also a great ghost writer—something required in my profession, particularly in my speciality, as I would have to write many things in the "voice" of various partners, and also be able to write to any given audience. So I do pay particularly close attention to one's voice on the page, if you will, as you can tell a lot about a person just from how they write.

So… some questions came up. First off, we had four individuals posting as people who knew Heather. I don't see any of them as being verified, but from what I read I think the information provided was good. I do think that the information provided by these people, however, raised some interesting questions.

xdeadboltx mentioned in her second post (#85, pg 6) that she would have to talk to Dave before revealing where Heather was found. I believe she mentioned saying she'd have to talk to Dave in a couple of other posts as well before revealing certain information. So obviously the family and close friends do have information that was not publicly known. I understand not letting us know at the time, but given that the investigation has stalled, I'm wondering if any of these people would be willing to share this information now.

The same can be said for Only71Stitches. He said in post #136 (pg 10) that "I really wish I could share the details of the crime with you all" but didn't want to get in the way of the detectives. I can understand at the time, when the case was being actively worked on not being at liberty to share any information—however, I'm wondering if now, after all these years and given that LE hasn't been forthcoming with any other information, if there's anything you could share?

You also mentioned an article in the Roseburg Beacon. I haven't been able to find it yet (though they have a website now), but I have reached out to a group in the area who might be able to track down the original article. If I'm able to get my hands on it, I'll post it here.

Now for the tricky part: dcc66. Very knowledgeable, and appears to have been the last person on the phone with Heather before she was killed. DCC66 says she met Heather through Keen, and they became fast friends. I'm not doubting that they were friends, that they were talking, or anything like that. I do have to wonder, though, and PLEASE UNDERSTAND, I mean NO OFFENSE by asking this: I'm not entirely sure DCC66 is who they say they are. I entirely believe DCC66 was someone very close to Heather, but I don't think it's someone who met her on Keen from a reading. I could be entirely wrong, but please hear me out.

1. The join date was within a day or so of stitches—coincidence, perhaps, since the investigation was active at the time. But taken with the rest of this it leads me to believe that DCC66 wasn't a stranger to the rest of the family.
2. DCC tended to post a lot of information that would be known to very close friends and family, which perhaps Heather did share with someone she did a reading for over the phone, but I'm not so sure. DCC also said that Heather didn't give her address or phone number to any other Keen clients other than DCC, so why DCC? And why share all of this really personal information, including sending photos?
3. DCC tended to post relatively near the times that stitches posted, and often said things that supported things stitches said, or added additional information. Which leads me to believe that since stitches identified himself as Michael, he was no longer at liberty to necessarily share all of the information he may have wanted to share with the group; and while X also seemed privy to much of the same information, after identifying herself as well, she was under similar constraints. However, as a relatively anonymous client of Heather's, DCC was able to provide us with more information, despite being the last person to speak with Heather that day.
4. In looking at the grammar, syntax, punctuation, sentence structure, and overall voice, there is an eery similarity between what stitches posted and what DCC posted. I'm not saying that they were the same person—but I'm just kind of wondering if DCC is either MT or DT???

Now, I'm not saying that DCC isn't exactly who she said she is, but the writing style alone is quite unique. Anyway, I'm not trying to be hurtful or offend anyone—in looking back over everything, I'm just trying to determine how much weight to give to each of these people's statements. None were verified, but it seemed like the group was very confident with X and alar. There was no reason to doubt Stitches, and I've tracked down some of his postings to his blog after Heather's death—the writing style matches exactly. Same syntax, grammar, punctuation, spelling errors, sentence structure, etc.

However, DCC—we don't know. And DCC makes some pretty compelling statements about MG and CS. But if DCC really was a client from Keen who became friends with Heather, to the point that they would talk multiple times each day, exchange pictures, had a "routine", and happened to be the last person Heather spoke to on the day of her murder, then it takes us down one road of who our potential suspects could be. But if DCC really is someone much closer, but said the thing about Keen in order to share more info with the hopes that the community here might be able to solve the case, then it would take us down a different path of potential suspects.

Honestly, if I were who I think DCC is, I might have done the same thing if I thought it would help. If I thought the case was going nowhere but there was a community of people who were trying to help, and I knew I couldn't say who I really was, I would have come up with a quick, believable cover story, just to get the important info out there.

So, once again, I truly apologize if I hurt anyone with my thoughts here. That wasn't my intent at all. I'm just hoping that maybe some fresh eyes and a different perspective might shed some new light or uncover something that might just help solve Heather's tragic death.

Anyone is more than welcome to PM me. (At this point I may not have posted enough quite yet to receive PMs, but if not, I'll keep posting and just keep trying!)

Thanks all! More to come...
 
Hi Dr. K, I am the BIL I read what you've been writing. I so thank you for taking an interest in Heather's case. I would be happy to chat with you if your for real.

HI! I am totally for real! I would love to talk with you, so please feel free to PM me. (I think you may have to post more before you can do that, so in the meantime we may need to post here.)

Wow, thanks, though for coming here. It must be unbelievably hard that there is still no resolution in Heather's murder. I was going to post an update that I've been in touch with contacts in Douglas County that are trying to find the article from the Roseburg Beacon, so I'm still crossing my fingers on that. I don't know if they'll have much luck… if nothing else, the next time I'm in Eugene I'll go to my old stomping grounds and see if it might be archived at the Knight Library on campus.

DT, I'm wondering: did LE ever release the autopsy report to her family? Do you know if they ever told Heather's parents where they were on the investigation, or if they had any suspects? It was referenced a few pages back that someone thought her parents were going to find out some information from LE but I'm wondering if that ever happened.

I know that it is probably really hard to talk about Heather and what happened. And I know that you, your brother, and the rest of Heather's friends and family might want to keep a lot of information quiet in the hopes that local LE might still one day catch the killer. I'm just hoping that if there's even one new piece of information you could share, one lead, anything, we might be able to put our collective minds together and find some justice for Heather and peace and closure for everyone who knew and loved her.

I truly am so sorry for what happened to her, and I am truly sorry if anything I posted (or anyone posted) was upsetting or hurtful in any way. That is not the intent of anyone around here—quite the opposite. We really are here because we care deeply about these people. I looked at Heather's case because she was in Oregon, my home state. And the more I read, the more I knew I needed to do whatever I could to try to help. Even if I can't figure it out, maybe something I find can help push the case forward, or get it new attention, so that it can finally be solved.

Anyway, I cannot thank you enough for coming on here. Truly, from the bottom of my heart, thank you. I know that on-line it's hard to know if anyone is for real, but hopefully, if you'll keep coming on and posting, over time you'll come to see that I am for real.

Again, thank you for coming here and thank you for reaching out! I hope to talk to you here or in a message soon!
 
Hey, Dr. K... I'm Michael, the ex-husband. I'm here as well.

My memory isn't the best, but whatever my brother doesn't have for you, I may be able to fill in more.

I don't know what's been released to the public and I have not spoken to her parents in a few years, but my brother talks to them often. He may have a better idea of what they know.

I always found it odd that CS (I think that was her) had the same necklace as Heather's. I remember when we went up there to pack her stuff, we met with CS for lunch or dinner. I didn't think anything about that necklace untill my brother and I were half way back home.

I know I called the LE right away and told them about it.

I still believe it was SM. But I could be wrong...
 

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