Actually, he was stupid enough to dump his gun in the bushes right outside the police station, (as if that wouldn't be found!), so maybe he was stupid enough to try to use a bottle of Febreze to clean the car in the Walmart parking lot... Also, Cindy Anthony tried to use Febreze to clean the odor of a decaying body from Casey Anthony's car! I don't believe the reason he ditched the license plate was to lead them to her body, more likely it was to delay identification of the car, that part he thought of.
If he dumped the gun in the bushes it wasn't because he was inherently stupid. He graduated with a 3.35 gpa, and that was even higher in junior high--over 3.6 if I recall correctly. People can make unwise choices in life, but the fact is...your intelligence remains fairly stable. One might lose
reason due to extreme mental illness (psychosis) and behave irrationally, but basic IQ remains the same. It remains the same even if one is emotionally distressed or depressed. (In fact, depression is statistically more common in highly intelligent people; they have more conflict because they take in more, weigh more, but that's another topic...)
Re: the Febreze--cleaning the odor of decay is more in keeping with a deodorizing spray like Febreze, actually. Miles apart from trying to mop up blood, etc. from a close-range shooting with four hits. It's a weak clue at best, and the question remains about where the bottle (presumably with only his incriminating fingerprints on it) came from.
Re the license: If the removal of the license plate was for the purpose of delaying ID of the car, then why did he remove the
front one? If he wanted to make it look accidental, the rear plate would've been the one to choose--that end of the car was muddy and obviously had been through some off road experience. But he removed the plate from the clean end.
And he
did remove it, because it was obvious he knew it was gone before even getting out of the car when he intentionally backed the car into the parking space at Walmart to hide the remaining plate against the bushes. But...whoever parked that car there also knew they'd be looking for the car, and that it would very likely get noticed soon, even without the license plate:
24-hr. lot with video surveillance (like the surveillance at the ATM machines)
Broken out front passenger window
Blood and brain matter evidence visible through open window.
So, getting back to the removal, if he knew police would be looking for his car, why remove the
front one, when the back one would be the one that those in pursuit (in his lane) would be able to see? It's much more common for people to identify rear plates of fleeing vehicles or cars traveling in front of them than for someone to read one coming at them on the opposite side of the highway.
So my reasoning tells me that maybe car ID and pursuit were not the most important (or sole?) reason for removal of that plate. And when I consider the fact that he 'gave' the license plate clue to authorities by tossing it up there on the mountain where the body was rather than just slipping it under his seat and dumping it in a dumpster somewhere further away, I also have to consider other possible reasons. Okay, he's in a panic you might say. Well, if I were the perp, the evidence I'd be most
panicked about being caught with coming down that mountain would NOT be the plate that might be stashed under my seat, but the two guns still warm with the sad evidence of shooting someone at close range in that car.
The license plate was key to finding the body. The body and the weapon are the two clinchers in tying together an investigation. Think of ALL the possible places a vile murderer could've hidden that telling plate, and on the mountain where the body was would've been the LAST one to come to mind for a perp. There could hardly be a more identifiable clue. All the other clues were down off the mountain (and plenty of them).
The same is true with the guns. Think of ALL the places you could possibly think to hide smoking guns and 1) at my place of business, or 2) at my local police station would be the LAST 2 places on God's green earth I would hide my smoking guns. There could hardly be a more identifiable and discoverable hiding place.
To me, it appears as though a lot of thought has gone into making this crime look like not much thought went into it. A lot of planning (with maybe some back-pedaling adjustments here and there) has gone into making a guy who graduated with a GPA of 3.35 look preposterously stupid. But I suppose it helps that he looks so utterly distraught, because now everyone can shake their heads, say he's crazy, and think he lost his intelligence on Oct. 16 along with his will to live.
One nation, under God, with liberty and JUSTICE for all. Did you know that a person can't be convicted on their confession alone? The evidence still has to support their confession. And now that JH (finally) has a lawyer, it sounds like maybe the lawyer isn't so convinced either. Last I read, the plea was 'not guilty.' (Any corrections on that out there?)
