GUILTY PA - Carlesha Freeland-Gaither, 22, Germantown, 2 November 2014 - #1

[Claudette]

This guy totally blitzed her and caught her off guard. I don't think even a conceal carry would have helped her in this case.

 

[wantjustice]

This guy totally blitzed her and caught her off guard. I don't think even a conceal carry would have helped her in this case.

Agreed! I was thinking even if she had pepper spray etc., while she was trying to grab it, he would have ambushed her.

 

[lucky181]

OH ! Shakes her hand, like a stranger? I'm really liking Confusion's theory on the extra clothing. He definitely looks ' bulked up ' in the newer video.

Could he have asked for her phone....like he was going to steal it and she handed it to him?

 

[cuffem]

Agreed! I was thinking even if she had pepper spray etc., while she was trying to grab it, he would have ambushed her.

That is why you walk with it in your hand in a parking lot or sidewalk at night,not your phone.No time to dial a phone or get anything out of your purse.

 

[Advocate1]

That is a good pic of this guy. If I knew him I would recognize him in that first pic at the ATM. Someone within her family or circle of friends has to know who he is. I do not believe at all this was random. Breaks my heart to listen to her parents begging for their baby back.
Who is he and where can he be found?? Let's get this monster of the street's!!!!

 

[Kaliste]

NEW VIDEO. I found the camera on the building where this happened. If you go around the corner to the other side of the building there is another camera. There is now video from that camera showing their interaction at the corner.

http://6abc.com/news/woman-tried-to-escape-kidnapper-in-germantown/378388/

That poor woman. She must have been so scared.

 

[Victory]

Still catching up. Do you guys think she recognises him in the video?

I dont think so because of the way she went out into the street to go around him and then she reaches out to shake his hand as if he is introducing himself.

 

[pittie_mcclure]

Finally caught up, and most of what I originally planned to say has been said. I'm just going to throw out a jumbled mess of questions, observations and/or thoughts that came to me while I was reading.

From the first time I watched the video, it looked to me like the bus was stopping for a red light (not a bus stop) which turned green right away. It looked to me like the lights for the cross street turned yellow just as the bus appeared and red before it completely stopped. It also looked to me like she walked to the corner, waited for the light to change and then crossed, but she may have been waiting for the light until he showed up there and crossed on the red. I'm just not sure there was enough time between the bus going through the intersection and her reaching it for the light to change again, and I'm too lazy to look again right now.

If she was on a bus, I can't see him following it any distance without looking suspicious; not many people pull up behind city buses at each stop and continue to follow. They can also make more turns than most traffic, etc. I think it's more likely that he saw her get off the bus and start walking, drove past her, turned the corner to wait for her and then made his move. OR

She never got on a bus, and he was someone she was somewhat familiar with. I'm curious to know if she posted on FB or somewhere else about the party she was going to, and he "just happened" to drive by as she was headed to the bus stop. If she knew him from work, or somewhere else, she might not know the side of him we saw in the video and assumed it was safe to accept a ride with him. If that were the case, she might have gotten out at a red light/stop sign because he was acting/talking weird, and he tried talking her into getting back into the car. When it didn't work, he could have driven to the next street, parked, etc... If she wasn't expecting to be walking home before that, she wouldn't really need to call her bf. She could have been getting ready to call him when X showed up at the corner (which is why he got so close the first time.) When she appeared to talk to him after crossing the street, she could have just been telling him there was no way she'd get back in the car and she'd rather walk.

A couple things struck me about his looks, too. For some reason, I got the impression that he wasn't as big as he appeared. I'm not sure why, but he looked to me like he was wearing extra layers of clothes to look heavier than he was (which could be part of the reason he had such a hard time handling her - her self-defense moves was another!), and in the full body picture at the ATM, he looked like he had very small feet for a man. I'm not saying he's a female, since they could probably tell, but he just struck me as a fairly small man.

I guess I'll stop now, this is already becoming another novel. Maybe I'll post questions later. As usual, all MOO.

Yes, he looks so bulked up to me.. Hood up, too. Seems like he's definitely disguising..

If she were on a bus, I think it's weird she didn't call her bf to meet her and then is approached by a stranger. The horrible coincidence of that possible scenario is so scary.

I'm interested on your take from the new video just released. It makes me think she doesn't know him, and he asks for something (money? I dunno) and as soon as she reached out she realizes she needs to get out ASAP.. Having audio would be so helpful!

 

[wantjustice]

That is why you walk with it in your hand in a parking lot or sidewalk at night,not your phone.No time to dial a phone or get anything out of your purse.

Yep, friends and I were discussing this very issue last night: holding in out while walking. However, with this guy, I am not so sure this would have deterred him. Scary man! Definitely better to have it out and not in the holster though.

 

[wantjustice]

So who is going to roll over on this guy? http://www.nbcphiladelphia.com/news/local/Reward-Germantown-Abduction-281446151.html
"The agency also helped sweeten the pot for those who may have information that could lead to the arrest and conviction of Freeland-Gaither’s abductor. The FBI is offering a $25,000 reward. The Citizens Crime Commission threw $2,000 into the pile and the Philadelphia Federal Credit Union added $5,000, bringing the total reward to $47,000."
Nearly $50,000 is a lot of money. I know someone has to recognize this guy!

 

[cuffem]

Yes, he looks so bulked up to me.. Hood up, too. Seems like he's definitely disguising..

If she were on a bus, I think it's weird she didn't call her bf to meet her and then is approached by a stranger. The horrible coincidence of that possible scenario is so scary.

I'm interested on your take from the new video just released. It makes me think she doesn't know him, and he asks for something (money? I dunno) and as soon as she reached out she realizes she needs to get out ASAP.. Having audio would be so helpful!

I think she did not recognize him at first then she realizes who he is.

 

[cuffem]

Carlesha's mother is on Nancy Grace

 

[Abstar80]

I just watched the initial video of the abduction, which was very confronting. A few things I noticed, which may or may not have been discussed earlier - Sorry don't have the chance at the moment to read the whole thread.

To me: It looks like this wasn't a random attack - Parking around the corner is awfully confident as opposed to pulling up beside her and dragging her into the car.
She knew or knew off him - I personally believe he had targeted her, and he believed that she would "walk" with him to his car.

I believe he didn't expect her to fight him the whole way, and if this was a random abduction surely he would have kept looking for someone who was more accessible than someone who he had to park around the corner and down the street. I think he was probably taken by surprise at the fight in her which concerns me as to what would have happened once they drove off.

I am not convinced this was someone close to her, more like an Alexis Murphy/Randy Taylor situation - An earlier interaction has taken place between them JMO

 

[maureen718]

Imho what looks like a handshake is something else, no one would turn around in the dark and shake hands with someone who was approaching them from behind in Germantown, no one, not the unassuming, not the overly friendly, not the simple minded, not anyone especially someone that lives in that neighborhood. It is not normal behavior to approach a stranger after dark and try to introduce yourself, also most people keep a sort of distance between themselves and others while walking along the streets in Philadelphia, just trying to say Philadelphia neighborhoods are not the crowded streets of NYC and if you need to pass by someone walking the same way you are you can usually make the noticeable wide swing around them. again jmo

 

[Peppery]

NEW VIDEO. I found the camera on the building where this happened. If you go around the corner to the other side of the building there is another camera. There is now video from that camera showing their interaction at the corner.

http://6abc.com/news/woman-tried-to-escape-kidnapper-in-germantown/378388/

That video is even creepier! He does appear to try to hand her something or shake her hand. She looks like she takes a step back from him two times. It's very clear he wanted her and this was highly planned. He knew exactly where to be, when to be there and he was gone in seconds. I'm not as sure she knew him after that video.

 

[Claudette]

On Nancy Grace LE stated they have two videos of the car, the video we have seen and a video that has not been released. I don't know if he mentioned that accidentally or if he was thinking of the ATM video because he and Nancy's stand-in were both really confused after he said that.

 

[JezyUn]

Re: the video where it appears she hands him something or shakes his hand, he may have asked her for a light(er). I do not know if she smoked,but it is a common thing for people to ask for, perhaps to drop her guard. It reminds me of a thing that happened to me once. I was standing outside of a store alone at night smoking , and a car pulled up, a guy got out, stood right at his car door with a big Iphone in his hand and asked me for a "light". I immediately walked back into the store without answering. All I could think was that 1) he wanted me to walk over to him/his car with a lighter, and I could imagine him throwing me inside 2) he had an expensive phone, and no lighter..nah I would not be fooled.

I feel very scared for this girl and I hope she is found safe, and soon!

 

[cuffem]

I just noticed something from the atm photos.The perp looks much,much smaller or slimer than in the surveilance video.Someone mentioned earlier that he may have tried to disguise himself.

 

[Victory]

Imho what looks like a handshake is something else, no one would turn around in the dark and shake hands with someone who was approaching them from behind in Germantown, no one, not the unassuming, not the overly friendly, not the simple minded, not anyone especially someone that lives in that neighborhood. It is not normal behavior to approach a stranger after dark and try to introduce yourself, also most people keep a sort of distance between themselves and others while walking along the streets in Philadelphia, just trying to say Philadelphia neighborhoods are not the crowded streets of NYC and if you need to pass by someone walking the same way you are you can usually make the noticeable wide swing around them. again jmo

Why would she reach out to him in that way if not to shake his hand?

 

[FormerOakParker]

That video is even creepier! He does appear to try to hand her something or shake her hand. She looks like she takes a step back from him two times. It's very clear he wanted her and this was highly planned. He knew exactly where to be, when to be there and he was gone in seconds. I'm not as sure she knew him after that video.

The final lunge for Carlesha is horrifying!