GUILTY PA - Dr. Melissa Ketunuti, 35, murdered in her Philly home, 21 Jan 2013

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Joe, you sure pegged that right! (iirc, it was you who predicted the family members leaping to his defense a few pages back).

Disgusting. Like his reputation is what's important, in light of his victim's death and her family's suffering.

And yup, I could see "insanity plea' way back when the papers announced that he said he "snapped". After parking his truck and following Melissa on foot.. I'd wish 'em luck, but I really don't. =P
 
JoeFromLB said:
Like the sun rising in the east, a family member has rushed forward to tell us what a 'wonderful' guy this killer really is. We can expect an all-out insanity defense, along with the despicable inference that her death was somehow her fault. These defense lawyers pull out all the stops. They have no shame.
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Legal analyst Dan Abrams from the same ABC video said that this is a tough defense. "You have surveillance tapes. You have an alleged confession."

Abrams says the only kind of defense may be a manslaughter type defense -- a "heat of the moment" defense where there was "no intent to commit murder". In other words, the defense will likely say that the murder was not premeditated.

But I think you're right. The defense will re-victimize the victim and put her in a bad light and claim somehow that she asked for it. SMH
 
I'm so glad we have Websleuths.com :)

Every poster is so insightful and gives different, unique, often right-on-the-money perspectives. I'm often amazed at how accurate some of our thoughts and speculations are.
 
bourne said:
Ausgirl, do you think these deaths were perpetrated by Jason Smith?

They are similar in that these women lived alone, were assaulted/beaten, some stabbed, and then homes set ablazed.
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I hope they have DNA from the previous cases and that he was not yet in the system, but will now match!
 
Ausgirl said:
Disgusting. Like his reputation is what's important, in light of his victim's death and her family's suffering.
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I highly doubt their response has to do with protecting his reputation. It's more likely shock upon hearing the news that their loved one could commit such a ghastly crime, in conjunction with being pounced upon by the media. Sadly, some forget that the fallout from these cases affects not only the victim(s) and their loved ones, but the accused's loved ones as well. And as such, we, as a society, tend to condemn the latter for quite natural first utterances.
 
Wrt other cases. I agree. From what we've been told of the crime, I would find it improbable that this victim is his first. Esp in light of the fact that he bound her, strangled her, doused her with some sort of accelerant and set her afire, and then circled the block several times after the fact. That is not the behavior of someone who "snapped" or "struck out" in anger over not being paid. That is, the crime scene, as has been reported, does not reflect a heat of the moment crime. As for where to look, I would want to find out his living/working history, as well. For example, has he always lived/worked in the Philadelphia area?
 
just thinking aloud, no tomatoes thrown my way please. So, maybe with his fire fascination (or desire to be a firefighter?), he was planning to start the fire, then drove by in his truck so he could say he was showing up for their appointment and he saw the fire and helped put it out and be hailed a hero?

It's the walking around tailing her first that just stinks. No way he could have "snapped". I was even prepared to say he was lingering over coffee that morning, decided to walk to his job at her home, then did "snap". But he parked farther away than would make that plausible...
 
Herding Cats said:
A quick note about dogs...not every dog, pit or not, will protect their owner. I happen to have a couple of really big dogs, and it's their presence alone which I rely on to help keep me safe. Finn's not grown yet, but even at 5 months he's intimidating. Grace is grown, and she can really put fear into someone. Romi just watches, LOL. I have no doubt Grace would easily overpower someone, if she chose to fight. But she may not...she relies on size to protect me...stands between me and whatever she thinks is a problem. And during a recent assault at the local park, she remained in a down/stay while I fought. She may have come to my aid if I'd've asked...maybe that's what happened to the Dr's pit? Would help if asked, but wasn't asked...so didn't.

I can completely understand if the dog didn't attack or bite, even if it wasn't penned. Some dogs are not protective; it's not in their nature.

Pits included.

God bless this Dr and her family, and may her dog find sanctuary and a good forever home.

Best-
Herding Cats
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Whoa! Wait! You can;t just stroll by without explaining more about this recent assault at a park during which you fought! What the heck happened?

shadowraiths said:
I highly doubt their response has to do with protecting his reputation. It's more likely shock upon hearing the news that their loved one could commit such a ghastly crime, in conjunction with being pounced upon by the media. Sadly, some forget that the fallout from these cases affects not only the victim(s) and their loved ones, but the accused's loved ones as well. And as such, we, as a society, tend to condemn the latter for quite natural first utterances.
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I actually don;t think it's that natural to state: "He's not a monster" after hearing what one's loved one has done. I think denial is natural: "I can't believe he did anything like that." Or shock and confusion: "The man I know is a great person and would never do such a thing." But to hear what the relative has done and then pronounce them "not a monster" to me seems to be about preserving the reputation of the family. Maybe I'm wrong but that's where I am right now.

colette said:
Love this article, what we need to know about Jason Smith- nothing.

Save your attention for the astounding Ketunuti, 35, who has been robbed of her right to show the world who she would have become had she not crossed paths with a man lower than the rodents she'd hired him to get rid of.

Really nice article...

http://www.philly.com/philly/hp/new..._need_to_know_about_Jason_Smith__Nothing.html
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This is a beautiful article. Thank you so much for linking. Here's a tiny bit more from it:
If there is justice, Smith will age into a lonely and forgotten old man behind bars. And then he will die without ever subjecting us to another word about his pointless life. And if there's a God, Ketunuti's legacy will be that her too-short life inspires others to take on the world's pain so that they might relieve it, the way she wanted to.

She was, simply, extraordinary. The brilliant daughter of a Belgian mother and a Thai father, she left home in Bangkok to pursue her medical dreams in America.
She graduated from Stanford Medical School and did surgical internships at Georgetown University Hospital and at a veterans hospital. She worked with AIDS patients in Botswana for the National Institutes of Health. And she was toiling toward a master's degree in clinical epidemiology at Penn while working as a resident in infectious diseases at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia.
I got tired just typing all that.
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BTW, it irks me that media and/or investigators take the word of a maniac like this creep. I keep reading about an explosive fight or heated argument. What argument? What fight? The wording in some of these articles biol my blood because it almost suggests that they were standing there screaming at one another when he just snapped from the tension of the situation. B.S.!

He was in there for an hour. He likely overpowered her quickly and then subjected her to something horrible. It is very hard to hogtie a fighting person. He must have hit her first or caused her some great pain or threatened her with a weapon so she would comply with being tied up.

Nothing suggests that this beautiful lady was anything other than gentle and kind. No way do I believe she had a "fight" or "argued." He probably assaulted her or did something inappropriate it and she tried to tell him to leave.

It seems he planned this in advance. He had the materials to try to subdue her and cover his crime.

I believe he did sexually assault her in some manner and that there was no argument.

ETA: I also agree that it's likely he has done this before.
 
Melissa Ketunuti suspect Jason Smith lived with longtime girlfriend ( link )

Investigators said Smith, who lived with his longtime girlfriend and her young child, and Ketunuti, a second-year infectious-diseases fellow and researcher at the renowned Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, had never met before. Clark would not elaborate on the substance of the fatal argument.

"It's very tragic," he said. "You have a young physician who dedicated her life to helping people and to die in this tragic manner, it's very, very sad."

He said detectives watched hours of surveillance video from nearby businesses, one of which showed Smith entering Ketunuti's home with a work bag and dressed in a coat and gloves, then leaving without a coat less than an hour later. Other video showed the suspect getting into his truck after the slaying and driving past her home several times, Clark said.​
 
http://www.thedp.com/article/2013/01/perelman-graduate-student-found-dead-in-home

From the intro:

UPDATE, Jan. 22, 12:43 p.m.: Police believe that strangulation was the cause of Ketunuti’s death, Captain James Clark, Commanding Officer of the Homicide Division, said at an 11:15 a.m. press conference. Ketunuti was found with rope around her neck at the crime scene.

When police entered her Naudain Street house, she was not wearing pants, but did have a shirt on. Clark said that Ketunuti had not been dead very long before she was found.
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BBM--

ETA: I can only find the "no pants" detail in this one source, so take it with a grain of salt (even though I believe the source qualifies as MSM).
 
Now he's a plumber?

Walt Hunter just reported from the news that they believe he was carrying a plumbing torch. He'd spoken with Melissa at least four times about water pressure in the basement. He was on Angie's list.

They have evidence from the home and believe he was the attacker two times in Pennypack Park. I may have started threads on those I have to look.

I had mentioned to jenny I saw what looked like a bug spray can in the video. That must be the torch. I'll get y'all the link to this just in on our local news.
 
colette said:
Love this article, what we need to know about Jason Smith- nothing.

Save your attention for the astounding Ketunuti, 35, who has been robbed of her right to show the world who she would have become had she not crossed paths with a man lower than the rodents she'd hired him to get rid of.

Really nice article...

http://www.philly.com/philly/hp/new..._need_to_know_about_Jason_Smith__Nothing.html
Click to expand...

Very nice. More special it was your post numbered with all ones. Universe speaking. Thank you for sharing that.
 
This is what makes me mad... LE saying there was an argument between then like they believe it. Sure it was an argument and he "snapped" .... just forget about the fact that she was hog-tied and wearing only a shirt. Oh and forget about the fire that was supposed to get rid of his DNA.
 
Here's one thread on a Pennypack attack.




http://www.websleuths.com/forums/showthread.php?t=112791&highlight=pennypack+park

Going to have to go look for more, but we had a white guy popping out of the woods fully nude in a few attacks. We also had a guy in a truck who picked women up and brought them to Pennypack and attacked them. One female was from Tacony if I recall correctly.

This came out after they went through evidence so I have a feeling he's the Pennypack attacker.

Also, about the hoodie. In video he had on a coat and hat going to the Doctor's home. Coming back something is over his arm like a coat or something and he's got on what just appears to be a shirt or sweatshirt.

Again special thanks to the business man OCF who has such great surveillance. He's an asset to the community in several neighborhoods.
 
Sorry if this is reduntant. This is the guy that picked a woman up on the 6900 block of Torresdale at 2:30AM to give her a ride. He took her to Pennypack Park and raped her.

The description is there as well and a truck with ladders. Not the color truck Smith has.


http://www.bsmphilly.com/mobile/northeast-times/3537-tacony-woman-raped-in-pennypack-park.html

Note that's not all that cosher on Torresdale Avenue. If that was him he could have been coping drugs down here.
 
jjenny said:
Suspect not a licensed exterminator. Can the press get this story straight? Was he there to exterminate or as a plumber?

"Action News has learned that Smith is not a licensed exterminator."

http://abclocal.go.com/wpvi/story?section=news/local&id=8968250
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This guy's a jack of all trades right?

18 items found in the house. Conducting DNA testing in the three rapes in Pennypack. If that's him he's deranged as we know. The guy was jumping out of the park totally nude in two cases.

I've posted before about sex offenders. These zipcodes help, but they have vehicles. They go where they want.
 
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