Pre-meditated or Spur of the Moment?

[ewwwinteresting]

Do you think Google is such a powerful search engine that it will be able to determine if this was a premeditated crime or spur of the moment?

You know, this would make an interesting media blitz for the Power of Google.

I was thinking that exact same thing tonight. I wonder if LE is going after the premeditated theory and looking for that evidence on web/email activity. If they do obtain it, you are right, what a media blitz for Google!

 

[terminatrixator]

Since I'm a bit cranky today, I would like to go on the record once again and scream at the top of my lungs PREMEDITATED!

 

[L L & S]

Eww may not of heard you out at sea, but I did... keep it down some of us are trying to sleep.

 

[ewwwinteresting]

Thanks guys for caring about my relaxation

 

[lauriej]

..........nothing beats some good R & R........

...of course now we do expect you to have come back with a serious thought process going on.........

 

[Thinkoflaura]

It's been a LONG time since we discussed certain aspects of the crime.
I was reading the media links for hours last night.
Although many links are dead now, I did have a thought or two that I wanted to run by you who are still hanging on to this case like I am.

Regarding Raven's flurry of online activity on the day before Janet was murdered: I think she took a home pregnancy test and told Raven the stick turned blue within 24 hours of his " new life musings'.
It's the day he starts a whole new " blog", with a story about how he is " Free As A Bird" and " goal- oriented' like his mother. As most of us remember from reading his self- serving ramblings, he also says that she " overcame" obstacles and hardships...

I think he planned the crime 2 days before he murdered her, and here's why other than the lie of being Single on Myspace.com ( a place for weirdos).

Janet used her car. It was registered to her, she paid the tax on time per the records while Raven's vehicles often had deliquent tax owed...
What happened on the afternoon of Janet's murder?
HER car was taken to the shop, leaving her without transportation.
So, there was no way she could have gone a friend's house if she and the Bird were having new marital strife over the pregnancy. No way she could have decided to seek help from her Bishop, because again, her car was in the shop, having been taken there after work that day.

Raven was apparently out in the truck, and the Vehix thing was parked a way from the house with a for sale sign on it at that time.

The car being taken into the shop on that day really hit me because I know how utterly marooned and stuck I have felt when my car has been in for a tune up and the other family vehicles weren't available to me.

The other thought I had was if he planned to kill her by stabbing, he had to know there would be a struggle. There was a chance that she could have gotten away and made it to her car IF it was there. She was an athlete and probably almost as strong as he was.
I bet he made sure there were no truck keys anywhere around the bedroom that night.

Does anyone know if Raven owned a gun at the time? I am sorry to say that I don't remember for certain, but that I am thinking he didn't.
I've always wondered why a knife. I'm thinking it's because he collected knives and was comfortable with knives, as we know from his video.

I would like to know if any of this seems to fit to you. Thanks!

 

[terminatrixator]

IMHO it was totally 100% premeditated.

 

[RainbowsAndGumdrops]

I can't help but go back to the basics in this case. Raven was the "boss" or so he thought. Janet was too smart to let him bring her down. She worked and tried to have a responsible family even with Raven's habits. The day of the murder, Janet worked, Raven sat around doing nothing, and Kaiden was sent to the babysitter (Raven, did you know how to change a diaper or feed Kaiden?). Janet comes home and they take her car to the shop. I believe she had the old car while Raven had all of his toys. Routine maintance would be expected. Then she is home taking care of Kaiden, gets him to bed while Raven goes to play soccer. We know the LE released a reward with a description of the car driven, so I am thinking Soccer was a legitimate alliby - or so Raven thinks. The problem isn't whether he played Soccer. The detectives are looking for details on where the car was once it left the soccer game. Did Raven drive slow, get stuck in traffic, or go to 7-11. If so, this may account for the 10 minutes in question. That would be the 10 minutes when Janet was killed. We are really not concerned with anything up until moments before Raven says he got home and found Janet.

So Raven's story is that he gets home and finds his wife injured, freaks out trying to find a phone, and calls 911. The problem with his story is that he went in to kiss Kaiden good night and yet on the 911 call Kaiden is screaming and Raven is told to calm the baby. Is it more likely that the baby wakes up when mommy is attacked or that he peacefully sleeps through that and wakes up right when Raven calls 911. Seems to me like Kaiden would have been awakened during the attack and would not have been sleeping soundly when Raven got home.

Ok, so I can find lots of problems with Raven's story, but I can't figure out exactly how he really did it.

Here is my new theory. Raven thought that he was the boss in the house and what he said goes. Janet came home after work and got Kaiden fed and put to bed perhaps by 7:30. (Isn't that when the home teachers came). Raven goes to play soccer leaving Janet at home. Raven comes home and he and Janet have a fight. Raven pulls out his buck knife that he always keeps on him "just in case" and stabs her to show her who is boss. He didn't intend to kill her but to let her know that he could and that whatever he says goes. Why do I say he didn't mean to kill her. He called 911 saying she was hurt, and at that point she was dying but not yet dead. Of course she was dead by the time that the ambulance got there. If he thought he killed her he would have waited to call until he could have fled...or one may think.

But even this scenario doesn't make sense. If he didn't mean to kill her, where did the laptop go. Ok, so they had the fight before the soccer game. He took the laptop with him because he didn't like her snooping into what he was doing and finding things like the adultery, embezzlement etc. Perhaps he found her looking at pregnancy sights and got mad. What ever it was, he didn't want her on the computer so he took it with him to the soccer game.

Still that doesn't explain why the computer didn't come home with him. It also doesn't explain why his precious VX was parked somewhere else so that police were not aware to search it.

Ok, so the Raven didn't do it story has holes, the Raven accidently did it or it wasn't premeditated story has holes. The only way to fill the holes is to conclude that Raven planned this. The VX and the computer were intentionally missing. I can't imagine any way to discard the computer within the few minutes between killing Janet and the police getting there. There must have been an advance plan created when he stashed those items.

I just don't get it Raven. Where and when did you stash the computer? Don't try to tell me it was a burgulary. Again, your story says that Kaiden slept through this and you kissed him to sleep. Yet on the 911 call Kaiden is freaking out in the crib. I don't buy any of your stories. I am just stumped by the computer. What did you do with it? I actually may be able to say this wasn't permeditated if you would have just been honest and said I got mad at her for reading about my love life. I didn't want her to know about all of my girlfriends. I was sick of her nagging me about it so I smashed up the computer. It is over here at xyz. Take a look. If you would have just worked with LE and been honest on that one detail I would be more likely to believe that your intent was to show her that you were capable of hurting her but that you didn't intend to kill her (well not that night anyway).

Why does the detail of the computer bother me so much??? I think the computer is the key to this case.

 

[Jenifred]

Can anyone say how far away Kaiden's room was from the office where Janet was found?

Because, if what you say is true, R&G, about Kaiden screaming from his crib, there had to have been something going on that woke Kaiden up. Was Kaiden for sure in his crib when Raven called 911? Or could it have been that Raven was holding Kaiden after taking him out of his crib?

I don't know if I'm making something out of nothing, but personally my children don't wake up in the middle of the night for no reason. And it's very likely that they wouldn't be screaming in their beds or in my arms because they would have been so drowsy. Were Janet and Raven having a fight? Was screaming audible?

I guess I'm just throwing something out there so we can chew on it.

 

[RainbowsAndGumdrops]

Where is the posting about the 911 call? Someone posted detail that the 911 operator told Raven to get the baby and comfort him. I wish I could listen to the 911 tape as this detail has always bothered me. Something woke up Kaiden yet Raven says Kaiden was sound asleep when he got home.

 

[guera]

Another theory is that the VX and computer were stashed together... and that Raven got rid of any incriminating evidence (computer, possibly the murder weapon and/or any bloody clothes) before the police could search it. Which would lean me towards the premeditated side of this. My theory is that Raven had incriminating searches ("How to kill your wife"), financial information, emails, and/or anything else that might lend to premeditation, and thus he got rid of it. We know that LE searched his Gmail records, but my guess would be that Raven had more than one email address, and he could've hidden lots of incriminating things in the other email accounts, not to mention in his internet history and such. Whether he planned to kill her that day, or whether he had been planning it for months, I think he planned it for sure, and thus hid the incriminating information far away enough that he knew it would most likely not be searched. I also think that the VX/computer were long gone before the soccer game.

 

[terminatrixator]

Where is the posting about the 911 call? Someone posted detail that the 911 operator told Raven to get the baby and comfort him. I wish I could listen to the 911 tape as this detail has always bothered me. Something woke up Kaiden yet Raven says Kaiden was sound asleep when he got home.

Raven also stated that Janet was warm, and he also stated to others, she was already dead and cold.

He stated he walked in and saw her on her knees, medics found her on her back.

Where's the lap top and where is his knife collection. If you look in the evidence there was no knife collection taken by LE. Did he indeed have a knife collection or just one knife?

I heard that there was money and jewelry sitting out and why was that not taken if a buglar did it....because THERE WAS NO BURGLAR.

R & G, I have thought this through so many times and gone through this the way you have and still come up empty when it comes to the how he got rid of things so quickly, unless they were gone to begin with and there was just a matter of getting rid of the knife. Where'd it go. Was he stripped searched, maybe he hid the knife up his hoo hoo for all i know.

The sick sad thing, is this was planned and premeditated. We all know anger, and Raven was in the hot seat, I can see him lashing out in anger, but this was not that...this was cold, calculated and premeditated.

 

[Angels_Not_Forgotten]

does anyone know if they searched the residence right away? Or if they searched really GOOD? I mean with all the commotion that night with his wife dead, is it possible for him to stash it somewhere ON THE PROPERTY to remove it later?

 

[LTUlegal]

I agree with you, R&G...the computer is a big key to this.
Consider this: Janet knew about the embezzlement, of course, after it all came out. She pleaded with raven to discontinue this behavior and wanted to make sure that he did. raven didn't want her to see that he was still continuing to sell the soccer equipment on the internet, so he made sure to take his laptop with him. I also think he didn't want her finding out what else he was doing on the internet.

 

[ewwwinteresting]

R&G, you bring up some good points. What bothers me about this case is the TOD. To me, the TOD, on the autopsy report must not be all that accurate. raven was home at TOD (why isn't he arrested?). raven called 911 minutes from the time of the stabbing. Medics and LE arrive minutes after TOD. There was no time for raven to "hide" the knife (well enough for LE not to find it in a 24 hour search anyway), and there was no time for someone else to do and get out of the house. None of it makes sense to me.

 

[OriginalJerseyGirl]

WARNING - SOMEWHAT GRAPHIC

The sick sad thing, is this was planned and premeditated. We all know anger, and Raven was in the hot seat, I can see him lashing out in anger, but this was not that...this was cold, calculated and premeditated.

I totally agree. And in a stabbing that's the result of a crime of passion, we usually (but I'm sure not always) see more than two main stab wounds. In a crime of passion, the perpetrator often can't stop himself because of his anger, and commits "overkill".

I think that Raven called 911 when he did, (whether Janet was still alive or not), because he knew that her wounds were fatal. She was probably bleeding quickly, and he knew that by the time the medics arrived, she wouldn't have a chance. So he accomplished his goal of getting rid of her but also gave us this shred to ponder. He believed that if he called 911 so soon after the infliction of the wounds that there would be doubt about his guilt because what kind of murderer would call 911 if he really wanted her dead? He planned this very issue that we're discussing right now, IMO.

 

[slinkycat]

I'm finding some logic in Rainbows & Gumdrops' posting about Raven not intending to kill Janet. Let's presume that in an emotional eruption of 'showing her who's boss', he whips out the Buck knife in a threatening display. She grapples with him, not thinking that he might actually stab her, and he gets caught up in the heat of the moment and intends to inflict some minor stab wounds on her hands and arms. His thinking is that this will solidify his position as the alpha male in their relationship and thenceforth, she'll totally submit to him out of fear. He intends to keep the wounds minor enough that they can be explained away at the emergency room as a landscaping or kitchen accident.

Whoops, he stabs a little too hard and she takes one in the chest. Still, he doesn't think it's a fatal wound and as he regains his composure and a sense of remorse sweeps over him. he decides that he'd better call 9-1-1. In the minutes before 9-1-1 arrives, however, Janet dies! Holy cow! He wasn't expecting that! So now what? The police/ambulance are inbound and he can't deny his presence, since he's the one who called them. Better make up a story about finding Janet already hurt when he arrived home. Yeah, they might just buy that.

In the heat of the moment, he realizes that the police will investigate a suspicious death and immediately realizes he needs to get rid of the computer. Remember that he had had his computer subjected to a police search the year before and he knew that there was incriminating information on the computer. What the incriminating information was, we can only speculate. Possibilities include 1) evidence of further embezzlement, 2) *advertiser censored*, 3) digital trails of online conversations with other women, 4) research on life insurance, murder and disappearing.

I think that he grabbed the laptop and the Buck knife, threw them into the VX, and drove down the road a half mile or so and stashed them. He left the car down the road and jogged back to the house to await the arrival of the police. Total elapsed time: 3-5 minutes. When the police execute their search warrant, the knife and computer are gone, and they are unaware of the VX.

I think that in the next day or so, Raven went back to retrieve the VX, recovered the laptop and knife, and then drove somewhere far away and stashed them really good or destroyed them. Remember the car fire from a few years back? A laptop could pretty well be destroyed by a good fire. The knife? It would have to be stashed or tossed somewhere. If it were me, I would have found a high bridge over a deep body of water and tossed them out late at night while driving across when nobody would see.

Candidates for places Raven might have tossed the laptop and knife:

Falls Creek State Park [10 miles East of Durham]
13390 Creedmoor Rd
Wake Forest, NC

There are several bridges that cross Falls Lake:
I-85 at the NW corner of the lake
Cheek Rd at the middle of the lake
Creedmore Rd at the SW corner of the lake

Jordan Lake State Recreation Area
280 State Park Road
Apex, NC 27523

There are several bridges that cross Jordan Lake:
Rt 64 at the middle
Beaver Creek Rd in the South
Farrington Rd in the North

Raven Rock State Park [62 miles South of Durham]
3009 Raven Rock Road
Lillington, NC 27546

My thinking is that with Raven's ego and narcissistic personality, he almost certainly visited Raven Rock State Park at least once just because of the name. He might have discovered a perfect place to permanently bury the laptop and knife.

Shearon Harris Reservoir [44 miles South of Durham]
New Hill, NC
New Hill Holleman Rd cross the lake in the NE corner

My thinking is the LE has a pretty good mental roster of ideal 'dump' sites in the Raleigh-Durham area, but that there is a time/resource cost to search these areas. They're not going to expend the time/money/energy to search all of them unless there is a credible lead, or unless it's a high-profile or media-ratings-driven case (rich people or public personalities involved, Duke lacrosse players, etc.)

 

[terminatrixator]

I'm finding some logic in Rainbows & Gumdrops' posting about Raven not intending to kill Janet. Let's presume that in an emotional eruption of 'showing her who's boss', he whips out the Buck knife in a threatening display. She grapples with him, not thinking that he might actually stab her, and he gets caught up in the heat of the moment and intends to inflict some minor stab wounds on her hands and arms. His thinking is that this will solidify his position as the alpha male in their relationship and thenceforth, she'll totally submit to him out of fear....snipped

I think your scenerio sounds quite plausible, except for the fact that I believe there was indeed premeditation.

First of all, there was no sign of a struggle, Janet was caught off-guard. He stabbed her once, caught her by surprise, she put up her hand, he slashed her finger, she was already dying, he stabbed her again for good measure.

Raven is a plotter, a planner and very organized when it comes to what he wants. He is a definite thinker and though known for his outbursts during soccer games, he goes into the game with the knowledge he is going to be brutal, taunting, etc.

Why is the laptop missing? When he was arrested in the past, his laptop was searched because of the embezzlement. Raven was known to be into the Franklin Covey Planning. He plotted, he planned, he timed this out in his head. Not only was his "buck knife" missing, his other knife collection was not mentioned in the police report as being taken, so therefore, he got rid of that, hid it, sent it to Mommy Dearest previously in advance.

I believe his vx was moved in advance of the murder, because like Scott Peterson, it's a personal belonging and the thought of police pawing through it was too much for him to bear. He has been through the process of being investigated by LE....just 4 short months previously. He knows the route, he knows his laptop will be taken. Not only that, if Janet is out of the way, he can try to pin the embezzlement on her. I believe if we investigated further and we could get a copy of the records, he may have tried.

He also knew he had an alibi up to the point the hometeachers left, and an alibi of the soccer game. I believe there is more room to mess with in the TOD, but how much I don't know, but I do know it is not an exact science and I believe even another 5 minutes can make a difference - EITHER WAY.

He stated she was hurt, he stated she was shot, he stated she was warm, he also stated she was cold. These are HUGE discrepancies, one of someone who is hiding information. He actually told people "his wife died" he told people she "committed suicide" and we all know what a liar he is. Why would a husband even insinuate or try to make people think she committed suicide when he knew SHE WAS MURDERED? What is there to gain by this? Putting blame on Janet? What kind of Monster is he? Obviously a very cruel one.

I believe fully that he was once again dating at the time of the murder and living the single life. I believe he started premeditating when he got the insurance policy, which we don't know for a fact that there was one, but I will bet you my last penny there was one.

I believe he knew Janet was pregnant, probably for a day or two and his plans in earnest began. Why do I think that he knew she was pregnant. Raven is quoted as saying that he first saw Janet on her knees as she had been known to do in the past when she had her period. This establishes the fact that she could indeed have her period, when in fact he knew she could not have her period, because she was pregnant. It is a faux paus in a way, because it also goes towards his way of thinking, a premeditation. Her being on her knees brings to light another thing, he states he found her on her knees, yet she was found by medics/LE on her back, which takes into consideration of him moving her and transfer of blood on him.

Janet was probably fed up with his attitude regarding the pregnancy and very depressed about it. I believe Janet was besides herself with embarrassment over his embezzlement, I believe Janet may have realized he was cheating AGAIN, and may have stated something to the fact that she was planning on leaving.

The places to drop off the laptop and the bucknife do sound very plausible, and I really do not believe in any way, shape or form, this was an act of anger, an outburst a manic episode. If it was, his guilt would have gotten the best of him, he would have eventually confessed because someone that has that kind of outburst, would eventually confess because of guilt.

Raven does not own guilt, Raven does not have a conscience. Someone with a conscience would have an angry outburst, for sure, but more mistakes would have been made. He would NOT be able to switch so readily from raging murderer to grieving husband in a matter of minutes unless there was premeditation there. He would have fallen in interrogation had he not thought all this out.

All above is pure speculation and my opinion from looking deep into similar crimes, but if any part of my speculation is wrong, I believe with all my heart that premeditation is the one part that is dead on.

 

[caffeinatd]

Wasn't there information that the VX was for sale on Hillsborough St? I think that he stashed the knife and the computer somewhere in the house, or on the property, or, he had the laptop with him when he went to the soccer game, and dropped it somewhere and then picked it up. If that was the case, he could have put a knife anywhere, in the dog house, the dog run, the diaper bag..many places they would not have thought to look JMO

 

[Moxie]

Wasn't there information that the VX was for sale on Hillsborough St? I think that he stashed the knife and the computer somewhere in the house, or on the property, or, he had the laptop with him when he went to the soccer game, and dropped it somewhere and then picked it up. If that was the case, he could have put a knife anywhere, in the dog house, the dog run, the diaper bag..many places they would not have thought to look JMO

You raise a good point about the dogs. If a stranger had broken into the house, wouldn't they have barked and alerted Janet?

I believe that Janet would have fought like h*ll if an intruder had broken into the house. We are talking about a soccer All-American here - she was strong. So the fact that she did not put up much of a battle says to me there was no intruder, that she knew her attacker and her attacker took her by surprise.

I vote 100% premeditated. Raven planned this out and wanted Janet gone.

So how's that working out for you Rave?

Since Janet's death you are:

*On welfare
*A convicted Felon
*Bankrupt
*Exposed as a failure for the entire world to see

Real bad plan you had, killing your wife and all. Janet's death did not solve any of your problems. Why is that?

Because YOU are your problem.