I am from nearby the Orlando area and had business in the Orlando today so I thought after I was finished I would take a tour of the crime scmene. I am close follower of the case and participated in the November searches.
I choose to park my vehicle at a convenience store on the corner of Curry Ford and Chickasaw and walk to the site. I heard some mumbling somewhere about hassles parking near the scene so I decided to do this instead of worrying about the parking. Needless to say, it was a long walk, longer than I had estimated. The weather today though was beautiful so not a problem.
I had known before, and the walk solidified this idea, that pretty much the entire surrounding area is low-middle income housing, with the A's house fairly in the middle range of what I saw on my walk. All the neighborhoods from where I parked to the actual scene where what I would term 'nice'. By that I mean I saw no cars on blocks, or ratty exteriors, or really bad lawns, etc. None. Interspersed here and there where a few upper middle class homes, and past Suburban drive there is a newer section with upper middle apts and homes. Orlando has more than one neighborhood like this where there is a mixture, in an integrated fashion, of houses with mixed income levels.
I had actually parked South of Suburban first and started to walk from that direction but needed to pee so walked back to my car. Along that walk I past several open fields and noticed trails into them here and there and got the impression that these where formed from people entering from the sidewalk prior searches, some months ago. I saw a few wild elephant ear plants here and there that show up also in the crime scene photos. These plants are dark green are prominent near the wood fence. At this time, no water anywhere but significant evidence of past standing water. Joggers down the sidewalks.
When I finally got Suburban, I could see all the way from Chickasaw some media vehicles across a retention pond perhaps 150 meters distant. At the time there where two of them. I rounded the corner of Suburban and Chickasaw and the impression registered on me, and as reported by the media, of how close everything is relative to my imaginings. It takes only about one minute on foot to traverse from Chickasaw/Suburban to the crime scene.
I past a News 13 reported on the opposite side of the road from the crime scene on the sidewalk. He says nothing and I pass him. I study the retention pond water level and note just with my eyes it is about the same elevation as the crime scene some 20 meters in front and to the left. There is a concrete drain right off the sidewalk the empties into the pond and where this pipe originates from is a mystery, but the angle suggest it's source is across the road near the crime scene perhaps connected via the storm drain. From the map perspective, the drain orientation is southeast to northwest.
The sidewalk is the standard 'small' width sidewalk, perhaps 3 feet wide. These are not normally the size sidewalks where there is a lot of jogging activity (it would be wider). I walk past the crime scene on the sidewalk on the opposite side of the road. In the back of my mind I picture the psychics video and connect it to what I am seeing now. The storm drain cover is significant landmark, there is one on both sides of the street and on the opposite side the manhole cover is less than 5 meters away from the crime scene. From what I can tell the psychic got out 25 meters up the road from the scene. I see a grassy area near there that looks like the place where she got out with the dog. I note that in her video the dog starts to act up a nearly the exact spot of the crime scene (where the kid say turn up the air, the dog is getting sick).
I loop back around when past the crime scene and get on the opposite side of the road. I study the state of the woods say five meters off the road. The woods start in earnest just two meters off the road and I can see into the woods a good 20 meters in places (now, maybe not in summer). There is loads of trash in the woods; I see the ubiquitous beer bottle, a beach umbrella, some sort of plastic bin, a plastic laundry basket before I lose interest. If there some sort of significance attached to a solitary plastic bag, that is just BS. If I randomly jumped into the woods there and fell over I would probably land on one.
There were what looked like water marks on the tree trunks, more like 18 inches rather than the waist deep the neighborhood kid reported. When I approached the crime scene, it looked as if a bush hog had scraped the entire area clean. There was some construction blocks nearby where I think the remains where found, and a small memorial. I did not look at the memorial that carefully.
I did note that pulling of the road here would be a dicey proposition. Any car say 5 meters to 2 meters in front of the man hole cover would get stuck in on the dropoff that occurs just. The curb is too high at the manhole cover and necks down maybe a meter on either side. So, it seems like there is about a 3 meter swath just past the manhole where you could back into the woods with a car and get out without getting stuck. The only way to do that would be during daylight, otherwise you risk getting stuck.
To me, the disposal HAD to be done by just pulling off to the side of the road. On the ground, even near the woods, that position would expose the vehicle to line of site of several homes and even as far as Chickasaw across the retention pond. It had to be a panic decision it seems to me to risk doing this, especially during daylight, or someone exceptionally daring. Also, it would be impossible to simply sling the load ... it had to be carried in, ny guess from a rabbit trail near the tree that had the police tape on it.
I decided despite my feet to walk down HopeSpring and see the A home. Again, NICE neighborhood. Mature trees, and not just palms; neat yards; quiet. I did notice dogs barking near the corner and for a moment that caught my attention (could you park at the crime scene without setting this off?)
My impression of the home, although having saw it numerous times on TV, was significant in that I felt 'non-plussed'. The exterior, relative to the others in the neighborhood, seemed only 'average' in terms of it's upkeep; the grass was middle of the road and there was a functioning basketball goal on the driveway, net intact (who uses this now, I wondered). The missing posters are still in the front door. This seemed to contrast with the pin neat pictures of the interior that I saw on the internet. If G was doing the outside and C the inside, this impression solidifies a lot of what I heard on threads concerning G. Nothing bad, just nothing that stood out either. There was one new truck on the lawn.
What struck me after walking back from the home was the vibe I got about the relative LACK of INTEREST I felt in the neighborhood. Given that the entire world knows about this, I suspect that some guy in Germany knows more about it than the guy two doors down. The effort of the A's with the sign on the front door, seemed so not even half-assed. I did not see a similar sign anywhere else. Contrasting, the memorial, what remains, on Suburban and Hopespring, is a work of art, especially the artifacts of a religious bent. I did not start bawling or anything, but it to me was artful and powerful simultaneous. A got a tinge of what I felt when I visited Dealy [sp?] in Dallas. I notice a certain reverence when people approached the crime scene.
Glad I made the trip.
