Skyla Whitaker, 11, & Taylor Placker 13 - Found Murdered - #14

[tapu]

Is this info available from family/witnesses, or discernible from what we know about the road:


Were the girls found on the side of the road that they usually walked on, given the direction they were going (toward the placker house)? I figure they always were on one side, but if this were different from where they were found, I would have to envision a different scenario.

(As it is, I'm seeing the perp coming up and shooting them both rapidly, no or few words exchanged. If they were on the "wrong" side of the road, more may have preceded the shots.)

 

[RoseRed]

Yes, I'm debating with myself....
But I want to counter the idea that two guns = two shooters, based solely on the belief that it is damned unlikely to find two guys who would empty guns into two little girls on a road in broad daylight. Maybe the killer just really was that thorough that he got another gun to make sure the job was done. Must have had nerves of steel, though, given where he was.

Yes, nerves of steel and mean as the devil.

 

[tapu]

Yes, nerves of steel and mean as the devil.

Yeah, that's why I think this was an experienced, hardened shooter. No "local boys" or non-criminal extended family or anyone like that executed these girls. This was not the first time this shooter killed. (now that's really speculative, but it's how it hits me.)

 

[hannahsnana]

tapu, do you mean as in "hired gun" maybe? Maybe in relation to Skyla's brother's plea deal?

 

[christine2448]

Yes, I'm debating with myself....

LMAO! That is awesome, IMO, FWIW. I do it sometimes too!

At least you do it as 'one' person...we have had peeps sign up as 2 users and argue w/themselves or agree w/themselves..it's always funny when we catch them.

 

[christine2448]

Yeah, that's why I think this was an experienced, hardened shooter. No "local boys" or non-criminal extended family or anyone like that executed these girls. This was not the first time this shooter killed. (now that's really speculative, but it's how it hits me.)

This is one of my theories also. IIRC, the familes aren't all that 'clean'...someone could have done this as a hit against one of the other family members.?.

 

[tapu]

tapu, do you mean as in "hired gun" maybe? Maybe in relation to Skyla's brother's plea deal?

Ah. I haven't given lots of credence to the idea that this was a planned hit. However, the connection you make here is a possibility.

For me, the most crucial clue to who did this is that he could pump 2 guns into children walking down a road. Who does that?? Even a "hired gun" would have to be pretty high-up in the criminal hierarchy, and Skyla's brother's case would have to be awfully compelling in its maliciousness to get someone to want this done and someone else to do it.

It's like a mob (read: drug) hit, rather than a "thrill kill" or anything less.

 

[RoseRed]

LMAO! That is awesome, IMO, FWIW. I do it sometimes too!

At least you do it as 'one' person...we have had peeps sign up as 2 users and argue w/themselves or agree w/themselves..it's always funny when we catch them.

I am on a Tuscaloosa newspaper list and we had that one night for about four hours. It was hilarious a poster was defending his sister that folks were talking about and he became two members and argued with himself and other people. He spelled really good as one person and very badly as the other until they got him really mad then he would forget who he was and get it all reversed.

 

[Nickelfoo]

Ah. I haven't given lots of credence to the idea that this was a planned hit. However, the connection you make here is a possibility.

For me, the most crucial clue to who did this is that he could pump 2 guns into children walking down a road. Who does that?? Even a "hired gun" would have to be pretty high-up in the criminal hierarchy, and Skyla's brother's case would have to be awfully compelling in its maliciousness to get someone to want this done and someone else to do it.

It's like a mob (read: drug) hit, rather than a "thrill kill" or anything less.

What could warrant this type of hit? If it was because of Skyla's brother in prison, why not just put the hit out on him? We all know this happens, so what good came from killing these babies? Did it gain anything?

 

[tapu]

tapu, do you mean as in "hired gun" maybe? Maybe in relation to Skyla's brother's plea deal?

Okay, I've been trying out the idea of a "hired gun" and the scenario I come up with seems extremely implausible...

The guy would have to drive around, presumably with a picture of Skyla (or, granted, a family picture with anyone in it as target), and then come across her conveniently in a spot where he could kill her unseen.
Now, I just can't imagine a hired killer doing that. Too much chance of being seen, remembered. Even if all he did was drive up and down that particular road.
I grew up in Appalachia and I swear we saw and thought about everyone who ever drove down "Buffalo Mine Road"....

 

[Nickelfoo]

I know this has probably been addressed before so sorry. But I read that we did not know who Taylor's parents are but was wondering why the hyphen in her name and do all 4 Pashel/Placker children live with the grandparents and are they all brothers and sisters or cousins or what? This get so confusing.

 

[Albert18]

We have two recurring themes in this crime. A lot of what we know doesn't seem to make sense and LE is keeping an extremely tight lid on all info on this case. In fact I don't know if I have ever seen a case where LE was so secretive. There has to be a reason for all of this.

I think LE is working on the theory that there is at least one person involved who didn't pull the trigger or is somehow lesser involved. LE is deliberately using misinformation to try to create a cloudy and chaotic situation that Sunday afternoon. They don't want real information to get out because it might undercut the MISINFORMATION they have created. They want to make the killer or killers nervous and scared by creating uncertainty and doubt as to what was all going on that afternoon. Someone who is nervous and scared may make a phone call or confide in a confidant who may make a phone call.

Greta asked Jessica Brown if they had a POI in this case and in my opinion Jessica Brown either deflected the question or she didn't understand the question. How could she not have understood the question? And during the last press conference, how much time did Jessica Brown spend on the POI?

Therefore I think part of what we know about the POI isn't true. The POI was put in that area around that time to create uncertainty and doubt. The reason they didn't release info about the POI immediately could be because it took them a few days to formulate the plan.

This doesn't mean the POI isn't real. The POI just may not be what we think. Just like when a pedophile thinks he has set up a sexual encounter with a 12 year old girl over the internet and the 12 year old turns out to be a 30 year old cop.

I think we have a high stakes game going on. I will back off LE a bit as I think I see what they are doing. I still think they can use this approach and wine and dine the locals but that is hard to judge from hundreds of miles away.

So the next time you are thinking; well how can a witness see the girls walking and not the POI and other witnesses see the POI but not the girls? Now you know. Things aren't what they seem in a mirage.

 

[Nickelfoo]

We have two recurring themes in this crime. A lot of what we know doesn't seem to make sense and LE is keeping an extremely tight lid on all info on this case. In fact I don't know if I have ever seen a case where LE was so secretive. There has to be a reason for all of this.

I think LE is working on the theory that there is at least one person involved who didn't pull the trigger or is somehow lesser involved. LE is deliberately using misinformation to try to create a cloudy and chaotic situation that Sunday afternoon. They don't want real information to get out because it might undercut the MISINFORMATION they have created. They want to make the killer or killers nervous and scared by creating uncertainty and doubt as to what was all going on that afternoon. Someone who is nervous and scared may make a phone call or confide in a confidant who may make a phone call.

Greta asked Jessica Brown if they had a POI in this case and in my opinion Jessica Brown either deflected the question or she didn't understand the question. How could she not have understood the question? And during the last press conference, how much time did Jessica Brown spend on the POI?

Therefore I think part of what we know about the POI isn't true. The POI was put in that area around that time to create uncertainty and doubt. The reason they didn't release info about the POI immediately could be because it took them a few days to formulate the plan.

This doesn't mean the POI isn't real. The POI just may not be what we think. Just like when a pedophile thinks he has set up a sexual encounter with a 12 year old girl over the internet and the 12 year old turns out to be a 30 year old cop.

I think we have a high stakes game going on. I will back off LE a bit as I think I see what they are doing. I still think they can use this approach and wine and dine the locals but that is hard to judge from hundreds of miles away.

So the next time you are thinking; well how can a witness see the girls walking and not the POI and other witnesses see the POI but not the girls? Now you know. Things aren't what they seem in a mirage.

I understand what you are saying, I just don't follow as to why this misinformation would spook someone. I might be missing something, but IMO, if I comitted a crime and the police were saying they have a POI that does not look anything like me, I would not call them and tell them they are wrong, thats not what I look like. Again please forgive me if I am misunderstanding.

 

[tapu]

Well, people can believe anything they want about LE and some of it has to be right, but... it is my studied opinion that no LE agency would put out a sketch of a POI falsified in any way whatsoever. I think they sweat bullets when they put out ANY sketch.

 

[Albert18]

I understand what you are saying, I just don't follow as to why this misinformation would spook someone. I might be missing something, but IMO, if I comitted a crime and the police were saying they have a POI that does not look anything like me, I would not call them and tell them they are wrong, thats not what I look like. Again please forgive me if I am misunderstanding.

LE has always made the point that they don't think the POI was involved, they just want to talk to him. So by using the POI they are moving eyeballs around the area and eyeballs tend to see things. The eyeballs are probably real, we just don't know where they were that Sunday and neither do the killer or killers.

I saw on a TV show recently or read about someone in LE talking about how when they catch a criminal and talk to him, the criminal usually was paronoid and tended to think LE knew more than LE actually did. He said it is such a given fact that they use this as a tool in investigations.

 

[Nickelfoo]

Well, people can believe anything they want about LE and some of it has to be right, but... it is my studied opinion that no LE agency would put out a sketch of a POI falsified in any way whatsoever. I think they sweat bullets when they put out ANY sketch.

I agree with you completely. I do assume they do not release all information, but I do not think they intentionally put out false information. Now, is LE perfect? absolutly not. Have they put out incorrect information, yes. But I don't feel it was deliberet.

 

[Albert18]

You are completely missing the point.

Nobody is saying the sketch isn't real. Nobody is saying the POI isn't real.

 

[Nickelfoo]

As I said earlier, I apologize if I was missing the point. I am just not sure "what plan they were formulating"?

 

[tapu]

You are completely missing the point.

Nobody is saying the sketch isn't real. Nobody is saying the POI isn't real.

Albert18: "I think part of what we know about the POI isn't true. The POI was put in that area around that time to create uncertainty and doubt. The reason they didn't release info about the POI immediately could be because it took them a few days to formulate the plan."


I guess I don't understand what you're saying then. My apologies.

 

[hannahsnana]

Nickelfoo and Tapu, I think you are right about the "hired gun" theory. It would just be too hard to locate the intended target when no one else was around.
Albert, I agree with FlowerChild and you that the POI is probably real. My own personal theory is that it was a person who was in the wrong place at the wrong time. Maybe someone with a record, or someone who thought LE would never believe he wasn't involved, thus not coming forward. Perhaps he saw the crime taking place from a distance while driving his pickup, maybe even saw the shooter(s) before they left the scene (once again from a distance). He didn't really know what was going on until he came up on the scene right after the shootings, hence the crazy angle of his vehicle as he stopped, not believing his eyes.