Skyla Whitaker, 11, & Taylor Placker 13 - Found Murdered - #7

[cloudajo]

http://newsok.com/help-with-case-comes-across-boundary-lines/article/3260415/?tm=1214085708

His office has been used for interviews and for lie detector tests, but Rice said most of the loose ends have been tied up and investigators may be close to a big break in the case.

"I believe they are on the right track, and that it's not too far away,” he said. "This is definitely not a dead end as some people think. I know that with something of this magnitude you want someone in jail this second, but there's so much to look at, and so many leads. They have a responsibility to do this right all the way.

Thanks. They may have something or they may just be methodically going through every lead (hundreds?) they already have and are holding off for the time being on things like AMW.

 

[oceanblueeyes]

Thanks. They may have something or they may just be methodically going through every lead (hundreds?) they already have and are holding off for the time being on things like AMW.

I don't know. All of a sudden I think something is going to happen this week to break this case.

With AMW not showing this segment convinces me they do have a suspect and they have found him.

They just have to be very careful nowadays and do the full investigation the proper way.

I really have hope now.

imoo

 

[evelyn24]

I don't know. All of a sudden I think something is going to happen this week to break this case.

With AMW not showing this segment convinces me they do have a suspect and they have found him.

They just have to be very careful nowadays and do the full investigation the proper way.

I really have hope now.

imoo

Me too..:clap:
Here's to hoping, anyway.

I don't think they want to arrest anyone yet until all loose ends are tied up and they have a strong case, because the poi could lawyer up in a second.

 

[cloudajo]

I had the previous understanding the girls were laying, face up...this article says face down....which would make a big difference in this crime picture.

Quote: Taylor and Skyla were found lying face down in a ditch on the west side of the road.
It became Choate's crime scene, but because the nearest cell phone tower was to the east, it was Rice's office that got the emergency call that sent his deputies scrambling.....imo

Mystery, thanks for pointing that out. What needs to be considered with that?

 

[Mysterylover]

No, I don't blame her a bit either. She isn't an expert.........she is just a grandma trying to make sense of a senseless situation. My heart goes out to all of them.

imoo

Very sad and scary..
I know they were Taylors grandparents, which leads some to look at them as older,
but in fact, they were young in my opinion, 48 years old....

correct me if I'm wrong about the ages.
all you guys are great websleuths with good common sense and idea's....

 

[cloudajo]

With what we do know about the 2 guns, would there typically be smoke or strong smell from guns while the guns were being fired, or would it depend?

 

[FlowerChild]

Very sad and scary..
I know they were Taylors grandparents, which leads some to look at them as older,
but in fact, they were young in my opinion, 48 years old....

correct me if I'm wrong about the ages.
all you guys are great websleuths with good common sense and idea's....

If you are speaking about the woman interviewed it was SKYLA's G-Mother (Rose Whitaker's Mother) who was interviewed. They (Skyla's maternal G-Parents) live nearby. Rose called her mother to the scene after she arrived and was told Skyla was dead. I think she (the G-Mother) said she did see Skyla's body at the scene.

My Opinion

 

[Mysterylover]

Mystery, thanks for pointing that out. What needs to be considered with that?

IMO, It says, either they were shot from behind, which means they could have been running from someone OR
if they were laying face up, as we read in the beginning, they would have been shot while facing the shooter..

Of course, if they were shot in the legs and arms, like was first mentioned, they could have been short from behind, possibly with a .22, and the larger automatic pistol used after they were down.....I think the only people that knows the exact way the girls was laying, is the people that was on the scene.

I also read, they were laying next to each other, then I read Taylor was laying near the road,
then another site said, Skylar was about 5 ft. back toward the weeds from Taylor and
then I read on another site they were laying about 8 ft. apart......all the true facts do matter....IF Skylar was 5-8 ft. from Taylor, I would assume she had enough notice of "something or someone" an was scared and backing away...
IF they lay side by side, seems they were "mowed down" with no warning.... I would assume was a "HIT".......jmo

 

[FlowerChild]

I had the previous understanding the girls were laying, face up...this article says face down....which would make a big difference in this crime picture.

Quote: Taylor and Skyla were found lying face down in a ditch on the west side of the road.
It became Choate's crime scene, but because the nearest cell phone tower was to the east, it was Rice's office that got the emergency call that sent his deputies scrambling.....imo

The problem with that info is that it doesn't say in the article WHO said the bodies were face down in a ditch. The info is not attributed nor part of Choate's quote. And Rosser (OSBI) clearly described the scene in an interview for Greta VS's show and said and indicated that Taylor was in the ditch and Skyla was about 5' (or so) further off the road in the grassy/brushy area and both had their heads facing the roadway. Rosser was very clear that Skyla was not beside Taylor, but nearby - he was specifically pointing to a teddy bear at the memorial that would have placed Skyla sort of behind Taylor about 5-6 feet and to to one side.

The only person who would know for sure the face-up or face-down position would be Taylor's G-Pa (Peter Placker). He was the 1st person on the scene. The shots were described as "to the chest" (not to the back)- which tells me at least some of the gunshots were made while the girls were facing the shooter.

My question now is - were they KNEELING when they were shot? Shots just to the chest and head sounds like they could have been???

My Opinion

 

[FlowerChild]

My "sketch" of the scene Rosser (OSBI) described to Greta VS.

http://www.websleuths.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=244&pictureid=2080

I MADE THIS based on what Rosser said and indicated by pointing and gestures in the video. It is MY ANALYSIS only - drawn on a frame of the actual video of the scene. Rosser did NOT say if they were face up or face down.

My Opinion

 

[Mysterylover]

The problem with that info is that it doesn't say in the article WHO said the bodies were face down in a ditch. The info is not attributed nor part of Choate's quote. And Rosser (OSBI) clearly described the scene in an interview for Greta VS's show and said and indicated that Taylor was in the ditch and Skyla was about 5' (or so) further off the road in the grassy/brushy area and both had their heads facing the roadway. Rosser was very clear that Skyla was not beside Taylor, but nearby - he was specifically pointing to a teddy bear at the memorial that would have placed Skyla sort of behind Taylor about 5-6 feet and to to one side.

The only person who would know for sure the face-up or face-down position would be Taylor's G-Pa (Peter Placker). He was the 1st person on the scene. The shots were described as "to the chest" (not to the back)- which tells me at least some of the gunshots were made while the girls were facing the shooter.

My question now is - were they KNEELING when they were shot? Shots just to the chest and head sounds like they could have been???

My Opinion

Flower, sounds correct....The kneeling would have taken "time". I remember it said, T. was shot under the chin, exiting the top of the head...that "shot" leaves a question, also.
Do you think by Skyla being 5 ft. away from Taylor, in the thick weeds, was she backing away and getting ready to run?

OR was the girls coming out of the woods? Any thoughts?

 

[DeltaDawn]

I had wondered if they were in fact running to get away from something they saw and headed into the woods to try to hide. Maybe there is a path known to them in the woods that would have hidden them from the road, but parallel so they could still make it home.

Also we have discussed lots of info from witnesses that could ID the POI. Have there been any witnesses that came forward to say they saw the girls at anytime during their walk? Did they say where they saw them, what direction they were headed at that time and the time it was? That would seem as important as the POI. Perhaps someone saw the POI, lets say at the bridge and the girls at the bridge, and then the POI at the location near where the bodies were found..that person may have unknowingly have seen something else that they took as normal but was really abnormal for the girls. Hope that made some sense.

 

[FlowerChild]

I don't think they would have been in the woody/brushy area except to relocate a turtle off the road (which Taylor did like to do). The woody/brushy areas are full of ticks, chiggers and mosquitos - I don't think the girls were just hanging out or walking in there without a good reason.

Taylor fell practically ON the roadway - I think Skyla was trying to escape - maybe shot down mid-stride. And the only place to escape was toward the roadway - brush was pretty thick. She either was moving toward Taylor when she was shot (1st) or moving away from the shooter backward and then started to run forward when the shots started.

Or both girls could have been kneeling beside each other next to the road and Taylor fell where she was kneeling and Skyla was able to get up, step backward and stumble a few steps and then fell from a standing position a few feet from Taylor.

Don't know, just what I think might have happened - I do know that these were older girls who knew about ticks, chiggers, spiders, snakes etc and probably would not have been tromping around off a perfectly good road in waist- chest-high brush without a reason.

My Opinion

 

[CarpeDiem]

Don't know, just what I think might have happened - I do know that these were older girls who knew about ticks, chiggers, spiders, snakes etc and probably would not have been tromping around off a perfectly good road in waist- chest-high brush without a reason.

My Opinion

I don't know, most country kids do know about ticks, etc., but do they care, does it stop them from going in woods and exploring? I have yet to see that happen with my own kids. They only REALLY care about stuff like that when they become parents themselves and it's not about them.

 

[Mysterylover]

I had wondered if they were in fact running to get away from something they saw and headed into the woods to try to hide. Maybe there is a path known to them in the woods that would have hidden them from the road, but parallel so they could still make it home.

Also we have discussed lots of info from witnesses that could ID the POI. Have there been any witnesses that came forward to say they saw the girls at anytime during their walk? Did they say where they saw them, what direction they were headed at that time and the time it was? That would seem as important as the POI. Perhaps someone saw the POI, lets say at the bridge and the girls at the bridge, and then the POI at the location near where the bodies were found..that person may have unknowingly have seen something else that they took as normal but was really abnormal for the girls. Hope that made some sense.

DD...excellent questions.....whats behind those bushes and woods?... I would bet there a "deer paths" thru the brush & woods, there are where I live, wide enough to walk on..
IF the witnesses was close enough to see the PIO's eye color...I don't understand WHY they didn't know whether it was a chev. or ford truck.

Did they see the girls on the road at the SAME TIME...
IF so, where?
walking or running in what direction, and how close to this POI ?.....jmo

 

[Pocono Sleuther]

I don't know, most country kids do know about ticks, etc., but do they care, does it stop them from going in woods and exploring? I have yet to see that happen with my own kids. They only REALLY care about stuff like that when they become parents themselves and it's not about them.

It sure doesn't stop my girls!! LOL Yes, they know about bugs etc, but they'll still chase the frogs on their grandpa's land into the high grass.

I had NO idea T was shot under the chin. Where was that mentioned? That's an execution.

 

[FlowerChild]

I don't know, most country kids do know about ticks, etc., but do they care, does it stop them from going in woods and exploring? I have yet to see that happen with my own kids. They only REALLY care about stuff like that when they become parents themselves and it's not about them.

I was a country girl and by age 13 I did care about having to pick 100 seed-ticks off myself or having scratches and chigger bites all over my newly shaved legs....would their idol, Miley have ticks and bumps and scratches on her?

Plus, they went walking down a road IN SHORTS before Skyla's mother came to get her - not exploring in the brush and weeds - and the brush was high - would have been almost as tall as Skyla a few feet off the road there. Plus it might have been pretty muddy too - OK has been getting a LOT of rain this month.

Not to mention snakes, spiders etc......

And Taylor WASN'T off the road - she fell practically ON the roadway. I think they were on the road and the killer(s) approached them as they walked on the road.

My Opinion

 

[Mysterylover]

It sure doesn't stop my girls!! LOL Yes, they know about bugs etc, but they'll still chase the frogs on their grandpa's land into the high grass.

I had NO idea T was shot under the chin. Where was that mentioned? That's an execution.

Pocono...It doesn't stop any of mine from cutting through an area, to a field or river or picking black berries, or riding ATV's etc..
IF I'm not mistaken, I read where one of the grandmothers that was on the scene said this...moo

 

[noZme]

about discussion of the position of the bodies......the girls likely saw the gun & whether they froze in fear or tried to flee, i believe will be revealed in trial. using footprints, tiretracks, location of ejected casings & layout of the scene investigators probably have a good picture of the events. osbi knows much more than has been released. i think they may even have someone in custody but are not ready to charge him/them for this.* i do believe major news is coming soon.

if they fell forward or backward depends not only on what part of the body was shot, or if they were in motion. the intervals between shots & whether they were standing on perfectly level ground or one foot more into the ditch would have factored into the position. also. the shooter may have altered the positions...... this part of "sleuthing" is too upsetting to me & better left to the pros. i read every post & blurr the visuals that come with some. it is likely the last moments of conciousness were horrific & choose to not go there.

* remember taylor's step-brother in okc was arrested days after the murders? he had an outstanding warrant for some piddly offense. i think he declined to be interviewed when all the family was asked to make statements, so cops picked him up on that charge. that is an option often used by law enforcement... also just happening to see "failure to make a complete stop" , "unlit tag light" or any other little charge that will suffice to bring a person in for questioning on a completely different matter........ anyway, think it possible that someone, even the poi, is in custody now (but not in ofuskee county)... that is the only explanation i have for amw not mentioning this case last night. the producers of that show have a history of repect & cooperation with all investigative agencies so there is no other reason for a sensational case like this to not take center stage on at least 1 of the 2 week's programs since these children were murdered.

 

[Mysterylover]

I wish LE would have another short presser..just to update the public. Maybe address some of the rumors, if they can.

Eve...good ideas...keep it in the publics mind.

Another thing I've notice in reading the different articles is this:

Seems around 6 witnesses saw the POI on the dirt road that Sunday.
Some witnesses saw the girls, all in less that 1 hour.

What TIME did each witness see each person on that dirt road?

YET, I have not read anything about anyone seeing the girls laying beside the road murdered.

This leads me to believe the girls was killed, minutes before the grandfather walked down the road....jmo