Skyla Whitaker, 11, & Taylor Placker 13 - Found Murdered - #8

[sweetheart29]

Thank you for posting the link, Annie. Kind of gives a whole new perspective , looking at the crime scene. Kind of screams family-related, or personal revenge, not stranger random, doesn't it? As you're looking at the photo of the road, did they find fresh atv tracks in the woods to the right? Did I read that somewhere? Where does this road come from before it passes by Taylor's driveway? What is in that direction? Would the killer be able to easily come up this road, pass the driveway, etc. That white truck off the side of the driveway in the photo is making me wonder. Is that THE truck? Or just coincidence?

The white truck in that picture is a Chevy. Maybe that truck is broke down and set there all the time. Maybe the person they saw was Mr. Placker leaving his drive way to go look for the girls.

 

[FlowerChild]

Just what ever teen (and almost teen) dreams of, their parents tagging along on a walk in their own neighborhood. The girls had a cell phone, I'm sure that gave them and the family a sense of security, false security though. Still, there is not blame to be put on the family for allowing what every older kid should have, the ability to take a walk with their friend in a place they call home and to come back alive.

I Agree!
I just don't believe that the world is any more "evil" or dangerous to children now than it was 50 years ago. We just KNOW MORE now because we get "instant" news and 24/7/365 communication with our phones and computers. In the US, we also have access to and means to purchase more powerful and sophisticated weapons that kill more people faster. I don't think there are more incidents, I think they just kill more people and we hear about all of them. Crime has become the "news" in the US - if it bleeds, it leads has never been more true.

There probably are a million+ children that are playing right now "unattended" by a parent and none of them will be killed by a stranger, molested by a pedophile or abducted. Because we hear more about it now (and the news goes worldwide in a flash) we have the perception that our children are in constant danger. Should we be aware, should we be "safe" and teach our kids to be safe? Of course! Do most of us need to lock our kids in the house and throw away the key until they are 18? I don't think so...and frankly, I don't think that is healthy for kids - especially as they move into High School.

Life is going to happen and children die - as unfair as that seems. We cannot put our kids in a bubble and keep them there. Yes, they would be "safe" but that wouldn't be much of a "life" either.

And I'm sorry, I don't believe that rural Weleetka is so filled with druggies and creeps that the country roads and fields are now "unsafe" for kids to play (or walk) on/in and that kids must be acompanied by an armed adult or go around ARMED with knives and GUNS themselves. I call "over-reaction". Bad things happen, but parents simply cannot prevent everything that life might throw at a child - heck, I think parents or siblings or G-Parents who accidentally run over their kids in their own driveway is at epidemic levels - but I don't think we should outlaw cars or lock our kids in the house 24/7 and never let them NEAR a car or give them a gun to shoot the driver with because it "might" happen.

There are very FEW children killed by a complete stranger - kids are endangered FAR more by their own family members and family associates and trusted adults. Statistically our kids are in far MORE danger inside their homes and within trusted groups than walking up a country road in Weleetka or playing unattended.

My Opinion

 

[DeltaDawn]

The white truck in that picture is a Chevy. Maybe that truck is broke down and set there all the time. Maybe the person they saw was Mr. Placker leaving his drive way to go look for the girls.

The truck was placed there to block the driveway..they had already set up road blocks at either end of the road, according to articles. Mr Placker walked to get the girls..he didn't drive. I am sure they were doing their best at trying to keep people away from the scene to not contaminate any evidence there was in the roadway and ditches.

 

[close_enough]

i do believe that the world is more dangerous than it was 50 yrs ago...
pick a hablit...we got plenty to go around

 

[FlowerChild]

If the psychic thread was removed for review, perhaps there is a problem with psychic/dream stuff being posted here??

I SAID IT WASN'T PSYCHIC! Just an ordinary nightmare straight out of my life and what I am putting into my brain every day.

But it led me to a valid theory of what MIGHT have happened - so I don't think it's any different than the intuition being used by everyone here to brainstorm motives and scenarios. I DON'T THINK I AM PSYCHIC AND I SAW WHAT HAPPENED IN MY DREAM - I just had a dream that gave me an idea about a different way this could have gone down. I didn't go into any long detail in this thread - just enough to explain the way it COULD have happened (and general age of the killer and possible motives). It boils down to just one more explanation of how both girls ended up the the positions they were found in.

Our subconscious is at work all the time - awake and asleep and since I have immersed myself in this case (before going to bed) it doesn't surprise me that I dreamed about it. If I had just posted my theory (as "what if") without saying how I GOT the idea, nobody would have a problem with it. I put all the details that are pure "stuff of dreams" in a thread where they would be accepted as such - a vivid dream. Not here in the mainstream thread.
Everything I post that is an opinion is clearly labeled as such (see below) - that what happened in the dream I had COULD have happened is merely....
.....My Opinion

 

[Morag]

I Agree!
I just don't believe that the world is any more "evil" or dangerous to children now than it was 50 years ago. We just KNOW MORE now because we get "instant" news and 24/7/365 communication with our phones and computers. In the US, we also have access to and means to purchase more powerful and sophisticated weapons that kill more people faster. I don't think there are more incidents, I think they just kill more people and we hear about all of them. Crime has become the "news" in the US - if it bleeds, it leads has never been more true.

There probably are a million+ children that are playing right now "unattended" by a parent and none of them will be killed by a stranger, molested by a pedophile or abducted. Because we hear more about it now (and the news goes worldwide in a flash) we have the perception that our children are in constant danger. Should we be aware, should we be "safe" and teach our kids to be safe? Of course! Do most of us need to lock our kids in the house and throw away the key until they are 18? I don't think so...and frankly, I don't think that is healthy for kids - especially as they move into High School.

Life is going to happen and children die - as unfair as that seems. We cannot put our kids in a bubble and keep them there. Yes, they would be "safe" but that wouldn't be much of a "life" either.

And I'm sorry, I don't believe that rural Weleetka is so filled with druggies and creeps that the country roads and fields are now "unsafe" for kids to play (or walk) on/in and that kids must be acompanied by an armed adult or go around ARMED with knives and GUNS themselves. I call "over-reaction". Bad things happen, but parents simply cannot prevent everything that life might throw at a child - heck, I think parents or siblings or G-Parents who accidentally run over their kids in their own driveway is at epidemic levels - but I don't think we should outlaw cars or lock our kids in the house 24/7 and never let them NEAR a car or give them a gun to shoot the driver with because it "might" happen.

There are very FEW children killed by a complete stranger - kids are endangered FAR more by their own family members and family associates and trusted adults. Statistically our kids are in far MORE danger inside their homes and within trusted groups than walking up a country road in Weleetka or playing unattended.

My Opinion

Thank you. FlowerChild, for such a cogent explanation of why the current atmosphere of fear exists. My 92-year-old FIL is always expressing the opinion that things were much better in the old days, and I always say You think the Depression, WWII and the Holocaust were the good old days, Dad? Maybe you better quit watching (insert news channel here)! He laughs, God bless his sweet old heart!

 

[Busylady]

I agree things are worse now than say 50 yrs ago. People use to know all their neighbors, kids could play in the neighborhood and people looked out for them. More guns and drug activity. More kids left to fend for themselves because both parents have no choice but to work. The list goes on and on.

i do believe that the world is more dangerous than it was 50 yrs ago...
pick a hablit...we got plenty to go around

 

[sweetheart29]

Posted by SeriouslySearching:

This could be similar to what they are looking for, but I don't know what year this Ford truck is:

http://www.sportruck.com/events/gsf06/i28.html

It has a chrome strip down the side which the newer models don't seem to have which would stick out in someone's mind.

That truck is going to be any where fro 1970 to 1977 f150. The headlights change in 78 to square.

 

[GetSmart]

Am I reading this correct. I have re-read this 3+ times. They don;t just have someone who saw girls right before but an eyewitness & they did not give any names. Help me out here. I am reading this wrong!! Or is this what we are assuming is the reason we have the POI?

http://www.websleuths.com/forums/showthread.php?t=66471
http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0806/12/ng.01.html

Out to Kirsten McIntyre with KWTV. What`s the latest?

KIRSTEN MCINTYRE, KWTV: Well, Nancy, the biggest development in this case today is the fact that an eyewitness apparently saw the girls just minutes before they were killed. And in today`s press conference, it was pretty cleared the OSBI, the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation, wanted the shooter or the shooters to know that they do, in fact, have an eyewitness. They told us they would not identify who that eyewitness is. They told us the eyewitness did not give them any names. And when we asked about, Did this eyewitness give you any information regarding suspect vehicles in the area, we got the no comment at this time.

MCINTYRE: Well, again, they have not really given us a lot of information regarding exactly what the eyewitness saw. I think today, they just want to get that message out there, that, in fact, there was an eyewitness.

 

[GetSmart]

I brought this over here because I find it useful.
GS

06-22-2008, 10:46 PM
cloudajo

Registered User
Join Date: Oct 2007
Posts: 134


Witness Summary for Reference
Witnesses (Combined)
If I heard Brown correctly in a news conference, she said there were no more than a ½ dozen combined witnesses (unless more came forward after that). At least 2 witnesses about 1 mile away heard shots, several saw POI on the road near where the girls were killed (but we don’t know if they saw the girls alive), at least one witness said he was driving on County Line Road and saw the girls walking together.

Witnesses who saw POI:
· Brown: “There were several people who were actually driving by the area who noticed him and came forward in the last few days.”
· OSBI website: During the many interviews conducted by agents, several people revealed they saw a Native American male near where the girls were killed.
· OSBI believes he was at the scene minutes before the two girls were shot and killed.
· The OSBI website says: "This person was seen outside this truck parked in the middle of the dirt road near where the two girls were found."
· And Brown also said: "He was stopped on the road actually kind of blocking the way there, standing outside his pickup truck, doing something," she said. "And they couldn't really tell what he was doing, so they kept driving because it looked a little suspicious."

Male Witness who saw the girls walking on the road together (supposedly minutes before shots were heard):
· Ben Rosser, special agent for the OSBI, said the witness was driving along County Line Road (N. 3890 Road), when he saw the two girls walking together. Rosser on Thursday described the witness, whom he would not identify, as very credible.
· The OSBI agent, however, declined to say what else the eyewitness saw — whether he saw other people along the road or perhaps a vehicle passing him. "That's something for the killers to think about," he said.

Witnesses who heard gunshots:
· Brown also said Friday that a handful of witnesses have come forward to say they heard gunshots, which helps investigators piece together a timeline for the murders.
· Witness Rebecca Kelough (and her son): Reporter: Rebecca Kelough lives less than 1 mile from where Taylor and Skyla died. Kelough: “The ones that sounded like automatic weapon fire went de de de de de de, de de de de de, and then de de de. And my son and I were outside. He heard it also.”

 

[believe09]

long time lurker for this complicated, well, now forum. So LE is trying to get someone to panic and run I think with the eyewitness statement-maybe the person in the sketch came forward?

 

[GetSmart]

http://www.ok.gov/osbi/Press_Room/2...-2008-06-17_Okfuskee_Co._Murder_Synopsis.html
Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation

A. DeWade Langley
Director

Jessica Brown
Public Information Director

06/17/08 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE​

Okfuskee County Murder Synopsis​

Sunday, June 8, 2008, 13-year-old Taylor Placker and 11-year-old Skyla Whitaker were shot and killed on a dirt road in Okfuskee County. The best friends had spent the previous night at Placker’s rural home near Weleetka. Before Whitaker was to go home, the two decided to make one last trip to a nearby bridge -- a popular hangout for young people in the area. Shortly after they left Placker’s home, Whitaker’s mother called announcing she was on her way to pick up her daughter. Placker’s grandfather tried to call the girls via cell phone to ask them to return home. The girls did not answer. Placker’s grandfather then walked down the dirt road to find them. Minutes later, he discovered the girls dead along side the road and called for help.
The Okfuskee County Sheriff’s Office arrived at the scene shortly after the 9-1-1 call made by a family member of Placker’s. The sheriff requested OSBI help with the investigation. Since then, more than a dozen OSBI special agents have been assigned to the case and have run on hundreds of leads. During the many interviews conducted by agents, several people revealed they saw a Native American male near where the girls were killed. He was standing outside a pickup truck described as a white Ford or Chevy, single cab truck with a narrow strip of chrome down the side. The truck had an Oklahoma license tag. Witnesses described the man as Native American – possibly part Caucasian -- with a long pony tail. He is approximately 6 feet tall with a slender build. OSBI Forensic Artist Harvey Pratt met with the witnesses and has drawn a composite sketch of the person. OSBI believes he was at the scene minutes before the two girls were shot and killed. Agents want to interview him for possible leads in the case.
During the early stages of the investigation, OSBI learned two different caliber weapons were used on both girls. That could indicate two or more shooters are involved. OSBI agents and investigators with the sheriff’s office and district attorney’s office have interviewed hundreds of people and are in the process of re-interviewing family members to determine if they can remember anything more.​

At the scene, OSBI crime scene agents collected several pieces of possible evidence in the case. Those items have been transported to the OSBI Forensic Science Center for analysis.
A reward in excess of $30,000 is offered for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the person(s) responsible for these murders. If anyone has information, they should call either the OSBI hotline at 800-635-8477 or the Okfuskee County Sheriff’s Office.

 

[txsvicki]

If the eye witness saw the girls minutes before they were killed, but didn't give them any names the witness must not have recognized any person they saw. I wonder if there was another vehicle seen in the area besides the white pickup or if this sighting with the NA man is what they are referring to?

I'm beginning to agree with the poster who wondered if the sighting of the white truck with NA man is even true. The sketch of him almost looks too good and too detailed.

 

[GetSmart]

That is what confused me. It was male who was witness according to the link. But maybe this is all not updated since it was 6-12 but here they sound so sure of themselves. It is just odd. I swear it sounds like something different.

 

[Trino]

Good ideas re: POI

Think about driving by someone at around 15 mph. Would you be able to give a detailed description of the color of someone's eyes? I certainly wouldn't.

It also seems the POI isn't local, since neither he nor the car were recognized.

 

[Morag]

Now, we've discussed the did he drive or walk idea about Grandpa...and we know he was walking when he found the girls. But what if he had driven down the road, encountered them, said, make haste, girls, and then he drove back, parked his truck and went inside, knowing that they would be there on foot within 5-10 minutes. When they didn't show, he called Taylor's mobile, no answer. He walked out to the road, knowing they would surely be in sight. When they weren't, he walked down the road, looking side to side into the woods. Then he found them.

I'm assuming that the Gpa is clean. And that he told his story to LE immediately. They didn't want other witnesses to clam up, so they didn't put his story out right away. Meanwhile, they polygraphed him, the Gma, and maybe others. When his story proved reliable, then they gave the story of a "witness" to the press.

And he might have heard the gunshots before he walked out to look for them. Thus, "they shot the girls."
I'm still not buying that the NA in the truck is involved, or that he exists at all.
Some of what has been released seems to have a pretty close timeline:
He ("witness") saw the girls minutes before they were killed. The boys were 3 miles away when the girls were killed (3 minutes to drive 3 miles, so unless the time was certain, that can't stand as an alibi). The time must have been pretty easy to determine. When Taylor didn't answer her phone-5-10 minutes after Gpa saw them-she was dead or under duress. That makes the window very tiny.

 

[KR2tonenow]

Taylor's family moved here to get her away from the violence in Oklahoma City, according to her uncle, Joe Mosher. Skyla's moved from Baxter Springs, Kan., outside of Joplin, Mo., for a taste of the simple life, Farrow said.

http://cbs5.com/national/oklahoma.girls.shot.2.745508.html

Sure, just arm your kid with an semi and he'll be safe. Good grief! I would think a family walk Sunday afternoon would be wiser. Teaching your children to arm themselves, is supporting the violence that surrounds them.

If the area is mainfested with dopeheads and drunks Call the sheriff!
Be proactive.

Did anyone find out if that proerty where the girls were murdered was County or not. If it is County, I bet anyone can do wahtever they want there, including gun runners and drug dealers.

If so it should be barbed wired. Is it?

 

[oceanblueeyes]

Thank you for posting the link, Annie. Kind of gives a whole new perspective , looking at the crime scene. Kind of screams family-related, or personal revenge, not stranger random, doesn't it? As you're looking at the photo of the road, did they find fresh atv tracks in the woods to the right? Did I read that somewhere? Where does this road come from before it passes by Taylor's driveway? What is in that direction? Would the killer be able to easily come up this road, pass the driveway, etc. That white truck off the side of the driveway in the photo is making me wonder. Is that THE truck? Or just coincidence?

It makes me think of how children can be harmed even when they are very close to home. We have seen it happen before, unfortunately.

From what I can remember this road is used to go between two communities about 10 miles apart from each other. Skyla's mother was using this same road so there is a connection to her town as well which is about 16 miles from Weleetka.

The photo of the crime scene that shows the white truck was placed there to show the Placker driveway so that LE down the road could look back and tell where it was. Where the black truck is parked further up is not the crime scene......they would park back away from it. You can see another guy further on up in the road and that is the crime scene imo.

imoo

 

[sweetheart29]

The truck was placed there to block the driveway..they had already set up road blocks at either end of the road, according to articles. Mr Placker walked to get the girls..he didn't drive. I am sure they were doing their best at trying to keep people away from the scene to not contaminate any evidence there was in the roadway and ditches.

How do you know the truck was placed there to block the drive way. What if the truck was there before the murders and that's the truck witness seen. I know Mr. Placker walked. I am just thinking maybe that's the truck witness seen maybe that why the LE is not tell us any more about the truck. I am not say Mr. Placker had any thing to with killing them.

 

[oceanblueeyes]

Now, we've discussed the did he drive or walk idea about Grandpa...and we know he was walking when he found the girls. But what if he had driven down the road, encountered them, said, make haste, girls, and then he drove back, parked his truck and went inside, knowing that they would be there on foot within 5-10 minutes. When they didn't show, he called Taylor's mobile, no answer. He walked out to the road, knowing they would surely be in sight. When they weren't, he walked down the road, looking side to side into the woods. Then he found them.

I'm assuming that the Gpa is clean. And that he told his story to LE immediately. They didn't want other witnesses to clam up, so they didn't put his story out right away. Meanwhile, they polygraphed him, the Gma, and maybe others. When his story proved reliable, then they gave the story of a "witness" to the press.

And he might have heard the gunshots before he walked out to look for them.
I'm still not buying that the NA in the truck is involved, or that he exists at all.
Some of what has been released seems to have a pretty close timeline:
He ("witness") saw the girls minutes before they were killed. The boys were 3 miles away when the girls were killed (3 minutes to drive 3 miles, so unless the time was certain, that can't stand as an alibi). The time must have been pretty easy to determine. When Taylor didn't answer her phone-5-10 minutes after Gpa saw them-she was dead or under duress. That makes the window very tiny.

I don't think the father saw anything but their dead bodies off the shoulder of the road.

I think LE is going on the 4:30 pm time the girls left home and the 5:08 pm call by Skyla's mother and shortly after the call to Taylor's cell which went unanswered (apprx. 5:10pm). I believe the witnesses are putting it into that 40 minute time window on what they saw, where and when or heard and it has lined up and LE is very comfortable that they know when TOD occurred.

The witness or witnesses that saw the girls walking were probably further up than where they were found...either walking toward the bridge or coming back.

imoo