Tempo Restaurant: What Happened There?

[Elley Mae]

A perspective on the mythology of bloodhounds:
http://leerburg.com/bloodhound.htm

That's OK I'll stick with Yogi.

 

[sixecho]

The problem with hitting Tempo, or any person hard for infractions when they have come forward with info even when it compromises them, is that it's a good way to shut down your information system. And life goes on after these things and LE will need information in the future.

If she had a gps on her phone she was following, it is possible she got turned around. I've known people who have done, this including, ahem..my self, recently, and I was not intoxicated in the least. I think LE has talked to those she called and texted that evening, her classmates, and LE has a pretty good idea where she was heading, and it's seems to me she was lost. Went the opposite way at a cruical point and ended up where she did. Wanted to look into MGrady's in hopes of seeing someone she knew, because that's the best chance in that area from what some UVA kids have told me to find a student--the mall is a bit off the beaten student track.

I don't know how long Hannah waited around for JM, if at all. Reports say 15 minutes, or longer in Tempo. She may have used the restroom facilities, she may have also waited. Not necessarily came in and had a drink. 15 minutes is too short , IMO to order a drink, get served, and drink it, pay for the drink. Only one person says she was in there. The consensus seems to be she was outside the place. The id checker seems adament she did not let her in, but who knows? I agree that the effects of alcohol could have been hitting, though exercise can help sober up.

What bothers me is that she went from a brisk walk to barely standing in a short period of time, if the one witness is to be believed. One beer did that so quickly, even given she'd had some drinks in her system from a couple of hours ago, followed by a lot of walking? Doesn't make sense to me.

This is totally coming from left field and is totally outlandish but maybe JM left and HG didn't leave Tempo. I mean, she was already in the bar. Maybe she struck it up with the French owner(s) of the bar and she stayed at Tempo past close. Hannah appears to be well traveled and from an email picture on her twitter account it appears that she may be able to speak French. Maybe something bigger happened at Tempo and that's why they are being so shady. Maybe that's why only a Tempo employee saw HG suddenly the 'lose motor function' of her legs and carted away by JM. I know this is unlikely but I wanted to throw it out there. It'd also explain why Hannah was never seen after Tempo.

I'm reminded of when I went out with a group of my friend's friends. My friend is a very attractive and well traveled lady. I remember a night where she got us into a fancy bar with Lebanese owners. She hit it off with the owner and the owner let us stay wayyy past close and all drinks where on the house. He was just like this Tempo owner. Seemed wealthy and all about himself. Perhaps he and HG spoke the night away in French. I know, completely out there....but you never know.

 

[Evie Ivy Over]

Re: HG's phone going dead right after the "lost" text.......just thought about the possibility that if she went in Tempo's to use the ladies room, she may have dropped the phone in the toilet. It looked like maybe she tucked the phone in the back of her pants, and maybe it fell out and dropped in.

 

[AVIXEN]

Re: HG's phone going dead right after the "lost" text.......just thought about the possibility that if she went in Tempo's to use the ladies room, she may have dropped the phone in the toilet. It looked like maybe she tucked the phone in the back of her pants, and maybe it fell out and dropped in.

Oh how many phones I have lost that exact same way... phone in back pocket + alcohol = phone in toilet (for me at least)! While I'm not sure that I think this is what happened I'm glad you brought it up because I hadn't even considered it before. Thank you!

 

[otto]

So then her British status makes no difference to her level of tolerance to alcohol. Not meaning to be pedantic but it just struck me as an odd thing to say. UK teenagers are horrendous for drinking too much and making themselves ill with alcohol.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/health/8...hospitalised-by-binge-drinking-than-boys.html

My daughters attended an American high school in Switzerland where grade 10 students were allowed to have one drink on Friday nights. In grade 11, they were allowed two drinks. It seems to me that, in Europe, the idea is to educate youth about alcohol by making it available in moderation from the age of 14 onward. Hannah was in France last summer, and she was probably exposed to that philosophy surrounding alcohol. In that sense, she would have had exposure to social drinking. From the sounds of it, on the night she vanished, she was power-drinking in the context of restricted alcohol availability.

 

[jamicat]

Yep. Unless she knows what's she's doing and where she's headed.

She may have been calling and texting friends. And they may not have been checking their phones as they may have been partying (and been drunk). I have a feeling that there are a number of her friends who are feeling mighty bad when they checked their phones and saw calls and messages from that evening from Hannah. It's happened to me that I was engrossed in other things, noise level high, and missed calls and texts. We may read more about this later. Right now would not be a time to rub it into the parents that she was just cut loose that night. Bad enough that it's pretty clear she drank too much at a college related function, and was allowed to go off by herself at night, and those students knew it. LE isn't going to spend the time going after that part of the evening at this point since the focus now is finding Hannah, and hopefully they have the perp locked up and not on the loose.

 

[jamicat]

My daughters attended an American high school in Switzerland where grade 10 students were allowed to have one drink on Friday nights. In grade 11, they were allowed two drinks. It seems to me that, in Europe, the idea is to educate youth about alcohol by making it available in moderation from the age of 14 onward. Hannah was in France last summer, and she was probably exposed to that philosophy surrounding alcohol. In that sense, she would have had exposure to social drinking. From the sounds of it, on the night she vanished, she was power-drinking in the context of restricted alcohol availability.

I grew up in Europe, and I can assure you that excess drinking is a huge problem. I know many, many families who do take the view of letting theirunderage kids have a drink with dinner (usually wine ) in the privacy of their homes as permitted, and feel that the exposure helps. I don't think so. IT's a whole other thing drinking in moderation with a meal and so enjoying the wine or whatever in conjunction with food and mood, from getting blitzed. The whole purpose a lot of times at these parties is to get drunk. That alcohol is in both situations, the drink at dinner and at these parties, is the least of the situation since these kids drink huge amounts in a short period of time, often without eating at all, not enjoying the drink but just trying to get as drunk as possible without getting sick. (which they often fail doing) I don't have any idea what the stats are on this, but a number of kids I know who were raised being "taught" to drink , are now hard hitting drinkers not drinking at all as taught. The only stat I see is that the earlier one starts drinking, the more likely the problems one has with drink, and that is a solid direct result though it does not differentiate between sneaking the drinks and drinking with supervision in moderation with adults.

 

[Claudia]

I have a question... who said Hannah could barely walk? Abby? Or was it someone else. If no one believes her story about Hannah not being in Tempo, then why would you believe her story about Hannah's condition?
If the witness who spoke of her condition was someone other than a Tempo employee, feel free to ignore this question.

 

[MidgeC]

Exactly this. WG's behavior is extremely suspicious no matter how you look at it. And at what time was he able to notice HG was distressed. She walked from McGrady, down Preston, took a right on 2nd street passing Fenilli's. Only a couple of minutes from when we first see her on camera at the Downtown Mall. WG is extremely suspicious to me. He would have to notice her 'distress' in mere minutes, then walk fast enough to get a head of her and wait for her to pass so he could trail her. Look at google maps. It doesn't appear to add up. I posted an alternate theory in another forum and proposed that WG was luring HG by text and perhaps HG was catfished that night. For all we know, WG could have been following her for a good amount of time before she was on camera. On the other hand, we know where JM was and that he came from the opposite direction of HG.

BBM. I think your idea about catfishing (perhaps on Tinder?) needs to be considered. In fact, it would explain quite a lot of HG's behavior if that were the case.

Every account that I have read says that HG was lived a pretty straight life, though. So what happened to her that night that would make her susceptible to such tactics?

 

[jamicat]

I have a question... who said Hannah could barely walk? Abby? Or was it someone else. If no one believes her story about Hannah not being in Tempo, then why would you believe her story about Hannah's condition?
If the witness who spoke of her condition was someone other than a Tempo employee, feel free to ignore this question.

"Even though he says none of his staffers saw Graham inside, Cunningham does know of one woman who was near the door who claims to have seen Matthew and Graham "leaving together." Cunningham said that woman saw Matthew "holding her with an arm around her. And she did look drunk."

The sales ticket indicates Matthews had beers, Cunningham said.

Charlottesville police have confirmed that they have witness testimony that contradicts Cunningham's version of events. Police Chief Timothy Longo said Thursday "we have at least one witness that will put her inside of that restaurant." ," is from an ABC report.

Then there is the article where the ID checker at Tempo is quoted, the one identified as Abby: http://insidecville.com/blog/ljs-timeline/.

So, there is dispute whether Hannah was inside Tempo or not, but not that she was there in the area of Tempo and with JM. And that is the last reported sighting of Hannah.

 

[Claudia]

"Even though he says none of his staffers saw Graham inside, Cunningham does know of one woman who was near the door who claims to have seen Matthew and Graham "leaving together." Cunningham said that woman saw Matthew "holding her with an arm around her. And she did look drunk."

The sales ticket indicates Matthews had beers, Cunningham said.

Charlottesville police have confirmed that they have witness testimony that contradicts Cunningham's version of events. Police Chief Timothy Longo said Thursday "we have at least one witness that will put her inside of that restaurant." ," is from an ABC report.

Then there is the article where the ID checker at Tempo is quoted, the one identified as Abby: http://insidecville.com/blog/ljs-timeline/.

So, there is dispute whether Hannah was inside Tempo or not, but not that she was there in the area of Tempo and with JM. And that is the last reported sighting of Hannah.

I'm not taking about whether she was inside Tempo or not, I'm talking about her condition after last call at Tempo. It appears that the only witness saying she couldn't walk is Abby.

Everyone is doubting her statement that Hannah wasn't in tempo, so why believe her assessment of Hannah's condition? If people think she's lying about one detail, why assume she's telling the truth about another?

 

[Steleheart]

For what it's worth, discussion about UK drinking habits get us nowhere in regards to Hanna's disappearance. A lot of discussion around her British roots IMO is distracting. Hanna is 18 and has lived 12-13 years in the US. For all intents and purposes she is an American Teen, a typical college student.

"Miss Graham was born in Reading, Berks, and moved to the United States at the age of five with her parents, Sue and John, and retains her British passport."
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/wor...Graham-case-accused-of-rape-12-years-ago.html

"She moved from Britain to the U.S. when she was about 6 and was determined to lose her British accent, said Craig Maniglia, her softball coach..."

http://www.wjla.com/articles/2014/0...-s-wit-intelligence-107570.html#ixzz3EfH4mC4X

Much heartfelt commentary from people who know her in that second link.

It would be better in sleuthing this case if we could keep to speculation which is based on facts as we know them, rather than on hypothetical supposition. IMO


:cow:

 

[Concerned Mama]

I'm not taking about whether she was inside Tempo or not, I'm talking about her condition after last call at Tempo. It appears that the only witness saying she couldn't walk is Abby.

Everyone is doubting her statement that Hannah wasn't in tempo, so why believe her assessment of Hannah's condition? If people think she's lying about one detail, why assume she's telling the truth about another?

http://abcnews.go.com/US/bar-center-missing-uva-student-case-face-legal/story?id=25787415

"Surveillance footage from neighboring restaurants and witness testimony places 18-year-old Graham and 32-year-old Matthew in Tempo Restaurant in Charlottesville, Virginia, shortly after 1 a.m. on Sept. 13, according to police. But the owner said that none of the staff saw her inside."

"Even though he says none of his staffers saw Graham inside, Cunningham does know of one woman who was near the door who claims to have seen Matthew and Graham "leaving together." Cunningham said that woman saw Matthew 'holding her with an arm around her. And she did look drunk.'"

The woman Cunningham is talking about could not be "Abby," since Abby the ID-checker would be a staffer.

 

[zapped]

That's my gut feeling about the interview with the owner. He came across as very defensive IMO, said some strange things.
Maybe he didn't know she was inside and is fuming with the staff, having risked his license- something there ...

I strongly suspect that was what the restaurant closing this past Monday was about...so they could have a staff meeting to tell employees what to say to reporters and curious customers. I also think it was so that the owner could impress on everyone how badly an ABC violation would affect their business and their jobs. He may have stopped short at asking them to lie for the benefit of the business but I feel that it was strongly hinted at.

Afterwards, he could have pulled the door person aside (since she has the most to lose besides him if they get a violation) and reminded her of this fact.......... before sitting down to get their stories (mostly) straight.

I dont like Tempos letter that was released a few days later either. It smacks of being written by a lawyer in another town instead of a local business owner handling the issue with sincerity and compassion.
On top of that, the letter then selfishly points out what Tempo has done to help the case as if the owner and the restaurant are due something from acting like decent human beings.

His statements in the video above shows the same selfishness IMO. If I werent convinced of JLMs guilt I might think that maybe, just maybe, the police should be looking at the owner as a suspect as well.

 

[jamicat]

http://abcnews.go.com/US/bar-center-missing-uva-student-case-face-legal/story?id=25787415

"Surveillance footage from neighboring restaurants and witness testimony places 18-year-old Graham and 32-year-old Matthew in Tempo Restaurant in Charlottesville, Virginia, shortly after 1 a.m. on Sept. 13, according to police. But the owner said that none of the staff saw her inside."

"Even though he says none of his staffers saw Graham inside, Cunningham does know of one woman who was near the door who claims to have seen Matthew and Graham "leaving together." Cunningham said that woman saw Matthew 'holding her with an arm around her. And she did look drunk.'"

"Abby" is not saying she saw Hannah INSIDE Tempo, but saw JM and Hannah leaving the area around Tempo together.
Whether Hannah physically was insider Tempo or not isn't as important as the fact that she and JM were seen together, leaving that area, and that was the last anyone saw Hannah in the reports unless JM has talked.

 

[Claudia]

http://abcnews.go.com/US/bar-center-missing-uva-student-case-face-legal/story?id=25787415

"Surveillance footage from neighboring restaurants and witness testimony places 18-year-old Graham and 32-year-old Matthew in Tempo Restaurant in Charlottesville, Virginia, shortly after 1 a.m. on Sept. 13, according to police. But the owner said that none of the staff saw her inside."

"Even though he says none of his staffers saw Graham inside, Cunningham does know of one woman who was near the door who claims to have seen Matthew and Graham "leaving together." Cunningham said that woman saw Matthew 'holding her with an arm around her. And she did look drunk.'"

The woman Cunningham is talking about could not be "Abby," since Abby the ID-checker would be a staffer.

Hm. Could swear I saw that exact quote attributed to Abby elsewhere.
Thanks, I'm going to do some more checking. I have serious doubts that she was in that bad a condition that quickly.

 

[Steleheart]

Not strange. She spent a good deal of time in a part of the world where 21 is not the drinking age. She is much more experienced with alcohol than the average 18 year old. This does not go to blaming the victim, it is simply a fact of the case.

BBM:
~ How much time and where? could you provide some background links that specify?

~ again, any links that tell us how much more drinking experience Hanna has than the average teenager?

How is it a fact of the case is my question.
TIA

:cow:

 

[Evie Ivy Over]

If HG went in just to use the bathroom, does there appear to be alternate entrances where she could have gotten in around Abby? That wouldn't make any sense because, well, why have a door person if they can be avoided?

 

[zapped]

"Abby" is not saying she saw Hannah INSIDE Tempo, but saw JM and Hannah leaving the area around Tempo together.
Whether Hannah physically was insider Tempo or not isn't as important as the fact that she and JM were seen together, leaving that area, and that was the last anyone saw Hannah in the reports unless JM has talked.

Not surprisingly, I disagree. If the owner and the employees at Tempo are deliberately lying to CTA it makes everything they say suspect....and subject to cross-examination/loss of credibility.

 

[Concerned Mama]

Hm. Could swear I saw that exact quote attributed to Abby elsewhere.
Thanks, I'm going to do some more checking. I have serious doubts that she was in that bad a condition that quickly.

The Coy Barefoot article talks about what "Abby" saw: http://insidecville.com/blog/ljs-timeline/

1:10am: Back at Tempo
Abby, who had been checking IDs at the door since about 10pm, does not remember seeing LJ come back to Tempo just after 1am, which would have been only a few minutes after he’d left. Nor does she recall Hannah coming up to the door or asking to come inside. “I don’t remember her,” she says. “Not then. I saw her later.”

and later . . .

1:45am: Last Call
Abby does remember quite well seeing LJ Matthew and Hannah Graham walking away outside about a half hour later. “A lot of people were outside then,” she says. “It was a typical, crowded Friday night. I guess it was about 1:40 or closer to 1:45. I remember because it was definitely after last call.”

“He came out the side door,” she says of LJ Matthew. “I saw him come walking by and I thought, there’s that obnoxious guy from before. I noticed he had his arm around a girl. She was wearing a crop top.” Abby says it was days later, after she’d seen some video images on the news, that she recognized the girl. She learned that that same girl she’d seen on the Mall was a second-year University of Virginia student named Hannah Graham.
“When I saw her that night,” Abby says, “I remember thinking, she’s really drunk. She couldn’t walk well. She was slouched into him, leaning against him, like she was having difficulty standing up. He was talking to her, and his right arm was around her, not over her shoulder, not at the waist, but around her back and holding her right arm. He was holding her close, like he was almost holding her up. They walked away together up the street towards the Mall.”

BBM for Claudia. Yes, it looks suspiciously like the same words being attributed to two different people. Either that, or Brice Cunningham got confused and attributed Abby's statements to a customer in the bar.