Theories #1: What Happened to Jennifer Kesse?

[hec60504]

I wonder if when she got home from vacation someone important to her wanted her to go out - even though it's a school night she agrees to for just a little while because she really enjoys this person's company; but maybe in the back of her mind she thinks she might be gone all night... She takes a quick shower (since it was a long, hot day with a long ride back home), and pulls out some clothes to decide what to wear. She gets her things together to meet this person - and decides she doesn't want to be disturbed and turns off the phone... I mention this because I've done it before - now my ex, but when we met and were dating I was already seeing someone else kind of seriously; but I fell in love and my now ex just was so awesome that it was hard to be apart. So yeah, if you can't tell, I fell into the 'incident happened at night' theory.

 

[Shin Masamura]

I wonder if when she got home from vacation someone important to her wanted her to go out - even though it's a school night she agrees to for just a little while because she really enjoys this person's company; but maybe in the back of her mind she thinks she might be gone all night... She takes a quick shower (since it was a long, hot day with a long ride back home), and pulls out some clothes to decide what to wear. She gets her things together to meet this person - and decides she doesn't want to be disturbed and turns off the phone... I mention this because I've done it before - now my ex, but when we met and were dating I was already seeing someone else kind of seriously; but I fell in love and my now ex just was so awesome that it was hard to be apart. So yeah, if you can't tell, I fell into the 'incident happened at night' theory.

Thing that supports your theory that I have stated is that, if she did meet a jolted hidden lover.. he would have been pretty upset potentially that she just came back from vacation with a lame duck boyfriend. Not saying that's the case, just speculation and gives motive. Im just surprised she didn't mention it or no one knew and didn't speak out about it.. More questions then answers..

 

[Truth Prevails]

It seems like there is an uptick in interest in thus case. It might lead to nothing but you never know. It has prompted me to get up to speed on the case.

It seems that the key issue that has never been settled is whether she was abducted in the evening or the next morning. Her father seems certain it was in the morning but there seems to be some skepticism. The issue seems like it could be pretty well settled if we knew the answer to one question: what was Jennifer wearing when she went missing? (The outfit she wore to work Monday, A different work outfit, or casual cloths). Obviously no one has reported seeing how she was dressed but the clothes she was wearing at the time would be missing from her closet. My guess is that her mother and her coworkers could pretty well identify the outfits in her "rotation" at the time. If she changed to casual clothes, they may not be able to determine what she was wearing but all of her work clothes would be accounted for.

If a "fresh" work outfit were missing, I would consider it absolute proof she was abducted in the morning. Did the police ascertain what she was wearing?

I think Jennifer's mom said in an interview that the clothes Jennifer wore to work on Monday were neatly folded over the back of a chair in her bedroom.

 

[Truth Prevails]

If the ex boyfriend did it , he wouldn't go back to Jennifer's apt.
At that time around 100 pm ,Jennifer's family could have already have already been there looking for her and this is too risky for him to park his car there.
I think his car was parked in the mall or behind Jennifer's apt,in another complex,on Melanie blvd behind mosaic apts.
But on the other hand, if the family was not there yet,
no one recognize his car and he wouldn't raise any suspicion walking to his car and driving away

It is interesting to note that as the POI was parking and exiting Jennifer's vehicle at an apartment complex 1.2 miles away from Jennifer's condo, her brother was arriving at her condo. It could all be a coincidence, but it is yet another one of those things that makes me believe that whoever kidnapped or hurt Jennifer may be known to her and her family.

But then it raises the question, if he did know Jennifer's brother and had seen him as he (or she) was intending to park Jennifer's vehicle, why would he (or she) walk back toward Jennifer's apartment and risk being seen?

Every little theory always leads to more questions, and nothing ever seems to quite fit. {ugh}

 

[megmac22]

It seems like there is an uptick in interest in thus case. It might lead to nothing but you never know. It has prompted me to get up to speed on the case.

It seems that the key issue that has never been settled is whether she was abducted in the evening or the next morning. Her father seems certain it was in the morning but there seems to be some skepticism. The issue seems like it could be pretty well settled if we knew the answer to one question: what was Jennifer wearing when she went missing? (The outfit she wore to work Monday, A different work outfit, or casual cloths). Obviously no one has reported seeing how she was dressed but the clothes she was wearing at the time would be missing from her closet. My guess is that her mother and her coworkers could pretty well identify the outfits in her "rotation" at the time. If she changed to casual clothes, they may not be able to determine what she was wearing but all of her work clothes would be accounted for.

If a "fresh" work outfit were missing, I would consider it absolute proof she was abducted in the morning. Did the police ascertain what she was wearing?

Another thing I've heard is that Jennifer's pajamas were on the bathroom floor, as though she had changed out of them before showering that Tuesday morning and getting ready for work. So that would seem to rule out the "night before" abduction scenario, unless she already had her pajamas on Monday night, then decided later that evening to change and go out. I tend to doubt that theory since she knew she had to be at work early the next day, but it is possible. Everything besides the phones powering off at 10:40 p.m. leads me to believe she made it out of the condo Tuesday morning. The phones throw everything off for me.

 

[grief2hope]

The part that makes me question the pj's on the bathroom floor is that they stated she was messy. I was wondering if the Pj's that were left there from before she went on vacation possibly?

 

[Truth Prevails]

The part that makes me question the pj's on the bathroom floor is that they stated she was messy. I was wondering if the Pj's that were left there from before she went on vacation possibly?

I agree that this could be the case, but just to add to the discussion I'll mention that her brother and two of his male friends stayed in Jennifer's condo while she was on vacation with her current boyfriend. (One of the "friends" was a former boyfriend of Jennifer's.)

One of the things I'm hoping to hear more about in the podcast is what her brother's opinion was of the condition of Jennifer's condo when he arrived. He was the first to get there and would surely be able to describe how he/they had left the apartment.

Mrs. Kesse said the apartment was "maid clean." Would the boys who spent the weekend there have left it like that? My understanding was they had at least a few drinks and a bit of a party time. What about the Chinese food in the refrigerator? When did that get there? Did one of them sleep in Jennifer's bed, and if so did they make in up neatly, or did they just leave the blankets pulled up--as it was described as being found?

 

[Shin Masamura]

It is interesting to note that as the POI was parking and exiting Jennifer's vehicle at an apartment complex 1.2 miles away from Jennifer's condo, her brother was arriving at her condo. It could all be a coincidence, but it is yet another one of those things that makes me believe that whoever kidnapped or hurt Jennifer may be known to her and her family.

But then it raises the question, if he did know Jennifer's brother and had seen him as he (or she) was intending to park Jennifer's vehicle, why would he (or she) walk back toward Jennifer's apartment and risk being seen?

Every little theory always leads to more questions, and nothing ever seems to quite fit. {ugh}

I have to go back and see the timing of the Mosiac management checking the room and the Brother arriving. I would assume if the Car was parked at Noon, it would take 20 minutes to walk that distance back to the Mosiac. It is odd that the overlap could be that close...

*Updated, I see that no one entered the apartment till between 1-3pm afterwords

 

[Truth Prevails]

I have to go back and see the timing of the Mosiac management checking the room and the Brother arriving. I would assume if the Car was parked at Noon, it would take 20 minutes to walk that distance back to the Mosiac. It is odd that the overlap could be that close...

*Updated, I see that no one entered the apartment till between 1-3pm afterwords

Yes, please don't think I disagree. I just want to mention that the time clock on the video starts around 12:58. I really have no idea if the time of the recording clock was correctly set. (I'll post the link for the video below.)

I find the time shown on the video fits in very well with what you posted. Also, I think I remember that it was said near the time he first arrived he tried asking some of the labor workers who were sitting in a car if they knew anything about his sister's whereabouts and when they refused to answer he beat on the window.

I don't know what to make of this. I can well understand how panic would be rising in him, and maybe the only people around were sitting in the car? I guess I'm wondering--depending on the walking times, etc--did he maybe see someone making a run to get in the vehicle? Or something else that made that vehicle and the people in it take his attention?

https://youtu.be/IUwhUPGXeUE

 

[Shin Masamura]

Yes, please don't think I disagree. I just want to mention that the time clock on the video starts around 12:58. I really have no idea if the time of the recording clock was correctly set. (I'll post the link for the video below.)

I find the time shown on the video fits in very well with what you posted. Also, I think I remember that it was said near the time he first arrived he tried asking some of the labor workers who were sitting in a car if they knew anything about his sister's whereabouts and when they refused to answer he beat on the window.

I don't know what to make of this. I can well understand how panic would be rising in him, and maybe the only people around were sitting in the car? I guess I'm wondering--depending on the walking times, etc--did he maybe see someone making a run to get in the vehicle? Or something else that made that vehicle and the people in it take his attention?

https://youtu.be/IUwhUPGXeUE

Video was stated by LE to be an hour off... So the car was parked at noon..

 

[Truth Prevails]

Video was stated by LE to be an hour off... So the car was parked at noon..

Ohhh, okay. Thanks so much for clearing this up.

 

[Truth Prevails]

Video was stated by LE to be an hour off... So the car was parked at noon..

Ohhh, okay. Thanks so much for clearing this up.

I apologize for coming back to this issue again, but I had a few minutes so I did a little bit of checking.

In the Jun. 25, 2014 video by Greta Van Susteren, it's mentioned that Jennifer's brother arrived approximately an hour before her parents--and Greta confirms by saying: "At approximately noon, Logan pulled into Jennifer's condo complex."

So, if that is correct, and the video clock is an hour off indicating the vehicle was actually parked around noon, it's somewhat chilling to think that the suspect could have walked right passed Jen's brother at a visible distance.

From the video, it sounds as if Logan did not enter Jen's condo until her parents got there. He says he went right up to her door and banged on it. When he "got nothing" he went back down and saw the workers van parked right out in front of Jennifer's condo. He said he banged on that door, too; and pleaded with them to roll their windows down to talk to him. He tried asking them through the closed window if they had seen Jennifer or knew anything about her, but they didn't respond. Shortly thereafter, Mr. and Mrs. Kesse arrived, and Mr. Kesse called the property manager and had them open the door to Jennifer's condo.

Here is the link to the video to support the above. You can start it at about 9:45 or 9:50 minutes in:
http://video.foxnews.com/v/3642478585001/?#sp=show-clips

Also interesting to note--and it is somewhat bizarre--Jennifer's vehicle was reported missing at noon on the 26th:

"On Thursday 1/26/06 at high noon, police were notified that Jennifer's car was abandoned in a condominium complex 1.2 miles down the same road from where she lived in The Huntington on the Green Condominiums at the corner of Texas and Americana Ave in Orlando, Fl.."
http://jenniferkesse.com/

However, in the video, it only states that the call had been made in the morning. So, questions, questions; and never any firm answers.

One more thing--I had kind of dismissed the scent dog after hearing that only one dog had been used. However, I noted in the video that the dog used was a blood hound. I have read where hounds are superior by nature to all other breeds of dogs used for tracking, so I take back my earlier thoughts. Apparently, the dog tracked a scent from Jennifer's car (parked 1.2 mi from her condo), to her parking spot in front of her condo.

From her brother's statement that the worker's van was parked right in front of her condo, and Jen's father said Jennifer's parking spot was right in front of her condo--I can't help but wonder if Jen's brother may have looked the suspect right in the eyes.

 

[Truth Prevails]

Oops! Oops! Oops!

Yikes, I'm really sorry--in my comment above I should have said: Also interesting to note--and it is somewhat bizarre--Jennifer's vehicle was reported "located" at noon on the 26th:

My apologies.

 

[colette]

I find that part about the workers not responding or even rolling down their windows very very odd.

 

[Myserty64]

In days gone by many discounted the tracking efforts of Bo the bloodhound.

I always found in interesting that Bo followed a scent from HOTG (Jennifer's car) all the way back to Mosaic.
Bo could have headed off to any point in Orlando but he went to Mosaic.

Surely Bo followed the trail of the POI and I could never understand why so many doubted he did that.

I also wish LE would release just a little more information on this mystery like officially confirming the two cell phones were powered off at around 10:40 pm.
If they already did that I missed the announcement.

 

[JnRyan]

I find that part about the workers not responding or even rolling down their windows very very odd.

That's always bothered me as well. Although, if they were undocumented/illegal aliens they may have been scared to talk to anyone. I wonder if Logan ever had a description he could give LE.

 

[JnRyan]

In days gone by many discounted the tracking efforts of Bo the bloodhound.

I always found in interesting that Bo followed a scent from HOTG (Jennifer's car) all the way back to Mosaic.
Bo could have headed off to any point in Orlando but he went to Mosaic.

Surely Bo followed the trail of the POI and I could never understand why so many doubted he did that.

I also wish LE would release just a little more information on this mystery like officially confirming the two cell phones were powered off at around 10:40 pm.
If they already did that I missed the announcement.

If LE did this correctly, they would not have mentioned Jennifer's address to the handler. They would not want to have any influence on the handler/dog team. I seem to remember from the Greta Van Susteren program they stated the trail did not go to the sidewalk, but cut through an empty lot near the HOTG. That would seem to indicate someone that wanted to minimize being seen near the complex. (The suspect knew they could go through that field and not encounter a pond, drainage ditch or fence? They were familiar with the area around HOTG and Jennifer's condo?)

I had forgotten they used bloodhounds. From what I learned from a SAR dog handler, different breeds track differently. The handler I spoke with stated that her dog, a part Belgian Shepherd/German Shepherd, would track the scent through the air and could cut across the target's trail directly to the target. She stated to me that all the bloodhounds she was familiar with track strictly by the ground scent - i.e., the exact track. If it was a bloodhound that was used that would give me more faith that the SAR team tracked the exact path.

 

[Shin Masamura]

I have never understood the role Jenn's car played in her abduction. There was such a huge risk of leaving DNA and fingerprints behind, not to mention being seen driving/dropping off the car, that I sometimes think the only reason it was left at HOG was because it HAD to be moved. Meaning leaving the car wherever it was prior to HOG would have incriminated someone and that meant moving it ended up being the smaller risk. If the crime occurred at her condo, I believe the car would have been left alone. I guess there's always the possibility that this was a person who didn't have access to a vehicle (perhaps a construction worker) but I suspect if it was a worker a body would have been left on the property, leaving no reason for the car. With the construction going on, there were too many places that a body could have been hidden so there would have been no reason to take it off site and increase the chances of being seen and leaving behind evidence.

Even though it goes against everything I've heard about Jenn, I have come to believe she did leave her condo that night voluntarily. Whether she actually had plans to meet up with someone that night, was lured somewhere by someone she knew, or she was frustrated after the conversation with Rob and just needed to cool down, I don't know...

 

[Shin Masamura]

I apologize for coming back to this issue again, but I had a few minutes so I did a little bit of checking.

In the Jun. 25, 2014 video by Greta Van Susteren, it's mentioned that Jennifer's brother arrived approximately an hour before her parents--and Greta confirms by saying: "At approximately noon, Logan pulled into Jennifer's condo complex."

So, if that is correct, and the video clock is an hour off indicating the vehicle was actually parked around noon, it's somewhat chilling to think that the suspect could have walked right passed Jen's brother at a visible distance.

From the video, it sounds as if Logan did not enter Jen's condo until her parents got there. He says he went right up to her door and banged on it. When he "got nothing" he went back down and saw the workers van parked right out in front of Jennifer's condo. He said he banged on that door, too; and pleaded with them to roll their windows down to talk to him. He tried asking them through the closed window if they had seen Jennifer or knew anything about her, but they didn't respond. Shortly thereafter, Mr. and Mrs. Kesse arrived, and Mr. Kesse called the property manager and had them open the door to Jennifer's condo.

Here is the link to the video to support the above. You can start it at about 9:45 or 9:50 minutes in:
http://video.foxnews.com/v/3642478585001/?#sp=show-clips

Also interesting to note--and it is somewhat bizarre--Jennifer's vehicle was reported missing at noon on the 26th:

"On Thursday 1/26/06 at high noon, police were notified that Jennifer's car was abandoned in a condominium complex 1.2 miles down the same road from where she lived in The Huntington on the Green Condominiums at the corner of Texas and Americana Ave in Orlando, Fl.."
http://jenniferkesse.com/

However, in the video, it only states that the call had been made in the morning. So, questions, questions; and never any firm answers.

One more thing--I had kind of dismissed the scent dog after hearing that only one dog had been used. However, I noted in the video that the dog used was a blood hound. I have read where hounds are superior by nature to all other breeds of dogs used for tracking, so I take back my earlier thoughts. Apparently, the dog tracked a scent from Jennifer's car (parked 1.2 mi from her condo), to her parking spot in front of her condo.

From her brother's statement that the worker's van was parked right in front of her condo, and Jen's father said Jennifer's parking spot was right in front of her condo--I can't help but wonder if Jen's brother may have looked the suspect right in the eyes.

You are correct, he arrived at noon and would have crossed paths with the POI potentially...

 

[JnRyan]

I have never understood the role Jenn's car played in her abduction. There was such a huge risk of leaving DNA and fingerprints behind, not to mention being seen driving/dropping off the car, that I sometimes think the only reason it was left at HOG was because it HAD to be moved. Meaning leaving the car wherever it was prior to HOG would have incriminated someone and that meant moving it ended up being the smaller risk. If the crime occurred at her condo, I believe the car would have been left alone. I guess there's always the possibility that this was a person who didn't have access to a vehicle (perhaps a construction worker) but I suspect if it was a worker a body would have been left on the property, leaving no reason for the car. With the construction going on, there were too many places that a body could have been hidden so there would have been no reason to take it off site and increase the chances of being seen and leaving behind evidence.

Even though it goes against everything I've heard about Jenn, I have come to believe she did leave her condo that night voluntarily. Whether she actually had plans to meet up with someone that night, was lured somewhere by someone she knew, or she was frustrated after the conversation with Rob and just needed to cool down, I don't know...

I have the same question. If Jennifer had been killed and her body transported in car, LE would have forensic evidence. But all LE says is that they have a partial print and partial DNA. That's the biggest or most obvious reason for using the car. Yet we haven't heard from LE if they found traces in, say, the trunk that would indicate a body or live person was recently in there.

Going back to your theory Jennifer left that night - for whatever reason - maybe wherever she went would have been a link or clue to whoever committed the crime. That is, as you said, leaving the car where it was prior to HOTG would have been a risk for the suspect.

I've kicked around the scenario that Jennifer went out that night for any of the reasons you mention and it was a random event that caused her demise. But if she met someone and that person was innocent, they haven't come forward and they would have been essential to the timeline. And whoever parked the car just happened to walk back to her condo area? That's not a coincidence. To me the return to the condo, indicates the suspect knew enough about Jennifer that it wasn't entirely random.

And that brings up a point I don't understand - why walk back to the condo? If they had their vehicle someplace why park it at the condo if they were going to great lengths to park Jennifer's car at HOTG? Was there an accomplice waiting for them in the parking lot of the condo? That is, the occupants of the vehicle who would not talk to Logan? Or had they planned to make one last check of the area to see if they removed evidence and saw Logan asking the workers? If that is the case, that would seem to indicate the crime started either at her condo, either inside or just outside, or in the parking lot and if that is the case we're back to your question - why move the car to HOTG?

None of this ties together neatly.