TN TN - China Videon, 16, Murfreesboro, 19 October 1999

[danzn16]

I thought that statement was odd as well. That is not something you normally say to a parent. It is not expected a child to die before the parent. She knew something or something bad was going on in her life IMO

 

[Tennlyn]

MEDIA LINK/NEWS STORY/ CHINA VIDEON-
this is a good video interview with Suzanne and explains a little more detail about the day China disappeared. it shows, briefly, the salon, the grocery store and the contents of China's car when it was found.

http://www.fox17.com/newsroom/tbi_mw/vid_86.shtml

The link no longer works. I tried to search around the Fox17 website, TBI website, youtube, etc., but had no luck locating the video.:banghead:

 

[rosesfromangels]

Out of the blue, 16-year-old China Videon told her mother, “Mom, don’t be sad if I died.”
http://www.murfreesboropost.com/mother-searches-for-answers-in-daughters-disappearance-cms-7149

What on earth was going on in China's life? Was someone at school or work threatening her? Stalking her?

My initial impression is that this young woman got in to something over her head and payed the ultimate price. She had adequate reason to suspect his would happen, and gave her mother advance warning. What could she have been involved in that would have caused her to lose her life? The news articles hint that there had/have been rumors floating around. I suspect the townsfolk know more than what they are saying.

Finally, with all due respect to the missing victim and her obviously devoted mother, having a hip tattoo and piercings at age 16 in 1999 was considered quite "edgy". What was going on in her life where she was "marking" herself in such a manner at such a young age?

Further, I suspect she stopped to see her mother for "one last time" that evening she was last seen. Could this have been a suicide, or did she know she was heading in to serious trouble that night? It almost seems as if she were going to say goodbye to her mother...

 

[Tennlyn]

My initial impression is that this young woman got in to something over her head and payed the ultimate price. She had adequate reason to suspect his would happen, and gave her mother advance warning. What could she have been involved in that would have caused her to lose her life? The news articles hint that there had/have been rumors floating around. I suspect the townsfolk know more than what they are saying.

Finally, with all due respect to the missing victim and her obviously devoted mother, having a hip tattoo and piercings at age 16 in 1999 was considered quite "edgy". What was going on in her life where she was "marking" herself in such a manner at such a young age?

Further, I suspect she stopped to see her mother for "one last time" that evening she was last seen. Could this have been a suicide, or did she know she was heading in to serious trouble that night? It almost seems as if she were going to say goodbye to her mother...

I thought about suicide, but LE seems to think foul play. If LE could have closed this case saying suicide or runaway, I think they would have. In one of their TBI Most Wanted segments, Fox17 said that in 2005 LE said they had a Suspect, but there was never an arrest.
http://webcache.googleusercontent.c...ml+&cd=1&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us&client=firefox-a

 

[jobid]

"China’s car, a black Mazda, was found nine months later at an apartment complex in Antioch, a few miles from Murfreesboro. Items she’d bought at the grocery store were still in the car."

http://kidnappingmurderandmayhem.blogspot.com/2010/02/three-unsolved-cases-from-tennessee.html

I wonder if LE could tell if the grocery store items had been purchased the day she disappeared or at a later date.

Cases like this make my head spin... I cannot imagine the mother's pain.

 

[Claudette]

The fact that the trail runs cold after the salon visit, and not after leaving the friend's house, is telling to me. MOO.

 

[Gem2626]

My initial impression is that this young woman got in to something over her head and payed the ultimate price. She had adequate reason to suspect his would happen, and gave her mother advance warning. What could she have been involved in that would have caused her to lose her life? The news articles hint that there had/have been rumors floating around. I suspect the townsfolk know more than what they are saying.

Finally, with all due respect to the missing victim and her obviously devoted mother, having a hip tattoo and piercings at age 16 in 1999 was considered quite "edgy". What was going on in her life where she was "marking" herself in such a manner at such a young age?

Further, I suspect she stopped to see her mother for "one last time" that evening she was last seen. Could this have been a suicide, or did she know she was heading in to serious trouble that night? It almost seems as if she were going to say goodbye to her mother...

BBM I was 16 in 1999 and had had LOTS of piercings (no tattoo's because i've always been to chicken) I wouldn't consider myself 'edgy'. Although tattoos have always maintained a certain level of popularity I don't think this is so much the case with piercings. When I got all my piercings done it was a fashion thing. Everyone was getting them done. I don't see that so much now. Saying that I live in the UK so things are likely different but as celebrities etc usually send these trends off maybe not.

In regards to what she said to her mother and another personal experience of mine...

A friend of mine once told his mum not to buy him Christmas presents as he was adamant that he wouldn't be here. A month later right before Christmas he died in a traffic collision. Strange. Gets you thinking if subconsciously we know when our time is up. I think (haven't watched it in some time) the film 'Signs' is about this? Of course my friend could have been suicidal and the accident a coincidence.

Anyway, IMO I don't think she was suicidal. Maybe she read something or saw something on tv about a bereaved parent, or she had a 'feeling'. Nothing said seems to indicate that she was depressed and i'm sure her body would have been found by now.

Was her car tested for DNA? Not sure if I missed that.

 

[McSpy]

My initial impression is that this young woman got in to something over her head and payed the ultimate price. She had adequate reason to suspect his would happen, and gave her mother advance warning. What could she have been involved in that would have caused her to lose her life? The news articles hint that there had/have been rumors floating around. I suspect the townsfolk know more than what they are saying.

Finally, with all due respect to the missing victim and her obviously devoted mother, having a hip tattoo and piercings at age 16 in 1999 was considered quite "edgy". What was going on in her life where she was "marking" herself in such a manner at such a young age?

Further, I suspect she stopped to see her mother for "one last time" that evening she was last seen. Could this have been a suicide, or did she know she was heading in to serious trouble that night? It almost seems as if she were going to say goodbye to her mother...

BBM

I thought the same thing when I read about the piercings and tattoo.

 

[McSpy]

I'm guessing detectives must have a reason for thinking that China was murdered and disposed of? Do they have a suspect in mind? Was China seeing someone at the time or was someone stalking her?

It is sad that China has been missing for so long and no one has come forward with any information. Someone must know something!!

I think LE needs to question everyone again and also appeal to the public in the area for a tip. This case should be highly publicized (TV news and newspaper, internet). There maybe someone feeling guilty out there with some information to share.

 

[JustCryssy]

Requoting this list of questions as I have the same ones...

These are just a few questions I would ask, If I could and get answers.

Did the friend ever meet up with her?
Did anyone live at the apartments that she knew or could be linked to the friend or did the friend live there or near by?
Who was the manager of the complex? Was he asked why the car sat and it was not reported? Most cars that sit, get called in to LE so they can be towed, and I am sure her car and plate number was on the news, why didn't anyone notice it?
Was everyone that lived there, checked for priors and SO? Even a few yrs back? Someone may have been living there with another person and not on the lease, so was that checked too?

I am sure all of this was done, LE is smart and they have been doing it for years. Maybe a new set of eyes, like a task team for cold cases could be asked to look at the records?

 

[amber1]

There are many cases I have noticed (stretching in the state regions Virgina, TN, KY, OH, MI) in 1990-1999 where young women are last seen at a public location or leaving a public location alone in their cars, only to come up missing with their cars being found abandoned later on. These girls not only have the circumstances in common, but these are girls who have good home lives from what was noted, so no reason to run away. They are not involved in drugs/prostitution, or have volatile relationships with a significant other.
I will list the girls below, with basic info. and link to their page. I don't think they all are connected, but it does seem like some are-they all remind me of China's case so much! I'll star the ones that in my opinion are most likely related, to each other or China's case (JMO). I think it is highly possible, if not more likely, that if one person is connected to some of these, they would not stay to operate in the same state, but may stay in the general region. If the individual does not get caught, why would they stop?

**Jaisle Elizabeth Thomas: http://www.doenetwork.org/cases/2328dfva.html
** Felicia L. Clark : http://www.doenetwork.org/cases/935dftn.html
LaResha Deanna Walker: http://www.doenetwork.org/cases/2751dftn.html
**Shaylene Marie Farrell: http://www.doenetwork.org/cases/1064dfoh.html
Clarissa (Carrie) Culberson: http://www.doenetwork.org/cases/620dfoh.html
Paige Renkoski: http://www.doenetwork.org/cases/294dfmi.html
Sharon Rose Sons: http://www.doenetwork.org/cases/1845dfky.html
**Regina Renee Cox: http://www.doenetwork.org/cases/1824dfky.html
**Erica Lee Fraysure: http://www.doenetwork.org/cases/1894dfky.html
**Jody Lynn Brant: http://www.charleyproject.org/cases/b/brant_jody.html

I think it's odd that the keys are hidden in some of these cases or never found-I wonder what the reasoning for that is? Does anyone know if China's keys were recovered?
China is a very beautiful girl, thank you for making her our spotlight cold case!

 

[JustCryssy]

**Jaisle Elizabeth Thomas: http://www.doenetwork.org/cases/2328dfva.html
** Felicia L. Clark : http://www.doenetwork.org/cases/935dftn.html
LaResha Deanna Walker: http://www.doenetwork.org/cases/2751dftn.html
**Shaylene Marie Farrell: http://www.doenetwork.org/cases/1064dfoh.html
Clarissa (Carrie) Culberson: http://www.doenetwork.org/cases/620dfoh.html
Paige Renkoski: http://www.doenetwork.org/cases/294dfmi.html
Sharon Rose Sons: http://www.doenetwork.org/cases/1845dfky.html
**Regina Renee Cox: http://www.doenetwork.org/cases/1824dfky.html
**Erica Lee Fraysure: http://www.doenetwork.org/cases/1894dfky.html
**Jody Lynn Brant: http://www.charleyproject.org/cases/b/brant_jody.html

Regina Renee Cox was at a recruiting office
Shaylene Marie Farrell only had her job for two weeks
LaResha Deana Walker was working for a temp agency
Felicia Lachell Clark had recently purchased a car, but only worked part-time.

May be a little obscure, but I wonder if China had been looking for a job.

 

[amber1]

She very well may have been-what 16 year old wouldnt want the independence making your own money brings?

 

[EntreNous]

These are just a few questions I would ask, If I could and get answers.

Did the friend ever meet up with her?
Did anyone live at the apartments that she knew or could be linked to the friend or did the friend live there or near by?
Who was the manager of the complex? Was he asked why the car sat and it was not reported? Most cars that sit, get called in to LE so they can be towed, and I am sure her car and plate number was on the news, why didn't anyone notice it?
Was everyone that lived there, checked for priors and SO? Even a few yrs back? Someone may have been living there with another person and not on the lease, so was that checked too?

I am sure all of this was done, LE is smart and they have been doing it for years. Maybe a new set of eyes, like a task team for cold cases could be asked to look at the records?

i will answer what i can. jmo, but i don't think she would have known anybody at the apt. complex. that's a pretty rough area and far away from her home base. kids in murfreesboro lived pretty sheltered lives at that time. China wasn't a wild child.
for whatever reason nobody noticed her car was there and i don't think there was anyone at the apartment complex that was involved. again, jmho. i think it was just a dump site. the only reason management took notice of the car was because they'd sent out notices that they were re-painting the parking lot and needed all residents to move their vehicles off the lot. when China's car was never moved they finally called to have it towed.
China stopped to get gas at the Shell gas station across the street from where she worked at Bi-Lo grocery store on Rutherford Blvd., (now a Publix). i've always wondered if it was someone she worked with.
when her car was found there was a grocery bag found inside with the remnants of a head of lettuce and a loaf of bread. two things her mother asked her to pick up on the way home. if she'd intended to go all the way to Nashville, i don't think she'd have stopped at the store first for a head of lettuce for her mom.
At the time of China's disappearance we had a different and um, how to say this nicely... lack luster sheriff. Robert Arnold is the sheriff now. he's great, young, energetic and has breathed life back into the sheriff's dept. i was always perplexed as to why the county was given the case rather than the city. even though China lived out in the county, (Christiana), the high school she attended was in the Murfreesboro city limits. the salon where she was last officially sighted was in city limits and both the gas station and grocery store are in the city limits. at that time, Murfreesboro city's resources were far better than the county's.
another bit of information, Murfreesboro is a college town. that's really all we have and the only thing that put us on the map. Middle Tennessee State University has about 20,000+ students. we have a lot of young people who breeze in for four years, then leave. there is no way to go anywhere in town without encountering the students. they are everywhere.

 

[EntreNous]

1) Who was this last person to have contact with China?
2) What was her plan after getting fuel? Did she ever get the fuel?
3) Was there anything else in the car which was not hers or was from a period AFTER her disappearance?
4) It is said she is believed to have been abducted and killed by someone that knew her well. What is the basis for that? Any links to co-workers, Security or even LE?
5) Did she have a "pattern" on days like this. Most people
have patterns. She didn't have to work, she visited her mom, she was going to get gas, and then? What would she typically do, who would she typically see, what route would that take?
6) What do her friends say? especially those closest to her?
7) Was there a boyfriend?
8) Did she go to parties? Most recent? Was a list made?
9) Whom else did she interact with? Delivery people, repair people, someone she would have periodic contact with who would know her well? Friends of friends, etc... Is there a POI list at all?
10) Why was it initially assumed that she left of her own accord????
11) Are there any patterns of similar cases within 100 miles? Any pattern of rapes in the immediate area in the same time period?

1. that i know of, no one else has come forward to say they'd either seen or talked to china once she left the salon.
2. her plan, according to what we know, was to go get gas, stop by the
store to pick some stuff up for her mom and go home. when she made the phone call to her friend from the salon, i don't know if the friend cancelled on her or if she even got an answer on the other line.
3. grocery bag of items mother asked her to pick up on her way home. found in the car when it was discovered abandoned in Antioch.
4. i wish i knew.
5. as i understand it, she was getting gas for the car, going to the store for lettuce & bread and meeting her mom at home. the question is, in my mind, was her friend coming to dinner? did her friend have to cancel? these are things i never felt comfortable asking Suzanne. i talked to a deputy one time not long after she went missing who was convinced she'd been kidnapped, drugged and sold into prostitution in Cannon County, adjacent to Rutherford Co. his scenario seemed awfully far fetched to me. especially since Cannon Co. has about as much action as the nursing home down the street. they are known, however as the place to go for the best moonshine and "herbal refreshments".
6., 7. & 8. i have no idea. i wish i did. maybe i should have been nosier, but i couldn't bring myself to grill Suzanne and we aren't close enough for her to confide. she was never my client and if she didn't confide in Lena, (her stylist), i never expected her to confide in me. we were just always there for moral support.
9. there was a POI list. i'm assuming there still is. but LE will never make any of that public. murfreesboro is a very private community. it's not uncommon for cases here to go for 20+ years without so much as a peep from LE, and then BAM!!!, they've got their guy, they've got an ironclad case and it's all over but the crying. we had a similar case here involving a young girl back in 1983. her body was found at one of the rock quarries here. she was my age and had dated my husband before i did. all the kids here instinctively knew who did it. the guy, (her then boyfriend), eventually moved to florida. and then out of nowhere about 20 years later, LE calmly went down there and picked him up and had the case pretty much wrapped up.
10. Suzanne never believed China left of her own accord and neither did any of my co-workers at the salon. her demeanor that day wasn't the demeanor of a kid who was taking off. she was her regular 16 year old self. a happy, cute, unassuming teenage girl who loved her mama. it was typical for her to swing by the salon when her mom was there. any time a teenager disappears around here, the first assumption by LE is that they ran away. since there was no body, no car, no nothing they figured she took off. it is always possible they put that story out there so as not to alarm someone. they like to let their suspects get comfortable around here.
11. as i mentioned before, we are a college town, there are rapes around here all the time. it's usually confined to campus. there have been cases of women going missing but it's almost always the boyfriend or spouse that come down to the prime suspects.

i hope this has helped. as i said, i wish i knew more, and honestly i should do some more digging. people around here just don't do a lot of talking. i'm not native to this town although i've lived here for over 30 yrs. people here are closed off, quiet, don't care for outsiders and don't care to air their dirty laundry. i find it odd since we are a college town. we've also had some pretty high profile events. the case of Laura Salmon, the Bobby & Christie Baskin case, China Videon and Marcie Smith.

 

[EntreNous]

"China’s car, a black Mazda, was found nine months later at an apartment complex in Antioch, a few miles from Murfreesboro. Items she’d bought at the grocery store were still in the car."

http://kidnappingmurderandmayhem.blogspot.com/2010/02/three-unsolved-cases-from-tennessee.html

I wonder if LE could tell if the grocery store items had been purchased the day she disappeared or at a later date.

Cases like this make my head spin... I cannot imagine the mother's pain.

antioch is a part of Nashville, TN. it's about 40 miles nw of china's home. the receipt was in the bag. items were purchased the day of her disappearance. the sheriff's dept. tried to retrieve surveillance video from the gas station, where China bought gas, (across the street from the grocery store), but the tape had been recorded over and was irretrievable. i have to wonder if someone she worked with at Bi-Lo followed her to the gas station, or maybe she encountered someone at the gas station. i just feel like it had to have been a high school peer, someone she worked with or was a frequent customer. at the time there were only two mainstream public high schools in town, (Riverdale and Oakland) and one high school for troubled kids, (Holloway), also two private schools, FRCS and MTCS.

 

[cornfed]

Does anyone know the exact location or the name of the apartment complex where China's car was found? All I've seen is "off Harding Road". Jennifer Wyant disappeared from an apartment complex off Harding Road nineteen years before. It was called the Tanglewood Apartments. I don't know for sure, but I'm guessing that is now the Whispering Oak complex. I know there are several complexes on/off Harding, and the two cases are 19 years apart, but it would be interesting to know if the two are the same, or in the same immediate area. I'm not from Nashville, and have only been down this stretch of Harding on one occasion while visiting my daughter in college. I hope to spend some time there in the near future. Any local intel would be appreciated.

 

[EntreNous]

Does anyone know the exact location or the name of the apartment complex where China's car was found? All I've seen is "off Harding Road". Jennifer Wyant disappeared from an apartment complex off Harding Road nineteen years before. It was called the Tanglewood Apartments. I don't know for sure, but I'm guessing that is now the Whispering Oak complex. I know there are several complexes on/off Harding, and the two cases are 19 years apart, but it would be interesting to know if the two are the same, or in the same immediate area. I'm not from Nashville, and have only been down this stretch of Harding on one occasion while visiting my daughter in college. I hope to spend some time there in the near future. Any local intel would be appreciated.

hi cornfed, i'm originally from nashville but i've lived in murfreesboro for over 30 yrs. harding rd./nolensville rd. is a bit of a rough area. i've been in the area many, many times. what kind of intel are you looking for? feel free to PM me if that would make you more comfortable.

 

[EntreNous]

Trying to post a map of the general area where China's car was located. As I'd mentioned in an earlier post, this is not a great area. you can see I-24 off/on ramps. Following I-24 E will take you directly to back to Murfreesboro, while traveling westerly will find you in the heart of Music City, Nashville. There are lots and lots of lower rent motels in this area, several apartment complexes and the area has become largely lower income hispanic and african american residents with some businesses catering to a lot of late night consumers, (after hours bars). If you follow Harding Pl southward you will come to Nolensville Rd. an even more rundown, seedy area. Crime is relatively high in these areas. Male or female, you wouldn't want to stop at any of these gas stations for gas, etc. after the sun goes down. I've known two young men who were gunned down in this area in two separate cases. One young man was shot to death for his watch at a gas station. The other was ambushed, beaten, shot and killed after attempting to deliver a pizza to a bogus address. This area is also home to an industrial park and about 2 mi. NE is the Nashville International Airport.
http://goo.gl/maps/EJ8GN

 

[EntreNous]

Here is a map of the area apartment complexes. http://goo.gl/maps/8khqt

A) Warren Terrace Apartments
441 Welshwood Drive
Nashville, TN 37211
(615) 331-3225
warrenproperties.com‎

B) Dominion House Apartments
5099 Linbar Drive
Nashville, TN 37211
(615) 833-0218

C) Sunrise Apartments
189 Wallace Road
Nashville, TN 37211
(615) 333-7733
sunrisenashville.com‎

D) 380 Harding Apartments‎
380 Harding Place
Nashville, TN 37211
(615) 832-6847

E) Baker Station Apartments
300 Bakertown Road
Antioch, TN 37013
(615) 834-5110

F) Brookridge Apartment Homes
249 Brookridge Trail
Nashville, TN 37211
(615) 600-4769

G) Whispering Oaks Apartments
100 Tanglewood Court
Nashville, Tennessee 37211
(615) 833-5643

H) South Brook Apartments‎
5101 Linbar Drive
Nashville, TN 37211
(615) 834-8340

I) Elysian Garden Apartments‎
675 Harding Place
Nashville, TN 37211
(615) 832-8429

J) Southern Hills Condominium
370 Wallace Road
Nashville, TN 37211
(615) 833-6904

If I were to guess, I'd say Baker Station Apartments. I think there are a few photos after the jump. Unfortunately I can't find the real property tax assessment records on that location, otherwise we might have all the names that location has done business under. I no longer work with the same women. I haven't seen Suzanne in about a year. After the escape of the young women in Cleveland this week, and I know this is bad, but I kept thinking "why not China, too!". I have to admit it has made me sad even though I am elated for Michelle, Amanda and Gina. Hope that makes sense.