UK - Gaia Pope, 19, found deceased, Swanage, Dorset, 7 Nov 2017 #2

[Elainera]

Judging by the position of the police tent protecting Gaia, it looks as though she wasn't found up against the hedgerow. More out a bit.
http://dailym.ai/2AU8PlQ#i-13102c630fb6a313

The police tent is likely not the place she was found, judging by the map JohnSmith posted earlier.

That photo is looking east as the Isle of Wight is in the background. It could be the field where the clothes were found, in which case there would be a gate just to the right of the picture. It could also be the next field over where the footpath goes down to bell view farm. You can't see in the photo if they are collecting evidence or just walking along a path so it is difficult to know exactly which field they are in and what they are doing.

Based on the fact that the photographer was using a long telephoto lens I would guess that it is the field where the clothes were found and the photographer was a couple fields to the west.

John, you were there, can you tell us how high the grass is in the field where the clothes were found? It is hard to judge in the photos. Would it conceal a shoe or items of clothing pretty well?

How do we know she didn't make it to the friend in Cow Lane?

This info was posted in fb and is considered rumor here. I think mods removed it but this is a good example how rumors grow legs. Answer is: we don't know.

Because they believed she could've been murdered and she was last seen alive at their property? It's not like they've picked some random person up off the street. They've questioned the people who lived at/were connected to the property where she was last seen alive. I'm sure GE would be complaining if it were his daughter missing and they hadn't questioned the people who lived in the flat were she was last seen alive.

bbm - But they were not only questioned they were arrested. I'm sure there's a difference between the two, legally speaking?

Well that didn’t work! How do you embed a tweet? (Verified police account) ​

Click on the tweet then copy paste the resulting url.

 

[Officer Dibble]

Why did she discard her clothing? Has she ever done that in a previous PTSD reaction?

You haven't read the last few pages have you....there is lots of info about clothing and being hot on all todays posts.

 

[Officer Dibble]

I'm still catching up here. Is there also cctv footage of her leaving as well then?

As far as I'm aware no, but I could be wrong - happy to be corrected

 

[otto]

She tried to remove her clothing when she was at RDs house and left without her jacket. It was raining and only a few degrees above freezing so by the time she reached the cliffs she could have been suffering from hypothermia, which in that later stages can make you remove all of your clothes. It could also be related to her epilepsy which was getting worse.

My understanding of epilepsy is as a seizure - on the ground, convulsing, in danger of swallowing her tongue, not as an urge to remove clothing and run. It looks like this is being investigated as a murder.

 

[otto]

You haven't read the last few pages have you....there is lots of info about clothing and being hot on all todays posts.

I mentioned that in my first post - so no, I haven't read all the comments. Did I miss a comment that explained her PTSD reaction as removing her clothes?

 

[Emerald1328]

Diazepam can come in liquid form, and is frequently prescribed in high doses usually a suppository as a rescue med - it’s the active ingredient in diastat rectal gel.

OT - learn something new every day! I know diazepam is the active ingredient in Diastat so I just assumed that was the only form it came in rectally - the gel.

 

[Officer Dibble]

I mentioned that in my first post - so no, I haven't read all the comments. Did I miss a comment that explained her PTSD reaction as removing her clothes?

I think that's been discussed a lot today by various different people.

 

[johnsmith99]

John, you were there, can you tell us how high the grass is in the field where the clothes were found? It is hard to judge in the photos. Would it conceal a shoe or items of clothing pretty well?

I walked past during the search but I was on the far side of the next field and couldn't see into that field so I am not sure how tall the grass is. Based on all of the surrounding fields at this time of year it is probably around 6 to 12 inches high but that depends on whether the field has had any cattle or sheep in it recently.

The grass up there is tall enough that a deer can lay down in the middle of a field and not be visible.

 

[johnsmith99]

My understanding of epilepsy is as a seizure - on the ground, convulsing, in danger of swallowing her tongue, not as an urge to remove clothing and run. It looks like this is being investigated as a murder.

Epilepsy can have a lot of side effects, including removing clothes due to feeling too hot.

 

[overthemoon]

Weirdly ... If based on the same court document, it appears that it is more a case of exploitation than “assault”, i.e the dissemination without consent.

I think she is/was a deeply troubled young lady even before that incident.

Poor girl.

 

[otto]

I think that's been discussed a lot today by various different people.

Thanks. I've never heard of PTSD causing someone to strip off their clothes. PTSD is usually a physically debilitating reaction rather than an energizing - go for a run - response.

 

[ColourPurple]

We're not talking about questioning. Of course you talk with the people who saw her last. GE isn't complaining about that, he's complaining about the arrests and accusations that his family murdered GP where the evidence (at the time of the arrest) appears to be "they saw her last." I do not know how the British system of policing works but in general you do not need to arrest someone just to talk to them. At this point, we don't even know if his family were the actual ones to see her last - and the arrests of the E's creates a problem. As far as I can tell, the main reason they were arrested is because the police think they were the last to see Gaia alive. But maybe someone else saw her running to the field where she was found, or saw her getting into someone's car. Now that witness has become the last person to see GP alive. Do you think they will come forward knowing that there is a good chance that the police will arrest them?

Covermecagney posted this on the previous thread.

For the benefit of new members and those in the USA who are working this case, this article explains the BIG differences between English and American arrests. I've rolled this out before but I think it's really important for posters who sleuth cases in both countries.

......because it’s a lot easier to arrest someone in the United Kingdom, but being arrested there isn’t a big deal like it is in the United States. American police need probable causeto make an arrest, but in the United Kingdom, officers can arrest on suspicion. Probable cause is defined as the belief that a crime was probably committed, and that the suspect was probably responsible. To have probable cause, greater evidence is required. Reasonable suspicion means that a right-minded individual would have grounds to suspect that a crime had been committed and that the suspect might be responsible.

http://www.slate.com/articles/news_..._is_being_arrested_different_in_britain_.html

 

[otto]

Epilepsy can have a lot of side effects, including removing clothes due to feeling too hot.

Epilepsy:

"A seizure that starts in one area or side of the brain and the person is not aware of their surroundings during it is called focal (onset) impaired awareness seizure.

• Focal impaired awareness seizures typically last 1 to 2 minutes.
• These seizures may have an aura (or warning, which technically is itself a focal aware seizure).
• These seizures include automatisms (such as lip smacking, picking at clothes, fumbling), becoming unaware of surroundings, and wandering."

Further down at the same link:

"Some people do things during these seizures that can be dangerous or embarrassing, such as walking into traffic or taking their clothes off."

https://www.epilepsy.com/learn/type...areness-seizures-aka-complex-partial-seizures

 

[Cherwell]

Thanks. I've never heard of PTSD causing someone to strip off their clothes. PTSD is usually a physically debilitating reaction rather than an energizing - go for a run - response.

It's the effects of her epilepsy, not PTSD.
Much of this has been covered in earlier posts, some from people with direct experience, so I suggest you read back.

 

[mrazda71]

If we are to beleive everything we've been told by RD - why didn't Gaia go to Quarry Close to see MM which is what RD says Gaia was going to do when she left?

Google maps says it's a 6 minute walk from Manor Gardens to Quarry Close - if she left RDs and went to Quarry Close, she didnt make it ...

Although the PTSD was mentioned - it doesn't always manifest in what people would usually think of as anxiety.

 

[PaulR]

It's the effects of her epilepsy, not PTSD.
Much of this has been covered in earlier posts, some from people with direct experience, so I suggest you read back.

It's also a symptom of hypothermia.

 

[Sleepyface]

Epilepsy is an umbrella term for a spectrum of disrupted brain activity. It varies in severity, symptom and seizure behaviour for each affected individual. Being hot, undressing etc could be usual for one sufferer but unheard of for another. There’s no way to know from MSM if this was usual for Gaia, even then, if her condition was deteriorating new symptoms/behaviours could appear at any point.

 

[Cherwell]

It's also a symptom of hypothermia.

I know, but that seems unlikely to be an explanation for her behaviour at the flat. I advised Otto to read previous posts to get a complete picture.

 

[Elainera]

As far as I'm aware no, but I could be wrong - happy to be corrected

You are correct. Police said there's no cctv footage at all of Gaia after she left RD.

However, dashcam footage from a civilian taken on the day she disappeared was released a few days later which shows someone leaning into a stationary car (possibly talking to the occupant/s) which might or might not be Gaia. It's too blurry to say for sure imo.

 

[tallmansix]

I do not know how the British system of policing works but in general you do not need to arrest someone just to talk to them.

I think the arrests were made in order to secure potential evidence properly. RD and NE were probably questioned informally in the days prior to the arrest but that doesn't give police access to mobile phones, cars and houses, by arresting they get the opportunity to seize such evidence and carry out forensic searches. It is possible there was something in the pre-arrest statements from RD and NE that didn't corroborate, and whilst not necessarily indicating guilt, was enough for the police to make things more formal so they didn't miss vital evidence.

I'm inclined to think from GE's attitude that the suspects weren't terribly cooperative with the police prior to the arrest in terms of access to property and phones and maybe were evasive during informal questioning - eg too many "i don't know" answers.

The first arrest occurred 1 week after GP went missing but just 90 mins after the RD BBC interview. Maybe RD said things to the journalists that hadn't been mentioned to the police which would lead to suspicion of withholding information from the police.

As far as I can tell, the main reason they were arrested is because the police think they were the last to see Gaia alive. But maybe someone else saw her running to the field where she was found, or saw her getting into someone's car. Now that witness has become the last person to see GP alive. Do you think they will come forward knowing that there is a good chance that the police will arrest them?

It was a week from GP going missing until the first arrest, if there was another "last person to see her" then they had plenty of time to come forward before thinking they would be accused of murder.