Found Deceased VA - Kathleen 'Katie' Barham, 32, Portsmouth, 27 May 2015

[DexterMorgan]

It was katie's mother's boyfriend who said that she might have walked down to the local WaWa for change.

http://www.13newsnow.com/story/news...h-mother-missing-for-nearly-2-weeks/28733137/

Robert Poisal is the boyfriend of Katie's mother, who lives in Lynchburg. He made his way to Portsmouth last Sunday to help Rich take care of the kids. He believes Katie may have been kidnapped at a nearby gas station. He says she was low on coins for the washing machine and may have walked over to the Royal Farms or Wawa.

So after discovering that the clothes were in the dryer. Did he go across to the stores to see if she was there while he was supposedly calling out her name?

 

[perfectingpink]

If she was walking in the direction towards those gas stations, someone might have seen her.

I would think there would be CCTV, also?

 

[Lulu14]

Go to Katie's FB page: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100006322039192

The night she went missing there is a picture she posted and instead of tagging her two friends (who are on FB) she typed their names above the picture. It says xxxxxx and xxxxxxx. This would lead me to believe she doesn't know how to tag friends.

But, if you scroll down to April 5, she tags her brother in a post. So she does know how to tag.

Did someone else have access to her FB that night...someone less Facebook savvy, but who was aware of who her best friends are? And for how long could her FB been out of her control? PPD claimed from the get go that the body was severely decomposed. When was the last proven sighting of Katie???

You are reading too much into it. May be as simple as a glitch in the FB. Or those people might have untagged themselves.

 

[windstorm]

Also, Since RF has NOT been named a suspect OR POI in MSM yet, We are not even allowed to discuss him as such.

We used to have mods that followed threads to keep everybody in check, but I haven't seen any on this thread. From my understanding, we can discuss RF in that he has publicly spoke and been interviewed and was the last person to see Katie. However, until (if) he us named as a poi, we cannot "sleuth" him. We can't dig into his past and post it here. We cannot link his FB page (if he had one). We have to "discuss" him as he's part of the picture, but that's it.

During the Robert Mayer search, we got mod slapped more than a few times because his wife has a really interesting past that may/may not have anything to do with his disappearance. (For some interesting reading, start at thread 1. I think we got upwards of 20 threads on him)

If a mod comes along and I'm not correct on this, please set me straight! I'll pm Bessie and see if I can find out the exact rules.




Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

[Tillicum]

I would think there would be CCTV, also?

Would have been if checked soon after she went missing

 

[klily444]

Also, Since RF has NOT been named a suspect OR POI in MSM yet, We are not even allowed to discuss him as such.

Thank you for the reminder. Tread carefully, everyone.

 

[iluvmua]

anyways, i hope they find whoever did this.

 

[bessie]

Even when she posted a pic to her friends of a colorful hippy looking room. 1 said i would love to have my room look like that. And Katie replied I know i was thinking of you.

But she never types in their full names to the pics she post.

<rsbm>

Are you referring to this post? If so, the person is clearly addressed by name, as in the second linked post and others, as well.

https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=1492580870962633&id=100006322039192

https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=1491739334380120&id=100006322039192

 

[bessie]

This is confusing. Did they sleep on the couch instead of a bed? If he fell asleep on the couch and woke up and she wasn't next to him, why not say she wasn't in bed?

http://www.13newsnow.com/story/news...h-mother-missing-for-nearly-2-weeks/28733137/
Katie's boyfriend and father of her two children, Rich Fegan says he was falling asleep on the couch that night, when Katie went missing.

http://wate.com/2015/06/09/police-review-why-it-took-11-days-to-assign-detective-to-missing-mother/
“I woke up at like 1:30 in the morning and she wasn’t next to me,” Fegan said. “I went searching for her, and I found our clothes in the dryer and no her. That was it.”

Sounds to me like at some point in the interim he might have moved from the couch to the bed, say perhaps when he awoke when Katie came in and said the dryer wasn't working.

I understand why some might find that story "hinky", but being the night owl that I am, it makes perfect sense to me. My husband could relate times when he's awakened at 2 am after falling asleep in his recliner watching television, to find me in the garage doing laundry, (or at my computer, or cleaning out the refrigerator, or painting the bathroom, etc). Then he goes to our bed. It drives him crazy, but after all of these years, he's learned there's no sense in trying to change me. Different strokes for different folks.

 

[RT51]

Still catching up, but this stood out to me:

I've tried but I can think of no logical explanation for why he didn't contact family/friends the morning after she didn't come home, let alone the following days after. Especially since he claimed her phone was on for the first 4 days. Why not call and ask them to try her phone because she wasn't answering for him? BTW how long will a phone stay charged while turned on? Anyone know?

Am I the only one that noticed on FB that someone suggested she call her children's grandmother and she missed them and wanted to see them? The person actually told her to pick up the phone and call. Maybe she wasn't really close to her folks, and fiancé knew that, so didn't call right away. We really don't know what the family dynamics were, (are).

 

[RT51]

Sadly, a comment posted to Katie's FB might shed some light on this. I don't know if I can post the link. The comment is on a pic Katie posted on May 26th. Someone is telling Katie her mom would love pics of grandkids and to pick up a phone and call her mom. This makes me think they didn't have regular, daily contact if this comment is the truth : (

I posted this too, I hadn't seen your post yet. Sorry to duplicate!

 

[bessie]

We used to have mods that followed threads to keep everybody in check, but I haven't seen any on this thread. From my understanding, we can discuss RF in that he has publicly spoke and been interviewed and was the last person to see Katie. However, until (if) he us named as a poi, we cannot "sleuth" him. We can't dig into his past and post it here. We cannot link his FB page (if he had one). We have to "discuss" him as he's part of the picture, but that's it.

During the Robert Mayer search, we got mod slapped more than a few times because his wife has a really interesting past that may/may not have anything to do with his disappearance. (For some interesting reading, start at thread 1. I think we got upwards of 20 threads on him)

If a mod comes along and I'm not correct on this, please set me straight! I'll pm Bessie and see if I can find out the exact rules.

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

Thanks for your pm, windstorm. I can promise you that mods still monitor the threads. Nothing has changed in that regard, but as always, it is impossible for mods to read each post in each thread. That's why we appreciate the cooperation of members like yourself, who either alert on problem posts, or send us pm's with your questions and concerns.

What you've said in the section of your post that I've bolded is correct, in general. And as another member pointed out (Joe Friday, I believe), a spouse or significant other almost always, by default, is considered a POI by LE initially, especially when the missing/murdered victim was last known to be in the company of that individual. This type of situation comes up often in the cases we follow on WS, and the rules can vary somewhat from case to case depending on the circumstances.

Loved ones of victims react differently for a variety of reasons, such as fear, or an individual's own character and personality traits. It's important to keep in mind that part of being "victim friendly" means that we not judge too harshly, and always keep an open mind.

That said, occasionally, as in this case, when the circumstances vary from what a reasonable person would deem "normal", it's certainly acceptable to point that out. We should never outright accuse, however, but there's no problem with raising the question of why RF waited so many days to inform the family, or even to ponder how the the outcome might have differed had he alerted them sooner.

For example: "I can't help but be suspicious of RF because of his failure to alert the family and neighbors. Could he have had a reason to believe he would protect Katie by remaining silent? Or did he really want to avoid upsetting her family, as he said?"

As opposed to: "If my wife/husband/lover were missing, I'd be shouting it from the rooftops. There's no reason RF would fail to tell Katie's family she was missing unless he's the one who killed her."

That's just off the cuff, but the point is to keep an open mind, and give the loved one/family member the benefit of the doubt until, and unless, LE designates the individual a POI/suspect.

On the other hand, we don't get to the truth without asking the logical questions. That's what sleuthing is all about. Just remember that the key is not so much in what we say, but in how we say it; and that we make sure what-we-say is based on (LE/MSM) reported facts, or what we can discern using our own intelligence, common sense and reliable resources. (SM is not a reliable resource).

(Get ready, here it comes.) For the umpteenth-and-a half time, leave the comments/gossip/rumors/tweets where you find them. When SM drama carries over into the threads it ALWAYS leads to trouble, with posts being deleted, and members timed out or worse. More importantly, the facts become twisted, the truth is sullied, and very often innocent individuals are harmed. In this case, there is a decent chance that RF is innocent, and if so, imagine what unjustified accusations will do to him. Even if the actual perp is arrested, convicted, sentenced, and executed -- if rumors are allowed to thrive, there always will be people who will believe he's guilty. Who wants to live with that on her/his conscience, knowing s/he contributed to ruining a person's life? Certainly not I.

So there ya go. Thanks again for the pm and the questions, windstorm.

Here's hoping that truth and justice come swiftly for Katie Barham. May she rest in peace, and may the suffering of her family, friends, and precious children be eased by the memory of her love.

 

[CD82]

She was posting on Facebook all day on the 27th. It stops at 6:30.

Then the last and final one which seemed suspicious due to how it was directed.

I wonder if any text went out that day and stopped suddenly as well.

The last post does seem rather suspicious, but it could honestly be a crazy and eerie coincidence. Example:

I know a girl who posted song lyrics one day- "If I die young, bury me in satin. Lay me down on a bed of roses" <---that song....however it goes. ANYWAY.

THAT NIGHT she was the passenger in a really bad accident. She was thrown from the vehicle and the driver left her for dead. She was in a coma for a month. She survived, thankfully.

My point is, she didn't know what would happen that night. But everyone was talking about how creepy her last facebook post was, considering she could have died that night. I'm curious as to whether this last post of Katie's is actually her....although I'm very suspicious of the boyfriend, I'm hesitant to think he's smart enough to leave cryptic messages to her friends through her facebook page. Ya know?

 

[Joe Friday]

Both Wawa and Royal Farms are open 24 hours.

http://www.royalfarms.com/location_results.asp

https://www.wawa.com/StoreLocator.aspx

I did searches for the locations of these gas stations closest to 6500 Bickford Ln, Portsmouth, VA 23703.


Of the two stations I think the Royal Farms station would be the easiest and closest to get to if you were walking but it is still almost a 1/2 mile walk since it's not right across the street from the apartment complex, it's a few blocks down a major 4 lane road from the entrance to the apartment complex. The Wawa station would be over a mile away so I doubt she would have went there.

Link to street view of Royal Farms Station: https://www.google.com/maps/@36.865...A8TrWJKgBZLQ!2e0!7i13312!8i6656!6m1!1e1?hl=en

There is also a Seven Eleven store on the opposite corner across the street from the Royal Farms Station so that could also be a possibility. Link to street view map of Seven Eleven store: https://www.google.com/maps/@36.865...uR0T3FkJyQeQ!2e0!7i13312!8i6656!6m1!1e1?hl=en

So if she needed change why wouldn't she have driven there? I don't think I, my wife or any of my kids would have walk 1/2 mile to a gas station and back to get change for a washing machine that late at night. I would have jumped in my car and drove there.

 

[Joe Friday]

As far as the stations having cameras,


The Seven Eleven has cameras. You can see a camera in this street view here at this link: https://www.google.com/maps/@36.865...uR0T3FkJyQeQ!2e0!7i13312!8i6656!6m1!1e1?hl=en

The Royal Farms station is brand new and I would almost bet my life that they also have cameras. The building is set far back from the street so it is hard to tell if what I think are actually cameras or not.

 

[CD82]

I did searches for the locations of these gas stations closest to 6500 Bickford Ln, Portsmouth, VA 23703.


Of the two stations I think the Royal Farms station would be the easiest and closest to get to if you were walking but it is still almost a 1/2 mile walk since it's not right across the street from the apartment complex, it's a few blocks down a major 4 lane road from the entrance to the apartment complex. The Wawa station would be over a mile away so I doubt she would have went there.

Link to street view of Royal Farms Station: https://www.google.com/maps/@36.865...A8TrWJKgBZLQ!2e0!7i13312!8i6656!6m1!1e1?hl=en

There is also a Seven Eleven store on the opposite corner across the street from the Royal Farms Station so that could also be a possibility. Link to street view map of Seven Eleven store: https://www.google.com/maps/@36.865...uR0T3FkJyQeQ!2e0!7i13312!8i6656!6m1!1e1?hl=en

So if she needed change why wouldn't she have driven there? I don't think I, my wife or any of my kids would have walk 1/2 mile to a gas station and back to get change for a washing machine that late at night. I would have jumped in my car and drove there.

There are 2 reasons I don't think she walked anywhere that night.

First, how behind on laundry would someone be that they found it an absolute necessity to go get change that far away, after midnight, alone? If I were in her shoes, I would have said "well, looks like I'm out of change. I'll get these tomorrow." Even if I couldn't dry my clothes, I'd still choose not to risk it. HOWEVER, her clothes were dry, so I seriously doubt she made the walk.

Secondly, if you look at the map, the location of the Royal Farms is even further from where her body was found. Unless someone really abducted her from that store and dumped her up the street, I'm having a hard time with it. I just don't see it. I know it's still very close in proximity, but I am still thinking she didn't leave her apartment complex that evening.

 

[slowpoke]

There are 2 reasons I don't think she walked anywhere that night.

First, how behind on laundry would someone be that they found it an absolute necessity to go get change that far away, after midnight, alone? If I were in her shoes, I would have said "well, looks like I'm out of change. I'll get these tomorrow." Even if I couldn't dry my clothes, I'd still choose not to risk it. HOWEVER, her clothes were dry, so I seriously doubt she made the walk.

Secondly, if you look at the map, the location of the Royal Farms is even further from where her body was found. Unless someone really abducted her from that store and dumped her up the street, I'm having a hard time with it. I just don't see it. I know it's still very close in proximity, but I am still thinking she didn't leave her apartment complex that evening.

It would be useful to know if it was her usual habit to do laundry so late at night, and also to walk that far and that late to the gas stations/convenience stores in order to shop or get change. Was she normally the carefree, free-spirited type who went about life, oblivious to dangers?
At this link, in the video, RF says:
http://www.13newsnow.com/story/news...h-mother-missing-for-nearly-2-weeks/28733137/
"the clothes were in the dryer, they were just barely still warm."

I suppose it is possible that the things in the dryer were only half dried, and needed more time for a complete dry, and that is why she needed more change. I wonder how long clothes remain feeling warm in a dryer? RF says "barely still warm" at the time he checked, around 1:00 or 1:30, according to him.

 

[CD82]

It would be useful to know if it was her usual habit to do laundry so late at night, and also to walk that far and that late to the gas stations/convenience stores in order to shop or get change. Was she normally the carefree, free-spirited type who went about life, oblivious to dangers?
At this link, in the video, RF says:
http://www.13newsnow.com/story/news...h-mother-missing-for-nearly-2-weeks/28733137/
"the clothes were in the dryer, they were just barely still warm."

I suppose it is possible that the things in the dryer were only half dried, and needed more time for a complete dry, and that is why she needed more change. I wonder how long clothes remain feeling warm in a dryer? RF says "barely still warm" at the time he checked, around 1:00 or 1:30, according to him.

It could be. Or, this is all a clever ruse that RF made up to throw LE off-course. I'm anxiously awaiting some kind of update in this case.

From what I'm understanding (heresay of course) on facebook, someone notified LE about RF and they're doing some sort of investigation. Whether or not that means he's a POI I'm not really sure.

 

[scaredtopost]

Just from my personal experience, clothes don't stay warm more than 5 minutes. I often re-fluff my blanket to get it warm if it has sat in the dryer for more than 5 or 10 minutes. MOO

 

[Joe Friday]

It would be useful to know if it was her usual habit to do laundry so late at night, and also to walk that far and that late to the gas stations/convenience stores in order to shop or get change. Was she normally the carefree, free-spirited type who went about life, oblivious to dangers?
At this link, in the video, RF says:
http://www.13newsnow.com/story/news...h-mother-missing-for-nearly-2-weeks/28733137/
"the clothes were in the dryer, they were just barely still warm."

I suppose it is possible that the things in the dryer were only half dried, and needed more time for a complete dry, and that is why she needed more change. I wonder how long clothes remain feeling warm in a dryer? RF says "barely still warm" at the time he checked, around 1:00 or 1:30, according to him.

In that same video RF says he walked around until 2:30 "yelling her name" I wonder if anyone in the apartment complex was able to confirm that.