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

[iluvmua]

http://hamptonroads.com/2015/06/police-id-remains-found-missing-portsmouth-woman

Both her half brother and grandfather were murdered.

 

[CD82]

http://hamptonroads.com/2015/06/police-id-remains-found-missing-portsmouth-woman

Both her half brother and grandfather were murdered.

I was wondering when that information would finally be revealed to MSM

 

[windstorm]

EXCELLENT points. She could have been missing for a couple weeks and nobody knew. I'm curious though, it seems she had a couple really close friends, so maybe they would come forward and say whether they talked to her. I was kind of facebook stalking her, and she was commenting on pics mid-May.

I've checked her FB several times, but anybody with your cell phone or tablet can post on your account. And a lot of couples share passwords to keep everything on the up & up. I just wondered when anybody actually seen or talked to her besides the fiancé. I just think the body was awfully decomposed for having just been 2 weeks. Decomposed, yes, but to the point of having to use dental records?


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[CD82]

I've checked her FB several times, but anybody with your cell phone or tablet can post on your account. And a lot of couples share passwords to keep everything on the up & up. I just wondered when anybody actually seen or talked to her besides the fiancé. I just think the body was awfully decomposed for having just been 2 weeks. Decomposed, yes, but to the point of having to use dental records?


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Maybe the combination of heat and really wet weather changed the decomposition process. Or maybe it was animals! If they did enough, there wouldn't be much to identify with. Maybe they're reporting decomposition to leave out the grisly details.

Also, it's very true what you said about the cell phones. So yes, it's so very possible she had been missing for a lot longer. I wonder if her kids will be questioned regarding this. As sad as it will be to prod little kids about their mom....they usually are very honest.

 

[iluvmua]

I hope for the kids sake it does not turn out to be their father.

 

[Joe Friday]

I've checked her FB several times, but anybody with your cell phone or tablet can post on your account. And a lot of couples share passwords to keep everything on the up & up. I just wondered when anybody actually seen or talked to her besides the fiancé. I just think the body was awfully decomposed for having just been 2 weeks. Decomposed, yes, but to the point of having to use dental records?


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I think Katie's children are old enough to know the last time they seen their mother. You would think LE would have questioned them.

 

[cocomod]

WTKR says body so decomposed they had to use dental records to identify her. How long was she really missing? I realize she had used social media that night, but it is suspect IMO.

I wonder if chemicals were used to help speed up the decomposition.

So very sad to read that it was her. May justice be swift!

:rose: R.I.P. Katie :rose:

 

[ClaireNC]

RIP Katie.

 

[slashkiss]

"Substantial decomposition mostly occurs in the course of two weeks, and the body’s soft tissues start disintegrating even with preservation."

How Long Does It Take for Body to Decompose?

In moderate temperature
24-72 hours - Internal organs begin to decompose.
3-5 days - Body starts bloating. Blood-containng foam begins leaking from mouth and nose.
8-10 days - Massive decompostion of organs in abdomin accumulate massive gas; body turns from green to red becuase of blood decomposition.
Several weeks - Nails and teeth begin to fall.
1 month - Body starts to become fluid.

http://www.enkivillage.com/how-long-does-it-take-for-a-body-to-decompose.html#affix-section-2

 

[cluciano63]

I don't find it surprising that in two hot weeks, a body would decompose extensively. Seriously, what would happen if you left a bag of trash out in the sun for two weeks? i think it would be mostly liquid and whatever bones may have been in it...jmo

 

[I'm Lahoma]

I've checked her FB several times, but anybody with your cell phone or tablet can post on your account. And a lot of couples share passwords to keep everything on the up & up. I just wondered when anybody actually seen or talked to her besides the fiancé. I just think the body was awfully decomposed for having just been 2 weeks. Decomposed, yes, but to the point of having to use dental records?


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I was just coming here to say the exact same thing.

 

[luckyseven]

Ugh. My apartment has its laundry room across the street and I'm always paranoid about doing my laundry later at night when it is dark out and no one is around. Now I'm definitely never doing that again!

 

[steelman]

"Substantial decomposition mostly occurs in the course of two weeks, and the body’s soft tissues start disintegrating even with preservation."

How Long Does It Take for Body to Decompose?

In moderate temperature
24-72 hours - Internal organs begin to decompose.
3-5 days - Body starts bloating. Blood-containng foam begins leaking from mouth and nose.
8-10 days - Massive decompostion of organs in abdomin accumulate massive gas; body turns from green to red becuase of blood decomposition.
Several weeks - Nails and teeth begin to fall.
1 month - Body starts to become fluid.

http://www.enkivillage.com/how-long-does-it-take-for-a-body-to-decompose.html#affix-section-2

All of the above is true when conducted under controlled conditions.

Next we can add in insect activity, predator activity, humidity, heat and being covered by a plastic tarp. The plastic tarp would have accelerated the insect activity by 3 or 4 times, in my estimation. It also would have held in the heat and prevented evaporation, accelerating the decomposition process.

Yes, in a two week period a human body could deteriorate to an almost unrecognizable state. Liquified, so to speak. Depending on the clothes that were being worn, it might be very difficult to visually confirm gender.

Bodies that are preserved during the cold and winter months are much easier to process and identify. Many of the above listed aggravators aren't present, or are minimized.

I was raised on a cattle ranch in Texas, I've seen the decay process with my own eyes many times. Sometimes it's really quick, sometimes it may drag on for weeks. It depends on a whole bunch of different factors.

 

[oneillm]

I think the mother's boyfriend is called Randy Poisal not Robert Poisal. His fb page indicates interest in young women and 'naked ladies'. From what I can see Katie's mum Jayne is not on fb

 

[cluciano63]

Ugh. My apartment has its laundry room across the street and I'm always paranoid about doing my laundry later at night when it is dark out and no one is around. Now I'm defini
tely never doing that again!

Ugh, I know. I just got an apartment recently and paid extra to get one with one a washer/dryer inside. I couldn't see myself being comfortable using an exterior one and night or early monring, even in a "safe" complex.

That said, we will have to wait and see if her doing wash had anything to do with what happened to her.

 

[m_brown]

Ugh, I know. I just got an apartment recently and paid extra to get one with one a washer/dryer inside. I couldn't see myself being comfortable using an exterior one and night or early monring, even in a "safe" complex.

That said, we will have to wait and see if her doing wash had anything to do with what happened to her.

IMO, I don't think the washer/dryer or its location had anything to do with this. But in a way, I hope I am wrong for the sake of the children

 

[steelman]

It's too bad the boyfriend and the cops weren't on the same page. If they had organized even a small search party, made up of neighbors and residents of the complex, I'll bet they would have found her within a day or two. I don't think it would have done Katie much good, but the crime scene and the evidence would have been fresh and uncontaminated.

The almost two week delay in even starting an investigation is going to create a huge challenge for the investigators.
Did that homeless camp look like that two weeks ago ?
Was there someone living there at the time ?
Every item in that picture might be considered evidence......or is it ?
Is this where the crime occurred, or is it just where she was dumped and concealed ?
Did anybody hear or see anything that night ? (At this point everyone will have to work from long term memory)
Any video surveillance from that night has most likely been taped over or looped by now.
Can DNA evidence be collected, or is it too degraded after this length of time ?
-------------------------------------


I think this is going to end up being a young male between the ages of 16--25. I think she was being watched that night as she was moving back and forth between her apartment and the laundry room. I have a suspicion she may have known her attacker, or was at least familiar with him, having seen him hanging out around the complex before.

I don't think the homeless camp has any real significance except as a dumping ground. The attacker knew about this spot, that's why I believe it is a younger male that had been out "exploring" the neighborhood prior to this. They need to really zoom in on teenagers or young adults that were known to hang out in this area or use it as a short cut.

He had his fantasy worked out. He had the crime scene worked out. He had his method of operation worked out. All he needed now was a victim. Unfortunately for Katie, doing her laundry in the late night hours was exactly what this creep needed in order to enact his plan.

He's most likely going to be someone that lives in her complex or the neighboring one. He probably cannot believe his luck, he assaults and kills her, 10 days go by and the cops haven't even come around !! If they don't get this guy, it's almost a certainty he's going to do it again.

 

[nnrpece]

I agree, Churchland, Portsmouth has some very wealthy areas and nice houses, my daughter has a horse at a nearby Arabian horse farm. But then it has some sketchy area's. Pretty much like any city or suburb. You have your good and bad. I have to fault the Portsmouth Police Dept. here. Someone should have been assigned much earlier to this case. It has been abnormally hot and humid here actually oppressive would be the word for the weather.

 

[nnrpece]

Steelman your post scares me. There are a lot of young trusting people out there that don't think of society as being that way, and go about their daily lives not thinking twice. I know we all have to be careful. It makes me think twice, when I m walking out to my car at night in the hospital parking lot. The book the Gift Of Fear, is a good book for everyone to read.

 

[Tssiemer]

I'm never leaving my house, having kids, or taking to people on the internet again.


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