Natalie is probably lucky they were caught. He murdered a 13 year old Nicole to keep her quiet, I'm not sure Natalie would have escaped the same fate being the only other person who knew of his crime (had they gotten away with it).
It's scary to think that a 12 year old would put that much fear in this college kid that he would think his only way out of this "back mail" (speculation) was murdering this poor child. IF he was only chatting online with her what would he be in trouble for? I'm assuming he sent dirty photos or vise versa but what would make him think murder was a better option than taking the time in jail for his other crime?https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sextortion
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Webcam_blackmail
I'm going to make this fast & quick. Let me put it right between your eyes: I guarantee you this whole case comes right down to whitemail / blackmail, sextortion / extortion, "rage type killing". Bert Luper, a veteran homicide detective in the OJ Simpson case, said that after their divorce, Nicole Brown Simpson began to prowl around in OJ's dirty finances including shady bars and restaurants, and waiters double-dealing as cocaine distributers. Eerily similar to this situation, Dr Bert Luper said that OJ had very easy access to an wide-array of guns at his home. Instead, he opted to use a very sharp $12 butcher's knife to get the point across. Luper said that the infinite number of stab wounds on Nicole indicated a definite "rage situation" -- where physically attacking the person would grant the assailant much much more satisfaction.
Similarities?
I'm wondering if DE knew she had them..DE alleges to his gaming friend that NL was "blackmailing" him. That may or may not be true, DE has lied to LE during initial interviews. But I can see her pressuring him not to end the relationship, whether she fully grasped the term blackmail in relation to what she was doing and was actively employing that or not.
But blackmail is an interesting concept to me, not in relation to NL, but rather NK.
The items she kept. Were they souvenirs? Were they potential leverage for blackmail? Did she just not know yet where she wanted to get rid of them?
I don't know, but I admit I am curious why she opted to keep those items.
I wonder if it was due partly because he didn't completely trust Natalie.
DE alleges to his gaming friend that NL was "blackmailing" him. That may or may not be true, DE has lied to LE during initial interviews. But I can see her pressuring him not to end the relationship, whether she fully grasped the term blackmail in relation to what she was doing and was actively employing that or not.
But blackmail is an interesting concept to me, not in relation to NL, but rather NK.
The items she kept. Were they souvenirs? Were they potential leverage for blackmail? Did she just not know yet where she wanted to get rid of them?
I don't know, but I admit I am curious why she opted to keep those items.
It's scary to think that a 12 year old would put that much fear in this college kid that he would think his only way out of this "back mail" (speculation) was murdering this poor child. IF he was only chatting online with her what would he be in trouble for? I'm assuming he sent dirty photos or vise versa but what would make him think murder was a better option than taking the time in jail for his other crime?
Court Follower
So to me this means there was a sexual relationship of some sorts between the two at some point in time, correct?For someone like DE who had is life planned out, this would certainly change things. IMO I think he was very aware of statutory rape as he told others he thought she was 16 or 17...LE has stated that he had an inappropriate relationship with Nicole. DE initially even told LE that when he went to meet her she looked to be like eleven...he was well aware of how young she was.
It was all about him.
_________
Carnal knowledge of a child between 13 and 15 years old includes sexual intercourse, oral sex, or penetration with an object, between a minor who is 13, 14, or 15 years old, and a defendant of any age. The offense is a Class 4 felony when the defendant is 18 or older, which incurs at least two (and up to ten) years in prison, a fine of up to $100,000, or both.
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Sex Offender Registration
State law requires, in addition to the applicable fines and prison time, that people convicted of certain sexual crimes (including certain instances of statutory rape) must register as sex offenders.
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Mistake of age
Defendants accused of statutory rape often claim that they had no reason to know that their partner was underage. They may argue that the victim herself represented that she was older than she was, and that a reasonable person would have believed her. But as in most states, in Virginia even a reasonable mistake of age is not a defense to statutory rape.
http://www.criminaldefenselawyer.com/resources/virginia-statutory-rape-laws.htm.
Just got caught up. Thank you to everyone who provided links and updates on the May 20th hearing. I'm pretty much at a loss for words. My heart hurts for sweet Nicole. How could anyone do this to a sweet, innocent child? How could anyone do this to anyone? I hope and pray that Nicole was surrounded by angels and felt no pain. This is the only way I can even read or think about this, by believing/hoping/praying that she felt no fear or pain. I know this might not be likely but it's the only thing I can hold onto right now in regards to what these horrific monsters did to her. I seriously wish NK could be charged with first degree murder as well. Both should be in prison for the rest of their lives, I think DE should get the DP but that's JMO, although life in prison might be worse for someone like him.
So to me this means there was a sexual relationship of some sorts between the two at some point in time, correct?
Court Follower
I think the relationship went beyond online. I saw an interview with a neighbor of Nicole's family, and if she is to be counted as reliable, she claimed that she saw David's car at the apartments on more than one occasion.
Was DE talking to his gamer buddy about Nicole before he became friends with NK? I forget the timeline of when he became friends with NK.
^^ Completely agreed. Lies everywhere. From Day 2, the police have maintained that DE has had an inappropriate relationship with the girl. Some say it began as early as mid-Novembre' when his XC season came to a halt. The african american neighbor said she's "seen that car parked there many many times". I don't think DE is a true creep though, only because Keepers said DE told her he believed the girl was 16 or 17. When the girl later opened up at admitted she was just over 12 years old, NK said DE "freaked out" and then Bryce Dustin told DE to give the girl the 'cold shoulder'. Problem: She refused to go away. The scene began to grow toxic as she nosed around in blackmailing him, perhaps as a way of retaining the Track athlete. I believe DE grew extremely irritated and soon developed the MO.Kids on the schoolbus stated that the girl bragged about "a date with David" who is a track athlete. That mysterious David guy was then linked to a David_A from her Kik page. Canada-based Kik then gave up the ISP addresses to the Virginia Tech based computer network. While interviewing David the track athlete who had that ISP address, the second policeman who was keeping tabs on David's iPhone recieved a text from a Natalie Keepers saying "POLICE". A 3rd cop then punched her phone # into the VT Police's $60,000 Stingray machine and GPS-traced that phone to an apartment out on Patrick Henry Dr, where they surveilled Natalie Keepers, the owner of the listed #. Keepers was "visiting a male friend", aka, getting the HELL out of Lee Hall while the Eisenhauer was simply being interviewed. Keepers was asked to come over to the Blacksburg PD station on Clay Street, adjecent from the Laundro-Mat, for a simple interview. The cops then knew the identity of the mystery woman on Target surveillance tapes in a botched attempt to purchase a snow shovel. The pair later went to a WalMart to purchase a regular steel shovel, even thought it later had a bloody palm print, it was never used. Keepers initially denied any involvment, but when presented with a still shot of the Target photo, she crumbled under questioning, cried, and was offered a ride around the SW VA landscape, presumably with even more caffiene-laced drinks to get her to talk to homicide detectives from NC, VA, and WV.