GUILTY VA - Vanessa Pham, 19, found murdered, Fairfax County, 27 June 2010

[Belinda]

I sure wish they would hurry up and find the person who did this.

 

[Harmony 2]

http://www.wjla.com/news/stories/0710/751911_video.html?ref=newsstory


Since what we do here at Websleuths is offer theories and think outside the box I wonder if another slight and remote possibility is being overlooked. Is it possible that the perpetrator of Vanessa'a demise was a passenger in her car before she got to the nail salon parking lot? She was in the salon for only 5 or 10 minutes so he could have waited for her in her car. This may be why she offered very little conversation. Is it possible a secret admirerer had acquired a ride from her that afternoon and attacked her when she rebuffed him? The attack with a knife in the heart area seems so personal to me.

I realize this is a very remote idea but just wanted to put it out there...

Shadows and reflections may be playing tricks on my eyes but it does appear like a figure image in the window of her car.

pink arrow=ear
blue arrow=profile of face/nose
lime green arrow=shoulder​

 

[panthera]

Upon viewing the video again, I think someone different is definitely driving on the way out. Coming in, Vanessa is obviously driving, unless she had someone and they split ways while she got her nails done. Otherwise, the driver coming INTO the parking lot gives a wide berth to obstacles on the right of the car. The driver is driving nearly in the middle of the roadway from the time the driver enters the parking lot all the way until we see a slight turn.

The driver leaving the parking lot nearly hugs the right side of the roadway, even almost hitting two pedestrians walking (about 1:10 in the video). It just doesn't look like as conscientious of a driver at that point. However, police do believe she was driving the car when it crashed.

I wish more would be released about the nanny job. Was it something she had already lined up and just got confirmation? Or, did she meet someone in the nail salon who offered this job? I could see someone offering her the job in the nail salon. She posts on facebook from her car in the parking, and this same individual approaching her in the parking lot, now has Vanessa's trust, and Vanessa allows this individual into her car- after all it will be her future employer- and it takes a sinister turn from there.

I went back and looked at the video again and now I too see what you are with the driving style. However, it could still be Vanessa driving but with someone in the passenger seat telling her where to go.....or even having a knife on her at that point. With the narrow window of time and possibilities between leaving the parking lot and her death it seems whoever this perp is entered the car in the parking lot while she was sitting there texting. About her nanny job, I haven't seen anything more on that, however, believe one of the news links said she'd gone into the salon to get her eyebrows done ~ which can take only a few minutes and would account for the minimal time she was inside there. I do wish we would get some kind of update though!

 

[EnvoyDriver61]

I've played with some of the images of her leaving the parking lot and used a tool called Topaz to try to remove some of the reflection.

I think these images show her driving as she leaves the parking lot. It apparently shows a dark haired person with a dress or something that has bare shoulders on it.

Additionally, I think she is seen in this picture of her driving to the nail salon.

The white spot reflection in the lower right of the outline I did seems to indicate a portion of the dashboard that is reflective, as indicated in the picture below.

I did some research and from that angle, the driver does look like they are in the middle of the front seat.

Time frame:

Leaves or visits friends at 2:30
Friends not home
In nail salon around 3:00. Only there for 10 minutes. Not chit-chatty, but not judged to be in distress.
Updates facebook at 3:09
Seen leaving and turning left out of the parking lot at 3:24.
3:34 upturned car with deceased Vanessa discovered.


So, what happened from 3:09 to 3:24? I suppose it is possible she was in the parking lot all this time, perhaps with someone who came with her.

 

[panthera]

I've played with some of the images of her leaving the parking lot and used a tool called Topaz to try to remove some of the reflection.

(snipped for space)



Time frame:

Leaves or visits friends at 2:30
Friends not home
In nail salon around 3:00. Only there for 10 minutes. Not chit-chatty, but not judged to be in distress.
Updates facebook at 3:09
Seen leaving and turning left out of the parking lot at 3:24.
3:34 upturned car with deceased Vanessa discovered.


So, what happened from 3:09 to 3:24? I suppose it is possible she was in the parking lot all this time, perhaps with someone who came with her.

Thanks ~ those photos did help! The 15 minutes spent in the parking lot seems a little too long if all she was doing was updating her Facebook. It also would have allowed the perp an opportunity to come up to her in the car while she was sitting there, but since it seemed to be her habit (at least entering the parking lot) to have the windows up I'm trying to envision what could've happened that he forced his way into the car. Or could it have been someone she knew or was meeting? :waitasec: MOO

 

[EnvoyDriver61]

Regarding the other poster's surmise that someone could be seen in the passenger seat when the car is entering the parking lot, I used the same topaz software to get this picture:

To me, it looks like a reflection of the building in the car windows.

 

[Soulmagent]

I saw a trick on FBI files where they take a still photo of the video and are able to blow the image on the picture up biggger without as much fuzziness. Anyone want to try it?

 

[Harmony 2]

Vanessa Pham Murder Mystery Continues

http://www.nbcwashington.com/news/l...m_Murder_Mystery_Continues_Washington_DC.html

 

[Harmony 2]

FYI

2008 Toyota Scion tc interior:

http://autos.aol.com/cars-Scion-tC-2008/photos/?tab=interior

scroll down for photos of interior:

http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl...r&start=72&um=1&hl=en&sa=N&ndsp=18&tbs=isch:1

 

[panthera]

Vanessa Pham Murder Mystery Continues

http://www.nbcwashington.com/news/l...m_Murder_Mystery_Continues_Washington_DC.html

Her poor mother. :cry:

 

[Truthful Lies]

I cannot believe that I'm just hearing about this case...live within a couple of hours. There has been NO publicity about this a couple of hours away.....I can't believe it. I'm starting to get rather terrified around here...time to go get a concealed license.... =P

 

[joijoi12]

I cannot believe that I'm just hearing about this case...live within a couple of hours. There has been NO publicity about this a couple of hours away.....I can't believe it. I'm starting to get rather terrified around here...time to go get a concealed license.... =P

I just saw a piece on the local news here, it's not on NBC4 video (http://www.nbcwashington.com/) yet, but will try to post it later. Basically they interviewed a former Montgomery Co, MD police investigator and he said, "If I was working the case, I'd be focusing on females right now."

He says the fact she was stabbed and the rage involved has female overtones and that women tend to use knives and that a man doesn't have to use as much force and wouldn't have to "stab her that many times" and would be more likely to cut her throat or choke her.

He also says that the short window of time that it occurred shows to him that somebody's angry, that someone was hiding in the car. He also thinks that it was not a random act and that the killer may be known to her.

Interesting..will try to post that video when it's available.

 

[EnvoyDriver61]

Interesting comment about a female.

Personally, I'd research the friend(s) who weren't home that she went to visit. I would hope they have an airtight alibi. Since the area she moved around in was rather small (she lived a mile from where she was born), it would seem strange to try to visit a friend at 2:30, the friend is gone, and it takes her 30 minutes to go to the nail salon. If the friend was also local, that is a lot of time really.

Second, in one of the newspapers that had the video, someone wrote a comment that their wife's aunt had spoken with Vanessa's mother and had confirmed that the injuries were somewhat disfiguring in nature (the commenter didn't provide any other details since the police hadn't released that fact) and disfiguring was a type of revenge in certain Vietnamese enclaves.

Finally, I offer this picture. It is difficult to tell what is reflection and admittedly you have to blow it up pretty much. The details might just be what we want to see. Anyway, the area outlined in black might be construed as someone sitting in the passenger seat as she leaves who is wearing shorts or a skirt. It can be construed as bare knees, IMO.

 

[panthera]

I just saw a piece on the local news here, it's not on NBC4 video (http://www.nbcwashington.com/) yet, but will try to post it later. Basically they interviewed a former Montgomery Co, MD police investigator and he said, "If I was working the case, I'd be focusing on females right now."

He says the fact she was stabbed and the rage involved has female overtones and that women tend to use knives and that a man doesn't have to use as much force and wouldn't have to "stab her that many times" and would be more likely to cut her throat or choke her.

He also says that the short window of time that it occurred shows to him that somebody's angry, that someone was hiding in the car. He also thinks that it was not a random act and that the killer may be known to her.

Interesting..will try to post that video when it's available.

I don't remember seeing anything that detailed Vanessa's stab wounds, such as how many and how deep they were. I do agree if there are many shallow wounds (such as from someone with not much upper body strength) that the perp could be female. I also think it is very possible the perp is someone Vanessa knew and could have let into her car, but on the other hand, her stop at that mall seemed to be rather unplanned and who would know she was going to be there? :waitasec: MOO

 

[joijoi12]

Her's the article that summarizes the video that I referred to. The video is within the article:

http://www.nbcwashington.com/news/local-beat/An-Expert-Look-at-the-Vanessa-Pham-Case-98877849.html

Here's the video on it's own:
http://www.nbcwashington.com/news/l...Into_Vanessa_Pham_s_Murder_Washington_DC.html

 

[Lovejac]

Her's the article that summarizes the video that I referred to. The video is within the article:

http://www.nbcwashington.com/news/local-beat/An-Expert-Look-at-the-Vanessa-Pham-Case-98877849.html

Here's the video on it's own:
http://www.nbcwashington.com/news/l...Into_Vanessa_Pham_s_Murder_Washington_DC.html

GREAT articles and video. Thank you so much for finding and posting.

It's interesting that the retired detective noticed how much time it took for her to turn out of the parking lot.

 

[crymesolver]

Here a couple Northern Virginia articles regarding sexual assaults. Rony Herrera Deleon was arrested today for multiple violent sex crimes and he lives very close to these crimes, including only a few miles from where Vanessa Pham was killed, and he also bears some resemblance to a sketch from a September 2005 attack. I think he is at least worth a run of the DNA.




http://www2.insidenova.com/isn/news/local/article/a_killer_among_us/61090/


http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/07/27/AR2010072705498.html

 

[Harmony 2]

Police: Vanessa Pham's Unknown Killer a 'Threat' to Public Safety
By Natalie Bedell
Wednesday, July 28 2010 06:36:20 PM
No Suspects 1 Month After Slaying of F.C. Woman, 19

Gotthardt confirmed there is no video coverage of Pham parking, exiting or reentering her vehicle, and that the less than three minutes of surveillance video released to the public earlier this month is all the footage there is.

http://www.fcnp.com/news/7007-police-vanessa-phams-unknown-killer-a-threat-to-public-safety.html

 

[Soulmagent]

I am really concerned about this being the RT 29 stalker. Really.

If this was an attempt at an abduction and she was pulled off the over by someone like how the RT29 Stalker pulled his victims over he would have only had a few minutes before Vanessa knew she was in trouble it also would explain why it was only a few minutes.

 

[Belinda]

Quote:
Gotthardt confirmed there is no video coverage of Pham parking, exiting or reentering her vehicle, and that the less than three minutes of surveillance video released to the public earlier this month is all the footage there is.

http://www.fcnp.com/news/7007-police...ic-safety.html

I wonder if this could be a red herring to give the killer a sense of safety?