Victim: Alexis Murphy, 17, missing from Shipman, VA, 03 August 2013 - #7

[21merc7]

If he was stalking her, with premeditation, via the net, and or physical surveillance will certainly be important to this case. However if it can be proven that he had contact with her via SM, anonymously as he believed he was, and if the content of the convo was of a certain nature, considering her age, it will be very important to this case, IMHO.
If he had the resources to look at the SM info AFTER (simply to dispose of her car), it is impossible for me to believe he would not have been looking BEFORE.

Absolutely agree.

If he looked at her internet activity after the fact, he looked at it before to get a story rolling. Trust me, if he used the internet, he found her photos and videos easily. Could have even originally been linked some of her photos via one of his friends, or his teenager. The photos would get a lot of linking and a lot of looking.

Yep, it would all be premeditation. He knows it.

He also included in his story that she did not smoke or drink at his camper. He included that so a lesser charge will not be added. (Assuming she will not be found.) That lesser charge would be contributing to the delinquency, and he knew that in advance of his story.

 

[Justice101]

you guys are ahead of me on 50% of what has been learned, but from the outside (admittedly), this one looks pretty simple. The guy looks like a TracFone kinda guy.. I just see this as an opportunity crime.

 

[Justice101]

He knew he had killed her.... saw all the publicicty around him surroundering her disappearance, then was curious and looked up info on her (probably even linked to her FB or twitter or whatever), then made up the lie. But you know, he really could have just assumed she smoked weed or didn't, doesn't matter... he made up the story to place her at his dump of a trailer AFTER he was apprehended... not when the whole world was just looking for her and when he could have come forward. He is a liar, and a bad one at that.

I just hope he somehow (miraculously) decides (or is forced into deciding) to tell the whole truth about Alexis (and any other victims).

 

[Tennlyn]

I've never used a smartphone, so this may be a dumb question. Could RAT have used Alexis's own phone to see what she'd been posting online? Is that stuff stored on the phone (like old text messages are) or do you have to connect to the Internet to see what you've posted?

 

[katinva]

I've never used a smartphone, so this may be a dumb question. Could RAT have used Alexis's own phone to see what she'd been posting online? Is that stuff stored on the phone (like old text messages are) or do you have to connect to the Internet to see what you've posted?

You are the first person to think of that but yeah he could have. The only thing is that her phone pinged on Cannery Loop not long after she left Liberty. I dont know enough about 'pinging' but I would think if he searched her phone then it would still 'ping'......which would change the last ping time.

 

[Justice101]

Doesn't ping just mean the cell towers "see" the phone to determine which one is the closest one to connect to?

I have a smart phone and you do not need to know your passwords... it's automatically stored and so just click on the shortcut and you can see everything. I still think he watched TV news or went online to see her "profile" but again, only AFTER his secret little crime became big news and curiousity came upon him.

Here is a question I just thought of to you knowledgeable people here:

Do we know when LE first talked to RAT about this Alexis disappearance? It was announced he was arrest on a Monday, 10 days after she disappeared... but did they talk to him during the week or on that preceeding weekend? My point is: Did RAT tell his story to LE then? Or only after he found out they were investigating him?

 

[4MYGUYS]

You are the first person to think of that but yeah he could have. The only thing is that her phone pinged on Cannery Loop not long after she left Liberty. I dont know enough about 'pinging' but I would think if he searched her phone then it would still 'ping'......which would change the last ping time.

I know this was talked about already, but please remind me....
So it seems Cannery Loop would then be the place where RAT abducted her, as this was the last ping? She would never turn her phone off otherwise, IMO.
My mind is boggled by the speed at which this took place, minutes after leaving Liberty........so planned, so evil.
uggghh.

 

[Just K]

That is why I believe he did something to her car.
He could have:
Stuffed a rag in her tailpipe
let air out of one or more tire
or punctured her tire.

Or he could have simply told her, at the Liberty, that he saw sparks when she pulled into the Liberty. Then he may have offered to follow and when they were close to his driveway, he may have signaled her to pull over. Then he and possibly an accomplice ambushed her.

 

[katinva]

Again not knowing enough about pinging....his house was directly across the 4 lane highway from Cannery Loop. Would his house ping the same tower? I would think it would.

link below- Friday August 09, 2013: Neighbors confirm that the FBI searched two homes and yards on Cannery Loop on Monday. Neighbors say the FBI told them that the area is where they picked up the last ping from Alexis' cell phone. The FBI says they will be taking their search to a national level. More>>>

http://www.nbc29.com/story/23086283/alexis-murphy-timeline

That link is very good for anyone trying to catch up on the case.

 

[Ixchel13]

I've never used a smartphone, so this may be a dumb question. Could RAT have used Alexis's own phone to see what she'd been posting online? Is that stuff stored on the phone (like old text messages are) or do you have to connect to the Internet to see what you've posted?

I was wondering the same thing, and if so, more evidence against him!

 

[21merc7]

That is why I believe he did something to her car.
He could have:
Stuffed a rag in her tailpipe
let air out of one or more tire
or punctured her tire.

Or he could have simply told her, at the Liberty, that he saw sparks when she pulled into the Liberty. Then he may have offered to follow and when they were close to his driveway, he may have signaled her to pull over. Then he and possibly an accomplice ambushed her.

This is the part I'm trying to figure out.

Letting air out of tire is a good one. Had that happen before, by a very bad person.

If it was punctured, LE knows. Loosened valve LE should know by now, but a good reason to pull up beside her and wave her over.

 

[Deba]

Doesn't ping just mean the cell towers "see" the phone to determine which one is the closest one to connect to?

I have a smart phone and you do not need to know your passwords... it's automatically stored and so just click on the shortcut and you can see everything. I still think he watched TV news or went online to see her "profile" but again, only AFTER his secret little crime became big news and curiousity came upon him.

Here is a question I just thought of to you knowledgeable people here:

Do we know when LE first talked to RAT about this Alexis disappearance? It was announced he was arrest on a Monday, 10 days after she disappeared... but did they talk to him during the week or on that preceeding weekend? My point is: Did RAT tell his story to LE then? Or only after he found out they were investigating him?

There was a search warrant executed at the property off Rt. 29 (where RAT lived) on August 6 (later that evening Alexis' car was found in Charlottesville). We do not know what was searched - vehicle, camper, house and grounds - or what was recovered because all affidavits and search warrants were sealed by a judge on August 7.

I would think RAT was at home while the search was being conducted on August 6 but I haven't seen confirmation either way.

Also new Thursday, WDBJ7's Nadine Maeser has learned that on August 7, Judge Leyburn Mosby signed off on a court order to seal all affidavits and search warrants pertaining to Randy Taylor's case and the address of 10506 Thomas Nelson highway.

http://www.wdbj7.com/news/local/arr...se/-/20128466/21423172/-/10ry68e/-/index.html

 

[4MYGUYS]

Again not knowing enough about pinging....his house was directly across the 4 lane highway from Cannery Loop. Would his house ping the same tower? I would think it would.

link below- Friday August 09, 2013: Neighbors confirm that the FBI searched two homes and yards on Cannery Loop on Monday. Neighbors say the FBI told them that the area is where they picked up the last ping from Alexis' cell phone. The FBI says they will be taking their search to a national level. More>>>

http://www.nbc29.com/story/23086283/alexis-murphy-timeline

That link is very good for anyone trying to catch up on the case.

Thanks Kat
From those links it was reported that the search of Cannery Loop was because of the LAST ping of her phone.

But after a google search, unless her phone was GPS equipped the accuracy of the location can be off by 1/4 to 2 miles because of lack of triangulation off of several towers. And locals have reported poor phone reception in that area. Does anyone know if her phone had GPS?

So I don't think Cannery Loop was anything more than a starting point, which didn't pan out, so later LE expanded the search when RAT became a suspect. And lo and behold RAT lived across the street. I wonder if LE even knew he lived there as the property belonged to his MIL, and he hadn't been there long, per reports.
KISS: Abduction I think was at his secluded place, and phone disabled and tossed where it was later discovered.

 

[21merc7]

Thanks Kat
From those links it was reported that the search of Cannery Loop was because of the LAST ping of her phone.

But after a google search, unless her phone was GPS equipped the accuracy of the location can be off by 1/4 to 2 miles because of lack of triangulation off of several towers. And locals have reported poor phone reception in that area. Does anyone know if her phone may/maynot have had GPS?

So I don't think Cannery Loop was anything more than a starting point, which didn't pan out, so LE expanded the search. And lo and behold RAT lived across the street. I wonder if LE even knew he lived there as the property belonged to his MIL, and he hadn't been there long, per reports.
KISS: Abduction I think was at his secluded place.

All we know is that one of the phones found in the gully was finally identified weeks later as Alexis' via Quantico.

So, searches before then would be pings, and as you said, triangulated. No knowledge to us, the public, if GPS was on or off at the time of abduction.

 

[CHERIE.T]

Sorry, but I don't think it's that complex. He did not single her out ahead of time. He may have looked at that information AFTER he disposed of her wondering where he should drop the car, but not ahead of time.

I disagree.:seeya:. I think RAT Preplanned the entire thing.

 

[BeginnersLuck]

I disagree.:seeya:. I think RAT Preplanned the entire thing.

I have mixed feelings about this. For instance, if Alexis would not have been in the vicinity would he have preyed on someone else? Another young girl?

I discount the SM theory because this was a small town atmosphere and he was known to sit in parking lots and watch people. Even if he did "by chance" see her SM accounts, if SM didn't exist he still would do what he did to her or someone else.

This IMO is a guy who can't get a woman or have a healthy relationship. He watches *advertiser censored* and fantasizes about what he can't have and will never get unless he does the unspeakable. He can't get a woman of his own age and even if he did or could have a relationship with someone his age that wouldn't satisfy his sick desires.

He doesn't have or doesn't want to spend the money on a prostitute or maybe a prostitute does not fit the picture of what he is looking for to get his "fix" so to speak.

I would be interested in seeing what *advertiser censored* videos he rented before he abducted her. Were they "teen" videos or violent rape videos?

IMO, he is also responsible for Samatha Clarkes death. He befriended these younger people and wanted to have what they had with Samatha. He knew he couldn't get her to have anything to do with him but he wanted that. So he contacted her with a story and played and lured her. He did the unspeakable.

Older men like him IMO try and friend younger people because they can manipulate them. He preys on the naive. He thinks he got away with murder at least once if not more and even had the balls to go to the media with his cry baby story.

It is no surprise to me that the FBI is all over this one.

Sex trafficking....I don't think so...

 

[4MYGUYS]

:seeya:Hi BeginnersLuck,
I appreciate your discussion about RAT. Interesting and very insightful as to the pathology at work here. Your explanation as to his befriending young people makes perfect sense. *shudder*

*advertiser censored* videos will be troubling I'm betting.

But I do think he targeted Alexis and then waited for the oppotunity. It's not to say however, that he didn't have his sights on several girls at the same time, but she became the target that evening. I lean to the other side of the fence on the SM, but IDK.
He's responsible for Samantha too, IMHO.
:jail:

 

[Curious Me]

He watches people. He knows when to blend into the background watching, more for opportunities I'd think. But it does seem like he had set his sights on SC by calling her before she disappeared. Does he have to know them first? I don't know if it had to be Alexis that day that he targeted her. How specific is he about which girl, if he sees an opportunity to ponce?

Renting the *advertiser censored* always makes me think others were involved, and then I think social sites might be
involved. It's a hard call on this case. The guy is a slippery character to pin down without further info.

The friendly mechanic act could work with or without tampering with her car, IMO.
He's one of those shape shifters, I tell you. Thinks he can wiggle out of everything.

 

[NuSleuth]

I am convinced he had some kind of prior contact with Alexis, prior to the day of her disappearance I mean. I think he'd seen her and made her a target. She's young, vivacious, very attractive, and most thrilling for RAT was that she gave him the time of day at some point. I can believe she'd approached him for pot if she saw him smoking it at the gas station one day. This is absolutely normal behavior for people who smoke it as odd as it may seem to others. After that it was set in stone... she was to be his next victim.
He subsequently went forward and planned his attack. I think Alexis walked blindly into a trap...

 

[Just K]

While looking for more info on Alexis' SM and to see if there was Geotracking on her photos, I stumbled on a very informative sight. It details the demography of her synched SM (Twitter, Instagram, Ask, Kik, Vine, etc) The sight breaks down who communicated with her and who she communicated with. There are several subpages that go into great detail as to who, when, and how the communication took place.
The sight that compiles all the data is called twtrland:
http://webcache.googleusercontent.c..._+&cd=11&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us&client=firefox-a

One page, "People that Talk to Alexis," shows exactly who had conversations with her. http://webcache.googleusercontent.c..._+&cd=11&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us&client=firefox-a

It is important to note that it shows that there were viewers who were not followers.