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

[Ghostwheel]

If he were going to dispose of her phone, I would think he could come up with somewhere better than a gully to throw it. Imoo The phone is a needle in the haystack of this case - if he can hide a victim (or 2) without the remains being found, then the phone was a very unlikely miracle to recover indeed.

This makes me more concerned about the possible methods used to dispose of this poor girl IF she has been murdered.

Looking at the foliage around that house, if RAT did this, and had discovered that the phone got left behind, or that he had the phone in is pocket or in his vehicle (just somehow still in his possession), tossing it into the woods seems like a fine idea to get rid of the phone. Who'd have thought there would be cell phone sniffing dogs in existence? (We all do, now, but the average person wouldn't know)

It is a testament to how much LE wants to find missing people when they end up finding bits and pieces of evidence in an area where it would be extremely easy to miss something. And the dogs are amazing.

 

[Heroine]

Looking at the foliage around that house, if RAT did this, and had discovered that the phone got left behind, or that he had the phone in is pocket or in his vehicle (just somehow still in his possession), tossing it into the woods seems like a fine idea to get rid of the phone. Who'd have thought there would be cell phone sniffing dogs in existence? (We all do, now, but the average person wouldn't know)

It is a testament to how much LE wants to find missing people when they end up finding bits and pieces of evidence in an area where it would be extremely easy to miss something. And the dogs are amazing.

Just speculating, but couldn't AM have thrown it there knowing that somehow they would track it and maybe she'd be found or they would at least know the last person she was with. I mean after she felt like she was in danger?

 

[blefuscu]

I think RAT was cocky (do you use that word in the US?) it means arrogant or self confident here. I think he didn't think he'd be implicated and so threw the phone in the overgrown plants on his property never thinking they'd be searched and even if they were it's so overgrown that they'd find nothing.

 

[beachlvr0810]

Haven't been on here for about a week and I think I missed thread #6 completely! When I got my alert from WDBJ7 saying her phone had been found, I couldn't get logged on to WS fast enough. I knew there would be some great sleuthing going on. I'm having a hard time believing RAT tossed AM's phone in a gully deliberately, especially if the gully is near his home. But some criminals have been known to do some stupid things that make it easier for them to be caught. And why hasn't there been any searches for the drug dealer that RAT smoked with? If its true that AM and RAT already knew each other and had chatted about weed before then how do they know she hasn't been there at his trailer before? Can a forensics team tell how old a strand of hair is or how long it's been laying around? So many questions!!!

 

[Sun48shine]

Nadine Maeser (@nadine_maeser) tweeted at 9:31 PM on Tue, Sep 03, 2013:
Tonight, I sat down with the lead investigator in the Alexis Murphy case for an EXCLUSIVE interview. Hear what he... http://t.co/QRUOIWFqZm

What did the lead investigator say?

 

[ArianeEmory]

Nadine Maeser (@nadine_maeser) tweeted at 9:31 PM on Tue, Sep 03, 2013:
Tonight, I sat down with the lead investigator in the Alexis Murphy case for an EXCLUSIVE interview. Hear what he... http://t.co/QRUOIWFqZm

What did the lead investigator say?

Going to guess nothing of import if it was teased on twitter like that.

 

[PresleySyndrome]

Going to guess nothing of import if it was teased on twitter like that.

I was about to say the same thing. I loved journalism in HS. What I was taught was: report the news. Nowadays (I'm not even 30 years old!), its teasers and ratings! Gosh!


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[jellybeanz]

Haven't been on here for about a week and I think I missed thread #6 completely! When I got my alert from WDBJ7 saying her phone had been found, I couldn't get logged on to WS fast enough. I knew there would be some great sleuthing going on. I'm having a hard time believing RAT tossed AM's phone in a gully deliberately, especially if the gully is near his home. But some criminals have been known to do some stupid things that make it easier for them to be caught. And why hasn't there been any searches for the drug dealer that RAT smoked with? If its true that AM and RAT already knew each other and had chatted about weed before then how do they know she hasn't been there at his trailer before? Can a forensics team tell how old a strand of hair is or how long it's been laying around? So many questions!!!

BBM

Yes.

 

[ArianeEmory]

I was about to say the same thing. I loved journalism in HS. What I was taught was: report the news. Nowadays (I'm not even 30 years old!), its teasers and ratings! Gosh!


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(I come from a print-newspaper background and this case has been even more irritating than most in terms of "journalism".)

 

[Sun48shine]

Nadine Maeser (@nadine_maeser) tweeted at 11:12 PM on Tue, Sep 03, 2013:
EXCLUSIVE: Lead investigator in Murphy case sets record straight http://t.co/a7nGWFeqYG

Article attached to this one.

 

[Just K]

Just another opinion on RAT keeping the phones.
He probably kept more than just the phones.
He may have buried items in some protective container.
LE may have found a boatload of evidence of his previous criminal behavior.

 

[jul1e1215]

Okay. Maybe I'm processing things wrong. I thought they (media) had said they found 4 cellphones on RAT's property. Now, saying one is AM's? Am I wrong?


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You are correct they found several cell phones, weeks ago. I imagine it took them awhile to track it back to belonging to her. They would never say for sure it was hers even if it was identified by the family. There could be another like It and they would only confirm this by doing test on it and getting info from it. As for the statement about him parking his car in c ville. LE stated that they knew he was at the gas station when she was there and he pulled out after
Her.

 

[redmeli]

I just wonder if he is really dumb enough to throw her cell phone any where near his property. Especially when you have ample time to get rid of it any where other than there. It just seems too easy to me.

But, if there WAS another guy could it have been him making it look as if RAT is guilty?

Or, maybe he threw it in the obvious place, to later say "I was framed." He was quick to plant the seed that someone else was there, in the form of Corn Row guy. He did the same thing in the SC case. I think he likes the mind games and playing the martyr for as far as it will take him. He has already crawled inside the heads of many people - us. I think he is getting a lot of satisfaction from that alone. Smart - not so sure, but very cunning and manipulative, it seems.

 

[NuSleuth]

I was reading the article in The Hook which was written October 2012 concerning RAT and the Samantha Clarke case. In the article it says he texted the cell phone which was in the possession of Samantha's mother the night Samantha disappeared.

So we know he can text and that at one time he had a phone which he could text with. Whether he currently has a cell phone or left any information (text, call) to Alexis' phone is something that is not known to the public.

Oh wow,that is creepy. How did he even know Samantha Clarke?

 

[NuSleuth]

I think her phone being found is a bad sign...not a hopeful one. JMO

I feel the same .

 

[cluciano63]

Oh wow,that is creepy. How did he even know Samantha Clarke?

He had met her at a bar, along with another man. Apparently, RT's story was something about wanting to warn her about the other guy or something. At least, this is what I recall from an article posted last month.

 

[wendiesan]

He had met her at a bar, along with another man. Apparently, RT's story was something about wanting to warn her about the other guy or something. At least, this is what I recall from an article posted last month.

Paraphrasing: The meeting at the bar, as remembered by SC's mother, involved two men younger than RAT, but who may have been friends of his. Taylor, however, claims he met SC at the bar as well.

http://www.readthehook.com/108360/l...amily-mourns-suspect-claims-police-harassment

 

[Migmuu]

He had met her at a bar, along with another man. Apparently, RT's story was something about wanting to warn her about the other guy or something. At least, this is what I recall from an article posted last month.

That reminds me of those idiots on To Catch a Predator who go to the 'sting' house with the intent of raping a child, then come face-to-face with Chris Hansen and say they were just there to warn the kid about talking to strangers online.

 

[HereIsMeAgain]

You are correct they found several cell phones, weeks ago. I imagine it took them awhile to track it back to belonging to her. They would never say for sure it was hers even if it was identified by the family. There could be another like It and they would only confirm this by doing test on it and getting info from it. As for the statement about him parking his car in c ville. LE stated that they knew he was at the gas station when she was there and he pulled out after
Her.

http://www.wjla.com/articles/2013/09/alexis-murphy-cell-phone-found-fbi-says-93540.html

The federal agency said Tuesday that it has been able to positively identify one of the phones recovered as part of the investigation as belonging to 17-year-old Alexis Murphy.

It does sound like it was one of the phones found a while ago and not just found over the past day or two

 

[4MYGUYS]

Or, maybe he threw it in the obvious place, to later say "I was framed." He was quick to plant the seed that someone else was there, in the form of Corn Row guy. He did the same thing in the SC case. I think he likes the mind games and playing the martyr for as far as it will take him. He has already crawled inside the heads of many people - us. I think he is getting a lot of satisfaction from that alone. Smart - not so sure, but very cunning and manipulative, it seems.

oh Yeah, I hear, "corn row guy" did it all over this too.
I think he is emboldened by the Samantha Clarke case, & is playing this CRG to force LE to waste a lot of precious resources on this.
In the Samantha Clarke case he walked into the Charlotte newspaper to complain of LE harassment. This time I think he directed his lawyer to put out the CRG story , something that had legal eagles shaking their heads and wondering.
I think he's manipulative and arrogant and thinks he's just taking a brief
time out in jail. I am hoping LE can keep all the evidence quiet, and do a
Chris Hannsen "SURPRISE" on him at the last minute.