WA - Mackenzie Cowell, 17, Wenatchee, 9 Feb 2010 - #13

[pufnstuf]

You know...it was rumored that MC's body was positioned (sitting up) with feet in water. Could this be posing...for photographs?

I haven't heard that rumor.

God, how sick is that?

 

[theissueathand]

Hello everyone, I just got back from a trip to visit my old hometown. I was able to confirm some RUMORS although they still remain RUMOR only.

*JF did indeed have his hair cut by a friend of mine on the day of MC's disappearance. She was brought a receipt to identify from that day by LE. This receipt was supposedly found in the CB house.

*JF DOES have ties to both pitcher canyon and CB. There is also a LARGE and probably not untrue rumor that he and MC had some sort of relationship beyond step-father and daughter.

*There WAS blood found in the CB house. Although it has not been named the scene of the murder, something DID happen inside.

*There was a GREY bag on her head, this was confirmed to me by someone who actually saw her body.

*MC was into drugs and did date "the mexican gang members", she apparently really LIVED with neither of her parents, but with JV who she had broken up with recently. (confirmed by three different sources)

and this is PURE speculation by my grandmother's sharp eye. During a news interview they showed LE bringing the body bag up... it appears that the body inside is curled up in a fetal position. My first thought was self defense, my grandmother said it reminds her of when she saw a dead body pulled out of a trunk after rigor had set in.

Oh and RUMOR AND SPECULATION.

Glad to be back. :woohoo:

 

[momonthego]

I'm curious about something: did she ever get into physical fights during her days in school? What kind of reputation did she have (if any) when it came to fighting?
This is where I am going with this:

Since she worked out, was in dancing, ect., she was in good shape and not easy someone to grapple with. If she'd been in a few scraps here and there (girl fights are crazy/scary!), she was also no stranger to punching and/or hair pulling/scratching.

Since the murder was up close and definitely personal, she's have to have some evidence on her (under her nails, for example, even after being in the water).

I'd say it was a male, 25-35. That's a HUGE pool of suspects though. Based on the BF's age, I assume she associated with guys who were older?

So far I'd also say the perp acted alone. What was the old saying..."Three can keep a secret as long as two are dead"

There is so much I don't know though. I might have been mistaken when I figured the dam was downriver from where she was found. Is it?

bbo

There is a dam both up river and down river.

 

[momonthego]

You know...it was rumored that MC's body was positioned (sitting up) with feet in water. Could this be posing...for photographs?

I think that rumor is false. I was told (secondhand) that the people who found her said she was lying with her feet in the water. IMO There is really nothing for her to be propped up on to be sitting up.

 

[pufnstuf]

I'm curious about something: did she ever get into physical fights during her days in school? What kind of reputation did she have (if any) when it came to fighting?
This is where I am going with this:

Since she worked out, was in dancing, ect., she was in good shape and not easy someone to grapple with. If she'd been in a few scraps here and there (girl fights are crazy/scary!), she was also no stranger to punching and/or hair pulling/scratching.

Since the murder was up close and definitely personal, she's have to have some evidence on her (under her nails, for example, even after being in the water).

I'd say it was a male, 25-35. That's a HUGE pool of suspects though. Based on the BF's age, I assume she associated with guys who were older?

So far I'd also say the perp acted alone. What was the old saying..."Three can keep a secret as long as two are dead"

There is so much I don't know though. I might have been mistaken when I figured the dam was downriver from where she was found. Is it?

The dam is upriver, I believe. Here's why I don't think that she was intended to be submerged in the river. Crescent Bar Resort is right down river from where she was placed. I think the killer put her there with her feet in the water on purpose. Possibly some kind of signature.

All I've read about her is that she was a very sweet, friendly girl. Someone on WS, though, said that she went up to a group of girls at the mall and very loudly and publicly cussed them out in defense of one of her friends.

I think she would have been a handful to the killer, IF she were conscious. Even though she was thin, she was 5'9" tall, if I remember correctly. I think that she was bludgeoned, knocked semi-conscious when the strangling began. Then when the killer wasn't certain that that would finish her off, he stabbed her for good measure, being sure he killed her.

I hope beyond hope that she had his DNA somewhere on her body when she was found, whether under her nails or in the form of a hair follicle on her clothing. SOMETHING had to be left behind.

I agree with you... if it had been more than one person, this case would already have been solved. I think it is one person, too.

Thanks for your insight.

 

[jgk10414]

I haven't heard that rumor.

God, how sick is that?

SK John Wayne Gacy would go into the woods, dig a shallow grave, dress up in sexually explicit drag, tie himself up with ropes and gags.

Then a camera he set on a tripod set on automatic would shoot pics of him.

 

[pufnstuf]

Hello everyone, I just got back from a trip to visit my old hometown. I was able to confirm some RUMORS although they still remain RUMOR only.

*JF did indeed have his hair cut by a friend of mine on the day of MC's disappearance. She was brought a receipt to identify from that day by LE. This receipt was supposedly found in the CB house.

*JF DOES have ties to both pitcher canyon and CB. There is also a LARGE and probably not untrue rumor that he and MC had some sort of relationship beyond step-father and daughter.

*There WAS blood found in the CB house. Although it has not been named the scene of the murder, something DID happen inside.

*There was a GREY bag on her head, this was confirmed to me by someone who actually saw her body.

*MC was into drugs and did date "the mexican gang members", she apparently really LIVED with neither of her parents, but with JV who she had broken up with recently. (confirmed by three different sources)

and this is PURE speculation by my grandmother's sharp eye. During a news interview they showed LE bringing the body bag up... it appears that the body inside is curled up in a fetal position. My first thought was self defense, my grandmother said it reminds her of when she saw a dead body pulled out of a trunk after rigor had set in.

Oh and RUMOR AND SPECULATION.

Glad to be back. :woohoo:

Holy sheet!

Even though rumor, all very important info!

Dear god let the forensics come back soon so we can see this killer do the perp walk! raying:

 

[momonthego]

respectfully snipped

*There was a GREY bag on her head, this was confirmed to me by someone who actually saw her body.


I was told the same. Black/dark grey plastic. Like a Hefty bag.

 

[pufnstuf]

SK John Wayne Gacy would go into the woods, dig a shallow grave, dress up in sexually explicit drag, tie himself up with ropes and gags.

Then a camera he set on a tripod set on automatic would shoot pics of him.

Not exactly the kind of guy you want to bring home to meet mama.

 

[sunhaven]

I am on Spring break this week. I've been thinking about driving through the Wenatchee area to check out some of the places that have been discussed in this forum. I have a Washington Gazeteer for a map, plus numerous refererences from this thread.

Here's my concern: I am a heavy-set white male, in my early 40's; I'd be driving alone, stopping here and there to take photos of places connected with crime scene. Since I am an unknown in the area, and Wentachee LE are a tad "jumpy", would I be setting myself up for a "visit" to the local police station?
Yes, I could prove where I was in early-mid February (Seattle, where I live), and yes, people could verify it BUT...it would be a hassle. And it would be kind of embarrassing. My co-workers might laugh at me.

Oh yeah, here's a little bit about my background: I work for the city and deal with a lot of adjudicated high school-age youth (mostly wannabe gangsters). One of the kids in our program (I can say her name now: Brittany Galindez, age 16) who I knew fairly well, was murdered last year. Her body was found in a golf course pond just North of Seattle. The murderer was found (a male, age 20) 3 days later; he was caught tagging on the side of a building. The reason he killed her?
a) She was "claiming" (saying that she was in a gang when she wasn't)
b) she was drunk that night, and threw up in his car.

So he killed her. She was strangled and stabbed, then driven to the gold course where she dumped in the water.

Back in the day, I used to work with sex-offenders between the ages of 12-17, but moved on after a couple of years... it was a freakin' disturbing line of work. I learned a lot about deviant behavior during that time though. Good Lord, what a nightmare.

I just want to get inside this killer's head...figure something out. Contribute something. Anything. Maybe that's it...for as hard as we work here, sometimes I wonder if we (my co-workers and I) are really doing an good.

do you remember what gang he (the 20-yr.old) belonged to? Thanks.

 

[sunhaven]

FYI to all: WSW is not flagged as a POI by LE in the LB case.

The reason I mentioned that possibility is that many of the folks from that town mention him as suspected by the community and he was asked to take a polygraph by LE and refused (the mention of that looked like a more offiicial document) plus his name was discussed by the media in a couple of places (including national media).

 

[sunhaven]

WSW works for the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, hence the various Washington addresses.

Again not trying to argue with you Chuck---just trying to clarify where my thoughts are coming from--------most of my friends in the same institution have not moved anywhere near the number of times he has for their Fish and Wildlife jobs-----some of his moves are within the same area----e.g. Grays Harbor county. Of course this could mean absolutely nothing because lots of people move a lot these days--------I am just throwing out the data points that make him suspicious but any one of those data points could be for normal reasons. Thanks for pointing out what you know from your sleuthing so that I can readjust my thinking and dependence upon theory---I appreciate it! :bananalama:

 

[pufnstuf]

Ok... total complete pure speculation:

I wonder when she broke up with JV? So, she breaks up with JV, possibly moves back into Moms and Dads, splitting time between each house.

Most seniors get out of school at lunch where I live, especially if they have all of their credits and the only remaining classes they need are in the morning...they answer to no one in the afternoon...up to them whether they work, goof off, go to intro college classes, whatever. Even at the hair academy where Mackenzie attended, the director said that the girls have no set hours. They finish their course at their own pace.

So, say at noon, Mackenzie leave school, comes to WC home, and who's always there but the mom's boyfriend. Maybe he even begins to schedule his work day so that he can be there when he knows that she's going to be there....

Say he does something untoward to her. She threatens to tell mom.

There's the MO right there.

But how he gets her to Crescent Bar... how does he do that?? That's what I don't get.

OK...and on the same topic...

I don't know if this was discussed before I joined WS (I joined a couple weeks after the murder). But Jack O Spillman was arrested in 1993 with a 26 year old friend for raping a woman. The woman caught a ride home from a bar with them, and JOS held the woman down while his roommate raped her. She escaped before JOS could rape her. Charges against both men were eventually dropped.

I'm not at all saying that JF was the Spokane roommate. But I am thinking that, IF JF spent any time around JOS, maybe he participated in something similar that never was reported. SOoooo many rapes go unreported...

Anyway... just thinking out loud.

 

[greencross]

Again not trying to argue with you Chuck---just trying to clarify where my thoughts are coming from--------most of my friends in the same institution have not moved anywhere near the number of times he has for their Fish and Wildlife jobs-----some of his moves are within the same area----e.g. Grays Harbor county. Of course this could mean absolutely nothing because lots of people move a lot these days--------I am just throwing out the data points that make him suspicious but any one of those data points could be for normal reasons. Thanks for pointing out what you know from your sleuthing so that I can readjust my thinking and dependence upon theory---I appreciate it! :bananalama:

When I googled WSW...it says he lived in Moses Lake which is in Grant Co in 1993 and 2006...with his job and fishing, I would say it is possible he knew the area where MC was placed. Also, he shows up in the court system for something in Grant Co. I'm just sayin'.

Do all three men...JOS, JF, and WSW have a tie to Tonasket??

 

[PaulR]

When I googled WSW...it says he lived in Moses Lake which is in Grant Co in 1993 and 2006...with his job and fishing, I would say it is possible he knew the area where MC was placed. Also, he shows up in the court system for something in Grant Co. I'm just sayin'.

IMHO someone who works for the Department of Fish & Wildlife would have known much more remote areas to dump the body, rather than on a beach.

 

[ChuckMaureen]

Bummer..they took it down. It was a well written article summarizing fbi stats on sex offenders. Check the below link.

Basically, that most convicted sex offenders do not repeat and that the majority of sex offenses are committed by perps that have never gotten caught.


http://www.flareformsexoffenderlaws.org/Myths_vs_Facts.html

ETA: Oh...found it:

http://news.discovery.com/human/arrest-in-girls-murder-highlights-sex-offender-myth.html

Excerpt from the latter link:

According to Department of Justice studies and professor David Finkelhor, director of the Crimes against Children Research Center at the University of New Hampshire, sex offenders have a lower recidivism (re-offense) rate than people convicted of other crimes (the idea that sex offenders can’t be cured, or often commit further sex offenses, is a common myth).
Jarred Harrell is a far more typical perpetrator than John Couey. It may seem counterintuitive, but the fact is that a convicted sex offender is far less likely to assault a child than a person who has never been convicted of a sex crime. The vast majority of crimes against children are committed by the child’s parents, family, or friends—not a stranger. (Though Harrell had been arrested for unrelated sex crimes, he had not been convicted and therefore did not appear on any sex offender registries.)

What the heck is the difference if the perp was or was not previously convicted? A 'convicted' perp can learn from his mistakes, i.e.: "what did I do that allowed for me to be caught and convicted?".

'First-timers' are 'green', so it might stand to reason they are more likely to make a noob mistake and be caught?

Of course, we might expect at least some 'first timers' are never caught, and might proceed beyond two or more crimes.

Given the number of 'unsolved' crimes of this nature, the 'convicted' and 'non-convicted' stats for this category are somewhat meaningless.

Specific to the MC case ... can anyone claim with certainty the perp is a 'convicted' or 'non-convicted' individual?
Stats do indicate the crime is committed by someone close to MC or at least the perp knew MC. That would be the 'conventional wisdom' in LE circles but there's always that other lesser percentage where the perp is a convicted AH and never knew MC until 2/9 ....

 

[AnotherLocal]

Nevermind!

 

[amysmom]

*JF did indeed have his hair cut by a friend of mine on the day of MC's disappearance. She was brought a receipt to identify from that day by LE. This receipt was supposedly found in the CB house.

and this is PURE speculation by my grandmother's sharp eye. During a news interview they showed LE bringing the body bag up...it appears that the body inside is curled up in a fetal position. My first thought was self defense, my grandmother said it reminds her of when she saw a dead body pulled out of a trunk after rigor had set in.

s&bbm

That receipt alone would point to JF as the killer (or accomplice) & should be more then enough to name him as a POI..It also throws the timeline off unless he went back to the scene later to finish up his biz?

Has anyone here ever seen news video of LE bringing up the body bag ? I know I haven't & don't recall anyone else bringing it up :waitasec:

 

[momonthego]

Sorry everyone, can I get a clue on how to locate the real name of WSW? I'm struggling here! :crosseyed:

 

[YOJO]

I don't know if anyone has posted this yet, or if it really matters. Wenatchee High School is a CLOSED campus. You are not allowed to leave campus for lunch period.

My Granddaughter is a senior up at Wenatchee High School. The students can leave for lunch if they are a junior or senior and they have a parents permisson slip on record in the office.