AMBER ALERT WI - Jayme Closs, 13, Barron, missing after parents found shot, 15 Oct 2018 *endangered* #15

[Angleterre]

I discount this possibility only because the intruder’s cellphone would have pinged the closest tower and LE would hopefully have that information by now.

Yes but that’s not to say it’s a burner phone with no keeper details so even if it did ping off the mast , it may take them no further in solving the issue of who it belongs to in order to identify the perpetrators

 

[Moonsie]

Yes they will be able to get a list of ALL numbers that ‘pinged’ off nearby MASTS however, that’s not to say it wasn’t a burner phone with no keeper details

Can you download apps on to burner phones? tia.

 

[BlinkOfAnI]

I don’t believe the meth theory at all. Meth is cheap, meth addicts can be thieves but usually not murders. They wouldn’t be smooth criminals either.
As far as a possible BF if jaymes... I don’t believe that either. I think she is a victim of circumstance maybe?!
I’m totally boggled on the entire thing.
I wonder if James had enemies. Maybe he was difficult to get along with and pissed off the wrong person?!

I agree that meth users "wouldn't be smooth criminals". In fact quite the opposite; having no motive, strategy, or thought. I agree meth is cheap though it has gone up in price. Many addicts are not murderers but murders by those using meth at the time meth are horrific and violent.
“Once people who are on meth become psychotic, they are very dangerous,” said Dr. Alex Stalcup, who treated Haight Ashbury heroin users in the 1960s but now researches meth and works with addicts in the San Francisco Bay Area suburbs. “They’re completely bonkers; they’re nuts. We’re talking about very extreme alterations of normal brain function. Once someone becomes triggered to violence, there aren’t any limits or boundaries.”
Horrific murders tied to meth-abuse plague – The Denver Post
"Meth, which has been called the poor man’s cocaine, is extremely addicting. It gives users a feeling of euphoria and confidence, but after a short time the meth alters the addict’s brain chemistry. They become psychotic, hearing voices and hallucinating. In severe cases, like the violent murders, meth addicts have exhibited schizophrenia-like behavior."
Unspeakable Methamphetamine Crimes - Treatment Solutions

“Once people who are on meth become psychotic, they are very dangerous,” said Dr. Alex Stalcup, who researches meth and works with addicts in California. “They’re completely bonkers; they’re nuts. We’re talking about very extreme alterations of normal brain function. Once someone becomes triggered to violence, there aren’t any limits or boundaries.” (1)"

"When Ashley Key, who was asleep on the couch, awoke and confronted Miller about coming into the house uninvited, he feared getting into trouble for walking into the house. So he beat and smothered Key, according to the statement, then also killed Haarup to cover up a minor break-in." A matter of life and meth: Drug has tragic consequences

 

[debirlfan]

So it seems the best we can come up with is meth users at the wrong house breaking in to steal a cheap drug and/or whatever money/valuables they have and killing two people in the process (leaving one person missing endangered?)

This does not seem like a strong motive although meth users may act in a violent manner.

Rather than a user, I'd think it more likely to be a dealer who thought someone was cutting into his turf - or someone a dealer hired to take care of his "problem."

 

[Moonracer]

Maybe he would take the “day” off from work so he could watch the Packers. Hard to watch the game while you are at work. Why do many assume it is to nurse a hangover?
Just sayin.

This was from a co-worker, speaking of James. I do not recall their initials, but yesterday or so they were quoted in the threads. I'm on an ancient, cranky tablet and can't navigate to go get it.

 

[Mollyandme]

My initial thought was a portable scanner (which would be a handy item for a dealer or other criminal to have, in order to know where police were), but someone else mentioned scanner apps are common, so I'm not totally discounting the idea. If one person was acting as lookout, they might also have been monitoring a radio or app.

I see what you mean about a portable scanner. It wouldn't surprise me when you put it that way. It makes a lot of sense, especially if this was planned, because the perp might want to monitor LE activity while fleeing from the scene. He could have brought a portable scanner with him and no cell phone. I'm not sure what, if any tracking ability there is on this type of scanner, especially after the fact, but I find a portable scanner more likely than using an app on a phone that would have a much better chance of being tracked.

 

[KLM6]

I’m confused about the timeline. Has it been determined that he would have just gotten off work? So he would have been awake when the intruder arrived? Just wondering because your reaction to someone arriving in the middle of the night would be different if you were fast asleep and suddenly awakened vs. if you were already up.

Its been discussed, not confirmed. The only thing we have had to base it on is the friend at the funeral saying he watched football on Monday and sometimes took Tuesdays off because of hangover, so I think it is assumed he worked days. But this is not confirmed as far as I know. We dont know if he was asleep or awake. But you are right, reaction would be different.

 

[Dum-Dum Sucker]

I think it's at a double (full-size) mattress which is 53" wide vs. a twin at 39" wide. Based on height of deck railing and the woman in the video.
View attachment 153251

That's some good sleuthing there, Pommy!

 

[Jethro4WS]

Can you download apps on to burner phones? tia.

Yes.

 

[Mollyandme]

Yes they will be able to get a list of ALL numbers that ‘pinged’ off nearby MASTS however, that’s not to say it wasn’t a burner phone with no keeper details

isn't this where stingray technology comes in? it's been used in other cases to track burner phones

 

[MassGuy]

Rather than a user, I'd think it more likely to be a dealer who thought someone was cutting into his turf - or someone a dealer hired to take care of his "problem."

We don’t see that type of thing though. Drug dealers tend to kill rivals, not a husband and wife who lived a middle class existence and worked at the same place for 27 years.

It’s a stretch IMO.

 

[Angleterre]

Can you download apps on to burner phones? tia.

Yes a burner phone is just a name for a phone that has a prepaid sim , no contract and no registered owner details so that it can be used and disposed of quickly without being identified as belonging to a particular person. However, a good Detective will try to ascertain what stores within a certain radius, sells pay as you go phones and will check each outlet to see if there is CCTV and or cash register receipts for all pay as you go phones purchased within the last 28 days and work from there . A huge task that’s a lot of work but that’s what being a good old fashioned Detective is all about

 

[Mollyandme]

Yes but that’s not to say it’s a burner phone with no keeper details so even if it did ping off the mast , it may take them no further in solving the issue of who it belongs to in order to identify the perpetrators

I hate to keep harping on stingray technology but it is possible that they have used it in this case

 

[Fancierose94]

After following this since thread #12, I’ve been trying to make sense of this one. There is NOTHING in the media about either parent being involved with drugs. Like the Freeman-Bible case in OK or the Careaga case in Kitsap County, WA. So revenge? They don’t appear to be wealthy so money doesn’t appear to be likely.

So…what if one or both the parents were NOT the targets with Jayme as a collateral crime? But rather the killer was after Jayme and the parents were collateral damage. Even this seems lame. If they wanted Jayme, they could have taken her at a bus stop or watched for some time when she was home alone. Murder draws too much attention and may take more effort and the more complicated you make a project the more likely something will go wrong. Murder means LE is going to be searching for her almost immediately. A simple missing teenager and there is the possibility that LE would treat it as a run-away and thus buy time for the abductor.

Why take Jayme? A person obsessed with her? No mention of boyfriends. This might be someone secretly obsessed with her. Because if she knew of such a stalker, she might have told a friend if not her mother or father. I don’t see trafficking as such criminals like to fly under the radar with such girls as run-away’s, for one example. The murder and abduction would make this too high profile for a trafficker. Traffickers like to operate in the shadows and the murder puts too much light on the case.

If this is someone obsessed with her I do believe there is a chance she was alive for some time afterwards and may still be alive. If they wanted her dead, she would have been killed at the scene with the parents.

Then again, all this assumes logic and criminals don’t always follow logic in their actions.

I think you’re exactly right, based on what I’ve read and learned so far. I would add my suspicion that the perpetrator was one person with really good aim. The neighbors are quoted as having heard two shots from a “big gun”. I know very little about shooting but I’d imagine the killer would have had to be a good shot if they managed to kill two moving targets with two shots fired. My guess is someone formerly in the military, or perhaps a hunter.

Further, I find it intriguing that the dog was left unharmed, and presumably did not attack the intruder. I only assume the dog didn’t attack because no unidentified DNA was found at the scene, as far as civilians know. In line with this is the knowledge we have that the Closs home was “easy to miss” and the intruder had known where he was going, implying intent. My belief is that the perpetrator was at the very least familiar to this home and its residents.

Of course this is all conjecture on my part, just my opinion, and this is my first time posting so I apologize if I’m supposed to be linking sources, etc. I’m on mobile so I’m going to try to log on to a desktop version this evening.

 

[Hulamints]

I think the perps had a scanner (or a scanner app on their phone) and knew the police were on the way. For the same reason, I think they knew the earlier gunshots had raised no alarm.

I haven't seen Barron County on any of the scanner apps. If they were listening to a scanner it would have been a handheld or stereo kind. Sometimes I will listen to the scanner apps if I'm following a case. There are so many 9-1-1 hangups and now they're always going to remind me of this crime. You can listen to a handful of Police and Sheriff scanners in that area of Wisconsin. St. Croix, Ashland and Eau Claire counties have them on the apps.

 

[Emerald1328]

It's a funny thing but Genetics only recognizes 3 eye colors: Brown, Blue, and Green. " Hazel" must be decided as either blue, green or brown, usually by looking at the outer ring around the iris. ( or DNA sequencing if it's that important to someone).

I have green eyes AND I was also abducted. I never in a million years would have thought there was an possibly correlation but today's chatter about " rare green eyes" has kinda freaked me out.

OT...I have green eyes AND I was abducted too! It sounds weird to say it like that, but I guess that’s what you would technically call it. My parents were separated when I was 3 and my dad had me for visitation. All of a sudden he called my mom and said he took me back to his hometown (6 hours away and one state over) and said he wasn’t bringing me back. After a couple of days and some very intense phone calls from my grandpa (my Mom’s dad) to my dad and his parents, he finally brought me back.

 

[Moonsie]

Yes a burner phone is just a name for a phone that has a prepaid sim , no contract and no registered owner details so that it can be used and disposed of quickly without being identified as belonging to a particular person. However, a good Detective will try to ascertain what stores within a certain radius, sells pay as you go phones and will check each outlet to see if there is CCTV and or cash register receipts for all pay as you go phones purchased within the last 28 days and work from there . A huge task that’s a lot of work but that’s what being a good old fashioned Detective is all about

Ok, thank you. I just had no idea that ‘burner’ phones could be that sophisticated. I thought the point was that they had very limited functionality thus that they were cheap and could be used for a limited time and tossed. From what you are saying that is not the case.

In any event, I could see a freestanding police scanner device being used, but I doubt it.

I think the intruder either 1) had this well planned/timed, 2) never anticipated that someone would be able to make a 911 call during the attack, or 3) just got incredibly lucky. I lean towards 3.

moo.

 

[tmar]

Oh, Tmar, because this is a true crime forum, a couple of my life experiences have some relevance to what we discuss..
However, please know that I've had a marvelous, wonderful, very happy and blessed life for all my life.

I would feel so terrible if someone thought I was the " WS crier" or the " professional victim". I actually thought the earlier discussion about eye color ( green) and abduction was humorous. I guess I need to use more .
I can tell ya, if a psychopath sets his sights on a person, they are like the proverbial " sitting duck". It was simply my turn to know what pain and fear was.
I talk about this in our member forum, the JR.
Still, I want to mention my happy and very full life here so no one thinks I'm feeling sorry for myself or believes that a stalker stalks because of eye color.

My eyes are similar in colour, and thank goodness, no one wishes to stalk me: I am just not so wonderful, thank goodness.
Perhaps because of my tiny, little dog, as then they would be forced to take her for walks, with the sorrowful eyes, she uses.
I'll have to check out JR, as interested in these topics: is it Jury Room, and can anyone enter?

 

[Mollyandme]

I think you’re exactly right, based on what I’ve read and learned so far. I would add my suspicion that the perpetrator was one person with really good aim. The neighbors are quoted as having heard two shots from a “big gun”. I know very little about shooting but I’d imagine the killer would have had to be a good shot if they managed to kill two moving targets with two shots fired. My guess is someone formerly in the military, or perhaps a hunter.

Further, I find it intriguing that the dog was left unharmed, and presumably did not attack the intruder. I only assume the dog didn’t attack because no unidentified DNA was found at the scene, as far as civilians know. In line with this is the knowledge we have that the Closs home was “easy to miss” and the intruder had known where he was going, implying intent. My belief is that the perpetrator was at the very least familiar to this home and its residents.

Of course this is all conjecture on my part, just my opinion, and this is my first time posting so I apologize if I’m supposed to be linking sources, etc. I’m on mobile so I’m going to try to log on to a desktop version this evening.

I strongly agree! Great post! I think the perp had studied the house and the day to day lifestyle of the family. I think this was absolutely planned. I think former military is a good possibility and I definitely think the perp is an avid hunter. I think he has a hunting cabin somewhere and is not currently employed so he is not missed at work. I also think he's a loner that had a fixation on either Denise or Jayme. JMO, and thank you for your great post!

 

[Moonracer]

Well, just a few thoughts:

All IMO of course.

I think there should be a lot more searching going on.

I think everyone at the plant should have a trained dog smell them, to check for Jayme's scent.

I'm so sad this Halloween, because it is such an exciting time for young teens as they move from trick or treat to get togethers. And these innocent pleasures have been stolen from her. By an unwholesome person or persons.