Found Deceased AL - Paighton Houston, 29, left bar with 2 men, Birmingham, 20 Dec 2019 #2

[MassGuy]

I wonder if her phone was buried with her?

It’s possible. But I tend to believe that text was sent after Paighton was already dead. I think whoever did this (if it is murder), would have wanted to make that phone disappear forever.

That body would probably be found, as it doesn’t appear it was particularly well concealed. So they may not have taken a chance with that phone.

Who the hell knows though.

 

[crhedBngr]

I wonder if her phone was buried with her?

Interesting hypothesis. Makes one wonder if that's how they found her - tracking her cellphone down.

JMVHO.

 

[everybodhi]

My daughter and her friends are similar to us back in the day. When she goes out with her girls, they stick together. If one of them runs into an old friend, or meets a new friend, they need to tell the others what their new plans are if they want to leave the group.

They would never just walk out of the bar and leave, without telling the friends they came with. It is part of the bar girl code still. IMO

I find the friend's story a bit odd. JMO

My adult daughters have a locator on me in case anything happens, I’m on the other side of the world and they know my every move.
It’s a good idea for people to use this smartphone technology with a trusted friend when on a night out and about. You can turn it off and on, at will, use it when you need it and turn it off when you get home. If you lose each other at Disneyland, just go towards the blue dot.

 

[Seattle1]

I just think the timeline seems odd. She goes out drinking with her good friend. After a very short time in the bar, she sees her friend leave with 2 strangers.

Then she herself leaves the bar, goes home to sleep, and never checks on her friend, whose car is still parked outside.

Wouldn't she text or call her friend, knowing she left with 2 unknown males---to check she is ok? I think most friends would have called before leaving the bar. She had driven PH there---and PH never said ' yo, I'm leaving and I dont need a ride home.'

The only way this would make sense to me is if this was typical behavior where they'd go out together and go home with somebody they met during their evening out.

I want to believe that this is why the workmate allegedly did not see the text from PH until Sat morning and contacted her parents around breakfast time. (I really don't think they typically split up and left bars on their own).

On the other hand, her family stated that it would be totally out of character for PH to leave the bar as described, and that PH could 'take care of herself' -- finding the SOS message strange.

I'd also like to know if PH's parents expected PH home on Friday night or if the plan was for her to stay over with the workmate.

 

[Angleterre]

Good to hear from you Inspector. In all my years I’ve never had a relative come to the medical examiners office to make an identification. What do you do in the case of a terribly decomposed victim or a drowning where identification is impossible?

Obviously if ID is impossible then yes you use DNA and (how do I put this without being too gruesome ) if badly decomposed then the mortician will do their best to work with the deceased and often only the head will be visible so that will be enough or the DCI will make a written decision in the policy book to allow a family friend to do the ID
It’s obviously not black and white as you know but each case assessed but where possible, personal ID from family and then the next best possible person if circumstances dictate that it be someone other than family, is the procedure
Each DCI and H M Coroner has autonomy so can make decisions other wise if the nature of the death is such that formal viewing is not appropriate but it has to be documented and justified and stared why the official protocol (guideline ) has not been adhered to
Good to speak with you and as I say it’s amazing how different we Police sometimes but with a common aim
Respect fellow officer

 

[Angleterre]

Nope. May "supposed to", but due to what happened and condition, a family friend in our case

I am sorry to hear that you have had to even contemplate facing such pain and yes you are right as I have explained in my further post to Falcon , if circumstances are such then it can be extended to a family friend or indeed and one that knows the deceased if the DCI takes the decision otherwise but must justify the process/procedure/decision making in the policy book

Take care and my deepest condolences to you x

 

[rsnmike]

Agreed, that’s a huge issue. Another huge issue is the way law enforcement has handled this.

If they believed the narrative that she left with these two men, I absolutely don’t see them playing it this way. Even if there was no video, there would be an effort made to identify these guys.

Thus far, we’ve heard nothing in that regard. I think there’s a reason for that. They don’t buy the story, and these two men do not exist.

But if all that is true, then this case should be that much easier to solve, given you now have suspects lying to the police. Instead things remain concealed from the public just as the camera footage inside that bar was from the beginning and still is. Let alone the complete silence regarding existence of a myriad of security footage outside of the Tin Roof. From other establishments, traffic signals/lights, and all other footage that must exist. Impossible to believe there is no footage of her and/or her group anywhere inside the bar or on the streets/parking. Why no mention? Why nothing released?

 

[Angleterre]

This surprised me. What if there's extensive decomp, or the features are not recognizable?

Obviously if that’s the case then DNA is the preferred method but in the first instance if there is someone to identify who is respectfully able to be recognised ( I am trying not to get into too much upsetting details here) then that is the first port of call

 

[MassGuy]

But if all that is true, then this case should be that much easier to solve, given you now have suspects lying to the police. Instead things remain concealed from the public just as the camera footage inside that bar was from the beginning and still is. Let alone the complete silence regarding existence of a myriad of security footage outside of the Tin Roof. From other establishments, traffic signals/lights, and all other footage that must exist. Impossible to believe there is no footage of her and/or her group anywhere inside the bar or on the streets/parking. Why no mention? Why nothing released?

They’ve said that there is no video of these men, so there is nothing to release. I don’t think these men exist in the first place.

Her body was just found, and there’s the possibility that it was found because someone fessed up to involvement in this.

If law enforcement needed help, I fully expect them to have asked for it. The fact that they didn’t, is probably an indication that they knew they were being fed a pile of BS, and they just needed time to sort it all out (search warrants, interviews, etc).

 

[Crimechick27]

Jefferson County Sheriff's Office OffenderWatch® sex offender management, mapping and email alert program

There are so many sex offenders listed around the location which is being searched today.

A different mindset than in my day. We came together, we went home together. He wants to come by for you or me, scarily fine. But I will or you will know his name. I shudder how we lived before cell phones etc.

I don’t have any female friends who would be okay with one of us leaving a bar with 2 big male strangers. And all of us would be blowing that friend’s phone up if she left like that against our advice. None of us would fall asleep with her car parked outside the house not knowing who she was with or where she was to the point of not getting a text like that until the next morning. This still makes no sense to me, and I can’t shake how unrealistic it feels-especially if this is a missing friend who rode to the bar with you. It just doesn’t add up, and I can’t buy into it. Maybe LE or MSM will release something soon which helps me believe this, but it sure hasn’t happened yet!

 

[Crimechick27]

Dbm - duplicate post

 

[evilwise]

You following the same case as the rest of us?

If it was just the lack of security camera footage, then this wouldn’t be all that complicated.

Yup, I am. I know lots of girls who have taken many risks in their lives and are no stranger to the feeling they MIGHT be in danger. 99 times out of 100 they make it out the other side so they aren't necessarily going to be in a panic the way you might expect. They've flaked on their friends and sent so many "I may need you to pick me up" texts that absolutely the proper response to radio silence is assuming all is well. I don't know that Peyton was this kind of girl and even if she was, it doesn't mean she deserved to die but they do make easier victims.

To further speculate on law enforcement's inscrutability, not just dismissing usefulness of the security footage but not naming persons of interest, not putting the screws to the coworkers and friends or whatever else people are so suspicious of - I think that they had plenty of evidence right away, probably cell phone location data. Peyton obviously took a long last ride and from the actual context of her message probably got handed off to different people at some point. That kind of thing would be complex to investigate but also well incriminating to all kinds of characters that can be pressured over time to turn on one another and eventually, soon the truth comes out.

 

[WildcatRunner]

I definitely don’t think so. I take that to mean that the body was all in one piece.

I assumed so too! But the original poster made it sound like maybe it just all needed to be present. (I'm disgusted typing that)

 

[MassGuy]

I assumed so too! But the original poster made it sound like maybe it just all needed to be present. (I'm disgusted typing that)

Yeah, I definitely disagree with the person who said that. Intact is intact; complete, and not just “all there.”

Words and definitions mean nothing, if a word means what we think it means, and the exact opposite at the same time.

Her body was not dismembered, based solely on what law enforcement said. It also defies common sense to believe that someone went to those lengths, only to bury it all in one place anyways.

It’s definitely gross, but it’s also rare on the whole, regardless.

 

[margarita25]

My adult daughters have a locator on me in case anything happens, I’m on the other side of the world and they know my every move.
It’s a good idea for people to use this smartphone technology with a trusted friend when on a night out and about. You can turn it off and on, at will, use it when you need it and turn it off when you get home. If you lose each other at Disneyland, just go towards the blue dot.

(O/T, which app, etc.? How do you implement this? Tia.)

 

[Seattle1]

It’s possible. But I tend to believe that text was sent after Paighton was already dead. I think whoever did this (if it is murder), would have wanted to make that phone disappear forever.

That body would probably be found, as it doesn’t appear it was particularly well concealed. So they may not have taken a chance with that phone.

Who the hell knows though.

I agree that PH was likely deceased when the midnight text was allegedly sent by PH to her workmate. I think the purpose of that message to workmate was to distance and distract workmate from the investigation where one could say I saw her leave willingly, I didn't know them (the men), and didn't see the message until Saturday morning. I have nothing more to add.

I also don't think P's parents or siblings bought any of it. I think the public messages her family continued to make were directed at somebody they believed was withholding information or protecting somebody. I think that person finally came forward Thursday and shared the location where to recover PH's body.

MOO

 

[proctorelites]

IMO, nobody called the family worried about Paighton. IMO, the family probably reached out to the coworker/friend and asked where Paighton was. There was never any intention of being honest right out of the gate IMO. I hope my opinion is the wrong opinion but so far it is holding up well.

 

[Seattle1]

Missing Trussville woman's body found buried in Hueytown

Jan 3, 2020

Trussville PD released the following statement:

"On 1/2/2020 Detectives with the Trussville Police Department along with investigators with the Metro Area Crime Center developed information on a possible location for the remains of Paighton Houston. That information was shared with the Birmingham Police Department and Investigators arrived on scene and discovered what appeared to be a shallow grave. Law enforcement secured the area and a search was conducted this morning (1/3/2020) in which human remains were located behind a residence on Chapel Dr. Those remains have been identified as Paighton Houston. Our thoughts and prayers are with the Houston family as they begin the grieving process.

"The Jefferson County Sheriffs Office is working the death investigation and our agency will continue to assist the JCSO."

The sheriff's office shared this statement Friday night:

"On Thursday January 2, 2020 information developed by investigators working the missing persons case of 29 year old Paighton Houston led them to a home on Chapel Drive in Hueytown. Investigators from the Birmingham Police Department, Trussville Police Department, Jefferson County Sheriff Office and Hueytown Police Department worked together to narrow down the possible location of the body of Paighton Houston. On January 3, 2020, Investigators executed a search warrant at the home and located human remains on the property. Those remains were transported to the Jefferson County Coroner’s Office and later identified as the remains of Paighton Houston. The examination is not complete and there has been no determination of the manner and cause of death. The Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office will be continuing this investigation and prosecution will be through the Bessemer Division of Jefferson County."

 

[Seattle1]

Scheduled for Saturday, 1 pm...

Houston's family is asking for volunteers to help put up yellow ribbons in her honor in Trussville on Saturday. If you would like to help, email George Harding at [email protected].

 

[Seattle1]

IMO, nobody called the family worried about Paighton. IMO, the family probably reached out to the coworker/friend and asked where Paighton was. There was never any intention of being honest right out of the gate IMO. I hope my opinion is the wrong opinion but so far it is holding up well.

Although media reporting that coworker contacted family Saturday morning, I share your opinion that family probably reached out to coworker who I think was probably wanting distance and to distract from the missing person investigation.

INFORMATION FROM THE HOUSTON FAMILY:

• Paighton went to the Tin Roof, Fri. Dec. 20 with friends from work
• Sat. Dec. 21 around breakfast time, one of the friends called Paighton’s parents and told them she left the bar with the two men “willingly” around 10:45 p.m. and that around midnight she texted and said, “IDK who I am with so if I call please answer. I feel in trouble.”
• As soon as the family heard this, Paighton’s dad and brother went to police.
• Paighton did NOT drive to the bar and left her car at a work friend’s place.
• Paighton is one of four children.
• She is 29 years old.
• Her dad said she’s like a bubble, floating around and leaving smiles on the faces of every person she passes.

Jan 3, 2020
Trussvile PD: 'Our prayers are with the Houston Family’