CA CA - Bob Harrod, 81, Orange County, 27 July 2009 - #10

[GrainneDhu]

I dont know my friend..the dynamics among them are unlike any I have encountered.

That's for sure.

Every time I think "now that is the oddest thing I've ever read in a case" something even odder comes up.

I'm sure another doc dump would be even more revealing... if I can make myself look.

 

[GrainneDhu]

Hello,
Been following for ages but this is my first post after signing up. My Grandpa remarried a much, much younger woman at 90 years old! You can guess how it ended.....
Yup, that's right.
She loved, cherished and cared for him in the last years of his life, our family were (and are) eternally grateful, our new Grandma is a part of our family and always will be and if he hadn't left her all his money we'd have given it to her anyway!
And inbetween building two bathrooms from scratch and renovating a third, I've been having some thoughts about 'minor bathroom repairs'. I would have set them out now but I didn't want to bore you all to tears with my first post!

Oh, if my father found someone to marry, I'd be so happy! He's not suited to living alone and I worry about him.

Please do post your ideas about bathroom repairs, I think we would all like to get some thoughts from someone with recent experience.

 

[believe09]

Hello,
Been following for ages but this is my first post after signing up. My Grandpa remarried a much, much younger woman at 90 years old! You can guess how it ended.....
Yup, that's right.
She loved, cherished and cared for him in the last years of his life, our family were (and are) eternally grateful, our new Grandma is a part of our family and always will be and if he hadn't left her all his money we'd have given it to her anyway!
And inbetween building two bathrooms from scratch and renovating a third, I've been having some thoughts about 'minor bathroom repairs'. I would have set them out now but I didn't want to bore you all to tears with my first post!

:floorlaugh: OK, you got me...

Welcome to Websleuths-I am sorry about Aunt June. I would love to know more about that story if it is not too hard to tell.

 

[zwiebel]

GraihnneDhu, my Grandpa (and wife at the time) had known his new wife for thirty years. Look out people both had known and liked, is my advice, and never let your Grandpa give up hope. Know anybody celebrated their 100th birthday and wedding anniversary in the same year? I do!
Okay, the boring stuff:
Bathroom repairs that would take all day and require more work the next day;
Tiles (overnight drying before grouting)
Painting (overnight drying)
Extensive re-plumbing of toilet/basin
Reflooring (just because it is long and complicated with fixtures already in there).
Anyway, I can't think of much more that would require a day's work and a return visit, but what REALLY gets to me is that none of those jobs are anything that any halfway decent workman could even think of leaving unfinished. The bathroom would be unusable!
With a lady in her 70s about to turn up, and a Father-in-Law I had worked for many times before liable to return at any time, I would make sure I got that finished no matter what.
And really, I know there was press interest and dogs that needed care etc, but I would have finished that work, no matter what. It seems discourteous to an elderly lady, at the very least, to not finish what you started.
I would love to know the condition of the bathroom when Fontelle moved in, because it might be possible to work back from that to see what work was done, what still needed to be done and what might have to have been purchased from the building supplies store.
Sorry, told you it was boring!

 

[Cubby]

:floorlaugh: OK, you got me...

Welcome to Websleuths-I am sorry about Aunt June. I would love to know more about that story if it is not too hard to tell.

zweibel got me too. :lol:

Welcome to WS zweibel! Always wonderful to have someone new following Mr. Harrod's case. :welcome:

 

[Cubby]

Yeah, and "Honey, you go on DTH and change the sheets, Im not gonna go because he never answered his phone." Right.

Not only did he not return when he left a note stating he had not finished the work in the house, he let his wife go alone. That's a sign of knowledge his wife's safety was not in jeaprody. How and why would JeM know that so shortly after his father in laws 'disappearance'?

 

[zwiebel]

believe09,
Sorry, I'm not exactly sure how to quote your post yet. My Aunt June ran off with the milkman one day and no-one was surprised because we all knew she was crazy....always being taken to the hospital, psychiatric institutions etc. My uncle was a lovely man and was heartbroken, showed us all the note she left. He really was lovely. Charming too. It was only after 7 years her sister said, "That doesn't look like my sister's handwriting and where is she, anyway?"
And then things started to unravel.
Here are the three quotes from my favorite uncle, to my ever loyal, ever believing Mom, that have always stuck in my mind:
"Don't worry, they won't find anything, she's run off with the milkman."
"Don't worry, it will all come out at the trial, you'll understand then."
"Don't worry, when I get out of jail I'll explain it all then and you'll understand."
And the terrible thing is, he did get out of jail and charmed his probation officer too, until he tried to kill her as well (okay, maybe the axe and the rope in the bag were just.....)
Anyway, he died of cancer and managed to sue the jail authorities for neglect and get a nice payout and live out his days in freedom and relative security.
Aunt June was stabbed at least 24 times before she was buried in her backyard. Her previous hospital visits were for broken ribs, noses, fingers, etc. Her psychiatric visits wre for....well, basically I think she was trying to escape from being beaten up.
It was only a very long time after that my Mom told me that after my aunt's disappearance, my uncle sold the house and stayed with his Mom and Dad for a few days, and that his Dad heard him pacing the floor and said "He's done away with her," and Uncle's Mom said, " No, no, don't be stupid. He would never...."
And Mom came home from visiting Uncle in jail, upset. He had told her how, when the dogs (and this was some kind of landmark case for tracker dogs here) had been searching for my aunt's body, the detective had asked my uncle to tell where she was. He had s******ed when he told my Mom the detective was standing right over my Aunt's body at the time.
I can honestly say I have looked a psychopath in the eye, taken chocolate from him, and loved him.
The nice ones are not always innocent.

 

[shefner]

Wow zwiebel....now THAT'S a tale.....

 

[zwiebel]

Yes Shefner, my charming Uncle was a tale.
And I know it was a little OT but just trying to point out why people protesting their niceness and duty boundness won't neccessarily gain my sympathy.
I'd like to know where Bob Harrod is and I would like to know what condition the bathroom was in when Fontelle moved in.

 

[zwiebel]

Duplicate post - sorry!

 

[zwiebel]

Duplicate post - sorry!

 

[GrainneDhu]

GraihnneDhu, my Grandpa (and wife at the time) had known his new wife for thirty years. Look out people both had known and liked, is my advice, and never let your Grandpa give up hope. Know anybody celebrated their 100th birthday and wedding anniversary in the same year? I do!
Okay, the boring stuff:
Bathroom repairs that would take all day and require more work the next day;
Tiles (overnight drying before grouting)
Painting (overnight drying)
Extensive re-plumbing of toilet/basin
Reflooring (just because it is long and complicated with fixtures already in there).
Anyway, I can't think of much more that would require a day's work and a return visit, but what REALLY gets to me is that none of those jobs are anything that any halfway decent workman could even think of leaving unfinished. The bathroom would be unusable!
With a lady in her 70s about to turn up, and a Father-in-Law I had worked for many times before liable to return at any time, I would make sure I got that finished no matter what.
And really, I know there was press interest and dogs that needed care etc, but I would have finished that work, no matter what. It seems discourteous to an elderly lady, at the very least, to not finish what you started.
I would love to know the condition of the bathroom when Fontelle moved in, because it might be possible to work back from that to see what work was done, what still needed to be done and what might have to have been purchased from the building supplies store.
Sorry, told you it was boring!

My grandfather married one of my grandmother's best friends and my grandmother was the one who put it into her mind after she was diagnosed with cancer.

Thinking of bathroom repairs, what if someone cracked or broke an existing toilet, either the bowl or the tank? About how long would it take for someone to replace the fixture working alone?

 

[believe09]

zwiebel-that story is a stunner. :blowkiss: you and yours have been through the worst.

Thank you very much for sharing it.

 

[zwiebel]

GrainneDhu, your Grandmother was a brave and generous person, I think.
To simply replace a toilet, sink or tank should not take more than half a day, even taking it easy. Of course if the pipework had problems too that all goes out of the window. You could work all day and still have to return for final fittings. Bathroom could not be used then though so still scratching my head how anyone could walk away from the job.

 

[cloudajo]

In the Disappeared video clip (since taken down), they briefly showed the actor playing JeM reparing a toilet (ref post on WS at link below).

Not sure what the exact repairs were, but for reference, below is a link to a video on how to replace or install a toilet, and a link to an article about the importance of understanding the dimensions when installing a toilet, such as the tank length.

http://www.websleuths.com/forums/showpost.php?p=7877989&postcount=80

How To Replace or Install a Toilet - The Home Depot - YouTube

http://www.ehow.com/info_11384197_length-average-toilet-tank.html

 

[believe09]

We have a timeline that begins at 10AM (JuM www post-dad has been missing 28 hours), or between 11AM-12PM (PB's affirmative response www post...a call that she says PPD couldnt prove existed IIRC), around 1PM (JuM media interview statement day after disappearance). Then an evolving timeline of a Home Depot visit that ranges in time from the 11-12M (see PB www post) to close to 3PM.

With such a wide range associated to the Home Depot visit, maybe there was more than 1 trip? The disappeared clip indicates via HK that Jeff was returning from somewhere when she was waiting on the front steps at least. They finished up their work and were gone a few hours later.

zwiebel's posts have me thinking about the repair work. Was it common for JeM to come and go and lolly-gag when working at his FIL house? Unless this was a major renovation of the bathroom-how long could it take? If we consider JuM's 10AM time frame, it took JeM about 5-6 hours to do whatever he was doing. If we take it from HK arrival, and PB's www statement, you are still looking at 4+ hours.

hmmm.

 

[believe09]

In the Disappeared video clip (since taken down), they briefly showed the actor playing JeM reparing a toilet (ref post on WS at link below).

Not sure what the exact repairs were, but for reference, below is a link to a video on how to replace or install a toilet, and a link to an article about the importance of understanding the dimensions when installing a toilet, such as the tank length.

http://www.websleuths.com/forums/showpost.php?p=7877989&postcount=80

How To Replace or Install a Toilet - The Home Depot - YouTube

http://www.ehow.com/info_11384197_length-average-toilet-tank.html

I wonder how well everything was working post repairs....like, was it a job well done? If he had absolutely no experience in doing any kind of work along these lines...I mean a complete novice, how long might it all take?

 

[zwiebel]

Thanks for the video link Cloudajo, now I know how American toilets differ from European ones! Your system looks far less complicated and without problems would be a really quick job! I do think that installing a toilet would be a pretty ambitious undertaking for a complete novice - disasterous if it goes wrong! Timelines aren't my thing (Mr Zwiebel just shook his head and laughed when I said the word) but am I anywhere close that the work sort of took an entire morning, part of an afternoon until early evening, then still required finishing next day? But finishing that was so unimportant that it could be left unfinished by the workman without any concern Mr Harrod would come home and be alittle upset things were not finished for his new bride?
Okay, I've just confused myself now. Mr Zwiebel was right.

 

[zwiebel]

I'm actually supposed to be making a bathroom cupboard now, but believe09 talking about coming and goings has made me think, wasn't it lucky JeM remembered to take a key? If that was me rushing around to the store, and knowing Mr Harrod was at home, I'd have ended up locked out with the CL!

 

[Cubby]

We don't know if JeM had a key or if perhaps he left the back door unlocked. For someone whose family is playing ring around the last time seen, I don't take their word for it whether he had a key or not. He may have unknown to his father in law, or who knows, he may have taken Bob's set of keys. We really don't know, as to date the keys have not been found, afaik.