GUILTY CA - Leila Fowler, 8, murdered, 12yo charged, Valley Springs, 27 Apr 2013 - #2

[itsreenw]

I saw this post on a blog site. Keep in mind there is no way to verify if this is really from Leila's mother:

Nonmember comment from Priscilla Monday at 7:13 PM
Iam Leilas mother...yes crystal has been there for her for the past few years and she is hurting...and her 12 year old brother...the ome you people are making accusations about is my son...and it sickens me to hear anyone even utter such a horrible thing...my son and daughter were very close...from the moment I found out I was pregnant he couldnt wait..he went to every doctor appt he couldnt stop talkn about how he was havin a baby sister and how he was going to teach her things and take care of her..my son is hurting enough with the loss of his sister..why cant you peope have respect and leave the family and my son alone...

http://thestir.cafemom.com/in_the_news/155148/8yearold_leila_fowlers_murder_case?next=31#comments

 

[PoirotryInMotion]

I saw this post on a blog site. Keep in mind there is no way to verify if this is really from Leila's mother:

http://thestir.cafemom.com/in_the_news/155148/8yearold_leila_fowlers_murder_case?next=31#comments

I feel so terrible for Priscilla, and am hoping/praying that she will go to authorities with anything she might know, and soon. Her poor son's life might depend on it.

 

[SCHMAE]

I hope we get some news today. This little girl is just a doll. So heartbreaking.
Who did this to you ?

 

[wwc02]

The front door might not be facing the street, but if you exit out the front door, you are either running down the driveway to Rippon Road (where the neighbor lives) or you're running through the open space which is basically a backyard to many homes on to the other street. <snip>

The sheriff log does indicate a series of reported disturbances, including possible firearm discharge, that progress Southeast toward the Calaveras River. This progression is my inference from the log reports of that afternoon.

 

[Elley Mae]

When the intruder ran away

It sounds to me like the intruder ran away, but it doesn't give me any indication of how he exited the house - door or window.

You don't have to break a window to exit it. You just have to open it, or it has to already be open.

I'll keep looking to see if I can find anything saying what the brother said about whether the guy went out a door or a window and if so, which door or which window.

Trying to find pics of the house to see how many doors it has too, and how many windows and where.

My guess on the doors is 3.
Front Door
Back Door
Door to enter garage from the home, possibly.

 

[wwc02]

Speaking of meth...Ceres, CA is 1 hour, 9 minutes from Valley Springs. 61.8 miles. Only 61.8 miles.

Stanislaus County drug agents find 290 pounds of meth inside home
Ceres house busted off an anonymous tip
UPDATED 9:18 PM PDT May 08, 2013

>>>snip

...Agency officials say the street value of meth is about $9,000 per pound, making the drugs seized worth about $2.6 million...

...A spokesman for the (Stanislaus Drug Enforcement) agency says the bust is the largest methamphetamine seizure in its 40-year existence...

<<<...snip

Read more: http://www.kcra.com/news/stanislaus.../20071828/-/8ako4b/-/index.html#ixzz2SlvdFpTa

These guys are not tweakers. IMO. Not even.

Ceres has had a reputation for being a hub that goes back 40+ years. Surprise about the location of this bust is denial. Notice that the house was being used for storage. Plus the value of the meth. Consider the irony of states (Colorado?) that have relaxed laws on residential cultivation of MJ, but retain/enforce laws that prevent banking. Residential crime, because of predictable cash on the premise, increased. I don't have a link at this moment, but this has been in MSM.

 

[Tejas Trio]

The Union Democrat article says "The boy provided a description of the intruder to the Sheriff&#8217;s Office, which was similar to descriptions provided by two neighbors. The neighbors said they saw a man running from the area at the time, but gave two different directions".

What have we heard about/from this second neighbor. I didn't realize he or she existed--just thought the only other witness (other than brother) was the woman who recanted.

Did I miss something?

 

[The Cheese]

The Union Democrat article says "The boy provided a description of the intruder to the Sheriff’s Office, which was similar to descriptions provided by two neighbors. The neighbors said they saw a man running from the area at the time, but gave two different directions".

What have we heard about/from this second neighbor. I didn't realize he or she existed--just thought the only other witness (other than brother) was the woman who recanted.

Did I miss something?

LE talks about the witnesses in this April 29th press conference video starting at 6:23.

They say there are 3 witnesses:

1) brother

2) neighbor who saw perp run in the opposite direction

3) somebody who saw something a few days prior

I believe #2 is the woman who recanted.

Later in the video, a reporter asks about the driver of bloody guy. LE doesn't say the driver of bloody guy is a witness (I've never seen LE refer to that person as a witness), so I think witness #3 may still be viable.

 

[believe09]

Poor brother There had to be blood everywhere and no doubt the intruder left a pretty clear blood trail.

This is an unusual crime-I cant decide if little one was targeted or not to be honest.

 

[believe09]

as for local and insiders waiting to be verified-I wonder if it is permissible for you to share what you know as long as our sleuthers understand that the verification process isnt completed? I am going to ask admin.

 

[believe09]

So my guess the killer is 1. someone in the neighborhood that the dog see before, or a 2. friend of a family that come over sometimes and the dog recognize, or 3. he did Not get out of the direction of the dog.
Either way, the killer know his way out.

My vote is for 3, otherwise brother would have recognized the perp right? Or am I missing something?

I am thrilled that brother was not attacked and slaughtered as well. That is what makes this crime so unusual to me-there were two children in the house. I mean a knife wielding adult could have easily overcome both. In a way, it almost sounds like a drug induced something because when whatever mania subsided, this offender didnt kill the witness, he took off running. Thank God.

 

[mrsu]

I do not know what to believe about this one. I do know that I really, REALLY, REALLY, do not want it to be the brother.

 

[TheDuchess]

My vote is for 3, otherwise brother would have recognized the perp right? Or am I missing something?

I am thrilled that brother was not attacked and slaughtered as well. That is what makes this crime so unusual to me-there were two children in the house. I mean a knife wielding adult could have easily overcome both. In a way, it almost sounds like a drug induced something because when whatever mania subsided, this offender didnt kill the witness, he took off running. Thank God.

BBM-Many 12 year old boys are as tall or taller than many adults. I would be willing to bet that many of my son's 12 year old friends could easily take on my 51 year old husband, even with a knife. An attacker attacking a defenseless little girl would be the ultimate coward. She would be an easy target. But a healthy, 12 year old boy may look far more menacing to such an obvious coward. IMO.

 

[believe09]

Been going over the early part of Thread #1 today. I still firmly do NOT believe the 12yo did this. But there are lots of inconsistencies in the various accounts that could cause confusion when trying to decipher what actually happened. From these one could suppose 1) he chased the intruder from the home, 2) he encountered the intruder in the home, or 3) he found the intruder "when he entered" (her room? He was already IN the home...). If he saw the intruder when "he entered" her room, seems likely he'd have seen more than the intruder's back, unless the intruder left through a bedroom window. All this to say, it's no wonder we can't figure things out:

Thank you for the synopsis included in your original post. I am reading the media accounts to mean that the 12 year old was outside of the home when his sister was attacked and that he was coming in from being outside of the home when he encountered the intruder....like maybe he was playing outside or returning from a walk or something.

 

[believe09]

BBM-Many 12 year old boys are as tall or taller than many adults. I would be willing to bet that many of my son's 12 year old friends could easily take on my 51 year old husband, even with a knife. An attacker attacking a defenseless little girl would be the ultimate coward. She would be an easy target. But a healthy, 12 year old boy may look far more menacing to such an obvious coward. IMO.

Oh I understand what you are saying-but I am picturing in my minds eye a blood soaked manic adult who may have stabbed a child as many as 21 times-I think brother was very very lucky because it would have been very easy for the adult to have turned on him. I dont think that you commit a crime that heinous, with the strength and endurance needed to injure someone that many times, to suddenly become intimidated when another child shows up unexpectedly.

As some of you have mentioned, it is possible that the perp was on his way out of the home anyway.

It makes way more sense to me to believe that a stranger or even a stalker would commit this crime only if they believed she was the only person in the house.

 

[tlcya]

I am sorry, I do not have time to backtrack through thread and find the links but I did gather some regarding the 12 year old and the seeing, chasing, following debate.

Brother was inside the home in a different room from his sister. He encountered intruder (it is never suggested the intruder saw him but only that he saw intruder) as intruder was exiting the home. Boy then went to check on his sisters, found her stabbed.

A neighbor was quoted as saying the boy chased the intruder. This was not true. It was her own interpretation of information she was told by an unidentified LEO at the scene.

From all the reports with info provided straight from I am under the impression boy saw intruder, intruder did not see boy. boy did not leave the home before or after based on what LE has said so far. He was not outside the home before the stabbing, he did not give chase to the intruder.

 

[PoirotryInMotion]

The Union Democrat article says "The boy provided a description of the intruder to the Sheriff&#8217;s Office, which was similar to descriptions provided by two neighbors. The neighbors said they saw a man running from the area at the time, but gave two different directions".

What have we heard about/from this second neighbor. I didn't realize he or she existed--just thought the only other witness (other than brother) was the woman who recanted.

Did I miss something?

I think what we haven't heard is probably telling. That was an early-on article, and seems now that the article either had it wrong or that that particular neighbor's sighting has now been debunked as being relevant. Latest reports say they're focusing on the family--meaning, as I read the article, they're focusing on the witness report by the only one they believe saw the culprit.

But now investigators have turned their focus on the family. The sheriff's department is focusing on the witness account of the step-brother. He was the only person at home when she was killed.

And they've brought in more man-power to find her killer.

http://abclocal.go.com/kgo/story?id=9091986

 

[wwc02]

BBM-Many 12 year old boys are as tall or taller than many adults. I would be willing to bet that many of my son's 12 year old friends could easily take on my 51 year old husband, even with a knife. An attacker attacking a defenseless little girl would be the ultimate coward. She would be an easy target. But a healthy, 12 year old boy may look far more menacing to such an obvious coward. IMO.

Further, the intruder could be female. On the average, even more of a physical disadvantage. Sometimes. Ah...

 

[PoirotryInMotion]

I am sorry, I do not have time to backtrack through thread and find the links but I did gather some regarding the 12 year old and the seeing, chasing, following debate.

Brother was inside the home in a different room from his sister. He encountered intruder (it is never suggested the intruder saw him but only that he saw intruder) as intruder was exiting the home. Boy then went to check on his sisters, found her stabbed.

A neighbor was quoted as saying the boy chased the intruder. This was not true. It was her own interpretation of information she was told by an unidentified LEO at the scene.

From all the reports with info provided straight from I am under the impression boy saw intruder, intruder did not see boy. boy did not leave the home before or after based on what LE has said so far. He was not outside the home before the stabbing, he did not give chase to the intruder.

There were a lot of variances in the account. Besides the neighbor-quoted one you've mentioned (about the boy giving chase), there were at least these two also, mentioning his pursuit of the intruder. So I don't believe that account is necessarily rooted in that one neighbor's testimony. Here are two more articles that mentioned the chase, the first being from the lips of the Sheriff&#8217;s Office spokesman, Capt. Jim Macedo:

Written by Christina O'Haver, The Union Democrat May 01, 2013 12:30 pm

The parents were at a baseball game when their son, 12, called to tell them an intruder was in their home, Sheriff&#8217;s Office spokesman Capt. Jim Macedo said.
The boy briefly pursued the intruder, who then fled the home, Macedo said.
When he went to check on Leila, he found that she had been stabbed.
Spokesman Sgt. Chris Hewitt said dispatchers called the home on the 5000 block of
Rippon Road and spoke to the boy but declined to release details about the conversation.
Hewitt was not sure where the intruder entered the home but said there were no signs that the homicide happened in the course of a robbery or burglary.

http://www.uniondemocrat.com/News/Local-News/Hundreds-mourn

~

April 28, 2013 04:57 pm - B.J. Hansen, MML News Director

Fowler's 12-year-old brother was in the home when she was killed, and he reportedly chased off the male intruder. The boy returned home to find his sister injured, possibly from stab wounds. She later died at a nearby hospital. Captain Macedo said the 12-year old is not considered a suspect in his sister's death. Macedo says the parents were attending a community event when the incident occurred.
Macedo points out that they have taken fingerprints and DNA from the crime scene. He says that tips have come in from other counties, so different law enforcement agencies are involved with the investigation. Those agencies include the Angels Camp PD, San Joaquin County Sheriff's Office, Amador County Sheriff's Office, Tuolumne County Sheriff's Office, CHP and the California Department of Justice. The FBI has also been notified. Written by BJ Hansen

http://www.mymotherlode.com/news/local/2071946/Calaveras-Sheriffs-Office-IDs-Victim.html

For more variations on the story, here is my earlier post:

Websleuths Crime Sleuthing Community - View Single Post - ACTIVE SEARCH CA - Leila Fowler, 8, Fatally Stabbed in Valley Springs #2 --Manhunt Underway!


ETA: Here's one more account from the Sheriff&#8217;s Office (May 3) about the boy pursuing the intruder:

Leila&#8217;s 12-year-old brother called their parents, who were at a baseball game nearby, to tell them someone was inside the home on the 5600 block of Rippon Road, according to the Sheriff&#8217;s Office. The parents phoned 911 dispatchers about 12:15 p.m.

The boy briefly pursued the intruder, who then fled the home, the Sheriff&#8217;s Office said.
http://www.uniondemocrat.com/News/Local-News/Suspects-ruled-out-in-slaying

 

[Theforeigner]

It has been stated that Leila was stabbed 17 or 21 times.

If this is true, that she had that many stab wounds, and she was STILL alive when police and ambulance arrrived, then that should tell police and the profilers somthing about the killer.

Not sure exactley what...