FL FL - Heather, 28, & Kira Radcliffe, 6, Gainesville, 9 December 2006

[Truthful Lies]

Gainesville police are asking for the public's help with this one...a very sad case indeed: http://www.gainesvillesun.com/article/20071210/NEWS/71209028/1002/NEWS

Clip: "Gainesville Police have been unable to provide any answers as to who attacked the mother and child, found inside their home on Dec. 9, 2006. The case has been described by police as a monstrous and chilling crime. Heather Radcliffe had been shot to death and possibly sexually battered. Her daughter tried to phone for help, was choked and left to die inside the home that was set ablaze."

Anyone interested in working with me on this one? I'm here in Gainesville.

 

[opme]

i'll be happy to help out.. though I am not nearly s adept as many here..
I dotn know whether therehave just been so many or if I missed this story but I dont recall this one.. What a shame sounds like the Mom was doing her best to better her self and take care of her daughter.. she must have been terrified knowing her daughter was home. And the little girl.. how sad that she should die trying to save her mom.. I am so sorry that they lost their battle that day and that the family has not yet found any peace or more importantly justice for mother and daughter.

 

[Truthful Lies]

Thanks so much, opme!

I've looked for any sort of online footprints from Heather...can't really find much. I've e-mailed the detective on the case and asked if there's any other information we can know.

I'd like to know the names of the suspects...why can't we know them? Gainesville is a small enough town that you can find friends in common..especially in a specific industry....we just need to know what sort of work these suspects do. Would like to know where her family is located. I did find a bulletin from a church here that said they were members of a church in St. Augustine.

I'm wondering if that's where Heather was originally from? I haven't heard anything back from LE...but I feel like we need some more details to even start. From the article...brother is in Durham, N.C. I'll actually be up there in a week...wonder if she went to high school there?

Mapped the location...very close to me...spoke to my co-worker who's lived near that area for 15 years or so. She said there's a lot of construction going on in that area...and that there was a year ago, as well. That's interesting. Could it have been a construction worker who had been watching her?

Why are they withholding the suspect's names? They NEED some pressure put on them by people that know them. Why are their lives immune from public scrutiny? If we knew who they were....we could possibly find out a lot more.

 

[Truthful Lies]

Read another article with a lot more information: http://www.gainesville.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20061211/LOCAL/612110318

Says Heather was an arborist and worked for Gator Tree Service (long time). Would mean she was around construction workers and that type, I would think. Quote from the owner of the business: "It made her stand out in a crowd of gruff, old men"

Seems her dad is a professor here at UF - I wonder if he could add anything to help..Will send him an e-mail and invite him to this forum.

A neighbor saw something: "She reported seeing an unidentified man run from the scene with something in his hand"

Prior trouble: "Several months ago, Heather Radcliffe told a friend that her tires had been slashed, said the friend, who declined to be identified because of safety concerns." Who was bothering Heather?????

 

[believe09]

Thanks so much, opme!

I've looked for any sort of online footprints from Heather...can't really find much. I've e-mailed the detective on the case and asked if there's any other information we can know.

I'd like to know the names of the suspects...why can't we know them? Gainesville is a small enough town that you can find friends in common..especially in a specific industry....we just need to know what sort of work these suspects do. Would like to know where her family is located. I did find a bulletin from a church here that said they were members of a church in St. Augustine.

I'm wondering if that's where Heather was originally from? I haven't heard anything back from LE...but I feel like we need some more details to even start. From the article...brother is in Durham, N.C. I'll actually be up there in a week...wonder if she went to high school there?

Mapped the location...very close to me...spoke to my co-worker who's lived near that area for 15 years or so. She said there's a lot of construction going on in that area...and that there was a year ago, as well. That's interesting. Could it have been a construction worker who had been watching her?

Why are they withholding the suspect's names? They NEED some pressure put on them by people that know them. Why are their lives immune from public scrutiny? If we knew who they were....we could possibly find out a lot more.

I was looking to see if this fit a pattern of crimes either in the surrounding area or the state. I think you make a good case for it being perhaps some kind of transient worker in that there is not much physical evidence I guess...choking the child and setting fire to the scene...wonder if the perp hung around to watch and see what happened, or just lit out???

 

[Truthful Lies]

In the first article has a run-down of crimes that could be related....I don't see anything else that is terribly similar. Have you? Maybe we should dig deeper...not just for murders. Perhaps that's not his usual MO. There were a series of sexual assaults recently..I'd say last year..but I can't remember the time frame. Was targeting women jogging. I don't think they ever caught them.

There is a large homeless population here, but not in her area.

I'm not sure about a transient worker...we don't get a ton of those here. I think it's someone that still lives here. Could the perp not have known about Kira? Heather wouldn't have been wearing a wedding ring...so let's just say if this person had been observing her only at work, might not have known.

It doesn't seem like it was a very planned crime...Kira did try to make a phone call. (Since the police profilers believe it is a male, as well as the neighbor, I will use he.) If this was planned well in advance, he would have not let Kira have the opportunity to use the phone. Someone that knew them would have known Kira was a capable little girl. Just a thought.

 

[Truthful Lies]

One more question I have: I wonder what kind of fire accelerant was used. If it was gas...tree cutting services use gas for some of their machines. Just another idea. The person wouldn't have had to buy gas and is thus more untraceable. Could they get a forensic signature on the gas? See where it came from?

 

[MeoW333]

It sounds like whoever slashed her tires may be responsible for the murders also. The person was probably stalking her, growing bolder from the tire slashing first and then to murder. Hopefully she told her friend the name of the person who she thought slashed the tires, so LE can check into that. I would think, also, that it would be likely the person has a prison record. That would explain setting the house on fire to get rid of any dna or prints they may have left, especially if they're already on file.
I wonder if it was someone who knew her through her work, and was jealous of a woman exceeding so well at the job..
If she was raped, as she was found partially nude, then i would say that it was done as a power trip by the murderer..

 

[MeoW333]

A lot of people fill up gas cans at stations for off roading vehicles (atvs, quads, dirt bikes); if they could find out what type and then figure out which gas station and if the person used a credit card to buy it around that time..
I also wondered if she did have a dog, did it try and protect her and bite the murderer? A neighbor saw a man running from her house with something in his hand; was it in his hand, or maybe a cloth wrapped around his hand? I wonder if anyone had dog bites that she worked with or around the area.. Usually a dog will do all it can to protect its' owners.

 

[Truthful Lies]

Could the assault be staged to detract attention away from the real motive? I find it odd that the article says that it was a "possible" sexual assault...do they not know?

Great idea with the fire, MeoW. He probably needed to get rid of any fingerprints or DNA that was on file.

The power trip would be explained if he was jealous or intimidated by Heather.

 

[Filly]

TL, you can look on Heather's Myspace. Sometimes those things are telling although hers has only two friends. Also, you can usall the different search functions. It looks like she may have lived in Tampa for a little bit. God Bless her and what a beautiful little girl. That's all too sad.

 

[Truthful Lies]

A lot of people fill up gas cans at stations for off roading vehicles (atvs, quads, dirt bikes); if they could find out what type and then figure out which gas station and if the person used a credit card to buy it around that time..
I also wondered if she did have a dog, did it try and protect her and bite the murderer? A neighbor saw a man running from her house with something in his hand; was it in his hand, or maybe a cloth wrapped around his hand? I wonder if anyone had dog bites that she worked with or around the area.. Usually a dog will do all it can to protect its' owners.

Another great idea about the hand..man! Thanks, MeoW!! Glad to have you here.

Article said the dog was found in the study...Heather in the back bedroom and Kira near the front....the dog would have been with either Heather or Kira if it wasn't neutrialized before-hand.

Even if the person was in the house as a guest (which I find unlikely), the dog would have come running if Heather/Kira screamed, I'm sure. The dog might have been killed first.

 

[Truthful Lies]

TL, you can look on Heather's Myspace. Sometimes those things are telling although hers has only two friends. Also, you can usall the different search functions. It looks like she may have lived in Tampa for a little bit. God Bless her and what a beautiful little girl. That's all too sad.

Filly, thank you. I haven't had a chance to look at her myspace yet (work restrictions). Do you mind posting the link for us?

 

[believe09]

Could the assault be staged to detract attention away from the real motive? I find it odd that the article says that it was a "possible" sexual assault...do they not know?

Great idea with the fire, MeoW. He probably needed to get rid of any fingerprints or DNA that was on file.

The power trip would be explained if he was jealous or intimidated by Heather.

My guess was there was a presumption, but a condom was used...or she was posed perhaps. Or maybe the perp was interrupted by Kira.

 

[Truthful Lies]

I must have missed where they found a condom? Where did you find that? That would indicate to me that the perp's DNA was on file, perhaps for another rape. Spoke to some other people...apparently there is a VERY bad neighborhood nearby Heather's house called Glenn Manor.

I would also like to thank everyone who has responded so far....it's really great and I'm grateful for your help.

If anyone else is just lurking, please jump in and give us your thoughts...I know we can make a difference in this case! Much appreciation to all.

 

[MeoW333]

Thank you, Truthful.. dogs are very intuitive and protective, mine is a big mush, yet if she senses something not right she will get protective until i let her know it's okay. She's also has an excellent judge of character and growled at my friend's boyfriend when he came into the house. (he is a terrible drunk and did and about face right out the door once she growled) my friend was in here petting her and he came in to get her to go since he wanted beer.

I don't recall reading about a condom, either. If the murderer used one, then he definitely has dna on record and didn't want it found. It seems more of a power issue than a rape, though. She was shot twice in the head and once in the left side of the chest. This guy was out to kill. I don't think it was just about a rape. For some reason he had it out for her. It's almost overkill with 3 lethal shots. 2 to the head 1 to the left side of the chest (aiming for the heart?). The rape would have been about power. I wonder if she worked with any who had prior sex offenses. The murderer despised her for some reason, and had to show his power over her (indicated by the sexual assault) otherwise i would guess he would just have killed her. Three lethal gunshots aren't necessary to kill someone, it's overboard there..

 

[Truthful Lies]

Another snippet: "The lack of information, however, is not meant to concern the community. Kameg said keeping some facts quiet is a necessary step to solving this case. What we're finding out is this individual is so highly thought of in the community, we're doing everything we possibly can," Kameg said. "We apologize we cannot give more information but we want this case, we want to solve it, we want to prosecute it."

Are they saying Heather was so highly thought of? Or their suspect? THAT bothers me. Would make sense why they didn't release the name of the suspect if they're involved in some govt. position.

http://www.news4jax.com/news/10534292/detail.html

 

[Truthful Lies]

Heather went to high school here in Gainesville from 1992-1996. I found one thing that said Gainesville High School and one with F W Buchholz High School - rival schools. Maybe she went to both. I will jump on myspace and find people who might have gone to high school with Heather and remained friends. Some of my best friends come from high school...worth a shot.

 

[nanandjim]

Many years ago, a male friend's ex-girlfriend slashed my tires and his tires when he was over at my house watching a movie. I'm wondering if there was a guy that Heather may have briefly dated and broken off the relationship much to this guy's dismay. Who knows? Maybe, she discovered something about him that caused her to abruptly end the relationship.

I'm also wondering if he even knew that she had a daughter. Heather may not have wanted to introduce anyone to her daughter unless they were very serious.

I'm assuming that robbery wasn't the motive. He was out to murder Heather. Shooting her in the heart would indicate to me that he was trying to hurt her like she had hurt him.

More than likely, Heather would tell someone about this guy, if there was one. Plus, it may be very likely that she told someone (even police) who she thought slashed her tires.

The police probably have a suspect. They just need to gather enough evidence to arrest him. They even may be following him now.

ETA: Who was Kira's father and what was the status of child support? Would he have a motive to murder the mother? If so, could he have only killed Kira because she saw his face?

 

[MeoW333]

Another snippet: "The lack of information, however, is not meant to concern the community. Kameg said keeping some facts quiet is a necessary step to solving this case. What we're finding out is this individual is so highly thought of in the community, we're doing everything we possibly can," Kameg said. "We apologize we cannot give more information but we want this case, we want to solve it, we want to prosecute it."

Are they saying Heather was so highly thought of? Or their suspect? THAT bothers me. Would make sense why they didn't release the name of the suspect if they're involved in some govt. position.

http://www.news4jax.com/news/10534292/detail.html

My guess would be that they're referring to the culprit. It's worded in present tense, instead of past tense. "is highly thought of..."
Whoever it is, knows enough to rid of all evidence with fire to cover their tracks. Would they call in Fl Dept of LE in if it was a cop who was suspected in this? Maybe the culprit is well off with $$, a community figure of some sort.