FL - Somer Thompson, 7, Orange Park, 19 Oct 2009 #37

[BeanE]

So LE is encouraged to call someone a person of interest instead of a suspect in order to further question them without violating their rights?

Does this concept not bother anyone but me?

It doesn't bother me, but then I'm just kind of a steel-toed-boot-in-the-face kinda gal when it comes to these animals who hurt defenseless children.

 

[Lipin One]

Remember that her body traveled in garbage that had been loaded and unloaded twice before being found. There had to be all kinds of materials over her, so how much DNA of the perpetrator is there?

Unless the DNA is found inside her or on a protected area, I don't see how any can be retrieved, and any trace that is found and tested (like someone mentioned above) could be contradicted by a good defense attorney.

IMO

 

[Cheewawa007]

O/T

HI CHEEE! Long time no see!!!!

Well hello stranger!! Sorry I'm just now responding- I'm multi tasking (house cleaning & sneaking a peek @ the puter when I pass through).

 

[eyes4crime]

JH has more potential for being the POI/perp in this case than anyone who was pointed to before him. MHO I don't understand why he is being called the 'scapegoat' or 'fall' guy? Seems he IS the most qualified to be POI at this point.

Harrell was living in the house on Gano when Somer was murdered; on the same street Somer and other children walk to and from school each day. No job, no place to live, no friends - head filled with sex acts between children - why defend him at this point?

CHILD PORN - Harrell has been charged with 29 counts of child porn, the same kind of porn his father found 8 years ago. People turning in the computer to LE had lie detector tests and the computer was researched as to time of porn downloads and compared to JH bank transactions.

RECAP: Harrell's mind has been filled with child porn since at least 16yo, he is now 24yo. He kept his child porn in a locked tackle box. He steals from roommates, lies to police, refuses to give his DNA, lives a parasitic life by living off others, unable to keep a job due to his severe temper, is said to be a social recluse, at 24yo had a computer and cd's filled with child porn, and at the age of 24 has no reported girl friends or age appropriate relationships.

He has been named a POI in the Somer murder investigation, the reasons remain unclear but it is safe to assume the evidence has something to do with DNA.

At the very least JH will be behind bars for a very long time for kiddie porn, and at the very most, he will be dealing with murder one charges. NO ONE PERSON has surfaced with as much potential for murdering a 7yo as JH. Forensics will tell! MOO

 

[Cheewawa007]

Question, please. I've seen a number of people the past couple days putting "_______," as in this post. What does it stand for?

Sorry, I read Somer's threads pretty often, but haven't followed as closely as many of you have, and I just never noticed that before the past few days.

TIA!

IDK BeanE; maybe it's the name of a person who hasn't been mentioned by LE or the news media, so they put ___________ in place of the name or initial, so they're not in violation of "TOS".

 

[BeanE]

IDK BeanE; maybe it's the name of a person who hasn't been mentioned by LE or the news media, so they put ___________ in place of the name or initial, so they're not in violation of "TOS".

Ah I see. Thanks, Chee.

 

[eyes4crime]

Remember that her body traveled in garbage that had been loaded and unloaded twice before being found. There had to be all kinds of materials over her, so how much DNA of the perpetrator is there?

Unless the DNA is found inside her or on a protected area, I don't see how any can be retrieved, and any trace that is found and tested (like someone mentioned above) could be contradicted by a good defense attorney.

IMO

Garbage not only uploaded and loaded but compacted over and over. Just a tiny bit of DNA under Somer's nails or in a body cavity would be significant. mho

Seems that child predators are getting smarter and smarter - look at Nevaeh buried alive and encased in concrete - can't imagine DNA surviving cement.

 

[Noway]

NoWay, thank you for your wonderful cataloging of this case. You are a treasure! For the timeline, could you please add that the porn was allegedly discovered on the comp one year ago by RB's "step-son"? xxx ETA
Correction-Step son found porn around Aug. 08 per RB -http://www.news4jax.com/video/22548251/index.html

I've revised it a bit to include years and added your info.

[ame="http://websleuths.com/forums/showpost.php?p=4836297&postcount=461"]Websleuths Crime Sleuthing Community - View Single Post - Found Deceased FL- Somer Renee Thompson, Orange Park, Thread #38[/ame]


For those who do not know this ... you can bookmark a post here by right-clicking on the post number on the upper right corner of the post (my post is 461) or (for the timeline post) the link in this post.

 

[dannyodie]

dannyodie

do you have a link?

sorry no link but it seems that i remember hearing that or something likewise. I understand the process law enforcement proceed with and in cases such as this biological evidence is alway the first thing sought after and. the fact that le is already making efforts to collect dna samples from other possible donors is a clear indicator that they need someones dna for comparison, if they had no dna evidence from the crime scene, then most likely collecting dna from other sources wouldn't be needed. as far as receiving any dna from the surrounding trash, that would be at minimal. any dna material found could have been collected from within her or off of her clothing which would have been smeared in the fabric. I feel confident that le has biological evidence for comparing to someone elses. if hes going to be arrested that will only occur once he enters the state of florida since both crimes took place there. only speaking here on behalf of dna evidence since I have followed hundreds of such cases over the years with similar cases...

 

[dannyodie]

IMO it is logical in the minds of LE - before this case grows cold - to take two pertinent factors: a large amount of child pornography on a computer, and residence near where the child was last seen, and call him a POI. POI is not a suspect. It says "we are unusually interested".

If they did NOT act on this tip from Buchanan, what do you think the community would do - how would people react? First, they send the computer to the wrong places, and then finally give it a low priority, which in a ways says "child porn isn't important"....then, months later, it's brought to their attention by an outspoken man with a tale to tell which includes his own daughter being traumatized - a man who is eager to blab to the press about everything. They would be labelled inept and negligent.

SO what harm does it do the investigation to have him sitting safely in jail? They have a legitimate reason to have him incarcerated because the porn is a crime. Meanwhile, people feel better that they have SOMEBODY.

He is a "POI" but they have NOT ruled out anybody as a SUSPECT. It is a matter of semantics. One child pornographer has no more access to child pornography or children in Orange Park.

They know more about this and we can guess and have theories all we want.
The murderer has not charged.

I believe they consider him a poi at this time since he is a person that interest them since he has behaviour towards small children such as possessing child porn and the fact that he lived so close to somer only brings suspension on him as a " possible suspect"

 

[dannyodie]

theres different methods and test used for dna. one, a certain test is used to determine the presence of semen, either a wet soulution despensed onto a swab and rubbed onto a stain suspected of being semen, if the stain is semen the solution will turn the swab tip purple, a test strip is another method for this determination and turns purple as well if semen is present. collecting dna samples from someone is commonly done using a swab inside a persons mouth, the " buccal cells " from that swab are used to establish a " profile " for that dna. so if evidence is collected noted to be semen or otherwise, the profile can be determined coming from a particular doner.... so theres a wide range of collecting dna samples. blood, saliva, semen, skin cells, regardless the dna profile would be the same, provided it came from the same donor

 

[Noway]

Suspect

In criminal law, a suspect is someone who is under suspicion, often formally announced as being under investigation by law enforcement officials. Probable cause for an arrest exists when the facts and circumstances within the arresting officer's knowledge are sufficient to warrant a prudent person to believe that a suspect has committed, is committing, or is about to commit a crime.

Once a person is determined to be a prime suspect (the person believed most likely to have committed the crime), the police must be careful to give the "Miranda warnings," or or else any statements or admissions by the suspect may be excluded from evidence in trial. Once a suspect under arrest tell a law enforcement officer that he wants an attorney, all interrogation must cease, subject to certain exceptions.


Person of Interest

Unlike "suspect" and "material witness," "person of interest" has no legal definition, but generally refers to someone law enforcement authorities would like to speak with or investigate further in connection with a crime. It may be used, rather than calling the person a suspect, when they don't want their prime suspect to know they're watching him closely. Critics complain that the term has become a method for law enforcement officers to draw attention to individuals without formally accusing them.

There is concern among critics that innocent people will be tainted by being labelled a person of interest.

The use of the term increased in popularity in 1996, after investigators and reporters named Atlanta security guard Richard Jewell as potentially responsible for the Olympic Park bombing. He was later cleared and won at least hundreds of thousands of dollars in settlements due to his claim that his reputation was forever ruined.


The text in blue are links but the source is http://definitions.uslegal.com

 

[Dr.Fessel]

Here is the way I think it could have happened with JH.

Somer hid behind the tanks on Gano until her siblings went by. She then started walking home down Gano and JH was out front and she said hey where's your dog? He says well we had to tie him up in the back, do you want to pet him? He leads her back between the shed and house, he looks around and nobody is looking, puts one hand over her mouth and one around her waist and takes her in the shed.

 

[human]

Here is the way I think it could have happened with JH.

Somer hid behind the tanks on Gano until her siblings went by. She then started walking home down Gano and JH was out front and she said hey where's your dog? He says well we had to tie him up in the back, do you want to pet him? He leads her back between the shed and house, he looks around and nobody is looking, puts one hand over her mouth and one around her waist and takes her in the shed.

That scenario sounds possible, but the tanks are way before the 1080 Gano house that she spent some undetermined time with the workers, I believe.

All of this is very confusing because people have said a lot of different things a s to where she was last seen. One person even said that she was by Grove, which would put her past the JH house. The little girl McKenzie puts her at Arbor, I believe.

The person who would have driven her home said that she drives her home everyday. but that day.

Then we have reports that Somer petted the dog on her way home, which we have to assume was gone 2 weeks before that fateful day.

None of it adds up.

 

[eyes4crime]

2008
August: Rod Buchan's stepson finds porn on Jarred's computer (see video, 5:46 mark). Source

2009
August 4: Roommates kick JH out. Source

August 9: Roommates find porn on computer. Source

August 10: Roommates bring computer to Jacksonville Sheriffs Office. Source

August 13: Computer turned over to CCSO. Source

September 25: Computer turned over to SAG Cyber Crimes Unit. Source

October 19: Somer Thompson disappears. Source

October 21: Somer Thompson's body found in GA. Source

November 12: Analysis complete; SAG returns computer to CCSO (work not started until October 9; completed November 10). Source

2010
February 11: Jarred Harrell arrested in Meridian, MS, on child porn charges. Source

February 18: Florida Governor Charlie Crist asks Mississippi Governor to extradite Jarred Harrell. Source

February 20: Mississippi Governor Haley Barbour agrees to extradite Jarred Harrell. Source

ETA
If dates are wrong and you have a source that says differently than this, let me know. I'm trying to compile a source for each date. I've seen different dates for different entries but think is the latest.

Noway - as everyone knows, I'm crazy for time-lines...thanks!

Is there any way you could add the date Harrell was in the Gano house, date his parents moved out, and the date he moved out and in with his aunt. for some reason I can't find those dates, but I will continue to look. TIA GREAT time-line!

 

[Calliope]

And from our WS member, criminal defense attorney Richard Hornsby (rhornsby):

Actually, the "presumption of innocence" until proven guilty is not found anywhere in the U.S. Constitution (nor is the root word "innocent" - ).

In any event, it is a rule of jurisprudence that applies to the person on trial - not a person who is being pointed at by the person on trial to raise the reasonable doubt (also not mentioned anywhere in the US Constitution) that someone else may be the culprit.

If that other suspect is ever put on trial, they too would be able to then claim innocent until proven guilty and try to raise reasonable doubt that the other person did it - even though the other person was acquitted.

"Better that ten guilty persons escape than that one innocent suffer", expressed by the English jurist William Blackstone in his Commentaries on the Laws of England, published in the 1760s.

Websleuths Crime Sleuthing Community - View Single Post - Motion to Take Deposition to Perpetuate Testimony of Jill Kerley

Sounds like he's saying the same.

 

[eyes4crime]

..respectfully snipped...
....Buchanan said he was shocked to learn that Harrell's parents had moved out two weeks before Somer Thompson was reported missing, but Harrell still lived at the home....
Buchanan and his wife decided to go by that house....snipped


Around Oct 5th (Monday)- parents move out - take shed and dog

Somer disappeared Oct. 19th
Body found Oct. 21st

JH moves out and in with Aunt ????

Research shows there usually some kind of 'trigger' in a pedophile's life that may have prompted an offense...with WK, the RSO I thought may have done this, the trigger would have been the death of his long-time girlfriend, loss of a family and home to live in.

With JH the trigger could also be the loss of his family, place of living, and dog. ``abandonment``

I'm not in any way saying he's guilty, but if he is, maybe the trigger is ``abandonment``! MOO

 

[Dee10]

:waitasec: I have a question about "the shed"; I must have missed something. How do we know the shed was there when Somer went missing? Where is the shed now? I want to keep up as "the shed" is probably going into the long drawn-out garbage discussions LOL! Cause I am thinking, the parents probably moved the shed around the time they moved. BTW did they move locally? Could someone please bring me up to-date on the shed's whereabouts? TIA.

 

[dar107]

..respectfully snipped...
....Buchanan said he was shocked to learn that Harrell's parents had moved out two weeks before Somer Thompson was reported missing, but Harrell still lived at the home....
Buchanan and his wife decided to go by that house....snipped


Around Oct 5th (Monday)- parents move out - take shed and dog


Somer disappeared Oct. 19th
Body found Oct. 21st

JH moves out and in with Aunt ????

Research shows there usually some kind of 'trigger' in a pedophile's life that may have prompted an offense...with WK, the RSO I thought may have done this, the trigger would have been the death of his long-time girlfriend, loss of a family and home to live in.

With JH the trigger could also be the loss of his family, place of living, and dog. ``abandonment``

I'm not in any way saying he's guilty, but if he is, maybe the trigger is ``abandonment``! MOO

I think there is a picture of the shed taken on Gano sometime after Oct.19, then a picture of it at the Callahan home. I don't recall hearing when it was actually moved, but I will see if I can find an approximate date.


*** To correct myself, the picture of the shed on Gano is a Google street view pic, most likely taken before the 19th of October. It would be good to know if it was still there when Somer was taken. As the house was not being rented out, it would be easy for the parents to take the shed at their leisure, assuming they had a vehicle they could move it in. Does anyone know if there is any other pics that might have been taken of this home. I recall some posters were posting their pictures from the area, like Sad. Maybe this home could be in or in the background of one of these or in media somewhere.

 

[dar107]

:waitasec: I have a question about "the shed"; I must have missed something. How do we know the shed was there when Somer went missing? Where is the shed now? I want to keep up as "the shed" is probably going into the long drawn-out garbage discussions LOL! Cause I am thinking, the parents probably moved the shed around the time they moved. BTW did they move locally? Could someone please bring me up to-date on the shed's whereabouts? TIA.

If you back to post #139 here, Amandareckonwith posted some good pics of the shed at both locations. The picture at Gano is a google street view shot, so I have no idea how to know when that was taken. I thought it was a picture from after Somer went missing, oops.