Found Deceased IA - Elizabeth Collins, 8, & Lyric Cook, 10, Evansdale, 13 July 2012 - #37

[Grainne Dhu]

I've been musing over some things in the last few days.

What do various theories of the crime say about the perpetrator? Since it doesn't seem as though there is any firm indication to point towards one theory as being correct (except to note that the perp obviously had knowledge of both Meyer's Lake and Seven Bridges Park), perhaps it would be helpful to go over each theory of the crime and come up with a profile based on that theory.

Does this seem useful to anyone else?

 

[Marilynilpa]

I've been musing over some things in the last few days.

What do various theories of the crime say about the perpetrator? Since it doesn't seem as though there is any firm indication to point towards one theory as being correct (except to note that the perp obviously had knowledge of both Meyer's Lake and Seven Bridges Park), perhaps it would be helpful to go over each theory of the crime and come up with a profile based on that theory.

Does this seem useful to anyone else?

Seems helpful to me.

I believe one or both of the girls knew their attacker, if only in a peripheral way. I feel this was planned rather than a crime of opportunity. And while there may have been a sexual element to the abductions, I think the primary motive was not sexual. I believe the motive was financial and/or retaliatory. Given the history of drugs in poor Lyric's family, I can't help wondering how that might factor into this crime. Although the girls were on Elizabeth's "turf," I think Lyric's frequent trips to the Collins home make her as likely a target as her cousin.

Given my theory, I think the perp (or perps) would be non-threatening to the girls, possibly a family friend or authority figure. He would be someone who knew Evansdale, possibly a current or past resident, or someone with frequent business in the area. IMO, while he may seem friendly, few people really know him.

I am not that good at profiling, so hopefully others can weigh in!

 

[Patience]

Organizers hope event brings new light to Evansdale cousins case

http://www.kwwl.com/story/29514685/...nt-brings-new-light-to-evansdale-cousins-case
The ride is this Saturday and begins at 11 a.m., starting at Lofty's Lounge in Evansdale.

 

[Grainne Dhu]

Seems helpful to me.

I believe one or both of the girls knew their attacker, if only in a peripheral way. I feel this was planned rather than a crime of opportunity. And while there may have been a sexual element to the abductions, I think the primary motive was not sexual. I believe the motive was financial and/or retaliatory. Given the history of drugs in poor Lyric's family, I can't help wondering how that might factor into this crime. Although the girls were on Elizabeth's "turf," I think Lyric's frequent trips to the Collins home make her as likely a target as her cousin.

Given my theory, I think the perp (or perps) would be non-threatening to the girls, possibly a family friend or authority figure. He would be someone who knew Evansdale, possibly a current or past resident, or someone with frequent business in the area. IMO, while he may seem friendly, few people really know him.

I am not that good at profiling, so hopefully others can weigh in!

Lyric did more than just visit the Collins household, she lived there for several years. Basically until Heather's heart problems began.

I think it is safe to assume that both families were asked numerous times variations on the question "can you think of anyone who might do something like this?" and either could not think of anyone or whoever they thought of was cleared. So that's like a branch in the tree of logic.

If neither family could name anyone that they thought could do such a thing, then it means the perp must be able to blend in fairly well. At least, I would think so. That's on one branch. Going further with that branch, it would mean that this person is probably capable of earning enough money that they don't stand out the way they would if they were, for instance, living in their vehicle or in one of the fours homeless shelters in the area. Which would also mean that this person can handle some type of social interaction, too. He's probably not like the kind of person who can barely put two words together. He probably has access to a white SUV but that doesn't necessarily means he owns one; it could be a work vehicle or one that he borrowed from someone for a few days. He would be the kind of guy that other people would say "but he was always so nice!" once he's caught and his dark side revealed.

The other branch would be someone who, for whatever reason, does not blend in well. Probably for reasons of being connected to selling meth but there could be more to it; maybe known to have a vengeful streak or just a 'bad vibe' to him. I think it is safe to infer that most or all of Dan and Misty's known drug connections were looked at hard and were able to give verifiable alibis. Otherwise I think that LE would be making noises about "possible drug connection." And there haven't been anything like that from either named or anonymous LE sources.

The fact that the crime had to take place sometime between 12:20 pm and 3:00 pm (at the very latest; I think it was most likely before 1 pm) made it easier for law enforcement to verify alibis, since most people are doing something other than sleeping alone at home at that time of day. So it was someone who did not have a verifiable alibi but was able to conceal his actions successfully.

 

[otto]

What bothers me the most about the SUV sitings is that they waited to long to bring this to the attention of the public. If even just one of those sitings had been released to the public early on its possible this vehicle would have been found by now.

Wasn't the problem that the witnesses did not come forward with the information for a long time? Didn't they assume that someone else had reported it, so they didn't call it in?

 

[otto]

Are we including the latest information from police where they determined that the person responsible for the murders is very familiar with Seven Bridges Park? That seems to be the one fact that came out of the February brainstorming team regarding the murders. If it's someone that is known to either family, then they need to think back to every single person they know who ever mentioned the park and report them to investigators. If they have done that, and each person was eliminated, then wouldn't police widen the circle and look at people that do not know either family?

If the family knew of anyone that knew of the park and drove the type of vehicle that was spotted at Maiden Lane, wouldn't those people be eliminated after three years? ... perhaps there is a good person of interest, but there isn't enough evidence.

 

[coralynne]

What kind of vehicles do the park rangers there drive? Could it be a white SUV? That perp would have knowledge of the area, and access to a vehicle that would blend in, if in fact they use white SUVs

 

[Grainne Dhu]

Are we including the latest information from police where they determined that the person responsible for the murders is very familiar with Seven Bridges Park? That seems to be the one fact that came out of the February brainstorming team regarding the murders. If it's someone that is known to either family, then they need to think back to every single person they know who ever mentioned the park and report them to investigators. If they have done that, and each person was eliminated, then wouldn't police widen the circle and look at people that do not know either family?

If the family knew of anyone that knew of the park and drove the type of vehicle that was spotted at Maiden Lane, wouldn't those people be eliminated after three years? ... perhaps there is a good person of interest, but there isn't enough evidence.

In Iowa, we have a certain way of communicating things via the traditional media.

As an example, look at the difference between the media stories about the Evelyn Miller case and our two cousins. Without coming out and calling Casey Frederiksen a person of interest, LE made it clear that there was no one else on the radar.

In this case, there haven't been any detectable hints, at least by me, that LE has anyone in particular in mind.

I'm leaning towards neither family having a clue as to who did this, whether they were able to come up with any names or not.

 

[Grainne Dhu]

What kind of vehicles do the park rangers there drive? Could it be a white SUV? That perp would have knowledge of the area, and access to a vehicle that would blend in, if in fact they use white SUVs

There are no park rangers assigned to Seven Bridges Park. Any maintenance done there is done by the county, on an as-needed and as-we-have-the-time basis. In most counties in Iowa, county maintenance vehicles are as close to blaze orange as they can get in order to make the vehicles more visible to other drivers.

Calling it a park makes it sound like there are actual park-like amenities there. There aren't. It's a patch of woods with a river running through it and that's about it. I'd be surprised if they average even one visitor a day over a years' time. The only times they probably get more visitors than that is deer season (it's not good pheasant habitat) but even that would be small parties and not on a daily basis.

I think what it would be called in other states would be something like a wildlife preserve or a woodlands preserve.

In Iowa (and, I believe, most of the country) the commonest owners of white vans and SUVs are businesses.

Ha, my yard guy drives a white Suburban with a little trailer for his mower. I should ask him what he was doing 13 July 2012. (just kidding since we live in central Iowa, more than 90 miles away)

 

[otto]

In Iowa, we have a certain way of communicating things via the traditional media.

As an example, look at the difference between the media stories about the Evelyn Miller case and our two cousins. Without coming out and calling Casey Frederiksen a person of interest, LE made it clear that there was no one else on the radar.

In this case, there haven't been any detectable hints that LE has anyone in particular in mind.

I'm leaning towards neither family having a clue as to who did this, whether they were able to come up with any names or not.

Casey here, Casey there, thing 1, thing 2, it makes no difference.

As an example leading up to the weekend anniversary of the abduction and murder of Lyric Cook, and Elizabeth Collins, clearly no one has a clue

... but there is a person of interest.

 

[Grainne Dhu]

Casey here, Casey there, thing 1, thing 2, it makes no difference.

As an example leading up to the weekend anniversary of the abduction and murder of Lyric Cook, and Elizabeth Collins, clearly no one has a clue

... but there is a person of interest.

I'm not sure I understand you.

 

[Squeeze]

http://www.kwwl.com/story/29526831/2015/07/11/third-annual-memorial-ride-and-driver-draws-hundreds

Sent from my SCH-R970 using Tapatalk

 

[Squeeze]

Heather and Drew are on the Steele Report this morning.

Sent from my SCH-R970 using Tapatalk

 

[Fukiyama]

Heather and Drew are on the Steele Report this morning.

Sent from my SCH-R970 using Tapatalk

Just watched bits and pieces of this in between tennis points. (Go Fed!)

Most of it was a rehash of old stuff. Not a fan of Heather's short haircut. I didn't think she could look any more severe. I was wrong. Drew looks miserable. At the end, when he described how he spends a lot of time in bed, that certainly jived with his appearance and demeanor. Heather and Drew have had marriage counseling and are continuing to go. Good for them.

 

[dotr]

When a 10 year old girl was abducted and killed after walking a friend home a few blocks from where she lived, the parents were asked if they knew anyone who could be capable of doing it.
The mother stated in no uncertain terms that no, they did not know a single person capable of such a heinous deed, and as it turned out, the mom was right!
LE went to the homes of people in the area to take voluntary samples of dna, everyone complied except one person, who refused on the grounds it violated his privacy ect, blah, blah, blah.
You know where this is going.. yes, the respectably employed 30 ish yr. old divorced bachelor, with no record of trouble or deviance was ultimately found guilty of the abduction, rape and dismemberment of the young girl he had never seen before.
He blamed it on the he had been watching at the very moment the girl walked past his house, and he said he just impulsively grabbed her off the street and into his home. The wicked deeds were over with almost immediately.fwiw.imo.

http://murderpedia.org/male.B/b/briere-michael.htm

 

[24Roses]

Just watched bits and pieces of this in between tennis points. (Go Fed!)

Most of it was a rehash of old stuff. Not a fan of Heather's short haircut. I didn't think she could look any more severe. I was wrong. Drew looks miserable. At the end, when he described how he spends a lot of time in bed, that certainly jived with his appearance and demeanor. Heather and Drew have had marriage counseling and are continuing to go. Good for them.

I watched too. Wow; they both looked like her death is taking a toll on them. Heather has always appeared to be so strong, but I think now it is finally starting to sink in what has happened to her family over the last 3 years. I didn't catch part of what she said about counseling, but I hope she too is going. I know in the past it has always been Drew and the children, but she didn't feel she needed it. I pray everyday that they find who did this so Elizabeth and Lyric can truly rest in peace.
I'm still not sure if there was a drug connection or just coincidence. I've changed my mind quite a bit about that in the last 3 years. Right now I feel that if it was related to drugs, that whoever is responsible could of had more opportunity to kidnap and murder Lyric alone right from her grandma's house in Waterloo. However, I do feel that it could be someone who was familiar with the family's issues and took advantage of that.

 

[otto]

Regarding a person of interest, go to this Feb 2015 link and scroll down to the full 20 minute version of the press release: http://whotv.com/2015/02/03/evansdale-police-seven-bridges-wildlife-area-key-to-cousins-murder-case/

At approx. 6:15 minutes, the officer says that they do not have a single person that is a person of interest, but if you listen to the entire interview, at approx 10:23, in response to whether any specific suspects were discussed at their brainstorming session, he declines to discuss.

I suppose that when he declines to answer a question, I think the answer must be revealing of their investigation. I also keep in mind that officers will say what they think will generate the most information. If they announce that they have a person of interest, fewer people will respond to their plea for information. If they say they do not have a person of interest, more people will want to be helpful. He does make it clear that one piece of information could solve the case. If there was no person of interest, I think that one piece of information would simply take them on another journey of investigation. If they have an idea about who is responsible, but not enough evidence for an arrest, then, in my opinion, one piece of information could lead to an arrest.

 

[Grainne Dhu]

Just watched bits and pieces of this in between tennis points. (Go Fed!)

Most of it was a rehash of old stuff. Not a fan of Heather's short haircut. I didn't think she could look any more severe. I was wrong. Drew looks miserable. At the end, when he described how he spends a lot of time in bed, that certainly jived with his appearance and demeanor. Heather and Drew have had marriage counseling and are continuing to go. Good for them.

I watched both parts of the Steele report and didn't see where Drew said he was spending a lot of time in bed, so it must be some other interview. Do you happen to have a link?

I was actually relieved at the way Heather looks. Two years ago, she was so thin and looked so, well, sick both in heart and body. She looked healthier and more vibrant to me in this most recent Ron Steele interview. It was news to me that Heather had decided to go to marriage counselling with Drew; originally she wasn't going to counselling with him at all.

Drew, my heart aches for him.

I was sad to hear that Heather has had no contact with Misty; family support is really important for people who are trying to cope with addiction.

 

[Marilynilpa]

Another thing to think about in our efforts to profile a suspect, IMO, is his occupation. If he was employed, his job was one where he did not work all day in an office. It took longer than a lunch hour to abduct the girls and take them to Seven Bridges, kill them and leave their bodies (my theory) or to wherever he held them.

I thought of a delivery driver, but they are usually on a schedule and a large, unexplained block of time would be suspicious, IMO. I think the perp was unemployed, self-employed, or had the sort of job where he could set his own schedule.

If the perp did have a "traditional" job, he must have left around noon and not returned. JMO.

 

[Grainne Dhu]

Regarding a person of interest, go to this Feb 2015 link and scroll down to the full 20 minute version of the press release: http://whotv.com/2015/02/03/evansdale-police-seven-bridges-wildlife-area-key-to-cousins-murder-case/

At approx. 6:15 minutes, the officer says that they do not have a single person that is a person of interest, but if you listen to the entire interview, at approx 10:23, in response to whether any specific suspects were discussed at their brainstorming session, he declines to discuss.

I suppose that when he declines to answer a question, I think the answer must be revealing of their investigation. I also keep in mind that officers will say what they think will generate the most information. If they announce that they have a person of interest, fewer people will respond to their plea for information. If they say they do not have a person of interest, more people will want to be helpful. He does make it clear that one piece of information could solve the case. If there was no person of interest, I think that one piece of information would simply take them on another journey of investigation. If they have an idea about who is responsible, but not enough evidence for an arrest, then, in my opinion, one piece of information could lead to an arrest.

Okay, watched it.

My impression is that he was saying that they have, at times, had more than one person rise to the top of the list but none of those people could be ruled in or out. Something else he said (almost at the very end) is that they have several theories of the case but they're not disclosing how many theories they are working or what those theories are; that sounds to me like they've had multiple unconnected people that they've looked at carefully because the possible theories don't allow for a lot (or any) overlap.

I really liked that Chief Smock made several empathetic statements to the effect that they understand how difficult it would feel to phone in about a loved one, a friend or a family member and that they would be careful with that information so as not to tarnish any unconnected person's reputation. Imagine if you had a son who had, say, a minor drug conviction on his record and you strongly suspected had attended a few keggers at Seven Bridges back when he was in high school; it would be so hard and so scary to phone in your son's name even if you were certain he were innocent.

My guess, for whatever it is worth, is that the pool of people who knew about Seven Bridges before 13 July 2013 probably tops 20K. Chief Smock did confirm my early guess that it was a place used for parties and there's really only one reason to hold a party way out in the boonies like that: to accommodate underage drinkers. I think the perp planned where he was going to take the girls before he abducted them, so he probably checked it out at least once and possibly several times beforehand.