IA IA - Jodi Huisentruit, 27, Anchorwoman, Mason City, 27 June 1995 #2

[Rural_PC]

https://twitter.com/KSTP/status/1413136035219873804?s=20

 

[itsrak]

https://twitter.com/KSTP/status/1413136035219873804?s=20

I've long wondered about, and have posted here before about, an inexplicable contradiction: multiple citizens had, IIUC, stated that Jodi was seen socially and/or 'dating' the seller of the Miata. The seller of the Miata is, IIUC, on record having stated that the only time he ever saw/met Jodi was when he handed her the keys, three weeks before she disappeared. Strange contradiction. And if the contradiction is real, strange that LE seemingly never got to the bottom of it, never found out who was lying and, most importantly, why.

 

[Rural_PC]

https://twitter.com/KSTP/status/1413136035219873804?s=20

I've long wondered about, and have posted here before about, an inexplicable contradiction: multiple citizens had, IIUC, stated that Jodi was seen socially and/or 'dating' the seller of the Miata. The seller of the Miata is, IIUC, on record having stated that the only time he ever saw/met Jodi was when he handed her the keys, three weeks before she disappeared. Strange contradiction. And if the contradiction is real, strange that LE seemingly never got to the bottom of it, never found out who was lying and, most importantly, why.

Definitely one of the many things that stand out in this case.

The Mason City Police handling of the case is another thing that stands out.

 

[dotr]

https://twitter.com/KSTP/status/1413136035219873804?s=20

Thanks for the update!
Investigator claims to have new information in Jodi Huisentruit case
July 8 2021

KAAL-TV
"One, I'm identifying and meeting with some new people who saw Jodi socially on the final days before her abduction," Ridge said. "And number two, learning previously unknown details regarding the purchase of her Mazda Miata. So I can tell you the last two days have been extremely productive in terms of unearthing new information."

He wouldn't say anything more, including what exactly the new information is or why it's so productive.

Meanwhile, another billboard went up in Mason City in the hope it'll turn up clues. It includes the message, "Don't sit in silence, the time to talk is now."

 

[Rural_PC]

This is the second or third time Ridge has claimed to have unearthed information that he believes pertinent to the case. I hope that he is not the grand-stander some have claimed him to be. I further hope the authorities to which he has given this information have found it useful. The pessimist in me sees a marketing campaign for future book sales. I hope sincerely that I am wrong. The owner of the car having claimed to never have met Jodi previously seemed odd to many of us. Maybe Ridge has something.

 

[itsrak]

Steve Ridge cites 'learning previously unknown details about the purchase of the Mazda Miata'. What details do we already know about Jodi's purchase of the Miata? Please add, correct as you see fit.
Details:
* The vehicle was a red 1991 Miata convertible.
* The purchase took place around 3 weeks before Jodi was apparently abducted.
* Jodi is said to have purchased it from an Osage, Iowa businessman.
* The original owner of the Mazda Miata told a CBS “48 Hours” crew that he met Jodi only once, to turn over the keys to the vehicle.
* Some people, I believe including JV, had characterized the seller as Jodi's 'boyfriend'.
* A Mason City car dealer assisted with the sale, sort of as a favor to the seller.
* Jodi had not yet gone to the courthouse and gotten title transferred to her.
* The front Iowa license plate, which looked kind of beat up and old, photographed on the vehicle just hours after Jodi disappeared, was PMP 325
https://bloximages.chicago2.vip.townnews.com/wcfcourier.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/d/08/d087bc65-f1c8-5f18-a0a6-2f73aa4584a5/5e46af65ea375.image.jpg?resize=750,470
* Jodi's mom traded the Miata to a dealer in MN in 1998.

Questions:
* How did Jodi become aware that the vehicle was available for sale? Was it advertised? Did Jodi know the seller personally?
* Was the transaction an 'arm's length' (market price) transaction or was it sold below market value as a 'favor'??
* Did Jodi sell her prior vehicle, 1988 Honda CRX? To whom?
* Was the purchase financed? By the seller? By a bank? If so, were docs found in Jodi's apt?
* Did police find in Jodi's possession the seller's vehicle title, with the part the seller is to have filled out executed, showing sales price?
* Why had Jodi after 3 weeks not yet gotten title transferred into her name?
* Did Jodi, who had written in her journal that she loved the Miata, wish she had not made the purchase?
* To whom were IA plates PMP 325 issued? The seller? Or the buyer? Was Jodi the buyer of record?
* It is said that the seller allow Jodi to keep his plates on till she got her own new plates. Is this true?
* If so, was the seller perhaps anxious to get his plates back?
* When and how did the seller get his plates back?

 

[JudgeJoe]

Steve Ridge cites 'learning previously unknown details about the purchase of the Mazda Miata'. What details do we already know about Jodi's purchase of the Miata? Please add, correct as you see fit.
Details:
* The vehicle was a red 1991 Miata convertible.
* The purchase took place around 3 weeks before Jodi was apparently abducted.
* Jodi is said to have purchased it from an Osage, Iowa businessman.
* The original owner of the Mazda Miata told a CBS “48 Hours” crew that he met Jodi only once, to turn over the keys to the vehicle.
* Some people, I believe including JV, had characterized the seller as Jodi's 'boyfriend'.
* A Mason City car dealer assisted with the sale, sort of as a favor to the seller.
* Jodi had not yet gone to the courthouse and gotten title transferred to her.
* The front Iowa license plate, which looked kind of beat up and old, photographed on the vehicle just hours after Jodi disappeared, was PMP 325
https://bloximages.chicago2.vip.townnews.com/wcfcourier.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/d/08/d087bc65-f1c8-5f18-a0a6-2f73aa4584a5/5e46af65ea375.image.jpg?resize=750,470
* Jodi's mom traded the Miata to a dealer in MN in 1998.

Questions:
* How did Jodi become aware that the vehicle was available for sale? Was it advertised? Did Jodi know the seller personally?
* Was the transaction an 'arm's length' (market price) transaction or was it sold below market value as a 'favor'??
* Did Jodi sell her prior vehicle, 1988 Honda CRX? To whom?
* Was the purchase financed? By the seller? By a bank? If so, were docs found in Jodi's apt?
* Did police find in Jodi's possession the seller's vehicle title, with the part the seller is to have filled out executed, showing sales price?
* Why had Jodi after 3 weeks not yet gotten title transferred into her name?
* Did Jodi, who had written in her journal that she loved the Miata, wish she had not made the purchase?
* To whom were IA plates PMP 325 issued? The seller? Or the buyer? Was Jodi the buyer of record?
* It is said that the seller allow Jodi to keep his plates on till she got her own new plates. Is this true?

• * If so, was the seller perhaps anxious to get his plates back?

* When and how did the seller get his plates back?

Great questions! IIRC Miata Guy was married. So piggy-backing on your questions…

• Was he married?
• Still married?
• Girlfriends?
• Mistresses?

What do they say about that auto transaction? A Miata was a super popular snappy little car in that era. People would have noticed the purchase & asked questions about it imo. To Jodi about the purchase, but also to the seller about where it was/ why he was letting it go. You’d think someone would have spoken up by now if there were odd details about those conversations. I wish we knew more about that car!

 

[dotr]

Podcast 006: We tracked down Jodi's Mazda Miata • Find Jodi Huisentruit


''FindJodi Podcast 9
By Caroline Lowe · On September 2, 2020

Note: Jodi’s car has always been a mystery to us. We have heard dozens of rumors of how it was obtained, what evidence it may hold, questions related to how it was processed, where it ended up – the list simply goes on. We decided to get to the bottom of the mystery. And we were surprised with the findings (along with just how great of shape the car is in nearly 30 years later! – Josh''


This is Jodi’s original Mazda Miata nearly 30 years later.

One of the most unforgettable images from the crime scene at Jodi Huisentruit’s abduction site is her red 1991 Miata Mazda convertible being processed by investigators, then towed away from her Mason City, IA, apartment complex.''


''What we’ve learned about Jodi’s Mazda Miata
Here is what we have learned, so far: (and we welcome any additional verifiable information, please reach out to FindJodi here)

• The former owner of an Iowa car dealership told FindJodi the car was sold to Jodi by one of his longtime salesmen, who is now deceased. He said the sale was a private, consignment-type transaction that did not involve the dealership. The former dealership owner (who did not want to be publicly identified since Jodi’s case is unsolved) said the car’s previous owner was a personal friend of the salesman. He estimated the car’s value at the time at $10,000.
• We also reached the son of that car salesman. He told FindJodi his late father was shocked when he heard about Jodi’s abduction, saying “I just sold her the car!” The son also told us his father helped Jodi’s now deceased mom with transactions involving the car which was eventually sold to a Minnesota car dealer.
• The original owner of the Mazda Miata told a CBS “48 Hours” crew that he met Jodi only once, to turn over the keys to the vehicle. We have tried unsuccessfully to reach him directly for this post.
• The son of another Mason City area car dealer remembers Jodi stopping by their business when she was shopping for a new car to replace her 1988 Honda CR-X.
• Jodi wrote about the Mazda Miata in several notes to friends and in her private journal. She never described it as a “gift”.
• On June 25th, just two days before she was abducted, Jodi wrote to a Minnesota friend, saying she’d recently bought a Mazda Miata, but had not transferred the title yet. Jodi mentioned that as she explained why she had been unable to drive up to Minnesota that weekend for a birthday party.
• On June 13th, just over a week after her 27th birthday, Jodi wrote in her private journal, “I bought a new Mazda Miata, simply love it.” ( That reference was part of her journal released publicly after a former Mason City police chief’s wife mailed a copy to the Globe Gazette newspaper. Our Episode 2 podcast has more on that unusual twist in the investigation.)

In our search for answers about the Mazda Miata, we also tracked down all of the people who have owned Jodi’s car over the past 25 years, since she disappeared.

Our investigation eventually led us to Wisconsin. That’s where we found the 29-year-old car is still out on the road, has just 53,000 miles on the odometer, and is in very good condition. All of the car’s prior owners we talked with said they primarily drove the convertible in warm, summer months.

The current owner is the third since Jodi’s mom traded the car in in 1998 to a Minnesota dealer. That dealer is no longer in business and doesn’t have any of the car’s paperwork. The dealer told us, however, that he would not have been able to buy it, then resell it, if all of the vehicle’s documents weren’t provided to him by Jodi’s mom, a longtime customer.

The former dealer sold it to a Staples, MN, woman who owned the Mazda Miata from 1998-2002. She told us she knew it had been Jodi’s car but she didn’t tell many people about that fact, out of respect for Jodi and her family.

The car was next purchased by a couple from the same town. They kept it for 14 years and eventually sold it to the current owner.

All of the owners since Jodi was abducted say they continue to follow her case. They hope Jodi’s family will someday get answers to what happened to her as she was getting into the car she owned for just few short weeks.''

 

[Markybug]

This car along with others like Jennifer Kesse’s vehicle should have been kept in storage for later investigation. Hindsight’s a wonderful thing unfortunately!

 

[Hockeyfan158]

Been going through cases all day thoughts on this being her? Height is basically on and she hasn’t been excluded on Namus

Reading PA 2000 Jane Doe. The National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs)

 

[Sweetluv]

Only thing is...estimated time of death states one month (discovered in 2000)
Good find though!!!

 

[dotr]

"Investigator claims new details in Jodi Huisentruit case''
Jul 16, 2021

Crime Stories: Lipstick, High Heels & Purse Only Clues as TV Star Jodi Huisentruit Vanishes
by Leigh Egan
''When Iowa TV news anchor Jodi Huisentruit fails to show up for her morning show, coworkers know something is wrong. Huisentruit’s red Mazda Miata is still in the parking lot, as well as other evidence that suggests a struggle had taken place near the car. Her personal items, a hairdryer, lipstick, and red high heel shoes, as well as a bent car key, were strewn about the area.

Police recovered an unidentified palm print from her vehicle. Neighbors report hearing screams at about the time that Huisentruit would have been leaving for work. The popular TV personality is still missing more than two decades later.''

 

[Finlay]

"Investigator claims new details in Jodi Huisentruit case''
Jul 16, 2021

Crime Stories: Lipstick, High Heels & Purse Only Clues as TV Star Jodi Huisentruit Vanishes
by Leigh Egan
''When Iowa TV news anchor Jodi Huisentruit fails to show up for her morning show, coworkers know something is wrong. Huisentruit’s red Mazda Miata is still in the parking lot, as well as other evidence that suggests a struggle had taken place near the car. Her personal items, a hairdryer, lipstick, and red high heel shoes, as well as a bent car key, were strewn about the area.

Police recovered an unidentified palm print from her vehicle. Neighbors report hearing screams at about the time that Huisentruit would have been leaving for work. The popular TV personality is still missing more than two decades later.''

In regards to a "palm print": How does LE go about matching that? It isn't "standard practice" to collect palm prints from suspects or inmates, is it? I mean, is there a palm print DB that they could check that against?

Or, a question from another point of view: How would they have collected that palm print when they found it? Is there any chance that there could be any DNA evidence that could have been collected with the palm print that maybe they didn't even think about checking for back then, but which could break this case open using more modern techniques & technology?

 

[dotr]

Jodi Huisentruit case featured on 'Nancy Grace' show
2018 rbbm.
''HLN's "Nancy Grace Show" profiled the 1995 case Wednesday evening. Lt. Frank Stearns of the Mason City Police Department answered questions during the program, saying a palm print and strand of hair were found at the scene. He refused to confirm whether blood was also found, due the ongoing nature of the investigation.''

By Eva FrederickNov. 21, 2019
A new forensic technique could have criminals—and some prosecutors—tearing their hair out: Researchers have developed a method they say can identify a person from as little as 1 centimeter of a single strand of hair—and that is eight times more sensitive than similar protein analysis techniques. If the new method ever makes it into the courtroom, it could greatly expand the ability to identify the people at the scene of a crime.

To get reliable data from hair, forensic scientists previously needed DNA from skin still attached to hair follicles. But recent technologies have instead analyzed proteins in the hair itself, like keratin. Because the sequences of amino acids in proteins vary slightly from person to person based on their genetic code, this information can be used to identify people with a high degree of accuracy without DNA.''

Forensics breakthrough: DNA extracted from rootless hair - Genome BC
September 25, 2019
''Until now, forensic scientists have only been able to extract DNA from hairs found at crime scenes if they have their root attached. Unfortunately, most hairs do not have the root attached, so using DNA sampling to discover whom it belonged to has been impossible.

Thankfully a researcher from the University of California, Santa Cruz, has had a breakthrough in the way DNA can be extracted from hairs. Using a technique first used to extract DNA from fossilized bones Dr. Ed Green was able to create his own genotype using one of his own rootless hairs. He uploaded this genotype, as well as one created using a saliva sample, to a DNA database, and discovered both genotypes matched him with the same relatives. This proved that his technique could extract an accurate genotype from the rootless hair.

Following this test, Dr. Green used the technique to extract DNA from the hair of four unidentified murder victims from New Hampshire.''

 

[itsrak]

"Investigator claims new details in Jodi Huisentruit case''
Jul 16, 2021

Crime Stories: Lipstick, High Heels & Purse Only Clues as TV Star Jodi Huisentruit Vanishes
by Leigh Egan
''When Iowa TV news anchor Jodi Huisentruit fails to show up for her morning show, coworkers know something is wrong. Huisentruit’s red Mazda Miata is still in the parking lot, as well as other evidence that suggests a struggle had taken place near the car. Her personal items, a hairdryer, lipstick, and red high heel shoes, as well as a bent car key, were strewn about the area.

Police recovered an unidentified palm print from her vehicle. Neighbors report hearing screams at about the time that Huisentruit would have been leaving for work. The popular TV personality is still missing more than two decades later.''

So, Jodi had a fling, with an out-of-state visitor, just days before she disappeared. Cops have known about it all along. Might such budding romance have driven some other local wanna-be boyfriend nuts? I can think of two possibilities, two older men, one a friend of Jodi, the other rumoured to have been 'dating' Jodi. We've heard so much about the former, yet so very little about the latter. Was it perhaps one of these men said to have been heard pounding on Jodi's apartment door and hollering 'Jodi, open up, I know you are in there', just hours before she disappeared? Was it perhaps one of these men driving the sedan that raced out of the Key Apts. lot - nearly striking a jogger - at around the time of Jodi's disappearance?

 

[itsrak]

findjodi podcast #19, done this year, is worth a listen. A few questions I have after listening:
1) Ret. Det. Alberio remains interested in Tony Jackson. But Tony Jackson was supposedly cleared by cops back when as a suspect. On what basis was he cleared and why does Alberio apparently not buy it?
2) Police report from back when (1994) shows the truck that followed Jodi was white. Did Tony Jackson have a white truck in 1994?

Interestingly, the findjodi team did some digging concerning the photo that appeared to show Jodi eating pizza with friends, one of whom was a dead ringer for Dustin Honken. As detailed in this podcast, they determined that the photo was taken in Europe while Jodi studied abroad, and that was NOT Honken in the photo.

 

[dotr]

FindJodi Podcast, Tony Jackson
Podcast 012: Serial Rapist Tony Jackson • Find Jodi Huisentruit
''Podcast 012: Serial Rapist Tony Jackson
By Scott Fuller @FullerOnAir · On March 18, 2021

The latest episode of the FindJodi podcast is an hour-long focus on Tony Jackson, who was convicted in 1998 of raping four women in Minnesota (he was later connected via DNA to two additional rapes in Minnesota and Iowa). Listeners will also hear Jackson, in his own words, through archival audio recordings.

Three years earlier, on June 27, 1995, Jackson was living two blocks from the television station where Jodi Huisentruit worked, and one mile from the apartment complex where the news anchor disappeared early that morning.

FindJodi team member Jay Alberio was involved in Jackson’s arrest for the Woodbury (MN) Police Department and joins me on this episode to discuss Jackson’s crimes against women and what is known about any connection he might have to Jodi Huisentruit’s disappearance nearly 26 years ago.''

2020
25th anniversary of Jodi Huisentruit's disappearance: What you need to know about the case of the missing Iowa TV journalist
''Tony Jackson, who is serving prison time for a string of Minnesota rapes during the 1990s, was also featured during the special. He was living in Mason City when Huisentruit disappeared.

Mason City police said he was not a "viable suspect" a few years after the disappearance. Jackson declined an interview with "48 Hours" but maintained his innocence through an email. He would not confirm or deny whether he was still a suspect.''

 

[itsrak]

From recently released findjodi podcast 6: "The original owner of the Mazda Miata told a CBS “48 Hours” crew that he met Jodi only once, to turn over the keys to the vehicle. We have tried unsuccessfully to reach him directly for this post."

That he (the seller of the Miata) met Jodi only once is directly at odds with what the poster in 2011 stated at findjodi dot com (see link a few posts above). Of course, a random message board post - who ya gonna believe?!

FWIW - 48 Hours clearly knew who the seller was - they spoke with him in 1995! - and findjodi folks clearly know who the seller is - they say they recently "tried unsuccessfully to reach him directly for this post"

Still find it interesting that the seller of the Miata would not speak to the folks at findjodi

 

[itsrak]

FindJodi Podcast, Tony Jackson
Podcast 012: Serial Rapist Tony Jackson • Find Jodi Huisentruit
''Podcast 012: Serial Rapist Tony Jackson
By Scott Fuller @FullerOnAir · On March 18, 2021

The latest episode of the FindJodi podcast is an hour-long focus on Tony Jackson, who was convicted in 1998 of raping four women in Minnesota (he was later connected via DNA to two additional rapes in Minnesota and Iowa). Listeners will also hear Jackson, in his own words, through archival audio recordings.

Three years earlier, on June 27, 1995, Jackson was living two blocks from the television station where Jodi Huisentruit worked, and one mile from the apartment complex where the news anchor disappeared early that morning.

FindJodi team member Jay Alberio was involved in Jackson’s arrest for the Woodbury (MN) Police Department and joins me on this episode to discuss Jackson’s crimes against women and what is known about any connection he might have to Jodi Huisentruit’s disappearance nearly 26 years ago.''

2020
25th anniversary of Jodi Huisentruit's disappearance: What you need to know about the case of the missing Iowa TV journalist
''Tony Jackson, who is serving prison time for a string of Minnesota rapes during the 1990s, was also featured during the special. He was living in Mason City when Huisentruit disappeared.

Mason City police said he was not a "viable suspect" a few years after the disappearance. Jackson declined an interview with "48 Hours" but maintained his innocence through an email. He would not confirm or deny whether he was still a suspect.''

'Eventually, MCPD issued a statement clearing Jackson in Jodi's case. The statement said 'based on interviews, crime lab analysis, records review and polygraph examination, MCPD didn't consider Jackson a viable suspect in the Jodi Huisentruit case'.
Also, IIUC, Jackson committed 4 rapes in Minnesota and 1 in Iowa, yet killed none of those victims. JH, on the other hand, was evidently killed.
Also, the car Jackson had been driving when JH disappeared was analyzed forensically, and zero forensic evidence was found tying the car to JH.

FindJodi Podcast, Tony Jackson
Podcast 012: Serial Rapist Tony Jackson • Find Jodi Huisentruit
''Podcast 012: Serial Rapist Tony Jackson
By Scott Fuller @FullerOnAir · On March 18, 2021

The latest episode of the FindJodi podcast is an hour-long focus on Tony Jackson, who was convicted in 1998 of raping four women in Minnesota (he was later connected via DNA to two additional rapes in Minnesota and Iowa). Listeners will also hear Jackson, in his own words, through archival audio recordings.

Three years earlier, on June 27, 1995, Jackson was living two blocks from the television station where Jodi Huisentruit worked, and one mile from the apartment complex where the news anchor disappeared early that morning.

FindJodi team member Jay Alberio was involved in Jackson’s arrest for the Woodbury (MN) Police Department and joins me on this episode to discuss Jackson’s crimes against women and what is known about any connection he might have to Jodi Huisentruit’s disappearance nearly 26 years ago.''

2020
25th anniversary of Jodi Huisentruit's disappearance: What you need to know about the case of the missing Iowa TV journalist
''Tony Jackson, who is serving prison time for a string of Minnesota rapes during the 1990s, was also featured during the special. He was living in Mason City when Huisentruit disappeared.

Mason City police said he was not a "viable suspect" a few years after the disappearance. Jackson declined an interview with "48 Hours" but maintained his innocence through an email. He would not confirm or deny whether he was still a suspect.''

I can understand the continuing interest in Tony Jackson. But, while a convicted rapist, he is not a convicted murderer. He could have killed every known rape victim, but killed none of them. JH is said to have screamed what may have been a name, sounding like or rhyming with 'John', and not 'Tony'. Nothing came of the 'Stiffin in Tiffin' search. Nothing came of the forensic search of Jackson's car. MCPD concluded he was not involved in JH's disappearance.
To me, the two Johns are more interesting as suspects than the Tony. Especially the one rumored to have been 'dating' JH at the time of her disappearance. Are these old rumors true?

 

[leftalonetowonder]

Any vets of this case know why LW's story was different in Dead Air/Fade to Black as opposed to her recent statements to media? @Wisdom