GUILTY IL - Katrina Smith, 30, beaten to death, Machesney Park, 23 Oct 2012 - #1

[mp6191]

Early on, do I remember it correctly, Todd's daughters were interviewed at the search center pavilion at Schoonmaker Park?

Any idea where I can find the vid?

I saw it on 13 - WREX, but the website just shows pics;

http://www.wrex.com/story/19925314/purse-and-cell-phone-of-missing-machesney-park-woman-found

 

[LunaLight]

Thanks for the welcome!

From what I can tell TS has spent his entire life here so he definitely knows the area well. Have to wonder if the searches aren't just a suggestion from LE to placate the family and keep them out of the way.

Something that keeps knocking around in the back of my head...the fraud scheme: If I remember correctly it stated over a million dollars was gained yet it seems TS ended up with roughly 60 grand?? I haven't dug very deep to find out the outcome, IF there has been an outcome yet. But it certainly would seem that others had much more of a gain. (imho)

 

[scadder21]

Thanks for the welcome!

From what I can tell TS has spent his entire life here so he definitely knows the area well. Have to wonder if the searches aren't just a suggestion from LE to placate the family and keep them out of the way.

Something that keeps knocking around in the back of my head...the fraud scheme: If I remember correctly it stated over a million dollars was gained yet it seems TS ended up with roughly 60 grand?? I haven't dug very deep to find out the outcome, IF there has been an outcome yet. But it certainly would seem that others had much more of a gain. (imho)

The report mentioned 2 natural persons. TS, something else. The one that TS sent the elderly too wasn't listed as a natural person, so it's entirely possible that it was a 2 man job and they split the money and he got more than just the 60k

 

[AmandaReckonwith]

If Katrina worked with Todd on the scheme, then she is complicit. Just saying. That might give her a reason to run away (and with cash)... to avoid criminal charges?

(sorry that sounds like Stacy Peterson with the bikini and $25K)

 

[scadder21]

If Katrina worked with Todd on the scheme, then she is complicit. Just saying. That might give her a reason to run away (and with cash)... to avoid criminal charges?

(sorry that sounds like Stacy Peterson with the bikini and $25K)

We aren't sure if she was aware of the fraud or not. She may have thought that the company that he was sending seniors to was legit and didn't know he was getting kickbacks.

 

[nervous_nellie]

If Katrina worked with Todd on the scheme, then she is complicit. Just saying. That might give her a reason to run away (and with cash)... to avoid criminal charges?

(sorry that sounds like Stacy Peterson with the bikini and $25K)

the court docs show that the retirement investment scam resulted in $45 million and 605 victims... idk, even if she was complicit i just dont see her taking off and leaving her family like this. i guess crazier things have happened..i just wish they would find something - anything...

 

[scadder21]

People are talking about leaving her family. How much of her family does she even have in the area? She was married to TS. 2 of 3 of his daughters were in college and thus not in the area. Brother was out of state in the Armed Forces and she had a sister. Not hint of a mother or father. So she really wouldn't have been leaving much if she left the immediate area other than a husband and 1 step-daughter.

That said I don't think it is one of those situations. If someone is going to leave and run. They are going to keep their purse, phone, wallet and a brand new car. If she was just going to take off she would have just taken off.

 

[scadder21]

the court docs show that the retirement investment scam resulted in $45 million and 605 victims... idk, even if she was complicit i just dont see her taking off and leaving her family like this. i guess crazier things have happened..i just wish they would find something - anything...

Do you have links to these Docs? I'm not questioning them, I've only seen the ones though that said 5 or more for a million dollars. And the language was ambigious so I'm not sure if that meant that 5 people totally at least 1 million or each of the 5 gave a million.

 

[nervous_nellie]

http://www.cyberdriveillinois.com/d...rative_actions/2011/october/toddsmith_noh.pdf

page 4

$1 million was bilked from just 5 people...

and this doesnt have anything to do with the phony small business forms that Jesse Whites office is warning of..

 

[scadder21]

If I remember from googling the address the CFF was another business ran out of TS's location. So that 45 million went to his "business" not sure if that was a legit business or not.

 

[nervous_nellie]

the corporate document business is NOT a ligit business...it says so on the sec. of state web..

 

[tiredblondy]

I don't like this. I don't like this at all! I don't think she would just take off. I'd look in the opposite direction of the vehicle. I also know who my suspect is. If I'm wrong I can eat crow.

My question...Why would she have been going back to the place she shared with her spouse a second time?

Would there be a gps on the vehicle they could trace or her phone?

There's a reason the LE are keeping things so close to the vest at least I seriously hope so.

May God bless her family and all the searchers.

 

[cluciano63]

I am hoping that if spouse is involved, it was a spur of the moment crime and he did not think to leave his phone at home...hoping LE is lining up his pings, etc.

 

[LunaLight]

Certainly there are several K9 resources in the area. The agencies historically have no issues crossing state and county lines to work with each other. If they really *thought* she could be tracked and found this way they would have been here a long time ago. I feel the same is true as far as a water search would be concerned. imho

 

[IHAVENOCLUE]

Being from the the area it seems to me that they are searching the most obvious places. If this was a well thought out crime (either before or after) it seems to reason that an individual "clever" enough to scatter her belongings wouldn't necessarily pick an obvious area to dispose of her body.

There are all kinds of fields and wooded areas big and small, without some kind of a clue it will be like finding a needle in a hay stack. For example there is a narrow area just off on N. 2nd and Minns where Willow Creek starts, in fact Willow Creek path starts up behind the High school, runs along the creek all the way to Rock Cut. A good deal of that path is surrounded by wooded areas that are easily accessible but deep enough to hide something in.

:welcome: Luna Light! :welcome4:

 

[OldSteve]

Being from the the area it seems to me that they are searching the most obvious places. If this was a well thought out crime (either before or after) it seems to reason that an individual "clever" enough to scatter her belongings wouldn't necessarily pick an obvious area to dispose of her body.

There are all kinds of fields and wooded areas big and small, without some kind of a clue it will be like finding a needle in a hay stack. For example there is a narrow area just off on N. 2nd and Minns where Willow Creek starts, in fact Willow Creek path starts up behind the High school, runs along the creek all the way to Rock Cut. A good deal of that path is surrounded by wooded areas that are easily accessible but deep enough to hide something in.

Yes! As mentioned back thread, seems to me car was place by water as a ruse, to get searches focused upon the creek... For some reason this case reminds me of the Karen Swift case where things were found around her car, but her body hidden some distance away.
Found Deceased TN - Karen Swift, 44, Dyersburg, 30 Oct 2011 - #3 - Websleuths Crime Sleuthing Community

 

[LivingJuicy]

I also don't think she just left. Nooooo! And because she had been so hard to find if you will, tells me that someone hid her. A random car jacking doesn't warrant her belongings found and her missing. I hate to accuse without knowing but for me it only seems to point one way. I could be wrong but it just doesn't feel otherwise.

The whole inconsistency with her marital status certainly doesn't help. :-(. Moo

Where is she????

 

[LMStyle]

If I remember from googling the address the CFF was another business ran out of TS's location. So that 45 million went to his "business" not sure if that was a legit business or not.

This is completely incorrect, CFF Club was owned and operated by 2 other people, who have already been sentenced to prison. They are the ones that swindled the 40+ million from investors and people they scammed into bringing them investors such as TS and the others named in the case that was linked by Nellie. TS was not nor ever was a part of CFF Club, he was just one of many middle men that invested clients money into that club with promises of returns.

www.cffclub.com

Also if you read the document Nellie posted thoroughly you will notice that TS was more of a salesman, a worker, that spoke with people about investing and all funds were payable to Mr. Oliver's business at which point TS received money back in the amount of $50-60,000 which he could have been under the impression was his commission or pay for bringing these investors to Mr. Oliver.

Granted TS was not licensed to be doing this sort of financial/investment advisory, but we do not know the whole story as to how this whole thing came to fruition.

 

[LMStyle]

So I get maybe it's possible she feared for her life finding out about TS's past and went into hiding but I figure that she would have at least told her brother or the people she was really close with.

I apologize in advance as it may seem I am singling out your posts, that is certainly not the case. You just happen to bring up some possible scenarios or ideas that I can clearly refute based on personal knowledge.

I can state with the utmost confidence that TS would not keep his past a secret from Katrina, as all those close to him and his family were well aware of his past. Perhaps he may have kept it from his daughters as logically makes no sense to divulge that sort of information to young children, and I am unsure as to if they know now that they are older, or if they just found out now via the media frenzy.

 

[nervous_nellie]

I apologize in advance as it may seem I am singling out your posts, that is certainly not the case. You just happen to bring up some possible scenarios or ideas that I can clearly refute based on personal knowledge.

I can state with the utmost confidence that TS would not keep his past a secret from Katrina, as all those close to him and his family were well aware of his past. Perhaps he may have kept it from his daughters as logically makes no sense to divulge that sort of information to young children, and I am unsure as to if they know now that they are older, or if they just found out now via the media frenzy.

it was one scam investing in another scam imo, the document that i posted was for a hearing in january 2012 not that far in the past. jmho