IN - Lauren Spierer, 20, Bloomington, 03 June 2011 - #19

[AnalyticalExaminer]

IIRC, she told him she was going out.

I don't believe that's correct. Per HT, they were supposed to meet after the game (which should have ended around 11:30), and LS was at SW until 12:30.

 

[The Smurf]

Our LE would leave their patrol cars on the side of the highway empty.I asked one of them one day,Why is there empty patrol cars sitting on the side of the highway.He said they were decoys to slow down traffic (speeding)Well taxpayers must have complained because they stopped it.That is the only time I heard of them using the word decoy

It was probably a poor choice of words on my part. But, the point remains that they cant really have probable cause to search both apartments unless this case is something out of the movies and JR and JW co-conspired (that does not really seem like a likely scenario, though)

 

[Inspector Gidget]

I agree this age group texts constantly almost like an obsession.It saves them time on minutes too.They have the need to always stay in touch.That's why it's so hard for me to believe,JW didn't know what was going on.Anyone know how long it takes to get cell records back.Mods??

 

[AnalyticalExaminer]

I agree this age group texts constantly almost like an obsession.It saves them time on minutes too.They have the need to always stay in touch.That's why it's so hard for me to believe,JW didn't know what was going on.

Again, I want to hear the scenario. Remember that the confrontation took place between 2:30 and 2:40, and JW was in bed by 2:30.

 

[elmomom]

LE named him a POI. They took dogs to his house.

And, he has motive.

But the point of my post was that both JR and JW could possibly be charged with very serious felonies. And, they are both associated with a frat which was banned for abusive hazing. The example I gave of the woman who hated her sorority was just to illustrate how people can resent being mistreated (or feeling mistreated) even years later.

We clearly see extreme bitterness in the rumors & gossip surrounding this case, JMO more so than in similar missing person cases. Could there be some type of group friction, where JW-JR-CR-MB are perceived as being members (or at least supporters) of the AEP@IU, and therefore either info is being withheld which might help them, or disinformation is being spread (example: the claim that JR is a big-time drug dealer etc) to embarrass them and put them in an even worse position? Or maybe just something else is going on (not sure exactly what) that has something to do with some person or group hating the frat?



Saying someone looks most guilty is different that saying that he definitely is guilty. Obviously, he looks more guilty than most of the students at IU.



We need a new word to describe the people one associates with at college: "friend" just does not work. In one missing person case, one of the missing woman's co-workers organized searches and took a strong interest in the case; yet no one expressed contempt at the other co-workers who did not get that involved. The reason is that people tend to assume that college students (esp. roommates) are best friends, but co-workers are sometimes friends, and sometimes not. Were LS and HT just "co-students"?

Walker thank you for this observation of the bitterness and friction above normal in this case. I had perceived it and wasn't sure others had. I do think that certain factions of the POIs are indeed trying to use disinformation and other tactics against other factions. I am not at all convinced that it traces back to frat alliances, but it could be a possibility.

 

[The Smurf]

I agree this age group texts constantly almost like an obsession.It saves them time on minutes too.They have the need to always stay in touch.That's why it's so hard for me to believe,JW didn't know what was going on.Anyone know how long it takes to get cell records back.Mods??

I dont know that all guys text obsessively. We dont even know if the fight had anything to do with LS. We dont know if LS was lying to HT about her intentions that night because she didnt yet want JW to know she was interested in another guy. We dont know if LS left JR's room. We dont know if JW left his apartment to look for LS. We really dont know a whole lot that leads us to the ultimate answer we are looking for: What happened to Lauren?

 

[AnalyticalExaminer]

Perhaps this was already confirmed and I missed it, but this new article confirms that LS lived on the 5th floor - http://www.heraldtimesonline.com/stories/2011/07/24/news.qp-8359458.sto

 

[Inspector Gidget]

My scenario right now is I am getting sleeping and going to bed.Goodnight good folks!

 

[otto]

Just read a couple of articles about this case. What an unusual case. Any thoughts on what happened? Is there a working theory that the police seem to have?

 

[amoncrieff]

I will explain. If BPD clearly has identified one of the two (JW or JW) as a clear suspect, but do not have enough evidence to make an arrest, they may not want to alert him to the fact that they have sufficiently narrowed the search. I think one scenario most of us will agree probably didnt occur is JR and JW were not working together. If one of them is guilty and feels pressure what is to keep him from leaving the country? I see this as the most logical scenario for why two people who have not once been linked to each other on that night would have their homes searched the same day. That, or BPD is trying to look busy.

Understood the first time.

So again, rhetorically, what response did BPD hope to elicit? And from whom? Panicked phone calls from panicky attorneys? Confessions from afar? First-flight returns to Bloomington so POIs could rethink and/or reformulate their alibis? Perhaps & even rat each other? Really?

Except...

A Herald-Times photographer happened upon the search at 5 North Townhomes by chance, and police quickly ushered him across the street.

So the decoys were unannounced and would've been unpublicized had a Herald-Times photographer not happened upon one decoy "by chance?"

Gullibility is not a word. Honest.

But this is my last word on JW.

I've exhausted my interest in known POIs. Now wondering what else BPD may have missed.

 

[The Smurf]

I dont think they were necessarily looking to ilicit any response. If they have identified one guy as the likely suspect, but they dont have enough evidence to make an arrest they may want to allow the suspect to relax. Sending dogs into the homes of two people who are on opposite ends of the suspect list might appear to a guilty party like LE has not narrowed down the list of potential suspects. Additionally, if LE has a good idea that the crime did not happen inside one of the two apartments conducting a search like this also enhances the appearance that they do not have solid leads. Both people come from families with a lot of money and it is not beyond the realm of possibilities that one of them might end up in a country that does not extradite to the US if they think LE is closing in on them. LE needs to be careful about not showing their hand before they are ready to make an arrest if they think the suspect might flee the country.

 

[AnalyticalExaminer]

I don't know if it's the word "decoys" or not, but you've missed the point.

Put it this way - say they searched JR and JW's places, but not CR/MB's. Now everyone including the POIs would know CR/MB are off the hook, and at least one of JR and JW are on it. That would probably not be helpful to the investigation.

 

[cspring]

Creepy....i was finally almost asleep wayyy b4 4 am and was awoken by my honey having a nightmare-that I disappeared!
Maybe i shouldnt discuss Lauren with him anymore. Hes a worrier.
So-where were we?

 

[bessie]

Just read a couple of articles about this case. What an unusual case. Any thoughts on what happened? Is there a working theory that the police seem to have?

Ooohh...a few.

Sorry, Otto. Yes, there are quite a few opinions about what transpired to cause Lauren't disappearance. I wouldn't know how to begin listing them, though. LE, on the other hand, has not released any theories.

I guess the most commonly held belief at the moment is that LS OD'd, and the acquaintances with her at the time disposed of her body to save their own hides. There is also a jealous boyfriend theory, and a narrowly accepted theory of a stranger abduction.

 

[otto]

Ooohh...a few.

Sorry, Otto. Yes, there are quite a few opinions about what transpired to cause Lauren't disappearance. I wouldn't know how to begin listing them, though. LE, on the other hand, has not released any theories.

Thanks ... I was just reading some more ... is there any possibilty that she was was taken by an unknown person? Was the last sighting of her leaving the building and rounding a corner alone or was it when she stumbled out of the elevator?

 

[Walker]

Just read a couple of articles about this case. What an unusual case. Any thoughts on what happened? Is there a working theory that the police seem to have?

Apparently not; but, of course, they do not reveal all they know.

 

[Tr.]

I dont think they were necessarily looking to ilicit any response. If they have identified one guy as the likely suspect, but they dont have enough evidence to make an arrest they may want to allow the suspect to relax. Sending dogs into the homes of two people who are on opposite ends of the suspect list might appear to a guilty party like LE has not narrowed down the list of potential suspects. Additionally, if LE has a good idea that the crime did not happen inside one of the two apartments conducting a search like this also enhances the appearance that they do not have solid leads. Both people come from families with a lot of money and it is not beyond the realm of possibilities that one of them might end up in a country that does not extradite to the US if they think LE is closing in on them. LE needs to be careful about not showing their hand before they are ready to make an arrest if they think the suspect might flee the country.

Yes..and LE surely wants to cover all their bases where possible. Do we know what the dogs they were handling were trained to search for?..ie cadaver, drugs, live scent?
Keep in mind also that when and if a suspect is brought in to court his defense will scrutinize every move made and not made by LE.
The same evidence will be used in any future civil action.
So being thorough is critical for several reasons.

 

[TonyGatto]

I have just picked up a potentially interesting piece of information about LS's shoes. Do we know anything about her shoes -- other than she left them at the bar? We know about the other items she had -- her keys and phone -- but I don't ever remember reading anything about whether her shoes were found.

 

[otto]

Apparently not; but, of course, they do not reveal all they know.

So it's thought that one or more suspects may disappear if an arrest is anticipated ... are any of the suspects foreigners, or just wealthy with multiple options?

 

[bessie]

Thanks ... I was just reading some more ... is there any possibilty that she was was taken by an unknown person? Was the last sighting of her leaving the building and rounding a corner alone or was it when she stumbled out of the elevator?

She was alone when she left JR's 5 North apartment at 4:30 am, according to JR. The elevator is in the Smallwood Apartments where she lived. LE has said a companion appears with LS in a video from outside the apartment building as she left Smallwood, and in another video minutes later as she exited the alley between College and Morton near the 5 North apartments.