MA - Vanessa Marcotte, 27, murdered, Princeton, 7 Aug 2016 #3

[OldSteve]

This is interesting
http://www.lowellsun.com/breakingnews/ci_30312626/police-man-van-approached-shirley-jogger?source

Yes that is interesting - good find! Very scary to be approached like she was.

 

[medtraveler]

Agreed! Which would make tracking down any applicable surveillance footage from a gas station incredibly challenges. Without know which directions out of Princeton the guy was headed, if he needed gas at all, he could have gone to a very large range of directions and locations as no one place is close enough to be the "likely" option.

You're thinking the day of the murder. I'm talking about tracking down a white truck at the few gas stations that locals might use. White is an uncommon color (imo) for a pick-up truck, it stands out. Viewing surveillance footage at local gas stations would be helpful in tracking down the perp, its even more helpful if its NOT in the immediate area (as you've described). Maybe four weeks ago, the creep who was followed the other jogger (earlier this summer) got gas at one of those gas stations you mentioned, and said runner might say "yeah that looks like the truck that followed me". I'm definitely not saying the perp went straight to some gas station around the corner after he murdered Vanessa, I don't think we'd be quite that lucky. Viewing surveillance footage from the past 6-8 weeks, at the one or two gas stations that Princeton residents purchase their gas might catch a relaxed perp in his creepy white pick up. And this may or may not be helpful in locating a potential suspect (stating the obvious here). illowfight2:

 

[ThinkHard]

Interesting, thanks for sharing.

One error in that women's statement though is that Shirley to Princeton is more like 20 miles then 10 miles.

Btw I'd think green utility vans would be pretty ran, aren't the usually white?

 

[ThinkHard]

You're thinking the day of the murder. I'm talking about tracking down a white truck at the few gas stations that locals might use. White is an uncommon color (imo) for a pick-up truck, it stands out. Viewing surveillance footage at local gas stations would be helpful in tracking down the perp, its even more helpful if its NOT in the immediate area (as you've described). Maybe four weeks ago, the creep who was followed the other jogger (earlier this summer) got gas at one of those gas stations you mentioned, and said runner might say "yeah that looks like the truck that followed me". I'm definitely not saying the perp went straight to some gas station around the corner after he murdered Vanessa, I don't think we'd be quite that lucky. Viewing surveillance footage from the past 6-8 weeks, at the one or two gas stations that Princeton residents purchase their gas might catch a relaxed perp in his creepy white pick up. And this may or may not be helpful in locating a potential suspect (stating the obvious here). illowfight2:

That's just it though, there isn't just one or two gas stations people would go to, there is any number of them. Because none are close close, but many are equal distance away it would leave quite a huge pool of gas stations they would have to look at surveillance footage from.

Also I disagree that white pick up are rare. I passed two driving in Holden yesterday morning, and a third at a plaza in tatnuck in Worcester and that was just in a 20 minute period this morning.

Certainly looking at gas station footage could be an angle, but it would be more like looking for a needle in a hay stack.

 

[femalejogger]

This is interesting
http://www.lowellsun.com/breakingnews/ci_30312626/police-man-van-approached-shirley-jogger?source

Very interesting. I had not considered the possibility of two people being involved (it is hard to imagine one person being that evil, let alone two). So they use the van to incapacitate her or at least stop her forward movement by pinning her between the guard rail and van. One jumps out grabs her and pulls her into the woods and the other drives off. This would explain why there was no vehicle left on the road for an extended period of time. Alternatively, they load her into the van, drive off, kill her elsewhere and then return with her body. The latter seems unlikely to me.

 

[medtraveler]

That's just it though, there isn't just one or two gas stations people would go to, there is any number of them. Because none are close close, but many are equal distance away it would leave quite a huge pool of gas stations they would have to look at surveillance footage from.

Also I disagree that white pick up are rare. I passed two driving in Holden yesterday morning, and a third at a plaza in tatnuck in Worcester and that was just in a 20 minute period this morning.

Certainly looking at gas station footage could be an angle, but it would be more like looking for a needle in a hay stack.

I didn't say white pick ups were rare, I said they were UNCOMMON. Those words don't mean the same thing.

Do you normally count the colors of cars, or is it just for this investigation? Not being snarky, just curious. That's great you're keeping an eye out for the killer. opcorn:

 

[ThinkHard]

I didn't say white pick ups were rare, I said they were UNCOMMON. Those words don't mean the same thing.

Do you normally count the colors of cars, or is it just for this investigation? Not being snarky, just curious. That's great you're keeping an eye out for the killer. opcorn:

Uncommon and rare are synonyms of each other, so to me they mean the same thing and I use them interchangeabley as I did here. Uncommon, rare....either way I don't agree with that statement being accurate. White cars including white pick ups I think are a pretty darn common color.

The reason I noticed the white pick up trucks and they stood out to me was because someone on here had previously claimed they were rare/uncommon, perhaps you. So when I saw a bunch in one day in the same local area as this crime, yes it stuck out to me, as the more I payed attention the more of them I noticed, leading me to the conclusion they really aren't that uncommon at all.

 

[ThinkHard]

Btw the dictionary defines

Uncommon as: rare, not readily found

And

Rare as: very uncommon, scarce

To me that's pretty darn close to the same thing.

 

[Steleheart]

This is interesting
http://www.lowellsun.com/breakingnews/ci_30312626/police-man-van-approached-shirley-jogger?source

And the number one instruction people should know is change direction and cross the road. If they back up or turn around call 911

 

[Mskin]

Very interesting. I had not considered the possibility of two people being involved (it is hard to imagine one person being that evil, let alone two). So they use the van to incapacitate her or at least stop her forward movement by pinning her between the guard rail and van. One jumps out grabs her and pulls her into the woods and the other drives off. This would explain why there was no vehicle left on the road for an extended period of time. Alternatively, they load her into the van, drive off, kill her elsewhere and then return with her body. The latter seems unlikely to me.

Reminds me of an incident in boston/cambridge 20+ years ago when two young men abducted a toddler and disposed of him in Vermont or new Hampshire. It was beyond disturbing. But, evil sometimes finds evil. There is plenty of prescedent to support two perps.


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[FindHG]

This is interesting
http://www.lowellsun.com/breakingnews/ci_30312626/police-man-van-approached-shirley-jogger?source

Shirley police step up patrols after jogger approached by man
By Dylan McGuinness, Boston Globe
Aug 31 16

 

[Steleheart]

Shirley police step up patrols after jogger approached by man
By Dylan McGuinness, Boston Globe
Aug 31 16

And then I wonder even if it was innocent what are people thinking? No it doesn't make any sense. Does he think the jogger doesn't know what she's doing? Didn't think about water? Would gladly take an offer and reach in to get it?

Nope. Creepy.

 

[FindHG]

And then I wonder even if it was innocent what are people thinking? No it doesn't make any sense. Does he think the jogger doesn't know what she's doing? Didn't think about water? Would gladly take an offer and reach in to get it?

Nope. Creepy.

Yep. Creepy. Considering a partial plate and description led nowhere.

 

[zoso]

There was a report of a suspicious green van a day or so before the murder in a town east of Princeton. TWO occupants!

 

[Mskin]

There was a report of a suspicious green van a day or so before the murder in a town east of Princeton. TWO occupants!

Reference?


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[Mskin]

The unfortunate reality is we don't know yet if this event truly occured - if I'm to remain completely objective. No eye witnesses that we know of and no reported hit on the plate. I'm sure LE could significantly narrow the funnel given the query criteria.


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[jowens73]

There was a report of a suspicious green van a day or so before the murder in a town east of Princeton. TWO occupants!

I think you may be referring to the police blotter on 8/4 from Sterling showing a call about a suspicious maroon van in the am w/ 2 occupants - sandy ridge Rd ... here's that link
http://www.thelandmark.com/news/2016-08-11/Fire_(and)_Police/Police_Notebook.html

 

[FindHG]

Police Warn Residents After Suspicious Man Approaches Jogger
Man in a van approached woman on Hazen Road
By Kathryn Sotnik and Kaitlin Flanigan, NENC
2 hr ago

 

[zoso]

Yes, thanks! It was maroon. That is the reference.

 

[ThinkHard]

There was a report of a suspicious green van a day or so before the murder in a town east of Princeton. TWO occupants!

Shirley the town this incident occurred in is two towns over, east of Princeton, along rt 2.

Sterling however boarders Princeton on the south east side, and is in the same school district as Princeton.

The school district is Wachusett. The high school is five towns (Holden, Paxton, Princeton, Rutland, Sterling)....all of these 5 towns in many ways act like one big town with five smaller villages. Each town has unique characteristics and reputations but all five towns form a very close knit community in which most residents look at the whole wachusett district as their "hometown".

Holden (pop. 17.3k) is the largest and the one with the most emmenities (i.e. The only one with a grocery store). Rutland (pop. 7.9k) the next largest and has the reputation as being the most "hickish" (it use to also have both a buffalo farm and an ostrich farm) Sterling (pop. 7.8k) is larger then Princeton but still quaint and cute and upscale rural (it's also where Mary and her little lamb were from and it's where Davis Farmland is). Paxton (pop. 4.8k) is small and quaint and upscale and has nearly zero percent poverty, it's south of Holden and the only one that doesn't directly border Princeton. All of the towns are heavily wooded and all have long windy roads through the woods with lots of little turn off paths.

Just wanted to share to give people a better sense of the community and how intertwined the whole wachusett district is, even though Princeton it self is the smallest of all five towns at 3.5k.