ME ME - Ayla Reynolds, 20 mnths, Waterville, 17 December 2011 - # 9

[hambirg]

:seeya: I was thinking about this as well ... but, wasn't the drug bust AFTER Ayla was reported "missing" ? And after LE put the DiP's out of the house for those 2 weeks -- or sometime during those 2 weeks ?

Or -- do I have it wrong ?

Thanks !

I have to wonder about that drug bust. Was Briana offered up as a sacrifice, a scapegoat to prevent LE from uncovering something much bigger?

 

[dog.gone.cute]

I think this story is bigger than what it appears. I don't believe that the Tudela's would be going to the lengths they are to defend JD if he is just a friend of their son.

I hate to say it, but people that live in grand neo-classical Victorian houses on land with a sweeping view of the river, don't even run in the same social circles with a family like the DiPietros. . .a single mom who used to live in the projects with three illegitimate kids. Let alone, are they so loyal to them that they are willing to stick their necks out to defend them. It makes no sense.

What's the angle? Insurance fraud? Drugs? Soccer mom, daycare provider, drug king-pin? I've even wondered if there isn't an organized crime connection. :waitasec:

:rocker: These are some good points !

BBM: I agree : the Tudela's and the DiPietro's = makes NO sense !

What do we know :

1. Justin D and the Tudela's son Derek were "childhood friends".

2. Derek T sold Justin D a life insurance policy on Ayla.

3. The D's stayed at the T's house for a couple of weeks AFTER Ayla went "missing" ...

Hmmm ... :waitasec: I sure hope LE was "keeping an eye" on the D's activities while they were staying at the T's house those 2 weeks ...

WHY would the Tudela's "stick their necks out" for Justin and his family and GF, who are obviously "poi's" in Ayla's disappearance -- even though LE has NOT named them as such ?

MOO ...

 

[lauriej]

:seeya: I was thinking about this as well ... but, wasn't the drug bust AFTER Ayla was reported "missing" ? And after LE put the DiP's out of the house for those 2 weeks -- or sometime during those 2 weeks ?

Or -- do I have it wrong ?

Thanks !

--CR's sister was arrested on january 6th.

--the dipietro's were "homeless" until dec.31st.

http://www.theforecaster.net/content/p-portland-police-beat-011112
Woman arrested in drug bust on Pine Street

1/6 The Maine Drug Enforcement Agency seized nearly 1,000 prescription pills and 19 grams of what is suspected to be cocaine from a 36 Pine St. apartment. Agents obtained a search warrant for the apartment after neighbors complained of suspected drug activity.
Briana Roberts, 23, of Pine Street, Portland, was charged with aggravated trafficking of Oxycodone.

http://www.onlinesentinel.com/news/dipietro-family-kept-out-of-homefor-two-weeks_2012-01-06.html

Investigation kept family out of home for two weeks

"I walked out of my house to go down to the station to give statements, and all of a sudden we were homeless on top of everything else," recalled Phoebe DiPietro, the 21-month-old child's grandmother. "We walked out with the clothes on our back and weren't allowed in for 14 days."

 

[ladonna]

Baby Ayla’s Father Wants Immunity, but for Whom?
03/11/2012

COMMENTARY | In a Morning Sentinel interview, Justin DiPietro, missing baby Ayla Reynolds’ father, wished the person who took Ayla could be offered immunity.

Although Ayla has been missing nearly three months, DiPietro contends it's not the right time to talk about what happened to her.

Websites that have done more extensive investigation than the local newspaper in past weeks immediately critiqued the interview, which took place early last week but was held for the Sunday paper to reach a wider audience.

Withholding Information
"Really, Justin? This isn't the time to be saying anything? When is that time? Ayla has been kidnapped, according to you, and this isn't the time to talk?" the Justice for Ayla blog said.

Read more: http://news.yahoo.com/baby-ayla-father-wants-immunity-whom-222000716.html

 

[Donjeta]

Has anyone seen the print edition of the Morning Sentinel?

Was there a photo of Ayla in that?

There was none in the online edition, and we wouldn't like the abductor to be able to hide Ayla in plain sight.

 

[dog.gone.cute]

--CR's sister was arrested on january 6th.

--the dipietro's were "homeless" until dec.31st.

http://www.theforecaster.net/content/p-portland-police-beat-011112
Woman arrested in drug bust on Pine Street

snipped by me :

:tyou::tyou: Thanks, lauriej !

So ... the drug bust was AFTER Ayla was reported "missing" and AFTER LE returned the home to the DiPietro's.

Hmmm ... this may be a "stretch" ... but is it possible they found "something" in the D's home to connect them to CR's sister -- KWIM ?

I am "guessing" that LE was already onto CR's sister -- BUT -- maybe "something" in the D's house led to BR ?

Just speculating ... thinking out loud ... :waitasec: and out the box ...

MOO ...

 

[dog.gone.cute]

Baby Ayla’s Father Wants Immunity, but for Whom?
03/11/2012

COMMENTARY | In a Morning Sentinel interview, Justin DiPietro, missing baby Ayla Reynolds’ father, wished the person who took Ayla could be offered immunity.

Snipped & RBBM : Thanks for posting this article !

My first guess is :

Justin wants "immunity" for himself ...

then his mother ... his sister ... his brother ... his girlfriend ...

:waitasec: did I leave anyone out ?

oh -- maybe the Tudela's ...

MOO ...

 

[tlcya]

snipped by me :

:tyou::tyou: Thanks, lauriej !

So ... the drug bust was AFTER Ayla was reported "missing" and AFTER LE returned the home to the DiPietro's.

Hmmm ... this may be a "stretch" ... but is it possible they found "something" in the D's home to connect them to CR's sister -- KWIM ?

I am "guessing" that LE was already onto CR's sister -- BUT -- maybe "something" in the D's house led to BR ?

Just speculating ... thinking out loud ... :waitasec: and out the box ...

MOO ...

I have long thought that the Ayla reported missing situation is what led LE to CR's sister and her drug activities. Your theory about something from the D home leading LE to CR's apartment and therefore her sister makes sense.

 

[ThoughtFox]

I think this story is bigger than what it appears. I don't believe that the Tudela's would be going to the lengths they are to defend JD if he is just a friend of their son.

I hate to say it, but people that live in grand neo-classical Victorian houses on land with a sweeping view of the river, don't even run in the same social circles with a family like the DiPietros. . .a single mom who used to live in the projects with three illegitimate kids. Let alone, are they so loyal to them that they are willing to stick their necks out to defend them. It makes no sense.

What's the angle? Insurance fraud? Drugs? Soccer mom, daycare provider, drug king-pin? I've even wondered if there isn't an organized crime connection. :waitasec:

ETA-and HT saying she is defending JD because it is the right thing to do. Puhleeze! I don't think HT would know the right thing to do if it fell out of the sky and landed on her face.

The only part of it that makes sense is that they grew up together and did a paper route together. I get that. I had friends who lived in much more grandiose houses than my family had just right around the corner. And Derek Tudela was apparently an only child, and it's been my experience that parents of only children seem to "adopt" other people for their children to spend time with. My husband came from a big family and loved going to his only-child friend's house where they both got loads of attention, plenty of food, lots of things to do, etc. My daughter also had a friend like that and got to travel with the family while growing up, etc. Both kids get something out of it - one gets companionship, the other gets friendship plus the perks of being with an affluent family. Clearly Heidi likes kids since she runs a Day Care. So Justin and Derek as friends makes sense to me.

Beyond that it gets a bit fuzzy. All this defense of Justin and his family only makes sense if Heidi and her son are somehow implicated and believe they are in hot water up to their necks. Perhaps that's why both Tudelas seem so desperate to prove that the kidnapping is the only answer and LE is wrong.

I'm sure the police wondered why someone would be so willing to take in a whole family together when the DiPietros have lots of relatives living right there in the same town. One reason that comes to mind is access and insider knowledge. If they stayed with the Tudelas, then HT and DT would know exactly what was going on with the investigation and exactly what was on the minds of the various people, including Courtney.

And dragging AH, Heidi's cousin, into it early on was possibly more than just a chance to "help" Justin. Her blog and news articles was a way to "control" the story, which backfired because it only raised more questions about the stairs and gate, etc, but the meddling part might be self-serving if the Tudela family knows more than they are saying.

The insurance is obviously a major clue for LE. If the Tudelas knew Justin so well, then they knew he was basically unemployed. The story goes that Derek approached Justin, not the other way around, but how can we tell at this point what is actually true?

 

[katydid23]

The only part of it that makes sense is that they grew up together and did a paper route together. I get that. I had friends who lived in much more grandiose houses than my family had just right around the corner. And Derek Tudela was apparently an only child, and it's been my experience that parents of only children seem to "adopt" other people for their children to spend time with. My husband came from a big family and loved going to his only-child friend's house where they both got loads of attention, plenty of food, lots of things to do, etc. My daughter also had a friend like that and got to travel with the family while growing up, etc. Both kids get something out of it - one gets companionship, the other gets friendship plus the perks of being with an affluent family. Clearly Heidi likes kids since she runs a Day Care. So Justin and Derek as friends makes sense to me.

Beyond that it gets a bit fuzzy. All this defense of Justin and his family only makes sense if Heidi and her son are somehow implicated and believe they are in hot water up to their necks. Perhaps that's why both Tudelas seem so desperate to prove that the kidnapping is the only answer and LE is wrong.

I'm sure the police wondered why someone would be so willing to take in a whole family together when the DiPietros have lots of relatives living right there in the same town. One reason that comes to mind is access and insider knowledge. If they stayed with the Tudelas, then HT and DT would know exactly what was going on with the investigation and exactly what was on the minds of the various people, including Courtney.

And dragging AH, Heidi's cousin, into it early on was possibly more than just a chance to "help" Justin. Her blog and news articles was a way to "control" the story, which backfired because it only raised more questions about the stairs and gate, etc, but the meddling part might be self-serving if the Tudela family knows more than they are saying.

The insurance is obviously a major clue for LE. If the Tudelas knew Justin so well, then they knew he was basically unemployed. The story goes that Derek approached Justin, not the other way around, but how can we tell at this point what is actually true?

Their tight connection makes me wonder if Ayla was being cared for in the Tudela Home daycare some of the time.

Could something have happened to her there?

 

[Donjeta]

Why would the family take the heat for the Tudelas?
Justin might feel loyal to them due to his long relationship with them but they probably wouldn't mean as much to Courtney, Elisha, Phoebe.

It's not clear to me if the Tudelas have even seen Ayla, based on this article. They must have known about her since Derek sold him the policy but there is nothing about what they thought of Ayla's personality and what kind of parenting they had observed from Justin and when they last saw Ayla, if ever.

 

[tlcya]

I still feel the insurance is a big red herring.

I think DT, JD's longtime childhood friend, new to the insurance business, trying to step into his father's line of work, quoted JD some insurance rates for his vehicle and then added the old, hey, while we are discussing insurance . . .

I have no trouble beliving it happened just that way.

I could be wrong, but that is where my head is right now on the insurance issue.

As to HT's fierce loyalty to JD and his family, I think that may be a case of plain old denial. This is a kid (JD) who obviously spent a great deal of time with her own son as children. They shared a paper route, JD probably spent time in and out of the T home.

True story. A latchkey neighborhood kid my husband and I practically adopted, to the point that he had his own room at our home, lived there nearly fulltime, school called us when there were problems, etc. Anyway, this kid eventually was distanced from us because of parenting differences that arose between DH and I and the boy's mother. Flash forward a couple of years. The kid participated in a home invasion perpetrated upon an extremely elderly, blind and deaf neighbor lady. She was beaten severly and left for dead, she lay there for several days, close to death til she was discovered.

I could not wrap my head around this kid, this boy with the winning, charming, crooked grin having been a part of this crime. I just could not reconcile that boy, who ate at my table, slept under my roof, called me mom, with a person who could perpetrate the act which he admitted to having participated in.

It took me a while to get my mind around and accept it. Once I did, it was like I was greiving for that lost kid, the one I knew, the one who would never have done such a heineous thing.

The above is all MOO, my own feel for why HT may be so steadfastly supportive of the D family. Maybe she just cannot admit to having been so very wrong in her judgment of someone. Maybe to admit she may be wrong in her assessment of JD's character is just not something she is able or willing to do.

 

[dog.gone.cute]

Why would the family take the heat for the Tudelas?
Justin might feel loyal to them due to his long relationship with them but they probably wouldn't mean as much to Courtney, Elisha, Phoebe.

It's not clear to me if the Tudelas have even seen Ayla, based on this article. They must have known about her since Derek sold him the policy but there is nothing about what they thought of Ayla's personality and what kind of parenting they had observed from Justin and when they last saw Ayla, if ever.

BBM: This has been "bugging me" all day long -- LOL ! JMO ... but I don't think the Tudela's knew -- or even got to meet -- Ayla.

There was NOT one mention in that article from any of the Tudela's about Ayla -- for example : the last time they saw Ayla, what she was doing, how "cute" she was -- you know, those sorts of things --

And nothing like this even from Heidi -- a mother !

Now ... maybe they did meet Ayla -- but IF they did, wouldn't they have made a statement to the reporter about this baby and the last time they saw her ? KWIM ? ?

Good Grief -- Ayla has been missing for almost 3 months now -- and the Tudela's don't even talk about Ayla ? :maddening: They only talk about Justin ...

Telling ... very telling IMO ...

MOO ...

 

[dog.gone.cute]

:seeya: There is one good thing since this latest Sentinel article was published :

AYLA is back in the news !

It's been quiet for some time, and it was starting to look like it was going to be a :coldcase:

Hopefully, Ayla will be found soon !

MOO ...

 

[Caligram]

JD and family and friends appear to have a common connection, an unspoken agreement kind'a sort'a, that no references should be made to Ayla and the "circumstances" of her "disappearance." No pleas to the public, no additional reward money, no mention of Ayla and how she brightened the lives of her "new" family. No descriptive BS about how much the miss Ayla, how worried they are, can't sleep, can't eat, all they think about is Ayla. It is like Ayla was only a temporary interloper into their family, and now that she's gone they can get back to their dull normal lives. It's clear that Ayla didn't impact that family to a point where they accepted her and loved her as one of them.

Obviously, Ayla didn't belong with them, and how very unfortunate that she was not returned to her mother as promised, a mother who adored this precious gift, and loved her unconditionally.

IMHO

 

[IHAVENOCLUE]

I have to wonder about that drug bust. Was Briana offered up as a sacrifice, a scapegoat to prevent LE from uncovering something much bigger?

Great point, Hambirg!
Briana did not just grow those oxys in her closet with grow lights. That amount HAD to have come from someone else...but who?
There must be someone/some people "bigger" than she is that threw her under the bus.

 

[menmo]

Snipped for space

I believe they all know what happened because they have all lawyered up JMO
:twocents:

Does anyone have a link where they all lawyered up? I have only seen mention of PD and ED doing that, and to tell the truth it does make me wonder more about them than in the beginning. My eyes are still on JD and CR, but now they're now also looking at these two because why did they feel the need to retain an attorney? Especially PD. She supposedly wasn't even home the night Ayla disappeared. Or was she?

I hate to say it, but people that live in grand neo-classical Victorian houses on land with a sweeping view of the river, don't even run in the same social circles with a family like the DiPietros. . .a single mom who used to live in the projects with three illegitimate kids.

Just because someone has money doesn't mean everyone in the home is above par. Seriously I could quote so many instances. Maybe the dad Tudela married someone that was raised quite differently than he was, had a completely different background, but was accepting of whatever.
I often wonder if JD was a supplier of drugs to someone in that family.

WHY would the Tudela's "stick their necks out" for Justin and his family and GF, who are obviously "poi's" in Ayla's disappearance -- even though LE has NOT named them as such ?
MOO ...

There's always some people that just want their name attached and to be a part of the story. You know the old fifteen minutes thing.

MOO

 

[Applesbaby]

The Tudelas’ home — a large, newly built neo-Victorian — sits on a partially wooded hilltop with sweeping views of the Kennebec River valley.

http://www.onlinesentinel.com/news/Father-friends-say-its-possible-cops-say-no-way.html

Interesting details in that article. Does anyone else think that more searches should be done in the Tudela's neighborhood? They are clearly putting themselves out on a limb for some reason - the insurance of course, but there could be other reasons since they insist that Justin has turned to them in the past. Maybe he turned to them before he went to the police?

Surely LE is on that after all these articles. .

I agree, at first I thought that HT was just naive, but the article made me wonder if she or a family member (like Derek) is involved with Ayla's disappearance. Why else would she put her family's reputation on the line and risk loss of business to their daycare and insurance company? I mean, she has REALLY gone out of her way to defend and protect Justin--much more than a friend's mother would do IMHO.

 

[Niner]

Whew... I finally caught up on this case! And just wanted to make a comment on CincinnatiKate's post below - re bold:

I believe that ED made that baby disappear and JD feels that since he didn't "do it" he has nothing to worry about. I find it hard to believe that the police know they are lying but have chosen to do nothing about it. Last I heard, eluding, hampering, and lying are all "convictable" offenses.... the police arrest people everyday for these charges, if the DiPetros have been caught in a lie-then they could be charged. My friend who is chief of police told me, there are laws for everything, if a cop wants to charge you, trust me, he will find the law.

If that were true than Julia B., Sky's mother from Washington state would be sitting in jail as we speak... but unfortunately she's not! :banghead:

 

[Applesbaby]

So the way I read the article was that Derek T still lives at home, is 25, and has a son.

Also, why did CR and her son stay with the T family? Doesn't she have her own apartment? Did anyone else think this was funny?

I think it was either meant to show how generous the Tudelas are, or perhaps CR had to stick around town for a few weeks to answer questions. I wonder where she is now?