Hi, Everyone -
I've been a spectator at websleuths on a number of local and national crimes for a few years, and finally decided to join so I could contribute a bit to this thread.
I'll state outright that I make no claims of expertise and fully recognize that any tidbits or perspectives I may offer pale in comparison to the amazing work you all have done here. Like a lot of people in this community, I just wanted to help in some way.
My family has lived, worked and worshipped in the Monroe, MI area for more than 40 years. I work closely with drug addiction recovery programs in monroe county and have some professional and personal connections to local, state and federal law enforcement. I know most of the business owners and a good number of the "core families" of the small community. I encountered Chelsea a few times while eating at Olga's where she worked, but didn't know her. I am acquainted with some members of the Niswender family and I was among the volunteers who searched for Neveah Buchanan when she went missing.
That said, I wanted to add my thoughts from the "local perspective" to those of members like desbrees, spellbound and others.
Here are a few details I feel are important to know about the Monroe area for those who give thought to this crime:
1) As others have stated, Monroe is a definite "small town" environment. Many, many families are connected by marriage, so IT IS NOT UNUSUAL at all for things to seem connected or strangely coincidental. Lives here are very intertwined. So it can be tempting to make connections that seem suspicious, which really are not at all. Based on my relationships and experience, I personally have absolutely NO DOUBT that the Bruck and Niswender deaths are NOT connected.
2) Monroe, Michigan has been dealing with a Heroin "epidemic" for more than 3 years. (
http://detroit.cbslocal.com/2013/12/12/monroe-county-in-grip-of-deadly-heroin-epidemic) The problem here is pervasive. It is devastating our schools, overwhelming our healthcare system, taxing law enforcement and impacting families from every strata. Drug-related crime including human trafficking, gangs, theft, home invasion, etc. continues to grow in proportion to the heroin problem. So while this is a small town, it is one with big city problems.
3) Based on my work with addiction and my life experiences, I would caution against building a profile of Chelsea or anyone as "innocent" or "good girl" based on family or friend opinions. Drug users are good at secrets and they come from all kinds of families. The police have stated privately and publicly that the majority of people at BM's party were high. We have no testimony or evidence that Chelsea used in general or at the party in particular, but it would be unusual for someone who frequent's that scene to NOT be a recreational user. The vendor's "testimony" is insufficient on its own to gauge Chelsea's sobriety.
4) In or about 2013, local news stories and citizens began reporting recurring issues of suspicious characters around town and multiple, ongoing attempted abductions. (
http://www.monroenews.com/news/2014/sep/23/man-arraigned-attempted-abduction,
http://www.monroenews.com/news/2012/apr/01/woman-reports-attempted-abduction) Those are just a couple of more than a dozen occurences. While local authorities have downplayed the presence of groups of people seemingly out of place and behaving strangely, we all continue to encounter them in stores and public places around time at odd hours (
http://www.monroenews.com/news/2015/mar/01/police-groups-monroe-department-stores-not-serious/) While some of the concern can be attributed to racial prejudice of mostly-white Monroe, some of it cannot.
5) BM's party was popular and well-known among the youth and adults of the town. In general, Halloween is a very popular season here for celebrations, traditions and activities. I know people who attended the party and some who planned to attend, but left when they saw the size of the crowds. The important fact to note is that the party that year was MUCH bigger than normal and was attended by people not common to the party, the local circles of friends or the immediate area.
6) The abandoned facilities where Chelsea's costume parts were found AND the area near the tracks where her body were eventually uncovered are not incredibly obscure. I.E. it wouldn't necessarily be only those VERY local to the area who knew about them or had been there before. As has been reported if not here, then in the media, the area near the tracks is a somewhat popular "make-out" area. (Though, in my opinion, this is not why Chelsea was there that night.)
7) I have seen some discussion here about when and how soon the police knew certain things and began investigating specific people. I personally don't think this should be taken to mean leads were lost or unfollowed. Information was ascertained by family and close friends pretty quickly and filtered to police. LE has made it pretty clear from public statements that they have known more than they have disclosed from the very beginning (as is customary in such investigations.) Even the early volunteers who searched for Chelsea were told more than the general public, and were asked not to disclose the specific areas police had them searching. The areas that were searched which were not in the immediate proximity of the party were based on some of those leads gained very early on.
So, with those details in perspective, here is my personal theory:
I don't subscribe to the "band groupee" theory - that she had a crush on a band member or associate who was involved in her disappearance. I think the party was simply an event common to her social circle and general interest. When she arrived at the party and saw the huge size of the event/crowds, she became uncomfortable. I believe she had a ride arranged to pick her up (as has been reported here and elsewhere) for around 3am, when she planned to go home. I believe sketch man is the prime suspect and accomplice to a small group who perpetrated this crime. I don't believe she knew him before this event. I think he saw her as prey (she had a general appearance of gentleness and timidity - and in a large, chaotic environment where she was already allegedly injured, I believe this was magnified). I believe he approached her as a stranger, spoke kindly to her and simply offered to walk with her to the parking area (i.e. "I'm leaving, too, want to walk out together?") I believe that once in the parking area, sketch and his accomplices abducted her (commonly by knocking the female victim unconscious) into a waiting car and left the scene. The exact events at the abandoned building are uncertain to me, but I generally believe she was assaulted by a group of men, resulting in her death. While LE described the burial site as a crime scene, I suspect this doesn't indicate violence actually occurred here, just that it was the "dump" site. I believe the periodic re-circulation of the flyer with Sketch Man's face, even after finding Chelsea, reinforces him as the prime, but not sole, suspect. I do not believe this was the first or only such act of violence perpetrated by her killers.
lease:
