MI MI - Raven Jeffries, 7, Detroit, 4 August 2006

[Mabel]

Mabel, have they released the name of the registered sex offender who is a friend of the family?

No, they haven't. It was very clear that the mother intentionally did not say his name during her interview last night.

 

[Mabel]

Police questioned Raven's mom and brother today, although they are not considered suspects in her disappearance. They also took Raven's bedding.

http://www.clickondetroit.com/news/9656218/detail.html

hmmmmm......?

In other news, the missing 11 year old, Shantell Johnson, has been found safe. A man is being questioned about her disappearance.

http://www.clickondetroit.com/news/9656568/detail.html

 

[Mabel]

Also from that article:

A vigil was planned for 10:30 p.m. on Wednesday. A makeshift memorial was damaged on Wednesday when an argument between Hosler and a neighbor erupted during a vigil, according to Local 4 reports.

I'm beginning to wonder about Hosler's temper. Maybe it's just the stress getting to him.

 

[englishleigh]

Also from that article:



I'm beginning to wonder about Hosler's temper. Maybe it's just the stress getting to him.

I have a hinky feeling about the brother. My hinky meter went off when he confronted the reporter about saying that the body found was the same size as Raven.

 

[Shadow205]

I agree, IMO, something is not right with the brother. It could be the stress, it could be guilt because he was supposed to be watching her or it could be guilt because he knows what happened to her. I can't believe that LE is just now removing her bedding.

 

[Bobbisangel]

I could be wrong but I don't think that the brother is involved. I think his anxiety level is probably sky high. He is probably blaming himself because he didn't stay at home with Raven. In the back of their minds has to be the little child found and that testing is being done on. If clothes that matched what Raven was wearing were found by the burnt child there is probably a 99% chance it is Raven.

I wonder if LE think that someone raped that little girl in her bed or molested her while everyone was gone. Why else would they take the blankets from her bed?

I guess a family could have a friend and not know that they are a registered sex offender if they never go online or stop at the local police department to look at the pic's of the sex offenders in their neighborhood. I'm sure that these perverts don't go around announcing that they are registered offenders.
I joined a site that sends me an email everytime a new registered sex offender moves into my little town. There are plenty around but not in my neighborhood.

 

[Bobbisangel]

That is wonderful news about the other little girl being found...11 yr old Shantell. I hope they get the person who took her....glad she is alright too.

 

[JinxieJada]

According to the news last night, friends and family say the clothing shown with the body matches Raven's but her mother and brother deny and state that they can't be positive. Tests are supposed to come back w/i 72 hours of them taking the bedding, and the police are following a couple of leads given to them. The amber alert HAS NOT been cancelled though, so whether it's false hope, it's still hope!

 

[Mabel]

I don't believe the brother is involved either. He broke down during one of the prayer vigils and cried that he'd never leave Raven alone again once they get her back so it could be guilt that's causing him to act out. Or, it could be that he's just an explosive type of guy.

There's another sister, I think she's 13. I wonder where she was when Raven disappeared, if she saw or heard anything. They rarely talk about her.

 

[beakiebean]

I think the brother is terribly sad and knowing the odds that the body they found is likely Raven probably terribly angry too. I sure undertand why they want to hold out hope for her safe return and how maddening it must be to hear people assuming the body is Raven no matter what the odds.

 

[Beffie]

The clothing by the burned body matched the clothing Raven was last seen in (identified by friends of Raven's).

http://www.clickondetroit.com/news/9661971/detail.html

 

[englishleigh]

I still wonder about the brother. Why burn the body? A regular sex offender wouldn't burn her body, I wouldn't think, he'd just leave it somewhere in the open or bury it in a shallow grave. Someone who desperately wanted to destroy any trace of evidence that might lead back to them is the suspect who would think to burn the body. Someone close to the victim. JMO. I hope I am wrong.

 

[Gmommy]

I definitely think the person who burned that child's body must know them-cover their tracks long enough to go into hiding somewhere. Whoever that child is I hope the killer gets a tough sentence...NO PLEA BARGAINS! I'm sick of idiots and pervs getting a free ride due to some sleazy plea bargain. I understand why lawyers make bargains in order to gain information about other perps but it always seems so sleazy to me.

I don't think Raven's brother is involved in her disapperance at all-he seems to be really sincere and as upset as one would expect. I imagine the poor guy is going to second guess himself for the rest of his life

 

[Marie]

This is all just so very sad.

 

[Bobbisangel]

I definitely think the person who burned that child's body must know them-cover their tracks long enough to go into hiding somewhere. Whoever that child is I hope the killer gets a tough sentence...NO PLEA BARGAINS! I'm sick of idiots and pervs getting a free ride due to some sleazy plea bargain. I understand why lawyers make bargains in order to gain information about other perps but it always seems so sleazy to me.

I don't think Raven's brother is involved in her disapperance at all-he seems to be really sincere and as upset as one would expect. I imagine the poor guy is going to second guess himself for the rest of his life

I'm sick to death of hearing about plea bargains too. I can understand offering them in less serious cases but not for MURDER! The reason Pros offer plea bargins is because they avoid a trial if the person will plead guilty and the criminal gets a lessor sentence. Often it isn't even about LE gaining information. They just don't want the county to have to pay for a trial. It's a win for the Pros whether by a plea bargain or winning at a trial. Makes his record look good. Some times they even plea down to 2nd degree murder when the origional charge was 1st degree. It makes me just livid :furious:

The Prosecutor on my daughter's case made the mistake of going behind our backs and offering my daughter's killer a plea bargain. I accused him of giving the killer a plea and he denied it. I knew that the killer would never have changed his plea to guilty unless he got something out of it though. Some of the detectives on the case called me after the trial and asked if I had even known about the plea. They told me how he did it. The Pros was up for re-election 5 months after the sentencing and my daughter and I got busy along with another mother who had the same thing happen when her son was murdered during a " thrill kill." We wrote letters to the paper and talked to a lot of people throughout the county. That Pros was voted OUT and we have a good one in now...one who put victims first.

I'm wondering if the person who murdered Raven isn't that registered sex offender that was a friend of the family. Maybe he stopped by when everyone was gone except Raven. I could see why he would set her on fire. I don't know, there have been so many bodies lately that have been set on fire it may not be anyone that knew her but just wanted the time to get away before she could be identified. I think they set the victim on fire to erase evidence. Raven was no doubt raped. I don't think her brother had anything to do with it though. I imagine he is just experiencing a ton of different feeling right now. I feel bad for him.

 

[Beffie]

Search warrants issued. There may be an arrest in the near future.

http://www.clickondetroit.com/news/9666940/detail.html

I also heard on the afternoon news the dna (from the burned body) is not suppose to be back until next week.

 

[Mabel]

They searched a storage facility in Taylor. What a strange development. I wonder what led them there.

 

[dulcinea]

It's been rumored that a couple of people didn't pass the polygraph. Maybe one of them (or another POI) has a personal storage space and the police checked it out. They could be looking for DNA or even possible fire related items like accelerants or a gas can.

 

[Beffie]

I just had this terrible thought. Maybe if Raven was sexually assaulted they did it in the storage shed. That way if she screamed no one would hear her. Especially if it was in the middle of the night. They showed the storage place that was seached, but I do not know where it is (I have relatives that live in Taylor). To see how far away from everything else it is.

 

[JinxieJada]

Or if it is her - they "stored" her body there, and panicked -and that's how the body ended up being burned? I think someone else mentioned something about dna or Identification being more difficult w/ a burned body. Just different things running through my head. Still can't figure out why the location though - there are so many places to "dispose" of a body in the city of detroit, from any number of abandoned houses and alleyways to the River itself. It's almost like someone wanted this child to be found. But why go to that extreme - is someone trying to advertise something, flaunt it etc?