The Table and Chairs
by logical minded engineer
http://nikkiladuejanuary.blogspot.com/2011/11/table-and-chairs.html
One of the photos taken of the crime scene shows the contents of a small table with 2 chairs situated at either side. In one chair sits Nikkis lifeless body. The other chair is, of course, vacant. However, the angle of that second chair is very interesting to me and started me thinking a bit more. Both chairs are angled in such a way around the table that would suggest 2 people were sitting there the night Nikki died. Why? The table isnt very big in diameter, and for both individuals to scoot up to it, theyd have to angle their chairs so that they didnt knock knees or step on each others feet.
Now lets look at the contents of the table in particular the ashtray (i.e. spent cigarette butts), the Marlboro Red cigarette pack, and the lighter closest to the vacant chair. The position of each of these is consistent with a person sitting in the vacant chair the night Nikki died. The position and angle of the lighter is consistent with an individual sitting in the vacant chair that uses his right hand to activate the lighter when lighting cigarettes. The position and angle of the Marlboro Red cigarette pack is consistent with an individual sitting in the vacant chair that holds a cigarette pack in his left hand when he withdraws a cigarette to light. Looking at the spent cigarette butts in the ashtray, the position and angle of the most recently smoked (i.e. top layer) cigarette butts are consistent with being extinguished by somebody sitting in the vacant chair and using his left hand to snuff out the cigarettes. Looking at the ashtray, theres only 1 cigarette butt in the top layer that Nikki appears to have extinguished (though the full contents of the ashtray is obscured from view).
Nikki was a smoker, but she didnt smoke Marlboro reds. The position of Nikkis cigarette pack and lighter dont make sense to me, given where she was sitting. Why would a smoker place her cigarette pack and lighter on the opposite side of the table to which she was sitting (I believe the position of her cigarette pack was moved after Nikki died, without necessarily changing the orientation of the pack.
As a smoker, when Im nervous, anxious, or wound up, I smoke more. Thats just what smokers do. Judging from the contents of the ashtray, was the individual sitting in the vacant chair particularly anxious on this night?
What are the implications here? Two scenarios come to mind. One possibility -- it appears Nikki knew her killer. They may have sat at the table and had a discussion prior to her death. Possibly the individual was trying to persuade Nikki to do (or not do) something (i.e. dont leave me). When the killer realized Nikki could no longer be controlled, did he get up and end her life? Or possibly, he jumped up after Nikki began feeling threatened and picked up the phone to call police? The other possibility is that the killer surprised Nikki on the balcony, killed her, and then sat down at the table to contemplate what to do next (an amateur without a meticulous well-crafted and thought out plan who had acted on impulse and emotion). Neither of the 2 possibilities described above would suggest Nikkis murder was a mob hit left in the hands of a hired professional. However, they do point to a very obvious suspect. And the evidence strongly suggests Nikki was not alone the night of her death.
One other observation . . . investigators suggested the black case shown on the table is a camera case (put there while taking crime scene photos). However, the photos they took at the crime scene were Polaroids. Circa 2002, I was still using a Polaroid camera from time to time at my own job. These cameras were rather large and bulky and would not have fit into the case shown on the table. In short, its just another explanation provided by the crime scene investigators that, although convenient, does not appear plausible.
That statement is likely the last youll see from Phil January on this blog anyway. Let me explain. When I first heard of Nikki LaDue Januarys case I was in the process of creating this little blog. I wanted to focus on cold cases with the hopes that bringing back discussion would help spark someones memory or in some way, provide a tid-bit of information to law enforcement investigators to breathe some life into a case. Technically, Nikkis case is not a cold case. It was closed within a couple of hours and ruled a suicide. But the more I read about her and the more I read and saw about her death on July 29, 2002, the more I thought she would be a perfect case to spotlight. Why? Because everything about it was so wrong. I could have read blogs and based on that wrote something about her. I choose though to talk to those who were closest to her. I cant tell you how many emails I sent to people asking not so much about her death, but her life. Surprisingly few responded. But who did respond? Nikkis mom Bonnie LaDue and Nikkis husband Phil January. I dont know either person. I didnt know Nikki. My goal was simply to provide a forum for people to get to know Nikki and to find out what people thought happened.
