GUILTY PA - Skyler Kauffman, 9, Souderton, 9 May 2011

[GypsyPrincess]

How in God's name could the girlfriend hear a child screaming "No!!" and not investigate? It is a little late to be asking this now, but if more people would simply check into a situation rather than ignore it and walk away, this would have been prevented. I would much rather look into a situation and find a defiant child not wanting to go inside for dinner, than have the results of this incident. A little piece of me dies every time I hear these stories.

 

[Charlie09]

Exactly. Thank you. At the minimum, don't let child play alone outside until you can move or something done about the perv. Why is this so wrong of me to think?

I don't believe it is wrong, I also don't believe it's blaming the mom. I think we all "benefit" from hindsight in this situation, Skylar doesn't benefit from it, but we all see what we would encourage our friends if in the same situation, and what we would do. It had to spread all over that complex what happened, everyone should have been on hyper alert.

Skylar's mom will live with the should have, could haves for her entire life - I wouldn't wish that on anyone.

Another poster was right, the blame on this belongs to the a$$h@le that did the crime. It's unfortunate that slight changes in actions from many different people could have changed the outcome.

 

[Rhyme & Reason]

I don't believe it is wrong, I also don't believe it's blaming the mom. I think we all "benefit" from hindsight in this situation, Skylar doesn't benefit from it, but we all see what we would encourage our friends if in the same situation, and what we would do. It had to spread all over that complex what happened, everyone should have been on hyper alert.

Skylar's mom will live with the should have, could haves for her entire life - I wouldn't wish that on anyone.

Another poster was right, the blame on this belongs to the a$$h@le that did the crime. It's unfortunate that slight changes in actions from many different people could have changed the outcome.

Thank you. You express what I'm thinking way better than I can!

 

[Rhyme & Reason]

Wow that comment reminded me of something that happened to me once in college and I couldn't even believe what went down. I'll make a long story short. One night in my apartment I was asleep and my roomie screamed and said there was a shadow and some noise coming from outside the window. After turning the lights off we saw the peeping tom and called LE. Well we were scared to death and when the officier came to our door he had the peeping tom guy with him and they were friends!!!!! Nothing ever happened to the creep until about 3 months later he took it a step farther and raped a girl at the apartment pool. :banghead:

OMG how scary that must have been.

 

[JenniferTx]

OMG how scary that must have been.

The worst part was that the officier brought the peeping tom to our door and said he was okay and that he checked-out. We were both young and stupid and had no clue what to even say other than to just let it go. If that would have happened to me now that peeping tom issue would have had an entirely different ending.

Poor Skylar didn't have a chance after this creep got his hands on her. The girlfriend should be kicking herself in the rear about now for not doing anything!

 

[GypsyPrincess]

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/2011/05/11/2011-05-11_james_troutman_arrested_in_rape_murder_of_neighbor_skyler_kauffman_9_family_says.html

"The fiancée, HC, told police that she heard a girl's voice screaming for her life and crashing sounds coming from the basement on Monday evening."


Seriously......... :banghead:

 

[MsFacetious]

I think this is clear without being offensive. I certainly tried for an hour to make it that way.


I look at these situations with a "what would have changed the outcome here?"

Not what "might" have changed it. That doesn't teach us anything. That's why I follow these cases... not to judge or hate or scream about how people are evil... I want to learn something.


If the cops had arrested him a few weeks ago, what would have happened?

He "might" have been in jail, or he "might" have bailed out.

That "might" have prevented him from killing Skylar or it "might" have angered him more.


If Skylar had been inside, what would have happened?

It's highly unlikely he would have broken into her apartment with her mother and grandmother there to abduct her. This would have prevented him from killing Skylar.


If adults had been outside with Skylar and her friends, what would have happened?

It's highly unlikely he would have taken Skylar with an adult or two watching from a few feet away. This would have prevented him from killing Skylar.

It's possible he may have taken her friend instead if she was unsupervised.


I don't think them arresting him a few weeks ago would have guaranteed Skylar and the other girl's safety.

I think Skylar and the other girl's being with an adult at all times would have ensured their safety.


Like the little girl at the laundromat... guy tries to take her... Mom grabs her back. Then when the girl is unsupervised guy comes back and takes her. He didn't fight Mom to get her, he just came back later when Mom left her alone.

I think this would have been the same situation. Without a clear opportunity to take a girl with no witnesses, I don't think he would have done it.


I think the lesson to be learned from this is, take these things seriously.

If your child is approached by a guy who tries to take them, or corner them, or expose themselves to them. Take that seriously, whether they can be charged or not. Act as if your child is being stalked.

That is a situation in which you should not be worried about overreacting.

Assume that person will come back and abduct your child. Imagine the parents who would have loved to have a warning like that... Somer Thompson... Samantha Runnion... my own family with my cousin...

 

[Charlie09]

I think this is clear without being offensive. I certainly tried for an hour to make it that way.


I look at these situations with a "what would have changed the outcome here?"

Not what "might" have changed it. That doesn't teach us anything. That's why I follow these cases... not to judge or hate or scream about how people are evil... I want to learn something.


If the cops had arrested him a few weeks ago, what would have happened?

He "might" have been in jail, or he "might" have bailed out.

That "might" have prevented him from killing Skylar or it "might" have angered him more.


If Skylar had been inside, what would have happened?

It's highly unlikely he would have broken into her apartment with her mother and grandmother there to abduct her. This would have prevented him from killing Skylar.


If adults had been outside with Skylar and her friends, what would have happened?

It's highly unlikely he would have taken Skylar with an adult or two watching from a few feet away. This would have prevented him from killing Skylar.

It's possible he may have taken her friend instead if she was unsupervised.


I don't think them arresting him a few weeks ago would have guaranteed Skylar and the other girl's safety.

I think Skylar and the other girl's being with an adult at all times would have ensured their safety.


Like the little girl at the laundromat... guy tries to take her... Mom grabs her back. Then when the girl is unsupervised guy comes back and takes her. He didn't fight Mom to get her, he just came back later when Mom left her alone.

I think this would have been the same situation. Without a clear opportunity to take a girl with no witnesses, I don't think he would have done it.


I think the lesson to be learned from this is, take these things seriously.

If your child is approached by a guy who tries to take them, or corner them, or expose themselves to them. Take that seriously, whether they can be charged or not. Act as if your child is being stalked.

That is a situation in which you should not be worried about overreacting.

Assume that person will come back and abduct your child. Imagine the parents who would have loved to have a warning like that... Somer Thompson... Samantha Runnion... my own family with my cousin...

Thanks button wasn't enough.

 

[redwine81]

Hello everyone, this is so sad on so many levels.

I also live near the area where this happened. I have another bit of info about this situation. The father of the other little girl who was with Skylar two weeks before this murder confronted the suspect. The suspect tryed to say the girls were lying about him so the other little girl's Father hit him a few times for good measure. Guess what happened. The other little girl's father has assault charges pending on him.

So this wasn't charged but one of his victim's father was !!?! His name is Josh. I am proud of Josh, maybe I shouldn't be but I am.

 

[ljczec]

Uhm, if you have no money for a new place...how exactly are you supposed to move? And where? Out on the streets? Sure, that'd be safer.

Also, way to imply that others would put money above their child's life. Nice. The point wasn't that someone might not want to spend the money to move; the point was that many people simply don't HAVE the money to do so.

In some states, it is legal to break your lease if you can prove the residence is a danger to you or the other residents. You can get your security deposit back and your pro-rated rent from the time you vacated. A police report of the initial incident would have satisfied this lease loophole. Although it could be a potential fight with your landlord, I still think it would be worth it to get out of an extremely dangerous situation.

As an example, my friend lived in a neighborhood where there was a lot of gang activity. After there was a gunfight between a gang member and the police in her front yard, she was able to provide enough information to her landlord to be released from her lease. She had brought him a report of the incident as well as crime statistics for her block.

You CAN overcome a lack of money in a situation such as this.

I don't want this to seems like I'm blaming Skylar's mother at all! I'm definitely not! I'm just showing that when something bad happens to you at home, you have a way to get out of the situation, even if you are very poor.

 

[revampz]

I am glad to hear the other father hit this guy.......I was wondering why the parents hadnt confronted him, but now am glad to hear they did, because I would have!!!!!!! I would have threatened that if he dared to go near mine or any other peoples daughter I would get a vigilante party together and he would be hounded out....

I also want to say that I am not blaming the parents, but I also dont like the police being blamed, because with the laws as they are these days, the charges wouldnt stick and he would have been out and eventually he would have grabbed another girl.

HE is definitely the one to blame, BUT after the previous incident EVERY kid in the apartments should have been very seriously warned not to even talk to this scum, to run if he even came near, to tell an adult if he came near and never ever go near his place. I would have also knocked on every door and told all the adults about the other incident so they could watch him and yes scare him, and make sure the kids were watched.

Also the girlfriend.....WTF!!!!! sorry she definitely deserves some sort of blame, especially if she knew about the previous incident.

 

[Kenziema]

Hello everyone, this is so sad on so many levels.

I also live near the area where this happened. I have another bit of info about this situation. The father of the other little girl who was with Skylar two weeks before this murder confronted the suspect. The suspect tryed to say the girls were lying about him so the other little girl's Father hit him a few times for good measure. Guess what happened. The other little girl's father has assault charges pending on him.

So this wasn't charged but one of his victim's father was !!?! His name is Josh. I am proud of Josh, maybe I shouldn't be but I am.

Um, that is 100% not true. And Dad's name is Eric- not Josh.

On a separate note, my parents were at a local diner tonight. Skyler's mother and grandmother were sitting across from them. I'm sorry, but I find it very odd that the mother of a child who was just raped and murdered was out to dinner.

 

[MsFacetious]

BBM

Hello everyone, this is so sad on so many levels.

I also live near the area where this happened. I have another bit of info about this situation. The father of the other little girl who was with Skylar two weeks before this murder confronted the suspect. The suspect tryed to say the girls were lying about him so the other little girl's Father hit him a few times for good measure. Guess what happened. The other little girl's father has assault charges pending on him.

So this wasn't charged but one of his victim's father was !!?! His name is Josh. I am proud of Josh, maybe I shouldn't be but I am.

Um, that is 100% not true. And Dad's name is Eric- not Josh.

On a separate note, my parents were at a local diner tonight. Skyler's mother and grandmother were sitting across from them. I'm sorry, but I find it very odd that the mother of a child who was just raped and murdered was out to dinner.

Redwine said "The father of the other little girl who was with Skyler."

She did not say Skyler's father, who's name is in fact Eric.


Skyler's father Eric doesn't fault police for her death:

http://www.timesonline.com/news/nat...cle_76a2b1c1-53bb-5cb0-bd8d-657fcc8f94d2.html


I guess it's possible they are both named Eric... but I wanted to make that clarification because it doesn't sound that way to me.

I do not have enough information to do any checking, but here is the inmate search. If the option is checked to have released inmates included I would guess it would bring up more minor arrests as well. I am not sure though.


Inmate search:

http://webapp.montcopa.org:8080/inmatelookup?flow_action=


Skyler's killer comes up in a search.

http://webapp.montcopa.org:8080/inmatelookup?client=public

 

[redwine81]

Um, that is 100% not true. And Dad's name is Eric- not Josh.

On a separate note, my parents were at a local diner tonight. Skyler's mother and grandmother were sitting across from them. I'm sorry, but I find it very odd that the mother of a child who was just raped and murdered was out to dinner.

I stand by my post. The charges are pending at this time for assault.

 

[Charlie09]

Um, that is 100% not true. And Dad's name is Eric- not Josh.

On a separate note, my parents were at a local diner tonight. Skyler's mother and grandmother were sitting across from them. I'm sorry, but I find it very odd that the mother of a child who was just raped and murdered was out to dinner.

I don't find that odd....being in that apt must be very difficult for them.

 

[Rhyme & Reason]

I stand by my post. The charges are pending at this time for assault.

Hi redwine, I believe kenziema thought you were saying Skylar's dad's name is Josh. Just a misunderstaning of your post?

 

[redwine81]

Hi redwine, I believe kenziema thought you were saying Skylar's dad's name is Josh. Just a misunderstaning of your post?

Thanks, maybe so.

 

[Helplessly Hoping]

From an interview with the now former fiancee, Heather Clemens...

http://abclocal.go.com/wpvi/story?section=news/crime&id=8125415

"He was very sweaty and he was covered in what looked like mud to me, dried mud, on his clothing from his chest down to his shoes," Clemens said.
She now knows it was blood, not mud.

And

Timeline

Here’s an account from Troutman’s fiancee, Heather Clemens, according to arresting documents:

» Troutman left the apartment shortly after 5 p.m. Monday and said he was going outside to play video games on his cell phone.

» About 45 minutes later, Clemens heard a female voice “wailing” and screaming “No.” That was followed by “crashing sounds” that sounded “like someone was being thrown to the ground.”

» Clemens called Troutman, who didn’t answer but called back about five minutes later and said he was exercising at Indian Crest School.

» Shortly after 6 p.m., Troutman returned home “dirty and sweaty” with “caked-on mud” on his shirt, shorts, knees, shins and socks. He put his clothes in the hamper, took a shower and they ate dinner.

http://www.metro.us/philadelphia/lo...n-neighbor-charged-in-skyler-kauffman-s-death

I have some issues believing her thinking it was mud. There has been no appreciable rain for several days and the area received .57 of an inch in the month of May.

http://www.wunderground.com/history/airport/KABE/2011/5/9/DailyHistory.html

 

[Rhyme & Reason]

Hello everyone, this is so sad on so many levels.

I also live near the area where this happened. I have another bit of info about this situation. The father of the other little girl who was with Skylar two weeks before this murder confronted the suspect. The suspect tryed to say the girls were lying about him so the other little girl's Father hit him a few times for good measure. Guess what happened. The other little girl's father has assault charges pending on him.

So this wasn't charged but one of his victim's father was !!?! His name is Josh. I am proud of Josh, maybe I shouldn't be but I am.

I'm proud of him too. Do you have any contact info for DA? I'll write a letter/email on Josh's behalf.

 

[annalyzer]

this clears up a lot of previous false info we got about that incident

More information emerges about previous incident involving Kauffman, Troutman

Troutman asked the girls if they wanted to see his bird, according to the criminal complaint filed against him on Tuesday. The law enforcement source said that was not an innuendo; it referred to birds Troutman collected with wooden bird feeders he made and kept outside the apartment.

Souderton police investigated the event and talked to all involved, the law enforcement source said, and determined that the incident was a misunderstanding and there was no action that would be cause for charges against Troutman.

http://www.thereporteronline.com/ar...4dcb18c765d15291612059.txt?viewmode=fullstory