GUILTY SC - Gabrielle Swainson, 15, Columbia, 18 Aug 2012

[hambirg]

Where is it confirmed? How awful....

Here is one. . .I think there are more.

Officers say 52-year-old Freddie Grant is accused of taking the girl. Lott says Grant was the boyfriend of Swainson's mother.

http://www.wltx.com/news/article/199418/2/Man-Arrested-for-Kidnapping-Gabbiee-Swainson

Apologies in-advance...I've not followed this case until today and am not caught-up on its history...

hambirg, I am just working from your fine Reply, not disagreeing in the least with what you posted...
Do we know if Gabbiee ever alerted her mother to her gut feeling about this individual?

Regardless, I can see NO reason to place any blame whatsoever on her mother, not even a sideways glance.

I DO think that this horrible turn of events holds a lesson for others, a lesson Gabbiee's mom herself would have taken-to, had she only known.

In this day & age, thorough background checks are highly advisable if not essential when contemplating a relationship. Some ppl do this routinely when hiring help...All the more need when allowing the added closeness of a personal relationship.

afaik, criminal background checks cost money...but it would be the best $50 or whatever a person might EVER spend.

~jmo~

It was just rumor that there was friction between Gabbie and her mother over the mother's boyfriend. IIRC it came up when it was being discussed whether or not Gabbie could have run away.

Again, I'm not blaming her mom at all. I don't know if that was true. But it was just a general warning. . .listen to your kids. It's easy to rationalize things away, but sometimes what they are saying has merit, kwim?

Btw. . .if this is true. . .I can imagine the horror Gabbie felt when he showed up in the middle of the night. :cry:

Sorry, this is a little to close to trigger territory for me.

 

[revampz]

Yes, it's been confirmed that they were in a relationship. I see two victims here. I can't imagine that Mom will ever be able to trust anyone ever again. He is truly a monster. :furious:


ETA. . .I'm betting he had a key. . .I'm also betting that Gabbie already had a gut feeling about him too. I'm not blaming Mom. I bet this guy was smooth. . .but for the love of God, listen to your children. I always try to teach my kids not to ignore that little voice inside their head. We all have gut instincts. . .they are there for a reason. . listen to them. . .no matter how stupid they make you feel rationally. It's too easy too rationalize them away. . .and then it's too late and hindsight is 20/20.

Have just caught up...............and aaaaarrrgghhhhhh another boyfriend of the mum!!! This mum obviously loved her daughter very much and it is to her credit that Gabrielle excelled at so much, I really do feel so sorry for her and the guilt she will live with for the rest of her life.........

BUT I keep saying it over and over......there has to be some form of education for single mums.......cant Oprah come back and do a televised special which airs on all channels which tells women not to jump into relationships if they have children until they know what they are bringing into their childrens lives.........just to slow down. In my fantasy tv show OPrah would have mothers on telling their stories............the saddest thing is their literally would be hundreds of them, I reckon I have seen close to one hundred on here alone.....

This guy is a serial killer and would have done it again for sure.......they better look right into his past.

And I agree with everyone saying about these offenders getting "rehabilitated" and let out into society..................for goodness sakes dogooders of the world, while it is nice to all hold hands and sing Kumbuya, there is evil out there iin the world and alot of people have been too damaged to rehabilitate......

 

[shana]

When my husband and I discussed this case today (that would be me telling him just the latest news and the background I had gleaned, and his responses), we both remarked what an impact Gabbiee would have had on her community, and beyond.

If she is found deceased as sadly seems most likely, we think of all the persons she could have helped in her life, had it been left to progress on the path she was taking. A tragic loss to ALL including the many anonymous future victim survivors, in our view.

We went on to remember Chelsea, Amber, and other precious young lives lost. We may not be able to mobilize sufficiently to ensure that all of the monsters are kept behind bars, but we can increase our individual level of protection against them. This is a power we still possess.

~jmo~

 

[sadnpod]

No words... her poor mother.

 

[Backwoods]

Praying for Gabbiee and for her mom here. So, so sad.

Even beyond the evil intent and such that I certainly just can't understand -- in cases like this, where a man becomes involved in a woman's life and then attacks her child, one other thing I will never understand ... does someone like this really not understand that most likely he is going to get CAUGHT... that he is going to be one of the first people looked at?? Is the impulse really just THAT irresistible...?

Oh, how I hope that, by a miracle if need be, Gabbiee can come home safe...

 

[hambirg]

Praying for Gabbiee and for her mom here. So, so sad.

Even beyond the evil intent and such that I certainly just can't understand -- in cases like this, where a man becomes involved in a woman's life and then attacks her child, one other thing I will never understand ... does someone like this really not understand that most likely he is going to get CAUGHT... that he is going to be one of the first people looked at?? Is the impulse really just THAT irresistible...?

Oh, how I hope that, by a miracle if need be, Gabbiee can come home safe...

I really don't think they care about that.

The worst thing about this case to me, is the feeling that Meeka Willmingham died in vain. Her death was suppose to insure that nothing like this ever happened again. There were laws passed that made it so that the community knew about offenders pasts. I guess it didn't happen in this case. It is literally the exact same scenario! I know we don't know what happened to Gabbie yet. . .and I'm praying for a miracle, but in my dreams I see Meeka and Gabbie hugging and doing cheers together. I take a small bit of comfort in picturing them together. . .two beautiful, loved, smart girls. . .that heaven needed more than us.

 

[nikb]

What an amazing story. I hadn't heard her story before, so thank you for sharing it. I sure hope you're right about Gabbiee.

PS sorry to quote myself and was so hoping for new information on Gabbiee, but I thought it was pretty incredible how Elizabeth (from the story quoted a few posts back) still had her sweet and beautiful, almost innocent smile. It gave me a lot of hope that just maybe some of these other missing little girls can have that again.

 

[nikb]

I really don't think they care about that.

The worst thing about this case to me, is the feeling that Meeka Willmingham died in vain. Her death was suppose to insure that nothing like this ever happened again. There were laws passed that made it so that the community knew about offenders pasts. I guess it didn't happen in this case. It is literally the exact same scenario! I know we don't know what happened to Gabbie yet. . .and I'm praying for a miracle, but in my dreams I see Meeka and Gabbie hugging and doing cheers together. I take a small bit of comfort in picturing them together. . .two beautiful, loved, smart girls. . .that heaven needed more than us.

boy do I hope you're wrong. No offense whatsoever, I bet you hope you're wrong too.

 

[shana]

Overview of Meeka Willingham case:

LINK

~jmo~

 

[Really?]

Grant's former live in girlfriend last name Laster has been reported missing since March of this year. Wonder how that case was playing out and why no radar on Grant.

I am sure if that MP case was aired more and POI named in media Gabbie's mom would have known more about her BF.

 

[~n/t~]

How sad and ironic that the last thing Gabbiee's mom did before leaving for work was return her cellphone to her and the cellphone is what tracked Gabbiee to the perp's house.

In addition, GPS tracking from her cell phone also led investigators to the location.

"The cell phone was able to be track, where we can show when it left the house, the route they took, and where he ended up at," Lott said.

http://www.wltx.com/news/article/199418/2/Man-Arrested-for-Kidnapping-Gabbiee-Swainson


Still hoping and praying for a miracle. lease:

 

[~n/t~]

Grant's former live in girlfriend last name Laster has been reported missing since March of this year. Wonder how that case was playing out and why no radar on Grant.

I am sure if that MP case was aired more and POI named in media Gabbie's mom would have known more about her BF.

Wow. She's been missing for a year.

http://www.wltx.com/news/article/185652/2/Police-Seek-Publics-Help-in-Missing-Woman-Case-

If you read the comments, her sister posted about the perp.

http://www.wltx.com/comments/185652/2/Police-Seek-Publics-Help-in-Missing-Woman-Case-

Is there a thread for Adriana? Off to check.

nurse started one yesterday. http://www.websleuths.com/forums/showthread.php?t=183120&highlight=adriana+laster

 

[BigCat]

‘Monster’ charged with kidnapping missing teen

http://www.thestate.com/2012/08/29/2416650/monster-charged-with-kidnapping.html#.UD33WtZlQbM

 

[Coldpizza]

‘Monster’ charged with kidnapping missing teen

http://www.thestate.com/2012/08/29/2416650/monster-charged-with-kidnapping.html#.UD33WtZlQbM

Tons of info in that article...ty for posting it

A man described as a monster and a career criminal forced 15-year-old Gabrielle Swainson from her home in the wee hours of the night on Aug. 18 and took her to his burned out house on a dirt lane in Elgin.

Investigators traced Gabrielle’s cellphone signal to Grant’s house

Grant moved to the Midlands more than 20 years ago after serving a stint in the Army, said his sister, Cynthia Grant, who was standing with other neighbors outside his Elgin home. His older brother also had been stationed at Fort Jackson, and most of the family eventually moved to the area from Florida,

(There's the tie to Florida)

Grant’s wife, Ollie Rotan, died in 2004, Hudson said.


http://www.thestate.com/2012/08/29/2416650/monster-charged-with-kidnapping.html#.UD4IeFZlRed

 

[stillwatersc]

http://www.wistv.com/story/19405338/missing-teens-mother-believes-shes-still-alive

"In this time, in this moment, it's gotten a little harder for me and I am still staying strong through God that's the only person that's helping me stay strong," said Swainson.

 

[Truman]

Coldpizza;8311612

Grant’s wife, Ollie Rotan, died in 2004, Hudson said.

http://www.thestate.com/2012/08/29/2416650/monster-charged-with-kidnapping.html#.UD4IeFZlRed

Respectfully bolded and snipped by me.

I found an Ollie M. Rotan born March 14, 1956 who lived in Elgin. There is very little information about her - if anyone subscribes to sites that might list her cause of death, I'd appreciate you checking it out! If she really died in 2004, she would have been just 48.

edit: Yep, that's her. Her address is listed as 2441 Bowen St, Elgin, SC, 29045, which is also Freddie Grant's address.
edit 2: I accidentally pasted their former address, they're also both listed at his current 1009 Kelly Street address.

 

[Simp]

For a person that is new to the internet and computer world,,,, how do you do a background check on someone? I'm assuming you guys mean doing a background check yourself via internet, correct? Is it legal? I just have no idea and have never done such a thing. Maybe I should??? Sorry for the off topic but I felt like I should ask.

 

[Coldpizza]

Respectfully bolded and snipped by me.

I found an Ollie M. Rotan born March 14, 1956 who lived in Elgin. There is very little information about her - if anyone subscribes to sites that might list her cause of death, I'd appreciate you checking it out! If she really died in 2004, she would have been just 48.

edit: Yep, that's her. Her address is listed as 2441 Bowen St, Elgin, SC, 29045, which is also Freddie Grant's address.

I'm not a subscriber to any sites, but I did look and could find nothing. So you did better than I! But I sure would like to know. Also wondering times when he would have been incarcerated for past crimes.

 

[Coldpizza]

For a person that is new to the internet and computer world,,,, how do you do a background check on someone? I'm assuming you guys mean doing a background check yourself via internet, correct? Is it legal? I just have no idea and have never done such a thing. Maybe I should??? Sorry for the off topic but I felt like I should ask.

Simp there are several sights where you can do background checks but they do require payment for the info.

And yes it is legal.

HTH

 

[Coldpizza]

I did find Ollie in Elgin SC, looks like she was a few years older than FG

http://www.zabasearch.com/people/ollie+rotan/