Skyla Whitaker, 11, & Taylor Placker 13 - Found Murdered - #14

[tapu]

Hmm.... I rather fancy the POI as THE shooter, but without an eyewitness to the actual crime. That is, that the POI was the shooter and was only seen driving past someone in either direction. (Oh, wait, though: hannah'snana, what do we know about his truck's position?? I think i've not caught up to that)

 

[YellowDog]

I think these murders were retribution for something the girls did or knew. It was an execution. They made sure both girls were dead. And they were so angry that they didn't even have any concerns about it being in broad daylight in a traveled area. They didn't even try to hide the bodies. They wanted vengeance. I believe they met up with the killer or killers at the bridge, something transpired, the girls left to go home and they were followed and killed.

I tend to think the truck on the road was someone driving by who saw the bodies, got out to make sure he was seeing what he thought he'd seen and then left because he was afraid he'd become their number one suspect. He also could have been someone on parole who was out of his county and afraid of a parole violation charge.

In a town of less than 1000 people, anyone driving a white truck has probably already been turned in for questioning. And you know everyone must be looking over their shoulders wondering about who could possibly be a suspect.

The town of Dustin is located on a former Indian Reservation and about 5 miles away I believe. Maybe they need to look around there, too.

 

[Nickelfoo]

I think these murders were retribution for something the girls did or knew. It was an execution. They made sure both girls were dead. And they were so angry that they didn't even have any concerns about it being in broad daylight in a traveled area. They didn't even try to hide the bodies. They wanted vengeance. I believe they met up with the killer or killers at the bridge, something transpired, the girls left to go home and they were followed and killed.

I tend to think the truck on the road was someone driving by who saw the bodies, got out to make sure he was seeing what he thought he'd seen and then left because he was afraid he'd become their number one suspect. He also could have been someone on parole who was out of his county and afraid of a parole violation charge.

In a town of less than 1000 people, anyone driving a white truck has probably already been turned in for questioning. And you know everyone must be looking over their shoulders wondering about who could possibly be a suspect.

The town of Dustin is located on a former Indian Reservation and about 5 miles away I believe. Maybe they need to look around there, too.

You may be right. He may be afraid they will not believe him. What in the world could 2 little girls have done or seen to anger someone that much? Drugs? Someone was out of control to unload 2 guns on those girls. It is hard to believe in a town that size that no one has recognized that POI picture.

 

[Albert18]

What I am saying isn't negative about LE at all, in fact it is just the opposite.

From what I knew about the POI it seemed to me the POI had to be the killer or one of the killers.

But....

* LE doesn't seem that interested in the POI.
* LE is pushing the two or more involved theory, but only one POI.
* LE says they don't think the POI is involved, they just want to talk to him. How can he be there and not be involved?
* LE is pushing the local involvement theory but how can the POI be local and not have been found already?

I was chalking up all of this confusion and inconsistencies to incompetence on the part of LE. Now I think differently. I think they are playing mind games with the people who did this. They are trying to increase the paranoia of the killer or killers. And paranoid people do strange things.

This is all good. Let me give an example.

Claycat advances her theory but then she always stops because she says she can't account for the POI. What I am saying is that the POI is no longer part of the equation. We don't have to account for the POI!!!! (ETA: I should say POI is no longer part of the killing equation. Just like LE has told us.)

 

[tapu]

What I am saying isn't negative about LE at all, in fact it is just the opposite.

From what I knew about the POI it seemed to me the POI had to be the killer or one of the killers.

But....

* LE doesn't seem that interested in the POI.
* LE is pushing the two or more involved theory, but only one POI.
* LE says they don't think the POI is involved, they just want to talk to him. How can he be there and not be involved?
* LE is pushing the local involvement theory but how can the POI be local and not have been found already?

I was chalking up all of this confusion and inconsistencies to incompetence on the part of LE. Now I think differently. I think they are playing mind games with the people who did this. They are trying to increase the paranoia of the killer or killers. And paranoid people do strange things.

This is all good. Let me give an example.

Claycat advances her theory but then she always stops because she says she can't account for the POI. What I am saying is that the POI is no longer part of the equation. We don't have to account for the POI!!!! (ETA: I should say POI is no longer part of the killing equation. Just like LE has told us.)

Then... who is the POI really? How would LE have eliminated him if he hasn't been found? And, why is the sketch still out there.

(If anyone wants to read about the ultimate LE lesson on putting out suspect sketches, do see the Boston case of Charles Stuart. The city rioted. On edit: Albert, I'm not saying you think LE put out a suspect sketch in this case--as a matter of fact, I don't know what you are thinking about that. But, the Stuart case is a classic anecdote regarding why LE would not put out--or leave out--a sketch that is no longer relevant. )

 

[FlowerChild]

I know this has probably been addressed before so sorry. But I read that we did not know who Taylor's parents are but was wondering why the hyphen in her name and do all 4 Pashel/Placker children live with the grandparents and are they all brothers and sisters or cousins or what? This get so confusing.

Taylors "brothers and sisters" are all grown adults - so no, they don't live with the Plackers - although some live nearby.
We have to assume that Taylor's the bio child of ONE of the older Placker/Paschal children - we just don't know which one. Vicky and Peter have had legal custody pretty much since Taylor was born and they considered her their daughter and raised her as their daughter - she called them Mom and Dad and the the other children called her their sister. Taylor did know she was Vicky and Peter's bio grandaughter but she obviously considered them her parents. And they aren't that old - the COULD have been her parents.

Vicky is the Paschal, Peter the Placker, we can only assume they gave Taylor both names because she is the daughter of one of the kids and the kids have both Paschal and Placker as a last name (some Paschal, some Placker)- this way Taylor is a part of "both".

My Opinion

 

[Dr. Pennypacker]

I think POI is a witness - post murder.
Killers are 2 young males that the girls speak with at the bridge.
Killing is result of something said or done by the girls.

Common misconception for something as horrific as this is there must have something really big behind it.
Nowadays kids kill each other over trivial excuses....i.e. hurt feelings.....

 

[Nickelfoo]

Taylors "brothers and sisters" are all grown adults - so no, they don't live with the Plackers - although some live nearby.
We have to assume that Taylor's the bio child of ONE of the older Placker/Paschal children - we just don't know which one. Vicky and Peter have had legal custody pretty much since Taylor was born and they considered her their daughter and raised her as their daughter - she called them Mom and Dad and the the other children called her their sister. Taylor did know she was Vicky and Peter's bio grandaughter but she obviously considered them her parents. And they aren't that old - the COULD have been her parents.

Vicky is the Paschal, Peter the Placker, we can only assume they gave Taylor both names because she is the daughter of one of the kids and the kids have both Paschal and Placker as a last name (some Paschal, some Placker)- this way Taylor is a part of "both".



My Opinion

Wow, thank you for the run down of the family tree. I will save this for later reference.

 

[Albert18]

Then... who is the POI really? How would LE have eliminated him if he hasn't been found? And, why is the sketch still out there.

We don't know is the answer to all three questions.

Maybe they know almost exactly the time the girls were killed. And from what the witnesses told them they know the POI couldn't have done it. The info about the time of the killings and the info about the POI is coming from different sources. So LE knows the POI wasn't involved but that doesn't mean the witnesses who saw the POI know he wasn't involved. And maybe the people who did this are wondering who the heck this POI is?

You have to remember this is an odd case.

I have never seen a case where LE says Grandpa found the victims, retrieved a cell phone from one of the victims and called 911 and then later when the 911 call is played I am listening to Grandma. Remember, he went looking for the girls, not they went looking for the girls. Where did Grandma come from? No explanation, no nothing.

LE has never seemed that interested in the POI, therefore I am no longer interested in the POI.

 

[tapu]

I take as evidence that as the sketch is still out there, there is still interest in the POI.

 

[Dr. Pennypacker]

oke:How can this murder still have so many unanswered questions. :snail:
The facts are few and what is known is quite confussing. :waitasec:

 

[tapu]

I think POI is a witness - post murder.
Killers are 2 young males that the girls speak with at the bridge.
Killing is result of something said or done by the girls.

Common misconception for something as horrific as this is there must have something really big behind it.
Nowadays kids kill each other over trivial excuses....i.e. hurt feelings.....

Points taken....

The kids would have to be monsters on a scale beyond even the Columbine killers in my opinion, as the school context and multiple targets would allow the latter to depersonalize what they were doing. Not so with shooting these little(r) girls point blank.

Of course, no reason to assume that only kids would be in this situation. Everything you say could be true and it still not necessarily be very young males. Certainly 18-19 yo's may be able to kill like this, and still for less motivation than the crime seems to indicate to us.

One reason I lean toward something bigger, and outside the local community, is that I think a local shooter would have been id'd already. Like, if it were kids, they'd be found out pronto, not have it be like this.

 

[GetSmart]

FOX23 crews experienced another unsettling situation near Taylor’s home last night.

As our crew was leaving, they saw three sheriff's deputies and a state trooper speeding down the road.

They parked in front of the house, searching the woods around the home and down the road with flashlights and patrol cars. During the search the family left the home for the night.

Deputies say the family called 911 after hearing someone sneaking around the home. Someone even says they saw a shadow outside. Deputies did not find anyone, but say they might have gotten away before they arrived.http://www.fox23.com/news/local/stor...f-8b25f149eda6


Everyone seemed to qualify this as news people snooping.
But as in an earlier post I said why does it have to be that. If you recall GPa had finished painting their little club house, they had posters & like things in there. I am saying what is to say they did not have something in that club house that did not belong to them. It is as good as any other what if..

 

[tapu]

"what is to say they did not have something in that club house that did not belong to them."


? wouldn't the bad guy just go to the clubhouse and take it back? I mean without executing them?

you know, it might be a failing on my part, but it's hard for me to believe that this kind of killing is done purely out of anger. too methodical. too absolutely ruthless.

 

[Dr. Pennypacker]

Points taken....

The kids would have to be monsters on a scale beyond even the Columbine killers in my opinion, as the school context and multiple targets would allow the latter to depersonalize what they were doing. Not so with shooting these little(r) girls point blank.

Of course, no reason to assume that only kids would be in this situation. Everything you say could be true and it still not necessarily be very young males. Certainly 18-19 yo's may be able to kill like this, and still for less motivation than the crime seems to indicate to us.

One reason I lean toward something bigger, and outside the local community, is that I think a local shooter would have been id'd already. Like, if it were kids, they'd be found out pronto, not have it be like this.

You made some good points also.

I am baffled as to why there have been no breaks in this case.
Is this just small town USA police work. I don't know what to think.

 

[tapu]

Well, I'm usually the last person to fault LE, but the people going on about small-town justice have a point.

There was an elderly couple murdered on a remote road near where I grew up. Someone came into their house and murdered him and slashed her; she lived. But something like 6,7, 8 years later, someone came in the same house and murdered her! And these were brutal murders, no sign of robbery.

Yet, there's never been anyone charged or even suspected that anyone knows about. Weird. Many people say it's because of small-town connections among certain family members and LE.


{aside: should I not have told this story on this thread?}

 

[hannahsnana]

Hmm.... I rather fancy the POI as THE shooter, but without an eyewitness to the actual crime. That is, that the POI was the shooter and was only seen driving past someone in either direction. (Oh, wait, though: hannah'snana, what do we know about his truck's position?? I think i've not caught up to that)

Tapu, I'm sorry, haven't been online for a while. So much of this is starting to blur in my mind, but at some point it was said that the POI was seen standing beside his vehicle, which was seen sitting diagonal to the road, as in a parking space (not parallel parking). Can someone help me out here with the source for this?

 

[frogjustfrog]

Nickelfoo and Tapu, I think you are right about the "hired gun" theory. It would just be too hard to locate the intended target when no one else was around.
Albert, I agree with FlowerChild and you that the POI is probably real. My own personal theory is that it was a person who was in the wrong place at the wrong time. Maybe someone with a record, or someone who thought LE would never believe he wasn't involved, thus not coming forward. Perhaps he saw the crime taking place from a distance while driving his pickup, maybe even saw the shooter(s) before they left the scene (once again from a distance). He didn't really know what was going on until he came up on the scene right after the shootings, hence the crazy angle of his vehicle as he stopped, not believing his eyes.

This is one way I picture it in my own head:
Boys in vehicle, sitting on the bridge. Girls have reached the bridge and are walking back. Boys are upset and talking about what to do. poi drives by, goes down the road a way, parks the truck at an angle so no one can see him step out to pee. Gets back in truck, possibly turns around to go back and see the boys and leaves same direction he came.
The girls are on their way back home. Boys decide to follow and shoot. Stupid kids who are mad at something, desensitized to shootings because of hearing of so much these days. One boy REALLY mad. He is the one riding. Shoots out the window then they stop and finish the girls off. Days later calls in to report the POI as the suspect. Knows the POI was in the vicinity and that prob others saw him too. (which they did on Bryant Road but that doesnt mean he is guilty) Why does the boy pass polygraph? COLD AS ICE!!!!!!!!!
This is just a theory I have, but not the only theory. I still wonder about this mountain man who lives just past and behind Placker place.

 

[frogjustfrog]

I think POI is a witness - post murder.
Killers are 2 young males that the girls speak with at the bridge.
Killing is result of something said or done by the girls.

Common misconception for something as horrific as this is there must have something really big behind it.
Nowadays kids kill each other over trivial excuses....i.e. hurt feelings.....

IF we can believe first statements, the OSBI said the poi saw the girls walking just prior to their murders

 

[Mysterylover]

Yes, I'm debating with myself.... :roll-eyes:
But I want to counter the idea that two guns = two shooters, based solely on the belief that it is damned unlikely to find two guys who would empty guns into two little girls on a road in broad daylight.

Maybe the killer just really was that thorough that he got another gun to make sure the job was done.
Must have had nerves of steel, though, given where he was....

I think odds would be, you couldn't find 2 cold blooded killers to shoot 2 little girls at the same time on a Sunday next to the parents driveway.....unless it is teenagers.

My theory is this: The murderer shot the girls multiple times with 2 different guns to "throw LE" off their trail.....jmo