Skyla Whitaker, 11, & Taylor Placker 13 - Found Murdered - #5

[luthersmama]

Another example of roadside meth:

http://bainbridgega.com/news/publish/040808meth.shtml

 

[Morag]

Apparently the walk to the bridge was a regular occurence. Didn't the boys in the pick-up truck (who were shooting near the bridge) also say that they went to the bridge daily? If that is so, then I think it's possible that the girls were going there hoping to see the boys. I wonder if they have been ruled out as suspects. They were there, and they had at least one gun.

 

[EnvoyDriver61]

Apparently the walk to the bridge was a regular occurence. Didn't the boys in the pick-up truck (who were shooting near the bridge) also say that they went to the bridge daily? If that is so, then I think it's possible that the girls were going there hoping to see the boys. I wonder if they have been ruled out as suspects. They were there, and they had at least one gun.

the articles I've seen and that have been referenced refer to the boys in teh pick-up and/or ATVer's as being as much as 3 miles away, nearly 4 times the distance to the bridge.

 

[murdershewrote]

It's possible the killer(s) could also be ex-military. and please understand I'm not saying that to dis anyone in the military...but the shooting expertise, the "killing" instinct, could be somebody that is messed up from being in the military.

 

[DeltaDawn]

emotional or not then they should release the 911 tapes.

I was thinking that they already said it would not aid in the capture of the perp, airing the 911 call. It was said to be extremely emotional.

Suppose when GP called he said some things they wouldn't want aired..like who he might of thought did this. Or supposed he described the scene, which they usually request. He has already stated he had to describe that scene once and says he cannot bear to do that again. I think the 911 call, if aired, would only serve to hurt the family even more.

 

[oceanblueeyes]

My guess is the time between Peter finding the girls and calling 911 isn't as long as we think it is. But if it is more than 5 minutes I would be asking questions.

This doesn't mean I suspect anything. I would just want to know what was going on.

Regarding the walking, if Skyla's mother was coming from the north why did he even need to go look for the girls? She would be driving right by them and could have picked them up if they weren't back by then. If he went to look for the girls because he was worried, the girls could have been in trouble over 1/2 mile away. You walk to find out?

I really don't know. All I know if one of my children had spend the night company and the next day the parent called and said they were coming to pick them up and at the time my child and their friend had gone walking, I would go walking the same road to look for them. I would want the other child there at my home waiting to be picked up. I would make sure the child had their overnight bag packed up and would make sure they had not left anything behind. This is what I would do before the parent arrived.

So I find nothing suspicious about Mr. Placker going to look for the children.

imo

 

[EnvoyDriver61]

I was thinking that they already said it would not aid in the capture of the perp, airing the 911 call. It was said to be extremely emotional.

I agree, but there was an incident a month or two back where one of the Ford trucks (maybe it was GMC, I forget which) that spontaneously combusted from a defective part had done just that and a mother and two of her children died as a result of that.

They released that 911 call and I remember a poster at that board (not this one and not crime-related) stating that her own children had been friends with one of the children that had died and it was quite upsetting. The mother and children could be heard on that call with the mother pleading her children to get out of the house.

I don't guess there's a law that says 911 calls have to be released, but I've seen a lot of upsetting tapes released with wailing in the background, and general alarm, etc.

 

[oceanblueeyes]

With most of the family's history, does anyone else think that they (the family) or at least some of them know or at least have an idea who is responsible and are just planning on taking matters into their own hands? It's been mentioned before that they aren't really the type to sit down with the police and chit chat about who they've worked with and who they've crossed or angered along the way. Seems like they'd most likely do their own investigating and prosecuting.

Who said that they are the type that would not talk to the police? I haven't heard OSBI say that any of this family has been uncooperative.

By Mr. Plackers recent interview he seems at a loss why anyone would do this to his child and her friend.

 

[oceanblueeyes]

I understand what you are saying, however.

What are the odds some guy is going to be stopped on that road, he is outside his vehicle, his vehicle is parked in an unusual way, his manner scares the people that see him and he is in the vicinity of where the girls are killed.

Those are some long odds.

Right and to be seen by so many witnesses. People felt something wasn't right when they saw him..........their instincts were right imo.

And Agent Brown said that the witnesses are not connected to this case which mean imo they were neighbors and passerbys.

imoo

 

[FlowerChild]

What they can do is release a transcript of the 911 call - blacking out any info that is private or inflammatory. Most people just want to know what was said (generally) and what the person saw, (generally) and their demeanor/state of mind. That can all be communicated in writing without having to play the actual call. In fact what we want here is mostly a TIMELINE and if there was any info that might flesh out or eliminate any theories.

I for one do not listen to 911 calls in cases unless I HAVE to. Usually there is little I can glean once I read a transcript of the call and note what others say about the contents. I do not need to hear the actual call unless the caller is a suspect - and in this case, he is not. If this had been ME, I would not want the call out there in the media or online - it's hard enough to avoid the subject (and the pain) without having to discuss the call and the details over and over because everyone is listening to it. This was a FAMILY MEMBER of one of the victims who has been cleared of involvement - it wasn't someone calling about a stranger or an unidentified crime scene or body they found, it was her GPa. Hearing the tape isn't necessary - nor will it answer any questions that a transcript (or some info about it) won't.

My Opinion

 

[DeltaDawn]

If they were neighbors or people from that community that usually use that road..then they described this man because he is not someone they usually see on that road, in that area. It sounds like most of the people in the area know each other..but they didn't know him. That raises some questions as to why he was even on that road, in that spot, with his truck partially blocking the road.

 

[oceanblueeyes]

Granted, but look at what they are telling someone, sometimes the POI specifically, through the news media.

Do your duty as a responsible citizen.

[paraphrase]Someone in this group of people who wasn't the shooter knows something.

LOL Yes, they are talking to him trying to get him to believe they are thinking he isn't involved......then only to say in the next breath, if we can find this witness we think we can resolve this case quickly (paraphrasing). Imo why that is said because once this person is back in their jurisdiction they will have the suspect to match up the forensic evidence found.

They probably do believe a group of people are hiding him out and are hoping that someone rats him out. I hope they do too.

imo

 

[Annie]

I understand what you are saying, however.

What are the odds some guy is going to be stopped on that road, he is outside his vehicle, his vehicle is parked in an unusual way, his manner scares the people that see him and he is in the vicinity of where the girls are killed.

Those are some long odds.

But it is possible that the man was driving along, saw the girls in the ditch, stopped to look, and got out of there before he could be blamed when he saw what had happened.

 

[Albert18]

Granted, but look at what they are telling someone, sometimes the POI specifically, through the news media.

Do your duty as a reponsible citizen.

[paraphrase]Someone in this group of people who wasn't the shooter knows something.

I about fell over when I first heard this.

So are they saying they know it was two shooters and others? Very odd.

What bothers me is they obviously need this POI to come forward to jump start the investigation. Which means they need the public's help. However they are keeping the public at bay, extremely so in my opinion. Maybe this is how OSBI does things, I don't know.

 

[missmuffit]

I watched the interview that NG did with Skyla's grandparents and I took it with a grain of salt. Not that I believe that the grandparents are lying however, Gramma W. stated that she received a call from her daughter at 5:20, stated they jumped in to the car looked for Skyla's dad who was working out in the yard. She then stated that when they (the grandparents) got to the scene that the girls were already covered and when the gramma pulled back the sheet she saw gauze covering some of the wounds. That tells me the EMT's had already been on the scene and had worked on the girls. I guess what I am trying to say is that the times that are being stated by relatives could be off by a huge amount which means that we really do not have a time line to follow.

MM ~

 

[Albert18]

But it is possible that the man was driving along, saw the girls in the ditch, stopped to look, and got out of there before he could be blamed when he saw what had happened.

On the OSBI website it says the POI was seen minutes before the gunshots were heard.

 

[oceanblueeyes]

What they can do is release a transcript of the 911 call - blacking out any info that is private or inflammatory. Most people just want to know what was said (generally) and what the person saw, (generally) and their demeanor/state of mind. That can all be communicated in writing without having to play the actual call. In fact what we want here is mostly a TIMELINE and if there was any info that might flesh out or eliminate any theories.

I for one do not listen to 911 calls in cases unless I HAVE to. Usually there is little I can glean once I read a transcript of the call and note what others say about the contents. I do not need to hear the actual call unless the caller is a suspect - and in this case, he is not. If this had been ME, I would not want the call out there in the media or online - it's hard enough to avoid the subject (and the pain) without having to discuss the call and the details over and over because everyone is listening to it. This was a FAMILY MEMBER of one of the victims who has been cleared of involvement - it wasn't someone calling about a stranger or an unidentified crime scene or body they found, it was her GPa. Hearing the tape isn't necessary - nor will it answer any questions that a transcript (or some info about it) won't.

My Opinion

We will hear the 911 call in due time. I really don't have any desire to hear someone else's words at the worst time of their life. I can wait for it to be entered in a trial and hopefully there will be one.

No matter what reasons the OSBI gives for not releasing.....I respect that and they have heard it to determine if it is too emotional and these LEO are hard core most times so it must be very emotional indeed.

imo

 

[oceanblueeyes]

On the OSBI website it says the POI was seen minutes before the gunshots were heard.

But now Brown has stated that there are several witnesses who saw him so this may just be the first witness.

imoo

 

[Trino]

What's really interesting is the reward is around $30,000. Yet, with the average income around $25,000 in that area, $30,000, obviously, isn't enough. IMO someone other than locals is involved.

 

[Leila]

Wait - maybe I missed something, but why couldn't they have been killed before 5:08? They had been out walking since somewhere between 4:30 and 5:00, right? For all we know, they could have been killed on their way TO the bridge. Maybe?

Since we don't have much to go on in respect to a time line, I think we have to consider what we do know and go from there to reconstruct what probably happened.

It was a hot Sunday afternoon. Sometime between 4:30pm and 5:00pm the two girls decided to go for a walk. Grandma was probably in the kitchen beginning to plan/prepare the evening meal.

At 5:08pm Skyla's mother calls to tell the Plackers that she's coming to pick up Skyla. Grandma and Skyla's mother casually chit-chat for a couple of minutes. After she hangs up, Grandma calls Taylor's cell phone to tell her that Skyla's mother is on her way to pick up Skyla, and to hurry up and come home. There's no answer. So, she gives it a couple minutes and calls again. Again, no answer. At this point, no one is alarmed, probably thinking that Taylor's phone is turned off or that the girls aren't paying attention.

Grandma tells Grandpa that Skyla's mother is on her way and she's called Taylor's cell phone and there's no answer. Grandpa decides to walk down the driveway to the road and see if he can spot the girls and shout to them to come home. He gets down to the road and doesn't see the girls, so he starts walking down the road. At this point, there's still no cause for alarm, or a rush to find them, as it's going to take Skyla's mother 15 - 20 minutes to get there.

We know that when Grandpa walks down the road, he discovers the bodies of Taylor and Skyla. He, of course, goes into shock at what he sees. For a few minutes, he was probably too stunned to react.

I don't think there was anything that afternoon that caused the Plackers to be alarmed, until the bodies were discovered.

BUT.................with Skyla's mother calling at 5:08pm, and considering they talked for 1 - 2 minutes, I would put Grandma's first call to Taylor's cell phone at about 5:10pm. With no answer, I think the girls were already dead by that time.

This puts us into a 30 - 40 minute time frame. If the girls left the Placker home about 4:30pm or shortly after, and they were dead by 5:10pm, whatever happened, occurred within that 30 - 40 minute time frame.