Skyline Groundskeeper says he saw no white truck -Timeline Clarified

[Calliope]

It sure is going to be interesting how this all plays out. Where is Kyron?

That's all that matters

I'm interested in seeing how the state builds its case against Terri and how Houze defends her. If she's guilty, I don't want to see any silly mistakes that can be a basis for a conviction being overturned on appeal.

 

[BeanE]

Ah, what the heck. I'll toss this out there.

Houze has done his own investigating, and already knew of the groundskeeper and had interviewed him as to what he saw that day.

*Houze sitting back, watching their every move.*

When DA comes out with this blunder, Houze pounces. Asks groundskeeper if he'd mind telling media what he knew.

LE, red-faced, reinterviews groundskeeper and reluctantly tells reporter that yes, he is credible.

Air is blue at DA and MSCO offices.

JMO, of course.

I'm not sure Houze is leaking anything. My sense of him is that he likes to keep everything in his pockets, and not tip his hand.

I think it's more likely that a reporter hanging out at the PD hoping for a story saw this guy, asked what he was there for, and lucked out on an interview with somebody willing to talk.

 

[krowdkat]

If LE and the prosecutors office didn't cross their T's and dot their I's on all viable leads, Houze would be screaming, "what about the supicious white truck parked on the access road that LE never investigated".

I really don't see how this tip and follow up helps any kind of defense strategy whatsoever. Afterall, it's a fact that TH was driving a white truck that day. So what if that also happened to be the day the groundskeeper driving his white truck showed up at Skyline and mowed the grass?!? Chances are he mowed there every Friday morning.

 

[Jack]

bbm

Yeah, and the interview was filmed at Skyline??? I was just thinking...wow, just so happends that MCSO gives the PC and the next day, media has interview at the school with the groundskeeper....would be interesting to hear how that happened...did he call media....or did he call LE and media got wind of it?????

Or maybe the media decided to do a little investigative work of their own and camped out at the school for a couple mornings just to get a feel of the normal comings and goings in the area and happened to be there when the guy had to come back to mow again. He did have his mower with him, it would stand to reason he was there to mow. Doubt the city would allow him to use one of their vehicles, trailer, and mower just to do an interview. In fact I'd be willing to bet he's going to take some heat from the city for doing so on their time in their vehicle.

 

[SurfieTX]

But...where was everyone parking if that access road was chained closed?

 

[Etilema]

But...where was everyone parking if that access road was chained closed?

The chain is at the end of the access road, where it joins up with that path running all the way around the soccer field.

Apparently most people parked in the parking lot.

 

[Nellie]

The access road isn't always chained closed. When we took our little drive out to Skyline to do our little investigation I was intrigued by that road because the grass is so tall that it would be quite easy to use that road - and quite quickly in a 4 wheel drive truck - to get a child from back there. There is no way the grounds keeper there could keep an eye on that access road at all times.
My gut feeling was that they had it set up for him to leave the door below the stairs by his classroom - maybe he was even out looking in the raised beds - and someone approached him back there. Perhaps DeDe? It would take minutes - seconds to do it all. Put the truck in reverse and away you go! It is quite rural out there and before June 4th nobody was looking for anything unusual...

...anyway just my opinion... or feel from the school.

 

[Etilema]

The access road isn't always chained closed. When we took our little drive out to Skyline to do our little investigation I was intrigued by that road because the grass is so tall that it would be quite easy to use that road - and quite quickly in a 4 wheel drive truck - to get a child from back there. There is no way the grounds keeper there could keep an eye on that access road at all times.
My gut feeling was that they had it set up for him to leave the door below the stairs by his classroom - maybe he was even out looking in the raised beds - and someone approached him back there. Perhaps DeDe? It would take minutes - seconds to do it all. Put the truck in reverse and away you go! It is quite rural out there and before June 4th nobody was looking for anything unusual...

...anyway just my opinion... or feel from the school.

If we trust the groundskeeper's report, the chain was locked in the morning, but he opened it when he came in at 7:45, and locked it again when he left at 8:30. So if this took place between those times, the chain would have been open, but if after 8:30, closed. However, the location of the truck in the LE photos was outside the chain, anyway.

 

[loves2bmom]

I personally don't feel like the access road has anything to do with Kyron's disappearance. To me it's simply just LE following up on and closing out any potential leads. They probably had a tip that someone saw a white truck at that spot during the time mentioned. The tipster was right and now LE can move on to the next lead. JMHO

It doesn't help the defense of TH at all. Prosecution: White truck on access road explained away. Next!

A very good post!!

I don't know if the access road is important or not but I sure wish people would give LE a chance to present their case before condemming them as inadequate. It's possible something was missed in the 'mountain of evidence' they need to go through but somehow I doubt it.

 

[Barry]

I've stated it else where. IMO, I feel LE is doing the best that they can in this case. I don't envy their task one bit. With limited resources and personal, they are almost forced to take the current path, because it offers the best explanation for the current facts that they have. I'm sure their biggest fear is that there is a wildcard in this case.

Even with the best of detective practices, IMO, a clever and or lucky person can get through the system while someone else gets blamed for it. I'm still on the fence in this case not because I feel LE is not doing a good job, but because the evidence currently available gives me pause personally, from the point of view of reasonable doubt. Even with the reasonable doubt, LE has to pursue the path they are on. LE is not the DA. They are trying to find out where Kyron is or what happened to him.

All JMOO.

 

[tfrohning]

so many questions ?

If Terri did say she parked on the access road the next question would be "WHY park there no other parents parked there?

And just because this guy is just coming out with this info doesn't mean he wasn't questioned in the beginning. We just don't know:waitasec:

Why would he not know when the kids would be playing soccer... He should have the time line of what fields would being used that day or any day so he could plan for his duties...If not he should had checked with the office and asked. Sorry that don't make sense to me why he would question if the kids were going to play soccer.

This guy just raised me more questions for me and I have not been on the fence but maybe everyone should move over so I can hop on:banghead:

 

[TxLady2]

He said he was there mowing between 7:45am and 8:30am. So he was there about 45 minutes. TH could have pulled into that access road after he left at 8:30am.

Yes, but... being the groundskeeper, he moves around over the property. He might have been able to notice any white trucks moving from one place to another. I'm sure the school property isn't that big, a few acres, probably, and he might have been in areas he could see the access road frequently. I'm just guessing, because the article didn't say that.
To me, it sounds like LE is fishing for information and what is coming out is contradicting what they think they know.

 

[Chablis]

But, if he didn't see her car, how can anyone hop back on the fence? I mean, it could mean she wasn't there, shes saying she was there and people saw her there, and we know she was supposed to be driving the white truck, so the white truck WAS there, whether the guy can remember or not. Right?

 

[Ms Suzanne]

I noticed in this article the groundskeeper says he saw children come out of the back door?where is the back door?What's inside that back door?The gym?what?It doesn't look like the gym areaWas an adult with them?Did it look like 2 girls and a man?Someone they thought was a chaperone?Where are the plants these kids saw?Where did these children go after that?The playground where.I really hope they are looking hard at this.They need to talk to this guy more.Was anyone else with this guy this morning when he mowed the lawn?

Quote
(I) noticed that there was some children that came out the back door, and I thought, ‘please don’t come down and play soccer.’ But they came out and looked at some plants that were in the raised bed.”

http://www.katu.com/news/local/100582364.html

 

[Geralyn]

If anyone knows...or knows how to find out:
Do the City employees/groundskeepers check in by radio at the completion of each job and on their way to the next? Or...do they keep a paper log in the truck where they notate the times of start & finish of each job? I do know many other utility type jobs where checking in or noting these times is mandatory. I guess because the timeline is so critical...and I wonder if the GK is being exact due to records..or just rounding off based on memory. His characterization of it being an ordinary day at the school isn't sitting well with me for some reason. Since school doesn't typically start that early...and *presumably* the parking lot was very busy with parents arriving that wouldn't oridnarily be there at that time...it seems it would stand out, not ordinary. jmo

 

[liz b.]

Was the groundskeepers job to stare at the access road all day to see who parks in it?

Respectfully, please re-read his statement.He makes it very clear that he could not have missed a pick up truck,had it been parked there. And, IMO, HE was there that morning,and WE were not... And I'm not sure how sarcasm will help us figure out what happened to Kyron....

All JMO

 

[cluciano63]

Quote
(I) noticed that there was some children that came out the back door, and I thought, ‘please don’t come down and play soccer.’ But they came out and looked at some plants that were in the raised bed.”

http://www.katu.com/news/local/100582364.html[/QUOTE]

Hi, Ms. S. This part concerns me too. Were there other times early in the morning when kids just came out and played soccer while waiting for class to start? Did they do this without supervision and why would he even think this, if it had never happened before? This part is kind of disturbing to me, but perhaps LE has verified that they were supervised and we just are not being told. I hope so anyway.

 

[Ms Suzanne]

But...where was everyone parking if that access road was chained closed?

Where is the back door on this map the groundskeeper could have seen kids come out of?What's there?The covered play area?What?

 

[Etilema]

Respectfully, please re-read his statement.He makes it very clear that he could not have missed a pick up truck,had it been parked there. And, IMO, HE was there that morning,and WE were not... And I'm not sure how sarcasm will help us figure out what happened to Kyron....

All JMO

I understood his quote to mean that he could not possibly have missed it if it were parked there when he was entering or leaving. Because he would not have been able to get past them. He also said he would definitely have noticed a truck parked in that spot in the shoulder near the opening of the access road, because it would have blocked his view of traffic when he was trying to pull out.

 

[liz b.]

But, if he didn't see her car, how can anyone hop back on the fence? I mean, it could mean she wasn't there, shes saying she was there and people saw her there, and we know she was supposed to be driving the white truck, so the white truck WAS there, whether the guy can remember or not. Right?

" She's saying she was there " TH is saying she parked on that access road ? Wow, do you have a link for that ??? TIA

All JMO