Theories #1: What Happened to Jennifer Kesse?

[SeriouslySearching]

I have always thought whatever happened to Jennifer took place after the last call to Rob and she was long gone from the condo by daybreak...along with her car.

I don't know about the pings, but I do wish LE would make those public knowledge now especially if they show the phone left the area. Of course, if she only went across Conway then I would not expect the cell towers to show she was out of the area of her condo and they would be of no help (unless the towers end between the mall and complex). If the phone was ditched say in a body of water or smashed to bits...the pings would stop just like the battery was removed I think. Find the crime scene...find the phone. I think it would be the only thing at the actual scene and the friend's cell and briefcase were disposed of later as an afterthought. Probably in a landfill somewhere.

What was the deal with a pepper spray canister once thought to be Jenn's? I don't recall where I read it, but was that determined to be true?

 

[fasteddy8170]

No ex-bf stuff in this post, so temper your excitement . . .

When it comes to the OPD in this case I think we all have to make our own individual decisions regarding what they did in 2006 and for at least the next six months. And I make this mistake too, don't get me wrong.

What I mean by that is this: We make statements like, "Well, after Jennifer disappeared, the cops interviewed all the people in Jennifer's private life and dismissed all of them, so it mustn't be any of them." Then in the next breath we say: "Well, the cops made so many mistakes that who knows if this case will ever be solved." We can't claim the cops are both competent and incompetent, especially when it comes to those important weeks and months after Jennifer's diappearance.

That doesn't mean they don't make mistakes; they do, they're human after all. But if we're going to think the cops are competent then I think we have to believe at least 90 percent of what they've said about this case. On the other hand, if somebody is going to say they're incompetent then I think the person should doubt most of what the cops have done and said. Like I said, I do that myself sometimes and I'm trying to avoid believing the cops because I like what they say and not believing them when I don't like what they say.

For me, in this particular case, I lean very much toward competent. And I only say this because of watching too many episodes of The First 48 and 48 Hours Mystery and Disappeared and Dateline and etc. to even count: Cops can't do anything without evidence or a person who actually feels bad about their crime. Cops don't care about a confession if they have the evidence. And they don't care about the evidence if they have a confession.

But in Jennifer's case there is no evidence--DNA, fingerprints, a GOOD videotape, etc. And I think whoever did this doesn't feel bad at all, so the perpetrator can't be guilted into confessing because the guy knows there's no evidence.

I think the main hope we have to have in this case is one of two things: Either Jennifer is found OR since many of us tend to believe more than one person was involved that somehow that conspiracy bond the people have is broken.

That's all I got for now.

 

[SeriouslySearching]

I would have to go on record to say incompetent. I don't trust they interviewed all the people necessary and the ones they did interview...I don't feel they dug into deep enough. They missed the opportunity of looking for evidence in the apartment. In my opinion, their assessment of the person on the video was wrong and his height was always off so they were looking for a short person which narrowed the scope considerably. No forensic exam of her computer was done. The list goes on and on...

A flawed case is a flawed case. And it really is my opinion this case was doomed in the first week and never took off in any direction.

There...now I can continue not to believe the things they tell us.

 

[fasteddy8170]

SeriouslySearching, I have to disagree with you on a couple points.

Height of the person in the video--if the Kesse's believe the height wasn't accurate they wouldn't use that height on the website they manage regarding Jennifer's disappearance. Would they? If they have doubts, couldn't they get some independent investigator to look at the video for a second/third/tenth opinion? To me, and I'm no expert, the person looks shorter than I am and I'm 5'9".

Although I agree with you about the cops and Jennifer's residence, I'm not sure that means anything since by the Kesse's own admission, everything looked fine when they got there. And there were so many people in it the previous weekend, the cops would've had a nightmare collecting all those fingerprints. Not to mention I don't think anyone here believes anything of note happened in her apartment.

However, I disagree about her computer. That's the one thing we learn about writing on Websleuths or anywhere else on the Internet: Nothing totally ever disappears. Also, I have to believe the Kesse's still have Jennifer's computer somewhere, and the info on it wouldn't change over time. They could start it up and it would be early 2006 all over again. I'd have to believe by this time they had someone go through her computer since I don't believe her computer would be entered into evidence. Now, they may have done that and that info might be not privy to us, but I have to believe the Kesse's would go to that length to make sure the computer was searched whether by cops or independently.

As for her car, just because we don't know anything regarding any evidence in the car, doesn't mean nothing was done. My opinion on her car has always been: The cops may not say anything about the evidence they find regarding someone else in the car, but they will tell the Kesse's if they find evidence of Jennifer in the car--for example, her hair and DNA in the trunk. And the Kesse's would've passed that on since then. But they haven't. So I'm inclined to believe, besides the driver's seat, the cops didn't find any evidence of her in the car.

So, it may true the police missed a few things but many of those things would be issues that the Kesse's could follow-up on their own. Thus, the case might not be as flawed as you make it out to be.

But, you keep doubting, SeriouslySearching, it'll keep the rest of us on our toes.

 

[MysteryMaven]

There was an article posted online a long time ago that said LE didn't handle Jennifer's case properly when she went missing. The article is not allowed to be discussed here. It has not been either verified or discounted by anyone in Jennifer's family or anyone new in the OPD that is on this case. I think some people here may have read that info circulating online and had some raised eyebrows as to the job LE did in this case.
It's hard, if not impossible to know who LE interviewed, and how stringent they were in the interview process, or if Jennifer's computer was forensically examined.
I don't know why LE won't release the ping information, if they have it. There are always details that don't get released to the public. Look at Leah Roberts. It was many years before LE released the fact that she had stopped to have lunch in a mall and was seen chatting with 2 men before disappearing off the face of the Earth. That was kept from the public, and that is a huge detail. I am sure LE had a good reason for it at the time.
The public simply doesn't know what we don't know.
We don't even know for sure if Jennifer met with foul play after she got off the phone call with her BF or if it happened in the morning. I personally think it was the morning. All they typical things were done for a morning routine. Outfits laid out, shower wet (and I don't want to get into any debates about how long a shower stays wet in central Florida), briefcase missing.
I don't know why people think someone can't be grabbed in daylight hours from a parking lot. It's completely possible. There was a girl who was dragged into a car in a Target parking lot in broad daylight.
I think one has to take a lot of information circling about this case with many grains of salt. I only hope someday this mystery can be solved.

 

[HauntsForHope]

I have always thought whatever happened to Jennifer took place after the last call to Rob and she was long gone from the condo by daybreak...along with her car.

snipped

" Evidence at her residence, including a wet towel and clothes laid out, indicated that Jennifer was at home the morning of January 24 and had showered and dressed for work."

"On Friday, May 2, 2008, The Florida House of Representatives unanimously passed Senate Bill 502, "The Jennifer Kesse and Tiffany Sessions Missing Persons Act", changing the way missing persons cases are handled in Florida.[11] As of June 10, 2010, the FBI has taken over the case of Jennifer Kesse from the Orlando Police Department at the urging of police chief Val Demings. She remains on the FBI's Most Wanted/Missing List.[12] The latest search for her took place in February 2014 and investigators continue to receive leads to this day.[9]"

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Disappearance_of_Jennifer_Kesse

 

[STANDREID]

She is not on the current FBI Missing List.

 

[sarah7855]

Although I agree with you about the cops and Jennifer's residence, I'm not sure that means anything since by the Kesse's own admission, everything looked fine when they got there. And there were so many people in it the previous weekend, the cops would've had a nightmare collecting all those fingerprints. Not to mention I don't think anyone here believes anything of note happened in her apartment.

RSBM.
I'll say it again, it amazes me that the condo was not processed. Yes, there would have been prints all over the place from the friends staying there that weekend, but any foreign prints could have been discounted through process of elimination. Yes, the Kesses said that everything looked fine when they got there, but they were panicked, their daughter was missing, and they aren't CSI techs to begin with. I do not feel they were qualified to say that the condo was all clear and LE should have checked it.

I'm sure I'm in the majority here when I say that I watch a ton of forensic file shows/missing persons specials/snapped episodes/etc. I cannot count how many times the case in question was solved because of one tiny little seemingly insignificant piece of evidence. I do not remember anything being processed other than her car once it was found days later. The tracking dog, Bo, supposedly tracked the scent trail back to the stairwell of the condo. Ok, so that indicates that she could have been abducted at that stairwell. Was it processed? I understand that the possibility of finding something in a high traffic area such as a stairwell or parking lot is slim, but you never know.

 

[SeriouslySearching]

" Evidence at her residence, including a wet towel and clothes laid out, indicated that Jennifer was at home the morning of January 24 and had showered and dressed for work."

"On Friday, May 2, 2008, The Florida House of Representatives unanimously passed Senate Bill 502, "The Jennifer Kesse and Tiffany Sessions Missing Persons Act", changing the way missing persons cases are handled in Florida.[11] As of June 10, 2010, the FBI has taken over the case of Jennifer Kesse from the Orlando Police Department at the urging of police chief Val Demings. She remains on the FBI's Most Wanted/Missing List.[12] The latest search for her took place in February 2014 and investigators continue to receive leads to this day.[9]"

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Disappearance_of_Jennifer_Kesse

It is an assumption that Jennifer was the person who used the shower and the towel. Jennifer's clothes laid out do not prove anything as to the timeline of when she went missing, imo.

What part of her case did the Florida House of Reps decide needed to be handled differently enough to pass a bill?

 

[bucshunter]

It is an assumption that Jennifer was the person who used the shower and the towel. Jennifer's clothes laid out do not prove anything as to the timeline of when she went missing, imo.

It is also an assumption to think she was abducted the night before. All we have are assumptions.

 

[MysteryMaven]

If LE released the pings we would know if foul play occurred in the night or in the morning. I am wondering if they even have pings. It seems unlikely that Jennifer would go out to socialize after 10 pm. She had just gotten back from a vacation and had gone straight to work on Monday without even stopping at home. By all logical conclusions she was tired and most likely not looking to go out on the town.

She was very safety conscious. I believe she would not have opened her door to anyone at that time of night unless she was expecting someone.
If she was taken by force at night you would think a neighbor would have heard something. And why would her briefcase go missing as well? Most people wouldn't take a briefcase if they were running out for a drink, and I can't see a perp taking her purse and briefcase unless he was looking for something specific.

 

[bucshunter]

The Kesse's had mentioned that the ping technology was not an exact science back when she went missing. Made it sound like the data was not conclusive. Go to her website guestbook.

 

[sarah7855]

Does anyone think that her briefcase might have possibly been in her car? She came back from a vacation, drove straight from Ft. Lauderdale to work (that's quite a drive, esp after a vacation) and logically would have had to bring up her luggage from her car after that long work day. I wonder if she decided to leave it in the locked car in order to avoid making a second trip? The perp could have then taken it from her car and not from her as she was leaving for work.

I've been reading the very first threads over the past several days, and to be honest, I now cannot decide what theory I feel is more plausible. Yes, it points to her being abducted in the morning on her way to her car, but it could have happened the previous evening as well.

 

[MysteryMaven]

Does anyone think that her briefcase might have possibly been in her car? She came back from a vacation, drove straight from Ft. Lauderdale to work (that's quite a drive, esp after a vacation) and logically would have had to bring up her luggage from her car after that long work day. I wonder if she decided to leave it in the locked car in order to avoid making a second trip? The perp could have then taken it from her car and not from her as she was leaving for work.

I've been reading the very first threads over the past several days, and to be honest, I now cannot decide what theory I feel is more plausible. Yes, it points to her being abducted in the morning on her way to her car, but it could have happened the previous evening as well.

It very well could have been left in the car, but it is now missing along with Jennifer's purse. That makes things more puzzling. If she left her briefcase in the car after work, and now it is gone, why did someone take it? What was in it? It lends some credence to the theory that someone from Jennifer's work place had a reason to make Jennifer and her briefcase disappear.
As someone said on the GVS program, there are so many suspects and none at the same time.

 

[Shin Masamura]

Well since this is a Theory Board, here is my theory from all the great post I've read..

I believe Jen left early for work in the morning. (Showered, got dressed, locked her door, and left) Still dark out. Now if she wanted to drop the 2nd phone off at a UPS dropbox I would assume that since living in the area, she went to Orange Blossom Trail. Busy road East of her location.

Now when I opened my store near there, prostitutes and John's were migrating back to that area between 6am - 8am. No lie. Now if she was encountered by a john and carjacked, the perps could of done what ever down what ever alley or safehouse around there etc. They then could have had time to think about how to dispose of her and her vehicle but they had to be quick. Daylight breaks in the late 7amish hour in January. Clean up the car, and by sheer coincidence drop it off down the street and a shotty apartment complex. And I mean shotty, I lived at the one the street over. Yikes..

The second perp picks him up after the car drop at noon end of story. Now the only odd things in this theory is the lack of taking the DVD player. Her having her brief case might mean she left it in the car the night prior like stated above, or she legitimately was on her way to work after the drop off. Also, Im not sure why she wouldn't drop it of on her lunch break or somewhere closer to her place of employment.

I really feel that the POI is not as smart as we would like due to his carelessness of dropping of the car there. He has to have some knowledge of the area. Also what make me think this scenario is true is where LE started looking at the beginning of the investigation near OBT. Nothing turned up but I wonder if the ping info they do have led them to begin there first. Reading the Astrology thing above, If the perp was sexually frustrated, well thats alot of what John's are I would guess. Like to here more theories of what you think happened..

 

[sarah7855]

I can't decide what I believe. After digging up all the forensic astrology stuff, I'm back on it being a worker or similar from the condo that was stalking her, and her being abducted in the morning on the way to her car. There's just something nagging me about that scenario that I can't put my finger on.

 

[Shin Masamura]

I can't decide what I believe. After digging up all the forensic astrology stuff, I'm back on it being a worker or similar from the condo that was stalking her, and her being abducted in the morning on the way to her car. There's just something nagging me about that scenario that I can't put my finger on.

The only thing that bothers me is that unless he got her to either open the door/ He opened the door/ or abducted her once she left, the risk of other workers being around would have been too great at 7:30 am ish.. idk

 

[sarah7855]

The only thing that bothers me is that unless he got her to either open the door/ He opened the door/ or abducted her once she left, the risk of other workers being around would have been too great at 7:30 am ish.. idk

I agree. In fact, pretty much the only way it could have worked is like you say, or if the abductor had a van or other vehicle parked next to her car, blocking the view from witnesses.

 

[fasteddy8170]

Is anybody here familiar with the Jodi Huisentruit case? I'm even more familiar with it than I am with Jennifer's case. But I'd like to draw a couple of comparisons between the two cases and why I believe Jennifer wasn't abducted as she went to her car that morning.

Jodi was FOR SURE abducted as she walked from her apartment to her car the morning she disappeared. There is absolutely no dispute about that. Her abductor still hasn't been caught by the way and it's been almost 20 years.

In Jodi's case, everything she was carrying that morning was strewn out in the parking lot right where she was attacked. In Jennifer's case, not one thing of hers was found in the parking lot.

In Jodi's case, the abductor didn't take her car--he/she/they left it there. In Jennifer's case, he/she/they took her car.

In Jodi's case, she left her place at 4am in the dark in a sleepy little city in IA where I don't think any business stays open 24 hours and still at least one person heard her scream, although no one did anything about it. In Jennifer's case, in the middle of a huge city, she probably left her place at like 7am under the sunlight and no one heard a thing.

In Jodi's case, the number 1 suspect since day one has been a guy who was a friend of hers who named his boat after her, although not one piece of evidence has ever implicated him in the crime. But he did move to AZ not long after. In Jennifer's case, the #1 suspect(s)--the apartment workers--are people who all these years later have no names, no faces, have never been implicated in any crime in Orlando or anywhere else that we know of. But somehow they all woke up one day and said: We need to make Jennifer Kesse disappear. Meanwhile, a guy--not going there with this post (please don't bump me Administrator)--who knew Jennifer well was in close proximity to her around the last time anyone talked to Jennifer.

Now, if someone can tell me, for a fact, that the day after Jennifer disappeared all those apartment workers didn't show up to work and were never heard from again. Then, I guess you got me. That would be a sign they had something to do with it, I suppose. But except for some rumors I've read to that fact, I'm not inclined to believe it.

You can all look it up: Women being abducted on the way to work is rare--it's what makes the Huisentruit case so compelling all these years later, on top of the fact she was a local TV personality. The timing is too tough. There are too many variables. Women are most often attacked in their homes, not outside them. Why? Because it's usually somebody they know doing the attacking.

mysterymaven, I'm familiar with that Target case--a totally random crime about 10 years ago, right? I've seen the security video. What you left out is the guy abducted that girl and threw her in his truck--they didn't get in her car. Why? Because it's too tough fumbling for keys, moving the seat back, etc., especially if you're in a hurry. Which, in Jennifer's case, I'm sure the workers would've been in if Jennifer was abducted as she walked from her apartment to her car.

I love this debate.

 

[sarah7855]

Yes, women being abducted on the way to work is rare, but it does happen. Are you familiar with the Whitney Heichel case in Oregon from a little less than two years ago? A neighbor from her and her husband's apartment building asked her for a ride on her way to work a little before 7am on 10/16/12 and then pulled a gun on her 5 minutes into the ride. He then forced her to drive to a park, where he sexually assaulted and shot her to death. He dumped her body in a separate location and dropped her car off (albeit with a poor cleaning job done on it) in a Wal-Mart parking lot.

In Whitney's case, they had a huge advantage because they found her car (I do believe) the same day and her body a few days later thanks to an intense search party spanning several locations consisting partly of members of her church. They were then able to develop leads on a suspect and follow him, where he made a number of slip ups. He ended up confessing, including that he had been stalking her, and receiving life in prison after pleading guilty.

There was no spilled purse found at the scene, cell phone was found at another apartment complex entirely, and her car was found several miles away at a wal-mart. Just pointing out that Whitney was definitely abducted on her way to work while giving a ride to a person who for all intents and purposes was a stranger.

http://abcnews.go.com/US/murdered-barista-whitney-heichel-raped-shot-times/story?id=17534209

I do agree with you though, it is more common for a woman to run into foul play elsewhere. I also agree about the 'close proximity' issue that just came out. That is very thought provoking. Just posting this for the spirit of debate