TX TX - Heidi Broussard, 33, Fnd Deceased, & Margo Carey, 2 weeks, Fnd Alive, Austin, 12 Dec 2019 #11

[Artis]

I think LE would have been suspicious after seeing the video of HB getting into the vehicle with a woman who looked like MF---especially after seeing they had spoken on the phone around same time.

At that point, hearing that MF had a brand new baby at home, would have been something LE would have wanted to check out, since Baby M was still missing.

Normally, it is very easy to verify the identity of a newborn. Every infant has a paper trail, even if birthed at home. There would be some prenatal medical records and the birth certificate, that every newborn is granted. It would have taken detectives about 5 minutes to figure out that Baby Luna had none of the above. She couldn't even tell them the name of the Birthing Center. Major Red Flags right there.

And that's ^^^^all they would have needed to get warrants for more info. JMO

As for the alleged father of the baby, even if he wasn't suspicious--if LE had spoken too him, they would have asked if he went to any prenatal appointments or attended the birth. Even if he wasn't suspicious, the cops would have been when he told them he had not involvement at all in the prenatal process and was kept out of the loop during the birth. JMO

I need clarification as I'm not inclined to go back and read the AA. I thought it was just the witness who saw Heidi enter the car and that the video only showed the car driving by. Is that correct or not?

 

[kittythehare]

I do remember Tim Miller recounting how MF was the first the person he called on the list of Heidi's friends he'd been provided.

According to Tim, MF told him that she had already spoken briefly to LE by phone and that the information she shared with LE was limited to answering the questions they put forth.

Tim said that, in contrast, MF was very very talkative with him and volunteered a lot of information related to Heidi and Shane, including her opinion that 'Shane did it'. By his own account, Tim was not suspicious of MF and advised her to reach out to LE and give them as much information as she could. Whether MF ever actually made/had further contact with LE prior to her arrest, I do not know.

In any case, it will be interesting to get clarification from LE as to when they honed-in on MF and why. I'm currently under the impression that LE and Tim had spoken with MF shortly after Heidi and Margo were reported missing for the same reason they had spoken to others in Heidi's immediate circle (not because they were necessarily suspicious of MF, but because it was essentially standard procedure and they wanted to learn as much about Heidi as possible). My impression could certainly be wrong though.

Probably after they viewed CCTV evidence!
It is likely they then would have asked SC to review footage and identify vehicle and people seen.
It was over then for MF.
That is when they closed in on her IMO.
Anything else came later. Her history etc.
Not sure whether they procured it before or after they spoke with the witness.
There was a very short timeline here.. Just a few hours of footage to be harvested nad examined...

 

[Warwick7]

I don't think so because MF told Carissa that there might be a custody battle coming up soon. She took Margo to secure her own living and financial situation. She would have hit him for child support and whatever else she believed she could shake him down for.

Bingo!!

 

[UnderstandBlue]

Was it actual footage or just witnessing it while driving?

Neighbor had footage of MF's car driving north on the west side of the apartments.

I need clarification as I'm not inclined to go back and read the AA. I thought it was just the witness who saw Heidi enter the car and that the video only showed the car driving by. Is that correct or not?

Correct.

 

[Trudie]

Was it actual footage or just witnessing it while driving?

a male resident had installed his own camera on the outside of his unit (apt), refer to AA for specifics, I don’t have them handy. Also, a female eyewitness. Moo

 

[Trudie]

Probably after they viewed CCTV evidence!
It is likely they then would have asked SC to review footage and identify vehicle and people seen.
It was over then for MF.
That is when they closed in on her IMO.
Anything else came later. Her history etc.
Not sure whether they procured it before or after they spoke with the witness.
There was a very short timeline here.. Just a few hours of footage to be harvested nad examined...

imo the person with the camera & the eyewitness did not speak with LE prior to 12-18, per AA. A lot of times we see things that appear normal, but after hearing the news, we discover normal was anything but. Moo
The eyewitness observed a woman not in distress (apparently) willingly get into the backseat of a car, the door opened for her by a woman resembling MF. Why would anyone feel that was unusual? I would not. After hearing the news I’d have the “OMG moment”, but at the time, it would appear normal/innocent to me. Moo

 

[Trudie]

Bingo!!

how long before CG might have questioned paternity, lol. I think after a few months he might think his baby to be awfully Caucasian rather than biracial. Jmo. I’m sure MF already had an answer in her seemingly devious mind. Moo

 

[yllek]

In reading the Arrest Affidavit again (and again), this is my understanding of how the parking lot video footage and the parking lot eye witness led to the arrest of MF.

1. On or before Dec 18th, LE obtains video footage of the apartment complex parking from a resident. It only shows cars driving by. One of the cars driving by on the morning of Dec. 12th was a light gray 2015 Nissan four-door.
-- MOO: that vehicle had no known relevance to LE when the footage was first obtained.

2. On Dec. 18th, an eyewitness tells investigators she saw a woman with a baby getting into the back of a light colored four-door vehicle occupied by another woman on the morning of Dec. 11th or Dec. 12th. The women had greeted each other before the doors closed and the vehicle quickly drove off.
--MOO: now LE goes back to the video footage and verifies that such a car was driven in the parking lot Dec. 12 morning, and they know that a woman friendly with (presumably) Heidi occupied the vehicle; MF rises to the top of LE's radar.

3. On Dec. 18th, LE uses a Voluntary Emergency Disclosure to start searching MF's social media activity, reviews her electronic search records, and searches her vehicle registration records (MOO: now the Nissan becomes very relevant). LE has previously been informed by Shane Carey that MF lives with CG at the Bo Jack address in Houston.

4. On Dec. 19th, the parking lot eyewitness views photos of 6 similarly-complected women and picks out MF as the occupant of the light four-door vehicle with 60 - 70% certainty. A judge signs off on a warrant granting LE authority to access MF's phone records (which ultimately show that MF was in the area of Heidi's apartment complex on the morning of Dec. 12th).

5. On Dec. 19th, LE has the Bo Jack residence under surveillance and moves on CG as he's exiting a Target store with baby supplies. CG confirms that the baby in the missing persons flyer is the baby inside his home. Baby Margo is located in a swing in the home, Heidi's body is found in the trunk of MF's car outside the home, and MF is taken into custody.

6. On Dec. 20th, MF is charged with two counts of kidnapping and one count of tampering with a corpse.

 

[kittythehare]

In reading the Arrest Affidavit again (and again), this my understanding of how the parking lot video footage and the parking lot eye witness led to the arrest of MF.

1. On or before Dec 18th, LE obtains video footage of the apartment complex parking from a resident. It only shows cars driving by. One of the cars driving by on the morning of Dec. 12th was a light gray 2015 Nissan four-door.
-- MOO: that vehicle had no known relevance to LE when the footage was first obtained.

2. On Dec. 18th, an eyewitness tells investigators she saw a woman with a baby getting into the back of a light colored four-door vehicle occupied by another woman on the morning of Dec. 11th or Dec. 12th. The women had greeted each other before the doors closed and the vehicle quickly drove off.
--MOO: now LE goes back to the video footage and verifies that such a car was driven in the parking lot Dec. 12 morning, and they know that a woman friendly with Heidi occupied the vehicle; MF rises to the top of LE's radar.

3. On Dec. 18th, LE uses a Voluntary Emergency Disclosure to start searching MF's social media activity, reviews her electronic search records, and searches her vehicle registration records (MOO: now the Nissan becomes very relevant). LE has previously been informed by Shane Carey that MF lives with CG at the Bo Jack address in Houston.

4. On Dec. 19th, the parking lot eyewitness views photos of 6 similarly-complected women and picks out MF as the occupant of the light four-door vehicle with 60 - 70% certainty. A judge signs off on a warrant granting LE authority to access MF's phone records (which ultimately show that MF was in the area of Heidi's apartment complex on the morning of Dec. 12th).

5. On Dec. 19th, LE has the Bo Jack residence under surveillance and moves on CG as he's exiting a Target store with baby supplies. CG confirms that the baby in the missing persons flyer is the baby inside his home. Baby Margo is located in a swing in the home, Heidi's body is found in the trunk of MF's car outside the home, and MF is taken into custody.

6. On Dec. 20th, MF is charged with two counts of kidnapping and one count of tampering with a corpse.

With you on most of it.
Problem is that we do not know which apartment cctv footage came from or the direction it faced or what exactly it recorded, it may well have recorded the meeting of the women.
The AA is sparsely worded and possibly ambivalent in it's wording in general.
I'm surprised it lacks attachments like those attached to search warrants.
Wondering now if there is further clarification available for them?

 

[Knox]

In reading the Arrest Affidavit again (and again), this is my understanding of how the parking lot video footage and the parking lot eye witness led to the arrest of MF.

1. On or before Dec 18th, LE obtains video footage of the apartment complex parking from a resident. It only shows cars driving by. One of the cars driving by on the morning of Dec. 12th was a light gray 2015 Nissan four-door.
-- MOO: that vehicle had no known relevance to LE when the footage was first obtained.

2. On Dec. 18th, an eyewitness tells investigators she saw a woman with a baby getting into the back of a light colored four-door vehicle occupied by another woman on the morning of Dec. 11th or Dec. 12th. The women had greeted each other before the doors closed and the vehicle quickly drove off.
--MOO: now LE goes back to the video footage and verifies that such a car was driven in the parking lot Dec. 12 morning, and they know that a woman friendly with Heidi occupied the vehicle; MF rises to the top of LE's radar.

3. On Dec. 18th, LE uses a Voluntary Emergency Disclosure to start searching MF's social media activity, reviews her electronic search records, and searches her vehicle registration records (MOO: now the Nissan becomes very relevant). LE has previously been informed by Shane Carey that MF lives with CG at the Bo Jack address in Houston.

4. On Dec. 19th, the parking lot eyewitness views photos of 6 similarly-complected women and picks out MF as the occupant of the light four-door vehicle with 60 - 70% certainty. A judge signs off on a warrant granting LE authority to access MF's phone records (which ultimately show that MF was in the area of Heidi's apartment complex on the morning of Dec. 12th).

5. On Dec. 19th, LE has the Bo Jack residence under surveillance and moves on CG as he's exiting a Target store with baby supplies. CG confirms that the baby in the missing persons flyer is the baby inside his home. Baby Margo is located in a swing in the home, Heidi's body is found in the trunk of MF's car outside the home, and MF is taken into custody.

6. On Dec. 20th, MF is charged with two counts of kidnapping and one count of tampering with a corpse.

Great summary. One thing that was big in my view was the input from the FBI Behavioral Sciences unit. They profiled the case and I think along with Shane's info this helped put MF on LE radar. Its fascinating to read how the puzzle pieces came together.

 

[Momof4RN]

In reading the Arrest Affidavit again (and again), this is my understanding of how the parking lot video footage and the parking lot eye witness led to the arrest of MF.

1. On or before Dec 18th, LE obtains video footage of the apartment complex parking from a resident. It only shows cars driving by. One of the cars driving by on the morning of Dec. 12th was a light gray 2015 Nissan four-door.
-- MOO: that vehicle had no known relevance to LE when the footage was first obtained.

2. On Dec. 18th, an eyewitness tells investigators she saw a woman with a baby getting into the back of a light colored four-door vehicle occupied by another woman on the morning of Dec. 11th or Dec. 12th. The women had greeted each other before the doors closed and the vehicle quickly drove off.
--MOO: now LE goes back to the video footage and verifies that such a car was driven in the parking lot Dec. 12 morning, and they know that a woman friendly with (presumably) Heidi occupied the vehicle; MF rises to the top of LE's radar.

3. On Dec. 18th, LE uses a Voluntary Emergency Disclosure to start searching MF's social media activity, reviews her electronic search records, and searches her vehicle registration records (MOO: now the Nissan becomes very relevant). LE has previously been informed by Shane Carey that MF lives with CG at the Bo Jack address in Houston.

4. On Dec. 19th, the parking lot eyewitness views photos of 6 similarly-complected women and picks out MF as the occupant of the light four-door vehicle with 60 - 70% certainty. A judge signs off on a warrant granting LE authority to access MF's phone records (which ultimately show that MF was in the area of Heidi's apartment complex on the morning of Dec. 12th).

5. On Dec. 19th, LE has the Bo Jack residence under surveillance and moves on CG as he's exiting a Target store with baby supplies. CG confirms that the baby in the missing persons flyer is the baby inside his home. Baby Margo is located in a swing in the home, Heidi's body is found in the trunk of MF's car outside the home, and MF is taken into custody.

6. On Dec. 20th, MF is charged with two counts of kidnapping and one count of tampering with a corpse.

Going back to #1 LE would have ran the tags for every car they saw drive by. IMO

 

[Momof4RN]

When HB first went missing, here on WS I believe we had some of us asking the very question about who HB may have known that all of a sudden has a baby too. I hope I am remember this correctly but I believe we discussed that here very quickly as soon as we knew HB was missing with her newborn. A lot of us knew of the other horrible cases and especially the one in Missouri where the sick murderer literally cut out the baby from the mother.

So it is a little surprising to me that SC and HB's close friends did not suspect MF at all apparantly. I have to think I would have suspected ANYONE that happened to have a newborn and knew HB. Especially someone as close as MF knew her. Maybe the long-term friendship they had of about 10 years really threw everyone off because that part is very unusual that a long time friend would turn on her like that.

I agree with others that LE probably suspected MF sooner than it looks right now based on affidavit alone.

I think sometimes if LE suspects someone they will sometime try to build their case without letting the person know they have them in their cross hairs. Especially since the missing child and mother's safety was still not established. So LE may have not wanted to tip her off by hauling her in right away for questioning until they dug up more on their own first.

I think HB’s other friend who was in delivery room was suspicious. That friend spoke to investigators on 12/17. If I remember correctly she had mentioned that MF didn’t act like someone expecting and she was taken back about how she left right away without saying a word. She felt something wasn’t right. (Paraphrasing).

 

[missy1974]

imo the person with the camera & the eyewitness did not speak with LE prior to 12-18, per AA. A lot of times we see things that appear normal, but after hearing the news, we discover normal was anything but. Moo
The eyewitness observed a woman not in distress (apparently) willingly get into the backseat of a car, the door opened for her by a woman resembling MF. Why would anyone feel that was unusual? I would not. After hearing the news I’d have the “OMG moment”, but at the time, it would appear normal/innocent to me. Moo

The only thing about what that witness saw that would stick out to me is that someone got into the back with a wee little baby and then drove away, and noting that there was not enough time to secure the baby into a carseat. I am almost postive if I saw that myself, I would mutter something to myself and remember it too Because even if driving through a parking lot, I would never have not secured a baby in a car seat. But that is JMO.

 

[Warwick7]

I think HB’s other friend who was in delivery room was suspicious. That friend spoke to investigators on 12/17. If I remember correctly she had mentioned that MF didn’t act like someone expecting and she was taken back about how she left right away without saying a word. She felt something wasn’t right. (Paraphrasing).

I remember this. Also someone said in an earlier thread that in the moment MF got to hold the baby she did a quick selfie to some friend saying she gave birth. Anyway I think that's how it went.

 

[JDough]

as well as many internet searches, lol. I think her priority was to make CG fall in love with fatherhood. She might have felt she deserved nothing less after pulling off such a heinous crime. Imo, he’s lucky he’s alive......JS. Moo

I have wondered what CG's relationship with "Luna" (but really baby Margo) was like? If MF surprised him ("don't be mad") on the 13th, and LE didn't approach him at the Target store until the 19th, that is nearly a week of being a (fake) father.

Did he actively participate in the care of the baby? Did he take paternity leave upon her arrival to bond with her? Was he excited he had become a father and send/post photos to family and friends? Most of all; I'd like to know how he was so certain that "the baby at his house" was indeed Margo based off a flyer photo?

 

[missy1974]

With you on most of it.
Problem is that we do not know which apartment cctv footage came from or the direction it faced or what exactly it recorded, it may well have recorded the meeting of the women.
The AA is sparsely worded and possibly ambivalent in it's wording in general.
I'm surprised it lacks attachments like those attached to search warrants.
Wondering now if there is further clarification available for them?

The way the affidavit is worded, I do not believe the camera footage mentioned does show them getting into the car. It clearly states that it shows it going north towards the back of the complex, and that is where Heidi lived. It doesn't mean that they have not found more video since then though. I recall some articles that said some of the residents of the apt complex didn't even know someone was missing until the FBI knocked on their door.

 

[yllek]

With you on most of it.
Problem is that we do not know which apartment cctv footage came from or the direction it faced or what exactly it recorded, it may well have recorded the meeting of the women.
The AA is sparsely worded and possibly ambivalent in it's wording in general.
I'm surprised it lacks attachments like those attached to search warrants.
Wondering now if there is further clarification available for them?

Yeah, that's possible.

In reading point 26 on page 5, it states that the video captured cars driving by. If that video had actually captured a woman and baby getting into the car on Dec. 12th, I'm not sure why that critical point would have been left out of the Affidavit or why LE wouldn't have used the video to quickly get an identification of the female occupying the light four-door from someone who knew MF. Maybe they did -- as others have noted, not everything needs to be put in the Arrest Affidavit.

 

[Momof4RN]

He spoke with her on Dec 15 for 45 minutes, Search expert "can't believe" how sincere suspect sounded days before arrest

I do remember Tim Miller recounting how MF was the first the person he called on the list of Heidi's friends he'd been provided.

According to Tim, MF told him that she had already spoken briefly to LE by phone and that the information she shared with LE was limited to answering the questions they put forth.

Tim said that, in contrast, MF was very very talkative with him and volunteered a lot of information related to Heidi and Shane, including her opinion that 'Shane did it'. By his own account, Tim was not suspicious of MF and advised her to reach out to LE and give them as much information as she could. Whether MF ever actually made/had further contact with LE prior to her arrest, I do not know.

In any case, it will be interesting to get clarification from LE as to when they honed-in on MF and why. I'm currently under the impression that LE and Tim had spoken with MF shortly after Heidi and Margo were reported missing for the same reason they had spoken to others in Heidi's immediate circle (not because they were necessarily suspicious of MF, but because it was essentially standard procedure and they wanted to learn as much about Heidi as possible). My impression could certainly be wrong though.

Bingo! 12/15 and top of his list!

 

[InvSmith]

A major question for me is how did MF control HB (in the backseat) once she realized something was wrong or off? HB would have fought to protect her child or followed directions based on protecting her infant. Her actually having the infant in her arms would have placed her at a disadvantage. She could not have fought well. It makes me think she may have forced her into the trunk while she was still protecting the infant daughter.

 

[dixiegirl1035]

I’m surprised they left the phone numbers in the report.

....And the medical information. That was unexpected and unusual as I don't believe we usually see that type of stuff.