GUILTY UT - Hser Nar Moo, 7, Salt Lake City, 31 March 2008

[SeriouslySearching]

I wonder if the dogs couldn't get her scent because the suspect had tampered with forensic evidence? Maybe covered up her scent with bleach or something? In the probable cause statement it does say he tampered with evidence.

I don't think it would have covered up the scent leading up to his door tho. He could not have covered that up within the time frame without someone noticing and drawing suspicion right to him.

 

[SuziQ]

I can only offer my perspective of Utah after having grown up and living in L.A. most of my life. To me the bad areas of Utah are mostly better than many good areas of L.A. My kids are terrified of areas that I have no problem with walking through. There is definitely a false sense of security here.

 

[SewingDeb]

Maybe the dog scent did lead there? I know there was no one home and they had to wait for a search warrant. They found her pretty quickly compared to some cases.

 

[SuziQ]

Jail doc:

http://www.foxnews.com/projects/pdf/040208_jail_document.pdf

 

[SewingDeb]

Police: Man Confesses to Causing Death of Missing 7-Year-Old Utah Girl

SOUTH SALT LAKE, Utah — A man confessed to causing the death of a missing 7-year-old girl who was discovered in the bathroom of an apartment in her family's complex, according to police.

Esar Met, 21, was being held Wednesday on charges of aggravated murder, kidnapping and evidence tampering. Police took five people into custody on suspicion of homicide Tuesday night.

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,344469,00.html

 

[SeriouslySearching]

I think if the dogs tracked straight to that apartment, it would not have been difficult to get a probable cause warrant even if the people were not home. The officer said in the presser last night that it was the one apartment they had not made contact and waited until someone came home before the 4 FBI agents finally spoke to them, subsequently finding her body.

 

[SewingDeb]

SuziQ,

I noticed the arrest warrant says they found her in the basement of his residence whereas all of the newspaper articles say she was found in the bathroom.

 

[Blink34]

Why didn't the dogs find her immediately?! This is what I find to be most troubling. If they had dogs on the scene looking for Hser, why didn't they lead them straight to that apartment?!?! Her scent/track should have been so easy to follow and yet nothing. It makes me wonder the reliability of dogs in other cases. (Sorry, LionRun.) LE puts a lot of stock into their abilities and this truly shows a definite lapse.

Does this happen often where the dogs fail completely? It reminds me of Mike B's case and how LE is 90% sure due to the dogs that he is not in town. I think now I have to disagree with them and say he could be right next door.

Exactly my point, in certain circumstances they are almost infalliable, in an area where her scent could be anywhere and everywhere, they cannot be as accurate. Maybe we won't know, but I have to think that was one reason they kept the HQ, and the bulk of the search party onsite. In Mike's case, saying they are 90% he was not in town, was based on how the dog hit- meaning yes, we do think he left town, but not on his own, and not willingly- and possibly not with us anymore- the dogs are trained for that specifically and they got it nowhere in the perimeter. If he were in a snowbank or anywhere on the ground, they would have found him- foul play is the only conceivable option- now getting LE to buy in is another.

 

[SuziQ]

SuziQ,

I noticed the arrest warrant says they found her in the basement of his residence whereas all of the newspaper articles say she was found in the bathroom.

I'm a bit confused by that myself. Statements have been made by a nextdoor neighbor that she saw LE stepping over a body laying in between the kitchen and living room. I can't imagine LE would carry her body upstairs and mess with evidence.

ETA: also I'm not at all sure that those townhouses had a basement at all.

 

[SeriouslySearching]

SuziQ,

I noticed the arrest warrant says they found her in the basement of his residence whereas all of the newspaper articles say she was found in the bathroom.

I noticed that, too. Early on the news media was relying on eyewitnesses before LE gave a statement. There were several discrepancies. (Maybe there was a bathroom in the basement.)

 

[Earthbound Misfit I]

I remember the dogs did not catch Elizabeth Smart's scent when she was kidnapped. She was literally in "their own backyard" so to speak & they didn't find her.

 

[NewMommy09]

Why didn't the dogs find her immediately?! This is what I find to be most troubling. If they had dogs on the scene looking for Hser, why didn't they lead them straight to that apartment?!?! Her scent/track should have been so easy to follow and yet nothing. It makes me wonder the reliability of dogs in other cases. (Sorry, LionRun.) LE puts a lot of stock into their abilities and this truly shows a definite lapse.

Does this happen often where the dogs fail completely? It reminds me of Mike B's case and how LE is 90% sure due to the dogs that he is not in town. I think now I have to disagree with them and say he could be right next door.

It might also be an issue of them using scent dogs instead of cadaver dogs. Since different dogs are used for different situations, it's possible the K9's were only looking for a live scent. I don't know a whole lot about K9 units, so this is JMO. I have also thought that perhaps the dogs did track to that apartment, and that is why the AmberAlert went out, but there may have been issues in trying to search that apartment. I have a feeling that LE knew this girl was there long before they could get to her. I am remembering how SLPD directed the Norton's to Liberty Park on the 24th of July (A Utah Holiday much like Independence Day) to "talk" to people and take Destiny's poster around. Meanwhile, they just wanted the Norton's to be kept busy as they pulled Destiny's body from the crawl space of her neighbor's home. I feel that Utah LE has learned much from past cases such as Destiny Norton, Elizabeth Smart, etc. and I am happy to see them utilizing that experience and knowledge.

I haven't heard anything about this crime being sexually motivated, but it just seems so odd that this man or these men would kill her to try to keep her from leaving. There has to be a motive for this crime.

Blink34,
You are right, things are different from when we were children, and I have known this for some time. I guess this case really drove that fact home for me, though, and made it more personal. I feel as though I am grieving not only for Hser and family, and Destiny and family, but for the freedom and innocence my own children (someday) will not get to enjoy, as I did.

I am very impressed with SLPD and their determination in this case as well as many past others. And while the world has changed since I played on those streets, much of the community has not. This case has shown me, again, why my hometown is so dear to me. I am amazed at the almost 1,000 people who took the time to get involved and try to find this poor child.

 

[SeriouslySearching]

Exactly my point, in certain circumstances they are almost infalliable, in an area where her scent could be anywhere and everywhere, they cannot be as accurate. Maybe we won't know, but I have to think that was one reason they kept the HQ, and the bulk of the search party onsite. In Mike's case, saying they are 90% he was not in town, was based on how the dog hit- meaning yes, we do think he left town, but not on his own, and not willingly- and possibly not with us anymore- the dogs are trained for that specifically and they got it nowhere in the perimeter. If he were in a snowbank or anywhere on the ground, they would have found him- foul play is the only conceivable option- now getting LE to buy in is another.

Or maybe he wandered into an old building and the dogs failed to track him there.

I think they kept the bulk of the invest at the apartment complex in this case simply because it was where she was last seen. I hope they ask these questions in the presser today.

 

[Earthbound Misfit I]

I thought it kind of strange also that they say she was found in his basement at his residence. I doubt there was a basement in his unit.

I'm a bit confused by that myself. Statements have been made by a nextdoor neighbor that she saw LE stepping over a body laying in between the kitchen and living room. I can't imagine LE would carry her body upstairs and mess with evidence.

ETA: also I'm not at all sure that those townhouses had a basement at all.

 

[NewMommy09]

I'm a bit confused by that myself. Statements have been made by a nextdoor neighbor that she saw LE stepping over a body laying in between the kitchen and living room. I can't imagine LE would carry her body upstairs and mess with evidence.

ETA: also I'm not at all sure that those townhouses had a basement at all.

I agree, if it is the townhouses I believe it is, there are no basements, but they are like a split level duplex type home. The complex is large like an apartment complex, however. IIRC, there is a swimming pool at the front of the complex. I believe this is the area where the vigil was held last night.

I tend to believe the reports that she was found in the bathroom, rather than the basement or between the living room and kitchen.

 

[SeriouslySearching]

What the eyewitness saw could have been a blanket laying on the floor or a pile of clothing and assumed it was a body. The ME's office had been onscene by that time for awhile and I would expect her body was carried directly from where she was found to the waiting vehicle.

 

[SeriouslySearching]

I thought it kind of strange also that they say she was found in his basement at his residence. I doubt there was a basement in his unit.

I would hope LE is correct as it could cause a problem with the case, imo.

 

[NewMommy09]

I thought it kind of strange also that they say she was found in his basement at his residence. I doubt there was a basement in his unit.

Maybe some of the media have mixed this up with Destiny's case???

 

[Earthbound Misfit I]

I'm not sure because it is what is listed (found in the basement) in the probable cause statement. I'm wondering if what they meant was downstairs. There could be an upstairs and downstairs in the units. I wonder if there is a language barrier once more between the suspect and LE..something may have got lost in the translation.

Maybe some of the media have mixed this up with Destiny's case???

 

[SuziQ]

http://www.sltrib.com/ci_8782804

Residents of the South Parc Townhomes said their children -- as well as murder victim Hser Nay Moo -- often played inside the apartment where Hser's body was found Tuesday.
Ma Sei Myint, a cousin to the mother of the dead girl, said the four men who have lived in apartment No. 472 for the past seven to eight months are "good people" and that she never worried about her five children playing there.
But Myint said she did not know murder suspect Esar Met.
(more at link)