VA VA - Katelin Akens, 19, Springfield, 5 Dec 2015 #3

[marsyao]

I guess he refuses to talk to LE anymore

 

[JLouEllen90]

I guess he refuses to talk to LE anymore

It's unfortunate that they can't make him talk more with LE. He was the last person to see her and he has lied MULTIPLE times about simple things. He had never tried to reach out to her or look for her in the first hours of her disappearance or ever for that matter. Seems very suspicious to me.

 

[JLouEllen90]

An encrypted cell phone may hold clues to teen's disappearance
An encrypted cell phone and a series of text messages may hold the keys to cracking the case of a missing teenager. Nearly three years ago, 19 year-old Katelin Akens disappeared from Spotsylvania County under mysterious circumstances.

Author: Andrea McCarren
Published: 12:32 PM EDT November 1, 2018
Updated: 6:28 PM EST November 13, 2018
SPOTSYLVANIA COUNTY, Va. -- On December 5, 2015, Katelin Akens was supposed to fly from Reagan National Airport back to her home in Arizona. The 19-year-old never used her airline ticket.

"I think about it 24/7. I wake up thinking about it. We talk about it as a group all the time, the theories, the things we can do," said Senior Detective Sharon WIlliams of the Spotsylvania County Sheriff’s Office.







What We Know About the Jeff Bezos Phone Hack
Katelin's former step-father James Branton was the last to see her alive. He'd agreed to drive her from his Partlow home to the airport, 80 miles away.

Katelin's mother, Lisa Sullivan, maintained an amicable relationship with Branton. She said, "He’s the only father figure that she’s ever had."

At 11:56 AM, Katelin messaged her girlfriend in Arizona. "Something came up," she wrote. "I’m not coming back today, I’ll let you know when I get a new flight. I won’t be able to text for a bit."

Nearly two hours later, Branton texted Sullivan after she asked if he'd taken Katelin to National Airport. Here's their exchange:

Branton: I dropped Katelin off.

Sullivan: Ok thank you

How was traffic

Branton: Not too bad

Sullivan said his next text concerned her.

Branton: I dropped her at the Springfield metro station. She was going to take the metro to the airport since there is a stop at Reagan.

That comment worried Sullivan, who told us it seemed out-of-character for Katelin. Sullivan said, "She has not ridden the train since she was like six or seven years old. She would not know how to work it."

The investigation after Katelin's disappearance confirmed her fears.

"And that’s two o’clock and I can tell you her phone was never there at two o’clock. Her phone was in Fredericksburg, it was in Spotsy. And it never went farther north than Stafford," said Detective Williams.

At 2 p.m., another series of texts from Kaitlin’s phone to her mother:

Katelin: I’m at the airport. Battery dying so won’t be able to text for a bit

Sullivan: Ok let me know when you get on the plane.

Five hours later, at 715pm, their final exchangeKatelin: I’m staying with a friend

I need some time alone

Sullivan: Call me

I am very worried about you

please call me

"We’ve pulled video from Springfield Mall, from the Metro station and from the airport, and Katelin’s not on any of them," Detective Williams added.

Katelin’s former stepfather, James Branton, is an employee at Dahlgren Naval Base. We left messages for him on his cell phone and at his home. We also sent him emails to multiple accounts. He has not responded to our requests for his side of the story.

"The stepfather was cooperative with our agency initially," said Detective Williams. "Provided us his timeline of events, which also does not match up with the cell phone tower information that we’ve received."

Branton stopped cooperating with the investigation. Sheriff’s Deputies searched his home and seized an encrypted cell phone. He’s refused to turn over the password, and authorities have been unable to see what’s on it. And, he refused to take a polygraph. That turned the tide for Sullivan.

"He did something wrong," she said. "I tried to defend him until then."

Adding to the mystery, a shocking roadside discovery two days after Katelin vanished. A VDOT employee found her luggage. A blue rectangular suitcase with a broken wheel. Her wallet and ID were inside.

Her clothing and high school diploma, gone.

While Sullivan tries to keep her hopes up that her daughter is still alive, investigators have a different take.

"Sadly, I don’t," said Detective Williams. "This is a girl that talked to people every day. Every day, constantly on her phone. This girl gradually stopped talking to everybody on one day of her life, at 19 years old, I don’t see it."

Sullivan said her anxiety is relentless.

"I don’t sleep much. I don’t eat much. I just work a lot," she explained. "That’s what keeps my mind busy."

Even the discovery of a body would bring her relief.

"It would bring me something," she said, her voice cracking. "We would know where she’s at. We won’t have to keep worrying. We worry every day. That’s all me and my family talk about is Katelin."

Anyone with information is urged to call the Spotsylvania County Sheriff's Office at 540-582-7115.

An encrypted cell phone may hold clues to teen's disappearance

 

[Vail]

Have they tried asking the FBI to crack the phone, I wonder?

 

[JLouEllen90]

Have they tried asking the FBI to crack the phone, I wonder?

I don't know if they have used the FBI or not but I do know that they've used multiple agencies to help crack the code but so far have been unsuccessful.

 

[JLouEllen90]

I'm sure LE is aware that the ex-step-father, JB, has three homes in Spotsylvania and Fredericksburg. I wonder if they searched all three homes or just the one in Partlow. This is interesting to me since the location of her found luggage is only 10 miles or so away from one of his properties. Did he drive to River Road and dispose of the luggage and then went to another home? Also, is LE aware there is an old creek and pond near the house in Partlow? How was her DNA not found in his home if presumably she was there for about 2 hours? Not a single strand of hair? JB has more information for this case and he is not letting up... Her phone pinged in Spotsy and F'burg the day she went missing, never a ping north of F'burg. I believe he took her out somewhere with her luggage and something ensued during the journey. He got angry, hurt Kaitlin, and disposed of her body somewhere near one of his three homes or even near the Rappahannock river. He took her clothes and diploma as souvenirs and ditched her luggage on River road on his way home. Has LE ever searched the car used the transport Katilin that day? That should have been done seeing as how that was her last whereabouts.

 

[Ozoner]

I'm sure LE is aware that the ex-step-father, JB, has three homes in Spotsylvania and Fredericksburg. I wonder if they searched all three homes or just the one in Partlow. This is interesting to me since the location of her found luggage is only 10 miles or so away from one of his properties. Did he drive to River Road and dispose of the luggage and then went to another home? Also, is LE aware there is an old creek and pond near the house in Partlow? How was her DNA not found in his home if presumably she was there for about 2 hours? Not a single strand of hair? JB has more information for this case and he is not letting up... Her phone pinged in Spotsy and F'burg the day she went missing, never a ping north of F'burg. I believe he took her out somewhere with her luggage and something ensued during the journey. He got angry, hurt Kaitlin, and disposed of her body somewhere near one of his three homes or even near the Rappahannock river. He took her clothes and diploma as souvenirs and ditched her luggage on River road on his way home. Has LE ever searched the car used the transport Katilin that day? That should have been done seeing as how that was her last whereabouts.

I don't think it was about anger; I think it was about lust.
-
Maybe she told him about her threesome with the married couple, and hearing the story gave him an erection, so he raped Katelin and then strangled her.
-
I do think that he might have disposed of Katelin's body near one of his homes, as you suggested.

 

[JSolt1210]

An encrypted cell phone may hold clues to teen's disappearance
An encrypted cell phone and a series of text messages may hold the keys to cracking the case of a missing teenager. Nearly three years ago, 19 year-old Katelin Akens disappeared from Spotsylvania County under mysterious circumstances.

Author: Andrea McCarren
Published: 12:32 PM EDT November 1, 2018
Updated: 6:28 PM EST November 13, 2018
SPOTSYLVANIA COUNTY, Va. -- On December 5, 2015, Katelin Akens was supposed to fly from Reagan National Airport back to her home in Arizona. The 19-year-old never used her airline ticket.

"I think about it 24/7. I wake up thinking about it. We talk about it as a group all the time, the theories, the things we can do," said Senior Detective Sharon WIlliams of the Spotsylvania County Sheriff’s Office.







What We Know About the Jeff Bezos Phone Hack
Katelin's former step-father James Branton was the last to see her alive. He'd agreed to drive her from his Partlow home to the airport, 80 miles away.

Katelin's mother, Lisa Sullivan, maintained an amicable relationship with Branton. She said, "He’s the only father figure that she’s ever had."

At 11:56 AM, Katelin messaged her girlfriend in Arizona. "Something came up," she wrote. "I’m not coming back today, I’ll let you know when I get a new flight. I won’t be able to text for a bit."

Nearly two hours later, Branton texted Sullivan after she asked if he'd taken Katelin to National Airport. Here's their exchange:

Branton: I dropped Katelin off.

[...]

The investigation after Katelin's disappearance confirmed her fears.

"And that’s two o’clock and I can tell you her phone was never there at two o’clock. Her phone was in Fredericksburg, it was in Spotsy. And it never went farther north than Stafford," said Detective Williams."

At 2 p.m., another series of texts from Kaitlin’s phone to her mother:

Katelin: I’m at the airport. Battery dying so won’t be able to text for a bit...

BBM.

Thank you so much for posting this article! The information it provides is invaluable. For me, it clarifies some things, but it complicates others.

At first I thought that Katelin's 11:56 a.m. text meant 11:56 a.m. Arizona-time, which would've been 1:56 p.m. Virginia-time. That suggested to me that JB might've been texting from both phones to plant his story—like, at the same time "Katelin" is supposedly getting out of his car, she's telling her friend that she wasn't getting on the plane.

The article suggests, however, that Katelin's 11:56 a.m. text was in fact sent from Virginia-time, because JB's text to her mom comes "nearly two hours later."

So, okay, he has a 2-hour window to cover up whatever he did. But then if he drove to Springfield, which is almost an hour away, and texted the mom from there around 2 p.m., who texted from Katelin's phone back in Spotsy just four minutes later? He can't be in two places 40 miles apart at once.

Or is the article suggesting that JB never left the Spotsy area either? I notice it doesn't say one way or the other.

Remind me—did LE say that JB claimed he happened to park out of camera range at the Springfield Mall, or am I confusing that with another case?

I don't think it was about anger; I think it was about lust.
-
Maybe she told him about her threesome with the married couple, and hearing the story gave him an erection, so he raped Katelin and then strangled her.
-
I do think that he might have disposed of Katelin's body near one of his homes, as you suggested.

I can definitely see this being about lust for her, but I can also see it as possibly being about revulsion. The threesome involved another girl. Could he have been homophobic and attacked her when she confided in him? It's been known to happen—both to young children, but also to teens.

 

[JLouEllen90]

BBM.

Thank you so much for posting this article! The information it provides is invaluable. For me, it clarifies some things, but it complicates others.

At first I thought that Katelin's 11:56 a.m. text meant 11:56 a.m. Arizona-time, which would've been 1:56 p.m. Virginia-time. That suggested to me that JB might've been texting from both phones to plant his story—like, at the same time "Katelin" is supposedly getting out of his car, she's telling her friend that she wasn't getting on the plane.

The article suggests, however, that Katelin's 11:56 a.m. text was in fact sent from Virginia-time, because JB's text to her mom comes "nearly two hours later."

So, okay, he has a 2-hour window to cover up whatever he did. But then if he drove to Springfield, which is almost an hour away, and texted the mom from there around 2 p.m., who texted from Katelin's phone back in Spotsy just four minutes later? He can't be in two places 40 miles apart at once.

Or is the article suggesting that JB never left the Spotsy area either? I notice it doesn't say one way or the other.

Remind me—did LE say that JB claimed he happened to park out of camera range at the Springfield Mall, or am I confusing that with another case?



I can definitely see this being about lust for her, but I can also see it as possibly being about revulsion. The threesome involved another girl. Could he have been homophobic and attacked her when she confided in him? It's been known to happen—both to young children, but also to teens.

From what I recall his phone never pinged in Springfield. I also don't think there was any mention of him parking outside of camera range or not.

 

[jnblsm]

I'm ready for more info to come out about Katelin.
It's been too long. Sara Graham, too

 

[carterkatt]

Body found in nearby area? Sorry if this is way off base.

A hiker found a body in a wooded area of Fairfax Station on Saturday.

The body was found near the 7500 block of Lee Chapel Road in Fairfax Station shortly after 5 p.m., according to Fairfax County police.

This is an active investigation and detectives returned to the scene Sunday morning to continue processing evidence.

The body was in an advanced stage of decomposition and transported to the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner for an autopsy to determine the cause and manner of death.

Identification is pending further investigation and next of kin notification.

Preliminarily, detectives do not believe this was a random act of violence and there is no apparent threat to public safety.

Detectives are asking for anybody with information about this case to contact the Major Crimes Bureau at 703-246-7800, option 4. Tips can also be submitted anonymously through Crime Solvers by visiting fairfaxcrimesolvers.org, or text-a-tip by texting “TIP187” plus your message to CRIMES (274637).

 

[marsyao]

I don't think that is her remains, it was more than four years since her disappearance, nothing but skeletons would left

 

[LaborDayRN]

I think of Katelin often....... I always hope she is alive and well living somewhere. I know that's very unlikely though. It breaks my heart that no one has ever been charged in this case. Perhaps that's about to change.

 

[Lmustang89]

I too, keep hoping she will be found.

 

[j_in_c]

Body found in nearby area? Sorry if this is way off base.

A hiker found a body in a wooded area of Fairfax Station on Saturday.

The body was found near the 7500 block of Lee Chapel Road in Fairfax Station shortly after 5 p.m., according to Fairfax County police.

This is an active investigation and detectives returned to the scene Sunday morning to continue processing evidence.

The body was in an advanced stage of decomposition and transported to the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner for an autopsy to determine the cause and manner of death.

Identification is pending further investigation and next of kin notification.

Preliminarily, detectives do not believe this was a random act of violence and there is no apparent threat to public safety.

Detectives are asking for anybody with information about this case to contact the Major Crimes Bureau at 703-246-7800, option 4. Tips can also be submitted anonymously through Crime Solvers by visiting fairfaxcrimesolvers.org, or text-a-tip by texting “TIP187” plus your message to CRIMES (274637).

I haven't looked closely at the area, but I am wondering if it is related to this missing person case (I don't think he has a WS thread):
Fairfax County police ask for public's help to find Michael Delaney

 

[ocsalumni]

Just heard about this case for the first time last night and want to bump... makes no sense that the stepfather wasn’t investigated further. Did anyone else watch the Crimewatch Daily special on this btw? I watched that first then watched Disappeared on ID and was surprised to see how much was left out. Not sure which was made first but there were some seriously big differences, it was jarring.

 

[dalsglen]

I honestly can't believe it's nearly been 5 years and the stepdads still roaming free...

 

[LaborDayRN]

Just heard about this case for the first time last night and want to bump... makes no sense that the stepfather wasn’t investigated further. Did anyone else watch the Crimewatch Daily special on this btw? I watched that first then watched Disappeared on ID and was surprised to see how much was left out. Not sure which was made first but there were some seriously big differences, it was jarring.

I didn't see the Crimewatch Daily or the ID episode! How did I miss those. I think of Katelin often. I agree about the SF.

 

[realanastasia]

This was the first case I followed here on WS—did not expect it to remain unsolved so long, though.

Something that struck me about the two texts Katelin allegedly sent on the day of her disappearance (one to her girlfriend in Arizona and the other to her mom) was the use of the phrase “for a bit.” I spend a lot of time around 18-20 year olds (college professor) and can’t say this is a phrase I ever hear from folks in this age group. Now, that phrase could just be a regional thing (commonly used in VA or AZ) or maybe just a family expression, but I would certainly hope that investigators have compared the writing style and word choice in these 2 texts with other, earlier texts from KA—AND with the writing style and word choice in texts sent from her ex-stepfather. It seems crystal clear that he is to blame for her disappearance, and his arrogant and uncooperative behavior makes it even more clear (IMO) that he knows he has gotten away with it.

 

[Topppps]

Interesting case following