Found Deceased WA - Cheryl DeBoer, 54, Mountlake Terrace, 8 February 2016 #2

[desertmama]

I wonder if someone lived near the culvert that she knew and that's what led searchers there? It seems like a needle in a haystack unless I don't understand the scope of the volunteer search.

I'm not completely caught up yet, so please forgive me if this has already been said. I was wondering if a member of the search party caught a glimpse of something when driving by, and wanted to check it out.

 

[Yvettea]

Someone grabbing a knife blade during an attack cuts their fingers. If suicide is viable she could have inflicted the wound to leave blood evidence and bolster the idea of an abduction. Parked at the library she could have walked away unnoticed.

Wondering if that dark jacket had a hood to cover curly red hair.

 

[otto]

Sorry, I can not buy suicide. To me, there was too much planning for it to be a suicide. As already mentioned, driving a different car, the badge left at home, the text messages including answering that it would take her ten minutes to to go home and return to the park and ride.

IF suicide is what she was planning, her husband had left before her, so exact timing of getting to the park and ride at her regular time was not necessary. She could have driven that way, texted her carpool buddy she was sick and would be coming in later or a dozen other excuses, then gone to do her deed wherever. She did not need to follow any of her regular routine.

The first thing I read today is: self-inflicted cuts on fingers. I'm thinking - and what does this have to do with her disappearance and murder, are they actually moving in the direction of suicide by drainage ditch? This is near Seattle, right? ... not some backwoods place where some might prefer to ignore missing/murdered women.

 

[Hap]

Maybe the self inflected cuts statement is to explain the blood in the car... A very small amount?

 

[Kale]

The first thing I read today is: self-inflicted cuts on fingers. I'm thinking - and what does this have to do with her disappearance and murder, are they actually moving in the direction of suicide by drainage ditch? This is near Seattle, right? ... not some backwoods place where some might prefer to ignore missing/murdered women.

That's what I think! I'm starting to think that they're luring the murderer into a false sense of security... Making mention of small cuts that couldn't be fatal is pointless otherwise.

Seattle metro (especially north and east sides) doesn't experience bodies in ditches very much! I don't remember the last time (if in my lifetime) this has happened on the north end. It's shocking and terrifying and no one is ignoring it, for sure.

 

[Bravo]

I'm not completely caught up yet, so please forgive me if this has already been said. I was wondering if a member of the search party caught a glimpse of something when driving by, and wanted to check it out.

Could be but nothing reported

 

[steelman]

The cuts on her fingers themselves are meaningless. What holds all the weight here and was carefully worded deliberately are the words "self-inflicted." The way that was described and issued to the media appears to be very intentional to me.


Perhaps we are all interpreting this the wrong way though. What if the report was submitted by some brainless dullard that had no idea that people on Websleuths were watching his every move like a hawk watches a toy poodle. Maybe the actual comment about the cuts was more along the lines of " Well, there's a couple of small cuts here on her fingertips, but it looks like she may have done that herself". In other words, self inflicted through normal daily routines.

After that was transcribed, legalized, issued to the media and made it onto a webpage, it appears as "Slashed fingers were self inflicted wounds !!" We all know how the media loves to sensationalize things.

Just a thought, and a possible explanation how this possibly innocent comment could have taken a life of its' own.

 

[Itsmevkb]

What the actual...............

I'm lost. Seriously lost.

When I read about the self-inflicted cuts my mind went to that they are hinting at suicide. Then my thoughts went to, maybe CD was struggling with depression. I know her family said she had no history but maybe she was just really, really good at hiding it or perhaps it was more recent brought on by something like a medical diagnosis. Was that morning sort of like every other morning, her plan really was to go to work, but then she got to the park 'n ride and realized well shoot, I forgot my badge and now I have to go home and my morning is messed up and now I also messed up someone else's morning because they are going to have to wait for me and that thinking started to spiral out of control? Like all of a sudden you're thinking about not just forgetting the badge but oh, I messed up such and such too and forgot this and that and I'm just an idiot who can't manage anything like I used to? And then you decide to tell your friend that you'll catch a bus (I'm still not clear on what the text actually was - that she said 10 minutes or that at some point she did text the friend to just go on without her) giving you time to walk home to get the badge, also giving yourself time to think. But then I get lost because there's no route to where she was found that makes sense if she was sorta trying to go home. I could almost more see it possibly being suicide/odd accident if that culvert were on her route home and she was just walking by and either slipped, fell, hit her head and drowned, or had some weird I'll just go sit down there to get away from the world thought and cut her wrists (but that would be obvious, right????) and she cut her fingers using a razor blade to do that..................yea, it's just impossible to figure out how that would happen even allowing for a bunch of illogical type thinking.

Some of my stream of conscious thinking comes from my mother-in-law who has attempted suicide numerous times and some of those times were in reaction to what to most would see as VERY small things (like forgetting a work badge.) And then also from a friend who recently had his girlfriend die by doing drugs near a stream and then passing out, falling into the water and drowning despite there being very little water in the stream. I know CD was not an addict (that anyone knew of) but tons of medications could cause people to act out of the norm and/or cause them to become disoriented or pass out.

 

[Tillicum]

This is starting to remind me of Shasta Himelrick's case that was eventually ruled a suicide. Does anyone remember? She was reported missing then her car was found with blood on the seat and head rest. She was eventually found in the river and we were told she drowned. They also said she had small (non life threatening) self inflicted cuts.

 

[otto]

That's what I think! I'm starting to think that they're luring the murderer into a false sense of security... Making mention of small cuts that couldn't be fatal is pointless otherwise.

Seattle metro (especially north and east sides) doesn't experience bodies in ditches very much! I don't remember the last time (if in my lifetime) this has happened on the north end. It's shocking and terrifying and no one is ignoring it, for sure.

Unless a self-inflicted injury is witnessed, there is no way to verify that an injury is self-inflicted. I nicked my knuckle locking up at work this week. It was definitely self-inflicted, but it was completely accidental. No one who looks at the cut on my knuckle can say one way or another whether it was self-inflicted.

Did her husband tell the medical examiner that she has self-inflicted cuts on two fingers?

 

[Tillicum]

Unless a self-inflicted injury is witnessed, there is no way to verify that an injury is self-inflicted. I nicked my knuckle locking up at work this week. It was definitely self-inflicted, but it was completely accidental. No one who looks at the cut on my knuckle can say one way or another whether it was self-inflicted.

Did her husband tell the medical examiner that she has self-inflicted cuts on two fingers?

Maybe she mentioned it in a text?

 

[rotary_dial]

The self inflicted cuts could have resulted from her reaching under her car seat looking for her ID badge. There are plenty of sharp pieces of metal under the seats of older model cars like the one she was driving. LE could have discovered traces of blood on something sharp under the seat and determined that as the cause. An accidental cut would still be considered self-inflicted, wouldn't it?

Jumping straight to suicide from this little bit of information, without analyzing simple explanations seems a bit premature to me.

Sent from my Nexus 6 using Tapatalk

 

[otto]

Maybe she mentioned it in a text?

Perhaps, but who decides that their last moments of life will be in a drainage pipe?

 

[PLT]

Well that didn't give us much. Small cuts could be anything. Chopping food, paper cuts????? Lordy!

Agree - in the crimefighters picture of the car - there seems to be a pet carrier - could even be scratches from a pet. I don't get how one determines if a cut is self-inflicted unless they had bandaids on them from previously or were already healing.

 

[steelman]

Perhaps, but who decides that their last moments of life will be in a drainage pipe?

Especially an outwardly happy grandmother who appeared to have everything to live for.........

 

[Tripplogan]

This seemed like a bizarre fact. Perhaps it explains the blood in the car apart from Cheryl's death. I just don't see "self-inflicted cuts on fingers" (which are easily done by accident) as terribly important. Cause of death will no doubt clarify things.

 

[otto]

The cuts on her fingers themselves are meaningless. What holds all the weight here and was carefully worded deliberately are the words "self-inflicted." The way that was described and issued to the media appears to be very intentional to me.


Perhaps we are all interpreting this the wrong way though. What if the report was submitted by some brainless dullard that had no idea that people on Websleuths were watching his every move like a hawk watches a toy poodle. Maybe the actual comment about the cuts was more along the lines of " Well, there's a couple of small cuts here on her fingertips, but it looks like she may have done that herself". In other words, self inflicted through normal daily routines.

After that was transcribed, legalized, issued to the media and made it onto a webpage, it appears as "Slashed fingers were self inflicted wounds !!" We all know how the media loves to sensationalize things.

Just a thought, and a possible explanation how this possibly innocent comment could have taken a life of its' own.

Perhaps it should have been worded "defensive", as defensive wounds are self-inflicted. People have been known to hold onto the blade of a knife if they believe it will prevent more serious injury.

 

[steelman]

Perhaps it should have been worded "defensive", as defensive wounds are self-inflicted. People have been known to hold onto the blade of a knife if they believe it will prevent more serious injury.

Absolutely. I think that's what made people question that "conclusion" from the git-go, myself included.

 

[steelman]

This is starting to remind me of Shasta Himelrick's case that was eventually ruled a suicide. Does anyone remember? She was reported missing then her car was found with blood on the seat and head rest. She was eventually found in the river and we were told she drowned. They also said she had small (non life threatening) self inflicted cuts.

I remember that case well. It sort of mirrors this one, except for the distances involved and the lifestyles of the victims. She also committed "suicide" in a community that spits out at least a murder a month due to heavy prostitution and drugs. Many of the murders have gone unsolved.

 

[Tillicum]

Perhaps, but who decides that their last moments of life will be in a drainage pipe?

I can't imagine anyone would but if the cuts aren't associated with her death, then the ME may have been able to verify it from texts if she mentioned it. Could be as simple as "Ugh I've got paper cuts on two fingers and it hurts to text"