WA WA - Shantina Smiley, 29, & Azriel Carver, 8 (fnd deceased), Olympia, Mar 2010 - #4

[Knox]

Many of you who have experience with Alcoholism have said how well they can hide drinking. Maybe Shantina had been drinking for a while and hid it well. The thing is, she did not hide that wine purchase from Azriel, she put it right up there on the counter. I guess she could have said she was bringing it as a gift and poured it into a cup while he was in the back seat. But it begs the question, did he know Mom was drinking? IIRC not too long ago he was acting out at school. Could that be the reason? He was helping to hide something from RS. I dunno I guess it's neither here nor there at this point, but I really think she was not feeling well on that trip. Drinking, bad reaction to meds, flu, maybe a combo of all three? I think eventually she will be found, just as Azriel was.

 

[luckyducky]

I'm not 100% convinced she was drinking all that much, Lipin.

"Mom hit her head"
possible nausea, vomiting
disorientation
frequent, long stops in vehicle
unable to follow simple directions

I think our girl might have had a nasty concussion. She may have had a few drinks too. I'm not a doctor, but those look like symptoms of a lady with a concussion to me. And those symptoms seem a bit too pronounced for the amount of alcohol we have evidence of.

Just because she may have been drinking, doesn't mean she couldn't have had a concussion too.

No one really knows what happened. It really bothers me that so many people have been talking about her being drunk and being a drunkard when we don't know what happened at all. How big was the bottle of wine? It was said that it was half full. Some bottles of wine only hold maybe 4 glasses of wine or so. The concussion theory is believable because her son told someone that she fell. It can cause someone to become dizzy, sleepy - blurred vsion as well among other symtoms. As for her son and her sleeping with the back hatch open I can tell you that it would be friggin cold right down there on the beach this time of year. Even with the back closed it would be - I wonder if they had sleeping bags stowed back there? Shantina more then likely succumbed to the sea as did Azriel - her remains may never be found. It happens. About the purse thing? I have a few g/f's that never carry purses at all. NOw myself I have a huge one - and its always full of stuff -the stuff you can't do without. As I said before - none of us know what happened to her and Azriel that night and we maybe never will. It's just a really sad deal and my heart goes out to their loved ones.

 

[jessigirl]

Thank you for this! You have put into words my own feelings: Her energy to go to college, study, achieve good grades, learn photography, get her child into scouts, trying to enter an engagement: Does not square with a totally disorganized person who would not have the wherewithal to make it through a night. "Recovering alcholic" + DUI+ CPS have wiped away much of what was good and solid about her. If she should later prove to be a victim of foul play.....Keep going round in circles about this case....[/QUOTE

will anyone who has the link to SS myspace please post it or tell me where i can find it. Calliope spoke of it in above post, but anyone who knows please post link. TIA

 

[Knox]

http://www.myspace.com/neiko_82

 

[slowpoke]

I'm not 100% convinced she was drinking all that much, Lipin.

"Mom hit her head"
possible nausea, vomiting
disorientation
frequent, long stops in vehicle
unable to follow simple directions

I think our girl might have had a nasty concussion. She may have had a few drinks too. I'm not a doctor, but those look like symptoms of a lady with a concussion to me. And those symptoms seem a bit too pronounced for the amount of alcohol we have evidence of.

Just because she may have been drinking, doesn't mean she couldn't have had a concussion too.

Has that "Mommy hit her head" quote been confirmed, however? My recollection was that that info came from a commenter (who claimed to be a Martin Way Diner employee) under a news article, and I did not hear any follow-up info on that as to validity.

Didn't we learn that she was taking anti-anxiety meds? I imagine that that and alcohol in her system (if she did drink that day) could have caused nausea, not to mention disorientation, etc.

So many unknowns in this case! I wonder if we'll ever know all the facts where it will all make sense...

 

[sorrell skye]

http://www.projo.com/news/content/CAN_FLOODED_CARS_BE_FIXED_03-16-10_CRHPSS5_v9.3b3d06f.html

Excerpt from article:

“Water can be a true enemy of the electrical system of today’s computerized cars. If it’s submerged to the door handles, chances are all the electrical circuits have gotten sufficiently wet to cause shorting out.”

I keep thinking about that pic of the windshield with the wiper marks.

The above info in that article raises a conundrum for me.

If the van was "completely submerged" as it's been reported, then IMO, those sand/silt deposits would have been washed off.

If the sand/silt on the windshield was wiped before the van was submerged, IMO, there wouldn't be such a distinct wiper pattern on the windshield. Again, the high water would have washed the sand/silt off, and any sand/silt that might have settled on the windshield would have been evenly distributed.

Based on the info in the article, if the van was submerged to the door handles, chances are the electrical system would have shorted out, so it's unlikely they were turned on after the tide receded.

 

[RubyRed]

All he said was that a neighbor saw it "this morning". Did I miss him stating a specific time?

He does not say a specific time, just that it was saw in the morning. I did not imply there was a time quoted in the 911 call.

 

[BeanE]

Has that "Mommy hit her head" quote been confirmed, however? My recollection was that that info came from a commenter (who claimed to be a Martin Way Diner employee) under a news article, and I did not hear any follow-up info on that as to validity.

Didn't we learn that she was taking anti-anxiety meds? I imagine that that and alcohol in her system (if she did drink that day) could have caused nausea, not to mention disorientation, etc.

So many unknowns in this case! I wonder if we'll ever know all the facts where it will all make sense...

Yes, it was from a comment. I haven't been able to put it out of my mind though. He might have said it in an attempt to cover up for his mom's intoxication. He might not have said it at all. Or she might have hit her head.

And yes, the anti-anxiety meds, if she was taking them that night, could have increased the effect of the wine. And she might have also hit her head. Or not.

But what if she didn't take meds? What if she just had about a half jug of Carlo Rossi? Would that alone have caused her apparent condition?

I'm going to go back through all the videos and see what else I can observe, see if anything else jumps out.

 

[eyes4crime]

Has that "Mommy hit her head" quote been confirmed, however? My recollection was that that info came from a commenter (who claimed to be a Martin Way Diner employee) under a news article, and I did not hear any follow-up info on that as to validity.

Didn't we learn that she was taking anti-anxiety meds? I imagine that that and alcohol in her system (if she did drink that day) could have caused nausea, not to mention disorientation, etc.

So many unknowns in this case! I wonder if we'll ever know all the facts where it will all make sense...

BBM

It was mentioned in the beginning that Shantina was on anti-anxiety meds. If the relapse was recent and anti-anxiety meds were being taken, there would be no way Shantina could have predicted her response when driving. Perhaps there was much pressure anticipated regarding the weekend, and she took an extra one or two pills. If Shantina missed a dose she could have started withdrawal. Mixing certain meds and alcohol can be serious - you don't need much alcohol for confusion, loss of short term memory, or for poor functioning to be present. Whatever happened, this case is very tragic.

 

[lilcatt]

I find it very suspicious that Shantina's body has not been found. Her actions made no sense. It looks like she was deliberately driving around, stopping at different business's to be seen on video. We see her buying wine, that would establish that she was drinking and probably drunk. Next we are to believe that drunk, not knowing the area she found a road that is so well hidden that even the police had trouble finding it. my theory is either this is a total set up and she is alive or she never left the house she stopped at to use the phone. That is the only two scenarios that make any sense.

 

[Miss Optimism]

Speaking from my own experience, the few times I have bolted from a restaurant after ordering include:

(1)the time the clerk kept repeating the order over and over and over, as if she didn't understand me,

(2) the time it was taking way too long for the food to come,

(3) the time one of the clerks was giving me dirty looks,

(4) the time I noticed the food had been sitting way too long and it was dried and wrinkled and only kept warm by a heat lamp.

My point, that there could've been many reasons why she bolted out after paying for the food. It was only a hot dog and taters, so she couldn't have paid much. Whatever reason she left the food for was (to her) more worthwhile.

Being sick, after drinking, is understandably a good one.

I don't think that's a good enough reason. Her son was starving. Yet another example of neglect on her part.

 

[RubyRed]

I know you didn't, I'm just trying to figure out when the van was first spotted on the beach.

Okay, I misunderstood. I did notice in the 911 call that he said a neighbor told another neighbor, who told him. Wonder why the first one to see van in water didn't call? I mean it is not normal to see that.

911 Call

http://www.q13fox.com/news/kcpq-031610-audio-search,0,2743159.mp3file

 

[SMK]

I don't think that's a good enough reason. Her son was starving. Yet another example of neglect on her part.

That part does bother me, and always has. When our son was that age, and any age, really, the one thing I could never be careless of was his comfort: If my son was hungry and we were out, we would always make that a priority. He should not have had to wait until 10 pm to have strangers give him a slice of pizza. What if they had not offered? And one wonders how he felt when they left without his food. That part is a bit offputting, regarding her as a mom.

 

[eyes4crime]

I find it very suspicious that Shantina's body has not been found. Her actions made no sense. It looks like she was deliberately driving around, stopping at different business's to be seen on video. We see her buying wine, that would establish that she was drinking and probably drunk. Next we are to believe that drunk, not knowing the area she found a road that is so well hidden that even the police had trouble finding it. my theory is either this is a total set up and she is alive or she never left the house she stopped at to use the phone. That is the only two scenarios that make any sense.

I ran this story by a dear friend of ours who is a recovering alcoholic for over 14 years, works the steps of AA, and attributes AA for his success in finding sobriety and keeping it.

When telling him of Shantina's wanderings all over the town - his first thought was that she may have been looking for an AA meeting so she could capture some support. He also suggested that she may have put the bottle of wine in the water to get it cool, and it washed away. He thought it highly unlikely a relapsed alcholic would throw away wine. just some thoughts moo

 

[Miss Optimism]

I ran this story by a dear friend of ours who is a recovering alcoholic for over 14 years, works the steps of AA, and attributes AA for his success in finding sobriety and keeping it.

When telling him of Shantina's wanderings all over the town - his first thought was that she may have been looking for an AA meeting so she could capture some support. He also suggested that she may have put the bottle of wine in the water to get it cool, and it washed away. He thought it highly unlikely a relapsed alcholic would throw away wine. just some thoughts moo

That's an interesting thought. Since no one smelled alcohol on her, she may not have been drinking. What else could explain her bizarre behavior?

 

[lilcatt]

I ran this story by a dear friend of ours who is a recovering alcoholic for over 14 years, works the steps of AA, and attributes AA for his success in finding sobriety and keeping it.

When telling him of Shantina's wanderings all over the town - his first thought was that she may have been looking for an AA meeting so she could capture some support. He also suggested that she may have put the bottle of wine in the water to get it cool, and it washed away. He thought it highly unlikely a relapsed alcholic would throw away wine. just some thoughts moo

This is a good theory but that does not explain why her body has not been found or how she got to where the van was found.

 

[eyes4crime]

This is a good theory but that does not explain why her body has not been found or how she got to where the van was found.

Not a theory - but suggestions as to why things may have appeared a certain way. The wine bottle was 1/2 empty, and he thought for sure that a newly relapsed alcoholic, especially with her history, wouldn't be throwing a bottle in the water. For the sake of NOT having an open bottle of alcohol in the car and for the sake of it being cool upon drinking, he thought she MAY have put it in the water. He thought this would explain why the back of the van was open.

As for her body - this is the salt water ocean - like looking for a needle in a haystack unless body washes up on shore. I didn't ask him about the body cause he wouldn't know a thing about that - just some of the possible thinking a relapsed alcholic might have.

 

[RubyRed]

That's an interesting thought. Since no one smelled alcohol on her, she may not have been drinking. What else could explain her bizarre behavior?

Jay thinks it's possible she was having a reaction to medication.

http://www.wivb.com/dpp/news/local/...paign=Feed:+wivb_local+(WIVB.com+-+Local+News

Her stepsister said everyone in the family thinks something different about what happened to Smiley, because so little information about her disappearance has surfaced.

Carie Tonovitz, of Silverdale, said in an e-mail Tuesday that Smiley was a good mom who was very wrapped up in her son's life. Tonovitz, Smiley and her fiance are den leaders of their sons' Cub Scout group.

http://www.seattlepi.com/local/416916_missing17.html

 

[mysticrose]

Hi ...Was there ever anything released on Azriel's autopsy ? I have been looking and havent found anything yet...TIA

 

[mysticrose]

Oh I found it:

An autopsy Friday positively identified the boy, determined he had drowned and that his death was an accident.

http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-504083_162-20000864-504083.html?tag=contentMain;contentBody