MI MI - Julia Niswender, 23, EMU student, Ypsilanti, 10 Dec 2012 - #1

[BetteDavisEyes]

Found an article on EMU site, I find a quote of JT odd; states

"...thanks for putting up with her"

Also, I just realized there is a younger sister with the Turnquist last name...is this Jim and Kims child or his from previous relationship? I believe this sister was about 10 at the time of Julia's death.


http://www.heritage.com/articles/2012/12/16/ypsilanti_courier/news/doc50ccb707ae1fb985202564.txt

JT's comments in this article are totally bizarre. Double-talk. WTF!?! :moo:

 

[caspermi]

Snipped from the above article

"He was recently arrested and arraigned in Monroe County on child *advertiser censored* charges. That crime was reported in February but according to court documents, it happened in November of of 2012. That was just one month before his step-daughter. The EMU student was found in the bathtub of her off campus apartment police say she was choked before being put in the tub."

So the based on various news articles, this is the timeline I was able to come up with.

Father voluntarily turns over computer to police in late 2014. Police look through computer and find 8 pictures of child *advertiser censored* that were saved to computer in November 2012. Based on these findings father is arrested in late February 2015 and a search warrant for additional computers, phones, jump drives, etc. is obtained. Police execute search warrant at that time.

Some questions that come to mind, did the suspect take the pictures? Were they of family members or acquaintances? Or were they images just downloaded from the web?

Now that the father is under arrest and police have seized his phones, they can obtain a search warrant for his cell phone location data. If he isn't saying where he was on or around the day of the murder, they can check as to whether his phone was near the daughters EMU dorm on the dates in question (as well as other unsolved disappearance or murder cases.)

 

[BetteDavisEyes]

Yes, He owns and operates a small business cleaning company.

Thank you. Were computers/phones from this business included in a search warrant?

 

[BetteDavisEyes]

LE kept most details of their investigation close to the vest, but was it ever mentioned whether or not Julia was sexually assaulted? I didn't speculate at the time about the unusual body position when Julia was found dead in her bathtub. Now, with the information about child *advertiser censored* photos on JT's computer, I can't help wondering if the "unusual" body placement was sexual in nature. :blushing:

 

[MIMOMMY]

I would not call the position of her body sexual in nature. I also can not say whether computers/phones from the business were included in the search warrant.

 

[Spellbound]

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/nat...-arrest-reveal-stepdaughter-article-1.2139566

If you watch this video and watch JT you will see the man I came to know - Watch him as he hugs and comforts his wife - Watch the way he moves his hands as he speaks about Julia - Watch his facial expressions every time he is shown thru the video. Then form your own opinions. Perhaps you will not see what I have because you have not physically sat with him and heard the great sorrow in his voice, or experienced his voice cracking as he tries to speak and can not due to the emotion.

Of course this is all my opinion - and I will continue to listen closely to everything we discuss. I only ask in turn that you continue to respect my opinion of the situation as well.

I am sorry I disagree with your perception. I have never seen nor spoken to any of the family, so I have nothing to relate as to this person's character. But I can relate to having sexually inappropriate relatives who can be the sweetest, most compassionate people you would want to meet -- thus anyone who said a negative word about them were belittled or told they misunderstood an intention. Sexual inapropriateness can come from the "nicest" people. I have also known a murderer (family member) that caused disbelief from other family members -- some could believe he was capable, others believed it was not possible. In my experience, even those we feel show all the appropriate actions and morals can be covering up a deep secret.

My gut feeling as an outsider .... this man has probably done something that Julia was uncomfortable with. Her knowledge and possibly being ready to tell others was met with ill regard. I don't know if he did anything to cause her death, but it is not far fetched with the info that is coming forth right now.

I know there is a video with Mr. Turnquist speaking to a reporter., last October I think. I wish I could find it. If I remember correctly, I was surprised at his calmness and slight smile throughout. Maybe he, as do others, smiles as a reflex no matter the circumstances --- to cover anxiety, when happy or sad, when lying ...?

I just don't know how to feel still, Mimommy. I feel really bad for all friends and family to have to see someone they know and trusted being accused of heinous acts. I am trying to separate personal concerns from legal concerns, but they tend to jumble together. I am sorry you have to be put in this situation as a friend.

 

[Spellbound]

JT's comments in this article are totally bizarre. Double-talk. WTF!?! :moo:

Found on the 11th, and a vigil is held three days later and ..... he is GLAD they had the opportunity to experience this??? Putting up with her??? Who says that so quickly after a child's death? ooooh..... Be still my tongue!

father:. "I'm glad that Jennifer and Julia had the opportunity to experience this, what I'm seeing right now. I couldn't ask for anything more. Thank you. Thank you for being her friend. Thank you for being her support. Thanks for putting up with her."

 

[BetteDavisEyes]

^ Like I said: Bizarre

 

[tarabull]

LE kept most details of their investigation close to the vest, but was it ever mentioned whether or not Julia was sexually assaulted? I didn't speculate at the time about the unusual body position when Julia was found dead in her bathtub. Now, with the information about child *advertiser censored* photos on JT's computer, I can't help wondering if the "unusual" body placement was sexual in nature. :blushing:

Snipped...

...Julia’s body was found Dec. 11, 2012, inside her apartment near the EMU campus. Although items were missing from the apartment, which was found in disarray, police said there were no visible signs of trauma to her body. She was not sexually assaulted.

http://t.monroenews.com/news/2015/mar/04/jennifer-niswender-backing-stepfather/?templates=tablet

FWIW...

 

[momof4ws]

My question is, what family members lived at the home of Jim and Kim at the time Julia was murdered? Did Jennifer live there? According to the grandma, there was a conflict between Jim and Julia so Julia lived at the grandmas when she wasn't at her EMU apartment. I don't know a lot about identical twins but it must have been hard for Jennifer to not have her twin living at their parents but, instead, staying with the grandma. Did Jennifer not see eye to eye with whatever fallout Julia and Jim had? Julia spent time at grandma's house when not at school while Jennifer didn't? Julia had a major problem with her stepdad and Jennifer stands behind him 100%. Maybe Julia did know something that may be related to his arrest? I'm just thinking out loud here.....

 

[blonde_ambition]

I agree with Spellbound. My very good friend (and daycare provider - GASP) discovered her husband had been molesting her daughters for many years. The oldest daughter (15) secretly went to police and helped organize a midnight raid of sorts in order to "save" her younger sister. VERY shocking. NO ONE would have EVER suspected him. Literally the nicest guy you've ever met. In trial it came out that he had also viciously raped a woman when we has a military cop but the case was dismissed because she did not say "NO." The incident was scrubbed from his record. She flew in from 1200 miles away to testify at his sentencing - it was downright stomach turning to hear her recount what he did.

 

[BetteDavisEyes]

The issues between Julia and her stepfather must have been serious if she chose to live with her grandmother. I'm sure we'll be learning a lot about this family's dynamics as the investigation progresses.

 

[Spellbound]

blonde_ambition, thank you for sharing. It turns my stomach whenever I hear of how long things like this get covered up. Sometimes we are afraid to voice our fears and be told we don't know what we are talking alpbout or how we misunderstood it. I hope the girls are doing well now.

 

[FindHG]

Lawyer: Stepdad unfairly linked to EMU student's death
By Katrease Stafford, Detroit Free Press 11:45 p.m. EST March 5, 2015

In these excerpts quoting Lt. Deric Gress, it sounds like information may be coming in as the hearing nears, such as Julia's grandmother's information.

[...]
"The family has provided us information, and he's given us some type of account. We don't know if it's credible."
[...]
"We have some lab stuff out and that stuff takes a lot of time," he said. "We're constantly meeting with people, trying to check stuff out and figure out what to do next. People are saying we're opening a cold case, but it's never been a cold case. It ebbs and flows."


Report: Julia Niswender's grandmother says family divided over stepfather
By Ben Freed, MLive, Mar 6, '15, 12:28 pm
[...]
"Rose Niswender said she believes Turnquist knows something about the unsolved death, which happened in 2012."

In the video linked at the bottom of the page, Julia's mom talks about how she compartmentalizes how she deals with her loss of Julia. Her world is crashing together now, I imagine, inseparable, it seems. Terrible to have a man like this tear a family apart and cause so much pain and then to watch them reel in public, so he may save himself.


Police say James Turnquist is ‘person of interest' in Julia Niswender’s death
By Ray Kisonas, Fri, Mar 6, 15, 9:07 am

 

[OldSteve]

Wonder what he was up, where, before his meeting Julia's mom?

If the incriminating images that led to his arrest were from months prior to Julia's murder, if she was on the outs with him, living apart, even on holidays with her grandmother, as mentioned on MSM, in addition, if she knew of his bizarre nature and could only go so far setting herself apart from him, could he have feared broader discovery, as Julia lived independently, out of his control or dependent?

How far does a bizarre person like that go to cover for themselves? Then possibly having gotten away with it, with the world watching, but suspicions still out there, how far would a person like that go to distract from themselves, while still thinking like a detective, as he said he likes to do in an MSM broadcast? Rhetorical questions besides the first one.

I wonder if the answer to your question about how far a person would go, turns out to be Chelsea Bruck, sadly...

 

[rosesfromangels]

I want to say kudos to everyone on this thread for being so respectful when discussing what is a highly charged topic. Anytime you are talking about someone who has been accused of acts against children, and a potential tie in to a murder, well...it's enough to make your head spin.
I extend my love and prayers to the family members and close friends involved, oh, God Bless!

As far as the suspect, I am going to restrain myself from jumping to conclusions, although it's easy to do. This is a very complex case with complex family dynamics. I am going to rely on LE science, vs. my emotional response....as difficult as that is.
One thing is for sure, there is much more to follow. Much more.

Again, respect to all my fellow sleuthers on this thread for being a class act.

 

[BetteDavisEyes]

For anyone not local who wants to watch news at 4:00, here's the live stream link for WDIV, Channel 4, Detroit: http://www.clickondetroit.com/livestream/wdiv-news-livestream/22218202

The early news is usually breaking news, headlines, weather, etc., so if there's a major development in the Niswender situation, it might not be on until 5:00 or later newscasts. Of course, there are other TV stations in metro-Detroit, but Channel 4 is my go-to for local news.

 

[momof4ws]

I want to say kudos to everyone on this thread for being so respectful when discussing what is a highly charged topic. Anytime you are talking about someone who has been accused of acts against children, and a potential tie in to a murder, well...it's enough to make your head spin.
I extend my love and prayers to the family members and close friends involved, oh, God Bless!

As far as the suspect, I am going to restrain myself from jumping to conclusions, although it's easy to do. This is a very complex case with complex family dynamics. I am going to rely on LE science, vs. my emotional response....as difficult as that is.
One thing is for sure, there is much more to follow. Much more.

Again, respect to all my fellow sleuthers on this thread for being a class act.

Thank you for reminding us that lives have been turned upside down and I feel horrible for everyone affected by Julia's death...no matter what the outcome.

 

[Spellbound]

I agree. This has been a very respectful forum on a highly volatile topic. I hope we can keep it that way. Being among the community, I feel a deep connection, even though I have not met those in the center. I also feel a deep need to see this through to completion, whichever way it goes.

BDE, thanks for being here. You keep me a little saner.

FindHG ... I just realized your "links" are the blue words! I wish I knew how to do that. Thanks for those last ones.

OldSteve, I also wonder if this will lead to Chelsea.

 

[hockeymom4]

I want to say kudos to everyone on this thread for being so respectful when discussing what is a highly charged topic. Anytime you are talking about someone who has been accused of acts against children, and a potential tie in to a murder, well...it's enough to make your head spin.
I extend my love and prayers to the family members and close friends involved, oh, God Bless!

As far as the suspect, I am going to restrain myself from jumping to conclusions, although it's easy to do. This is a very complex case with complex family dynamics. I am going to rely on LE science, vs. my emotional response....as difficult as that is.
One thing is for sure, there is much more to follow. Much more.

Again, respect to all my fellow sleuthers on this thread for being a class act.

So very well said. I very rarely point fingers even after people are named POIs bc I need facts and evidence of the crime being committed for me to place guilt and belive a person is responsible. So, I also will be waiting on this one.

What I do find odd here is naming him a POI. This does have me thinking only because in so many cases LE refuses to ever name one and they just jump to an arrest. I know being a POI doesn't mean guilty. I just look at the many cases I have followed and all of them that had a POI first and an arrest later, resulted in it being the same person. There are many cases where there have been a POI and no arrest yet.

Curious for those here longer, is it common to have POIs named and for them not to be responsible?