First post on here, but have been reading most of the threads since the event itself.
Several points to make, if you will indulge me:
1. There are an awful lot of "What if..." scenarios that get suggested, and which then almost take on a life of their own. But most of them are pure supposition. Yes, we all love to speculate, but some of the more outlandish ones are just that - outlandish. I mean - blowing up a random photo, taken from a video, and trying to read things into a skin line as to whether or not it is a scratch or a welt or just a skin crease.... We have to assume that the QPS would have seen anything like that right from day 1.
2. All the rumours about missing hands, and various other body parts - I've heard all sorts of explanations, suppositions, and theories. I've also heard them locally - I live only a short distance from the house in Brookfield - and the rumours and scuttlebutt are just as active here in the community of real life as they are in the online communities.
3. While several people have pointed out that GBC is innocent until proven guilty, it would seem that many in here have him marked as guilty with NO presumption of innocence at all. A lot of comments have been made that are quite derogatory, and that could be construed as prejudgement. It would make a juror's task all the more difficult if he or she had read any of these threads. This includes all the comments about his presumed psychological profile and character type - most of those being from people who have never met him.
4. An amazing amount of innuendo (that's not an Italian suppository, by the way) has been written based on perceptions of how certain people spoke, behaved, walked, stood, what clothes they wore, or whatever. Hardly scientific evidence...
5. Many holes in arguments and contradictions have been overlooked.
- just because GBC's iPhone shows calls, Google searches, etc - it still has to be proved that it was HIM that did them. And that would not be easy to prove. What's to say that it wasn't somebody else, such as one of the kids, Allison herself, or somebody completely different? Unlikely? Sure. But impossible? Nope.
- the alleged blood in the car as opposed to the defence claim that there were no injuries apart from a chipped tooth. That has yet to be explained, and there will be details from the autopsy that we do not yet know.
- tossing somebody off a bridge, especially one that high, would almost certainly result in a broken bone or three. We don't know if any were detected at autopsy. On the other hand, if she were either buried, or otherwise hidden in the bush up near the scout camp, then washed down the creek during the very heavy rainfall we had over that weekend, there may be NO broken bones. And the body would have "hung up" on the outer radius bank, where it was found, possibly by roots, or other snags. A few more metres and she would have been out in the main stream of the Brisbane River. I know the area well.
- the person who allegedly gave details of seeing the car in the driveway at night, with "four doors open" or "something being loaded in the back" I find hard to credit. I drive past there several times a day, and it is so well hidden, set back off the road, and just before the crest of a hill if heading outbound that one's eyes need to be on the road. Yes, I can cast a VERY quick glance up the driveway, but the view lasts all of about half a second if that.
There are several other theories that have been aired on here, which certainly make for interesting reading. But I wonder if anyone has actually stopped to wonder if there just MAY be other possibilities? I agree that things do not look good for GBC. I agree that the phone records may be quite damning - but it still has to be proved that it was him.
Just to state my own credentials here, so you can take my comments in perspective - I have certain professional qualifications that the mods are aware of, particularly in the areas of medical, scientific, forensic, and anatomical knowledge. I have also been involved in several murder cases (and attempted murder) in two completely separate capacities: (a) a material witness - i.e. a witness to facts only, where I have been involved in the case in my professional capacity, and (b) as an expert witness. This latter category is the only witness category where you testify an opinion in addition to facts.
While I enjoy speculating as much as everyone else in here, I do think that some of the flights of fancy get a bit carried away, and particularly now that the case is before the courts, we need to be very careful about what is suggested, even if it is "covered" by "my opinion only" etc.
I also think that given the expertise in here, particularly in regard to the ability to suggest scenarios, then shouldn't we also be wondering if somehow there could be other answers?
I am not a friend or supporter of GBC, although we have had family dealings with him and his business regarding a couple of house rentals. But I am not suggesting that he IS innocent - all I'm saying is that too many in here have already got the solution all cut and dried. Minds should be kept open, and inquiring. Let's see what the evidence is as it comes to light, but in the meantime, is it just possible that the entire thing may not be quite what it seems?
Apologies for the long-winded first post. It's the accumulation of a lot of lurking and reading, but only just having got my credentials verified with the mods.
As I said - sorry for the long post.
