IA IA - Elizabeth Collins, 8, & Lyric Cook, 10, Evansdale, 13 July 2012 - #31

[Unique444]

I do not believe it was random, and I believe the girls knew the perp(s). As no one saw or heard a darn thing on a bright sunny summer afternoon.

 

[Mjskit]

I think if this was random he/she is the luckiest perp I have come across. I do question if Lizzie and Lyric were specifically targeted. It seems like it to me but I suppose the perp could have been planning on harming a child/s for quite some time. Enough time that they had it all figured out all except the who?

To sum it up, I think it could have been both random and planned. Definitely planned, possibly random choice of kid/s. IMO

 

[Marilynilpa]

I feel the perp was known to the girls, and they went willingly with him/her under some pretense (Heather was sick, Grandma got hurt, etc.)

I also think the perp knew in advance he was going to 7 Bridges. I think the girls were taken directly there from Meyers Lake.

It seems things went too smoothly for this to have been completely random.

 

[Marilynilpa]

From all of the posts I've read it seems most of us think the perp is local.

Does anyone have a different idea? Maybe someone just passing through?

 

[alliemay]

Do any locals know what factories are in the area and how close they are to Myers Lake?

 

[tlcya]

I think local for sure. The knowledge of Maiden Lane (which I am convinced was where the perp had his vehicle), the knowledge of 7 bridges. Local knowledge.

If it is a local, given the size of the community, he would probably have encountered one or both of the girls before and be a familiar or known face around the area to them.

If the motivation was sexual or sadistic, the perp is likely driven by those fantasies or urges and always fighting for control. He would always be on the lookout for the right victim(s) and the right confluence of events to allow for the fantasy to be made real. So in that way planned, but I tend to feel less tied to my former theory that one or both girls were targeted prior to that day. But that day they most certainly were.

MOO

 

[Marilynilpa]

I'm still uncertain whether the bikes were staged or not.

The bikes were seen on the trail at 2:00 by a jogger, and the girls were seen between 12:30-1:00 near the lake.

So the staging must have taken place after 1:00 and before 2:00.

And what would be the purpose of staging the bikes - to make it appear the girls had been there when they hadn't been?

Sorry for asking a lot of the same questions we've discussed before, but I don't know what else to discuss.

 

[Snowbunny]

I've asked this question several times but none of the locals has answered my question so I will ask it again. Cinder or any of the locals, does Evansdale have someone who drives around the neighborhood in the summertime and sells ice cream cones or frosty treats?

 

[watcher9]

I think it would be a lot easier to believe it is a local because then we hope we would have a better chance of seeing him/them caught. I tend to think more out of the box.

I keep thinking about the case from Oct 2012 where the 11 yo girl from Cody, Wy was taken at gunpoint by Jesse Paul Speer when he approached a group of three girls about his missing puppy in broad daylight right near the library and the police station. He took her up into the mountains where he assaulted her before finally releasing her in the dark. She was able to make it down to a road where some hunters leaving for the night came upon her and rescued her.

Speer, a photographer with some Colorado ties, lived some 200 miles away in Manhattan Montana (near Bowman) from the site where the girl in Cody WY was taken. He had no ties to the girls or to Cody. He was said to have traveled all over through the national forests and parks with his truck that was full of pictures of naked young girls. He had a photography business with published works. I seem to remember seeing some of his pictures of lonely trees and maybe bridges in desolate places? I don't know if LE is working on identifying the photos or even the locations of some of his photo shots. What if he had pictures of one of the seven bridges?

As far as I'm concerned, he could actually be a suspect in this case. I would like to know where he was back in July. What if he was going to take their pictures as a surprise for their parents? Not local and no ties. There are probably a lot more like him roaming around with no ties to the area they may strike.

Sorry to go on with so much detail, but I couldn't find a link to her thread. Once WS removes an identity and moves or changes the thread category, it's sometimes hard to search for the case. I sure need to catch back up on this case.
Here it is! I finally found it by going through google.

http://www.websleuths.com/forums/showthread.php?t=187167&page=1

 

[otto]

On the previous thread, otto provided us with some great renderings of what the island will look like. I don't know how to move posts over, so I can't link it here - sorry!

These renderings are based on the illustrations that were posted on the facebook page about 3-4 weeks ago ... sorry if they're blowing margins

 

[Mjskit]

I think it would be a lot easier to believe it is a local because then we hope we would have a better chance of seeing him/them caught. I tend to think more out of the box.

I keep thinking about the case from Oct 2012 where the 11 yo girl from Cody, Wy was taken at gunpoint by Jesse Paul Speer when he approached a group of three girls about his missing puppy in broad daylight right near the library and the police station. He took her up into the mountains where he assaulted her before finally releasing her in the dark. She was able to make it down to a road where some hunters leaving for the night came upon her and rescued her.

Speer, a photographer with some Colorado ties, lived some 200 miles away in Manhattan Montana (near Bowman) from the site where the girl in Cody WY was taken. He had no ties to the girls or to Cody. He was said to have traveled all over through the national forests and parks with his truck that was full of pictures of naked young girls. He had a photography business with published works. I seem to remember seeing some of his pictures of lonely trees and maybe bridges in desolate places? I don't know if LE is working on identifying the photos or even the locations of some of his photo shots. What if he had pictures of one of the seven bridges?

As far as I'm concerned, he could actually be a suspect in this case. I would like to know where he was back in July. What if he was going to take their pictures as a surprise for their parents? Not local and no ties. There are probably a lot more like him roaming around with no ties to the area they may strike.

Sorry to go on with so much detail, but I couldn't find a link to her thread. Once WS removes an identity and moves or changes the thread category, it's sometimes hard to search for the case. I sure need to catch back up on this case.
Here it is! I finally found it by going through google.

http://www.websleuths.com/forums/showthread.php?t=187167&page=1

Yes, I have thought of a perp like him. I also think this could be the work of two. IMO it had to be if the girls did not know the perp. I wonder if there are any other unsolved cases that LE believes only a local could have done it? With internet readily available the perp could have researched any location in the world, travel there, commit the crime he fantasized about and leave. I don't think this was the first time committing a murder or abduction. Too smooth IMO.

 

[Marilynilpa]

I wish I could think of something to discuss that we haven't already thoroughly talked about.

 

[Kimster]

I wish I could think of something to discuss that we haven't already thoroughly talked about.

That's what happens when it seems like a case is cooling off. Let's pray that in the detective's office, this case is still very hot and moving toward an arrest!

 

[Marilynilpa]

That's what happens when it seems like a case is cooling off. Let's pray that in the detective's office, this case is still very hot and moving toward an arrest!

I hope so too. According to Black Hawk County Sheriff Tony Thompson, this is still an active investigation.

Lizzie's burial service is May 4th. Lyric has already been laid to rest. I'm glad the families at least have this bit of resolution, but the girls deserve full justice.

 

[Marilynilpa]

Here's a snippet from a December article:

Authorities have said they’re close to classifying the case as a homicide but will not do so until the State Medical Examiner’s Office identifies the cause of death.

Investigators said they hoped the discovery of the girls’ bodies would provide evidence that furthered the case.

http://www.shreveporttimes.com/arti...rners-honor-Lyric-Cook-Morrissey-s-short-life

BBM

Since it is now late April and this case is still not listed as a double homicide, I think that means the medical examiner could not identify cause of death. JMO.

 

[otto]

Here's a snippet from a December article:

Authorities have said they’re close to classifying the case as a homicide but will not do so until the State Medical Examiner’s Office identifies the cause of death.

Investigators said they hoped the discovery of the girls’ bodies would provide evidence that furthered the case.

http://www.shreveporttimes.com/arti...rners-honor-Lyric-Cook-Morrissey-s-short-life

BBM

Since it is now late April and this case is still not listed as a double homicide, I think that means the medical examiner could not identify cause of death. JMO.

I think you're right. That would suggest that the cause of death was consistent with statistics: strangulation. That would also suggest that the remains were so decomposed that the cause of death could not be determined - implying that the children had been in that location for about 5 months. Several weeks ago, I looked at the formula for skeletonization based on temperatures and length of exposure. I came to the conclusion that the children would have been completely skeletonized.

 

[watcher9]

I was thinking the hyoid bone would be broken in a strangulation but according to this, it doesn't have to happen.

However, since many cases lack a hyoid fracture, the absence of this finding does not exclude strangulation as a cause of death.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/8934706

 

[hollyblue]

I can't help but wonder if the COD would be drugs of some kind. Like an overdose, etc. Wish LE would throw us a little bit of something more. If the girls were randomly chosen and the perp believed to be a local, it's hard to imagine LE not wanting to release more info .....or atleast to appear to have a sense of "urgency" to the case. IDK what to think anymore, except whoever was involved IS NOT FACING JUSTICE...and that is a sickening, desparate feeling.

It's like LE has a good idea who's responsible and can't find the evidence to nail them to the wall.

 

[otto]

This is copied over from a post I made in December, 2012

There's a decomposition formula: y = 1285/x, where x = the average temperature in centigrade and y = the number of days that it takes to become mummified or skeletonized. So ... 1285 divided by the ave.temp over 4-5 months at that location is approximately 1285/15. That means that after 85 days, there would be little more than mummification or skeletonization. It has been 4.5 months, so more than 100 days. That they were identified by clothing probably means that they were wearing their clothes and their hair appeared to be the right colour and length ... but I doubt that much else was left.

https://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&...gCQi2P&sig=AHIEtbRy_HrwLOQVSWLW5qzrNRAYoHqIdQ

 

[iamnotagolem]

I've always thought the girls died at seven bridges, but I am now thinking that it might be better in terms of evidence if they died elsewhere and were dumped at seven bridges.