OR - Leah Freeman, 15, found murdered, Coquille, 28 June 2000

[Cory Courtright]

Hello! I also came across Leah's case through another website - funny how Jane and I both around the same time.

Hi Cory and welcome to WS. I am terribly sorry about your daughter and how long you have had to carry on without answers. Is it normal for LE to withold COD from the immediate family? I understand the reasoning and I understand withholding murder weapon and other specificis even from family but to not even tell you how your own daughter died is hard for me to accept. You have the right to know.

The one thing that stuck out to me was that Leah had an appointment at the health dept. Is it known why? My first thought was the same as Jane's - pregnancy - but surely during the autopsy it would have been discovered that she was pregnant. But like Jane said I wonder if they thought she might be pregnant, were discussing what they would do, etc and NM panicked and killed her. Health Dept. could also mean maybe she was worried she had contracted an STD from her boyfriend which could also lead to a heated argument.

I also wonder if she did make it to the house of Fir where NM and friends were partying. They got into a fight and she left on foot. NM went after her in his car and ran her down, then drove around with her in his car, went to Denny's to inquire about her in an attempt to cover his *advertiser censored*. I think Cory may be right about best friend telling where the body was.

Cory - do you ever talk to Leah's ex-boyfriend? How is your relationship with him?

I am encouraged to hear LE seems back in the game with the new chief and hopefully this case will be looked at with fresh eyes, leads rehashed, evidence rehashed and answers found for Cory and her family.

Hello Gaia227!
I had a long response to you a bit ago....don't know what happened to it!?? But I will try again!! I am beginning to wonder what "normal" means anymore (!) but for is it normal for LE to withold the COD from the family? Apparently so! I have tried everything and just cannot seem to get it supposedly because it is an ongoing investigation.
As for Leah's appointment at the Health Dept......I actually made that appointment myself. I know it may sound strange but I had been told by Leah's older sister that Leah and her BF had been sexually active. So the appointment was for birth control pills. Leah and her BF may very well have thought she might be pregnant - I don't know. LE informed me she wasn't but again I don't know how true that is either.
Your paragraph about the house on Fir Street pretty much says it all for me. It is very much my opinion that she was hit by a car. Whose car I don't know but there are alot of rumors about that happening. Now whether she ever made it to the house on Fir Street is still a mystery to me.
Do I ever talk to Leah's ex boyfriend? NO WAY! Absolutely not! I believed him in the beginning.....until shortly after Leah's funeral...when I found out he didn't pass his polygraph "with flying colors" like him and his parents said he did. Ther is a reason they lied about that and a reason for his weird acting behaviors later on. I rarely see him anymore (just driving by if at all anymore) but when I do I dont take my eyes off him for even a second. I do NOT trust that at all!
Again, thanks for your comment here. Nice to know you care.

 

[chicagofa13]

Hi all

Very interested in this case actually found it elsewhere, had a look at the site then came and searched here.

Is it true that Leah may have been pregnant OR the boyfriend thought that ?

Chicagofa13 did you know that the doenetwork is for a missing boy and not leah ?
Just because you had it with all the links I wasnt sure

To Leahs Mum, I am so so sorry about the tragic horrific loss of your daughter.

From everything I have read I feel that the b/f is the culprit. I think he got enraged in a fight after smoking dope and drinking too. And either beat her up severely or ran her down with his car

What I want to know is why are they not pursuing this boy (now man) ? Surely they can have ongoing investigations without it being harrassment

It doesnt seem right that he is waltzing around whilst leah is dead.

Justice needs to be served

Hey Jane

Yes, that link is for a boy from the next town over, Jeremy Bright. Sorry it's not clear, I just put up the links not really thinking about it. I suppose I should link this thread too. Jeremy went missing when I was in high school. Leah's mom Cory is very familiar with his case too!! I just put them both up as local hometown cases. Unfortunately there is really zero to go on with Jeremy, and it is a very cold case.

Back to Leah, this is really frustrating for me because I think NM is guilty and sitting with his family and friends and just enjoying life. My only hope are they are actually SUFFERING inside and one day will break from the stress.

Thanks to both you and Gaia for reading about Leah. :blowkiss:

 

[gaia227]

Hello Gaia227!
I had a long response to you a bit ago....don't know what happened to it!?? But I will try again!! I am beginning to wonder what "normal" means anymore (!) but for is it normal for LE to withold the COD from the family? Apparently so! I have tried everything and just cannot seem to get it supposedly because it is an ongoing investigation.
As for Leah's appointment at the Health Dept......I actually made that appointment myself. I know it may sound strange but I had been told by Leah's older sister that Leah and her BF had been sexually active. So the appointment was for birth control pills. Leah and her BF may very well have thought she might be pregnant - I don't know. LE informed me she wasn't but again I don't know how true that is either.
Your paragraph about the house on Fir Street pretty much says it all for me. It is very much my opinion that she was hit by a car. Whose car I don't know but there are alot of rumors about that happening. Now whether she ever made it to the house on Fir Street is still a mystery to me.
Do I ever talk to Leah's ex boyfriend? NO WAY! Absolutely not! I believed him in the beginning.....until shortly after Leah's funeral...when I found out he didn't pass his polygraph "with flying colors" like him and his parents said he did. Ther is a reason they lied about that and a reason for his weird acting behaviors later on. I rarely see him anymore (just driving by if at all anymore) but when I do I dont take my eyes off him for even a second. I do NOT trust that at all!
Again, thanks for your comment here. Nice to know you care.

Good Morning! Thank you for the response.

I think it makes perfect sense for a mother to make her daughter an appointment to get on birth control. If she has already 'gone there' sexually then the best thing for a parent to do is try to ensure she is educated and protects herself.

I hope I did not offend you by asking if you ever speak to the boyfriend. I didn't mean to imply you were buddies or anything I was just wondering since it is a small town if you see him or his parents around town, if they tried to sustain some kind of relationship with you and your family as a show of support and innocence (not saying he is innocent but trying to keep up the facade that he is - I think he knows exactly what happened). Actually, I think his parents might now what happened too.

I hate it when I read about suspects who have 'lawyered' up and suddenly they become untouchable. Lawyers are there to protect people's rights as far as the constitution and law defines them but last I remember that does not include becoming a inpenetrable barrier protecting possible guilty people!

Do you know if LE collected anything at the time out of NM's car,clothing, etc that could be re-tested again for DNA? DNA capabilities have come a long way in the past 9 yrs.

I think maybe 'homicidal violence' in conjunction with the COD listed as 'pending' by the coroner could mean that the COD is not exactly clear but the injuries sustained are injuries that a person could not have inflicted upon themselves from falling, suicide, etc but were injuries that had to be inflicted by another person or object wielded by a person. It is just a theory. I have never heard the term used before. I tried to find an actual definition for the term but did not have any luck.

Thank you Cory for your candor and for sharing Leah with us. There is nothing I can say because I know that being childless (for now) I truly cannot completely understand what it is like. When I try to empathize and put myself in a parent's shoes I think about how I would feel if something like this happened to my mother or father and that just makes my stomach drop to the floor. I am terribly sorry you have to go through this every day which is compounded by pretty much knowing who is responsible and that person is living their life normally. You are a strong woman. :blowkiss:

 

[Cory Courtright]

Glad to hear you understand me making the appointment for Leah to get on birth control. I've always hated to tell that because I don't want people thinking I approved of Leah being sexually active....I just didn't want her to get pregnant and couldn't control the situation.
No offense taken on you asking about my relationship with NM. I just wish I would have realized earlier on that he had failed his polygraph instead of "passing it with flying colors" like him and his parents told me he had. Again, after her funeral and the media died down aways he pretty much kept his distance from me.
I'm not clear on anything they confiscated from his car but I do know that they retrieved some things from the parents house. It wouldn't be out of the ordinary to find things of Leah's in his car as she was in it alot. Other than the fact that if they did find blood. Which I don't think they did. Since the trunk was cleaned out so well, I don't think there was anything found in it.
As for the COD..... I am pretty sure they know what that was. Although I still don't know the COD I think they keep that from me and everyone as the killer is the only one who knows besides law enforcement.
This case will probably drive me crazy for the rest of my life....I don't know. I sure hope not. There is NOTHING I wouldn't do to have this solved. It tears at my heart every single day. Even if you did have children Gaia, you still wouldn't know what it's like to lose one. It's so hard to explain. I would NEVER wish this upon ANYONE. It is the most devastating thing imaginable. So hurtful and painful. I pray to God there is justice for Leah one day. If I were to tell you that if you knew her you would have absolutely loved her....that is truly what I mean. There was nothing not to love about her. So much fun. An absolute joy to have around. The sweetest young girl you could ever meet. I miss her sooooooo much. She deserves justice just like every other murdered victim. I will continue to seek that justice til my last breath. Thanks for your comment and don't worry about upsetting me with ANY questions or comments you have.....the worst damage has been done in Losing Leah. God Bless you and yours.

 

[JaneInOz]

Hey Jane

Yes, that link is for a boy from the next town over, Jeremy Bright. Sorry it's not clear, I just put up the links not really thinking about it. I suppose I should link this thread too. Jeremy went missing when I was in high school. Leah's mom Cory is very familiar with his case too!! I just put them both up as local hometown cases. Unfortunately there is really zero to go on with Jeremy, and it is a very cold case.

Back to Leah, this is really frustrating for me because I think NM is guilty and sitting with his family and friends and just enjoying life. My only hope are they are actually SUFFERING inside and one day will break from the stress.

Thanks to both you and Gaia for reading about Leah. :blowkiss:

Hi Chicago thanks for that gosh how sad is that

I just had a google for him - how awful

Too many children missing or killed - its so wrong

 

[Debbie Miller]

Why would the grand jury appearance be cancelled because of finding Leah's body? I don't really understand that. That actually should be more reason to go infront of the Grand Jury, wouldn't it? At that point they declared it a homicide, so following through with the Grand Jury would only make sense.

When the police were proceeding without a body to the Grand Jury, they had no physical evidence . With a body, would hopefully be clues, evidence to lead to the killer. They may have wanted to make sure the evidence and stories (info) they had were in line.

JMO

 

[prayerbone]

Hi i'm andy i'm from England , this is my first post so i hope i don't mess up :blushing: ...

I first read about Leah a few months back , and couldn't get her out of mind so sad ,and to make matters worse , there really did seem enough to make a case its so frustrating....

Anyhow i truely believe with more people talking/looking into it , we would see a strong chance of a conviction...With that my post...


FIrstly i just wanted to send my condolences to Leah's family espeically her Mother x...

I have a few questions i most prob missed a lot of info ,and also not being local the area is obviously unknown , and people closer could make it clearer



Main questions

1 Would Leah be to scared to walk through the field from her friends to her own house,or had she planned to go elsewhere (i might of missed info)..That walk via the park is soooo much shorter..
The obvious reason is shes expecting a lift, even while walking the long way round , but then why walk in the first place???

2 Were there any calls between Leah and NM around 7-9?? Or texts, trying to remember mobile phone situation in 2000..

3 What did her friend say of Leah's mood that evening,and did Leah talk about a lift to her ??..

4 Was BB girlfriend ever around earlier in the day,it hints that she was,as she ever confirmed about the mood that day..


5 Did Leah or NM ever say why they were cleaning the car that afternoon ..

6 If there was a planned lift by NM, why did she want to go for a jog at the very same time hes coming,and then want to walk home when the jog falls through..

GB to Leah's family
Andy



NM-victim's boyfriend
BB-boyfriend's best friend
SM-victim's friend

 

[Shecky]

Hi Andy! Welcome to WS.

I hadn't heard of Leah until I saw this thread tonight. What a tragedy, Cory, I am so sorry for your loss. I was born just a few months before Leah, and it is always so sad to see a member of my generation that never had the chance to grow up.

I'm going to go and read Leah's website now. I look forward to discussing this case.

 

[gaia227]

If I recall I don't think cell phones were to the point where everyone had one. I know none of my friends did.

Hi Cory - I hope everything is well. We would love to hear from you.

 

[Shecky]

If I recall I don't think cell phones were to the point where everyone had one. I know none of my friends did.

Hi Cory - I hope everything is well. We would love to hear from you.

I can vouch for this being true. I was in high school at this time, and cell phones were definitely not that common among my peers. Some had them, but nothing like today where kids are given one by age 11. I got my first cell phone in 2001 for my 17th birthday, and it is ancient by today's standard (no color screen, no games, etc).

 

[prayerbone]

Hi thks for the replies...On http://www.leahfreeman.com/forum/ theres a link leading to another forum with more info , but the link not working , hopefuly it will be fixed....

My previous post was just thinking aloud , i just have this feeling , something very simple could solve this frustrating situation...I feel dreadful even posting and discussing Leah , as i know it must cause so much heartbreak for someone , but your torn between not offending or hoping the more people talking could help...But i just feel its crying out for a prosecution grrrrrrrrrrrrrrr...

I was wondering ,after reading another thread ,if writing to the Governor would help...Maybe get some bigwigs putting pressure on the LE ??

andy

 

[tisha]

all good questions, and there is definitely a renewed interest in this case making it around other crime blogs... I will email Cory and see if she can stop by to answer the additional questions. She is so willing to provide information in the hopes of finding justice for Leah...

 

[Cory Courtright]

Oh my gosh! I am sooo sorry! I haven't been her in a long time. Thank you so much Tisha for emailing me!!!

Wow! Where do I start? Let's see...Prayerbone had six ?'s....I'll try to answer them.
1. It was still daylight here at 9:00 pm. So no she wouldn't be scared to walk through a field. That field is also fenced off and I believe back then there were cows and/or horses in them. No. That wouldn't be the way she or a girl would walk. And I'm not sure if she had planned to go elsewhere...she left her friends saying she was going home.

2. There wouldn't have been any texting as neither Nick or Leah had a cell phone. Aparently there were no phone calls at all as the way I remember he was down at Johnson Mill Pond smoking pot with friends.

3. Her friend did say Leah was acting "strangly". I don't really know what she meant by strangly as her friends Mom is the one who told me that. Since Leah's death, I haven't talked much at all with her.

4. BB's girlfriend? No she wasn't around when I saw Leah and Nick. They left my house around 4:00 and BB wasn't even with them. It was just the two of them.

5. Yes. Nick had just graduated a couple weeks before Leah disappeared. You know how kids write on the windows of their cars during graduation time? (2000 ROCKS - that kind of stuff) Well there had been some on his windshield and they were out in my driveway cleaning that off.

6. I don't know what the going fo a jog thing was. All I know is Leah and Cheri asked Cheri's mom if Cheri could go jog the loop with Leah and her mom said no. It was going to get dark in a half hour to 45 minutes so I understand her Mom saying no. In this small town...if you "walk the loop" you can't miss seeing someone walking or jogging. HAD Leah made it home, she would have made half the loop. In other words......Why did Nick not see Leah walking when so many others did. Noone else was looking for Leah either.....just Nick.

Big wigs YES Prayerbone!!! We have tried so many avenues. 9 years of trying now. Leah's case never made national media level, but with the help of many awesome people at VH we are working on that now.

She is gone. I can't bring her back. But as sure as God is my judge....I will keep on trying to seek Justice For Leah.

Thank you for your interest in Leah's case. I hope I answered your questions. If not....let me know. God Bless.

 

[Cory Courtright]

If I recall I don't think cell phones were to the point where everyone had one. I know none of my friends did.

Hi Cory - I hope everything is well. We would love to hear from you.

Hi gaia!!

How are you??? Good I hope! Things are going ok. It is a tough time of year for me (June - August 3) but I'm getting along ok.
Yeah cell phones weren't a big thing then like they are now. Too bad huh.

 

[Cory Courtright]

Hi Andy! Welcome to WS.

I hadn't heard of Leah until I saw this thread tonight. What a tragedy, Cory, I am so sorry for your loss. I was born just a few months before Leah, and it is always so sad to see a member of my generation that never had the chance to grow up.

I'm going to go and read Leah's website now. I look forward to discussing this case.

Thank You Shecky. Born in 84 huh? Yeah...they dedicated the year 2000 yearbook to Leah the year she died. I know what you mean...sad to see a member of your generation that never got the chance to grow up. So sad.

 

[Cory Courtright]

Sorry Prayerbone!!! I should have quoted you.....it would have been so much easier to read! I apologize for that. Hope you can figure it out!!

 

[prayerbone]

Hi thks Cory for your kind reply ...I know most (if not all) my questions were talking aloud ,,but its just so frustrating hope you understand...

I hope my post didn't bring any more distress at a sad time in the year...


But the bottom line is we have
1) Boyfriend dropping Leah off ..
2) We know the Boyfriend had planned to re-pick Leah up..
3) In the gap the Boyfriend smokes some weed with friends...
4) Then Boyfriend decides to pick Leah up ,though he appears to drive the route she walked and was seen walking at roughly the same time , he says he didn't see her...
5) Swapps his car 2 xs? ...The Boyfriend is seen in this car by various people near to the time frame Leah went missing...At the very least it implies rather then 100% looking for Leah , he spent a certain amount of time swapping cars....
6) Boyfriend seems to be adverse to knocking on Leah's mothers door (which seems the obvious thing to do) and only rings because a friends mother bends his arm...
7) At one stage visits Leah's sister place of work...He ask if she as seen Leah ,says he can't wait as he as someone in the car , in interviews with Police he never mentions this visit or having anyone in his car (other then best friend far later)
8) A tshirt considered of interest ,is seen by LE , but moved when they return , at a house related to one of the people of interest..

And later with best friend ,when asked by LE if they know anything about the disappearance of Leah , one failed , and one partly failed the polygraph ..



this is a grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr disgrace , i could understand if this was 2001 but its flipping 2009!!!!

 

[prayerbone]

Link where people can write to and get more people thinking about this dreadful crime !!


JUSTICE for Leah

America's Most Wanted
http://www.amw.com/contact_us/

Unsolved Mysteries
http://www.unsolved.com/tips.html

Oprah
https://www.oprah.com/ord/plugform.jsp?plugId=216

Dateline NBC
Dateline@NBCUNI.com

Today Show
Today@NBCUNI.com

Geraldo at Large
Atlarge@foxnews.com

Greata Van Susteren "On the Record"
Ontherecord@foxnews.com

Jane Velez Mitchell
http://www.cnn.com/feedback/forms/form5.html?106


The link for another forum with more info on Leah see

http://victimsheartland.forumotion.com

 

[tisha]

Thank you for the links prayerbone!! I hope we see something done about this case... Leah deserves justice!

 

[JulieR]

Hi Cory,
I am so sorry for what happened to Leah, I can't even imagine losing a child. I have just been reading all the information posted and I would have a question for the police.
Was Leah wearing her shirt when she was found? If so that would mean the shirt the police officer seen at BB house had nothing to do with Leah.
I can understand how everyone is looking at the boyfriend here, but to be honest I see holes that I think maybe he is innocent. I think when he didn't pass the LD, they should have brought in another person to test him, same with the BB. They say the test are only as good as the person reading them. His changing cars I can understand if he was pulled over for his light being out, so he changes cars and goes out looking for Leah again. I can also understand his not telling the police about being with the other boys smoking pot, not something you want them to know. I have a son his age and I can tell you he would have a really hard time hiding it if he hurt someone, I know not all kids are the same. I have smoked pot in my day and it don't make you aggressive at all, if anything it is the opposite. I just have a hard time seeing him hurting Leah and running around making an alibi for himself at the same time, kids his age ALWAYS leave a trail behind them and his actions after she goes missing are not what I would see in a guilty person his age. I have been wrong before, but I just can't see a person his age pulling off the a perfect crime. I am puzzled by the sneakers, the way I read it blood was only found on the left one. I would also ask the police if the sneakers were tied when they were found, strange blood was found on the sole. Just adding my two cent here, I am really sorry Cory I hope you find some peace and justice for Leah.