VA VA - Katelin Akens, 19, Springfield, 5 Dec 2015 #3

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Some msm links :

Virginia woman's disappearance continues to puzzle police, two years later
Strange text messages, luggage found by the side of the road, and a witness who refuses to cooperate baffles investigators.

No one in the investigation and certainly not anyone in Katelin's family thinks she was the one who typed those messages.

For LE to publicly state that the only witness is not cooperating is huge !
Without actually coming out and saying it--- they appear to believe the stepfather's account of that day is hinky at best.

As well as LE (i.e., no one in the investigation) saying they do not believe Katelin sent those texts.

Imo.
 
I’m in Oklahoma and we’ve had three that I’ve memorized. Are you making a list?
Murder conviction upheld in Oklahoma “no body” case
https://www.websleuths.com/forums/t...homa-city-7-october-2007.55127/#post-12099721

https://www.websleuths.com/forums/t...eminole-20-april-2006-r-r-clark-guilty.40833/

Chris Ross, the district attorney of Pontotoc, Hughes and Seminole counties in Oklahoma, has gained three convictions in two separate no-body cases.

“What you generally see is everything they did in their life in a given day all stopped at the same day and time,” Ross said.

Establishing that a person stopped communicating with family members and that their cellphone and bank activity stopped at the same point in time is one method of proving a disruption.

Then, prosecutors look at what the supposed victim left behind. For Ross, the leaving behind of routine objects such as luggage, a toothbrush, a hairbrush and, for women, makeup and jewelry can point to death.

“The question isn’t that you couldn’t live without that because you could,” Ross said, “but if you were leaving voluntarily, why would you leave all that behind? And the common-sense answer is if you were leaving voluntarily, you wouldn’t.“


The last no-body case Ross tried was the murder of 6-year-old Logan Tucker by his mother, Katherine Rutan Pollard, in Woodward, Okla., on June 23, 2002.

“He is not capable of going out and living on his own, so that would be something you look at,” Ross said.

During Bradley’s probable cause hearing, David used a list of points to attempt to establish that Vannewkirk was likely dead.

Among those were Vannewkirk’s plans to have brunch with her mother the day after she disappeared, that Vannewkirk was enjoying life, that she hadn’t disappeared without explanation before, that she was a happy person and that police couldn’t find any evidence that she is alive.

“There’s probable cause to believe she’s not just missing, but that she’s dead today,” David told Judge Ray on May 15.
Murder convictions not unheard of even when there's no body

https://www.websleuths.com/forums/t...6-woodward-23-june-2002-k-rutan-guilty.36715/

https://www.nobodycases.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/Nobodytablelatest-Nov-2020.pdf


Sierra was convicted in the 1982 shooting death of a man in Oklahoma City after being charged in 2015 when new testing of blood evidence linked him to the crime.
https://kfor.com/news/local/oklahoma-court-upholds-murder-convictions-in-four-cases/

I’m having some difficulty posting with the high traffic right now. I will stop for now so I don’t lose my post again.
 
Topppps said:
List of murder convictions without a body

ive written most of these entries for the United States, Im well aware there’s many no body convictions, Virginia though is not really a state that goes after them. How many do you see on that list for Virginia? If they’re countless which ones do you be added?
Click to expand...
Impressive. I misread your post on my first read. Thanks for all your hard work. Documentation is so important for credibility. Your efforts surely have helped others in research.

I don’t see Charles Almond on the list.
In 1983, defendant killed stepdaughter’s fiancée who accused him of sexually abusing the stepdaughter. Defendant faked a car break down and lured victim to scene. Defendant later confessed murder to numerous people.
Victim:Richard “Petey” Miller, Jr, fiancée of stepdaughter
John Ruhland
Trial Date: March Augusta 2016 County, VA


Defendant’s Barker, Glenn
Victim’s NameKatherine Sybil Jan., Worsky, 12 y.o. 1983
LocationCharlottesville, VA

Barker and Katherine had both been guests at a mutual friend’s house the night Katherine disappeared. Police charged Barker with first- degree murder when they found Katherine’s blood- stained underwear hidden in Barker’s apartment. Police also found trace amounts of blood on the floor of the friend’s apartment. Barker was convicted of second- degree murder and sentenced to 18 years in prison. He was paroled in 1992. Believed to be second no-body murder trial in Virginia
https://www.nobodycases.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/Nobodytablelatest-Nov-2020.pdf

https://www.websleuths.com/forums/t...lottesville-12-july-1982.95644/#post-15018758
 
The same apartment complex where Barkers Apartment was ,was also where Jess Matthews lived 30 years later. Weird huh?
 
Last time I checked on Virgina's no body conviction cases VA had 12 , Tony Spencer from Caroline county tried a case and won and then he aided Spotslyvania and Lancaster (I think) In Claudine Giffords case ,where they got a conviction for Kessler . Nelson county convicted for Alexis's Murphey ,Epperly, They also have L. welch's 2 convictions for the Lyon sisters which would bring the number to 14, It could be higher now but is not Super common.
 
Oh wow, a lot of activity on this thread since I last checked. Catching up. I'll quickly add VA just abolished death penalty, so sadly James won't get it. VA has convicted without a body with phone pings being the bulk of forensic evidence. Take the murder of Altria executive Leyla Namiranian. She claimed her ex-boyfriend was abusive. Kept a journal and told a friend. Katelin also told a friend James was emotionally abusive to her growing up. Perhaps more and she didn't tell. After all, she sure was quick to graduate early and move away...hmmmm...Keep in mind, she was desperate for a ride. He was not the first choice. Her mother asked him when others couldn't take her. No DNA from Leyla's ex was found at her house or in his car. Some blood in his trunk could not be tied to her. Some eyewitnesses came out later and said they saw a black man in her yard...but none saw him with her or her body. Oh wait, they think there was a blanket missing on her couch so that must be how he got rid of her. What got him convicted was his pings didn't match where he said he was. He was within a mile of her house. Period. Just like James and Katelin's pings showed they weren't where he said they were. Plenty of red herrings in that case too...she had sex with a married co-worker that night...talked to her brother about meeting a man she met online soon...just like the threesome Capstan brought up and an encrypted app. Heck, James whole phone was encrypted that he wouldn't open. Seems like about as much evidence to me. Stronger actually in that he was last seen with her.

Capstan fails to acknowledge that James and Katelin's phone pings show his police statement he dropped her off at the metro station was a lie. He was nowhere near there and neither was she, and cameras didn't pick his vehicle up either. How he was never charged with obstruction I don't know...guess lawyering up and not cooperating is smart when you are guilty.

His home wasn't searched until a month later.

His property where his mother lives was never searched.

He was the last person seen with her, and he lied about where he and she went. That speaks volumes. He had plenty of time to hide evidence of a crime. After all, he didn't go back to work.

Sadly, women at risk tend to be preyed on as people like James and Capstan think people will just assume they ran away from their life.
 
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Hey ,Tammy!
You cannot even bring charges on phone pings.At least until people are totally dumbed down.Not only that the government is still working out the details of phone data . In order to convict someone of murder they have to prove that the person can not be alive. If we ever get to a place where a lack of evidence iS proof of guilt all of us are screwed . That being said where the hell is Sarah Watson? Same county ,but removed from the Va State Police sites missing list recently ,not that Katelin is not important . I just wonder why no one give 2 poops? In addition, closing with opinion, these cell phone experts are very schooled in avoiding important details about this evidence . Carry on.
 
Soulmagnet, you are incorrect. Lack of bank account activity, cell phone, email use, etc was enough for prosecutors to show Leyla Namiranian was not alive. Her phone was also missing from the house. Just like Katelin. It took 3.5 years to indict though in 2015. Her ex boyfriend is serving life for murder. Look it up. No blood evidence tied to her, although some blood was found in his trunk that couldn't be conclusively tied to her. No evidence of a struggle at her house she was last seen at. His phone pings absolutely were critical and were presented at trial. Prosecutors didn't know how she died or where body is. This is in VA. Circumstantial evidence is enough to convict.
 
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While I haven't read every post in this thread, I'm surprised I never read from people who knew him other than family. I remember reading from one person who worked with him at the insurance company before he didn't come back to work after Katelin supposedly was dropped off at the mall. Has anyone else spoken out? Or are people scared I wonder. I know from podcasts he was described as a loner with no friends...other than mom...

But....he was enrolled in Mary Washington college at the time as a mathematics major. I remember years back looking at the dates, that weekend she disappeared was right before their scheduled exam week. He would have participated in group projects, discussion groups, etc in college. Have any of these people commented on his behavior before versus after her disappearance?
 
Capstan said:
Question:

Does anyone know how far in advance her step-father knew he was driving KA to the airport? I listened to her mom on Crime Junkies. Her mom said there were plans for someone else to drive her and it fell through. So, mom reached out to her ex-husband and he agreed. The way it was presented made it seem like a very last minute change. However, there was no statement as to how far in advance he was aware he would be driving her. Certainly seems very last min maybe even the night before??

For those who think he did it do you think he had everything in place and planned just waiting for the perfect opportunity and the right person and she dropped into that slot with the change of plans? Did he quickly formulate his plan and put everything in place with short notice. Or, did he just “do it on the fly” so to speak?

Seems like to commit a crime without leaving physical evidence would take some planning unless he’s just the luckiest perp in the world........

Still think her secret and coded messaging app the cannot be broken to get the messages she was exchanging with someone is a major key-the key to what happened.
Click to expand...
Nope, there was no planning ahead. IMO. I think this was sexually motivated. IMO. A pass was made and rebuffed. IMO. It doesn't matter if there was a change of plans, last minute, etc. IMO.
 
carterkatt said:
Body found in nearby area? Sorry if this is way off base.

A hiker found a body in a wooded area of Fairfax Station on Saturday.

The body was found near the 7500 block of Lee Chapel Road in Fairfax Station shortly after 5 p.m., according to Fairfax County police.

This is an active investigation and detectives returned to the scene Sunday morning to continue processing evidence.

The body was in an advanced stage of decomposition and transported to the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner for an autopsy to determine the cause and manner of death.

Identification is pending further investigation and next of kin notification.

Preliminarily, detectives do not believe this was a random act of violence and there is no apparent threat to public safety.

Detectives are asking for anybody with information about this case to contact the Major Crimes Bureau at 703-246-7800, option 4. Tips can also be submitted anonymously through Crime Solvers by visiting fairfaxcrimesolvers.org, or text-a-tip by texting “TIP187” plus your message to CRIMES (274637).
Click to expand...

Just out of curiosity, does anyone know if this person was ever identified?? There's been nothing since a few days after the body was found. I know it's not to do with Katelin, but as it is in this thread I thought I may as well ask...
 
TammyinVA said:
Oh wow, a lot of activity on this thread since I last checked. Catching up. I'll quickly add VA just abolished death penalty, so sadly James won't get it.
Click to expand...

Quick sanity check/question: is the abolition of the death penalty retroactive? Like, as I generally understand it, what applies is the laws/rules when the crime was committed. So if the charges could carry a capital punishment punishment in 2015, they could still pursue it now, even though it's abolished. I realize capital punishment is tricky, so I'm not sure. (For example, if the facility is closed, then for practical purposes no further executions could be done.)
 
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