GA - Carlene Rigby, 4, strangled, March 2015

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GBI will almost always perform the autopsy of a child of this age who dies unexpectedly, with very few exceptions. Don't at all disagree that there's more here than meets the eye, but the GBI autopsy isn't cause for suspicion in and of itself, I don't think. It will certainly behoove LE in their investigation to have a GBI autopsy, which will be more extensive and detailed than a county coroner's report in most cases.
 
gapeach32 said:
The DA is more aggressive than he seems. He is methodical and exacting. He led the special victims unit of one of the most progressive counties in the state (in terms of LE/prosecution) and cut his teeth in Atlanta prosecuting major violent felonies. Don't mistake his silence for inaction - the more likely scenario is that he wants to make sure this is done right. The parents are not going anywhere - they are certainly no flight risk. That being the case, there is no reason to rush an arrest. My (educated) guess is that he is building an airtight case so he can get an indictment that will stick. Downgrading charges post-indictment or post-arrest isn't good for public confidence, which matters in a small town with a limited jury pool. This DA has an enviable conviction rate he surely wants to maintain; and with a case like this that will continue to generate substantial media attention, all the better to wait until your ducks are in a row before making any moves. JMO, only speaking up to say I think the prosecutor knows exactly what he's doing and feel sure he's on top of this, which I know is important to everyone in the community.
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Mr. Cooke needs you for PR, lol!! You know mom is in Florida, right? And has recently posted on social media about how much she wants to leave the area. Risk? He & Ms. Malcor need to step it up. ;-)
 
Fair point, I am a big fan of his. My reference to flight risk was just to say I don't imagine the parents would be anywhere they can't be found pretty quickly. Once an arrest is made defendants are obviously limited in mobility due to bond conditions, which is not to say that anyone arrested in this case would necessarily be granted a bond anyway.

And I'd imagine she does want to leave the area. With this kind of scrutiny (warranted or not), life can't be too comfortable for these folks right now, I wouldn't think.
 
gapeach32 said:
Fair point, I am a big fan of his. My reference to flight risk was just to say I don't imagine the parents would be anywhere they can't be found pretty quickly. Once an arrest is made defendants are obviously limited in mobility due to bond conditions, which is not to say that anyone arrested in this case would necessarily be granted a bond anyway.

And I'd imagine she does want to leave the area. With this kind of scrutiny (warranted or not), life can't be too comfortable for these folks right now, I wouldn't think.
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Make no mistake, I appreciate his vigorously prosecuting the Ghali case as it shows the doctor father cannot be protected behind the Mercer shadow. But, I will say this: I want justice with a passion for this beautiful and vibrant child. I hope all hell breaks loose on whoever cut her life short.

I'm sure she does want to leave, too. Macon isn't shy about talking town business. And nobody here takes kindly to outsiders on the best of days. You could live here 50 years and never be from here. Hiding backstage at Theater Macon or inside the house isn't a viable option. There are eyes everywhere.
 
I can tell you are personally invested, and imagine it must be gut wrenching. I am sorry for all those that knew and loved this child. I feel sure (based on personal/professional experience) that justice is certain to be done in time, although I imagine that's little comfort to folks like you who are close to this awful situation and waiting.
 
I have only just started posting here but did want to point out one quick thing, regarding the discussion of whether this was potentially an accident. The GBI autopsy indicated homicide. To be fair, that's not the same thing as murder. But a homicide classification from the GBI specifically precludes the possibility of an accidental death. This child's death was caused by the actions of another person.
 
Maybe Carly was intentionally killed using the blinds? I feel like if she had a skull fracture, for instance, the parents would've been arrested. Any injury besides strangulation due to blinds because then how did it happen if her death was an accident?
 
With the COD being asphyxia it's a fair assumption that the blinds were the mechanism of death (either that or she was strangled and then set to look as though she was caught up in the blinds). Also important to remember that the autopsy reports and its conclusions are based not just on the physical findings and condition of the body but also on scene photos, forensic findings from the scene, and law enforcement investigative reports. The autopsy includes not just a physical exam but also x-Rays which may or may not be relevant to the extent they comport with the amount and duration of force that would be involved in accidental asphyxiation. For example there may be cervical fractures, etc that would be indicative of a great amount of force being used. The lungs will also reveal a lot about how long the asphyxiation took, and the amount of location of blood pooling also has evidentiary value.

I guess my point is that the autopsy is based on numerous factors, and the conclusion that this was not an accidental death would be well founded.
 
This one says she went to bed around 9pm, which also seems late, but I am totally basing this on my own experience of having had a 4 year old. He had to be up at a certain time during the week for preschool, so his bedtime was earlier. Even if he went to bed later because it was the weekend, he would then wake up EARLIER the next day, which I was always dismayed by! But again, maybe that time was perfectly normal for Carly?

http://www.41nbc.com/story/d/story/...-4-year-old-girl/42106/r3dTsqrqXUmit6IlWFrREg
 
One thing I noticed while re-reading the news articles last night is that there are two references made to Carly having been found hanging - but the majority of the reports simply say she was found "in her bed" with the cord "wrapped around her neck." One article says the body was found "near the head of her bed."

It appears that when the GBI finds a cause of death as strangulation, it is always classified as either manual or ligature. I feel confident they made such a distinction here, and we just don't know which one it was yet. Perhaps the autopsy showed Carly died of manual strangulation, which would obviously indicate homicide right away, and would also make it quite obvious that the blinds were staged. The ME would have been able to tell whether the blinds were wrapped around her neck after she had already died.

One other quick note - strangulation, as of last spring, has a specific legal definition in Georgia - "impeding the normal breathing or circulation of blood of another person by applying pressure to the throat or neck of such person or by obstructing the nose and mouth of such person."

Food for thought . . .
 
SiberianSleuth said:
Do we know if the mother was home when she was found?
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I haven't seen any indication one way or the other. Interesting question though. One might think that if another adult was home the dad may have yelled for them to call 911? Wouldn't seem to make sense for him to leave her there in the room while he went to call 911 if there was someone else there who could have called. Add this to the list of things we don't know . . .
 
gapeach32 said:
I haven't seen any indication one way or the other. Interesting question though. One might think that if another adult was home the dad may have yelled for them to call 911? Wouldn't seem to make sense for him to leave her there in the room while he went to call 911 if there was someone else there who could have called. Add this to the list of things we don't know . . .
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If you dig around on the Facebook pages of either the local news WMAZ or Macon Telegraph, you'll see comments related to the original incident. There have been some people asserting they are neighbors of the R family, and I know one commented that she was not home---maybe at work as a nurse? It is easy (if not necessarily correct) to assume from the news articles as published locally and the article picked up by the AP, that the dad was the only one home simply because he is the only parent that is mentioned in initial reports. I know that in subsequent articles, more depth has been given to the mother's history of having a prior deceased child.

So, I guess my answer is we don't know definitively, but the way the news has been written it's understandable that the conclusion is drawn that he's home alone with his kids.
 
I think that people (in general) just have a hard time imagining middle-class educated people as child killers. Yes, when there is a case where one of them kills the kid and the evidence is made public, people will accept that they are guilty, but when you have a case like this where LE is saying the parents are POI, or in the Cooper Harris case, when JRH was arrested (before the bond hearing), but no info is provided, people defend the parents, think LE is out to get them, etc.
 
I agree that we are often collectively reluctant to believe that a certain type of person commits a certain type of crime. In this particular case I have not questioned LE because, yes, as we know I have a great deal of respect for this DA and confidence in his office. But it's not just that personal opinion of the prosecutor. It's the homicide conclusion from the autopsy. Not undetermined, not accidental. Homicide.

The ME found some objective forensic evidence that supports a conclusive finding that that this child was killed by the actions of another person. I know a lot of families have lost children to terrible tragic accidents involving window blind cords, and I feel great sympathy for those families. But the thing is - there would have been autopsies in those cases too, and those autopsies confirmed a finding of accidental death. Cases like this are always sent for autopsies and and are *almost* always determined to have been accidental. Not so here. Something was different about this one - and it must've been something pretty substantial.

My heart goes out to all the people who loved this precious child. I have every faith that we will see justice done.
 
wendybtn said:
No new info out there that I could find. Bumping for Carlene. May she RIP.
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We're back to where we were on 6/14. Wondering if there's an interval that we can spot in terms of news releases...we went from 5/22 to 6/30 and now two weeks after police returned to the R home for more evidence gathering.

Something should come out soon, IMO. It's not fair to keep this family in limbo for so long...especially the kids.
 
My take on the timeline . . .

The media reported within a day of Carly's death that the GBI "had autopsy results" but weren't yet releasing them. That is probably not *precisely* accurate. Within 24-48 hours, what they would have known was cause of death. The autopsy REPORT was probably completed and made available to local LE around May 22, when the finding of homicide was released to the press. That's when the case would've gone to the DA's office, where it would be again reviewed to determine what additional information was needed. Search warrant was then served June 30, and now any evidence collected will have to be processed/analyzed (particularly in the case of computers, hard drives, etc).

Just my thoughts . . .
 
Something that has also crossed my mind was in the original article written that announced Carly's death was ruled a homicide. Apparently a local TV station called and spoke with Mrs. Rigby. In the article, it states that Mrs. R. said she did not know it was a homicide and then hung up. There have been a lot of comments saying that it seems callous that she should find out from a reporter that her daughter's death was ruled a homicide and that law enforcement is not on their game.

I'd just like to say (for the sake of argument or anything else conversation opening) that simply because she said she didn't know doesn't mean she actually did not know. What it means to me is that she was caught off guard by the phone call, didn't want to have a discussion, and said she didn't know. I very seriously doubt that LE would leave the job of sharing autopsy findings with a family to the media. I could be wrong, but somehow it just doesn't make sense to me.

http://macon.13wmaz.com/news/news/299732-update-macon-child-death-ruled-homicide

I just wish someone in the community knew more. I hear what gapeach32 is saying about timing, but the time it's taking is painful.
 
I haven't seen any updates on the criminal aspect of the case.
However Carly's parents are advocating for window blind safety. #gocordless

That's the only new thing I've seen anywhere.
FYI Home Depot allegedly doesn't sell them but can order them.
While Lowe's has them in the store and can order them in any color.

I hope we hear something else on this case... so very strange.
 
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