VA VA - Michael, 50, Mary, 36, & Jennifer Short, 9, Bassett, 15 Aug 2002

JohnTate90210 · Nov 7, 2014

JohnTate90210 · Nov 10, 2014

When Jennifer's remains were found, initially police said they didn't believe it was her due to having the wrong hair color. We don't know that she was murdered the same night as her parents, which means she could have been held for a bit. That opens up the possibility her kidnapper dyed her hair to avoid identification.

:+:MrTT:+: · Nov 10, 2014

[url]http://wtvr.com/2012/08/13/short-family-murders/
[/URL]

Fullscreen capture 11102014 73437 PM.jpg

JohnTate90210 · Nov 13, 2014

Aerial photos of the area. Short house marked in red on the long distance photos.

Google map link: https://maps.google.com/maps?q=36.8...62,-79.934265&sspn=0.000827,0.001114&t=h&z=20

JohnTate90210 · Nov 13, 2014

The first photo is right after the murders. The second is from the 10 year anniversary. The last three are Google's current street view.

JohnTate90210 · Nov 13, 2014

Has it ever been revealed how the house was entered? Front door? Rear door? Window?

The news stories tell of Micheal being found in "an enclosed carport." The current Google photos show the driveway goes past the end of the house and u-turns to the back, left end. It also appears there are two front doors. One of those appears to be for the far left room.

From the various photos, it appears the phone line went to the right end of the house. I'd assume it was cut at the service box, down at easily accessible height. Would you think the killer looked around in the dark for the phone line or had he already checked earlier in the day? And is it likely he entered at the front left door? Was it unlocked? Or did they knock and were admitted entry?

wendybtn · Jun 28, 2015

I do not remember this case well but the thing that jumped out to me most was that other people in the area pointed out the person of interest with no other evidence mentioned. I never even picked up where LE connected GB to the Short family. Pointing one finger at someone else means four fingers are pointing back at you.

cvillemegan · Aug 18, 2015

New article: http://www.martinsvillebulletin.com...cle_53446710-4556-11e5-8dd2-c38b33b63d69.html

Henry County Sheriff Lane Perry hopes that a new angle on the 2002 Short family murder case could produce new leads.
Perry is asking childhood friends of the late Jennifer Short to think back on their time spent with her and see if they remember any untoward attention directed at Jennifer or themselves. ...
"We were thinking, is there a group out there that we havent reached out to?" Perry said. "The thought occurred to us that if Jennifer were alive, she would be college-aged now."
Much of the early investigation focused on whether or not someone held a grudge against Michael or Mary Short, Perry said, but it also is possible that Jennifer herself was the target. If that was the case, Perry said, it is possible that her childhood friends may have been aware that Jennifer was the target of suspicious behavior or unwanted attention, and they may even have been targets of unwanted attention themselves but never spoke about it.

From the way the article is written, it sounds like they haven't gotten a new lead that sent them in this direction but wanted to try something different. I'm glad they are looking at the case from a fresh perspective, but I hope this isn't the first time they've talked to Jennifer's friends and classmates. It reminds me of all the discussion about memory from the Adnan Syed conviction covered on Serial. The longer you wait to ask someone what they remember, the less likely it is you'll get accurate information, especially regarding dates and times.

JohnTate90210 · Aug 27, 2015

It does say "...this is the first time his office has formally reached out to Jennifer’s childhood friends to see if they remember any unusual attention directed toward Jennifer." Perhaps they asked them about other things, though.

At the time, since she was taken away from the house it seemed she was likely the motive. On hindsight, it could be the killer was having trouble deciding whether he could kill a child witness. If she was the actual target it would seem likely somebody had been paying extra attention to her in the time leading up to the murders.

It seems like I remember something from way back then about there being writing on a garage window, in the dust. I haven't been able to find a single mention of it in my recent internet searches, though. As I recall, police wondered if Jennifer wrote it during the crimes or if it was just something she'd written at some point in the past. It seems like it was something weird like "help me" or something that sounded suspicious. As I said, I can't find any mention of it online so my mind might just be merging two separate cases together.

colette · Aug 27, 2015

Jennifer was obviously the target, hello! Why are they just now figuring that out???? It does not say much for this investigation.

JohnTate90210 · Aug 27, 2015

Well, I did manage to track down the writing on the window. It said "I'm glad to see".

http://articles.philly.com/2002-08-20/news/25336287_1_utah-girl-sheriff-frank-cassell-casings

Not as ominous as I remembered but a bit odd. The story also mentions police taking a "note on paper from the kitchen table."

A bag with nearly $500 was found on the kitchen counter so it didn't appear to be a robbery.

colette · Oct 13, 2015

This case is supposed to be featured today on that new daytime ABC true crime show. It will be on at 3 PM est in my location. I hope some new details and a way to solve this case is forth coming.

colette · Oct 13, 2015

Here is the promo from the shows Facebook page:

https://www.facebook.com/crimewatch...l&utm_source=facebook.com&utm_campaign=buffer

scriptgirl · Apr 4, 2016

Weird case. Do the Shorts have any family members aiding in the investigation?

cvillemegan · Apr 6, 2016

scriptgirl said:
Weird case. Do the Shorts have any family members aiding in the investigation?

I can't find it now, but I recall an article written before Jennifer's body was found that mentioned an aunt and uncle who planned to raise her if she was found alive. I would guess they were cooperative with investigators at the time, but I haven't seen anything recent mentioning them.

colette · Apr 7, 2016

Here is the entire show on the Short murders from Crime Watch: http://crimewatchdaily.com/2015/10/...-mary-short-jennifer-short-and-michael-short/

Elley Mae · Apr 17, 2016

There was a post asking about a case with the parents murdered and the young child missing later found murdered. After looking I found a jennifer short 9 that fit the description in the post. I then went to post what I found and the post is missing, so I searched for jennifer short here and found this. Not sure if this is the case but it fit. jmo

Lola · Apr 19, 2016

This case still nags at me.

MBLover · Jul 20, 2016

I would have thought this crime would have been solved long ago..... I don't see how 1 person could get away with murdering 2 people....and abducting another (to kill later). Just blows my mind that this has not been solved.

teedie2 · Jul 21, 2016

Is there a map showing the location of the Short house and where Jennifer's body was found? I remember being so hopeful that Jennifer would be found alive.

VA VA - Michael, 50, Mary, 36, & Jennifer Short, 9, Bassett, 15 Aug 2002

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