GUILTY NJ - Carolyn Byington, 26, killed inside her home, Plainsboro, 10 June 2019 *Arrest* #2

[acutename]

I previously posted what a former co-worker said about him, that he was smart but manipulative and a liar and he vandalized his co-workers cars. I hope the police are talking with his coworkers from previous jobs.

curious about what was done to the cars. that in itself seems insane and out of character for a professional adult. of course it is no where near as crazy as murder, but it is criminal. curious if it was random or retaliation for conflict or imagined slights. as I recall, it was an allegation, but no proof or details, IMO.

 

[MissyMom]

curious about what was done to the cars. that in itself seems insane and out of character for a professional adult. of course it is no where near as crazy as murder, but it is criminal. curious if it was random or retaliation for conflict or imagined slights. as I recall, it was an allegation, but no proof or details, IMO.

Yes, it was an allegation by a former supervisor of his. I posted the thread with the comment but it was removed.

 

[borndem]

I’ve been trying to get caught up on all the latest points but I just wanted to remind everyone that it was pouring rain the day Carolyn was murdered. I distinctly remembered that it rained hard all day which makes his story about working on his car even weirder.

Hmmm, how about that?! Excellent sleuthing, @Seahorse03! That will be a tuff one for him and/or his attys. to explain if this gets into court. Raining! Love it!

OTOH, whatever Carolyn was leaving work to do, or get, or take care of, must have been important for her to leave work and go home in the rain, knowing she would have to come back to work in the rain, too. Whatever it was, apparently it couldn't wait till she got home after work. Maybe packages left out in front of the inhabitant's doors had been taken, and Carolyn knew there would be one that day. Was a package found at the scene by LE?
I just want to know what made her go home in the first place. It must have been a pretty big deal, IMO.

 

[Seattle1]

Hmmm, how about that?! Excellent sleuthing, @Seahorse03! That will be a tuff one for him and/or his attys. to explain if this gets into court. Raining! Love it!/

OTOH, whatever Carolyn was leaving work to do, or get, or take care of, must have been important for her to leave work and go home in the rain, knowing she would have to come back to work in the rain, too. Whatever it was, apparently it couldn't wait till she got home after work. Maybe packages left out in front of the inhabitant's doors had been taken, and Carolyn knew there would be one that day. Was a package found at the scene by LE?
I just want to know what made her go home in the first place. It must have been a pretty big deal, IMO.

Reportedly, defendant was an accountant at their workplace. In his job, he likely had significant interaction with the company network-- making me think that he could have been responsible for a phony transmission of some kind to get her to go home during a specific time period. Also, if he was following her close behind, she may not have ever been given the opportunity to know her reason for going home was just a ruse. She had a very tragic end, and I hate that his was the last face she ever saw.

 

[borndem]

Welcome to Websleuths,
Seahorse03 !!​

 

[bears10]

Reportedly, defendant was an accountant at their workplace. In his job, he likely had significant interaction with the company network-- making me think that he could have been responsible for a phony transmission of some kind to get her to go home during a specific time period. Also, if he was following her close behind, she may not have ever been given the opportunity to know her reason for going home was just a ruse. She had a very tragic end, and I hate that his was the last face she ever saw.

It’s an international company, I have doubts he was anything more than a standard bookkeeper position. I don’t think he was as important at the company as his title may sound.

 

[borndem]

Having followed this from the beginning, I don't recall hearing it was pouring rain that day. That is interesting.

I agree with the part about what they say about the quiet ones... I do not know if it is always true but I have encountered it in my life... Beware of the quiet ones...

Jmo.

bbm
Many of these quiet ones are also "loners," and we have seen some very bad things done to others by loners. Not sure if this guy is one of these possible loners, but we have seen loners strike out at those who are outgoing, popular and at ease with others, etc. He was married and had a child, so he shouldn't, IMO, feel lonely at home -- was there a loving relationship at his home? Certainly sounds like there could/should have been.
Maybe he was not liked and snubbed by his other co-workers, too. Was he jealous of Carolyn's being at ease in the workplace? Did she, in his mind, ignore him, snub him, or avoid him? Could this be a possible motive for his hurting and killing her?
Arrrggghhh. SMH.
Why, why, why? What was it?

 

[borndem]

Reportedly, defendant was an accountant at their workplace. In his job, he likely had significant interaction with the company network-- making me think that he could have been responsible for a phony transmission of some kind to get her to go home during a specific time period. Also, if he was following her close behind, she may not have ever been given the opportunity to know her reason for going home was just a ruse. She had a very tragic end, and I hate that his was the last face she ever saw.

bbm
Umm, that give me chills. It's been discussed some version of that -- package delivery (was a package found there?), apt. complex calling her about a burst pipe, etc., etc.
He may have simply gone somewhere else and called her, or used some variation of VOIP (pretty sophisticated stuff) and posed as an apt. maintenance person about a burst pipe, etc. Rain or no rain, she would have to go. I've posed this ruse before here on WS, and it won't go away. SMH. Very sick-minded, vile, and determined to do something dangerous to her, IMO.

 

[Seattle1]

bbm
Many of these quiet ones are also "loners," and we have seen some very bad things done to others by loners. Not sure if this guy is one of these possible loners, but we have seen loners strike out at those who are outgoing, popular and at ease with others, etc. He was married and had a child, so he shouldn't, IMO, feel lonely at home -- was there a loving relationship at his home? Certainly sounds like there could/should have been.
Maybe he was not liked and snubbed by his other co-workers, too. Was he jealous of Carolyn's being at ease in the workplace? Did she, in his mind, ignore him, snub him, or avoid him? Could this be a possible motive for his hurting and killing her?
Arrrggghhh. SMH.
Why, why, why? What was it?

I believe it was a former supervisor that said he was very good at his job. He also said he had a mean streak, and something about evidence of him keying employees cars in the parking lot.

Before his media scrubbed from internet, I recall he had good education, and impressive work history on Linkedin, Also recall he started at firm about the same time as Carolyn.

 

[MsArk]

I believe it was a former supervisor that said he was very good at his job. He also said he had a mean streak, and something about evidence of him keying employees cars in the parking lot.

Before his media scrubbed from internet, I recall he had good education, and impressive work history on Linkedin, Also recall he started at firm about the same time as Carolyn.

Yes, but with a history of driving without a license and insurance.

 

[ilovechili]

bbm
Many of these quiet ones are also "loners," and we have seen some very bad things done to others by loners. Not sure if this guy is one of these possible loners, but we have seen loners strike out at those who are outgoing, popular and at ease with others, etc. He was married and had a child, so he shouldn't, IMO, feel lonely at home -- was there a loving relationship at his home? Certainly sounds like there could/should have been.
Maybe he was not liked and snubbed by his other co-workers, too. Was he jealous of Carolyn's being at ease in the workplace? Did she, in his mind, ignore him, snub him, or avoid him? Could this be a possible motive for his hurting and killing her?
Arrrggghhh. SMH.
Why, why, why? What was it?

I agree and to respond to you and all of the recent posts just catching up right now, I wish we knew more. We are still very up in the air of how he did this, what drew her home, etc.

I have a lot of theories on those thoughts yet.

One thing I have wondered about him is it struck me that although he and his wife had known each other, dated, etc. for years, it was years before he married her. We all have known people where the man will not commit and some never do until almost forced sadly. Now, I guess it could have been as simple as waiting until he was through school, had his degree, employed, etc. I wonder, total speculation, if the wife was ready to marry and have children, their age would be about where if you want to have children, you probably should be thinking about it (although people have children older and older these days). They had the child not long after the wedding 10 months was it or so?

Men that will not commit often won't, imo, because the grass may be greener or they may find a "better" one so they don't want to be committed although they don't say that of course. They keep the one they are with on a string of "some day" or want their cake and eat it too.

When I look at how the two women looked alike, well now his gf was a wife and mother and married, and Carolyn was a younger, single version? Once she was a wife and mother, his interest was over...

It is one thought I have...

Then I turn right around and think it could be work related. As you said, argghhh.

He also could be just a freak, always has been, managed to hide it for years and then...

We do not even know if Carolyn was SA. I hope she was not, I truly hope not, but it would give an idea more towards a motive one way or the other.

My least likely scenario is that they had a relationship. Out of deference and respect for Carolyn, there is no reason to think that or think she would go anywhere near this man. I will say just generally though some "couples" in life have at times surprised me and seem like a mismatch. Bottom of my list here though and hardly on my list, I just don't see it.

My top theories today:

1. He was obsessed and stalking her. To lend to this theory, he apparently knew her license plate and most likely her address, etc. and had stalked her before. Maybe she had had some issues with him pestering her or maybe she had no clue at all he had a "thing" for her.

2. It was work related and again if it was vengeance, he knew her license plate and again likely her address and knew she was going home for lunch or MORE likely lured her home somehow.

Most of the few facts we have fit both scenarios and can be interchanged, just different motives. I think these are the most likely but have ruled nothing out, I guess we have no reason to rule anything out.

At least there is an arrest and we are done wondering if it was a stranger, a resident, a co-worker. That was a long time coming.

All jmo.

 

[scdiv]

The license plate thing is just so weird to me. I mean, I could see knowing the make and model and color of her car. But being able to instantly recognize a license plate. I honestly could not you tell my own license plate number at this very moment, let alone my husband's. So a coworker's??? Such an odd thing to even draw attention to the fact that he knew her license plate.

Obviously there are much bigger issues with him, but that license plate reference is so odd to me.

 

[acutename]

The license plate thing is just so weird to me. I mean, I could see knowing the make and model and color of her car. But being able to instantly recognize a license plate. I honestly could not you tell my own license plate number at this very moment, let alone my husband's. So a coworker's??? Such an odd thing to even draw attention to the fact that he knew her license plate.

Obviously there are much bigger issues with him, but that license plate reference is so odd to me.

any possibility that they had assigned parking spaces and he regularly saw her car? that might make it more likely that he recognized her plate, but I agree that most people would not know the plate # of a random coworker's vehicle.

 

[cherrymeg]

The license plate thing is just so weird to me. I mean, I could see knowing the make and model and color of her car. But being able to instantly recognize a license plate. I honestly could not you tell my own license plate number at this very moment, let alone my husband's. So a coworker's??? Such an odd thing to even draw attention to the fact that he knew her license plate.

Obviously there are much bigger issues with him, but that license plate reference is so odd to me.

I would think saying "I think I passed, or saw so and so. in their car that day" would be a more normal phrasing. Someone on here mentioned they notice license plates and can memorize them. If someone has been murdered you would probably be more upset that you saw them and they are now dead.

 

[ilovechili]

A couple of thoughts:

Unlikely but she may have had a vanity plate.

He is an accountant, numbers are his game, maybe it comes easy to remember that many digits/letters?

I went out with someone once a very long time ago and he could tell you whose vehicle was whose to the tune of tons of people, almost identical vehicles he could differentiate, who was driving a vehicle when we passed someone and where almost everyone lived. Long story short, I came to find out that these were the actions of a cheater and someone who knows where all women live if they interested him, even the married ones, if their car was outside a business, etc., if their husband was at work, etc., etc.

They are likely also the actions of some stalkers and KS certainly could fit that in this case...

I know my mother's vehicle for sure when I see it in a parking lot because the three letters on the plate are the consonants in a word and Z is one of them so I could always determine if she was say at the grocery store when I happened to see her vehicle in the parking lot and was heading shopping myself. However, I could not tell you what the three numbers are so I do find it unusual he knew her plate number.

The strange thing is he stated this to someone, that he saw a plate like hers or some such... This hints to me that he does not think this is abnormal to know her or someone's plate number. I can tell you the person I am talking about above also did not realize what he did and did not realize knowing so much was fairly unusual so he showed what he knew without realizing it was a giveaway which over a short bit of time, I figured out the reason for.

Are we sure he said plate number? If he said instead a plate that looked like hers, it could have been a scenic plate or some such from another state or something and he saw another one from that state one day... In my state, we can pay extra to get certain plates instead of a standard one.

To me, finally, it still makes I guess the most sense he was stalking her though and that is why he knew the plate number. It sounds as if he was lying in wait so he knew where she lived as well and how to get there, he probably had been before.

P.S. I want to be clear that I am not saying that everyone who knows people's plates or can remember them is odd lol, I just do not think it is that common amongst people and in this case, I think it shows she was on his radar and probably had been for some time.

All just speculation and jmo

 

[borndem]

The license plate -- If he were stalking her, memorizing her tag no. would not be difficult for him, once he saw her get in or out of her car. ANd if it was a vanity plate, that would make it much easier to remember, IMO. He either looked it up somehow in company records (if the company kept that info), or if spaces were assigned in the parking area, as @acutename suggested, it would have been easy for him to see it and memorize it. If he were obsessed with her, this would be an easy thing to do, IMO.
Since they both apparently started working there about the same time, maybe she was friendly to him because of that, but he may have mistaken her friendliness as flirting; then later she became less friendly with him as she met others at work. Or maybe he said or did something that freaked her out a bit, so she became distant with him. He may have regarded that as a rejection, and off he went -- she became an obsession.
We'll never know because he won't tell anyone about that, IMO.
Was this his first murder or attempt??

 

[ilovechili]

The license plate -- If he were stalking her, memorizing her tag no. would not be difficult for him, once he saw her get in or out of her car. ANd if it was a vanity plate, that would make it much easier to remember, IMO. He either looked it up somehow in company records (if the company kept that info), or if spaces were assigned in the parking area, as @acutename suggested, it would have been easy for him to see it and memorize it. If he were obsessed with her, this would be an easy thing to do, IMO.
Since they both apparently started working there about the same time, maybe she was friendly to him because of that, but he may have mistaken her friendliness as flirting; then later she became less friendly with him as she met others at work. Or maybe he said or did something that freaked her out a bit, so she became distant with him. He may have regarded that as a rejection, and off he went -- she became an obsession.
We'll never know because he won't tell anyone about that, IMO.
Was this his first murder or attempt??

Hopefully there will be a co-worker/friend who knows more perhaps. While this could still be a work issue, I keep thinking of that plate and thinking it is classic stalking/obsessed behavior.

Jmo.

 

[zecats]

The license plate -- If he were stalking her, memorizing her tag no. would not be difficult for him, once he saw her get in or out of her car. ANd if it was a vanity plate, that would make it much easier to remember, IMO. He either looked it up somehow in company records (if the company kept that info), or if spaces were assigned in the parking area, as @acutename suggested, it would have been easy for him to see it and memorize it. If he were obsessed with her, this would be an easy thing to do, IMO.
Since they both apparently started working there about the same time, maybe she was friendly to him because of that, but he may have mistaken her friendliness as flirting; then later she became less friendly with him as she met others at work. Or maybe he said or did something that freaked her out a bit, so she became distant with him. He may have regarded that as a rejection, and off he went -- she became an obsession.
We'll never know because he won't tell anyone about that, IMO.
Was this his first murder or attempt??

It's easy enough to snap a photo of a car and license plate with a cell phone. He may not have had to remember it at all - just look at his photos. For what reason is the curious part? If he were stalking her, he would probably want to know which car was hers, maybe even to distinguish it from other employees cars that were similar. Or maybe he went to the apartments on other occasions and used the license plate to find her building and/or see where she normally parked. JMO

 

[realanastasia]

It's easy enough to snap a photo of a car and license plate with a cell phone. He may not have had to remember it at all - just look at his photos. For what reason is the curious part? If he were stalking her, he would probably want to know which car was hers, maybe even to distinguish it from other employees cars that were similar. Or maybe he went to the apartments on other occasions and used the license plate to find her building and/or see where she normally parked. JMO

This is just a thought/speculation, but perhaps Carolyn’s car stood out to KS if it had PA tags?

I live in an NJ town (not far from Plainsboro) that’s literally on the banks of the Delaware River, and you’d be astounded by the number of my neighbors who have PA tags on their cars (I assume that’s because NJ rates for car insurance are MUCH higher than rates in PA).

Carolyn went to Lafayette College, where I was a visiting professor for several semesters, and which is located in a similar PA/NJ border town. IIRC, many of the upperclassmen there live in off-campus housing in Easton, PA, and have their own cars—so is it too far-fetched to imagine perhaps Carolyn’s car stood out in an NJ workplace parking lot because it still had the PA tags she might’ve had during her college days?

Or...could be that KS is a psychotic license-plate-number savant—both options seem equally plausible to me!

MOO

 

[borndem]

Hopefully there will be a co-worker/friend who knows more perhaps. While this could still be a work issue, I keep thinking of that plate and thinking it is classic stalking/obsessed behavior.

Jmo.

Oh, yes, indeed. That kind of thing is always creepy and potentially dangerous. It certainly was for Carolyn. I wish Carolyn had known that he was creeping around re her address and plate number... Gives me <shivers>.