Hello all, I’m not here but not new to true crime on the net.
First let me start out by saying, a few years ago I used to date a girl who lived about 10 minutes from this mall, and it was saddening to drive by the mall because of the crime that took place there. It bothered me when my LSAT tutor—who lived walking distance from the mall—asked if we could have our study session there. I wouldn’t have been able to concentrate. With that said, I’m a semi-local due to being in the same county, and I remember hearing about this when it first happened. It is heartbreaking to know that someone killed anyone, let alone and mother and her young child. I was a senior in high school when this crime happened, and it really heightened the anxiety for a bunch of people.
So now, let me share my thoughts.
In regards to the Israel Keyes talk; Keyes isn’t the perp here. This perp with the same MØ twice, and committed a virtually identical crime a few months prior to this. Keyes was too careful not to do stuff like that, and in the first crime, the perp let the victim go after they stopped at the ATM; nowhere near what Keyes’ MØ would be.
There was another crime suspected to be linked to this one (I’m not going to say the name in this thread), and it took place in the same area, with a robbery MO also, but also ended in murder; I don’t think that crime is connected to this. The only crime that see being connected is the one that police have confirmed was “99%” him, the one in which he let the mother and child walk free after he got the money.
This is just my opinion on the guy, and why I think that
robbery, as opposed to murder, was his ultimate objective in these crime.
This guy had planned this out long in advance, and he had a
very specific victim profile. He specifically choose women with younger children that rode in car seats, and the reason he did so is actually two-fold.
- Victims will be more likely to comply with the perp, as they not only fear for their own safety, but more importantly they fear for the safety of their child.
- The fact that women are distracted while putting their child in a car seat buys him time to step up and make the initial part of the attack. It gives him the advantage.
What went wrong in that SUV on that December is anyone’s guess, but what the outcome was became heartbreaking. This man is an animal, and one that decided to kill a child and her mother, and for the purpose of his own greed.
What would possess someone to even go out and commit a crime like this, or even the first one where he let the mother and child go?
I believe that the this perp was in dire need of money at the time of this crime. It’s possible that he needed money for drugs, may have lost his job and needed money for rent, and his need is irrelevant when considering what he was willing to for that money. I believe that he was familiar with the area (near Boca Town Center), and he may have even lived around that area, or worked in that area; he may have possibly even worked at the mall itself. People say that a junkie is a snatch and grab type, but that isn’t always the case. Boca is a wealthy area that is known for being close to cities that are basically considered “The Rehab Capitol of America”.
The cell phone in Miami connection says a lot too. The phone was left in an area that homeless people frequent, but why did he choose that area, and how did he get there?
I feel like the Miami thing for him is most likely to get far away from the crime scene, and to go to a bigger city where he could’ve felt safer as Boca’s news usually doesn’t make headlines in Miami (it’s an hour away). There is a strong possibility that this perp may have been homeless at that time too, and a strong possibility that he may have taken public transport to end up in Miami also (The Tri-Rail).
The biggest thing that says robbery, and not murder was the motive, is the fact that this guy hasn’t popped up on the radar for any other killings, nor has any crime been connected to him since this one. My honest opinion would be that he became so shook from the amount of coverage that this crime garnered, he just decided that he was going to stop. I would venture to say that he’s probably still in South Florida somewhere, but that he’s probably not out committing crimes still. However, he did kill a mother and her child in cold blood like a coward, and I hope for him to get caught, so the victims and their family could have justice. 
I hope your work helps bring more attention to this case and, eventually, justice and some closure.
