VA VA - David Metzler, 19, & Heidi Childs, 18, fatally shot, Montgomery Co, 26 Aug 2009

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That area is certainly grown up now and there's a picnic table in a different area now. Perhaps they just moved it. I can't see a sign of a fire pit but the photos aren't the clearest ever.
 
JohnTate90210 said:
Here's 2011 and there's something in that area. Perhaps a picnic table?

View attachment 315140
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Thanks! That is the closest I can come to finding a spot for a fire pit in the past and in this photo it appears there is something other than fire pit. I was one of the things that surprised me when I was there and didn't see a fire pit in Caldwell Fields. Of course they could have gone over to the adjacent field. But for the short time they would have been there I don't see going to the effort to build a fire and then having to be sure it is out before leaving. If they weren't murdered on their arrival, I imagine they just sat at a picnic table.
 
Plus, didn't they supposedly take their guitars so they could play at a fire? You certainly could carry one down to the other field but I'd think you're on the right track with them just sitting at the table.

In the news photo I posted, do you think that's their car? If so, they were backed in. If they'd been chased I don't think they'd have backed in. I can't even imagine them pulling in the lot at all under those circumstances. If the killer was already there, would they have felt a bit nervous about being in a remote location with little daylight remaining? Sunset was at 7:59. Murders were estimated between 8:25 and 10:00. I assume somebody must have been along there at 8:25 for them to come up with such an exact time.

So they would've been losing light at 8:25. And it's pretty remote out there. I think it would feel creepy to me. If a vehicle was already there, would they have stayed? Or perhaps parked to talk it over? It's hard to imagine they'd have pulled in close to another vehicle and we're told the shootings were close range. Plus, if David was shot first, the killer had to get to Heidi pretty quickly. That would indicate they were close. If they couple was preoccupied, perhaps somebody could have quietly approached the car.

But were they already at the table when somebody arrived? That could have triggered some nervousness and persuaded them to leave. If the person parked near them, the couple might walked right past them.
 
An update on the case from the 10 year mark.
Decade-old slayings of two Virginia Tech students to get new look

I was recently wondering, "Why would he take her camera?" But then in the article it states the killer took Heidi's purse which happened to contain the camera. So maybe he grabbed it as a souvenir and it just happened to include the camera? The best I can come up with is he took the purse to make it appear as if it was a robbery and he probably threw it away somewhere. I don't believe a lot of cell phones in 2009 had GPS, but rather LE had to rely on pings to get an approximate area, so finding that purse would be difficult even if the phone was still in it.

The article also mentions that retired Sheriff Whitt stated they still had not located or identified about 6 vehicles that were in the area that evening. Per that 2012 PC the vehicles they were looking for were:
1. Green Sedan (Possibly a Taurus or Intrepid) stopping in front of residences on Craig Creek Road around 6:00PM.
2. A dark Blue Dodge Caravan seen parked at the Montgomery County/Craig County line near a logging site around 8:30PM.
3. A dark colored, older model van or min‐van parked at Caldwell Fields after dark.
4. A dark colored Ford Crown Victoria or Chevrolet Caprice seen driving Craig Creek Road around 10:00PM.
5. A red or red/white Dodge pick‐up with dual exhaust and oversized tires, tinted windows, extended cab, driving up Lee Road approximately 11:00PM that night. Lee Road is directly across the street from Caldwell Fields.
6. A gray or cream colored Pontiac Bonneville early 2000 model, parked near Caldwell Field around midnight.
Virginia Tech students murder task force reveals murder weapon, DNA evidence
 
JohnTate90210 said:
Plus, didn't they supposedly take their guitars so they could play at a fire? You certainly could carry one down to the other field but I'd think you're on the right track with them just sitting at the table.

In the news photo I posted, do you think that's their car? If so, they were backed in. If they'd been chased I don't think they'd have backed in. I can't even imagine them pulling in the lot at all under those circumstances. If the killer was already there, would they have felt a bit nervous about being in a remote location with little daylight remaining? Sunset was at 7:59. Murders were estimated between 8:25 and 10:00. I assume somebody must have been along there at 8:25 for them to come up with such an exact time.

So they would've been losing light at 8:25. And it's pretty remote out there. I think it would feel creepy to me. If a vehicle was already there, would they have stayed? Or perhaps parked to talk it over? It's hard to imagine they'd have pulled in close to another vehicle and we're told the shootings were close range. Plus, if David was shot first, the killer had to get to Heidi pretty quickly. That would indicate they were close. If they couple was preoccupied, perhaps somebody could have quietly approached the car.

But were they already at the table when somebody arrived? That could have triggered some nervousness and persuaded them to leave. If the person parked near them, the couple might walked right past them.
Click to expand...
I can't really see enough of the car to determine if it is even a Toyota Camry. BUT it certainly doesn't look like any vehicle LE would drive and why would LE park in the lot and risk compromising a crime scene by possibly driving over evidence.

There is a Roanoke Times article - which I can no longer access without subscribing to the paper - that indicates that David picked up Heidi at approximately 8:00 PM.
Five-year mark passes with no new public details in slayings of Tech students
According to Google Maps, it is approximately a 20 minute drive to Caldwell Fields from VA Tech. So could LE be basing the 8:25 time on their approximate arrival? But someone driving by is another possibility as well. I also wonder how LE limits the end time at 10 PM - someone else driving by? I do find it interesting that LE is looking for 2 vehicles - a Pontiac Bonneville and a mini van - parked near there that evening. I believe the passenger side door was open so possibly those driving by would have seen the dome light on as they drove past.
 
In the old photo of the car backed in near the sign, the passenger door is closed. Of course that might not be David's car but, as you said, it doesn't look like LE and I don't think police would park there. Would LE have shut the door before they were ready to move the car? Whether that's David's car or not, the following still applies.

At some point the killer had to reach inside the car for Heidi's purse.

Could the killer have approached the driver side with his rifle pointed at the victims and told them not to move? Perhaps he shot David and Heidi didn't immediately flee out of fear. Then the killer could have gone around to her side and gotten her out. Possibly there was a sexual assault or not but then he killed her. Her purse would have still been in the car and the killer would have reached in to get it. Possibly having to open the door, first. And maybe he also closed it due to the light staying on.

Without that light, that area has to be dark at night. Online astronomy calculators say that night would have been the waxing crescent phase of the moon. About half the visible part of the moon was illuminated.

Moon Phase for Wednesday August 26th, 2009.

upload_2021-9-29_8-53-49.png
 
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The purse theft gives me an idea. Once some friends of mine went hiking to Cascades which is a 20 mile drive from Caldwell Fields. This was in the 1970s, I think. When they returned to their car it had been broken into and some items stolen. I can only remember that one item was a woman's purse. That's something that's a bit of a hassle to carry along, so I can see Heidi also leaving hers in the car while they walked to the table or fire pit down the road. Perhaps upon their return they came upon somebody stealing from the car.

Once I was out with somebody at a movie theater. Upon returning to the car, somebody had rummaged through the glove compartment and knocked some papers out.

So, perhaps the killer opened the door. Perhaps he opened the glove compartment. Maybe that's where the purse was. He might have shut it back. And he might have shut the car door. Maybe not since it would have made noise and alerted somebody. Either way, he had to at least touch the door handle and glove compartment. Perhaps these could be the DNA sources?

Now what if the couple returned to the car and discovered the theft. Perhaps they saw the thief getting back in their own car and the thief knew they'd been caught and could be reported. And maybe they already had a record and really didn't want another jail sentence. So, possibly the purse theft wasn't even a trophy or a cover-up. Maybe it really started as just a theft.
 
I found this in a Youtube story from years after the murders. The info sign is at far right. A picnic table was in that area surrounded by posts. I can't see a fire pit. They must have moved the table fairly recently.

upload_2021-9-29_9-40-50.png
 
Here's a video with a few bits of news footage from the day police were on the scene:


wdbj-1.jpg

wdbj-2.jpg

wdbj-3.jpg

It appears that third photo is an LE vehicle parked within the lot. At first I thought the police car was the one at the far left of the first photo but I can't see the split rail fence. So, I think both may be parked within the lot.
 
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A website says David was familiar with the area due to having been there on a church retreat the previous summer. There were campers at the adjoining field when I was there last week. That is the likely spot for such a retreat since there's a building I'd say is restrooms.

So, David would've known of the firepit. Perhaps he and Heidi got out of the car and walked to the firepit in that field. Heidi would likely have not wanted to carry her purse so possibly put it in the glove compartment. An alternate would be that they were just sitting at the nearby picnic table. So, a thief pulls in the lot. Say David's car was backed in, the thief could've pulled in beside it. Both vehicles drivers side windows would've been facing each other. Maybe the person didn't see the couple at the table or at the other field, but the couple saw them and decided to return to their car.

If the killer had already broken into the car, the couple would've discovered it. Plus, the thief would know he'd been spotted. At this point, he could easily have jumped from his vehicle with his rifle and been right beside David. He might've warned them to not move. He shot David and Heidi either froze or jumped out. Either way, he wouldn't have been far from her.

From what I read, they don't think theft was the motive because David's wallet was still in his pocket but it's possible the theft of Heidi's purse had already occurred. The killer may not have wanted to go through David's pockets or was just in a hurry to leave after the shootings.

An alternate could be that the thief was still in his vehicle when David and Heidi got in theirs. The thief could have quickly backed out and blocked their car.

Either way, I think maybe the theft came first and the killings were in panic over being caught. The killer may have shut Heidi's door after the killings so the car's interior light wouldn't attract attention. Perhaps LE obtained their DNA from him touching the door handle and/or glove compartment. There could have been bullet shells, too. They could have been hard for the killer to find in the dark.

Also, August 26, 2009 was a Wednesday, a popular night for church. Police hoped there might have been more traffic than usual that evening due to church. That could be one way they compiled the list of vehicles they are interested in tracking down.
 
Here's a slightly different angle from WSLS. You can see vehicles in the lot at the far right. I'm sure one is the large police truck/van. So by the point news media arrived, police were parking in the lot.

wsls-1.jpg
 
The rear w
JohnTate90210 said:
Here's the car at Caldwell:

View attachment 315333

Here's the 1992 Toyota Camry:

View attachment 315335

The 1996 Taurus looks like a more oval headlight to me:

View attachment 315330

The Sable appears more rounded at the inner edge, too:

View attachment 315332
Click to expand...

The rear window contours appear curved, similar to the Sable, and Camrys of that era aren't contoured quite like that - the Camry has a smaller radius at the corner. The headlights in the photo, although blocked by the signpost, look rather oval to me. The Camry's are straighter. I agree that there's a straighter contour at the inner side of the headlight. In general, the details are hard to see, though. The mirror is interesting - there's a projection that upward that looks strange. It is either broken or has some kind of attachment on it - maybe an optical illusion from foreshortening. Perhaps this is an LE vehicle with speakers on the mirrors. Perhaps it is a photo of an unmarked LE vehicle. Not easy to tell. It's too bad there isn't a better photo.
 
I've been looking for another shot but haven't had any luck yet. There's a small memorial deep in the parking lot at the left corner but I don't know if it's based on the actual location or was just a handy spot.

I also thought there was something odd with the side mirror. I just went back to the video and captured it again. Cropped it closer. I notice something else. Between that mirror and the sign post you can see a little of the passenger side of the windshield. It rather looks like one of those windshield sunscreens people put up but this one would be black. There's a white vertical edge at the far left like some sort of supporting bar, perhaps. Also I can't see a rearview mirror. It rather looks like the "sunscreen" may be blocking it.

Also notice the two side windows appear a little odd. The front one is very dark. At first glance, the rear one almost looks shattered but I'd guess it's just a reflection.

Then there's that odd thing with the outside mirror.

If this is the victim's car, perhaps they put up something to block sunlight so they could do luminol. Some news photos of the Short family murder home has black plastic over every window where police tried to get it as dark as possible.

Here's about as good as I can get the image:

wsls-2c.jpg
 
Here's a different angle but the car is pretty much blocked from view. I thought it was gone at first but you can barely make it out through the rear side window of the car parked on the road. That's not the point of interest, though.

Note the crime scene tape. It stretches from the sign post out into the road (perhaps to the front of the police car. Then it goes back to the lot. Possibly to the other side of the entrance. There's no tape going along the fence behind the officers. It's like they're protecting the area just outside the fence but in front of the sign. It's not like they just blocked the entrance.

So, it appears the entrance was blocked by tape but also stretched further out into the road a bit.

Also, note the uniformed deputy at the far right. To the right of his foot, you can see something on the ground. It's partially behind the fence post. I wouldn't think it was a rock since this was probably a farming field in the old days. And I don't see a rock in my recent photo.

Tape.jpg

Tape-2.jpg

Here's a similar angle photo that I took last week:

caldwell-21-05b.jpg

Police vehicles were already inside the lot as seen at the far right of this photo:

wsls-1.jpg
 
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