MI MI - Julia Niswender, 23, EMU student, Ypsilanti, 10 Dec 2012 - #6

[rosesfromangels]

Amateur opinion and speculation only

In rereading Black Squirrels post, and dwelling on their speculation that this may be a serial killer, one thing in particular stands out for me; the bloody gloves.

Sensitivity alert - I am going to discuss amateur speculations that are graphic. Please do not read further if you would find graphic speculations upsetting. No disrespect to Julia's memory, or her family.

In rereading some old articles about the DNA evidence found at the crime scene, there is speculation that the gloves were "planted" there. I don't believe that is so, and here's why. We know Julia's blood was found on the discarded, twisted gloves. I'm guessing they got twisted taking them off. I wonder if LE was able to capture any skin cells or hairs from the gloves? Once the gloves were removed, I wonder if any latent prints were captured anywhere in Julia's personal living quarters? But back to the gloves...

We know Julia had a deep contusion on her tongue, which would account for the blood. From my amateur research, this type of tongue contusion is consistent with strangulation. I have not heard of any other wounds on her body that caused bleeding, so I am assuming that the blood on the gloves came from her tongue contusion.

Keeping with my line of speculation, who goes to the trouble of wearing gloves and then leaving them at the crime scene? Someone very bold. Someone bold enough to have possibly been in the room when Julia's roomie came back to pick things up, and had the (T.v. or radio?) blaring to presumably cover up sounds of struggle.

Who was bold enough to allegedly stay at the crime scene for a protracted period of time? Who is clever enough to have alluded local law enforcement, the MSP crime lab, and the FBI?

This is not a novice Perp, and Squirrel's speculation that this could be a serial killer is certainly worthy of additional examination. And to reinforce, I do *not* think there is a correlation to some random guy pacing around as seen on some alleged video. Nope. This Perp is not someone who would be captured on video, pacing or otherwise. This Perp is smart, and stealthy.

All we really know is that ten years have slipped away without Justice for Julia....and with how many others on the Perp's target list? This was not random; he is well planned and operationalized...and that type of sadism doesn't stop until arrested, or dead.

Amateur opinion and speculation only

 

[black_squirrel]

This one caught my eye

‘Vengeful,' ‘Sadistic' Killer Leaves Woman's Body in Delaware County Apartment Bathtub: Police

Police in Delaware County searched for clues after a woman was found killed inside a bathtub Wednesday night.

www.nbcphiladelphia.com

Amateur opinion and speculation

Good find, Roses.

There are a lot of similarities: body found in bathtub, room in disarray, no signs of forced entry, killer using a key.
In the Markia Benson ex-boyfriend is a suspect. He failed a polygraph and does not have tight alibi. But this suspect has not been arrested because there somehow still isn't enough evidence.

https://www.websleuths.com/forums/t...d-slain-in-bathtub-secane-30-mar-2016.304154/

Here is an Unsolved Mysteries podcast

https://unsolved.com/podcasts/who-killed-kia/

There are also differences between Julia's case and Markia's case, but I think there are enough similarities to look further into this. And perhaps there are other cases that are similar as well.

 

[Trojan1966]

Amateur opinion and speculation only

In rereading Black Squirrels post, and dwelling on their speculation that this may be a serial killer, one thing in particular stands out for me; the bloody gloves.

Sensitivity alert - I am going to discuss amateur speculations that are graphic. Please do not read further if you would find graphic speculations upsetting. No disrespect to Julia's memory, or her family.

In rereading some old articles about the DNA evidence found at the crime scene, there is speculation that the gloves were "planted" there. I don't believe that is so, and here's why. We know Julia's blood was found on the discarded, twisted gloves. I'm guessing they got twisted taking them off. I wonder if LE was able to capture any skin cells or hairs from the gloves? Once the gloves were removed, I wonder if any latent prints were captured anywhere in Julia's personal living quarters? But back to the gloves...

We know Julia had a deep contusion on her tongue, which would account for the blood. From my amateur research, this type of tongue contusion is consistent with strangulation. I have not heard of any other wounds on her body that caused bleeding, so I am assuming that the blood on the gloves came from her tongue contusion.

Keeping with my line of speculation, who goes to the trouble of wearing gloves and then leaving them at the crime scene? Someone very bold. Someone bold enough to have possibly been in the room when Julia's roomie came back to pick things up, and had the (T.v. or radio?) blaring to presumably cover up sounds of struggle.

Who was bold enough to allegedly stay at the crime scene for a protracted period of time? Who is clever enough to have alluded local law enforcement, the MSP crime lab, and the FBI?

This is not a novice Perp, and Squirrel's speculation that this could be a serial killer is certainly worthy of additional examination. And to reinforce, I do *not* think there is a correlation to some random guy pacing around as seen on some alleged video. Nope. This Perp is not someone who would be captured on video, pacing or otherwise. This Perp is smart, and stealthy.

All we really know is that ten years have slipped away without Justice for Julia....and with how many others on the Perp's target list? This was not random; he is well planned and operationalized...and that type of sadism doesn't stop until arrested, or dead.

Amateur opinion and speculation only

I too do not believe this is the first homicide committed by this person. I agree that the person seen "pacing back and forth" in front of the office was not the killer. I am not sure about the "serial killer" theories as any crime scene DNA should have been entered into CODIS by the police. If so, any matches would have been identified even if the identity of the person was unknown. As such, other organizations that had submitted DNA would have been notified as an effort to identify the person. This would then be used to help determine if this in fact was a serial killer. I know that the Michigan State Police have declined Julia's case because they are currently investigating 63 other cold cases. Due to this fact, I hope and pray that the Ypsilanti Police Department will agree to work with some of the cold case investigative organizations I have recommended to them. The previous Chief was totally against any assistance from "outside" organizations and my hope is that the interim Chief will view this differently. It would present him with an opportunity to get Julia's case of his plate so to speak. The family has recently pursued more publicity to try to have a more satisfactory decision made by YPD. We all want Justice for Julia.

 

[Trojan1966]

I have recommended the Cold Case Foundation to the Ypsilanti Police (interim Chief) and have not received a reply from him or anyone in Ypsilanti. On Nov 30th, I asked the YPD to provide their definition of a "cold case". On Jan 2nd, I sent an email concerning the fact that I had contacted the Cold Case Foundation and they would be willing to work with YPD pro bono! I have not received any type of response from YPD to either emails. This is extremely frustrating for me. I must continue my efforts to find Justice for Julia!

 

[rosesfromangels]

I have recommended the Cold Case Foundation to the Ypsilanti Police (interim Chief) and have not received a reply from him or anyone in Ypsilanti. On Nov 30th, I asked the YPD to provide their definition of a "cold case". On Jan 2nd, I sent an email concerning the fact that I had contacted the Cold Case Foundation and they would be willing to work with YPD pro bono! I have not received any type of response from YPD to either emails. This is extremely frustrating for me. I must continue my efforts to find Justice for Julia!

May I suggest you and your family members align and attend one of the Ypsilanti virtual town council meetings that are held virtually the first and third Tuesdays of every month at 7pm EST. You will only have 2-3 minutes to speak so your request needs to be prepared ahead of time, and delivered without accusation. I would have a member of the Cold Case Foundation speak on your behalf if they are willing to do so, expressing how they are willing to help. Further, I would end your statement with a request in this public forum to meet with the Mayor and have the Cold Case Foundation explain what they are proposing further.

Link to info on joining the City Council Meeting:
Mayor & City Council | Ypsilanti, MI

Link with info on how to contact the Mayor's office:
Elected Officials | Ypsilanti, MI

Amateur opinion and speculation

 

[Dissmeguys]

It's time for the truth to come out. It's been far too long!
Retired Detective Yuhas was the original lead detective who has insights to all of it. I'm glad he is able to speak now.

Why

It's time for the truth to come out. It's been far too long!
Retired Detective Yuhas was the original lead detective who has insights to all of it. I'm glad he is able to speak now.

This new info from the lead detective Yuhas, seems unreal, if he felt that way during the first year he was on the case, why is he just coming out with this info. I’m not buying it.

 

[Dissmeguys]

I have recommended the Cold Case Foundation to the Ypsilanti Police (interim Chief) and have not received a reply from him or anyone in Ypsilanti. On Nov 30th, I asked the YPD to provide their definition of a "cold case". On Jan 2nd, I sent an email concerning the fact that I had contacted the Cold Case Foundation and they would be willing to work with YPD pro bono! I have not received any type of response from YPD to either emails. This is extremely frustrating for me. I must continue my efforts to find Justice for Julia!

I sure do hope that YPSI police dept. will be open to outside help.

 

[Dissmeguys]

May I suggest you and your family members align and attend one of the Ypsilanti virtual town council meetings that are held virtually the first and third Tuesdays of every month at 7pm EST. You will only have 2-3 minutes to speak so your request needs to be prepared ahead of time, and delivered without accusation. I would have a member of the Cold Case Foundation speak on your behalf if they are willing to do so, expressing how they are willing to help. Further, I would end your statement with a request in this public forum to meet with the Mayor and have the Cold Case Foundation explain what they are proposing further.

Link to info on joining the City Council Meeting:
Mayor & City Council | Ypsilanti, MI

Link with info on how to contact the Mayor's office:
Elected Officials | Ypsilanti, MI

Amateur opinion and speculation

Very good suggestion.

 

[black_squirrel]

Why


This new info from the lead detective Yuhas, seems unreal, if he felt that way during the first year he was on the case, why is he just coming out with this info. I’m not buying it.

Do you think Yuhas is making up the new info? I don't see any reason why he would and Ypsi police is not contradicting this info. Detectives usually reveal very little about what they know so they will not jeopardize the integrity of the investigation. But in a cold case like this, it makes sense to reveal more details after a long time so that there is renewed interest and possibly new tips.

Over the last months what I know about the case has changed a bit. For example, my impression was always that Julia was attacked late at night on Sunday or the very early hours of Monday. From new info, it seems like Julia was attacked in the morning, after she had breakfast, and that the attack may have lasted for hours. Someone could have sneaked in or forced themselves in as she was taking out trash in the morning.

Also, evidence now seems to point towards a black perpetrator. There was a black man seen on camera suspiciously pacing in front of the office on Monday morning. A week before a peeping Tom had been reported.

 

[Trojan1966]

May I suggest you and your family members align and attend one of the Ypsilanti virtual town council meetings that are held virtually the first and third Tuesdays of every month at 7pm EST. You will only have 2-3 minutes to speak so your request needs to be prepared ahead of time, and delivered without accusation. I would have a member of the Cold Case Foundation speak on your behalf if they are willing to do so, expressing how they are willing to help. Further, I would end your statement with a request in this public forum to meet with the Mayor and have the Cold Case Foundation explain what they are proposing further.

Link to info on joining the City Council Meeting:
Mayor & City Council | Ypsilanti, MI

Link with info on how to contact the Mayor's office:
Elected Officials | Ypsilanti, MI

Amateur opinion and speculation

Thanks Roses. I am thinking about exactly how I can go about doing what you suggested. I will contact the Cold Case Foundation to have their input. I have reached out to Lindsay from the Can't Stop Won't Stop web site but have not really heard from her other than she said she would contact me after the New Year.

 

[Trojan1966]

Do you think Yuhas is making up the new info? I don't see any reason why he would and Ypsi police is not contradicting this info. Detectives usually reveal very little about what they know so they will not jeopardize the integrity of the investigation. But in a cold case like this, it makes sense to reveal more details after a long time so that there is renewed interest and possibly new tips.

Over the last months what I know about the case has changed a bit. For example, my impression was always that Julia was attacked late at night on Sunday or the very early hours of Monday. From new info, it seems like Julia was attacked in the morning, after she had breakfast, and that the attack may have lasted for hours. Someone could have sneaked in or forced themselves in as she was taking out trash in the morning.

Also, evidence now seems to point towards a black perpetrator. There was a black man seen on camera suspiciously pacing in front of the office on Monday morning. A week before a peeping Tom had been reported.

Yes, things about Julia's case seem to have changed lately. I find it very hard to believe that the person was in Julia's apartment Monday morning. The other two roommates were in the apartment as of Monday morning. Julia was not a "morning" person and I find it hard to believe that she would get up early and fix a hot breakfast for herself. Also, the individuals would have been seen leaving the apartment complex during daylight hours. I think whoever did this left while it was still dark as it would be easier to sneak out without being noticed. Just my thoughts about the "new" information that is being talked about.

 

[black_squirrel]

Yes, things about Julia's case seem to have changed lately. I find it very hard to believe that the person was in Julia's apartment Monday morning. The other two roommates were in the apartment as of Monday morning. Julia was not a "morning" person and I find it hard to believe that she would get up early and fix a hot breakfast for herself. Also, the individuals would have been seen leaving the apartment complex during daylight hours. I think whoever did this left while it was still dark as it would be easier to sneak out without being noticed. Just my thoughts about the "new" information that is being talked about.

I know that roommate AG came in briefly 7:45am-8:00am and Julia's alarm was going off. The other roommate, KM also came in on Monday. Do you know what time? KM opened the door when friends of Julia's came looking for Julia because of the office party.

From what I've heard, some investigators believe that Julia may still have been alive in the morning because they found egg in her stomach. This suggests she had breakfast and that she was alive in the morning. I am not sure if there are other reasons why they may think she was alive in the morning. Perhaps she ate eggs late at night. One would think she was already dead when the alarm was going off, but we cannot be sure.

I believe a perpetrator could easily have entered or left the apartment without being noticed during the daytime. From what I remember, one would have to be close to get a good view of the apartment entrance door. From further away
people wouldn't be able to tell if a person came out of the apartment or from the stairs. I think the killer may have been someone who blends in, and perhaps may have been someone who lives at Peninsular. So they might not look suspicious
unless someone sees and remembers that they entered the apartment. But even if the killer was seen entering or leaving the apartment, any witness probably wouldn't remember, because such a thing is so unremarkable that you wouldn't remember it days later.

 

[Trojan1966]

Interesting Facebook group: Can't Stop Won't Stop hosted by Lindsay Ann. Check out this site. She is an advocate to help get Julia's case solved. She does her videos on Sunday evenings and has mentioned Julia's case in the last few episodes. Last night, she had Joe Yuhas talking about Julia's case! It was interesting but I believe some of his theories about how everything happened may be just his theories. Lindsay is getting the needed publicity for Julia's case and she has been working with Julia's mom, Kim for a while. Hopefully this will help "force" YPD to get outside help. Enjoy her videos on her sight, especially last night's video. Lindsay is working on a few other cases too.
Try this link for last night's podcast: Can't Stop Won't Stop | Facebook

 

[rosesfromangels]

In my amateur opinion, I think we all need to be very careful about sharing info publicly about Julia's case that only LE should know. Despite everyone's good intentions, any information communicated in a public forum could end up used against the prosecution at trial to create "reasonable doubt", which could result in a Perp walking free.

Despite the desire to help and share insights, it needs to be left to LE and the Prosecutor to decide what is shared prior to a trial. (Usually very little). We certainly don't want to give a Perp a "reasonable doubt" card, resulting in an acquittal. We ultimately want to see a guilty verdict, and Justice for dear Julia and her anguished family.

Loose lips sink ships.....and can cost a guilty verdict. Just something I know we all care about.

Amateur opinion and speculation

 

[black_squirrel]

In my amateur opinion, I think we all need to be very careful about sharing info publicly about Julia's case that only LE should know. Despite everyone's good intentions, any information communicated in a public forum could end up used against the prosecution at trial to create "reasonable doubt", which could result in a Perp walking free.

Despite the desire to help and share insights, it needs to be left to LE and the Prosecutor to decide what is shared prior to a trial. (Usually very little). We certainly don't want to give a Perp a "reasonable doubt" card, resulting in an acquittal. We ultimately want to see a guilty verdict, and Justice for dear Julia and her anguished family.

Loose lips sink ships.....and can cost a guilty verdict. Just something I know we all care about.

Amateur opinion and speculation

Specifically in the case of Yuhas, I don't think he is revealing too much after 10 years. For example, I believe the existence of the security video would have to be given to the defense lawyer if there ever will be a trial, whether it would help the prosecutors case or not. Any lawyers here can correct me if I am wrong. If there is any evidence that could be used by the defense for a reasonable doubt, then this exculpatory evidence should be handed over.
But I agree with Yuhas, after 10 years this has gone cold, what do we have to loose? More information to the public can reignite this case and can get state police or other agencies involved.

 

[rosesfromangels]

…

 

[rosesfromangels]

Specifically in the case of Yuhas, I don't think he is revealing too much after 10 years. For example, I believe the existence of the security video would have to be given to the defense lawyer if there ever will be a trial, whether it would help the prosecutors case or not. Any lawyers here can correct me if I am wrong. If there is any evidence that could be used by the defense for a reasonable doubt, then this exculpatory evidence should be handed over.
But I agree with Yuhas, after 10 years this has gone cold, what do we have to loose? More information to the public can reignite this case and can get state police or other agencies involved.

I have asked two verified WS experts to render their opinion if time permits. They are much in demand on WS, but hopefully one or both can pop in.

Amateur opinion and speculation

 

[Trojan1966]

Yuhas did not really reveal any "new" information. Most of what he said has been covered by the news media. He did present his "theory" which I feel was not based on any facts for this case. I still believe that the person(s) who did this - did it late Sunday evening to very early Monday morning. I believe they left before the roommates returned on early Monday morning. Also, Julia was very "social" and her text messages seemed to stop just before midnight Sunday. Also Yuhas said he thought it could be a serial killer..... wow, that's news. If the killer's DNA had been found at another crime scene anywhere in the country, whether or not his true ID was known, the Michigan State Police crime lab would have been notified of a match in COPIS and where it was located. The MSP crime lab would have notified YPD if there ever was a match in CODIS. A serial killer would have done more murders in the last 10 years. I would love to see YPD work with the Cold Case Foundation and hopefully solve Julia's murder. If YPD has DNA but has not had it tested by Parabon NanoLabs or Othram Labs, then they really have no idea who they should be looking for! All of this is just my opinion.

 

[black_squirrel]

There have been a few new revelations in the last few weeks that had not yet been reported over the last year. Some of the info were told by Kim (Julia's mom) in recent interviews, but I think most of this information comes from Yuhas who has recently opened up about the case. Some of the new things we know are:
A person was caught on a security camera pacing back and fort in front of the main office (which is close to Julia's apartment) around 5:30am on the day Julia died. Unfortunately, the video was taped over.
About a week earlier a black man was reported peeping into windows at Peninsular Place, but gave a fake name when police spoke to them.
From the autopsy we know that Julia had eaten eggs (and I believe other things as well) before she died, so she may have had breakfast.
Julia's trash was found at the landfill, containing egg shells among other things.
The killer likely used cleaning agents in the bathwater, possibly to remove evidence.

As for Yuhas' theory, it is just a theory. He believes that Julia was killed in the morning or even later, not in the evening, night or very early morning. Roommate AG came into the apartment briefly 7:45-8am and Yuhas thinks the killer may still have been in the apartment at that time.

What I don't understand here is the alarm. Julia probably set the alarm because she had to go to class that morning. When AG came in, the alarm was going off. She even knocked on Julia's door (no answer) because it kept going. So Julia was already dead, or at least incapacitated. If Julia had breakfast in the morning as usually, she would have woken up as usual after the alarm went off and would have turned off the alarm. If Julia was killed before she had breakfast, then when did she eat eggs. Could she have eaten eggs late at night?

The person in the video may or may not be the killer. Even if it is the killer, it may be before or after the murder. I also think that the killer may have gone back to the apartment after the murder, to clean the crime scene since he took the apartment and room keys.

 

[rosesfromangels]

Black Squirrel, the points you make were stated by the retired detective in news articles. I am not going to post the links as I do not want to further perpetuate info that LE working the case have chosen not to release.

It’s noble that the mother wants to point to this info as potential evidence that her ex-husband wasn’t the Perp, or there are other (unamed) POI’s, but releasing case info to the general public contaminates the integrity of the investigation.

This should be left to LE and the DA to release info during an active investigation. Just my amateur opinion.

Amateur opinion and speculation