Found Deceased VA - Morgan Dana Harrington, 20, Charlottesville, 17 Oct 2009 - #15

[iluvmua]

Aren't there alot of young, pretty, blondes missing from the south & midwest? Morgan Harrington, Holly Bobo, Lauren Speirer, and a couple more I can't think of, in the last decade?
Does anyone think the FBI might be investigating these cases as the work of a serial killer?

I'd be real surprised if it was a serial killer

 

[soothsayer]

It's amazing how many murders and disappearances go unsolved. Stranger on stranger crime is more difficult; the more easily solvable crimes have motives and suspects (people who are known to each other; people who were seen arguing, etc.).

My cville friends are sometimes annoyed by the Harringtons when they seem to accuse cville and its residents of knowingly harboring the killer -- but even then, they're not unsympathetic towards them, though; they completely empathize with the pain and loss.

Gil's latest post suggests a little bit of healing is occurring. But I worry that solving the crime is not going to make her feel any better, as he probably can't be tied to Morgan's murder enough to get a conviction, and might only get a slap on the wrist for the Fairfax assault. That will leave them in a strange place, especially when he's out of jail. The crusade to find the killer will be over; justice will not have been served for Morgan. I wonder what they'll do.

 

[MLE]

I'm sure this has been discussed, but -- the image of the perpetrator from the 2005 attack is hard to define -- wondering if perp is from El Savador or another area where ethnic mix is often found. Thinking that the perp may be an illegal whose fingerprints were not digitally made and put into the "system." Apparently there were a number of illegals who committed crimes, had their prints manually done, but the prints were never digitized. So when a future crime was committed, and a print check was done, no history would be found. Other thoughts -- if this individual was in Fairfax in 2005, and then in Charlottesville in 2010 -- a couple things come to mind. Was he working in the landscaping/construction business ... and/or ... dealing drugs. George Mason University is very close to the 2005 attack, and of course UVA is in Charlottesville. Is the perpetrator someone who travels around dealing drugs as part of a larger group (gang?). Forgive me if all of this has been mentioned. As ICE continues to ensure manual prints are put into its database, it will be interesting to see if a match pops up. Frank Wolf, congressman in VA, requested extra funds for just this purpose.

I think the police determined from DNA samples that the perp is of African descent, and I think they're probably meaning black African, not Arab African.

 

[SkewedView]

I think the police determined from DNA samples that the perp is of African descent, and I think they're probably meaning black African, not Arab African.

That type of test (for race) is new and not currently in use by most LEAs (mostly for understandable political reasons). It is a separate test from the normal ID tests, is handled by very few facilities, is expensive, and a PR nightmare. The Harringtons were calling for another controversial test, that would look for relatives of the perp that are already in CODIS, but I've never heard any calls for the ethnicity test.

As far as I'm aware, the ethnicity listed by LE is a 'best guess' based on what the victim remembered, which is not at all uncommon. I wouldn't be surprised if the perp turned out to be something else entirely, especially given the unreliability of witness identification in general.

All JMO.

 

[R.U.Kidding!]

Aren't there alot of young, pretty, blondes missing from the south & midwest? Morgan Harrington, Holly Bobo, Lauren Speirer, and a couple more I can't think of, in the last decade?
Does anyone think the FBI might be investigating these cases as the work of a serial killer?

That is certainly a possibility. Unfortunately we get one step closer to that theory ONLY when and if Holly and Lauren are indeed dead and their bodies are found. I believe examining the remains would determine similarities consistent with One Killer/Serial killer. How sad that would be ---IMO

 

[SheWhoMustNotBeNamed]

Families of Morgan Harrington and Bethany Decker Unite to Warn Others

The families of two young women who disappeared are now coming together in an effort to prevent another family from feeling their loss.

Relatives of Morgan Harrington and Bethany Decker spent Saturday morning outside a Giant food store in Fairfax County.

http://www.nbcwashington.com/news/l...ny-Decker-Unite-to-Warn-Others-145478035.html

 

[MLE]

That type of test (for race) is new and not currently in use by most LEAs (mostly for understandable political reasons). It is a separate test from the normal ID tests, is handled by very few facilities, is expensive, and a PR nightmare. The Harringtons were calling for another controversial test, that would look for relatives of the perp that are already in CODIS, but I've never heard any calls for the ethnicity test.

As far as I'm aware, the ethnicity listed by LE is a 'best guess' based on what the victim remembered, which is not at all uncommon. I wouldn't be surprised if the perp turned out to be something else entirely, especially given the unreliability of witness identification in general.

All JMO.

In this article from 2010, it reports "After all, eyewitness accounts, particularly when an attack occurs in the dark, are notoriously inaccurate. In response to the accusations of racial profiling, Charlottesville Police undertook the unusual step of having the perpetrator's DNA analyzed for ancestry and making those results public: indeed, the then-still unknown attacker's DNA was 85 percent of sub-Saharan African descent–- a virtual guarantee that he appeared black."

http://www.readthehook.com/67132/morgans-killer-fairfax-case-connection-offers-hope-fresh-fear

 

[SkewedView]

In this article from 2010, it reports "After all, eyewitness accounts, particularly when an attack occurs in the dark, are notoriously inaccurate. In response to the accusations of racial profiling, Charlottesville Police undertook the unusual step of having the perpetrator's DNA analyzed for ancestry and making those results public: indeed, the then-still unknown attacker's DNA was 85 percent of sub-Saharan African descent–- a virtual guarantee that he appeared black."

http://www.readthehook.com/67132/morgans-killer-fairfax-case-connection-offers-hope-fresh-fear

Wow, I don't know how I missed that one! I was aware of the calls for the familial test, but not this. Thank you for the link!


ETA: Oops - that particular passage was referring to the perp in the Charlottesville serial rapist case, not Morgan's. So we're back to the race being questionable.

 

[soothsayer]

I think he's going to turn out to be an ordinary black dude, not anything fancy. He's not going to be a policeman or security guard or fireman or EMT -- he's just going to be a disappointingly stereotypical black rapist. A real letdown from the fanciful theories out there back when we thought the perp diabolically removed her cellphone battery and put her purse in the lot after he was done with her. Given the facts, it seems more likely that she just dropped her purse and cellphone battery.

 

[SkewedView]

I think he's going to turn out to be an ordinary black dude, not anything fancy. He's not going to be a policeman or security guard or fireman or EMT -- he's just going to be a disappointingly stereotypical black rapist. A real letdown from the fanciful theories out there back when we thought the perp diabolically removed her cellphone battery and put her purse in the lot after he was done with her. Given the facts, it seems more likely that she just dropped her purse and cellphone battery.

Statistics agree with you - the vast majority of people that commit violent acts against strangers are usually not successful professionals, or even capable of holding steady employment. Also, contrary to the stereotype created by Ted Bundy's overblown reputation, most serial offenders are not the sharpest knives in the drawer...

So yeah, I'm going with the ignorant, thugish wife-beater type as the most likely candidate as well.

All JMO.

 

[Walker]

Statistics agree with you

Since we are talking about one specific case, statistics alone can lead to false conclusions.

Example: 99% of the women who attended the 10/17/09 Metallica concert had returned safely to their homes by the next morning; MH was a woman who attended that concert;therefore, we can be 99% sure that no crime against MH took place that night.

- the vast majority of people that commit violent acts against strangers are usually not successful professionals, or even capable of holding steady employment.

We don't know if the perp or perps were all complete strangers to MH.

Also, contrary to the stereotype created by Ted Bundy's overblown reputation, most serial offenders are not the sharpest knives in the drawer...

We don't know that the perp or perps have committed any other murders ... yet.

So yeah, I'm going with the ignorant, thugish wife-beater type as the most likely candidate as well.

All JMO.

Any perp of such an awful crime is a , and morally ignorant.

But the crime doesn't seem like just an ordinary street crime.

Why would a common brutish stranger bother with planting the tee shirt? Why would he even take the tee shirt, but NOT take MH's expensive jewelry? Why did the cell go dead at the same time that MH likely entered a vehicle on the bridge; esp. if the cell phone itself was still lying in the park near the pack? How did the random street criminal know how to access a remote section of Anchorage Farm? What about the weird scrolls? And the JC photo which seems to have been taken at exactly the place MH's body was found?

In my opinion, more than one perp was involved. At least one of them knew Anchorage Farm, but this person may not have been known to anyone in the area. If this person had special training or experience, he/she may not have needed to spend huge amounts of time at AF to navigate the terrain, but likely at least explored the area ahead of time.

Why AF? The group or a part of the group may have been trafficking in psilocybin mushrooms, and only visiting the area at night during certain times of the year. College students are most likely to buy these mushrooms; therefore, at least one of the perps may have been able to fit in (at least to some marginal extent) with the college "hippy" or "stoner" crowd.

The group was smart enough to be studying media coverage and trying to influence the searches.

Strictly my opinion: the crime was pre-meditated.

While a long string of odd coincidences cannot be ruled out, my opinion is that a very strange "Manson Family" type group may have committed the crime. The motive was mainly jealousy of MH or her family.

 

[SkewedView]

Since we are talking about one specific case, statistics alone can lead to false conclusions.

Example: 99% of the women who attended the 10/17/09 Metallica concert had returned safely to their homes by the next morning; MH was a woman who attended that concert;therefore, we can be 99% sure that no crime against MH took place that night.




We don't know if the perp or perps were all complete strangers to MH.



We don't know that the perp or perps have committed any other murders ... yet.



Any perp of such an awful crime is a , and morally ignorant.

But the crime doesn't seem like just an ordinary street crime.

Why would a common brutish stranger bother with planting the tee shirt? Why would he even take the tee shirt, but NOT take MH's expensive jewelry? Why did the cell go dead at the same time that MH likely entered a vehicle on the bridge; esp. if the cell phone itself was still lying in the park near the pack? How did the random street criminal know how to access a remote section of Anchorage Farm? What about the weird scrolls? And the JC photo which seems to have been taken at exactly the place MH's body was found?

In my opinion, more than one perp was involved. At least one of them knew Anchorage Farm, but this person may not have been known to anyone in the area. If this person had special training or experience, he/she may not have needed to spend huge amounts of time at AF to navigate the terrain, but likely at least explored the area ahead of time.

Why AF? The group or a part of the group may have been trafficking in psilocybin mushrooms, and only visiting the area at night during certain times of the year. College students are most likely to buy these mushrooms; therefore, at least one of the perps may have been able to fit in (at least to some marginal extent) with the college "hippy" or "stoner" crowd.

The group was smart enough to be studying media coverage and trying to influence the searches.

Strictly my opinion: the crime was pre-meditated.

While a long string of odd coincidences cannot be ruled out, my opinion is that a very strange "Manson Family" type group may have committed the crime. The motive was mainly jealousy of MH or her family.

All of the following is JMO, and not intended to be a shoot down. I'm just giving a detailed response to a detailed response. This will be the only time that I will give my commentary on this theory.

First - by 'thuggish', I mean unsophisticated & brutally straightforward, relying on raw force, as evidenced by what little we know of what was inflicted upon poor Morgan. This is also the nature of most violent criminals - they really aren't the smartest bunch around, and usually get away with stuff through pure, dumb luck & a certain amount of animal cunning.

Second - note that I said serial offender, not serial killer. Two different things. And we do know that he is a serial offender, as he has committed a violent, sexual crime separate from Morgan's murder.

IMO, most of those odd 'coincidences' show all of the signs of interpreting the evidence (along with items that are not evidence at all) in order to fit them to a predetermined conclusion.

We don't know that the shirt was 'planted', we don't know how it became separated from her, or when. Most sexual murderers do not bother with stealing from their victims after the act, even if that was their original intent.

There is no evidence to point towards her phone going dead at the point that she entered the car - heck, we still don't even know when she did enter the car!

There are myriad examples of killers finding very obscure hiding places completely at random, and it has been demonstrated that AF is more easily accessible than was originally thought.

Also, we have yet to see any evidence that ties the DNA that LE already has (DNA of an individual who has already committed a very similar crime) with any hippies/stoners/cultists (or anyone else for that matter), or any indications that Morgan or her family were the objects of any form of jealousy (such things tend to be discovered by LE and/or the media by this point in a murder investigation).

Yes, statistics do not make for certainty in individual scenarios, but they do make for a good guide for investigation. Unfortunately (or fortunately, depending on how you're looking at it), crime is almost universally a very banal thing, committed by stupid, dull, uninteresting individuals for stupid, simple reasons (sex, money, rage, control etc). Sadly, Morgan almost certainly died for the same pointless reasons that so many, many other women & children have died for - the very temporary gratification of the urges of a sick individual with no self-control.

Outside of comics & novels, there are no Bond Villains, no Lex Luthors, no secret snuff film studios, no Satanic child-molester societies & no ritual-murdering mystical Manson hippie cults(no matter how much Italian Prosecutor Mignini might think otherwise).

I'm sorry, but the conspiracy theory stuff went past my ability work with it a long, long time ago. Not only does it rely on chaining together 'evidence' that is completely unrelated to the case & largely grabbed from private social media, but it relies on stereotypes that I honestly find offensive. On top of all of that, it violates the 'KISS' principal like crazy.

Now, that's just my personal take on it, and does not mean that I don't enjoy seeing the creativity & resourcefulness that has been demonstrated in the course of that theory's development. I'm just explaining the chain of logic that has led me to personally discount the theory. I do look forward to seeing your outside the box thinking in these threads, and I do not wish to discourage you.

Again, this is all JMO, and is not intended to be taken as anything except my personal viewpoint on the matter.

 

[Walker]

All of the following is JMO, and not intended to be a shoot down. I'm just giving a detailed response to a detailed response. This will be the only time that I will give my commentary on this theory.

First - by 'thuggish', I mean unsophisticated & brutally straightforward, relying on raw force, as evidenced by what little we know of what was inflicted upon poor Morgan. This is also the nature of most violent criminals - they really aren't the smartest bunch around, and usually get away with stuff through pure, dumb luck & a certain amount of animal cunning.

Second - note that I said serial offender, not serial killer. Two different things. And we do know that he is a serial offender, as he has committed a violent, sexual crime separate from Morgan's murder.

IMO, most of those odd 'coincidences' show all of the signs of interpreting the evidence (along with items that are not evidence at all) in order to fit them to a predetermined conclusion.

Thank you for clarifying your point about serial offender.


However, there was no pre-existing conclusion. No one has an interest in the perps being a group rather than a single individual. Two possibilities: individual or group. Logically, we need to consider both.

We don't know that the shirt was 'planted', we don't know how it became separated from her, or when. Most sexual murderers do not bother with stealing from their victims after the act, even if that was their original intent.

Read The Hook description. The UVA student who found the tee shirt on the bush in a very busy student neighborhood stated that he had passed the same way earlier that day, and he had not seen the tee there before. The manner in which the shirt was spread out on a bush carefully suggests that someone wanted it to be found. The shirt was therefore definitely "planted" one way or another, but you are right that we don't know by whom. That the perps were trying to move the investigation back towards the center of Charlottesville is conjecture.

On the other hand, a random street criminal would not see any significance in a vintage tee shirt with the name and logo of the band Pantera. Could suggest that the person planting the shirt had a sense of the college music scene. This person had possession of the shirt and thought it was important for some reason. If they had been caught planting this tee, they would have cast a great deal of suspicion on themselves.

There is no evidence to point towards her phone going dead at the point that she entered the car - heck, we still don't even know when she did enter the car!

We know the cell phone became disconnected from its base at 9:30 pm that night.

Following is the time line suggested by The Hook:

[The timeline suggested by the recent Hook article would seem to suggest that Morgan was not robbed or assaulted in the RV lot before her last sighting on the bridge.
All quotes from link:
http://www.readthehook.com/88650/hes-still-here-and-other-revelations-harrington-case ]
According to Cappuzzo, sometime around 9pm, two separate groups of students--- whom the Hook has previously reported to be members of the men's basketball team--- left John Paul Jones Arena. One group left through a side door, another through the main front doors. Morgan began walking with the side-door group as they traversed Massie Road and walked through the parking lots on the west side of U-Hall, on their way to the RV lot, where student-athletes park when the Arena is busy.
[Probably took at least 10 minutes to get to the RV lot, esp. since Morgan was supposedly so drunk that she could hardly walk. Then the men and Morgan engaged in “limited conversation.” The time the students departed would probably be about 9:12 pm at the earliest].
After the students departed, Morgan walked along the fence that separates the lot from the UVA track, according to Cappuzzo, who says her trail was picked up by the bloodhound, which stopped near a small line of portable toilets at the lot's rear.
[9:15 pm?] Cappuzzo says two non-student witnesses driving down a road that leads from the baseball stadium to the RV lot reported seeing Morgan in that area-- and recalled yet another unusual behavior for a young woman alone on a dark rainy night.

"She curtsied," says Cappuzzo, but she didn't attempt to flag them down.
[9:17 pm -9:20 pm]
[Then, Morgan walked from the lot’s rear where the port-o-potties were, all the way to the bridge. At about 9:20 pm, the witnesses saw her on the bridge. These distances may not actually be very far apart, but an intoxicated person would likely have difficulty moving quickly.]
The father [who witnessed Morgan on the bridge], whose identity has not been revealed, dropped his daughter off at her dorm, Cappuzzo says, a few minutes after the bridge crossing. Her electronic key was logged at 9:23pm by her dorm's security system.

On his way back to his hotel, the father stopped at the 7-11 convenience store on Ivy Road, says Cappuzzo. There, another time-stamp--- this one in the form of a register receipt--- provided police with another objective time mark around 9:30pm. When the father left the 7-11 and returned over the bridge no more than a minute or two later, Cappuzzo says, he remembered the young woman standing with short sleeves and no umbrella in the chilly drizzle. She was gone.
[9:20 pm – 9:32 pm Morgan vanished. ]

There are myriad examples of killers finding very obscure hiding places completely at random, and it has been demonstrated that AF is more easily accessible than was originally thought.

But it was also late at night, on the night of new moon, with mist and rain.

Also, we have yet to see any evidence that ties the DNA that LE already has (DNA of an individual who has already committed a very similar crime) with any hippies/stoners/cultists (or anyone else for that matter),

We cannot rule it out either. We do not know the identity of the perpetrator of the 2005 attack on the woman from Sri Lanka.

or any indications that Morgan or her family were the objects of any form of jealousy (such things tend to be discovered by LE and/or the media by this point in a murder investigation).

We know that the motive was not robbery or revenge. Jealousy is probably a factor in almost crimes motivated by personal animus.

Yes, statistics do not make for certainty in individual scenarios, but they do make for a good guide for investigation.

If we were discussing a large group of missing persons, your generalizations would be true; but one is small sample size.

Unfortunately (or fortunately, depending on how you're looking at it), crime is almost universally a very banal thing, committed by stupid, dull, uninteresting individuals for stupid, simple reasons (sex, money, rage, control etc). Sadly, Morgan almost certainly died for the same pointless reasons that so many, many other women & children have died for - the very temporary gratification of the urges of a sick individual with no self-control.

You seem very sure that the perp was a lone individual. In my opinion, a lone perp would have trouble driving the car while restraining MH. And, how would he get her cell phone away from her to begin with? A fight roadside or inside a car in a UVA student area would be noticed, (remember the bridge witnesses were a student and her father) and the bridge would take them through a busy section of town on Saturday night. Did the perp drive the whole way through Charlottesville and not get stopped at a light even once? If MH had escaped the car or other vehicle at a stop light, she could have gotten the plate number, and he would have been quickly apprehended for some very serious felonies. That would be quite a risk.

Outside of comics & novels, there are no Bond Villains, no Lex Luthors, no secret snuff film studios, no Satanic child-molester societies & no ritual-murdering mystical Manson hippie cults(no matter how much Italian Prosecutor Mignini might think otherwise).

Sad to say, snuff films are real.

I didn't follow the Italian case.

Manson obviously really did exist.

A sick group rather than a single perp is not impossible.

I'm sorry, but the conspiracy theory stuff went past my ability work with it a long, long time ago. Not only does it rely on chaining together 'evidence' that is completely unrelated to the case & largely grabbed from private social media, but it relies on stereotypes that I honestly find offensive. On top of all of that, it violates the 'KISS' principal like crazy.

If you go back and review The Hook, you will find that the tee shirt, the cell phone and the location of AF are all related to the case.

A conspiracy just means that two or more people worked together. The lone perp theory (Oswald, Sirhan Sirhan, the recent murders of Afghani civilians) is often more doubtful than a possible conspiracy, but draw your own conclusions.

Now, that's just my personal take on it, and does not mean that I don't enjoy seeing the creativity & resourcefulness that has been demonstrated in the course of that theory's development. I'm just explaining the chain of logic that has led me to personally discount the theory. I do look forward to seeing your outside the box thinking in these threads, and I do not wish to discourage you.

Again, this is all JMO, and is not intended to be taken as anything except my personal viewpoint on the matter.

Your theory could be correct, but we can't rule out some weird group yet. The word "" comes from Thuggee which was a cult in India known for robbing and murdering travelers as ritual sacrifice to Kali. Ironically, MH was abducted and possibly also murdered on the night of the West Bengali Kali Puja.

In any case, thank you for your thoughtful comments.

 

[soothsayer]

Th

We know the cell phone became disconnected from its base at 9:30 pm that night.


We cannot rule it out either. We do not know the identity of the perpetrator of the 2005 attack on the woman from Sri Lanka.

So nowhere have we seen a time indicated when the cell phone became disconnected from its battery. The Hook doesn't attempt to say that. Presumably this is known; maybe it isn't for sure. We DO know she was seen dropping the phone in the lot, and that her father said it was common for the battery to fall out of that phone, and that the battery cover was recovered (and that *some* item of Morgan's was found in the parking lot, not immediately with the purse); given that, one could reason that the battery popped out, as it was known to do, one of the times she dropped it. The cover was likely the item recovered as it would have been easy to see that it 'matched' another of her known belongings (i.e., the phone).

We need a source on the Sri Lanka origins of that first victim; never seen that much detail provided on her, though many have speculated. Can you provide a link or quote? Thanks!

 

[soothsayer]

And I don't think he necessarily had to overpower her in the car or snatch her phone. The evidence may suggest she simply dropped her phone in the lot. In the car, maybe he punched her in the head right off the bat completely disabling her, maybe she was so drunk and high she passed out on her own, maybe he had some drugs and they drove around partying and having a good time, parking by the Blandemar pond before he assaulted her. We just don't know what happened.

 

[Eclipse33]

Bumping up for Morgan! Oh how I wish we could get justice for her! I only hope that the perp (s) slip up soon!

 

[Fiercemom]

Followed this case when it first happened & now come back here to see if anything new. I wish Morgan's killer(s) would be brought to justice!!!

 

[Walker]

So nowhere have we seen a time indicated when the cell phone became disconnected from its battery. The Hook doesn't attempt to say that. Presumably this is known; maybe it isn't for sure. We DO know she was seen dropping the phone in the lot, and that her father said it was common for the battery to fall out of that phone, and that the battery cover was recovered (and that *some* item of Morgan's was found in the parking lot, not immediately with the purse); given that, one could reason that the battery popped out, as it was known to do, one of the times she dropped it. The cover was likely the item recovered as it would have been easy to see that it 'matched' another of her known belongings (i.e., the phone).

We need a source on the Sri Lanka origins of that first victim; never seen that much detail provided on her, though many have speculated. Can you provide a link or quote? Thanks!

Two statements 1. regarding the exact time which the cell became disconnected from its power base was 9:30pm, and 2. that the first victim was from Sri Lanka; both statements came from the same controversial source which I would rather not name here.

The Hook strongly implied that the first victim was from South Asian, since she is stated to have spoken Urdu or similar language. The source went further and stated that she was definitely from Sri Lanka.

 

[Walker]

And I don't think he necessarily had to overpower her in the car or snatch her phone. The evidence may suggest she simply dropped her phone in the lot.

In that case, she would have dropped both her cell phone & her pack. They were found near each other.

In the car, maybe he punched her in the head right off the bat completely disabling her, maybe she was so drunk and high she passed out on her own,

That's not impossible. But in this scenario, the killer would have to be the most extremely brutish individual to deliver a potentially mortal head blow to a complete stranger.

If the blow had failed, or if he had been noticed, he would facing felony charges, possibly as serious as attempt at murder.

This elaborate business with the Pantera tee shirt suggests that the perp(s) are calculating and had some knowledge of the student culture.

A typical ex-con is not going to see any significance in the band Pantera, understand that the tee was unique, or save it for any reason. Remember no one took her jewelry.

The fact that they thought the tee was important seems to point to the input of someone who thought the way MH did, someone she maybe knew, someone who had knowledge of the music scene, possibly a young woman, possibly the perp's gf.

Of course, he may have heard the news reports which emphasized the tee, but even then he would have to return to the scene of the crime, possibly remove the tee from the corpse, and transport it to the student neighborhood in C'ville. Risky.

The individual who planted the tee apparently left no DNA evidence on the tee or that evidence led nowhere. Therefore, that person had no criminal history. Either the perp had no criminal history or he had at least one associate assisting him in the crime who had no criminal history. A brute ready to kill a stranger for no reason would probably have a record.

maybe he had some drugs and they drove around partying and having a good time, parking by the Blandemar pond before he assaulted her. We just don't know what happened.

That's possible, but maybe it was more than one person in the car, maybe at least one knew her or knew who she was, maybe it was premeditated. Maybe she was partying with a group of people, switched her tee shirt for some reason (maybe she spilled beer on it & another girl offered to let her borrow a different shirt, or something along those lines), she left the shirt in somebody's apartment, the group panicking over the searches realizes that they have the shirt, and decide to plant it nearby.

 

[lillygator]

I haven't visited this case in a while so sorry if this has been answered....is there a POI at this point?