Somer Thompson POI Pre-Trial Discussion

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ChickenPants

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Discussions on the ongoing investigation (POI named but no suspects named), evidence known or unknown, as there has been no trial or conviction yet.
 
I would like to discuss why you feel LE ruled out the RSO's so quickly, why there is no information available as to whether Somer was sexually molested, the POI having been originally jailed on the thread of child *advertiser censored* and having lived in the vicinity of Somer's route home from school. All responses welcome.
 
Chickenpants, I'm not sure where you are going with this. :waitasec:

I think they have moved beyond person of interest. They have arrested and charged Jarred Harrell. I think legally is now their prime suspect.

CCSO Arrest Report

Indictment PDF


However, I don't know why they ruled out registered sexual offenders so quickly when the charges against Jarred Harrell include the sexual battery of Somer.

He is charged with 794.011 (2)(a)

[SIZE=-1](2)(a) A person 18 years of age or older who commits sexual battery upon, or in an attempt to commit sexual battery injures the sexual organs of, a person less than 12 years of age commits a capital felony, punishable as provided in ss. 775.082 and 921.141.[/SIZE]

And from that same site:

[SIZE=-1]"Sexual battery" means oral, anal, or vaginal penetration by, or union with, the sexual organ of another or the anal or vaginal penetration of another by any other object; however, sexual battery does not include an act done for a bona fide medical purpose. [/SIZE]


I would say based on the charges, Somer was sexually molested.

According to the Arrest Report I posted above, he is also charged with FSS 800.04 (5)g

[SIZE=-1]There is no item "g" on this page. According to the Indictment PDF, it is FSS 800.04 (5)(b):

[/SIZE]
[SIZE=-1](5) LEWD OR LASCIVIOUS MOLESTATION.-- [/SIZE]
[SIZE=-1]
[/SIZE]
[SIZE=-1](b) An offender 18 years of age or older who commits lewd or lascivious molestation against a victim less than 12 years of age commits a life felony, punishable as provided in s. 775.082(3)(a)4. [/SIZE]
 
Im confused, Chick have you been following the case the last few months? JH was charged and is awaiting trial, he is no longer a POI he is the accused, included in documents pertaining to his arrest are the charges for molestation of a minor.

As far as the RSO's IIRC there were rooted out one by one and must have given sufficient assurance to LE that they could not have one this to Somer. How they checked out alibis etc. so quickly I am not sure, maybe because they all have their DNA on file LE could scan for matches very quickly.
 
I don't understand the DNA thing. They eliminated the construction workers immediately. The Corpus guy took until January, I believe according to 20/20. That made no sense.

Then it appeared that it took several weeks for the JH DNA. I simply do not understand it.

So I am wondering, if rather, they found something of Somer's in the JH house.

But that doesn't make sense either as it was searched by the FBI back in October, and there were months when the house could have been cleaned.

None of it makes sense to me.
 
Chickenpants, I'm not sure where you are going with this. :waitasec:

I think they have moved beyond person of interest. They have arrested and charged Jarred Harrell. I think legally is now their prime suspect.

CCSO Arrest Report

Indictment PDF


However, I don't know why they ruled out registered sexual offenders so quickly when the charges against Jarred Harrell include the sexual battery of Somer.

He is charged with 794.011 (2)(a)



And from that same site:




I would say based on the charges, Somer was sexually molested.

According to the Arrest Report I posted above, he is also charged with FSS 800.04 (5)g

[SIZE=-1]There is no item "g" on this page. According to the Indictment PDF, it is FSS 800.04 (5)(b):

[/SIZE]

Hi, I am not really going anywhere with anything...I read along several comments on the now-closed threads and there was still discussion about the sexual molestation. So he has been charged with sexual battery. I get that.

I still don't get why they ruled out the RSO's so rapidly, and would not reveal if she was molested or not. Then once they had him on the *advertiser censored*, everything sped forward. They had to have known at the time of the autopsy that she had been brutalized in that way. Why they hid the information and still have not put it in those terms I don't understand.

So they arrested JH on the child *advertiser censored* charges and information unfolded...the 3 year old, etc. The only tie-in to Somer at that point, from my understanding, was that he was into child *advertiser censored* and lived in her neighborhood.

I have to surmise then that the "information" he gave them at some point connected to him to her molestation and murder. It would be interesting to know what information he gave and why, if he is one step away from being tried, that information is still not available. Enough has been said and done to prejudice his case already.
 
Im confused, Chick have you been following the case the last few months? JH was charged and is awaiting trial, he is no longer a POI he is the accused, included in documents pertaining to his arrest are the charges for molestation of a minor.

As far as the RSO's IIRC there were rooted out one by one and must have given sufficient assurance to LE that they could not have one this to Somer. How they checked out alibis etc. so quickly I am not sure, maybe because they all have their DNA on file LE could scan for matches very quickly.



Thanks for responding everyone. I have been following the case, just not on discussion board. Beseler has not said, to my knowledge that ALL SUSPECTS ARE RULED OUT. He has had opportunity to say this. Having one suspect in jail is good, but it does not preclude other possibilities until he is tried and convicted, no?

I don't get how they could check out all of the RSO's so quickly. JH was not a RSO - he stayed in the area - did they also check out suspected SO's? We learn now that the neighborhood is crawling with them and certainly some people must have suspected other people.

In the meantime, during this very long and frustrating investigation, LE did not seem to make a point of reminding the public that a sexual predator may still be on the loose. And now we know that at least ONE was. Everyone on here is happy that at least one pervert has been jailed and I join them in that.

It seems to me that they made a huge point of saying to the media that ALL RSO'S HAVE BEEN INVESTIGATED...which makes a statement to the public that they are in a way ruling out a sex crime. Then the autopsy. Then nobody (including mother) given information. A lot of time elapsed before the computer *advertiser censored* drama unfolded. Things were tied up quickly after that. I guess the million dollar bond on a POI who was looked at for child *advertiser censored* justified itself after the other evidence was accumulated.

I am only discussing the investigation and some of the more curious elements in it, which seem strange, just in my opinion.
 
I don't understand the DNA thing. They eliminated the construction workers immediately. The Corpus guy took until January, I believe according to 20/20. That made no sense.

Then it appeared that it took several weeks for the JH DNA. I simply do not understand it.

So I am wondering, if rather, they found something of Somer's in the JH house.

But that doesn't make sense either as it was searched by the FBI back in October, and there were months when the house could have been cleaned.

None of it makes sense to me.

I am curious about the DNA as well. I had not stopped to think that LE would automatically put on file all DNA of RSO's. In any event, there was such a deal made when the investigation was lagging about how long it took to process DNA. So how could they have processed all the DNA on every RSO so quickly? Again, I was initially dumbfounded that they could search, detect and rule out every registered sex offender - and even make a point of saying that "everyone cooperated". Now we hear that JH cooperated when he was searched, too. Yet the investigation lagged and lagged, and if anyone wants to go back and read WS from the beginning, you'll see how many theories were put out there EXCEPT sex offenders and why? Because LE said at the beginning they had all been cleared.

Now that we know the cause of death, but LE simply never came forth, sadly or sympathetically and ever said Somer was sexually violated - even when Beseler sat in that church with those parents during education about sexual predators. Here was his chance to say: Listen up, people! You don't want to have what happend to Somer touch your child!

We learn about the molestation connection through legal charges against JH - those that have been released by the benevolent State's Attorney's office to the public.

Everyone is left to speculate on what happened to this poor child. How many of us wonder how long she suffered? All of those people who have been at the fundraisers and vigils - are they satisfied knowing she was suffocated? I don't think so. It is normal to to wonder when you care and have invested so much of your heart into this. We get the tantalizing information that Besler doesn't "think" she was in the house that long? What was the point of saying that? I personally get tied up in knots wondering about this child's last moments of life. Perhaps they have told her parents by now, I hope so - because this is all part of closure.

I just think it is bizarre. I hope I do not offend anyone by my remarks. I think the investigation has been sloppy and unprofessional.
 
I just want to add here that I am not trying to trash LE or Sheriff Beseler. They have a man in jail who has done heinous things. I am outraged at how he was able to slip out of town and was given plenty of time to cover up the crime, even after he was visited by LE. I am upset that no neighbors who now state they found him creepy alerted LE, or perhaps they did and were ignored. We may never know.

I am angry that after Somer died, he had plenty of time to commit more crimes against children. I still wonder if any of those photos found were taken after she died. I still wonder why he hung around after her death.

I am frustrated by the dangle and snatch public information given by LE. Some things they have said have not panned out or do not make sense. That infers they think people are stupid enough not to notice. Now I have to accept that they are an agency like other businesses staffed by human beings who make mistakes. It's the possible deliberate mistakes that worry me. The carefully-guarded information leaked out - "no comment" and then "just a little comment".

To a lot of people who are satisfied that JH is the killer and will get what is coming to him, this is all behind us. But I do not think that Somer will ever have "justice" unless every single bit of the real truth is known. She was real, she lived a short life, she was brutally killed and she deserves the respect of the truth, not just to be a media headline or a kick in the butt for parents everywhere. I want to know what happened to her, when, where and why. I don't think "no comment" is appropriate any more, especially if they are sure they have the right man.
 
IMO it would be crazy if LE gave us all that info until they HAVE to. What good would that do for Somer's case?

It will all come out through discovery and at the trial.

They are confident they have the right guy. They are confident enough to send this case to trial.

I would never describe CCSO as sloppy. We don't know what all they did and how they did it. And, we are not experts in investigating.

We don't know what all they have on this guy. And IMO them holding info close to the chest made JH feel comfy enough to relax and make mistakes. He thought he got away with it. He was moving on with his life. Then...bam...here come the charges.

I applaud CCSO. Job well done sirs!

As for JH, may he rot!
 
Hi, I am not really going anywhere with anything...I read along several comments on the now-closed threads and there was still discussion about the sexual molestation. So he has been charged with sexual battery. I get that.

I still don't get why they ruled out the RSO's so rapidly, and would not reveal if she was molested or not. Then once they had him on the *advertiser censored*, everything sped forward. They had to have known at the time of the autopsy that she had been brutalized in that way. Why they hid the information and still have not put it in those terms I don't understand.

So they arrested JH on the child *advertiser censored* charges and information unfolded...the 3 year old, etc. The only tie-in to Somer at that point, from my understanding, was that he was into child *advertiser censored* and lived in her neighborhood.

I have to surmise then that the "information" he gave them at some point connected to him to her molestation and murder. It would be interesting to know what information he gave and why, if he is one step away from being tried, that information is still not available. Enough has been said and done to prejudice his case already.

BBM. I believe they were looking at him as a murder suspect prior to the child *advertiser censored* charges. Per the 20/20 special, neighbors at the mother's home in Callahan reported LE doing survellience back in January. His bio father reported being asked for a DNA swab weeks before the arrest on the child *advertiser censored*. I'm sure there is much more that we don't know of yet, but I am confident that he was a suspect prior to the child *advertiser censored* arrest.

And I'm confused by your last statement that enough has been said and done to prejudice his case already....you make this statement while also criticizing LE for not releasing more information in several posts....I agree that not everything makes sense in this case yet, but I have also understood from day one the reasons why information was withheld. This is JMO, but I don't believe we as the public have any right to all the horrific details of Somer's death.
 
BBM. I believe they were looking at him as a murder suspect prior to the child *advertiser censored* charges. Per the 20/20 special, neighbors at the mother's home in Callahan reported LE doing survellience back in January. His bio father reported being asked for a DNA swab weeks before the arrest on the child *advertiser censored*. I'm sure there is much more that we don't know of yet, but I am confident that he was a suspect prior to the child *advertiser censored* arrest.

And I'm confused by your last statement that enough has been said and done to prejudice his case already....you make this statement while also criticizing LE for not releasing more information in several posts....I agree that not everything makes sense in this case yet, but I have also understood from day one the reasons why information was withheld. This is JMO, but I don't believe we as the public have any right to all the horrific details of Somer's death.


I totally agree. Great post.
 
BBM. I believe they were looking at him as a murder suspect prior to the child *advertiser censored* charges. Per the 20/20 special, neighbors at the mother's home in Callahan reported LE doing survellience back in January. His bio father reported being asked for a DNA swab weeks before the arrest on the child *advertiser censored*. I'm sure there is much more that we don't know of yet, but I am confident that he was a suspect prior to the child *advertiser censored* arrest.

And I'm confused by your last statement that enough has been said and done to prejudice his case already....you make this statement while also criticizing LE for not releasing more information in several posts....I agree that not everything makes sense in this case yet, but I have also understood from day one the reasons why information was withheld. This is JMO, but I don't believe we as the public have any right to all the horrific details of Somer's death.

What I meant by my statement was that enough information has been released to satisfy most people that JH must be Somer's killer. There have been salacious and disturbing details released about the sexual molestations. We know he lived in the vicinity, etc., etc. The documents are there for all to see. Enough has been said - and publicized through media - that I would be surprised if a jury could be found there. I am sure they can overcome these obstacles, however.

Again, I am not here to pick apart Florida Law Enforcement. They have a suspect in custody and enough evidence to hold him there. I am troubled, however, that if they were looking at him as a (suspect) before the *advertiser censored* charges, he managed to get away. You have to admit it took extraordinary measures to extradite him back. Apparently something went wrong somewhere. We may never know. But as I stated, I would like to know the whole truth.

As to the horrific details of Somer's death, I can say like her mother that I have imagined all kinds of gruesome things. I believe one has to face things before one can move on. We know the details of the deaths of other similar children - perhaps more than we would need to know. The contrast to me is that we know so little about how Somer died. I do not understand why information was given that she was "in the house a short time" - for what purpose? I would like to understand why that was said. A statement like that, to me, leaves me full of more questions. Personally when I think of this child, I can't think "asphyxiated - end of story". How can further crimes like this be prevented unless we realize the full scope of how and why they can occur? We can't just say "watch your kids" or "kids should be able to grow up"...kids are being tortured right now, even as we speak, it is an epidemic.

The reason I opened this thread was to have discussions and hopefully some answers to my own unanswered questions. If people are convinced that JH killed Somer, and it is simply a matter of waiting for the trial and ultimate conviction and punishment, why respond? I appreciate all the helpful information that is out there. I remain anxious for the whole truth and for it to be resolved and ended. That, to me, is justice.
 
As I mentioned earlier, I am troubled by the fact that JH was seen watching children for a long, long time, and nobody picked up on this fact. I am talking about neighbors here. Nobody contacted LE about his strange behaviors? All of a sudden, people are coming forward saying they saw him do this or that or Somer was sighted across the street, etc., etc. There is a disturbing element to me here. After months and months of nothing, after his house had been visited by LE and he managed to remain there after the murder, and escape, being dragged back after the Governor said "enough" - everyone's memories are suddenly jogged. Perhaps it took them seeing his mug shot on t.v. to recall his behaviors or seeing her there, who knows? Who can explain all these months of nothing? Sunshine, you say they were looking at him? They already had his computer? They couldn't bring him in for questioning? I don't understand it.

The sheriff got on t.v. early on and begged people to take a second look. He gave specific information on what to look for. Nobody thought of JH then. Why? Sincerely, I would like opinions on this.
 
IMO it would be crazy if LE gave us all that info until they HAVE to. What good would that do for Somer's case?

It will all come out through discovery and at the trial.

They are confident they have the right guy. They are confident enough to send this case to trial.

I would never describe CCSO as sloppy. We don't know what all they did and how they did it. And, we are not experts in investigating.

We don't know what all they have on this guy. And IMO them holding info close to the chest made JH feel comfy enough to relax and make mistakes. He thought he got away with it. He was moving on with his life. Then...bam...here come the charges.

I applaud CCSO. Job well done sirs!

As for JH, may he rot!

I am sincerely touched by your confidence...I wish I could say I was that confident, that it was that easy for me to believe. Individually, I respect each and every person in law enforcement or in the armed services because when they take on that job they risk their lives - what other jobs have that in the description? I know that people make mistakes, though.

There are still pieces of the puzzle missing...you can't finish it and frame it until all of the pieces are there. I wish I could put the puzzle away. Thanks for your replies.
 
Chickenpants, I'm not clear on the topic of this thread. Could you please clarify it for me?

Thanks,
BeanE

With respect, I will try.

I should edit POI and change it to Suspect.

We have a named suspect in jail and apparently enough evidence for a trial and possible conviction. This satisfied most people that they have their man and it's just a matter of time before he is put away for life or his life ended.

I am just a poster on WS, not an investigator and not a member of any jury. As a simple layperson, I have followed this sad case and seen many loopholes and discrepancies and things said and changed, etc. Although it seems like it here today, I am not the only one who feels this way. I still see room for discussion because the suspect has not been convicted yet.

There were 48 threads of discussion about the investigation and other topics pertaining to Somer before this one. Pages and pages of people discussing topics like molestation vs. sexual battery; dumpster theories; why said what when and why did they say that and not this; timelines; and a lot of speculation on the activities of JH before, during and after the murder. A lot of this remains unanswered. I respect each and every member's opinion and have learned a lot from the research and intelligence of the posters.

The simple answer to your question is, IMO, it is not over until it is over. That is why I opened the discussion to pre-trial investigation(s). I am still wondering and investigating the investigation. For those who feel it is over, and are just posting threads about activities pertaining to the trial and their hopeful conviction of JH as the murderer, I guess this thread is not for them. Perhaps nobody will come on here. IDK. Thanks.
 
~snipped~

I applaud CCSO. Job well done sirs!

May I add "And ma'ams!"
;)


LETeamSomer.jpg


Well, it's hard to tell but I think you can see a couple of women in there!
 
While I'll admit that the information provided by the media is not enough to convict JH (if I were on the jury and not just posting opinion on this board), I have to have faith in CCSO and the States Attorney.

I have to believe they would not have made the arrest if they were not confident they had the evidence to back it up and get a conviction. Whether I'll still feel that way after evidence is presented at the trial, I do not know.

Thank you for your clarification on the purpose of the thread.

All JMO.
 
Enpants, thanks for your clarification and agreeing that POI could be changed to suspect. It was the mention of POI that confused me the most.
 
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