AZ AZ - Adrienne Salinas, 19, Tempe, 15 Jun 2013 - #8

[margarita25]

Welcome all new members! :wave:

I read everything I could about this case when it was hot. My gut says: It was someone at the party, one of last hangers-on. Everyone's passed out or left or outside havin' a smoke, she was leaving to go meet the cab, "Hey I can give you a ride down the block to the cab." and that's it. She got in his car, it was almost 5am on a Sunday, the US 60 is right there, take that east to Idaho Rd... She got in a car with someone who she didn't really know. After the crazy night she had her judgment would have been off. Couple blocks to meet the cab but "hey, I can just give you a ride to where you're going, where is it?" I've been to 1000 parties (many in that area) and that's how it usually is, couple of hangers-on still up, talking, maybe looking for some action, or that lone creepy guy (we used to call the Dahmers) no one really knows who they are / he is- friend of a friend, maybe some dude(s) walking and saw a party going on and slipped in for a few free drinks or whatever. That's just my gut. Popped on to see if there's been any movement on this. Happened a few miles from here. Bugs the hell outta me.

Hello. I'm new to WS but followed the AS case intensely as it happened. At the time I lived a block away from where she lived and was taken. I'm extremely familiar with that area and as a young woman living alone, I was pretty terrified. There is a community FB group for that area where many locals chimed in with their theories and the one I felt was most compelling involved a 21 year old peeping tom/intruder.

He had been caught impersonating an officer in 2013 to gain access to hotel rooms in Gilbert...and a few months later in March 2014, he broke into a young woman's home and woke up to him touching her in bed.
http://www.azfamily.com/story/28379...ind-intruder-touching-her-police-seek-suspect
http://www.azfamily.com/story/28387144/sexual-assault-suspect-arrested-in-tempe
http://www.cbs5az.com/story/26598967/sex-abuse-suspect-i-was-playing-out-sexual-fantasy

Around this time there were many local reports of a man peering into windows past midnight (made by women who were coming home from local bars or work, it's a college town) who would claim to be "a security guard" but would never have ID and would disappear if you threatened to call the police. This was talked about for months on the FB group. The comments section of this article shines a light on some of the drama in the area around this. http://www.azcentral.com/story/news...tempe-police-arrest-groping-suspect/16081335/

Two women who had this experience worked at a popular restaurant on the same corner as the AM/PM Adrienne was supposed to meet the taxi at. The streets she would have been walking down are extremely dark at night and it would not be difficult for someone to sit in their car and stalk someone but that's just my theory.

So anyways, they ended up catching this person and he's on probation currently.
https://www.policearrests.com/arrests/nathan_daniel_whipple_id_35136037.html
He also lived in Gilbert or Mesa which is a straight shot on the 60 to Tempe where he stalked or AJ where AS was found. What concerns me is that he was obviously mobile, bold and stalked women in AS's neighborhood. Not to mention he's 6'3" and 380lbs and could easily overpower most women.

My friend reported this theory to the lead detective but never heard anything back but like most police departments are incentivized to focus on DUI/Drug ca$es. I believe he may have gotten some copies of some police reports that I can ask for if that would be helpful?

I'm sorry if I'm violating any rules, please let me know if I am and I will edit my post. I tried to follow them as I understood them.

Wow that is some great information Daath. I also followed this case very closely and came back to the thread after I was reading about a recent disappearance of a young woman named Toni Anderson, but this occurred in Kansas MO. Just sounds a little similar.

Bryan Patrick Miller apparently is a suspect but I think by now they would have been able to test his DNA with what was found at the scene.

My first post on this site, so I may need some counseling on the rules, but I do know a little about this case that I'd heard secondhand at the time (late 2013). I'll follow up today with the cop gossip to see if there's anything new. If I recall correctly, they never located her head, and I remember a former cop (who was not involved in the case) was pretty sure it was the work of a killer, while at least one other person suggested animals could have done it.

I remember the cop convinced that the killer decapitated her thought Miller should be the prime suspect. He was angry telling me this, saying that someone who could cut off a woman's head wouldn't just do it once.

I would have to agree with said cop's opinion on the behavior patterns. I'm hoping this was the same cop I spoke to.

:welcome3:

 

[margarita25]

What unsolved uncases do we have since Adrienne was found (or prior) with females found decapitated in the desert? (Not that a perp always has the same MO), but as far as dismemberment goes...). Or even SAS alone...I tend to think she was in the wrong place at the wrong time, and some psycho picked her up as she was walking. I'm really disappointed there has not been an arrest in her case yet, and I'm not optimistic there ever will be considering the possibility of no evidence due the rains, etc. This guy could be long gone by now (or still around committing similar crimes...). If someone has been arrested in another crime, it would hard to match him if there's no DNA.

I feel like there is plenty of sleuthing work to be done as far as looking at some recent cases which could be related.

Her poor family, this just sucks.

 

[margarita25]

Fwiw, some links to recent articles re: SAs in Tempe:

Police: Tempe sex-assault reports up after campaign
http://www.azcentral.com/story/news...-tempe-sex-assault-reports-campaign/22100763/

"The number of reported sexual assaults that occur near Arizona State University's Tempe campus in the first weeks of the school year has surged, data show, but authorities are attributing the increase to strong education programs."

Tempe sending around 500 sexual-assault kits, some dating to the early '90s, for testing
http://www.azcentral.com/story/news...und-500-sexual-assault-kits-testing/83886104/

"The move comes amid questions about the city's sharp decline in clearance rates for sexual-assault cases in 2014. The department said testing the backlog of kits may help clearance rates, but the push largely results from a regional and national effort to help police improve the odds of identifying a serial rapist anywhere in the region or country."


http://www.abc15.com/news/region-so...-police-investigating-sexual-assault-report-1

http://www.azfamily.com/story/29468883/tempe-police-looking-for-sexual-assault-suspect

http://www.azfamily.com/story/28110396/tempe-pd-arrest-made-in-sexual-assault-near-az-mills

(Gah these stories are endless...)

 

[Tar Man]

Adrienne's case does seem to have waxed cold for some time, but I have full confidence the the detectives in charge are steadfast. Given the small amount of remaining physical evidence they have to work with, it's a tough one to crack. Though I cannot give full details yet as to why, I can say that IMO (trusting the official clearing of early suspects) BPM is the main person of interest regarding Adrienne's abduction and murder. Stay tuned.

 

[margarita25]

Adrienne's case does seem to have waxed cold for some time, but I have full confidence the the detectives in charge are steadfast. Given the small amount of remaining physical evidence they have to work with, it's a tough one to crack. Though I cannot give full details yet as to why, I can say that IMO (trusting the official clearing of early suspects) BPM is the main person of interest regarding Adrienne's abduction and murder. Stay tuned.

Really? This is great to hear!

 

[margarita25]

Linking Bryan Patrick Miller to Other Crimes to Take Considerable Time
http://www.phoenixnewtimes.com/news...ther-crimes-to-take-considerable-time-6660470
(From January 2015)

"Police undoubtedly will look at the case of Adrienne Salinas, the Tempe teenager whose partial remains were found in a wash in Apache Junction in 2013. Although the*autopsy report was partially redacted, it seemed that her head was not among the remains recovered at the scene.

Although Phoenix's homicide investigators haven't started looking at possible connections, Crump tells us, "Everything is probably on the table," in regards to looking at previous crimes."

 

[margarita25]

Wow, his past victim was also decapitated:

"Both women had gone on bike rides near the canal, and neither returned. Brosso's body was found in a field in November 1992, and her had was found floating in the canal more than a week later. In September 1993, Bernas' body was found in the canal with stab wounds."

Snip

"A retired police source told us it's extremely likely that someone involved in decapitation murders would have a much longer criminal history, so there will be plenty for Phoenix PD to look for.

Already, police have revealed that Miller was convicted of aggravated assault as a juvenile for stabbing a woman near the Paradise Valley Mall in 1989.

It's also been reported that Miller, who also lived in Washington and Hawaii, was acquitted of charges related to stabbing a woman in Washington in 2002."

http://www.phoenixnewtimes.com/news...ther-crimes-to-take-considerable-time-6660470

This sounds like a great lead imo!! Excited!

 

[margarita25]

(I'm looking back now to see if this guy was ever on my radar...it's been so long I can't remember...)

Another article:

http://www.pennlive.com/midstate/index.ssf/2015/01/phoenix_police_never_forgot_we.html

 

[margarita25]

Very interesting, especially since we have been discussing such things in Abigail and aliberty's threads:

Wow, check this out. I came across this article in another case (Adrienne Salinas). O/T, but it addresses some DNA stuff we've been discussing re: ancestry, etc:

How forensic genealogy led to an arrest in the Phoenix 'Canal Killer' case
http://www.azcentral.com/story/news...iller-case-bryan-patrick-miller-dna/94565410/


"In a Dec.27, 2014 email, Fitzpatrick mentions the private commercial companies Family Tree DNA and Ancestry.com — which both have their own database of DNA profiles — and a commercial kit called Y-filer. Fitzpatrick notes that only Family Tree DNA has a certain marker test from a certain area in the profile.

Fitzpatrick already has*flagged the surname* by this email.

“I checked Ancestry.com briefly to see if there were any Millers living in the apartment complex near the Canal,” she wrote. “Of course there were quite a few. I haven't had a chance to look through them to see if there is a benefit for making the map — it may be too crowded.”

In an email from Fitzpatrick to a conference employee written shortly after Miller’s arrest in January 2015, Fitzpatrick said Miller had been on Phoenix police’s “extensive list of candidates.”

The fact that the name “Miller” emerged in her analysis, she said, “caus(ed)*the Phoenix PD to take a closer look at him.

Greenspan said there are several companies, including Family Tree DNA, Ancestry.com and 23andMe, that will compare a DNA signature to those already in their database. The service can be used to locate distant relatives or to help adopted individuals locate their biological families.

The databases for each company are populated by others who have submitted their DNA profile and opted in to allow others to find them, Greenspan said.

He said Family Tree DNA has the ability to test for Y-STR, which comes from the Y, or paternal chromosome. Records indicate Fitzpatrick analyzed the Y-STR for the Canal Killer case.

Y-STR stands for short tandem repeats, which Greenspan described as a genetic “stutter.” The stutters, he said, are passed on “from a father to his son, literally unaltered for generations.”

Greenspan said it’s likely that one or more of Miller’s relatives — even distant — had opted to submit their DNA to one of these databases. The database would then generate the names of those with the same Y-STR. And because male lineage is more likely to carry a surname through generations, it was likely that the database generated a relative or relatives with the last name of “Miller.”

Greenspan said he knew of Fitzpatrick, but didn’t know if it was his database that she used for the case. He said it was certainly possible that she submitted the profile anonymously.

“It’s a community-built database that allows people to compare, match and share data, share family stories — that’s what it’s designed for,” he said. *“It may be used for forensic purposes, but they’re doing it around the system.”"

 

[OldHen]

What unsolved uncases do we have since Adrienne was found (or prior) with females found decapitated in the desert? (Not that a perp always has the same MO), but as far as dismemberment goes...). Or even SAS alone...I tend to think she was in the wrong place at the wrong time, and some psycho picked her up as she was walking. I'm really disappointed there has not been an arrest in her case yet, and I'm not optimistic there ever will be considering the possibility of no evidence due the rains, etc. This guy could be long gone by now (or still around committing similar crimes...). If someone has been arrested in another crime, it would hard to match him if there's no DNA.

I feel like there is plenty of sleuthing work to be done as far as looking at some recent cases which could be related.

Her poor family, this just sucks.

Nothing I can think of. That's why this one's stuck with me -- girl who's done absolutely nothing wrong, happens to run into a complete psycho.

 

[Bernina]

Checking in ...............still think about AS. Hope this newest lead (possible POI) goes somewhere.lease:

 

[Seajay]

I still think about Adrienne and pray that one day she and her family get justice.

I hope each day that LE is closer to nailing the person who took Adrienne from her family.

 

[DaisyChains]

BPM also interests me as a suspect not just b/c he took random girls of the street and murdered and decapitated them years prior, but also b/c he drove around that retired police squad car. I've always wondered if maybe he offered to give her a ride in his "cool zombie car" to the ampm or if he tricked her into thinking he actually was a cop and pretended to arrest her for underage drinking. of course this is totally out of left field, but its just a strange gut feeling i have about him. as soon as i heard he was arrested i immediately thought of AS. also, there were some cases around the time that BPM's victims were murdered that made me believe he might have murdered even more persons. it is scary to think of how long he was on the streets... I immediately started reviewing cases of attacks against women in the area dating back to the late 80's and whether or not they could be connected to BPM.

 

[DaisyChains]

and i hate to say this, but i also think it could have been her boyfriend. i know police cleared him, but i just have my suspicions. it seems strange that she was fighting with him all night to the point of jumping out of his car before it stopped and then she ends up dead. people snap and the boyfriend could have snapped after drinking too much and punched her in the head too hard while arguing. also, if you check the sm of the boyfriend and his friends they aren't exactly boy scouts. in my heart i believe he was cleared too soon (with the only evidence to clear him seemingly being a lie detector test...). i could be wrong and if so i own it. its just 9 times out of 10 most people are attacked by someone they know well, not some random stranger. ALL JMO.

good people make bad mistakes sometimes. the difference is whether or not they own up to them.

I do not think it is out of the realm of possibilities that her boyfriend showed back up to pick her up randomly and that is why she ended up stiffing the cab. The cabbie called her to find her and she wouldn't answer. I think she was busy arguing with someone who was giving her a ride when the cab was calling. She had no reason to contact cabbie further b/c I think her boyfriend showed back unexpectedly. Lot's of chaos going on that night with her car wreck. I bet my boyfriend would have randomly showed up to make sure i was ok and give me a ride even if i told him i'd just take a cab back to him.
JMO

Adrienne seemed too intelligent to take a ride from a stranger. She also seemed too scrappy to be abducted off a sidewalk without putting up some sort of a fight. this all is based off JMO

 

[thref23]

and i hate to say this, but i also think it could have been her boyfriend. i know police cleared him, but i just have my suspicions. it seems strange that she was fighting with him all night to the point of jumping out of his car before it stopped and then she ends up dead. people snap and the boyfriend could have snapped after drinking too much and punched her in the head too hard while arguing. also, if you check the sm of the boyfriend and his friends they aren't exactly boy scouts. in my heart i believe he was cleared too soon (with the only evidence to clear him seemingly being a lie detector test...). i could be wrong and if so i own it. its just 9 times out of 10 most people are attacked by someone they know well, not some random stranger. ALL JMO.

Police maintain that they haven't cleared anyone, but they did soft-clear the boyfriend and the cabbie, initially saying that their stories checked out. If verifiable aspects of the cabbie's story check out - to my knowledge it places him off of surveillance camera and near where Adrienne is presumed to have gone missing from, for about seven minutes around the time Adrienne is presumed to have gone missing and it places him in contact with her at the beginning of this seven minute period (it's more complicated than that and he should get the benefit of the doubt, but I'm not aware of anything that would rule him out). If verifiable aspects of the boyfriend's story check out, then it seems unlikely that he even could be the perp. It would place him (or at the very least his phone) 15 minutes or so away. And he would have had to have means to know her whereabouts (tough without his phone).

That doesn't rule out his involvement, but I'm not aware of any reason to suspect him. Within the world of missing persons cases, it actually isn't uncommon for women to be randomly abducted after fighting or arguing with their SO. It's not that the SO is responsible, it's that this is a situation where a woman tends to be emotionally vulnerable, putting her at an increased risk from a predator who randomly happens to cross her path. Predatory behavior is about power and control and predators sense fear and vulnerability.

Adrienne's case does seem to have waxed cold for some time, but I have full confidence the the detectives in charge are steadfast. Given the small amount of remaining physical evidence they have to work with, it's a tough one to crack. Though I cannot give full details yet as to why, I can say that IMO (trusting the official clearing of early suspects) BPM is the main person of interest regarding Adrienne's abduction and murder. Stay tuned.

It's good to hear that they at least have some physical evidence to work with. I know from having paid attention to local social media, that BPM attended a party in Tempe (he had been invited), not too far from Adrienne's apartment, the day after she was last seen (technically, later the same day). You could hypothesize that he could have been scoping out the neighborhood in anticipation, but it still feels like a stretch to me.

 

[DaisyChains]

I don't know of many young women who would leave their home without their purse or keys. That is a big red flag for me. I don't think Adrienne put those keys and purse back in that apartment. JMO. This might indicate that whoever murdered her at least was an acquaintance. I personally think someone who was at/around that party had something to do with Adrienne because there is NO REASON why she would have left her purse/keys there when she was planning on grabbing the cab. LE cannot confirm the young woman who resembled Adrienne on that limited grainy CCTV video was Adrienne so I don't completely believe the theory that she left the apartment to walk to the cab and was abducted along the way although it is possible. She was taken from closer to her apartment... or the person who intercepted her made sure to drop her keys/purse back at the apartment after taking her which again indicates she was familiar with them. They would have a way in with her keys handy.

Maybe it was someone who was aware she didn't have Fran around to protect her that night and they took advantage of her trust. I always wonder if the partygoers suspected someone else in their group or noticed someone that didn't seem to fit into their peer group hanging at the party. I hope photos of BPM were shown JUST IN CASE, but I have a feeling that was more one of Adrienne's peers.

i do know that some of those kids have "cool" gangsta like uncles/friends/family (one of which has gotten in trouble with LE plenty including battery of a PO) who probably could have helped supply their party with favors and enjoyed watching the young women. older male acquaintances should also be looked at very deeply if they showed up to the party. If they supplied something that might be why no one is suspecting them or wanting to rat on them. who knows. I know I would be intimidated of anyone capable of decapitating a human being.

 

[thref23]

Possibly relevant:

http://www.12news.com/article/news/...ually-assaulted-woman-police-say/75-518283808

 

[ladymerrill]

I didn’t know where else to reach out, but I felt this was a good place to try. I worked for the news from 2014-2015 in Downtown Phoenix, but I lived in the Ahwatukee area. This has always bothered me and I reported it to police but nothing ever came of it. One night while coming home from work around 3am. I was driving alone, I’m a young female. As I passed Warner on 48th st. I saw what I thought was a security truck sitting in the dark Dairy Queen parking lot, but thought that was odd since I know Dairy Queen doesn’t have security then I saw the truck pull out behind me and start flashing his yellow lights on the top behind me. He tried to pull me over. I tried to slow down to get him to pass me to see if he was really trying to pull me over with yellow lights in an unmarked white service type vehicle and he was. He refused to pass me or leave me alone. I am not dumb though and I would never pull over for an unmarked vehicle with yellow flashing lights. I was really freaked out at that point. We were the only ones on the road and the area was empty at that time of night. I called police and my husband as I pulled off into my apartment complex that had a gate he couldn’t get into and he quit following me then. Ive thought about it a million times and I know there is no reason someone would have been trying to do that unless they are some sort of predator. I was going the speed limit, tail lights weren’t out, hadn’t run any lights or signs, but they also weren’t a police car so no reason they should have been stalking me unless they had malicious intentions. This was someone purposely parked and waiting for someone like me in a dark parking lot in the wee hours hoping they could confuse or trick me into pulling over for their company vehicle. Someone like that will do it again though and having worked at the news, I have seen so many disappearances in Phoenix of both male and females. It made me realize, we are looking to often tie together killers, but I think there are far more than just a few here after all the cases I have combed through.

 

[Bernina]

:bump: Bumping for Adrienne..................

 

[Hap]

Two cases haunt me. This one (how on earth can it not be solved, so sorry for this beautiful girl... ) and Leanne, the girl who was found after weeks of searching. She was found weeks after she and her husband had returned from a whirlwind adventure trip. Sadly, depression played a part in her death. (I still can't even say it.)

I would like to see closure for Adrienne.