Found Deceased MO - Titus Tackett, 3, Killarney Shores, 10 Feb 2016

[Lilibet]

OT again. This is just too fascinating. It's truly crazy what some kids are capable of. Looks like he burned another house a few years later. Eek! https://news.google.com/newspapers?...AIBAJ&sjid=L9gEAAAAIBAJ&pg=1438,1452310&hl=en

OT: It is both fascinating and scary what this Mikey kid was capable of doing. I too had noticed that he burned another house. The link below has even more details. And he possibly burned another before those. Their mobile home had burned before they moved into the first house that burned! Authorities were going to take a second look at that case. Three homes burned. I couldn't find a follow up, but he was a kid in serious need of help. Mom too, since she almost slept through the second fire shortly after regaining custody and wanted to take him on Geraldo Rivera's show. I wonder if he made it to adulthood. Maybe he became a fireman!

https://news.google.com/newspapers?...AIBAJ&sjid=_IwDAAAAIBAJ&pg=6527,7026302&hl=en

https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1356&dat=19960417&id=hsFPAAAAIBAJ&sjid=cQcEAAAAIBAJ&pg=6756,240379&hl=en

https://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-67791943.html

Bringing it back on topic, kids are capable of things we can't imagine. It's not normal, but it happens. In the case of Titus, it's a tragedy however it happened.

 

[Ahammons]

Theres two parts that dont sound "hinky" to me. The baby sleeping in only the diaper, and the parents going on an errard that late at night. I can be called guilty for both. I work till pry 11pm-2am depending on the night and it's much easier when doing it without my son while daddy or his big sister is in charge, whether its dropping my paycheck off at the direct deposit atm or grabbing some groceries. If its the weekend id drag dad along also. Or if big sis is home, we've ran out and grabbed a drink or two on occasion to have connecting time. But the thing that bothers me is if my son is in the cold for too long he knows it and just wants to go inside to get his little hands warm and he lets me know it, and hes just slightly younger than little Titus. Prayers sweet boy.

 

[Starry Night]

Lol my dad burned my grandma's house down when he was a kid... He dropped a toy under his bed and went looking for it with a candle[emoji23]

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No offense, but I don't relate with the 'lol' part of your story.

 

[Elainera]

Hi all, I'm late to this thread - what a tragedy! What a sweet lil boy, reminds me a lot of Noah. Very similar circumstances as well. May they both Rest in Peace!

At first I found nothing suspicious in this case at all. However, now I'm thinking, while it might be possible that he walked a mile (or half, or thereabout) in the freezing cold without proper clothes on, I find it much more unlikely that he would have been able to open the van door, and not because of his age but because of the cold! After walking for, what, half an hour at least? - in those temperatures, he would have been already feeling the effects of hypothermia which include the inability to use your muscles properly, to coordinate your arms, legs, fingers etc. I don't think he would have been able to open that door, nor have the strength anymore to push it aside and then shut it. Hypothermia is like a paralysis that creeps upon you. Unless the van door was left open for some reason?

While I don't suspect the parents of any foul play I wonder about the neighbor who found him ... :thinking:

 

[Hoosgirl]

Hi all, I'm late to this thread - what a tragedy! What a sweet lil boy, reminds me a lot of Noah. Very similar circumstances as well. May they both Rest in Peace!

At first I found nothing suspicious in this case at all. However, now I'm thinking, while it might be possible that he walked a mile (or half, or thereabout) in the freezing cold without proper clothes on, I find it much more unlikely that he would have been able to open the van door, and not because of his age but because of the cold! After walking for, what, half an hour at least? - in those temperatures, he would have been already feeling the effects of hypothermia which include the inability to use your muscles properly, to coordinate your arms, legs, fingers etc. I don't think he would have been able to open that door, nor have the strength anymore to push it aside and then shut it. Hypothermia is like a paralysis that creeps upon you. Unless the van door was left open for some reason?

While I don't suspect the parents of any foul play I wonder about the neighbor who found him ... :thinking:

Good point. You cold weather folks, do car door handles freeze in that weather? (born and bred in the south, stupid question I'm sure)

 

[pepelepolecat]

Seriously.

https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1346&dat=19931114&id=eK1NAAAAIBAJ&sjid=gPwDAAAAIBAJ&pg=6966,1962825&hl=en

ETA:

I didn't remember that it was only a month after the joyride that he burned down the house, nor did I remember the complaint about lack of supervision. But I remember the joyride and the burned-down house. They lived just about a mile or so from where I lived at the time. It was a middle-class suburban neighborhood filled with normal middle-class suburban people.

And their first home burned down, too?

How does one even keep a child like that safe? I'd be having him tested for ... oppositional defiant disorder or conduct disorder or something. Those things just don't seem like normal precocious three-year-old behavior (yes, I know, kids do sometimes play with matches, but TWICE? And combined with the driving?).

 

[JadeSLeuth]

I'm super picky on word usage, so there is an excellent chance that this is nothing but I'm seeing a variety of words used to describe the blanket thing. To me, "draped" in a blanket and "wrapped" in a blanket are different from say, "covered" in a blanket.
Wrapped and draped both sound to me like someone other than our boy did the blanketing.
Likely nothing, but on my mind nonetheless.

"Wrapped": http://www.newser.com/story/220400/toddler-found-dead-hours-after-going-missing.html

"Draped": http://www.durangoherald.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?aid=/20160210/NEWS03/160219949&template=mobileart

"Under a blanket": http://m.kfvs12.com/kfvs12/db_349220/contentdetail.htm?contentguid=mBy2UXcJ

Off to look for direct quotes from LE about the blanket. Definitely MSM will not always vet their words to my satisfaction!

 

[pepelepolecat]

Anyone who has raised boys (I raised 2 active ones), has a long list of stories like this. My own father crawled out of his crib at the age of 3, went to the front door and used a broom handle to open the hook placed high on the screen door. He went outside where the neighbors found him playing in the middle of the street. Early Sunday morning, before 6 am. My grandmother had to move his crib away from the window because he kept opening the screen and crawling out to wander around in the yard.

We were having a birthday party for my youngest - his 3rd birthday. As we gathered around the table to light the candles on his cake, we saw him outside the front bay window running across the yard to the street, chasing a balloon. That fast.

Sadly, this tragic story doesn't surprise me. The little fella probably woke up, realized he wasn't home, couldn't find his parents and went out the door to look for them.

*off to recheck the sex of my three kids*

I really don't have any of those stories. I did have one time when two of my kids dismantled their bedroom when they were supposed to be napping. But that's about the only "big" thing they ever did, and it certainly wasn't dangerous. And they were/are certainly active. I do have some stories about my dad and his brother ... like the time they tried to make flame throwers while playing war ... under their parents' porch ...

 

[pepelepolecat]

Good point. You cold weather folks, do car door handles freeze in that weather? (born and bred in the south, stupid question I'm sure)

No, but sometimes the locks freeze over. The door handles don't usually freeze unless there's been a heavy freezing rain or something like that. ime.

 

[JadeSLeuth]

Things I'd like to know:

Was Titus asleep or awake when his parents last saw him before stepping out around midnight?
Was the blanket from the Grandparents home, or belonging to the owners of the van, or "unknown" origin?
Details of the parents' midnight errand (fast food run maybe? Cigarettes? Beer? Other?)

What else?

ETA, LE will know the answers to all of the above.

 

[CoverMeCagney]

Things I'd like to know:

Was Titus asleep or awake when his parents last saw him before stepping out around midnight?
Was the blanket from the Grandparents home, or belonging to the owners of the van, or "unknown" origin?
Details of the parents' midnight errand (fast food run maybe? Cigarettes? Beer? Other?)

What else?

ETA, LE will know the answers to all of the above.

The autopsy will reveal all. If his feet are unscathed he didn't walk from A to B. I also think the coroner will be able to give an accurate time of death. This case should be clear cut - either the story stacks up or it doesn't.

 

[Hatfield]

The autopsy will reveal all. If his feet are unscathed he didn't walk from A to B. I also think the coroner will be able to give an accurate time of death. This case should be clear cut - either the story stacks up or it doesn't.

I agree it should not be too hard for LE to determine once the autopsy is back. Very good point about his feet.

He would have at least some marks, scrapes, dirt, or something on his feet if he walked that far.
The time of death should be very helpful too.
And the blanket should also indicate some things. LE should be able to determine if blanket came from home. LE also will be able to check if blanket had drag marks or dirt on it since boy would likely have dragged ends of it if walking to Van.
Its not like the boy would have been able to keep all the ends off the ground unless it was really small blanket.

I think LE will be able to determine things pretty quickly once autopsy is done. Just hope they are able to share their findings and share updates about the investigation.

 

[Irisha]

No offense, but I don't relate with the 'lol' part of your story.

I thought it was funny how it happened. It was an accident.:moo:

 

[zencompass]

The autopsy will reveal all. If his feet are unscathed he didn't walk from A to B. I also think the coroner will be able to give an accurate time of death. This case should be clear cut - either the story stacks up or it doesn't.

BBM Brilliant! The condition of the bottoms of his feet will tell the story - or at least part of it!

Thank you for this post!

 

[Midge Montana]

How nimble are little frost bitten fingers? Enough to open and shut a van door? Would a three year old even have that thought process (especially in some state of hypothermia which brings about confusion even in adults)? Would his motor skills in that state and his stiffened muscles allow him to do so? I'm truly asking, as I'm not an expert.

 

[ClaireNC]

I'm just catching up here and feel the need to say IMO there is no way this baby left on his own and walked away in below freezing temperatures. It was 20 degrees here this morning and I stepped outside in bare feet to retrieve a dog bowl. About 10 steps on the frozen ground and my feet hurt. If he had ventured out a few steps in that cold, he definitely would have turned around and retreated back into the house.

Somebody took this baby and put him in the van. I hope there will be a quick arrest and justice will be found for this little angel.

RIP Titus, fly high little one.

 

[slowbutsteady]

BBM Brilliant! The condition of the bottoms of his feet will tell the story - or at least part of it!

Thank you for this post!

BBM - Now why didn't I think of that!!! I'm still not convinced a barely 3 yr old, naked, in 15 degree weather can walk that far, open up a van door, crawl in, find a blanket and cover up. Maybe I've become too hardened to these stories - I just don't think it's possible. If he was a few years older, perhaps...at 3 - no way. The coroner's report will tell the tale...now we just have to wait. RIP sweet boy - you were taken too soon

 

[kristinaT]

I know yesterday, during the live shot on the news the reporter said he was at the location where all the searchers were and the location where the child was found was so close he could hear the helicopter that was hovering about the scene.

 

[Ontario Mom]

I'm just catching up here and feel the need to say IMO there is no way this baby left on his own and walked away in below freezing temperatures. It was 20 degrees here this morning and I stepped outside in bare feet to retrieve a dog bowl. About 10 steps on the frozen ground and my feet hurt. If he had ventured out a few steps in that cold, he definitely would have turned around and retreated back into the house.

Somebody took this baby and put him in the van. I hope there will be a quick arrest and justice will be found for this little angel.

RIP Titus, fly high little one.

I have to agree. It was 14 here last night and our dogs & cats wouldn't even go outside. I do agree with the comment about the condition of his feet as well. If he walked that distance, his bare feet will have evidence of it. It really does sound far-fetched that a kid that size, dressed in just a diaper, could pull off a trek like that, open a vehicle and get in, in the dark, in those temps.

 

[dyannaON]

Has it been reported where his shoes where? Where they near the door or elsewhere? With Elijah Woods he put his little boots on and trudged away. Would this little guy do the same if he had access to shoes or boots?


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