UK - Gaia Pope, 19, found deceased, Swanage, Dorset, 7 Nov 2017 #2

[Shiressleuth]

One minute I think death by misadventure and the next foul play.

If RD had no reason to lie- presume that for a minute. Just basic logic for my head right now.

We know Gaia was very distressed and anxious. We know she had medical conditions. She ups and leaves and starts running and gets to RD's which is familiar to her. She is let in and starts stripping (not hypothermia in MOO- anxiety, pre- seizure, reaction to medication- combo of all). She is told to get dressed again. She says she is leaving to go see a friend and the friend lives on Cow's Lane.

So she leaves. And if past behaviour is a good indication of future behaviour. She runs. I google mapped it and Cow's lane is in the direction of where she ended up. Say she doesn't stop at friend's house as they confirm they never saw her. She keeps going and gets to that field. Area is known to her. There is even a picture of her in a field with a stone wall and the sea in the background. Could be a place she likes to go. Gets there and slows down and the state of mind is still the same so starts to discard clothing with no regard about that (hence jacket left in RD).

THEN and only then do I believe hypothermia kicks in. Stopped running so stopped producing heat. Sweating as it is quite a journey and uphill. Cold night. Hypothermia can quickly set in. Dark, muddy, cold, no phone, poor mental state not good.

Unfortunate death by misadventure as nobody there to mind her...

And then I see Justice for Gaia hashtags and know the police know way more than we do and I swing back to why she was not found previously and the clothing and everything. PM will tell us more...

How do we know she didn't make it to the friend in Cow Lane?

 

[johnsmith99]

I'm still catching up here. Is there also cctv footage of her leaving as well then?

No. The camera was to the north and based on where she was found she left heading south. Not much that way except the backs of houses and dark footpaths.

 

[ColourPurple]

And why would the police need to arrest them for murder?

Because they believed she could've been murdered and she was last seen alive at their property? It's not like they've picked some random person up off the street. They've questioned the people who lived at/were connected to the property where she was last seen alive. I'm sure GE would be complaining if it were his daughter missing and they hadn't questioned the people who lived in the flat were she was last seen alive.

 

[johnsmith99]

They were already jailed so it's not possible for them to get justice again for that.

Based on the length of the sentence they got for what they did the family may feel that they didn't get justice in the first place.

 

[Shiressleuth]

I'm wondering if the chief running the investigation ever gets a day off under these circumstances.

You mean the head woodentop? :laughing:

 

[ColourPurple]

I think the justice comments may be referring to the offenders in prison for abusing her that are soon to be released, who the family blame for her mental state

They were already jailed so it's not possible for them to get justice again for that.

The comment would make sense if they suspected Gaia had taken her life because of fear of their release.Not saying that's what happened but it would make sense in that context.

 

[Reallyodd]

Clean looking shoes doesn't necessarily mean anything. The shoes look like flat soled trainers which would only have a fine tread pattern which means they don't collect a lot of soil. The track up to the cliff is very light coloured clay which doesn't stick that well to shoes plus light clay on a white shoe wouldn't show up that well at a distance in a photo. The last two fields before where the clothes were found are not very muddy but did have long wet grass which has a tendency to clean the sides and bottom of your shoes as you walk through it.

There were tyre tracks on the track but as there is an active quarry at the top of the hill and farm vehicles go up there all the time it probably doesn't mean anything.

Only the police will know the truth as they will be able to check the soil in between the treads to compare it to the clay on the track. We will have to wait for the forensic report to see what really happened.

Thanks for that John. I live along the coast from Swanage and although I know the general area, I don't know it like you do, so having your input here is very helpful.

 

[otto]

There isn't any CCTV between RDs house and where she was found. Only a few houses which back onto the road which she would have walked up and then into the countryside which would be empty that time of the day. Out of the tourist season you can walk for miles around here in the countryside without seeing another soul. As it was raining most people would be been inside and it would be easy for her to walk to the cliffs without anyone noticing.

It also looks more like a tragic accident than suicide.

I haven't read all the comments, but I'm wondering if someone could tell me what triggered her PTSD - what was the original experience and what does that look like in her everyday life?

If it is a tragic accident, why are her clothes in a field? No one removes their clothes and before accidentally falling over a cliff.

"On Thursday, Dorset Police announced “items of women’s clothing” were discovered in a field near a 70-foot cliff edge near her home on Thursday and murder cops are now investigating her life in a bid for clues."

http://www.devonlive.com/news/devon-news/body-found-gaia-pope-search-799101

 

[johnsmith99]

The comment would make sense if they suspected Gaia had taken her life because of fear of their release.Not saying that's what happened but it would make sense in that context.

One of her Instagram posts made it look like she was scared and she was told to run somewhere safe. In her emotional state she may have felt that the safest place was to get out of the town the fastest way possible, which would lead directly to where she was found.

 

[Sleepyface]

Well that didn’t work! How do you embed a tweet? (Verified police account) ​

 

[otto]

I think the justice comments may be referring to the offenders in prison for abusing her that are soon to be released, who the family blame for her mental state

Thanks for this info. So she was abused and someone was convicted for that offence. That abuse caused PTSD, so, just speculating, and the trigger was probably a sense of being threatened by anyone.

 

[johnsmith99]

I haven't read all the comments, but I'm wondering if someone could tell me what triggered her PTSD - what was the original experience and what does that look like in her everyday life?

If it is a tragic accident, why are her clothes in a field? No one removes their clothes and before accidentally falling over a cliff.

"On Thursday, Dorset Police announced “items of women’s clothing” were discovered in a field near a 70-foot cliff edge near her home on Thursday and murder cops are now investigating her life in a bid for clues."

http://www.devonlive.com/news/devon-news/body-found-gaia-pope-search-799101

I don't know for certain but I think the PTSD was caused by sexual assault. She mentions it in her Instagram posts and if the incident is what I think it is based on court documents that match the correct dates, ages and location, what happened to her would mess her up pretty badly.

 

[Cherwell]

I've been following the case, fearing the worst but hoping for the best. I'm finding GE's behaviour incredibly annoying. Of course nobody likes the idea of their family being questioned by police on suspicion of murder but FGS their home was the last place Gaia was seen by anybody. She's not been seen alive since CCTV capturing her running to their flat so OF COURSE police need to question the people who live there! And one of those people went AWOL after she disappeared and her clothes and body weren't found until after they returned to the area, so again OF COURSE police are going to want to speak to them. The police would be mad not to. And yes they might be totally unconnected to whatever happened to Gaia but surely GE can see WHY police need to speak to them, if only to rule them out?

I agree. They won't get anywhere with suing for wrongful arrest. Christopher Jefferies did not. He got damages against the tabloid press for their character assassination, but had no case against the police. This is a somewhat similar situation, although the papers have been more restrained.

In Mr Jefferies' case, the police did have a genuine reason to suspect him (besides his position as a keyholder to the victim's flat), although it was never widely reported - a bloodstained trainer shoe found hidden in his kitchen. After tests it was found to have no connection to the victim. With the Elseys, it's obvious that the police have to investigate the last sighting of Gaia, and they clearly found something that needs further examination. That doesn't mean it will turn out to have anything to do with her death. It's too early to be certain though.

 

[otto]

One of her Instagram posts made it look like she was scared and she was told to run somewhere safe. In her emotional state she may have felt that the safest place was to get out of the town the fastest way possible, which would lead directly to where she was found.

Why did she discard her clothing? Has she ever done that in a previous PTSD reaction?

 

[ColourPurple]

Well that didn’t work! How do you embed a tweet? (Verified police account) ​

[FONT=&amp]

Dorset Police POPS‏Verified account @DorPol_POPS



​

[/FONT][FONT=&amp]Dorset Police POPS Retweeted Dorset Police[/FONT]
[FONT=&amp]Such sad news our thoughts are with her family and friends. Also with those investigating this awful incident. #JusticeForGaia
[/FONT]
​

 

[PaulR]

Because they believed she could've been murdered and she was last seen alive at their property? It's not like they've picked some random person up off the street. They've questioned the people who lived at/were connected to the property where she was last seen alive. I'm sure GE would be complaining if it were his daughter missing and they hadn't questioned the people who lived in the flat were she was last seen alive.

We're not talking about questioning. Of course you talk with the people who saw her last. GE isn't complaining about that, he's complaining about the arrests and accusations that his family murdered GP where the evidence (at the time of the arrest) appears to be "they saw her last." I do not know how the British system of policing works but in general you do not need to arrest someone just to talk to them. At this point, we don't even know if his family were the actual ones to see her last - and the arrests of the E's creates a problem. As far as I can tell, the main reason they were arrested is because the police think they were the last to see Gaia alive. But maybe someone else saw her running to the field where she was found, or saw her getting into someone's car. Now that witness has become the last person to see GP alive. Do you think they will come forward knowing that there is a good chance that the police will arrest them?

 

[Cherwell]

I think the justice comments may be referring to the offenders in prison for abusing her that are soon to be released, who the family blame for her mental state

This is my impression too.

 

[johnsmith99]

Why did she discard her clothing? Has she ever done that in a previous PTSD reaction?

She tried to remove her clothing when she was at RDs house and left without her jacket. It was raining and only a few degrees above freezing so by the time she reached the cliffs she could have been suffering from hypothermia, which in that later stages can make you remove all of your clothes. It could also be related to her epilepsy which was getting worse.

 

[Cherwell]

We're not talking about questioning. Of course you talk with the people who saw her last. GE isn't complaining about that, he's complaining about the arrests and accusations that his family murdered GP where the evidence (at the time of the arrest) appears to be "they saw her last." I do not know how the British system of policing works but in general you do not need to arrest someone just to talk to them. At this point, we don't even know if his family were the actual ones to see her last - and the arrests of the E's creates a problem. As far as I can tell, the main reason they were arrested is because the police think they were the last to see Gaia alive. But maybe someone else saw her running to the field where she was found, or saw her getting into someone's car. Now that witness has become the last person to see GP alive. Do you think they will come forward knowing that there is a good chance that the police will arrest them?

We don't know what other reasons the police have/had for suspecting them. The police don't make such information public. As I mentioned in an earlier post, it's clear they found something that needed further investigation. It may turn out to be relevant to Gaia's death, or it may not.

 

[TheTruthWillOut]

We don't know what other reasons the police have/had for suspecting them. The police don't make such information public. As I mentioned in an earlier post, it's clear they found something that needed further investigation. It may turn out to be relevant to Gaia's death, or it may not.

True but now GE is talking of suing Dorset Police I would if I was them start to think about nipping this in the bud if they had legit reasons for the arrests. You know the media don't care and will milk this cow dry for the drama otherwise.