<p>Police have solid lead in VaTech student abduction/murder at C’Ville concert.</p>
<p>[Sketch</a> in Morgan Harrington case leads to hundreds of tips | The News & Advance](<a href=“http://www2.newsadvance.com/news/2011/jul/01/sketch-morgan-harrington-case-leads-hundreds-tips--ar-1144794/]Sketch”>http://www2.newsadvance.com/news/2011/jul/01/sketch-morgan-harrington-case-leads-hundreds-tips--ar-1144794/)</p>
<p>I’ve been following the Morgan Harrington case for a long time. That family /desperately/ needs closure, I hope they find that man someday.</p>
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[Community</a> gives Lauren Spierer family comfort at prayer vigil: HeraldTimesOnline.com](<a href=“http://www.heraldtimesonline.com/stories/2011/07/01/news.qp-0371013.sto]Community”>http://www.heraldtimesonline.com/stories/2011/07/01/news.qp-0371013.sto)</p>
<p>It’s sad how not one of Lauren’s friends who were with her that night attended the prayer vigil to support the Spierer family. It is kind strangers who are rallying behind the family. The look of pain on the parent’s faces in those photos just breaks your heart.</p>
<p>exegesis, according to what has been posted earlier in this thread, the three male students who appear to have been the last students to see her have been FORBIDDEN by the police to participate in the search in any way, or to contact anyone about the events of that night. It sounds as if they could not go to the service or contact her family whether they want to or not. Their apartments and cars have been searched. No trace of Lauren has been found in their cars. They have been interviewed extensively by the police. At least one of them has taken and passed a polygraph. </p>
<p>Let us for the moment suppose that they are innocent of her death and disappearance. What more, exactly, are they supposed to do? They have been questioned, searched, and polygraphed. </p>
<p>Let us suppose instead that they, or some subset of them, is in fact guilty of something, whether that be killing her and concealing the body, or just moving her body. Then where is her body, and how did they move it without using one of their cars? I suppose that it is possible that they might have been able to wrap her body up enough so that no DNA traces at all could be found, although frankly I doubt whether they would have had sufficient presence of mind to do so that night. At least one of them–the one that was put to bed–was probably too incapacitated to have participated at all. (Another thing I wonder about is whether their cars could have been driven away from the vicinity without being seen on surveillance cameras, as the truck was.)</p>
<p>Consolation- let’s speculate.</p>
<p>All of the male students are innocent. However, they were with her that night.</p>
<p>Could they be more forthcoming about what she ate, what she inhaled, what she drank? Did they observe her speaking with anyone else at the bar, on the street, in the lobby of the apartment building? Did they recognize a phone number that popped up on her cellphone earlier in the day? Did they observe her taking her heart medication, or eating a snack, or having breakfast that morning? Anything unusual in her demeanor, even if/when she was intoxicated? Other than the shoes and the phone, did she leave anything else at the bar? Would it have been unusual for her to lose her phone? Did she seem able to walk- even shoeless or was she stumbling?</p>
<p>The police have questioned them; the police have publicly stated that the friends have not been forthcoming with information. How do they know what random thing they observed that day or the day before isn’t meaningful for the case?</p>
<p>They don’t. But they know if/when they themselves engaged in something that could get them in trouble, and on the advice of counsel, they are revealing nothing about Lauren’s actions, behavior, or state of mind that could implicate them.</p>
<p>Which of course is their legal right not to implicate themselves. But is a horrible testament to the way we raise our kids if their parents are helping and encouraging them to behave this way when another set of parents are living in agony.</p>
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<p>With all due respect Consolation, unless you have inside information to the Bloomingtom police department, what you have reported is just not at all true. The PD has not at all said that they have conducted extensive interviews and/or searches of premises/cars, or stated that the young men have been forbidden to help in any way. In fact, the parents of the missing girl have REPEATEDLY pleaded for her friends to come forward and give information. Today, the parents expanded this by pleading with the PARENTS of these friends. “Help your children find their moral compass” is what the dad said.</p>
<p><a href=“http://www.heraldtimesonline.com/stories/2011/07/01/news.qp-1451059.sto[/url]”>http://www.heraldtimesonline.com/stories/2011/07/01/news.qp-1451059.sto</a></p>
<p>blossom, ^ exactly what I was thinking. Consolidation wrote:
But who is to say what was relevant? If you’re holding back anything, anything at all about that night then you are not forthcoming. Period. They’re hiding behind their lawyers and keeping away from where this happened and staying mumm. </p>
<p>Are they feeling like what the CEO of the oil-leak disaster expressed last year when it was ruining the Gulf Coast, “I just want to get back to my life before this happened”. But, LS can’t do that and they shouldn’t either.</p>
<p>Here’s an article from People:</p>
<p>The parents of missing Indiana University student Lauren Spierer have a desperate message for the parents of friends of the 20-year-old sophomore, who disappeared without a trace four weeks ago. </p>
<p>“We are appealing to the parents of the children who may have first hand or second hand knowledge of what happened to Lauren,” Rob Spierer, Lauren’s father, said at a Friday press conference within Blooomington, Indiana, police headquarters. </p>
<p>"Please take the time to sit down with your children over this weekend, sit down and talk to them and find out if they know anything. </p>
<p>With tears flowing, Spierer continued, “Help your children find the courage to come forward. Help them find their moral compass to do the right thing.” </p>
<p>Among those Spierer is referring to are Jason Rosenbaum, 20, the last person to admit seeing Lauren in the early morning hours of June 3 after a night of partying. She was seen leaving a bar, and since then, police are still no closer to finding the fashion merchandising major from Edgemont, New York, despite a massive search with over 1,000 volunteers and more than 1,500 tips. </p>
<p>Rosenbaum is among several persons of interest to police, a list that also includes Spierer’s boyfrend, Jesse Wolff. An attorney for Rosenbaum said in a press release that his client has passed a polygraph test. </p>
<p>Bloomington police Captain Joe Qualters has said that only one of Spierer’s friends has voluntarily come forward to police to share information. </p>
<p>Of Spierer’s friends’ lack of cooperation with law enforcement, he said: "“Perplexing? Perhaps. Curious. Disturbing. All in all, I think I’d probably characterize it as unfortunate.” </p>
<p>Spierer’s parents thanked the Bloomington community for its support, and plan on staying in town as an active part of the investigation until their daughter is found. </p>
<p>“Hi Lauren, it’s mom,” said Charlene Spierer. “We’re not going anywhere. We just want you to come home.”</p>
<p>IF the kids are granted immunity from other prosecutions of they can help with this, that would probably help make disclosure easier to get. Kids are NOT in a position to try to get this sort of immunity without the help of an attorney. I can understand why they would be reluctant to come forward if they may have been involved with illegal substances at the time of the disappearance. I feel for the family, but would hope that the PD would offer immunity for use of illegal substances IF they can get more info, but who knows?</p>
<p>One of the biggest tragedies is the lack of true friends that it appears the missing woman had and that those she appeared to have trusted do not appear to have helped provide any solutions.</p>
<p>This is a heartbreaking story, one that is seen too often. As parents we pray that something like this never happens to one of our own children or to anyone’s child. </p>
<p>Lauren’s disappearance has brought out the best of people, such as the selfless volunteers who spent countless hours searching for her, and unfortunately it has brought out the worst in people, such as some of the people on this forum.
None of us have inside knowledge regarding Lauren’s disappearance yet several posters have already tried and convicted the young men who were with her that night. This story is reminiscent of the Duke Lacrosse players who were practically burned at the stake by the media and the public the minute that they were falsely accused of raping a stripper. Even though the jury found them not guilty, and the stripper later recanted her story, their lives will never be the same and their reputations will always be tarnished. </p>
<p>If the young men know anything (and it’s possible that they don’t) about her disappearance they are undoubtedly afraid of implicating themselves in what now seems to be a death investigation. If they are reading or hearing strangers practically convict them of murder on blogs and in the news that is only making it worse.</p>
<p>I have a daughter and I have a son. As the mother of a daughter I pray that at best Lauren is found alive, at worst, that they find her body so that her parents can take her home to bury her. As the mother of a son, I pray that the young men who were with her find the courage to tell the story if they know it, and if they don’t know, I pray that the public realizes that they haven’t been charged with a crime and that in America we are innocent until proven guilty.</p>
<p>Love my kids- I don’t think anyone has said the kids are guilty of a crime. But the local police believe the kids are guilty of not volunteering what they know about the last day or so of being with Lauren. And while that is not a crime, it is a sad indictment that so many parents are ready to give these kids an “atta boy” for not fessing up to illegal use of drugs or underage drinking or whatever it was that resulted in Lauren walking the streets, barefoot, alone, in the middle of the night.</p>
<p>You want your son to be that guy?</p>
<p>I think that immunity judiciously offered to kids could help them be more forthcoming about events surrounding this sad event. Not saying who may or may not be guilty, but kids MAY be afraid of being prosecuted for possessing/using illegal substances if they come forward without immunity. Whatever we think of that, it is how people think.</p>
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<p>Whether we like it or not, our system is such that everyone is innocent until proven guilty in a court of law, everyone is entitled to legal defense, and everyone has the same legal rights. It’s the system we agreed to as a people that is defended. We don’t get to pick and choose who we give these rights too, based on ‘gut instinct’ or TV news or how the victims feel about it. It is totally understandable that it might upset us and turn our stomach, but anything less would be immoral, not to mention create a horribly unjust and crazy system that would hurt far far more people.</p>
<p>Being upset with defense lawyers would be like being upset with the emergency room doctor who saves one of these potentially guilty men’s lives. People are just doing the job we as a society pay them to do and someone has to do it.</p>
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<p>I am only going by what was posted earlier by Cptofthehouse, who seemed to have local knowledge of what had occurred, and by earlier articles cited here. The fact that the police examined the cars and released them seems to be solid. The polygraph item seems to be solid. The police have definitely questioned the three young men. So what is not at all true?</p>
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<p>I don’t see anything in this list that would involve self-incrimination for the guys on irrelevant offenses. So I don’t see why they couldn’t answer such questions.</p>
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<p>Really? I think they did, without reviewing the thread. Calling them and their parents a piece of #$(*@ for hiring attorneys just boggles my mind.</p>
<p>Blossom, I seem to recall that Mike Beth said that he tried to convince Lauren to stay, but she insisted on leaving. Assuming for the moment that he is not lying, how is this his fault? She was evidently drunk enough to leave her shoes and her phone at the bar, and possibly to drop her keys in the alley. Did Mike Beth pry her mouth open and pour the booze in? Did the other kids? How come it is their fault that she was incapacitated? </p>
<p>The whole thing is tremendously sad. No one deserved to die that night. No parents deserve to be in a state of agony. But I am appalled by the eagerness of some parents here to rush to judgement and excoriate people who may well be innocent for seeking legal counsel.</p>
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<p>Consolation/Cptofthehouse: Where are you getting this information? Cite please. Rossman is the only one that seems to have cooperated from what I’ve read. The polygraph for Rosenbaum was taken and supervised by his attorney not the PD, which as any criminal attorney will tell you, makes it extremely suspect.</p>
<p>Did you read the comments by the PD and the girl’s parent in the articles that I cited?</p>
<p>And I will say it again…they are all pieces of $*%&. That includes the parents of these kids who are not encouraging their children to do the right thing, the attorneys for not making it possible for these kids to come forward with the information that they know, and the kids themselves because…well there are just no words for these people.</p>
<p>The only concern here is for this young girls parents so that they could have closure, because at this point it is unlikely that she is still alive. I pray to God that she is alive somewhere, but after all this time the hope is dwindling. If these kids know something or was witness to someone abducting her or hurting her than what the heck are they waiting for. I find it inconceivable that they are being quiet because of drugs or alcohol…does that even make sense? Who the heck would keep quiet because they smoked a joint or drank alcohol? I don’t care if they took heroin…they need to speak up. What kind of parent would encourage their kid to remain quiet…it is disgusting. To defend these actions in any way is just wrong.</p>
<p>^ I totally agree with you here.</p>
<p>mommathree, then the DA needs to offer immunity to all involved related to drug and alcohol offenses, as well as any offense that involves concealing or tampering with a body. Anything less than murder needs to be taken off the table, as it were. Maybe that would bring about some new leads.</p>
<p>I haven’t been keeping up with this thread the last few days so please forgive me if I am repeating what has already been posted…</p>
<p>My D sent me this article a few days ago; not sure if it has been mentioned here, but it seems like a lot of the “characters” in this nightmare have been in legal trouble prior to June 3rd; which may have been the reason the lawyers were contacted so quickly…it seems (to me anyway) that these boys parents have had to deal with “crap” with their kids before this and this “may” be influencing their judgement in this particular case…JUST MY OPINION; doesn’t warrant a response…but thought you’d want to see the article…</p>
<p>[Who’s</a> who in the Lauren Spierer case: HeraldTimesOnline.com](<a href=“http://www.heraldtimesonline.com/stories/2011/06/30/news.qp-0075723.sto]Who’s”>http://www.heraldtimesonline.com/stories/2011/06/30/news.qp-0075723.sto)</p>
<p>again, my apologies if this is old news…</p>
<p>Rodney - How serious are those charges of drinking and possession of alchohol and probably also disorderly conduct? From far away, it seems quite common college kids do that. When they charge kids like that, does that mean it was much worse than a typical rowdy incident?</p>