<p>^^no, I agree…but when my D sent it to me, her note along with it was “not one of my friends has ever gotten arrested”…she was referring mostly to the disorderly conduct issue</p>
<p>if a college student thought this was unusual, not sure what to make of it…I actually didn’t think it was a big deal until she said that…</p>
<p>Blossom wrote-"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>Blossom-</p>
<p>Read through the comments and you’ll see that people certainly do think that they’re guilty. </p>
<p>Since I am not part of the investigation I refuse to pretend to know what the young men who were with Lauren that night and their parents should be saying or doing. </p>
<p>It sounds like everyone involved that night was under the influence of something and bad judgment (letting her leave alone) prevailed. That doesn’t make the young men bad people, murderers, or pieces of @#$! as one poster called them. Especially since no one on this forum has first hand knowledge of what happened or what the investigators know. </p>
<p>It’s easy to sit back and make assumptions as the news (some accurate, some false) trickles in, as too many on this forum are doing. As a parent and a responsible adult I’ll hold my judgments until the facts are reported.</p>
<p>^Sadly, there is no news… or very little news… has trickled in and that’s the rub. I’m not one who has made judgement of their guilt or innocence, but I still don’t understand why they’re not talking. Okay, they answered some direct questions initially, but they’re not talking now. To me, that “sounds like” they’re guilty of something, and maybe all they’re guilty of is helping the family deal with uncertainty, but what’s their problem? Why are strangers the only people who are stepping in to help, and not her “friends”? Just seems sad.</p>
<p>When it walks like a duck and quacks like a duck…it is probably a duck. If these kids had nothing much to hide they would not have retained attorneys right away. When people are innocent they don’t run for cover and hide behind the coats of lawyers. I am not even saying they killed this poor girl but they obviously saw something, heard something, or suspect something. Not to offer up any information makes them lose all credibility, and suspect of even worse wrong doing than they might have actually participated in.</p>
<p>Cross posted with Limabeans…They are not helping because they have probably been advised not to be any where near the investigation. A completely innocent friend would not be able to stay away…they would have a need to do all that is possible to find their friend.</p>
<p>momma-three, your thinking is a bit prejudiced. Just b/c the kids retained a lawyer does not make them guilty. It’s how our legal system works. The legal systems is tricky and it is important for these kids to feel “safe” with someone who is their advocate and knows how the system works. That really doesn’t mean they are guilty, but rather that they and their parents recognize that a crime has been committed and they needed someone who can guide them through it. </p>
<p>However, what I don’t undertstand is how the lawyers are getting the kids to completely stay away from the area while the young girl is still missing. And I also wonder if the kids really did share as much as they could have shared, or did they only answer the direct questions that were asked, without volunteering something that may seem irrelevant but could be quite important? To me, their silence is what makes them “seem” guilty. They’re not just young kids hiding from their parents; they and their lawyers have run away from responsibility.</p>
<p>“they and their lawyers have run away from responsibility”
^
Exactly why I think they are guilty as sin of knowing something. They are kids without a conscious and that is dangerous.</p>
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<p>No offense intended, but the second your child is ever in SERIOUS trouble the first thing you’ll do is get an attorney.</p>
<p>Saying otherwise is disingenuous and believing otherwise is naive…</p>
<p>If I were in this situation I would hire a lawyer and then proceed to take his advice. I know too many people who either didn’t seek counsel or went with a very low cost/low expertise option and then were badly screwed because they believed the Justice system would see that they were clearly in the right.
This has been been a theme over and over again and I have family and friends who have had wide reaching repercussions from unfairness taking place in matters of divorce, criminal charges, debt issues, employment issues, etc. The decision to not hire a good lawyer has made life miserable for some very good people I know.</p>
<p>I would hire an attorney in a heartbeat for a kid who is willing to face the crime and needs representation. I know I would never be able to do so for any of my kids to get them off for something they have done but wont admit to. I love our country and all that it stands for but to represent a guilty person who has commited a terrible crime against another is not part of my thinking. These parents are providing the means in which their children could go free for something they are most likely guilty of in some way. How do they live with themselves, and how do they look their children in the eye? I just can’t imagine doing this even for my own children.</p>
<p>Flyaround…What you are talking about is completely different than this situation. If these kids are guilty than they are guilty of serious charges against another human being. We are not talking about divorce, tax problems or even law suits. This is about a missing girl that these kids were friends with. It does not make sense that they are hushed up if they are hiding something minor like smoking pot or drinking.</p>
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<p>Innocent until PROVEN guilty. The country you say you are loving is the USA, not Iran…</p>
<p>Momma-three wrote -I love our country and all that it stands for but to represent a guilty person who has commited a terrible crime against another is not part of my thinking. These parents are providing the means in which their children could go free for something they are most likely guilty of in some way.</p>
<p>First of all, you don’t know what the young men in question know, have told, or haven’t told the police. You are speculating from news reports that may or may not be accurate. </p>
<p>What evidence do you have and how are you qualified to even hint that the men are “most likely guilty” of anything? They were with her that night and have said that she left the building alone. Do you know that to be untrue? No, you don’t. </p>
<p>Lauren hasn’t been found, any evidence that the investigation has come up with hasn’t been shared with the public, and the boys haven’t been charged with a crime. </p>
<p>It’s a contradiction to say that you love what the country stands for but think that it’s appalling for defense attorneys to represent their clients. You do realize that plenty of innocent people are charged with crimes that they didn’t commit, aren’t you? If not for good defense attorneys those people would be rotting in prisons. </p>
<p>xSlacker posed an important question, one you should seriously think about. Iran or America?</p>
<p>I have no problem with the kids “lawyering up.” You absolutely cannot trust the police one on one with your kid, no matter how innocent your kid is. Police manipulate and lie too often to assume they are only after the truth and have no other agenda. A completely innocent kid can come out of a police interview ready to confess. You also cannot trust what they say with regard to witnesses cooperating. Never allow your child to be interviewed by the police about something serious without representation. Then when you get representation, do what the lawyer says.</p>
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<p>CARVE THAT IN STONE !!!</p>
<p>The police are all about arresting the max number of people and the prosecutors are all about the max number of convictions and heavy penalties. That is how the system works. </p>
<p>That is how they get measured, promoted and paid. If you believe otherwise you are fooling yourself. </p>
<p>Judges have come to see their roll as part of law enforcement, and guardians of procedure only .</p>
<p>Let’s realize that it is still possible that a complete stranger abducted Lauren. Someone looking for a vunerable girl walking alone. If she was abducted sometime around 4:30 am, one could assume that if Lauren had met her demise that the person or persons had only 2 hrs until sunrise to dispose of the body. It’s highly probable that a scared person would want to get rid of any evidence quickly. I would look somewhere within a radius of about 40-70 miles, less if you subtract time spent with her. Somewhere in the direction that leads from the apartments to somewhere inconspicuous. Most search parties are told look 50yds from road but that would put you in someone’s cornfield. Which makes this an insurmountable task. We assume the worst but hope for the best!</p>
<p>This is such a sad case! I know over the past few years a few young college men have been missing after a night of drinking. One was tragically found in a body of water and another I believe fell down a trash chute in a dorm. It could be possible another person did not abduct this young lady, but a tragic accident occured. It does seem that they have scoured the local area well though.</p>
<p>Cartera45, toblin – I’m with you. Police lie – to get at the truth. They want closure as much as (or more than) this girl’s poor parents. </p>
<p>None of us know what went on that night, and since I have both a son and a daughter, I can feel the anguish of Lauren’s parents, and also worry what would happen if my son was in a situation where he was one of the few people who saw a girl before she disappeared.</p>
<p>What I can’t understand is: where is she? If she overdosed or got in a fight and hit her head or passed out from drinking and never woke up – where is she? Where is her body? As others have said, it doesn’t seem like the people who saw here were fit and aware enough to transport her and disguise any and all evidence.</p>
<p>Oh darn it. I thought all this discussion meant they found something.</p>
<p>An unidentified body has been recovered north of Indianapolis. </p>
<p>[Body</a> Recovered From Indiana Creek, Unclear If It Is That of Lauren Spierer - FoxNews.com](<a href=“http://www.foxnews.com/us/2011/07/04/body-recovered-from-indiana-creek-unclear-if-it-is-that-lauren-spierer/]Body”>Body Found in Creek Not Missing Indiana Student Lauren Spierer, Coroner Says | Fox News)</p>
<p>I feel sick…</p>
<p>even though knew this would prob be the outcome; and even though they haven’t made an ID…</p>
<p>Awww, poor family. Poor girl. If it is her, maybe they will get some answers now.</p>