Somer Thompson -- Found Deceased 10/21/09

Estee, I am so sorry to hear of the loss of your son. I can't imagine.
I just hope and pray that Somer's siblings and friend are not feeling any guilt, they of course did nothing wrong. A monster yanked this child out of this world in a matter of moments. It's just so tragic. I have to believe that the swift action and brilliant "hunch" which was immediately acted on by the police will lead them right to the killer, just as it lead them to Somer's body. I believe that will happen.
My heart goes out to her parents and family for this horrific loss. Now they will have to endure learning the details of little Somer's last hours on this Earth.

Estee wrote:Having sufferd the loss of my youngest son (26) I can tell you that one truly SUFFERS...I had to pull all my inner strength together (with a few Prozac and a lot of faith)...I've never been one to openly cry, but cry in the privacy of my home I did...I had to be the ROCK of my family..to help my girls and other son thru this loss...I still have very depressing days and little memories bring me to tears...Shock is what hits you initially...everything seems so surreal...it still does for me...I try to think of it as him being away on a trip...It is very hard...

Estee~

Hugs to you! I am so sorry you have had to endure the loss of a child. My heart bleeds for you.

I've been blessed (and Pray I continue to be) enough not to have had enndured that, but I have been around family and friends who have. I just can not imagine having a child taken from you like this.

Whoever did this had a very limited timeframe. It has to be somebody close. IMO

Mom 'will not sleep' until daughter's killer found

# Story Highlights
# NEW: Authorities remove "evidence" from landfill where girl's body found
# Somer Thompson was in fight at school on day she disappeared, police say
# "I hope they get you" is grieving mother's message to killer
# Girl's body found in landfill 55 miles north of town where she was last seen

(CNN) -- The news was devastating, the aftermath surreal.

Diena Thompson clutched a tissue in her right hand, frequently wiping her eyes as she told reporters that she couldn't believe it was her daughter whose body was found in a Georgia landfill. Her visage revealed the weight of grief and a yearning for justice.

Standing outside her home in Orange Park, Florida, Thompson looked into the camera and, with her voice cracking, sent out a stern warning to her daughter's killer.

"I want you to know that I will not sleep until this person is found. I hope they get you and I hope they make you pay for a long, long time. You don't take from somebody. You didn't just take her from me. You took her from my family, you took her from all these people. And you don't do this to a little baby and put my baby in the trash like she's nothing. That's not OK, this is not OK."

The body of her daughter, 7-year-old Somer Thompson, was found in a south Georgia landfill, Clay County, Florida, Sheriff Rick Beseler said Thursday morning.

Authorities on Friday were combing were through a "tremendous mountain" of garbage at the landfill, a sheriff's spokeswoman said.

Some possible evidence has been removed from the landfill, but authorities won't describe what they found, said Mary Justino of the Clay County Sheriff's Department. Police have no suspects, she said.

She said other law enforcement teams are focusing on the locale where the child apparently was last seen. Justino said witnesses, including some children, saw her on the sidewalk in front of a vacant house that is being renovated after a fire.

"Since Monday, we have been trying to figure out who frequents that area," including anyone working on the home, she said.

Authorities are treating the death as a homicide.

Somer became separated from her siblings and schoolmates on her way home from school in Orange Park, Florida, on Monday.

She was seen in a fight at school before she disappeared, according to a police report released Thursday. Her 10-year-old sister told police that Somer had gotten into a fight with another girl at school earlier in the day.

The sister said she brought up the fight while she and her brother walked Somer home from school, and that Somer ran off from them, apparently upset. The sister said she lost sight of Somer in a group of other kids leaving the school, according to the police report.

The medical examiner in Savannah, Georgia, used dental records to positively identify the body as Somer's, said Clay County Sheriff's Office spokeswoman Mary Justino.

Authorities now are turning their full attention to finding the child's killer.

Beseler held up a map dotted with markers as he said on CNN's "American Morning" that detectives have questioned more than 70 registered sex offenders or predators living within five square miles of Somer's home.

The landfill where her body was found is near Folkston, Georgia, 55 miles north of where the girl became separated from her schoolmates on her way home from school in Orange Park on Monday.

The sheriff told the girl's mother Wednesday night that her daughter had been identified. Thompson, he said, was devastated.

"It was the hardest phone call I've ever had to make in my life, and I hope I never have to make another one like that," Beseler said at a Thursday morning news conference.

Authorities will work to pinpoint where the garbage load that contained the girl's body came from, Beseler said. The garbage that was brought into that part of the landfill was collected in the Orange Park area, he had said Wednesday, noting that authorities routinely search garbage when a missing person case has been initiated.

The investigation has now turned into a murder probe.

"There is a child killer on the loose," the sheriff said. "I fear for our community until we bring this person in."

Rewards totaling $30,000 have been offered for information leading to the arrest and conviction of whoever is responsible.

http://www.cnn.com/2009/CRIME/10/22/georgia.landfill.body/index.html

Detectives locate dump truck that brought Somer Thompson's body to landfill

Detectives searching for the person who murdered a 7-year-old girl outside Jacksonville have located the dump truck that transported her body to a south Georgia landfill.

Somer Thompson disappeared while she was walking home from school Monday. Her body was found by detectives Wednesday afternoon.

"We are making progress into narrowing down - not only the contents of that garbage - but where it came from," said Clay County Sheriff Spokeswoman Mary Justino.

Investigators continue to comb through a vacant home about 500 yards from Thompson's school. It was near that house that the girl was last seen alive.

Asked about reports that the home was a murder scene, Justino responded, "I can not confirm that... we are not that far along."

She would not comment on any evidence that has been collected from the landfill, dump truck or the vacant house but said everything with any value to the investigation is being processed by the FDLE.

http://wdbo.com/localnews/2009/10/detectives-locate-dump-truck-t.html

Somer's Mom on The Early Show


Watch CBS News Videos Online

Sex Offender Worked on Renovation at Gano House

A sex offender named George Vinson worked on the renovation of the vacant house where Somer Thompson was last seen alive.

http://www.firstcoastnews.com/news/topstories/news-article.aspx?storyid=147122

My heart breaks for Somer's mother and family. Watching her on the news shows breaking into sobs just tore me apart. I feel her anger and helplessness. She has to bury a baby, something no parent should have to do.

I have a question. I am just watching NG from last night and hearing about this abandoned house the police are looking at. They say there is no physical evidence that actually shows that a crime has taken place there. What brought them there are the multiple witnesses that say Somer was last seen there.

So, WTF? Multiple witnesses?? They see a little girl is playing at an abandoned house and no one says anything and tells her to go home? Now this is only my first reaction. I don't know much about this just yet. All I can think though is, adults in our communities need to be more involved with one another. We need to know when something looks off and find a way to watch over each others kids. It's a fine line, we have to walk because we can't be "too close" because there are those who accuse people of wrongdoing for getting "involved" too. But I think part of the reason this seems to be happening more is because we no longer know our neighbors and our neighbors kids, like we used too. Because I'll tell you, if a stranger or strange car had been in my neighborhood where I grew up, everyone knew it! Nowadays, I couldn't tell you much about what it strange in my neighborhood or not.

I agree with you, Tracey. People don't want to get involved. I am very curious to know who the witnesses were and what did they see. Was she walking past the house, was she sitting on the steps, was Somer going in???

Tracey I was confused on that. Did they see her playing at the house, or just walking on the sidewalk in front of the house? Either way, I wish somebody who noticed her walking alone had taken the time to make sure she got home safely. I agree that it's a shame that neighbors don't seem to know each other much anymore. We need to be more vigilant and watch out for each other's kids in these dangerous times we live in. It is amazing that I can take a half-hour walk through my neighborhood on a beautiful day and see only a few kids outside and even fewer adults. In 2003, we had a major power outage in my area, and it was amazing how many people were outside. It reminded me of when I was a kid. We had lived in our house almost a year and got to know a lot of our neighbors for the first time.

Investigators returned Friday to a property at 1080 Gano Ave., in the block where Somer was last seen by her brother, sister and moments later, a friend. Evidence taken from the vacant house, large trash bin and the grounds is being given top priority at the Florida Department of Law Enforcement laboratory in Jacksonville, Justino said.

http://jacksonville.com/news/georgia/2009-10-24/story/police_progress_being_made_toward_tracking_somers_path

Interesting twist on Somer's case:

Was Somer Thompson's home robbed by gunmen the morning she was recovered? It is not known at this time what relation this incident or these individuals have if any, to Somer Thompson’s abduction and murder.
On October 21st, all four were arrested for armed robbery at the 1706 Horton Drive address of Somer Thompson and her family. They are all being held without bond. This was just posted at Blink's site. Interesting why this has not come out in the news. See link to Blink's post below:

http://blinkoncrime.com/2009/10/26/somer-thompson-murder-her-home-robbed-by-gunman-the-morning-she-was-recovered/

Wow, Piper, VERY interesting. I find it very odd that this is the first time we are hearing about this. Also, If there is no connection at all, these guys must REALLY REALLY be idiots! I mean, I would think that there would be LOTS or LE nearby. Things that make you go hhmmm????

I agree, Fysty. It creates a lot of scenarios in my mind, if it's related somehow. But even if it isn't, you know there was LE all over the place, let alone the supporters there for Somer's family. It makes no sense.

The gunmen/robbery story is just now coming out in the news.

FBI releases traits of Somer Thompson's killer

Clay County Sheriff Rick Beseler, with help from the FBI released new details and specific traits that they believe will lead them to 7 year-old Somer Thompson's killer.

The following are the traits they want people to look for:

-Anyone that may have left the area for a seemingly plausible reason on or around the day Somer disappeared on Oct. 19.

-The suspect may have missed work recently.

-Any unexplained injuries, such as cuts to the hands, arms or head.

-An unnatural interest in the investigation particularly to media coverage.

-Increased nervousness.

-Facial hair changes.

-Someone that may have abandoned their vehicle recently, such as selling it, giving it away, or hiding it in a garage.

-A sudden change in religious beliefs; either becoming more religious or less religious.

-An unusual change in sleep patterns.

-An increase in drug or alcohol use.

The Sheriff started his address with a message, "Yesterday was about Somer Thompson. Today is about her killer."

http://www.actionnewsjax.com/content/topstories/story/FBI-releases-traits-of-Somer-Thompsons-killer/353Yuiwu9U2f67_unI4Ghg.cspx

Update on the robbery: The address of arrest has been changed from 1706 Horton Dr to 2912 Vinewood Pl on the Clay County Records:

http://p2c.claysheriff.com/DailyBulletin.aspx

AR 2009036260
Robbery-armed Firearm/o... Bruner, Christopher M (B M, 19) Arrest on chrg of Robbery-armed Firearm/other Deadly Weapon (F), at 2912 Vinewood Pl, Green Cove Springs, FL, on 10/21/2009. Edmonson, M W
AR 2009036260
Robbery-armed Firearm/o... Patterson, Deanglo Monreece (B M, 19) Arrest on chrg of Robbery-armed Firearm/other Deadly Weapon (F), at 2912 Vinewood Pl, Green Cove Springs, FL, on 10/21/2009. Edmonson, M W
AR 2009036260
Robbery-armed Firearm/o... Sarver, Bryan Gregory (B M, 21) Arrest on chrg of Robbery-armed Firearm/other Deadly Weapon (F), at 2912 Vinewood Pl, Green Cove Springs, FL, on 10/21/2009. Edmonson, M W
AR 2009036260
Robbery-armed Firearm/o... Howard, Montrail Isiah (B M, 18) Arrest on chrg of Robbery-armed Firearm/other Deadly Weapon (F), at 2912 Vinewood Pl, Green Cove Springs, FL, on 10/21/2009. Edmonson, M W

Why they had Somer's address on this robbery in the first place is unknown, obviously a big clerical mistake?

Piper, I'm not surprised that it was a mistake that Somer's address was listed as the location of the armed robbery. I can't picture Somer's family being robbed at gunpoint two days after her disappearance without the media finding out about it. I also don't think Somer was killed by four people, and I doubt that the killer or killers would want to bring attention to themselves by robbing their victim's house at gunpoint. I'm pretty sure that at the time of the robbery, Somer's house was probably buzzing with activity close to 24 hours a day between police, media, and neighbors.

Initial police report on Somer's disappearance. I have printed this out and studied. In the first part of the report, under Incident Data, there is a section that says "Weapons/Tools" it is filled in as: HANDS/FEET/TEETH

I have no idea what the hell that means because this is the initial report. Besides Somer's mother, there are 11 people listed on this initial report.
I have to assume these were the people interviewed right when Somer went missing. Some are obvious:
Sean Patton, the family friend that was waiting on the kids to get home.
Charles Currier, Diena's live in boyfriend.
Connie Strahan, mother of Somer's playmate, Caloe.
Anna Braddy, appears to be a neighbor, due to her address of 1714 Horton.
The others I am still trying to get information on. Were they just in the area when the police responded, and they were questioned?


http://www.scribd.com/doc/21469864/Somer-Thompson-Police-Report

Justice4all wrote:Piper, I'm not surprised that it was a mistake that Somer's address was listed as the location of the armed robbery. I can't picture Somer's family being robbed at gunpoint two days after her disappearance without the media finding out about it. I also don't think Somer was killed by four people, and I doubt that the killer or killers would want to bring attention to themselves by robbing their victim's house at gunpoint. I'm pretty sure that at the time of the robbery, Somer's house was probably buzzing with activity close to 24 hours a day between police, media, and neighbors.

Oh, I agree, J4A! That's why I thought it was so odd. As to why it wasn't reported, and even if they were trying to keep it under wraps for whatever reason, it would have leaked due to the activity at the house. But, the original arrest reports did have Somer's address listed as the place of arrest.