Michael Tabman's Blog: Crime Scene, page 3

Where Have All Our Children Gone - Murdered, Missing or Bullied to Death

Crime Scene Blog at Michaeltabman.com

Crime Scene Blog Moved

I have moved my Crime Scene Blog to my web site: michaeltabman.com

Baby Lisa: When a Case Goes Cold

The latest news about the Baby Lisa case is that the Kansas City Police Department has disbanded its command post. This was inevitable and in no way reflects a waning interest on the part of the police. But it does reflect a sad reality of life and police work – investigations grow cold and not every case can be solved.

Back in late 1990’s I was supervising a team of FBI Agents who were working in coordination with the local police on a high profile missing child investigation. While the child was not an infant, there were similarities to the Baby Lisa investigation. Family members were suspect, we were digging around both literally and figuratively, hundreds of interviews were conducted, hundreds of leads were tracked down and hot leads came in only to fizzle out. To this day, that child remains missing. I remember when we decided to disband the command post. Did this mean we gave up or just did not care anymore? No. That decision was a difficult one, but a necessary one.

There comes a point in every investigation when there are no more logical leads to pursue. The work of the police and the FBI in all their other responsibilities must resume.

One potential lead remains – the question of the mysterious cell phone call. The police can pursue that without a command post. It appears to be significant, yet this would not be the first time in this, or any investigation that the most suspicious activity is explained away. We will see.

The Kansas City Police will pursue any leads that come in. There is always the chance of a lucky break. While mom and dad remain estranged from the police, time passes and hope diminishes.

Baby Lisa: In The Name of the Defense

So the latest news was that Jersey told someone that he stole Baby Lisa for $300. That was a major development. The only problem is that it does not appear to be true.

The tweets about this news express shock and dismay that Deborah Bradley’s legal team would allow this information out before verifying its veracity. Why the surprise? This is the same circus environment that has surrounded this case from almost the very beginning. But don’t blame the attorneys – they are doing exactly what defense attorneys are supposed to do.

An attorney represents the interest of his client above, beyond and to the exclusion of everybody else – and as cold as this sounds, that includes to the exclusion of Baby Lisa. If an attorney is representing Deborah Bradley, then any decision must be what is best for Deborah. So, that raises the question: Is not cooperating and having the police chase down bogus leads in Deborah’s best interests?

Deborah and her attorneys have complained about tough police interviews. Well, that’s what cops do. After all, somebody has to represent the interests of Baby Lisa. Aggressive police work is the only thing that will bring Baby Lisa back, hopefully alive.

I never begrudge anybody exercising their rights. But when you do, as with will all choices in life, you must accept the consequences. Deborah can hide behind her attorneys and her constitutional rights and Baby Lisa won’t be found. Deborah – is that in your best interest?

Baby Lisa: Questions Need to be Answered

The most recent development in the Baby Lisa case revolves around strange calls. These calls were made from the cell phones that were reported stolen from the parents’ home, the night of Baby Lisa’s disappearance.

This is what we supposedly know: At 11:57pm a call was made from one of the stolen cell phones to a young woman, Megan Wright who lives about a mile away. Megan claims to have not been the recipient of that call. Megan states, however, that she did date the local handyman called Jersey, whose name has arisen several times during this investigation. Jersey is incarcerated on unrelated charges. According to police, Jersey is not a suspect. The person who received this call is known as Dane. According to reports, Dane is not a suspect in Baby Lisa’s disappearance. There were also two attempts to connect to voicemail and the internet, from that cell phone later that night. Neither Dane, nor Megan, nor Jersey knows Baby Lisa’s parents.

Do these calls exonerate the parents? No, they do not.

When this story first broke, Baby Lisa’s mom Deborah Bradley spoke of these three cell phones that had been stolen. There was something disingenuous about that statement. I could never put my finger on it, but it just seemed like information that Deborah wanted to put out there. The other obvious question was why they had three cell phones, and not one in the bedroom?

Would an abductor, while sneaking Baby Lisa out of the house, really stop to round up the three cell phones? While possible, it does not sound likely. All this happened while mom passed out from drinking plenty of wine. And weren’t those phones turned off for non-payment?

In the affidavit to support the search warrant of Baby Lisa’s home, the police mentioned the missing cell phones. In a previous blog, I noted that the mention of the phones in the affidavit was unusual. The purpose of the affidavit was to establish probable cause that evidence of the crime would be found in the house at that time. That the phones were still missing after the police had conducted an earlier search did not provide probable cause to search the house. But it did reflect that the police found something suspect about those phones at the outset of this matter.

There are many questions that need to be answered. But the lack of answers certainly does not prove anybody’s innocence. As I have always stated, we should not accuse and convict before all the evidence is in. Mom and dad need to sit down with the police with no pre-conditions, and get these questions answered. Until they do that, they will remain suspect by the police and convicted in the court of public opinion.

The Baby Lisa Case: Cell Phones, Timelines and Still No Answers…

Recently, there have been new developments in the Baby Lisa Case. The first new development addresses the three missing cell phones. The importance of these phones has been a mystery.

Jeremy Irwin, Baby Lisa's dad, reportedly noticed the three cell phones missing, which heightened his concern when he returned home in the early morning hours, to find the lights on. Ultimately, he found his infant missing from her crib. The police referred to those cell phones in their affidavit for the search warrant of Baby Lisa’s home. I could not determine from the affidavit the significance of those cell phones to establishing probable cause to search the house.

Apparently, a woman who lives near the neighborhood of Baby Lisa’s family received a phone call from one of those cell phones on the day of Baby Lisa’s disappearance. This woman states that she has no knowledge of this call, as several people in her home use that one cell phone. Several people sharing one cell phone? The cell phones owned by Baby Lisa’s parents were supposedly turned off for non-payment. The woman, whose cell phone supposedly received this mysterious call, admits to having dated “Jersey” - the local handyman who was a person of interest very early in the investigation. Police have interviewed and apparently cleared Jersey, who was arrested on an unrelated matter. The pieces of this puzzle just do not fit.

According to this woman, her phone was seized by the police, returned to her and then taken by the FBI. If that is correct, something changed or new information was developed. The FBI will perform forensic analysis on the phone for information that may not be on call records, but stored on the phone. This would not be the first time that a confluence of events appeared closely related but proved to be only coincidence, but it is certainly strange.

The second development is a timeline that a local news station is reporting as having come from an anonymous source, close to Baby Lisa’s family. That timeline confirms a 5 hour gap between 10:30pm and 3:30am on the night and morning of the disappearance, with no information on Baby Lisa’s status and welfare. I find no solace in that timeline. Five hours is a lot of time for anything to happen.

While all this unfolds, the parents remain estranged from the police, attorneys appear and disappear and press conferences of little value are held. This story is sad from so many perspectives.

The Baby Lisa Case: Strange and Getting Stranger

Baby Lisa’s parents were about to allow the police to interview her young brothers. As they were the only ones at home with mom at the time of the disappearance, what they say could be critical. Interviewing children requires special training. Children do not process and recall information in the same framework that adults do. As well, a child’s recall of events can be heavily influenced by things they see and hear after the event. A parent can exercise tremendous influence over that child’s ability to recall facts and circumstances. The more time that passes from the event to the interview, only increases the chances of faulty recall.

After delaying what could have been critical interviews, I heard that the family would allow the interviews, but only with certain conditions. Conditions? Really? Your infant is missing and you are getting into a staring contest with the police who are trying to find her. That is not the way to get your child back. All that accomplishes is to delay any progress in the investigation and turn the eyes of suspicion back on mom.

The parents’ attorney was reportedly planning a media tour of the house. Not only should that not have been offered, the media should have declined. That would do nothing more than to create a circus atmosphere to this tragic situation. Other than voyeuristic curiosity, or the belief of amateur sleuths that they will see something the police missed, I find no value in that tour. I have also heard that the local attorney representing the parents has been dismissed by the lead attorney in New York.

If this family has nothing to hide, and truly wants to find Baby Lisa, than they better do some deep soul searching. The police can be over-aggressive at times. And yes, it is insulting to be considered a suspect. But, a missing infant trumps all those concerns. Start cooperating with the police – they are the best chance we have.

The Baby Lisa Search Warrant

The latest news of the Baby Lisa Case has focused on the affidavit in support of the search warrant. The execution of a search warrant can prove to be one of the most critical steps in a criminal investigation. The evidence seized, the manner in which it was seized and the analysis of that evidence may be the difference between acquittal and conviction.

Our founding fathers understood the intrusiveness of a search and established rules for obtaining a search warrant. The fourth amendment of our Constitution reads, “The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.”

The affidavit submitted to obtain a search warrant of the Irwin residence highlighted important information. I found the following two facts to be the most compelling:
- A cadaver dog “indicated a positive ‘hit’ for the scent of a deceased human…”
- “…dirt having an appearance of being recently disturbed or overturned.”

These two statements, while not conclusive, lead a reasonable person to believe, when considering all the facts in toto, that there was probable cause to believe a body may be found.

That is sad and difficult to confront. However, we should not be surprised. The police activities have clearly reflected their focus on recovering a body. Though the implications of these statements are obvious, I was a little surprised that these two facts were limited to a few sentences at the end of the affidavit.

The first step any defense attorney takes is to quash the search warrant, thus disallowing any evidence seized during the search to be admitted in to trial. This approach is usually based on showing a defect in the warrant, often citing a lack of probable cause. Accordingly an affidavit must be as specific and compelling as possible to ward off any future attack by a defense attorney.

This search warrant did contain some generalities that I felt could have been presented in more detail and specificity. For example, one paragraph discussed three cell phones that were missing and were not located. The affidavit made no mention of why they suspected the cell phones would be found in the house. There was no mention of any other attempt to locate the phones (e.g. through the cell phone company). The significance of these phones in establishing probable cause could have been explained in more detail.

The police also do not want to be overly specific in the affidavit. That too can lead to challenges that may result in the search warrant being quashed and the evidence not admitted.

The primary goal of the search is to find Baby Lisa, hopefully alive. Yet, the police cannot ignore the importance of the prosecution should this sadly become a homicide. Then, the eyes of the nation will be upon them. As of now, everything the police have done has moved them in the right direction.

The Baby Lisa Case – Things Are Not Adding Up

When I was first consulted by a local news station about the abduction of Baby Lisa, I was optimistic that she could be recovered safely. That was based on statistics and history – most infant abductions were conducted by women of childbearing age who had a traumatic loss of an infant or difficulty having one of their own. While their actions were not rational, their intent was not to harm the infant. But statistics are not conclusive. Though things may happen rarely, they do happen.

A few days after the disappearance, when the news station again called me, I was less optimistic. At that time, the parents had stopped cooperating with the police and the police were clearly focusing on the parents. That did not bode well.

Here we are two weeks later and things have only gotten stranger. The relationship between the parents and the police remained strained. Then, a private detective from New York shows up; his purpose unclear. While a private detective has an appropriate time, place and function, this was not it. The police continue to do everything they can to find this baby. As soon as the private detective appeared, he is gone and a lawyer from New York shows up. Both have asserted that the parents are innocent and that the baby is alive. They must know something that the rest of us – or the police – do not. While an attorney has a confidential relationship with his clients, the private detective does not if he was not working under the direction of the attorney. The parents’ theatrics have not helped dispel any suspicion of their culpability.

Law enforcement continues to search in wooded areas. Yesterday, they even had the FAA establish a no-fly zone over the area they were searching. That was very unusual. The police and/or FBI maintain that these searches are routine – just to assure nothing was missed. I don’t buy it. This infant did not crawl out of her crib, open the door and just stroll away. If they are searching these areas so intensely, they have reason to believe that there is a body to be found. We just learned that the police have taken control of the parents’ home, allowing them to search again and keep the parents out. Based on the information, or lack of it, that they have given to the press about these searches, I sometimes wonder if they aren’t looking for something other than Baby Lisa.

So what do we have? We have a mom who allegedly failed a polygraph. While hardly conclusive, it is disconcerting when viewed with the fact that mom is now stating that she was drunk and may have passed out. The police have given no indication that they suspect a stranger abduction. They have given implausible explanations of their searches. Their activities indicate that they suspect a homicide.

Until this matter is resolved, we all remain hopeful that this little baby will be found alive and unharmed. But each passing day and each missed opportunity makes that less of a reality. If someone knows something, the time is now.

Baby Lisa - Still Hopeful, But Time Is Not On Our Side

Update: Fox 4 News Interview: http://www.fox4kc.com/news/wdaf-retir...

Time is never on the side of investigators when an infant is missing.

While statistics and history give us reason to be hopeful that Baby Lisa will be found unharmed, the recent developments that have been reported are not promising.

The first news update today was that Baby Lisa’s parents have stopped cooperating with the police. That has been disputed. Dad Jeremy Irwin said that he just needed a break. That is possible. A police interrogation can get intense and aggressive, especially if the police do not have promising leads. Mom Deborah Bradley apparently has failed a polygraph and complained that she was being treated as a suspect. And that may be true.

Parents are, by default, suspects in a child’s disappearance. If a polygraph is failed or some part of a parent’s story does not add up, then police suspicion will be heightened. Of course, if the parents are not involved, their frustration at the accusation will also elevate the tension.

If a parent decides to harm a young child, the case could be very hard to prove. Obviously, the parent’s unfettered control of the child gives them the ability to act undetected. That is a painful truth, but it is reality and we have seen such tragedy before.

The police are doing everything they should be doing. They must be aggressive and pursue any leads or suspicions they have. They have one goal – to find the child.

If Baby Lisa’s parents have nothing to hide, they need to re-establish a cooperative relationship with the police. Maybe an intermediary is needed. Even if both sides have the same goal, their approaches are so different, that the gap needs to be bridged.

If there is something to hide, then some deep soul searching is needed.