Where are they? Two missing girls, one suspect
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A rising senior and volleyball player at Nelson County High School, Murphy's family describes her as outgoing and popular.Courtesy FBI -
Nearly three years after she disappeared, there is still no sign of Samantha Clarke, but investigators in the Town of Orange hope a break in the case may come soon.Courtesy Orange County Commonwealth's Attorney -
Alexis Murphy was captured on surveillance video at the Lovingston Liberty gas station on Saturday evening, August 3. She has not been seen since.Courtesy FBI -
Randy Allen Taylor, a suspect in the Samantha Clarke disappearance, is being held without bond charged with the abduction of 17-year-old Nelson County High School student Alexis Murphy.Lisa Provence -
Alexis Murphy's mother, Laura Murphy, pleaded for assistance in locating her daughter at a Monday, August 13 press conference announcing Randy Taylor's arrest.Dave McNair -
The day after Randy Taylor's arrest, police tape surrounds his Thomas Nelson Highway home and investigators were seen carrying items out.Dave McNair -
Investigators are asking for public assistance in tracking Randy Taylor's whereabouts around the time of Alexis' disappearance, and in particular, for information about anyone who may have seen his late model GMC truck, pictured here.Courtesy FBI -
Facebook photos
Last fall, a seemingly outraged citizen walked into the Hook office portraying himself as the victim of an allegedly overzealous missing person investigation. The man talked of getting pushed out of his job and his home by dubious investigative methods that convinced even a judge he'd been unfairly tracked. Ten months after that interview, the disappearance of another young Central Virginia woman has renewed the specter of horror and brought fresh scrutiny to his claims.
The man is Randy Allen Taylor, a 48-year-old Lovingston resident, and on August 11 he was arrested and charged with the abduction of 17-year-old Alexis Tiara Murphy, whose whereabouts remain unknown.
For the family of Murphy, an attractive rising senior at Nelson County High School, the arrest provides a glimmer of hope, but little in the way of real relief from the unrelenting pain of the girl's unexplained disappearance at the outset of the school year, which began in Nelson on Monday, August 12.
"I drove my son to school, but I didn't have my daughter," said a sobbing Laura Murphy at the press conference at which authorities announced Taylor's arrest. She pleaded for the public to provide any tips on her daughter's whereabouts.
Investigators, however, contend that the man most likely to have that information is Taylor.
A thin man with a Daffy Duck tattoo on his neck, Taylor remains an enigma. Is he a kidnapper, as authorities allege? Or is he someone who simply has the bad luck of turning up when young women disappear?
"This case needs to be solved, but the way they're going about it is ridiculous," Taylor said last October when a Hook reporter asked him about the case of 19-year-old Orange County High School graduate Samantha Ann Clarke. Giving a lengthy interview at the newspaper office while accompanied by an attorney, Taylor described Town of Orange police detectives as overzealous and unconstitutional in their surveillance of him. A judge agreed.
In June of last year, Taylor emerged victorious from a Greene County courtroom after the attorney successfully argued that a GPS unit police had planted on Taylor's car to track him had been placed illegally and that the subsequent criminal charges for DUI, driving without a license, carrying a concealed weapon, and felon in possession of a gun— crimes that may have put him behind bars for no less than two years— should be tossed.
With the charges dropped, Taylor, who had been living in the Eheart's Corner trailer park on Ridge Road in Orange County, was a free man, but one in need of a new home and job. He told the newspaper he'd been evicted from his trailer after losing his job at Drive Away Motors in Ruckersville and being unable to make rent payments.The day after that interview, the Hook attempted to reach Taylor at the number he'd provided. It was disconnected. The attorney says he, too, lost touch with his former client, who, it is now known, subsequently moved to Lovingston and lived in a small house on the 10000 block of Thomas Nelson Highway, the local name for U.S. 29.
"He told us he worked in Greene," says a woman answering the phone at Jim's Used Cars, a business directly across the street from the house where Taylor lived. He moved in months ago, says the woman, and had been a good neighbor, coming over to introduce himself and once alerting the business that someone had hit several cars in their lot.
"He seemed like a nice guy," says the woman, who declined to give her name citing the high profile nature of the case.
How or why Taylor allegedly encountered Alexis Murphy remains a mystery as investigators have released few details about any implicating evidence.
Hook legal analyst David Heilberg says the evidence collected thus far convinced a magistrate that there was enough evidence for an arrest, but he notes that investigators must meet a higher burden of proof if they hope to secure a conviction.
"Clearly, they have probable cause," says Heilberg, noting that without finding Murphy or a crime scene, any evidence is most likely circumstantial. "Proof beyond a reasonable doubt," he says, "is the question down the road."
Beyond the hopes and dreams of finding Murphy alive, even the unfathomable horror of finding a body would be key to any criminal case; and both FBI agent-in-charge Jeffrey Mazanec and Nelson County Commonwealth's Attorney Anthony Martin spoke out at the August 12 press conference to ask the public for any information regarding Taylor's movements and interactions in the days before and after Murphy's Saturday evening disappearance.
According to Murphy's family, nothing that happened earlier on that day, August 3, was out of the ordinary for the popular high school volleyball player.
Murphy's aunt Angela Taylor (who is unrelated to suspect Randy Taylor), says her niece had spent the day working a shift at a new Charlottesville business, a used clothing store called Kid to Kid on 29 North. According to Angela Taylor, Alexis had worked during the day, then returned home to the small Nelson community of Shipman where she told her brother she was going to drive 45 minutes south to Lynchburg to purchase hair extensions in advance of an upcoming salon appointment. An avid Twitter user with more than 11,000 followers, Murphy sent more than 40 tweets that day including one that says "burg bound!"
Still searching for Sage
With national attention focused on the disappearances of two young women from Central Virginia and the man suspected in both cases, the family of another young person who disappeared in the last year from Charlottesville is frustrated by what they see as a stalled investigation.
"I am really upset that they did none of this for Dashad," says Lolita Smith, the grandmother of Dashad "Sage" Smith who vanished the week before Thanksgiving after telling his roommate he was going out.
While the Charlottesville Police Department conducted searches of dumpsters along West Main Street, where Sage was last seen, on the Corner, and at a Richmond landfill, family members believe that the several days that passed between the time the 19-year-old Charlottesville High School grad was last seen, early in the evening of November 20, and the time the first searches were conducted meant valuable evidence was lost.
"There was no FBI, none of this was done for him," says his grandmother, referring to what she sees as a larger investigative effort being made in the disappearance of Nelson County teen Alexis Tiara Murphy. "I am so upset," says Smith, noting that she is hoping both Murphy and her grandson are found.
"One person's life isn't more important that the other person's," she says.
A person of interest in the Dashad Smith case, Erik McFadden, had phone contact with the missing teen the day he disappeared, police say, but after being contacted by detectives, left town.
Charlottesville Police Chief Tim Longo, who has long maintained that extensive resources have been poured into the Smith investigation, did not immediately return the Hook's call for comment.
Dashad Smith often dressed as a woman and pictures of him in both male and female clothing have been released to assist in the search.
Anyone with information in the case should contact Crimestoppers at 434-977-4000
Surveillance video from the Liberty gas station in Lovingston near her home and released by the FBI shows Alexis early that evening when there was still daylight. That, say authorities, was the last sign of her.
When she didn't return home by her midnight curfew and couldn't be reached by phone, the worried family contacted police to report her missing.
"She would always call to let us know she was on her way home," says her aunt. "If she was going to be late for her curfew, she'd call."
With a missing minor, law enforcement can act quickly, and the Nelson County Sheriff's Department promptly requested investigative assistance from both the FBI and the Virginia State Police, who joined the search on August 5. Multiple searches were conducted both in Nelson County and in Charlottesville, where the car Murphy had been driving, a white Nissan Maxima owned by her father, was discovered on August 6 in the Carmike movie theater parking lot on 29 North. While the location is close to both her workplace and to a relative's house, it is not on the way to Lynchburg and authorities have remained tight-lipped about whether the location suggests she or an aggressor left the car there.
Given the difficulty of investigating a missing person case and the length of time that often passes without resolution, the swiftness of Randy Taylor's arrest, which came August 11, may have been surprising to some. However, to those familiar with the disappearance of Samantha Ann Clarke, it is also deeply disturbing.
It was no secret that police had long been interested in Taylor as a suspect in the Clarke case, and it's not hard to understand why. During his Hook interview, he freely admitted to contacting Clarke by phone and text the night she vanished— September 13, 2010— but insisted he'd done so only to warn her that several other individuals they knew planned to harm her.
Taylor asserted that he'd been home with his young son on the night Clarke disappeared, and he claimed he heard a man's voice in the background when he spoke with Clarke. He admitted there was no one else who could back his story, and Clarke's family didn't believe it.
"Why was a 40-something-year-old man calling my daughter so late at night?" asked Clarke's mother, Barbara Tinder, who has changed her phone number since last year and did not respond to the Hook's recent emailed request for comment.
Police, too, seemed skeptical of Taylor's tale, and they repeatedly conducted searches in and around the Greene County lake where Taylor kept another trailer. Taylor said he was hounded by police, who, he alleged, even went so far as to warn women he was dating and his employer that he was a suspect in a murder investigation.
In April 2011, seven months after Clarke's disappearance, Taylor was pulled over as he left the Sheetz convenience store in Ruckersville and charged with being a felon in possession of a gun— a gun he claims he'd never seen. Taylor, who was convicted of felony burglary in Virginia Beach in 1992 and felony arson in Albemarle County in 2005, according to court records, told the Hook he believed officers had tampered with his license plate tag light to provide an excuse for the stop, then planted the gun in his car. When Taylor was released from jail the following day and went to retrieve his car, he noticed several problems with the vehicle, including signs, he said, that the license tag light that had allegedly prompted the police stop wasn't just out; the bulb was gone and the wire had been cut. Further checking his car, he said, he discovered the GPS unit, which he removed, photographed and disabled by taking the batteries out. Within 24 hours, investigators arrived at his Greene County workplace to retrieve the unit, which, according to Greene County courthouse records, had been placed on his vehicle without a warrant, resulting in the charges against him being dropped.
In his ruling, Judge Daniel Bouton cited conflicting testimony from three officers and "too many contradictions, too many strange coincidences, too many things that don't add up."
With Murphy's disappearance coming during the period when a successfully-prosecuted Taylor would have been behind bars, that ruling may someday take on chilling significance.
"The police misconduct in the Greene case really teaches a hard lesson," says Taylor's former attorney Adam Rhea, "how an innocent person can be easily framed, or how a guilty person's prosecution can be botched by a police officer trying to make it look better than it is."
Investigation continues
As the search for Alexis Murphy enters its second week, investigators and prosecutors in Orange also haven't given up on solving the now three-year-old mystery of Samantha Clarke. While Orange County Commonwealth's Attorney Diana Wheeler won't comment on the specifics of that investigation, she describes it as "active" and says she's hopeful that Taylor's arrest in the Murphy case could provide a break in the Clarke case.
According to another source close to the Clarke investigation, an investigative grand jury interrogated possible witnesses in the Clarke case in late June. A highly secret panel that places a gag order on all who testify, a so-called investigative grand jury was what indicted eventually-convicted wife killer Eric Abshire, who, in late 2011, was found guilty in Orange County Circuit Court of the 2006 murder of his wife Justine.
But while investigators toil, the families of the two young women wait in an agony known only to few.
"The missing part is the worst," says Gil Harrington, whose daughter Morgan vanished in October 2009 after leaving a concert at the John Paul Jones Arena. Her remains were discovered three months later on a southern Albemarle County farm. There was pain in the discovery, Harrington says, but also some comfort.
"You can memorialize," says Harrington. "It doesn't give closure, but it's some answer."
According to Harrington, investigators do not believe there is a connection between her daughter's murder, which was linked by DNA to a 2005 unsolved Fairfax sexual assault, and the disappearances of Murphy and Clarke.
Whether Randy Taylor continues to maintain that he's been harassed and set up by aggressive law enforcement agents remains to be seen. He appeared in Nelson County Juvenile & Domestic Relations District on Tuesday, August 13, as this paper was going to press. Judge Kenneth W. Farrar appointed Lynchburg attorney P. Scott DeBruin to represent him and a preliminary hearing is scheduled for January 9.
Anyone with information relevant to the Alexis Murphy case should contact the Nelson County Sheriff's Department at 434-263-7050
Anyone with information relevant to Samantha Clarke case should contact Town of Orange Police Department at (540) 672-1491 or Orange County CrimeSolvers at (540) 672-7200.
158 comments
When will LE warn the public there may be another suspect out there ?
You mean to tell me that the Greene County district attorney, knowing that this cat was involved in this case since it was all over the place that Greene County was a focal point, couldn't be bothered to sit down with the Greene deputies and make sure they had their $&@$ together before trial? And how can the GPS be illegal if the Supreme Court said it wasn't illegal until 9 months later? So glad there is a new sheriff in Greene.
"He appeared in Nelson County Juvenile & Domestic Relations District on Tuesday, August 13, as this paper was going to press. Judge Kenneth W. Farrar appointed Lynchburg attorney P. Scott DeBruin to represent him and a preliminary hearing is scheduled for January 9."
January 9th 2014???
Seems the writer felt used. Who can blame her.
"With Murphy's disappearance coming during the period when a successfully-prosecuted Taylor would have been behind bars, that ruling may someday take on chilling significance."
The story mentioned also may have had a chilling significance as well. But it is a free country, right?
I really like the sideline story on missing Dashad Smith .
Very much needed.
There it is--more detail and reasons for connection than presented elsewhere before. The connections to Clarke are eerie-and still nothing on what they have to connect him to Murphy--in due time. These continued references to other actors are disturbing--will those be drawn out of the shadows, or are these individuals even real?
I could use some help understanding why there has never been a reward for information in the Alexis Murphy Abduction .
Finally!!! Alexis Murphy knocks the bear story down to second in importance.
It is what it is, but thanks for putting up the more recent photo.
I hope she is still alive and is found. Seems even Ms. Stuart has rightfully come to the possibility that this should never have happened. I am sure the officers that botched the arrest should feel the guilt.
Just get her, find her. Then make sure no more loop-holes. That's what happens when PR firms and cops talk to the public. If they id warn people they should have done it legally.
The SOB, just may shut up and it will be January 2020 before we hear anything.
Let the FBI handle this!
"Or is he someone who simply has the bad luck of turning up when young women disappear?"
Bad luck or Karma? Alexis' cell phone pinged last by his house. They now have the camper that was possibly involved in Samantha's case. The FBI can use all available technology at Quantico to find DNA from both girls and soil samples from his vehicle can pinpoint where his vehicle has been.
Msutton: "The story mentioned also may have had a chilling significance as well. "
Hear, hear! The story published in this paper last fall was pretty darned one-sided. I wonder if, having gotten away with the first abduction, the story in this paper gave Mr. Taylor a sense that he could get away with more?
I mean, it's one thing to fool a judge. It's another thing to have a newspaper write about you fooling the judge and the paper being none the wiser.
It's very likely that the story in the hook led to Mr. Taylor feeling invincible. That may have led to him acting even more rashly in this case.
"The police misconduct in the Greene case really teaches a hard lesson," says Taylor's former attorney Adam Rhea, "how an innocent person can be easily framed, or how a guilty person's prosecution can be botched by a police officer trying to make it look better than it is."
Trying to deflect all responsibility from his own self. To Adam Rhea: The comments made about other clients lying, but you believed Randy Taylor was truthful will come back to haunt you, or should, if you have a conscience. As an officer of the court, you are honor bound to seek the truth, not get someone off because you have a better education and are smarter than the small county's police force.
Meanwhile August 13th, 2013 | 7:51pm
It's very likely that the story in the hook led to Mr. Taylor feeling invincible.
Very well said!!! Now the Hook and attorney Adam Rhea are trying to backpedal, claiming no responsibility now that another child is missing and probably dead.
At least the police knew to call in the FBI and VSP this time. They knew where Taylor was living. They knew that Alexis' cell phone pinged by his house last. AND, they knew how slippery he is, so they called in the pros. All the T's crossed; all the i's dotted this time.
I'm sure there's enough blame to go around for lots of people. From what I've heard, the Orange police have never stopped working on Samantha Clarke's case. I know someone in Greene Acres who said the state police were out there diving again a couple of weeks ago, long before poor Alexis went missing. What's seems to be available to the Police in Alexis' case is: evidence and witnesses. According to Samantha's mother and this paper, Samantha left on her own in the middle of the night saying she would be back. No car, no cellphone, no crime scene. Only Taylor's own admission that he called her and conveniently heard "someone" at the door while talking with her.
As far as the GPS being used in other case, I've read that there was no search warrant requirement at that time so the GPS shouldn't have even been an issue. It sounds to me like the cops were taking extraordinary steps to find Samantha.
Where was all the media attention when Samantha went missing? Oh wait, she was not from an influential family like Morgan. That explains it!
I hope and pray that Alexis is found safe. God bless her and her family.
The case is on Nancy Grace and CNN
"No car, no cellphone, no crime scene. Only Taylor's own admission that he called her and conveniently heard "someone" at the door while talking with her."
There was a cell phone, but it was shared by mother and daughter. Mother had it with her at work. Taylor sent two text messages to the cell phone--so there's that evidence. Also, the five calls he made to the home phone were long distance, so there is a record.
Gobsmacked August 13th, 2013 | 8:00pm
"They knew where Taylor was living. They knew that Alexis' cell phone pinged by his house last. AND, they knew how slippery he is, so they called in the pros."
I am curious as to why you feel " they " knew where Taylor was living ?
The inital search was the west side of Rt. 29 on Cannery loop , possible for last ping off High Top Mnt cell tower. . It appears the search moves south on 29 and then a revelation occured even before the discovery of the car.
Could it be LE were not aware of Taylors recent move ( back to Lovingston ? )
Wait a minute here, Gobsmacked.... the mother had left for work long before Alexis was felt to be missing. She has to drive 50 miles to a ride share, then 85 more miles to work from this ride-share location. This means the mother leaves home around 7:00 p.m. to arrive at the ride-share by 8:00 p.m., and arrives at work by 10:30 p.m. I don't think the mother had the shared cell phone on the night Alexis went missing.
Gasbag Self Ordained Expert August 13th, 2013 | 10:11pm
I was replying to From the Sidelines about the Samantha Clarke case. We all know that Alexis was in possession of her own cell phone 24/7.
OK, sorry. I didn't use my reading finger earlier. :)
Dakota August 13th, 2013 | 9:56pm
@Gobsmacked August 13th, 2013 | 8:00pm
I am curious as to why you feel " they " knew where Taylor was living ?
The inital search was the west side of Rt. 29 on Cannery loop , possible for last ping off High Top Mnt cell tower.
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The Samantha Clarke case was still very active, and they had questioned his former employers in Ruckersville about two weeks prior. Of course they knew where he had moved to--he was still suspect #1. They had also searched the Greene Acres lake (where he kept the camper) again recently.
I know the area around Cannery Loop and Country Lane. I know the man who owns the house that Taylor was living in. The house is directly across Route 29 from Cannery Loop. Look it up on Nelson County GIS. His house is seven-tenths of a mile from the gas station.
I hope they have really good evidence on this guy. Only two murder cases in VA got convictions without a body. One was here in C-Ville, with the Katie Worsky case. Glenn Barker got out, and was a suspect in several other murders, to include a mother and little girl in Richmond. The other was Stephen Epperly who got convicted in the 80's of killing Radford student Gina Hall at Claytor Lake. He is now rotting at Buckingham Correctional Center. Another one, Roger Dunford beat a jury trial in 1995 for the murder in disappearance of Barbara Hunt in Smyth County. I hope this case isn't like that, but just saying he has nothing to gain by saying where Alexis or Samantha are if he knows. I hope they find Alexis, and put this creep away for good.
i think theres more to this story then meets the eye . how did her car get to charlottesville ? it was found near her work place , and they say her scent from there led to the drug infested apts behind carmike6 . so she must have drove it there . he might have propositioned her at the liberty gas station and she took the bait . its more to this one then everybody thinks .
Steve Davis uh no. It was the scent from the car. He is most likely familiar with that spot. Looking on the map it has an entrance to the lot from the apts if I'm looking at the right place. Obviously, it was driven there by someone. We don't even know what they found on surveillance. Could have been him strolling away. They definitely have more than enough evidence on him to throw him in without bond. That could include things you do not want to hear. From the information coming out I'd say she is most likely not alive and they are trying to search where he put her. I feel so bad for this family.
Wasn't the stolen Expedition in the Abshire case from Drive Away motors too? Was he working there back then? Makes you wonder if he was part of that too???
In reading back through stories, I see that basically all Orange had to go on was the fact that this guy called Clarke's phone several times before she told her brother that she was leaving. If that's all they had to go on and they are still actively plugging away at this case, that's pretty darn impressive. I know a lot of agencies that would have poo-pooed this case away especially with some of the details about home life and activities and such. Prayers for both families.
alot of unanswered questions to this case yet . but without a body or this guy Taylor saying he did it . its gonna be hard to prove in any court of law .
Gobsmacked August 13th, 2013 | 10:38pm
"His house is seven-tenths of a mile from the gas station."
Interesting , One has to wonder how he pulled this off in such a short distance by himself.
Well traveled highway/ weekend traffic .
Disapointing they ruled out Alica Showalter , does show they are working some of the cases over for a possible tie in .
Taylor buying porno at 5 in C-ville and feet away from a missing girl in Lovingston around 7.
7/10th or 7 miles.... how did he pull this off on that open highway on what seems to be an impulse event with a vehicle that sticks out like a sore thumb.
steve davis August 14th, 2013 | 12:40am
i think theres more to this story then meets the eye . how did her car get to charlottesville ? it was found near her work place and they say her scent from there led to the drug infested apts behind
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Her grandmother and uncle live in the apartments behind Carmike and close to her work place. Her scent is likely to be found at the apartments--maybe from earlier in the day. Her grandmother was the first to sound the alarm that she didn't come home the night before--that's what the mother said on the interview on Nancy Grace.
The Nelson County sheriff's office has confirmed that Taylor was caught on the same surveillance cameras at the Liberty gas station as Alexis. Her phone last pinged near his house.
BUT--if Taylor drove her car and parked it at the theatre--how did he get home??? Is there someone else involved? He can't drive two vehicles at the same time.
Dakota August 14th, 2013 | 9:01am
Gobsmacked August 13th, 2013 | 10:38pm
"His house is seven-tenths of a mile from the gas station."
Interesting , One has to wonder how he pulled this off in such a short distance by himself.
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The Nelson County sheriff's office has confirmed that Taylor was caught on the same surveillance video as Alexis at the Liberty gas station. I would think that the closeness might give him an edge if he concocted a story to get her to follow him to his house. There are many versions of the "lost puppy" story to lure unsuspecting victims.
Many years ago, when the owner still lived there, was the first time I was visited that house, and it was to look at puppies. I had forgotten about that until I saw the house in a news video and the memory came back in a flash. Spooky.
I just read that citizens in that area have come forward to say that they have observed Taylor, in his vehicle that is hard to miss, "people watching" in the Food Lion parking lot overlooking the Liberty station. I think Alexis is flashy and pretty in a way that would make her stand out and grab the attention of a potential stalker.
"Well traveled highway/ weekend traffic ."
People all busy with their own lives, in an area where things like this don't happen. People are so busy on their cell phones that they block out the rest of the world. It's the weekend--everybody glad for the workweek to be over, school starts on Monday--lots of stuff on their mind.
I think there was an encounter at Liberty and he found a way to talk her into following him home. Once there, no one would notice anything due to the terrain surrounding the house.
albert einstien was a gunius but couldnt tie his own shoes . despite what this guy Taylor looks like or his background lifestyle . he may well be another einstien . being in charlottesville at 5 and knowing she would be at the liberty gas station at 715 . taking him about an hour to get there , then waiting around a hour , then approaching her with some tpye of story . this girl was 5 ft 7 and 156 or 57 pounds . no way this guy just up and snatched her . somebody would have seen it . i think the lure of money for sex or possibly drugs was involved . and she just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time when it went down .
Wow -- I am not going to explain this well, but the Supreme Court did not really declare it all of a sudden illegal. They found warrantless GPS tracking was unconstitutional. The Constitution has been around for a long time so warrantless GPS has always been unconstitutional, but people didn't know it until the Supreme Court ruled. That doesn't mean that LE can use evidence they got from it just because they used it before the Court ruled. It sounds like the judge also had questions about whether LE was credible about the gun evidence. I imagine he regrets his ruling now.
has anyone seen the video of him at the gas station with her , i havent . or the video of him at the adult porn store . i havent . or a video of him at her car . i havent . get real here . we need to see some kind of proof on him , before we throw him under the train .
dan williams August 14th, 2013 | 9:56am
i think the lure of money for sex or possibly drugs was involved
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Look at his picture--there's not enough money in the world for him to buy sex from Alexis. Even a prostitute would have a hard time with that.
Le have been careful to not release direction of travel exiting the Liberty gas station for Alexis or RAT .
Or if there were more than person with RAT at the gas station.
If the Cell phone ping is not a distraction planted by LE .... Maybe to shake up RT and get him on the move.
Its seems the oppertunity arose really close to Taylors house... With her frequent phone use it seems that in itself will pull down a timeline when it was disabled and picked on north or south of the gas station.... This guy cant be so stupid he turned it off/disabled in front or at his house.... all things considered .
Hearing that the Grandmother was the one to sound the alarm Alexis had not come home .. was her destination to Grandmas before or after her shopping trip and did she use the Carmike Parking and footpath to visit grandma routinley ( the uncle or Brother did find the car so he had reason to suspect it may have been there) , or did someone call grandma to see if by chance Alexis was there when she wasn't home ?
Occams Razor leads to it all went down right after Gas station stop....
I CANNOT see this girl following this guy anywhere..... for any reason ! Period.
Well I see Taylors fan club has shown up .
Really ?
Agreed everybody deserves a fair trial .... but sometime even I am like REALLY .
You just cannot polish this damn turd !
Even with the "snead" guy showing back up crooked may he be...
Bizzar events maybe......
Keep on polishing....... You aint gonna shine this freak up
steve davis August 14th, 2013 | 10:14am
has anyone seen the video of him at the gas station with her , i havent . or the video of him at the adult porn store . i havent
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Then it should be fairly obvious to you that you are not with the FBI, Nelson County Sheriff's department or any other law enforcement agency. It may come as a shock to you, but even in this day of reality TV and social media, the aforementioned law enforcement agencies are not required to post evidence on the Internet. Because you, personally, have not been invited to view the surveillance video is no indication that it does not exist. I'm pretty sure that the videos were reviewed by the commonwealth's attorney and presented in court as evidence. I also didn't see your name as the commonwealth's attorney or the judge in the case, or the two different public defenders appointed to Taylor.
"Missing Nelson County teenager Alexis Murphy and abduction suspect Randy Taylor were both seen at a Lovingston gas station on the day of her disappearance, according to a Nelson County detective.
Detective Billy Mays said that Taylor and Murphy were both seen on surveillance video from the Liberty Gas station around 7 p.m. August 3."
when the chance of easy money catches our eye . we all have a tendency to go for it . he must have showed her alot to get her to follow him . with her education i dont believe the lilttle lost puppy dog story would have worked on her .
Dakota--"or did someone call grandma to see if by chance Alexis was there when she wasn't home ?"
That's what Mom said in the interview with Nancy Grace.
just wondering where she was staying . at her moms , or her grandmoms . this guy might have been following her up and down 29 for some time . knowing her stop off points . but how he ever lured her to his house has got me puzzled . she doesnt seem like the kind of girl that would fall for a story , not from a guy like him .
7/10ths of a mile to his house in the opposite direction of lynchburg where she was heading . hmmm . and nobody seen him snatch her up in that short a distance . think about it people . she was seen talking with him at the gas pump . that place stays packed . and nobody seen nothing . hmmm . kinda strange dont you think . he must have told her a good puppy story or showed her alot of money .
Gasbag Self Ordained Expert August 13th, 2013 | 10:11pm
Wait a minute here, Gobsmacked.... the mother had left for work long before Alexis was felt to be missing. She has to drive 50 miles to a ride share, then 85 more miles to work from this ride-share location. This means the mother leaves home around 7:00 p.m. to arrive at the ride-share by 8:00 p.m., and arrives at work by 10:30 p.m.
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Where did your reading finger come up with this 135 miles one-way to get to work??? The mother has worked for the Charlottesville Postal Service for 19 years. Even Richmond is not 135 miles away from Shipman.
Yes, and she is a HARD WORKER to have this foolishness dumped in her lap while she is away from home 13 and 14 hours a day. And she doesn't work in Richmond, She works in Sandston which is 20 miles past Richmond. Lovingston to ride-share, 50 miles. Ride-share to Sandston, another 70 miles. Combined = 125 miles to work and 125 miles one way to return home. OK, so 125 miles. My reading finger malfunctions often when reading the math in my own mind. :)
Ya see, the postal service management made all the cost cutting measures at the wrong levels. The top level management where all the extreme do-nothing salaries are wasn't touched at all. They penalized the hard working employees. Many of them have to drive 250 to 350 miles a day just to keep their jobs now. This is taking place all over the USA.
I just checked Google maps. They say Shipman to Sandston is 114 miles.
228 miles round day every day.
After 20 and 30 years invested in their postal careers, most employees couldn't quit if they wanted to,
I know there were some people wondering if Taylor was the Highway 29 stalker.
There was another article online that said Taylor couldn't have been the Highway 29 stalker (the one suspected of abducting/killing Alicia Showalters Reynolds) because he was in jail at the time. Still, I'm surprised they weren't looking at Ralph Leon Jackson for that -- he was a mechanic, and the Highway 29 killer used a ruse related to car problems. A mechanic would know how to talk his way into that one, and his haircut was even similar to one of the old sketches, although by the time they caught him, he was much older than the sketch, as the stalker would have been.
So at least Taylor's not that guy.
With this case, I'm not comfortable with Taylor until they find a body. I'm hoping there's evidence that's good enough, like her blood in his car or home, something that will hold up. There's no statute of limitations on murder and they could wait to find a body, but police can and do risk other women's lives when they leave someone that dangerous on the streets.
As for his many denials, a lot of perps are great at talking their way out of things. It's the reason they're still on the streets long enough to work their way up to murder, and then multiple murders. If police are sure they have enough to prove he was connected to her disappearance, then I'm fine with him sitting in jail. At least he can't take another girl while he's there.
C-ville must have a lot of pervs in the area. I know some people were wanting to believe that this man was responsible for the Harrington case, probably because they've wanted that old case solved for a long time. Cops say the two cases aren't related.
I'm one of the witnesses who saw what was probably the getaway car -- the one with New Jersey tags, and I have to say that the men in that car didn't look like him. He also doesn't appear to be fat enough to be the driver of the truck I saw a few days later with the long-time New Jersey predator in the front passenger seat with black plastic trash bags packed all around him, INSIDE of the truck. That one had Virginia tags.
As for people ripping on (I assume Sheriffs Deputy) Snead, what was he supposed to do when some punk -- parked near a sexual predator's house after stealing a truck to get there according to some accounts -- steals your car and starts shooting at you? And for your FYI, there was a guy who looked similar to the shooter in that case (now dead) with his head shaved bald, although I'm not sure if it was the same guy. What would a local kid from rural Virginia be doing in a car full of hardened New Jersey sexual predators?
Are cell phone "pings" really that accurate especially in rural Nelson County?
Oh man, you opened up a can of worms there, Curious! Cell phones these days can give cops your EXACT GPS, like where you are in the building and everything.
Actually the predator from New Jersey I saw on the night of the Harrington abduction has access to that type of data, and I've been complaining to a lot of people in light of the NSA revelations lately. I'm trying to give them meaningful input on how men who have those types of jobs can use cell phone data for stalking, rape, and murder. That particular predator who I recognized -- I'd already complained to the FBI that it seemed he was able to find me with my cell phone alone, because he'd find me when I hadn't used my bank card and my own mother didn't even know where I was. It's very dangerous information in the wrong hands. I also think that's why they took the battery out of Morgan Harrington's phone at the abduction site and left it there.
By the way, I (very) occasionally comment about what I saw that night online, but I do have to warn people to treat all posts about that night with caution. You never know who's commenting, if they're really the person they claim to be, or if they have some agenda. I know that I'm the witness who saw this stuff and can relate what I saw, but other people may have seen even more important things, and others could even be the predators themselves, trying to confuse everyone.
So it's part of the conversation, but nothing that you can really verify. You'll have to wait for the murder trial for that one.
" You never know who's commenting, if they're really the person they claim to be, or if they have some agenda. "
You being a PRIME example of that. Man the loonies are out!
like i said before , there is no way in hell she vanished or was abducted by force 7/10ths of a mile from the gas station to where he lived and nobody seen it . therefore is is my conclusion that she met her fate willing . case closed to me .
The old case August 14th, 2013 | 1:10pm
You don't seem to be cognizant of the fact that this article is about ALEXIS MURPHY, not Morgan Harrington. We don't care what you saw that night, which has nothing to do with August 3, 2013, which is when ALEXIS MURPHY was abducted. Morgan has had almost four years in the limelight. Right now is ALEXIS MURPHY'S time.
As the old saying goes, "if you don't have something to say about the abduction of Alexis Murphy (or whomever or whatever the current article or topic is about), say nothing at all!" or something like that. You DO have the right to remain silent.
after all the clerk at the liberty said she saw alexis talking to him , and they have him and her on video . nobody seen anything go down there or 7/10ths back to his place . hmmm . was she wearing invisible ink . this all tells me she went on her own free will . money , drugs , sex , who knows the reason . not looking like a good case here is it .
"with her education i dont believe the lilttle lost puppy dog story would have worked on her ."
I think education and common sense/self preservation are two completely different things. It has been shown that even into their 20's young people don't seriously consider that bad things can happen to them. They acknowledge danger exists, but they don't think it can happen to them.
steve davis August 14th, 2013 | 1:59pm
like i said before , there is no way in hell she vanished or was abducted by force 7/10ths of a mile from the gas station to where he lived and nobody seen it . therefore is is my conclusion that she met her fate willing . case closed to me .
____________________________________________________________________
Maybe no way in hell, but here in the real world there are many ways. So, as far as you are concerned, she deserved whatever she got, up to and including to be killed??? Interesting, in that "birds of a feather stick together." I sincerely hope the webmaster is providing your IP to the FBI.
steve -- stop making crap up and disparaging her for no reason. No one here knows yet what happened or when after she left the gas station. Where did you read the clerk saw her talking to him?
@Gobsmacked August 14th, 2013 | 2:04pm
Agreed 100%!
Well written!
the cleck told it
Well one things for sure, Taylor ain't going to get a fair trial in Nelson County. Just remember the Richard Jewell case, the anthax letters, and other big FBI busts before you convict him without hearing the facts. I myself am pretty sure they got the right guy, but you gotta wonder sometimes considering most FBI agents are accountants or attorneys.
Gobsmacked Thanks for the tidbit on the family being in the apts. Wasn't aware of that.
The old case I don't even know what to say to that. The guy is extremely familiar with that area so much so he was walking the street alone on the first attack. That guy most likely works alone. And is black. I go by the actual witness account that was the only one who saw him. By himself. She wouldn't be off from a white guy to a black guy.Though he could be a mix he was still dark skinned.
This guy in the Alexis case could have had a gun or other weapons. He also could have taken a cab, or had a local friend drive him back. Too early to make any assumptions because we do not know the order of things. And Steve you are not going to know everything unless you are with LE or FBI. Guys come up and talk to me all the time. So If I go missing it means I did a drug deal or agree to prostitution? Get outa here.
we all know she is missing , thats a fact . all the other stuff about the case is speculation and hear say . if they have enough evidence to convict this Taylor guy , then yes he needs to pay for the crime - crimes he has committed .
Another thing about the men in the probable getaway car on the night of the Harrington abduction -- I never saw a neck tatoo like Taylor's on the white men in the car, and don't remember anything like that on the white driver of the gray pickup a few days later. Now, it's possible that they weren't at the right angle to see it, but like I said he doesn't look anything like them. Totally different facial structure. If he was an accomplice to that crime, he wasn't in the car & pickup I saw.
As for the comments about the man being alone -- maybe that's true, but you don't know which witnesses are real and which ones are the predators themselves, commenting to try to throw people off. If it was as easy as the one guy who people already know, he would have been arrested by now.
It's also possible that someone assaulted her and left her on city streets, and then the other predators saw someone asking for their help, who they never intended to help at all. But the black driver of the car I saw looked very much like the sketch, and remember (from those who bother to read these comments regularly), he did smack into me on purpose really hard inside the store, and then tried to do it again. He was in a very violent mood. Then he took about a half hour in the restroom, and the body under the jacket in his car never moved for probably an hour while they were there, etc.
Also the Fairfax rapist was with his "friends" when his Fairfax victim first saw him and she asked what he was doing there.
As for the predator I recognized from New Jersey, if there are predators posting here to try to cover for him, you should learn a lesson from what happened to the kid who got himself into a shootout with the deputy. That's not the first time that things have ended badly for his accomplices.
The old case No he said he was waiting for his friends. If there were friends there that would have been mentioned with possible sketches. It was 10pm just close to the same time MH went missing along with both being a Saturday night.
Besides all that back on topic lot of activity at Randy's house now. Seems like they stumbled across something. Anyone hear anything?
wow lots of strange stuff happening up and down rt 29 . i heard that last night while a female was ending her shirt at the exxon - convienence store at the intersetion of rt 29 and 33 . a guy had got in the back seat of her car and hid . she came out and started to drive home , when he came from the back seat after her . she ran off the road and wrecked . she is in the hospital . but he ran away . no sign of him yet .
roadcapt I see no news story to verify that. That is also a claim that someone made on twitter about what happened to Alexis by an individual. Which there was no news source to verify that event either so I find these statements odd.
The old case August 14th, 2013 | 5:49pm YOU ARE NOT LISTENING! WE DO NOT CARE.
Wow, old case is getting really old. We do need to concentrate on Alexis and revisit the others later, there is a small hope she is being held somewhere..at least in my mind. It's the parent in me I guess..
well now , if randys story is true . i got 2 out of 3 right . i said money , drugs and sex were probably involved . he said he bought $60 worth drugs from a guy that she introduced him to . and that they met the other possible suspect at another location . best thing to do is to use the old lie detector test here . if he passes he walks . if he fails he stays .
If you believe this guy I got a magic carpet for sale. I'll give you a really good deal too. It's the last one left the world.
The hook will come alive in the morning ......
Stay tuned
So this guy is now the last person to be in contact with two missing teenage girls? This 47 year old skeeve dog will have us believe the girls willingly went with him to party and that some other guy, whose name he cannot remember but with whom he was partying at his compound and bought dope from(in the Murphycase) and he cannot remember any of the names of the people he was warning the Clark girl about in that case. He tells basically the same sketchy story in both cases(some unidentified black males that I knew were a threat but don't know their identities) and in the Murphy case they have physical evidence linking her to his creepy trailer.
This is starting to look like a serial killer case. LE badly needs to find Murphy to help make the case stick.
Does anyone know the answer to any of the following questions (in no order of importance):
1. Did RT *text*, place multiple (up to 5) cell phone *calls*, or a *combination of the two*, to Samantha Clarke on the night of her disappearance?
2. Why was RT's first court-appointed attorney (deBruin) replaced by Mike Hallahan?
3. The tweet that is garnering a great deal of attention right now--and for good reason--is something akin to "Saw u at the Liberty with dem flowered pants. Goodness girl."
* Given his sporadic (and under-) employment, is it reasonable to assume that RT would be able to afford a smart phone and/or a computer? [If he had a phone--smart or dumb--by this time the FBI would have seized it and/or any computer equipment he owns, and would have long since begun the forensic analysis of both. (Any cyber forensic analyst worth his/her salt would have by this time been able to search both for all of RT's activity, inc. tweets.) Even prior to that analysis, LE would also have been able to obtain records from Twitter, etc. to confirm whether or not RT had an account.]
* On a more nuanced level: Look again at the specific tweet in question. ["Saw u at the Liberty with dem flowered pants. Goodness girl."] While most people *do* write like they talk, most people know the difference between "dem" and "them", and write the latter (not the former). To write the former is almost an affectation--something that would not quickly be associated with a tweeter like RT--if RT even tweeted anything to begin with. [This goes back to LE/FBI being able to determine in pretty short order whether or not RT even had a Twitter account.]
A random thought: The intentionally distant court date may well be a reflection of the lack of evidence currently held by LE upon which to build a case, and/or the hope that between the arrest and the court date Alexis will be found.
Now, to take the position of devil's advocate (because these are precisely the questions that Hallahan will undoubtedly ask in court):
* It was reported by a witness that, at some point, RT, was sitting in his car for a period of time in the parking lot of the Food Lion (nearby the Liberty gas station). Could RT have merely sitting in his vehicle waiting for someone--not stalking someone, but intentionally waiting for someone to whom he was giving a ride? Or, could RT not have just purchased some food/snack and was sitting there eating it? Has no one here ever done either or both?
* More importantly, given that RT lived right near the Liberty gas station, is it not reasonable that he would frequent that gas station and conceivable that he visited that station on the same evening as AM, thereby appearing on the surveillance video? [Recall that there was no interaction between the two on the video; they both just appeared on the video, though it is unclear if it was even at or near the same time.]
-------------------------
Two **strong** observations following the lead story on NBC29 this morning, re: Hallahan's statements regarding his client, RT:
1. Dakota (as seen in his Aug. 15, 12:24am post above) is either: a) prescient; or b) possesses an unmatched inside track on this investigation. [In either case, well-done, Dakota.]
2. In his interview Hallahan presents some *very* compelling--and detailed--information regarding this case that leads listeners to believe either: a) RT's story pointing to a different suspect; or b) that RT is the consummate liar.
I'm voting for (a).
Shempdaddy: I understand your line of reasoning; however, you state in part "...he (RT) cannot remember any of the names of the people he was warning the Clark girl about in that case..."
I do not believe the above is an accurate statement. I believe (and Courteney can confirm this via her earlier article) that RT did, in fact, offer the names of the two individuals that he warned SM about. [For that matter (and according to the article/interview), SM's mother went and spoke to the two individuals named by RT.]
Courteney, please confirm or correct my understanding based upon the earlier article.
Shempdaddy, you also state: "This 47 year old skeeve dog will have us believe the girls willingly went with him to party..."
Again, I do not believe that is an accurate reflection of RT's earlier statements, re: SC. I don't believe that he indicated that SC went with him at any point to party, including but not limited to the night of her disappearance. In that instance, I believe he stated he contacted her by phone several times that evening to warn her about other individual who wanted to harm her. I don't believe there was any evidence that lead to them (that is, RT and SC) partying alone or with others on the evening in question.
Note: I am not defending RT, as he may well be the BG in both cases. I am just pointing out the inaccuracies that will undoubtedly be pointed out by Hallahan.
[Correction: My 7:18am post should reflect "SC" (not "SM") for "Samantha Clarke".]
Looks like old Randy is pretty slick at muddling the facts to put himself in a more favorable light. Makes me wonder if he cut the wire on his tag light (the picture actually looks like the whole assembly was removed) once he found the GPS, because he knew Greene County's finest wouldn't be able to counter that point because it didn't occur to them someone might do that. Seems to me like he's pretty smart at skirting stuff over the years. Maybe has bought weed from this guy in the Caprice before and has drank a beer with him and just kept the bottle around to use it as an alibi, or it's a random description of countless young males who wear their hair in a popular way and fix up old cars in a certain way. Remember the white van scourge from the DC sniper? You never realized how many white vans were actually out on the road until then.
Either RT is:
a. one of the most unlucky individuals on the planet as he has now been (as he would have us believe) unfairly linked to not one but two MP cases wherein (as he alleges) the first (SC) was really perpetrated by two *other* individuals, and the second (AM) was perpetrated by yet a *third*, unrelated individual;
or
b. the consummate liar who, when caught in a bind, can think only to point to others as the BG(s);
and
is a great hider-of-bodies, as neither MP has been found as yet.
Time will tell which he is.
@The Old Case Why are you so hooked on the harrington case and how do you have so much info? Are you a stalker seeing as you knew how long this man was in the bathroom and the body never moved for an hour. And why wouldnt have that alarmed you enough to call the police they def would have had plenty of time to get there and investigate if he was in no hurry to leave seeing as you watched the "body" for an hour. You also keep sayin "maybe that's true, but you don't know which witnesses are real and which ones are the predators themselves" ummmm I'm thinkin someone should be lookin into your crazy self!
Someone needs to tell the commenter named Mary on the related NBC 29 article (re: Hallahan's disclosure and RT's story) that she needs to call LE ***NOW*** with the information she has about the man in the burgundy vehicle.
Help me to understand... August 15th, 2013 | 7:09am
2. Why was RT's first court-appointed attorney (deBruin) replaced by Mike Hallahan?
DeBruin claimed a conflict--which was probably a conflict with his conscience, therefore, he was unable to defend this sleaze bag. The are some things even a lawyer won't do.
* Given his sporadic (and under-) employment, is it reasonable to assume that RT would be able to afford a smart phone and/or a computer?
Tracfone or other pre-paid throwaway phones??? They sell all kinds of Internet capable phones, which can be hidden or thrown away. Tracing a twitter account would be hard, but not impossible.
a) RT's story pointing to a different suspect; or b) that RT is the consummate liar.
I'm voting for (a).
I'm voting for (b). A pathological liar is very convincing. They tell the lie over and over in their heads until they believe it themselves. They can't be caught on a lie detector test. I was once very close to an investigation in which I had known the suspect for 12 years. I had always found him very interesting, and loved to hear his stories about his life. In the end, after three different psychiatrists, including the one hired by the defense, deemed him a psychopath and pathological liar, unable to tell the truth from a lie, he admitted his guilt and I found out that all his "life stories" were a lie. Especially his Vietnam war stories--he had been booted out of the army for being mentally unstable after only a few months. Friends and family refused to believe he was capable of his crimes, even after he admitted guilt and gave details.
Mary may just be the same poster who seems to post under multiple names on these sites for some bizarre reason. Sometimes pretending to be incoherent, sometimes pretending to be hyper rational, talking between his hats etc.
Wow August 15th, 2013 | 7:48am
Looks like old Randy is pretty slick at muddling the facts to put himself in a more favorable light. Makes me wonder if he cut the wire on his tag light (the picture actually looks like the whole assembly was removed) once he found the GPS, because he knew Greene County's finest wouldn't be able to counter that point because it didn't occur to them someone might do that.
Bingo! We have a winner here!!!
Sorry Lolita, but we as a country apparently only care about missing pretty females. :/
Very sad.
Dave Anthony August 15th, 2013 | 9:55am
Sorry Lolita, but we as a country apparently only care about missing pretty females. :/
Very sad.
___________________________________________________________________
There are very many of us out here who care very much about DaShad "Sage" Smith. That said, when the missing person was a pretty white, blonde girl, everyone was claiming that the country only cared about WHITE, pretty blonde girls. Now that the missing girl is black, just the word white is deleted. Pretty cold that you begrudge Alexis Murphy and her family the same thing you wish for Sage and his family.
Alexis Murphy's case is very different from Sage's--first and foremost, because she is a minor, but mostly because they have hard evidence to follow. There is nothing like the surveillance video and cell phone evidence, plus locating the abandoned car she was driving in Sage's disappearance.
I have long felt that NBC29news is an extention of the local LE arm of coverup .
I hope when the Hook goes to print.... more details come out .
I've never been one to believe in "coincidence." The fact that this guy is one of the last known people to have had contact with Samantha Clarke and is now admitting that he was with Alexis on the night she disappeared is more than suspect. And the claim that he's making about the black guy with cornrows who drives the Caprice with 22" rims. Wow. Really? So let me get this straight, you spark up a convo with some random chick at a gas station and ask her if she knows where you can score some weed so you go back to your place and meet the "dealer" and this little cutie there. You buy some weed, smoke a blunt, drink a beer, etc. but you never catch this guy's name. Sounds to me like Mr. Taylor is trying to point fingers at a guy he's seen around town and he's sure other people have seen around town because honestly, how many Caprice's with 22" rims are there in Nelson county? Unless he abducted her at the gas station, why would he admit to the cops that he was with her? Is he really that arrogant to think that the cops are going to fall for that? Oh, that's right, he's been "harassed" by the cops in the past and gone to the media about it so he thinks he can play that card again.
The law offices of Rhea and Hallahan, opening soon in a location near you...
If you suspended the constitution in the missing persons cases you could solve all of them. The police could water board interrogate their "persons of interest" or at the least force them to take a polygraph test, and search any place they choose. But in America, the cops are restricted and have to make do following the rules against pathological liars and with nothing but dead ends. I prefer it this way as opposed to living in a police state, but it does promote a great environment for criminals and sickos.
What police misconduct? Saving life is well established exception to warrant requirement so the GPS to find Clarke was legal even w/o a stop or new ruling. Do your legal research, Hook. Let's recap. Having gamed the system, Rhea and the RAT eagerly trot down to the Hook to defame detectives who know what RAT is, to besmirch others as possible killers of Samantha Clarke and to grasp 15 unearned seconds of fake fame. RAT, lifelong felon, burglar, arsonist, armed, drunk probationer w/o license and POI in active abduction/murder investigation, gets Hook's cover girl status, not STILL missing girl!! Gasp. Judge Bouton releases to hunt again a lifelong felon, burglar, arsonist, armed, drunk probation violator who is also a POI in active abduction/murder case in which victim might still be alive! That's not justice, folks, not even in Greene County. Please post decision and transcript, Hook, so public can see just what kind of "justice" we're getting. No wonder RAT had no compunction whatsoever about running out to find new victims. Bouton should resign, Rhea should relinquish his law license and the Hook should apologize for giving unwarranted publicity to a practiced and habitual psychopath. Attention mongering race baiters who pretend to care about justice and who could care less about dead women of any color should be out in forlorn places searching for more victims in America's real war on women or at least angrily massing downtown in pink hoodies demanding justice for Clarke and Murphy. Does anyone care about justice for crime victims in this sick dumb nation of moral defectives? Or is "justice" now served only to congenital losers with 14 page rap sheets, multiple sentences imposed but never served, multiple probation violations and a hankering to kill more women? Why aren't race-baiters and social justice phonies up in arms that some lurid, lying, white, felon and his lawyer, in light of incriminating evidence found in camper, are now trying to peg the murder of Alexis, a black woman, on some imaginary pot-smoking black man with 22 inch rims? Oh, I forgot! The victims here are women, women mercilessly hunted by failed males like RAT daily and hourly solely because they are women so no outrage necessary from the usual pack of self interested yahoos. Question: how many sexual psychopaths can one small town harbor? RAT has every reason to believe that justice is not for women or the dead, but just for RAT. Ladies, don't look to this denuded legal system to protect you. Get a gun, learn how to use it and protect yourself. Stay frosty ladies, because around every darkening turn, at every gas station, concert, shop, street and scenic byway, some lurid RAT is waiting, along with his debased entourage of enablers, apologists and facilitators. And the oblivious public that created a society in which women of every race, age, color and ethnicity are always fair game for homicide will never dare say it's a problem, much less a crisis, much less an international issue of pressing national security, but will calmly peruse newspapers, gazing at more smiling photos of more dead/missing women and saying oh... what a pity.
Hair in camper was speedily confirmed. Fact that FBI was on ground on day two with mere missing person, no body, shows that FBI knows that Taylor is a killer so when another girl mile and a half from him goes missing, they know where to look. Thx to Dakota for good info and asking the right questions. This is going to get very, very ugly.
Does Taylor have a brother? Why does one mug shot have two neck tattoos and the other mug shot does not appear to have them? Does he own a tow truck? Where is it? Have they searched the used car lot in Ruckersville where he worked?
Even though this guy is scum he is smart when it comes to the law. He knows if there is no body and no other tangible evidence he will walk free. There was a lady that called into Nancy Grace the other night that asked if his brother was involved no one had heard about a brother and I think this same woman also posted that he used to park next to her when they worked at Walmart!? She sounds suspect.......she seems to know some things that the authorities dont know.
hello folks , i myself like alot of you have a child . therefore anybody out there that has any possitive information that can help in this case or any missing persons case . PLEASE do not hesitate to contact the authourities . that being said i will start my story . i come from the small town of Orange Va , but now reside in Greene . therefore i know some of the missing CLARKE girls family , but not SAMANTHA herself . also living here in Greene i know a bit about RANDY . nothing about him that i ever saw gave me the impression that he would ever have intentions to do something like this . then again i could be wrong . i myself have had my bad moments with the law , done my time , got out and settled down . other then that i havent changed . i still have tattoos and wear my hair long . and continue to obey the law so that i may remain free . RANDY does not have a good batting average as far as the law goes , thats fact . then again some say he was kind , respectful , appreciative , and the like . i understand the strageness that 2 young females are unaccounted for while being associated with him . take into consideration also that these missing girls familys arent the only ones that lost something here . due to the charges against him that he was found innocent of , he lost his son , his home , his job , perhaps even some pride and dignity along the way . when we tend to start losing these things . we become desolate . use drugs , booze and any other means to ease the pain and try to make our lifes seem meaningful . im not here on behalf of RANDY or anyone else . just trying to give whats going on around me some input . in hopes that if the law has the proof . he needs to pay for his crime-crimes . until then he s innocent . my sympathy goes out to the all of the victims in this case and any other case like it . our children are our future . we must protect them before ourselves no mater what . or tomarrow may become a nightmare , instead of a reality for us . thanks for letting me post .
I don't care about the job, "dignity", home or familial ties of a serial killer and the more charming and agreeable he seems, the more likely he is to satisfy the criteria for psychopath. Psychopaths need vulnerable, naïve, desperate and stupid people in their orbit at all times and they have no problem finding them. What did Taylor burn, dixiedreg, that got him convicted for arson? No supposed problem on planet warrants killing women. Taylor will not walk. He will realize he will be executed for at least one of his victims, he can choose between needle and electrocution and if he wants to stay alive, perchance to dream of killing more women, he can start doing something marvelously manly, sexy and radical. He can tell the truth. Novel concept to a craven coward. Terrorists, at least, admit their terrible crimes like Hassan and many others. This guy is morally inferior to any terrorist.
so you mean to tell us something here that we already know ? that these missing girls were vulnerable , naive , desperate , stupid etc . wow you are keeping up arent you ? ok the guy who lives on the same street as TAYLOR says TAYLOR seemed weird-strange , would walk up down rt 29 . the guy that works at liberty says TAYLOR would park there all the time and that was strange . 1 guy says TAYLOR looked out of place sitting in food lion parking lot watching people . the woman working at the cash register says she saw ALEXIS talking to him . all these people in a close nit place see this out of place TAYLOR . but never say anything . wow that is until after they have him in custody as a suspect . like i said wow . no mater what the case might be or the background of the missing females might be . does that make them guilty also . i didnt think so . what im trying to say here is that sometimes we all wear a mask . he could be the kind , caring , respectful , killer . then again the girls might not be the straight A students , that call home if their gonna be late , or want to party and send all the bad signals out there for preditors .
If anyone has a neighbor or knows someone like the suspect claims, then you need to call police and let them know about it:
"Taylor claims the other man is a black male, in his mid-to-late 20s with cornrows driving an old burgundy Caprice with 22-inch wheels."
The going trend seems to be people making fun of Taylor's story, but It's possible that Taylor is accusing someone he already knows to create confusion, or that parts of the story are true. They haven't found a body yet, so anything that might point police in the direction to find her is a good thing to share.
If ever there was a need for the FBI in a case this is it. I hope they are using all tools available to them and have obtained all legal clearance. This is an example of a State that is just undermanned and not up to the demands of it's citizens.
I also hope ALL of the poster on any thread about these crimes are gathered and cross referenced. There are serious possibilities of someone with real information being block intentionally or not from helping.
I know and D knows and Gasbag knows that Hawes would check the ISP's and stop the multiple screen names. He would even dress them down. Ms. Stuart as we know is on the national stage. I hope that the posters that have been eating up the tread with post to themselves is exposed today to the world.
It is a crime to impede an investigation.
Fact is if this girl dies and the time was after the arrest then these sick games should be treated as crimes that resulted in death.
Maybe: dixiedreg62 August 15th, 2013 | 3:40pm is real. I don't know. If so it was a brave post and one that is needed. But for sure someone at The Hook knows.
Just delete the multiple users, hell the right to do so is right here beneath this area. Let BIG FOOT do as it is intended!
Michael, I can not and will not go into details, but the FBI has tools at their disposal that would make most law enforcement agencies think they are still living in the 1960's. This is already a known fact, and it's most likely the reason the FBI was called into a case so early that could involve a serial killer.
As you may recall, the local serial rapist of 12 to15 years was only caught after one of his victims saw the suspect in a Burger King eating. Evidence for DNA collection was gathered from a trash can I think. I often wonder if the FI could have caught him quicker using their magical bag of tools at their disposal. maybe jurisdiction was a problem back during the local serial rapist investigation.
Agreed 100%
The Hook has long needed to go to a better comment system ......
Expose the multiple posters and it will clean itself up...
Something is going on..another bond hearing next week.
Belsma August 15th, 2013 | 6:45pm
Something is going on..another bond hearing next week.
I know nothing about Taylors assigned defense ....... He throwing cards on the table before a bond hearing ... seems odd but it put the info out he wanted... Susan Smith took a backseat after Taylors explanation... tight down to the whells ... damn
The bond hearing is a given , Force some info released as to why Taylor should be held.
I am getting the feeling if I need a good old fasion southern lawyer where to find one ...
Hallahan ,to be fair doesnt have a poker face...nor ask for the case.
His facial expressions and reply when ask if he had questioned Taylor of AM's wherabouts = EPIC FAIL
Belsma August 15th, 2013 | 6:45pm
Something is going on..another bond hearing next week.
New Lawyer new hearing.
ooppss See D already got that one.
he's right
Thanks Sutton and Dakota..I feel they should hold this guy and I may be letting my emotions get in the way, but his story just does not add up to me.
"11,000." twitter followers? A girl from such a rural place like Shipman, that is a red flag or an exaggeration. My prayers are with this family.
@Elleigh..I don't know if its an exaggeration or not, but it seems to be a "contest" with social media, even with adults, but especially teens. Regardless, she does not deserve whatever seems to have happened to her.
Someone may have already addressed this in a comment. If so, I apologize for not catching it.
The latest that I heard is that RT is blaming a black guy and I kind of wonder...is it possible RT was in cahoots with said black man? Obviously my mind goes back to the Morgan Harrington murder and DNA collected on her was from a black man who raped in NoVA. I realize it may be a Susan Smith situation where the caught white guy just blames some mysterious black man to throw off the scent; however, given the proximity to these two cases....it just makes me wonder if RT and the DNA guy from the Morgan Harrington case are connected in some way.
Frosty, I think the DNA from the Harrington case is from an older guy..not in early 20's as RAT is "reporting". But my memory could be serving me wrong.
RT said the guy he bought weed from came back to his camper and smoked with him; WOW how many drug dealers do you know will have time to sit down and smoke with a random stranger his phone would be BLOWING UP bc he has other buyers!!!!! His lawyer is an idiot he says that they know who the OTHER GUY is!!!!! Really!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! He needs to be disbarred. Where did he get his degree? Jailhouse University!!!!!!!!!!!
I also wondered, Frosty, if RAT does the killing and his black cohort does the dumping. Assuming black man even exists, when RAT says he does not know black man's name, another LIE, LIE, LIE. Would RAT try to frame another for his crimes? OF COURSE! One serial killer, now free and once a prime suspect in unsolved Shenandoah Park female hiker double homicide, plants the DNA of another at his crime scenes, which isn't hard to do.
Comments online can't hinder this or any investigation. Rumor, innuendo, gossip, speculation, rumination, luck and simple twists of fate do break open cases all the time. Who are the females, if any, in this suspect's life? I would be talking to them about his habits, hang-outs, associates and goings on. Even if the female is helping him in some way, which often is the case, she may be willing to talk in exchange for reduced charges. The guy, for instance, who abducted Jaycee Dugard and kept her for years, had a wife and female accomplice who was key to making a case against him.
Mr/Mrs/Miss wondering, I'm not defending this Taylor guy....... but the suspect and vehicle Randy Taylor is speaking of DOES exist. I have noticed the vehicle only recently in my travels, as if the owner has recently purchased it. It is an old style burgundy Chevrolet Caprice 1985 to 1990 model with large chrome wheels (the old box style Caprice). It is nice and shiny. I have repeatedly noticed this car in my travels because the low beam headlights are on with the high beams, intentionally or perhaps an electrical problem. I saw him just last week, parking and going into Walmart late at night. Rumor is he works there night shift.
Beebop August 15th, 2013 | 4:07pm
I don't care about the job, "dignity", home or familial ties of a serial killer and the more charming and agreeable he seems, the more likely he is to satisfy the criteria for psychopath. Psychopaths need vulnerable, naïve, desperate and stupid people in their orbit at all times
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Well said. The only thing I would like to add is this: Every day, multiple times a day, psychopaths fool strong, sophisticated, confident and intelligent people. Psychopaths are master gamers of the system.
By all means, thoroughly chase down black guy with burgundy caprice lead and you, gasbag, should call lead detectives and tell then to look at walmart night shift employee for sure. Maybe Taylor did not act alone, but he did act.
The task force already has all of this information. But always remember, if I was a suspected serial killer I could have pulled the car and driver out of my hat too just from seeing him around town. It certainly doesn't mean he was really involved.
Maybe the cornrow guy's job is the straw man to provide reasonable doubt when this goes to trial. He can act suspicious, sinister and creepy so as to deflect suspicion from RT with no fear of charges being filed on him because he has no involvement so there will be no shred of evidence against him? Any possibility to that? Kind of like the role George Anthony played in Casey Anthony's trial.
wondering August 16th, 2013 | 9:59am
How quick we forget. In 2010 Virginia did get a plea deal from someone who posted on two internet boards. This person did a small amount of time for doing exactly what could be done here. They pointed fingers and named someone in a missing person's case.
That is a fact!
The 1 news paper gave up the ISP /IP and all info to the State after FBI assisted with investigating.
Even gasbag referenced some online threats or claims. I believe that was a civil matter.
And least us remember "JADE".
Criminal charges there too!
Taylor wouldn't make up someone who didn't exist. But he didn't give a name in case the guy has a rock solid alibi. If he does, Taylor will say it was a different black guy with dreads.
Is there even evidence her car was at his house? A hair could have been on him and it got there later. What time was the last ping? I think if she had made it to carmike to do something and she was followed then it could make more sense to how the car got there and whatever else occurred happened elsewhere and then he kept her phone and maybe messed with it before shutting it off at his place. I don't know the time stamps for that to be possible or what they found. Not to be morbid but I hope they checked the surrounding dumpsters in that apt. area. They found the car later and maybe it was already picked up? I assume this is something that was checked already. The scent trail is interesting as it maybe she was there or picked up right there. No idea. Any of that possible?
I'm sure this other guy exist but he probably has nothing to do with this. Problem is Randy's drug deal story doesn't make any logical sense. Even if she was doing a drug deal. Why would she help him? Why did she need to be there? Why would she just sit there with two guys and not smoke or drink hanging out? $60 deal for that time? What would she get out of that? Left in separate cars.
The only 2 things that might be true is a discussion about weed at the gas station and leaving in 2 separate cars. Liars tend to take a little truth then make up a big fat fairy tale.
Armchair August 16th, 2013 | 9:02pm
Is there even evidence her car was at his house? A hair could have been on him and it got there later. What time was the last ping? I think if she had made it to carmike to do something
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The car was not at Carmike over the weekend. If she drove it there, it was after she had been missing 48 hours or more.
Okay. I thought they just didn't discover it till that day.
@ Gasbag Self Ordained Expert August 15th, 2013 | 5:56pm
"As you may recall, the local serial rapist of 12 to15 years was only caught after one of his victims saw the suspect in a Burger King eating. Evidence for DNA collection was gathered from a trash can I think."
Point of fact: The Charlottesville rapist (as he was aptly dubbed) was not caught after one of his victims saw him at a Burger King eating. Instead, one of his victims spotted him at the Harris Teeter grocery store in the Barracks Rd. Shopping Center where he was working behind the meat counter as a meat cutter. She contacted LE, who in turn placed him under surveillance.
A quick-thinking detective grabbed a disposable cup and straw that the suspect had tossed after drinking from it at a local Burger King. The DNA results from the cup and straw came back quickly, showing it was a perfect match to every attack, and they arrested him three days later.
The detective went on to receive a prestigious University award for her work in bringing this individual to justice. [I recall all of this well, as I was there when she received the award.]
@ Dakota August 15th, 2013 | 7:05pm
"I know nothing about Taylors assigned defense"
I am able to shed only a little light on Hallahan, RT's defense attorney. He originally worked in LE in both Greene and Albemarle. He went on later to earn his JD and practice criminal law. [His mother and I served on the BOD together for a local organization several years ago.]
Like most people watching and reading, we are scratching our collective heads wondering what particular strategy Hallahan was employing by releasing all of the information he did regarding his client's version of the events surrounding the disappearance of ATM. As pointed out by Dave Heilberg--a seasoned defense attorney--neither the defense nor the prosecution wants to knowingly show their hand any sooner than necessary. In Hallahan's case, he not only has shown his hand, but with his interview, he made LE's job that much more difficult. [That is, LE releases only certain information at certain times, for very specific investigative reasons. It is safe to say that Hallahan threw a not-insignificant wrench into those works when he came forth with the story as alleged by his client, RT.]
no witnesses = no conviction on the abduction charge . he did say she was at his place while the drug deal went down . so there will have to be alot of good proof for anything else that happened to her after she was there or after she left there . she was seen talking to him at the gas pump . but nobody seen him abduct her . so thats going to be a closed case as far i see it . now if they find her body , then thats murder and the law must prove hid did that . and whatever else might have been done to her .
when you leave that gas station , you stop at a light , if you turn right you head towards Lynchburg . if you turn left you heard back towards Taylors place . and nobody seen him abduct her . leading me to think she drove there on her own free will . no way he could have snatched her up in that short a distance and nobody seen it . and theres really no way he could have driven both vehichles . right ?
then again these are other possibilities to look at also . he could have been watching - stalking her for awhile by eye or from her facebook - twitter account . maybe he walked to the gas station . alot of maybes here to pounder . we have yet to see him on video there . but the cashier says she did see Alexis talking to a guy at the pump . but she has yet to eyewitness it as being Randy . but we do see Alexis on the camera there . he could have asked her about pot - or she could have asked him about pot . as proof we all know that they both indulged in smoking it . so maybe he got in her car there on a promise , a con , a story he made up about pot . to get her to give him a ride back to his place . as stated in all these posts here . theres alot of ifs , ands , maybes , perhaps , and so on .
im just not buying that he took her by force . she s 5 ft 7 , 156 pounds , alot of Alexis there for a small guy like Taylor to handle in that area by himself . alot of people and traffic in that area 24-7 . somebody would have seen it .
Mr/Mrs/Miss Help me to understand, thanks for the clarification. The fact still remains that the suspect might still be out there raping women if not for a victim spotting him, a victim who got the ball rolling once again in his capture. The detective might have done a good job and follow up, but the victim actually solved the case in my opinion. In all fairness to law enforcement though..... abduction, rape and murder is not as easy to solve in real life as it is on television. Thank God the victim finally spotted the serial rapist and contacted police immediately.
dixiedreg62 August 17th, 2013 | 7:33pm
maybe he walked to the gas station . alot of maybes here to pounder . we have yet to see him on video there . but the cashier says she did see Alexis talking to a guy at the pump . but she has yet to eyewitness it as being Randy . but we do see Alexis on the camera there .
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You bring up some good points:
"Mr. Taylor told law enforcement that he met this missing girl at the Liberty gas station by coincidence. He had parked at the pumps to buy cigarettes and she had parked at the pumps to get gas," Hallahan said.
1. On a busy Friday night, why would he park at the pumps, if he was only going inside to buy cigarettes??? That's why they have parking in front near the doors, not blocking the pumps.
2. If he bought cigarettes or made any purchase at all, why doesn't he show up on surveillance video? Alexis shows up more than once.
Coincidence that they met by chance??? I don't think so.
dixiedreg62 August 17th, 2013 | 7:40pm
im just not buying that he took her by force . she s 5 ft 7 , 156 pounds , alot of Alexis there for a small guy like Taylor to handle in that area by himself .
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RAT is a life-long felon who was in prison for five years. He is also male, working at jobs which require strength. Wiry little guys have more to prove.
ATM is a teenage girl, no matter if she is 5' 7" tall and weighs 156 pounds. She has not lived a life hanging out in bars, fraternizing with criminals.
Moreover, a gun or knife is a great equalizer. If he has been stalking her, knows all about her and her family, who knows what he told her to get her to go quietly??? He's already been convicted of arson once, what if he told her he knows where she lives and he will burn down her house with family in it.
1 hair of hers found at his place 8 days after she went missing . when they had him on the radar before that . sounds kinda strange to me . no sign of a struggle . and woman says Alexis was seen talking to Taylor . funny how they say they have him on video , but arent showing it . but quick to show her on it there . for all we know her and the real abductor could be kicked back laughing at all this . affraid to come home , thinking bout all the $hit they have sturred up .
cops are crooks also , they do set people up so they can keep the public at ease and let them think they are doing their job , so we will continue to pay for their coffee and doughnuts . they found her car 1st , then could have taken a hair out of it and planted it as his place 8 dayslater . they didnt find his hair or anything of his in her car yet have they ? maybe they will now that he is in custody . you know the old saying fool me once shame on me . fool me twice shame on you .
Fbi is on this too that would not be possible unless one wants to think fbi is setting him up too. I would not believe that at all. They have more evidence not being released. Now I'm wondering if he got back in his truck followed her to the next destination and got her at gunpoint, other weapon or pretend weapon. Left her car or his car there. Went back for it later. He had her car over the next few days somewhere. Then decided to move it by her families location. I don't think anyone else was involved except possibly he might have had a friend pick him up on Tuesday. If that happened they might not have had any idea what he was up to. I remember hearing someone say they saw him with 2 people one of those days.
lol you need to see all the people that the FBI has set up over there years . even their own agents have been set up by them . Taylor is either a mastermind , or he had help . or she went to his place on her own free will . 1 of these 3 is the only way this could have happened . im gonna take my gamble on the last 1 .
@ dixiedreg62 August 17th, 2013 | 11:40pm
"...and woman says Alexis was seen talking to Taylor . funny how they say they have him on video , but arent showing it . but quick to show her on it there."
A female clerk at the Liberty gas station reported that she witnessed ATM talking with RT.
1. What possible purpose might this clerk have for reporting this if it were untrue?
2. Are you proposing that this clerk is somehow complicit in a cover-up or conspiracy on the part of LE/the FBI?
While LE has RT on video at the Liberty gas station, there were at least four reasons for not splashing it on tv:
a. They were trying to determine the whereabouts of a missing 17YO. That was--and is--the focus of their investigation.
b. Based upon the still photo of RT, LE was already canvassing certain businesses to determine if he had been seen (and/or to identify RT). Had they made public the photo of RT, there is *every* chance that he would have immediately gone to ground/gone dark.
c. If RT had an accomplice, his/she might conceivably have taken action--terminal action--against RT after seeing RT's surveillance photo in the media. [Recall that early on LE's only connection to ATM was RT.
d. Once RT was identified and arrested, there was no need to publish his still surveillance photo from the gas station; his mug shot from the CV/Albemarle Joint Security Complex was more than sufficient for the public to see in order to bring forth any tips or information regarding his whereabouts and activities both immediately before and subsequent to ATM's disappearance.
You go on to say:
"...cops are crooks also , they do set people up...they found her car 1st , then could have taken a hair out of it and planted it as his place 8 dayslater . they didnt find his hair or anything of his in her car yet have they ?"
You are entitled to your theories of a vast conspiracy on the part of LE (with federal agents from the FBI in cahoots); however:
a. The FBI has *intentionally*--emphasis on "intentionally"--not released to you or to me or the general public what other evidence they have retrieved, or where said evidence was retrieved. The reasons are two-fold:
1. You and I and the general public do not need to know.
2. LE does not want to provide any more information than necessary to the defense, any earlier than they have to. [That is what the discovery phase is for.]
b. What possible reason might LE have to plant evidence in this instance? Would they risk their professional reputations and careers on a ne'er-do-well like RT? Would they not be concerned that, were they to plant evidence to implicate an innocent man and the real criminal be subsequently identified, they would not only place themselves in professional jeopardy, but place in jeopardy any/all of the convictions in all of the earlier cases with which they have been involved?
You and I and the rest of the public can rest assured that LE did not base their arrest of RT and charge him with abduction by force based only on one of ATM's hair found in his camper. They are wiser than that, especially considering their goal is to ensure successful prosecution of this case, wherever that may lead.
Know this: LE told RT only that they had recovered one of ATM's hairs from his camper. That should not be interpreted to mean that that was all the evidence they had collected; it was simply the only piece of evidence they chose to share with him.
they probably dont have nothing on him , they just trying their usual scare tatics on him . thats why they wat to keep him in jail for 5 months , so they can try to get him for it . i know his lawyer and he s a dumb 1 . thats why he s making them speed up the court procedings . if Taylor done it - he was slick about it . after all he went to the best school there is to learn how not to get caught . its called prison .
I wonder if some of Taylor's friends are starting to roll things around in their minds and realize that a lot of things add up and make sense now?
Taylor has no friends, only victims.
@ Help me to understand... August 17th, 2013 | 5:25pm
“Like most people watching and reading, we are scratching our collective heads wondering what particular strategy Hallahan was employing by releasing all of the information he did regarding his client's version of the events surrounding the disappearance of ATM. As pointed out by Dave Heilberg--a seasoned defense attorney--neither the defense nor the prosecution wants to knowingly show their hand any sooner than necessary. In Hallahan's case, he not only has shown his hand, but with his interview, he made LE's job that much more difficult. [That is, LE releases only certain information at certain times, for very specific investigative reasons. It is safe to say that Hallahan threw a not-insignificant wrench into those works when he came forth with the story as alleged by his client, RT.]”
What is your standing to say what most people think?
The best favor any can do for Alexis is to find her. The Attorney is telling us that there is someone to look for that was with her. That is not STRATEGY, that is a person that took the BAR and is a sworn officer of the court. Un-like you! It is not the Attorneys job to dismiss claims by his client, if he thinks there is a any chance that the other man can lead to finding Alexis then hell, he would not be an officer of the court if he didn't try.
Alexis is a girl, not adult and she is not accused so drop the “ATM”. 3 letter abbreviations are for the worst offenders. She is a victim and the parallels to an “ATM” MACHINE are rude.
The FBI should have been called in on the Harrington case the day the Mother was told her daughter was dressed provocatively.
That Attorney is so very important. See, “HELP ME”. The accused is owed, it his right [excuses to Bill Marshall] to an Attorney. He doesn’t have to earn that right, he doesn’t have to have a job, he doesn’t have to bath or pay taxes.
If the man is convicted in a court of law while being represented by a competent Attorney then the family of Alexis can know that these loop-holes are not going to set him or who knows another person free.
This whole thing - is just particularly filthy. Makes me want to shower to even think about this stuff. So many people dissecting this girl’s childhood and passing judgment on her every word in tweets.
You can see the humanity and fairness in Dakota’s statements as he reminds of the most recent missing person prior to this. You can see how GasBag has admiration and concern for Alexis’s hard working family.
The your
“Please help me understand... August 16th, 2013 | 5:13pm “
You need to understand, REALLY!! Read ever single word in what you typed at 5:13pm and read it again. ISP’s well really now, don’t you know…
Then Dakota could tell you just why, you are being called out! But we will not, because its your right to show the world just what you are!
Taylor is charged with abduction by force . with no key eyewitness or Alexis herself to testify to this charge . its going to be hard to prove he did it . now if they find her alive and she can testify he did it . thats another story . alot could have been done to her , but without a body . theres nothing to go on . he says she was at his place on her own free will along with a drug dealer . with her missing only the drug dealer can dispute Taylors claim .
people say that this so called drug dealer is real , they have seen him around . so he needs to contact the law and give his side of the story , if he even has 1 to tell . or mainly just to clear his name . because if it comes to be that he was really the last 1 to see her before she went missing . then he s gonna be the 1 that takes the fall for whatever happened to Alexis .
@Michael Sutton..Morgan was wearing a t-shirt, black mini with tights, and knee high boots. Sounds to me the only skin showing was neck, face and arms. I guess it depends on ones opinion of provocative is though.
dixiedreg62 August 19th, 2013 | 4:33pm
people say that this so called drug dealer is real , they have seen him around . so he needs to contact the law and give his side of the story ,
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RAT's lawyer claims to have located the (so-called) "drug dealer" several days ago. He has been questioned.
i havent seen the news of Taylors lawyer saying or claiming that . where can we read or see that news report ? or are you the only 1 that knows of this ?
@ Belsma August 19th, 2013 | 4:41pm
Exactly the point. When Gil said that on JVM she was cut off. Morgan’s clothing was NOT provocative In fact it would be more than normal for the event she was attending.
The person in LE that said that to Gil should have been slapped right then with a civil rights charge. Implying that Morgan was being denied equal protection. If the FBI had been brought in at that time on request from the family things would have been different.
But, the parents PR firm made a calculated decision. The FBI was not popular and the FBI could not be controlled. The image may have been tarnished in their eyes.
Not to most, but they were short sided.
This case there truly is a girl. As a juvenile her rights are handled with care.
Virginia LE has dropped the ball too many times. There needs to be a Federal Investigation opened to address all of these disappearances and dead bodies.
"Virginia LE has dropped the ball too many times. There needs to be a Federal Investigation opened to address all of these disappearances and dead bodies."
Amen to that
"The person in LE that said that to Gil should have been slapped right then with a civil rights charge. Implying that Morgan was being denied equal protection."
Interesting , and I never thought of that angle ....
“Please help me understand... August 16th, 2013 | 5:13pm “
I see no comment from this time frame... A little lost here .
dixiedreg62 August 17th, 2013 | 6:50pm
No body needed for a murder charge .
Virginia is well know for setting a precident for conviction absence a body .
Katherine Sybil Worsky, 12 y.o. Charlottesville , Va . Glenn Barker was found guilty of 2nd degree murder . Body has never been recovered .
@micheal sutton..thanks for clarifying, I was confused. ;). We need to find Alexis and find out who is killing these young woman. It it heart breaking to even begin to imagine what these families continue to go through. We need to continue to tell our children, especially daughters (age appropriately) that not everyone has their best interest at heart..even when the teens look at us like we have two heads. In no way, shape or form are the victims to blame, but we need to remind them that this could happen to them. They are not invincible, but unfortunately that realization comes with age and that darn frontal lobe fully getting in gear.
dixiedreg62 August 19th, 2013 | 5:16pm
i havent seen the news of Taylors lawyer saying or claiming that . where can we read or see that news report ? or are you the only 1 that knows of this ?
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Your snarky attitude does not deserve an answer, but I will this one time. You can read it on the WSET-TV CBS13 website, posted on Aug. 15:
"Nelson Co., VA - The lawyer appointed to represent Randy Taylor says they've located the individual last seen with Alexis Murphy.
Wednesday, Mike Hallahan said his client admitted to meeting the missing 17-year-old at the Liberty gas station. But he says Taylor told authorities an unidentified man was the last one to see her.
Authorities have not ruled out whether another person is involved in Alexis Murphy's disappearance, but they refuse to comment on Randy Taylor's story. Taylor's defense attorney says that after going public with his client's story, he has the answers he needs.
"I got 20 or 30 calls. I got a lot of good information," said Hallahan.
Hallahan, a police officer turned defense attorney says he's located the individual last seen with Alexis Murphy.
"He's a witness that I needed law enforcement to talk to," he said.
Hallahan declined to name that individual or talk about any other facts of the case."
Other interesting reports on there--exclusive new reports. You should widen your horizons.
@Dakota August 19th, 2013 | 7:11pm
“Please help me understand... August 16th, 2013 | 5:13pm “
I see no comment from this time frame... A little lost here ."
Thanks for pointing that out as I was a little lost, as well. [I made no comment on August 16th, 2013 at 5:13pm. For that matter, I did not post at all on August 16, 2013.]
@Gobsmacked: Good information, re: the other individual alleged by RT to have been the last one to see ATM. From Hallahan's statement "He's a witness that I needed law enforcement to talk to" it now appears that LE has indeed spoken to this individual. [Candidly, I would not have been surprised had LE questioned him earlier--although neither RT nor Hallahan would necessarily have known that.]
The fact that this individual has not been arrested (even given RT's statement that his DNA should be easily recovered from the Ice House beer bottle in RT's camper) is an indication that there is no basis/probable cause upon which to secure a warrant for his arrest. And that could conceivably go to the veracity or not of RT's story...
There is every chance (or perhaps greater chances than not) that the public will learn nothing new at the bond hearing on Thursday as there will be a gag order.
There is every chance (or perhaps greater chances than not) that the public will learn nothing new at the bond hearing on Thursday as there will be a gag order.
________________________________________________________________________
We don't need to know any more. I don't want the investigation compromised in any way. I keep coming back just hoping that a headline will scream that Alexis has been found.
Gobsmacked posted:
We don't need to know any more. I don't want the investigation compromised in any way. I keep coming back just hoping that a headline will scream that Alexis has been found.
**************
Every waking hour I am able to check, I long for that as well. My heart just aches for her and her family.
Gobsmacked August 19th, 2013 | 10:01pm
"We don't need to know any more. I don't want the investigation compromised in any way. I keep coming back just hoping that a headline will scream that Alexis has been found."
Agreed completely; the public does not need to know more. [I mentioned what I did only to possibly re-set readers' expectations that Thursday's bond hearing would bring with it all manner of new information.] I am consistently surprised when readers appear incensed that LE withheld this or that piece of information in any given case, as though they (the public) routinely have a right to know everything. They do not. This is mission-critical to maintaining the integrity of the investigation with the sole objective to bring a case to successful conclusion.
Nothing should be done that might negatively impact the progression of this investigation.
We want Alexis home. Period; full stop.
These crimes strike me as the kind of crimes in which the greater the public interest and input, the greater the chance of finding that fact, person, circumstance or evidence that will blow this whole thing open. RAT needs secrecy and indifference to get away with what he already has and to carry on in the manner to which he's become accustomed. As another poster pointed out, that Taylor would abduct Murphy AFTER he was scrutinized for Clarke shows he is utterly out of control and that the tiny flicker of conscience that might remain inside him cries out to get caught. Behind many psychos is a female psycho enabler. Find her and give her cause to speak freely.
@ Help me to understand
So, you didn’t post this, right? Read below: This is The Hook. Funny what you posted, or ironic.
http://readthehook.com/109994/where-are-they-two-miss
Help me to understand... August 19th, 2013 | 9:12pm
@Dakota August 19th, 2013 | 7:11pm
“Please help me understand... August 16th, 2013 | 5:13pm “
I see no comment from this time frame... A little lost here ."
Thanks for pointing that out as I was a little lost, as well. [I made no comment on August 16th, 2013 at 5:13pm. For that matter, I did not post at all on August 16, 2013.]
http://readthehook.com/110003/alibi-redux-taylor-poin
Please help me understand... August 16th, 2013 | 5:13pm
@ Richard August 16th, 2013 | 2:33pm
"I don't MISS seeing GSOE's comments here,
but wonder if he's using "Help me...?"
I wish I could bet money that this Taylor will be released in a week or so."
I can assure you that I am the *farthest* thing from GSOE, in virtually every sense of the word. [If he knew me--and I only "know" him like everyone else here does, via his on-line persona--he would get a hearty laugh out of this.] Courteney can see our IP signatures so she could easily attest to this, as well.
@ Michael Sutton: You are absolutely right, i.e., I did post the statement "Courteney can see our IP signatures so she could easily attest to this, as well."
It appears that my, Dakota's, and others' confusion was a result of mistakenly thinking that your reference was to a comment on this thread, and on this article.
What we collectively failed to do was to cross-reference the date and time stamp to *all* Hook articles and threads.
[As it is, I stand behind my statement, i.e., "Courteney can see our IP signatures so she could easily attest to this, as well." As mentioned earlier, Courteney and I have met in person, spoken on the phone, and exchanged emails.]
quote: ""I don't MISS seeing GSOE's comments here,
but wonder if he's using "Help me...?"
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The only user name I employ here is Gasbag Self Ordained Expert.
I have a lot going on in my life right now and don't have as much time to follow these discussions as I once did. After having been a sworn deputy sheriff in Virginia for almost 30 years I had my name dragged through the mud in a series of false arrest between 1997 and 2004, and the resulting lawsuits against a dozen cops, I know how this works. I have never had so much as a parking ticket in my entire life of 60 years. I have sympathy for any defendant falsely accused....... and this includes Taylor if he is innocent.
lol public and media ordered not to be present at Taylors bond hearing . now thats what you call a rig . they have nothing on this guy , if they did we would all be able to see why he will remain in jail or why his bond would be set so high . and you all pay for this not so legal system . wow . keep up the good work . lol