Alibi redux: Taylor points the finger again
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The suspect in two missing girl cases returns to court for an August 22 bond hearing.Lisa Provence
Ten months after he told the Hook he was the victim of an overzealous investigation into missing Orange County teen Samantha Clarke, Randy Allen Taylor seems to be planning a similar defense in the disappearance of 17-year-old Nelson County resident Alexis Murphy. But while authorities on the case are keeping mum, the former lead investigator in the Morgan Harrington case isn't buying the story.
"I don't believe in coincidences," says retired Virginia State Police Lt. Joe Rader, who was the public face of the Harrington investigation after the 20-year-old Virginia Tech student vanished in October 2009 and her remains were discovered on an Albemarle County farm three months later in January 2010.
Indeed, the similarities between Taylor's version of events the night 19-year-old Samantha Clarke disappeared in September 2010— when he called her multiple times, he told the Hook in an interview last October— and his story about his encounter with Murphy on August 3, if true, would be a stunning coincidence.
In the Clarke case, Taylor, now 48, insisted he'd been placing those calls simply to warn Clarke that he'd heard threats made against her by people they knew in common. He'd been home with his young son that night, he said, and had had no contact with her beyond those calls.
Now, nearly three years later, Taylor's telling a similar tale.
Taylor's Charlottesville-based attorney Mike Hallahan could not be reached for comment— and his voicemail was not accepting messages— but according to an August 14 interview the lawyer gave to NBC29, Taylor admits that he encountered Murphy at the Liberty gas station in Lovingston the evening she vanished and that they recognized each other. They'd met about a month earlier at the local carwash where Taylor worked, and he'd told her he'd like to get some marijuana, Hallahan told the news organization.
When they saw each other at the Liberty, according to the interview, which came the same day dozens of federal, state, and local investigators swarmed the Thomas Nelson Highway property on which Taylor lived, Murphy told Taylor, "'I know a guy." Hallahan alleged the teen then accompanied his client to another location in Lovingston, where they met up with a black man in his mid- to late-20s sporting cornrows and driving a 20-year-old burgundy-colored Chevrolet Caprice with 22-inch after-market rims.
The tale has the three then returning to Taylor's property where the Taylor purchased $60 of marijuana from the unidentified man. The man and Murphy, who had not smoked anything or consumed any alcohol, then left Taylor's property, Hallahan said, and Taylor hasn't seen her since.
According to Hallahan, Taylor told police about the man and suggested his DNA would be on a bottle of Icehouse beer discarded at the camper. Hallahan further explained that police told Taylor he'd been arrested because they'd found one of Murphy's hairs in the camper and he questioned how a single hair could provide probable cause for an abduction charge. A bond hearing is now scheduled for Thursday, August 22.
Hook legal analyst David Heilberg says it's unusual for a defense attorney to speak out in this way, offering details of a defense.
"I never comment about my cases," says Heilberg, who says that's standard defense attorney practice.
"When you go out in public with something, that can backfire," says Heilberg. Fellow defense attorney Hallahan, Heilberg surmises, "must be doing his client's bidding."
While Heilberg says he'd consider "firing" a client who made such a demand, he says the same option may not be available for a court-appointed attorney.
The case has attracted national media attention after the link between the Murphy case and the Clarke case was revealed following Taylor's August 11 arrest. Questions have also swirled about the FBI's role in the investigation.
According to FBI spokesperson Dee Rybiski, the federal agency is simply offering assistance at the request of the Nelson County Sheriff's Office, but others have wondered if the visible presence of federal agents means Taylor could be involved in crimes across state lines.
Rader, uninvolved in the Murphy case, says that while that's one possibility, it's also likely that the federal presence pertains to Murphy's status as a minor.
"They do have a response team for abductions, and potential missing minors," says Rader. "Whatever reason they're there, I'm glad they're there, working on getting quick results."
As for whether the Murphy case could be connected in some way to the disappearance of Morgan Harrington— whose death has been linked by DNA to a 2005 unsolved sexual assault in Fairfax— Rader is circumspect. After all, Harrington's body was found on a farm along U.S. 29 South between Charlottesville and Lovingston— the same road on which Murphy was last seen— but the unidentified suspect in the Harrington case, according to the description of the surviving Fairfax victim, is a black male.
"I don't know what information they have," Rader says of the Murphy case. He suggests that any possible links to other crimes, even Harrington's, will be closely examined.
"There's a whole lot going on up and down the 29 corridor area," says Rader.
While more information about the evidence collected against Randy Taylor will likely be revealed at the August 22 bond hearing, a legal analyst says that unless Taylor changes his tune and confesses to something, there's one question about this man who is among the last to see missing women.
"Is he the most unfortunate man in the world," asks Heilberg, "or is he manipulative in every way and just trying to stay one step ahead of the jailkeeper?"
100 comments
No mention of recovering cell phone .
hmmmmm
"I don't believe in coincidences," says retired Virginia State Police Lt. Joe Rader, who was the public face of the Harrington investigation after the 20-year-old Virginia Tech student vanished in October 2009 and her remains were discovered on an Albemarle County farm three months later in January 2010.
'retired Virginia State Police Lt. Joe Rader, who was the (public face) of the Harrington investigation.
What position is Public Face classified as through the VSP ?
"They do have a response team for abductions, and potential missing minors," says Rader. "Whatever reason they're there, I'm glad they're there, working on getting quick results."
Joe can play poker. Whatever?
He knows how hard it is when you have members on your own team that just cannot get it through their heads - you need to follow through with proper procedures. There is a very good chance we would not be in this mess if some local cops had just asked and presented a case for warrant to place the darn GPS years ago.
But NO! And they rigged it so bad that it was noticed.
The FBI was there and have been there. Joe knows they were there during the many other disappearances and did catch the East Coast Rapist. He did venture to middle VA. Heck
Joe sent the FBI to see people. D knows and others that a few days before the Lake was being looked at. This is before the girl was missing.
Like I said whatever, but its about time VA cops stop blowing smoke up peoples' arses.
If they were more open they would get MUCH better and reliable info from the citizens and Joe damn well knows it!
I like the guy, don't get me wrong. Just wish he would speak up on all of the PR and crap!
Keep digging "D" there is more out there. It has been right in front of your nose.
thks CS
"...D knows and others that a few days before the Lake was being looked at. This is before the girl was missing."
I am confused. Are you indicating that a few days before Alexis Murphy went missing LE went looking at a lake? If so, which lake and for what reason?
No mention of the search near the Bass Farm , no mention of the "several" cell phone retrieved of f29 .
Maybe the digging is still going on ... I miss the regular updates the Hook use to have .
Maybe Courtney is out on scene getting footage of those powered parachutes.
"I don't believe in coincidences," says retired Virginia State Police Lt. Joe Rader, who was the public face of the Harrington investigation
.... apparently neither does this guys lawyer since he thinks his client is being harassed twice for something he didn't do.....
this guy hangs with a dangerous crowd, that makes him close to the edge just living his life. Maybe he is telling the truth. Maybe its worth pursuing the alibi before making judgement.
If they have all those resources then why not ? Maybe if they find the dude with the cornrows he can sink the guys ship.
I noticed in the Living in the Shadows article, it is mentioned that Samantha Clarke's mother was told by law enforcement that she had to wait 48 hours before being able to report her missing, then there was a clarification at the end that the mother had gone to Greene County and was told that, so two days went by before anyone in Orange was even notified that Samantha was missing. WTH?!? Then the botched traffic stop case in Greene. I sure hope they have finally gotten their crap together for the big homicide case coming up. I think Steve Smith is doing a fine job, so hopefully this type of stuff is a thing of the past.
It is sad but very true that The Hook article in the past gave him street credibility and he waited for a while to cash in on his capitol. But, he did and does have a little gang of long time and new time "charming" peeps.
He had been quite cocky in the last month and apparently that was known through sources.
D reads more and knows what it is about. It is "chatter". Now when he started frequenting and hanging out more and more at his little "Adult" shopper's corner he was flaunting his ego. He was riding a high, 2 compounds 2 counties and lets not forget it is August. Cash crops can be evaluated and see, that's where it gets interesting.
Give a little take a little, look the other way, watch what you say. But then the ego's pop up!
Just keep watching, I just do not think with this much time passed there is much of a chance. This really got to Ms. Stuart and to some cops. See PR in the criminal world just does work out for anyone. Those with the best intentions get pulled down into the depths of a nasty underworld, one that they cannot navigate in.
There will be lessons to be learned. Just watch. Question is will Virginia move toward a "Sunshine Law". She some light so the public can peak in. Right now, few see that world, maybe D, does much better than most.
According to reports, as of today the FBI decided to move their base of operations out of Nelson to their Charlottesville field office on Pantops.
This is curious. It seems that, if the FBI were going to continue to *actively* search the area around Taylor's home/Nelson County, it would make sense to retain their current base of operations in lieu of moving it several miles away. That the FBI has simultaneously chosen not to indicate whether or not it will continue at all its search tomorrow (Friday) is also curious...and leads me to believe that they believe that they now have sufficient reason to cease their *active* search in that area.
Q: If you have not found or recovered the missing person, why would you not continue the search?
A: Perhaps because you have reason to believe that to do so would be pointless.
Which leads to: what sorts of thing(s) would lead the FBI to think continuing to conduct the search near RT's home/Nelson County would yield no results?
Perhaps even more important are the cell phones that have been recovered. [Where they were recovered has not yet been released.] The FBI is working to determine if one belongs to Alexis--a process that should take very little time...although I do not hold out much hope that the public will be made privy to that answer anytime soon. [And that's ok, as I do not expect the FBI/LE to release certain information to the public during the course of their investigation, especially not an investigation in its earliest stages--and this investigation is still relatively young, regardless of how it may appear.]
WRT the second individual--the black male alleged by Taylor to have been in the company of Taylor and Alexis in Taylor's camper: it would not appear to be difficult to track him down using the description of the vehicle offered by Taylor. That is, how challenging would it be for the FBI to pull current VINs and related vehicle information for older model, burgundy Caprice Classics owned or operated in the Central VA area?
On a related note: given that this morning a commenter on another site repeatedly stated she knew recognized this car immediately because the owner/driver worked at the same establishment as she--would it not be extremely easy to follow up on that particular lead, as well?
My guess: by this juncture the FBI already has...and perhaps the lead did not pan out as Taylor might have hoped.
That, or perhaps this new lead has already gone to ground/gone dark following attorney Hallahan's public revelations (read: implications) as offered by his client, Taylor.
[My $$ is on the former, not the latter.]
We need more police like Joe Rader.
It does appear we are facing another rerun of Darrell Rice. This Randy Taylor is very street wise and ready to do battle with police using mind games.
Alexis' tweeted "'Burg Bound!" at 3:40pm on the afternoon of her disappearance.
Her last tweet ("I actually look cute right now...") was at approx. 6:40pm on the night of her disappearance.
She was later seen on the surveillance video at the gas station at approx. 7:15pm.
* Has her family been able to confirm at approx. what time she left her home? [I have only seen reports that she left her home "on Saturday evening".]
* How long does it take to drive from her home to the Liberty gas station?
* Speaking as someone who has only heard of geospatial technology, is there any way for LE to determine the approximate location where Alexis made her last tweet? [LE does know the time and approximate location of the last *ping* on her cell smart/phone.]
According to her family, Alexis' last call made on her cell phone was to her voice mail. It would stand to reason that she would only check her voice mail if she realized (e.g., via a notification) that she had missed an earlier incoming call.
* Has Alexis' family indicated approx. what time Alexis checked her voice mail?
* RT alleges that Alexis "knew a guy" from whom RT could purchase marijuana. Would it not stand to reason that Alexis would call that individual before (as reported by RT) the three would meet up? [Or, perhaps call him back if he'd called earlier and she missed the call.]
* Most importantly, would it also not stand to reason that LE has already obtained the cell phone call/activity log on Alexis' phone--even though/if it has not been recovered?
* If so, wouldn't LE be able to identify and track down the individuals who both made calls to and received from Alexis' phone that evening?
This last item is a stretch but is one that I have been wondering about since news of her disappearance, later discovery of her vehicle at the Carmike theater parking lot, and subsequent report that she appeared on the Liberty gas station surveillance video at ~7:15pm.
The gas station should be able to determine from their records how much gas Alexis purchased that evening, both in terms of cost and more importantly, number of gallons.
LE has her vehicle so should (may?) be able to determine how many gallons remain in her gas tank. They can also determine approx. how many gallons that particular gas tank holds.
Is there any way possible to approximate how many gallons were used perhaps on the evening in question--especially considering it has already been confirmed that she never made it to Lynchburg as originally planned?
The above will not tell LE where her car went, but it may inform their investigation regarding the distance her vehicle traveled.
One last and possibly *very* important point that may well go to the validity (or not) of RT's story wherein he alleges that Alexis *drove her car to his camper*:
LE has her vehicle. It is reasonable to assume that the FBI forensics labs can determine if the dirt residue from the tires on Alexis' vehicle matches the dirt in the area surrounding the location where RT's camper was parked prior to its seizure and removal by LE.
While we do know that a hair from Alexis was found in RT's camper, we don't know if it got there--as alleged by RT--because she drove there to his camper in her vehicle. If there is no match between the dirt in her tires and the dirt surrounding the camper, it begs the question: how did her hair get into his camper....and undermines RT's story.
It's possible he's going public because he wants the police or FBI to be looking for someone else. It's possible that part or all of his story is true.
With that said, you usually don't need to sit in a parking lot watching girls day after day to get weed. A dealer might sit there all day, waiting for customers to find him, but it's a little obvious to be dealing in a wide open public location like that. It's a good way to get caught.
I don't do drugs myself, but I did see what looked like a deal in a supermarket parking lot near Chicago once, and they slick. A lady was sitting in a new-looking but everyday model car off to the side of the grocery store entrance, in front of a dry cleaners that was closed. A man pulled up in a car that looked much the same as hers -- silver, newer model. She got into his car, they made some kind of transaction, then she got into her car and left, then he drove off in a different direction. It was over in maybe 3 minutes. He looked Hispanic but like a professional, in a car that was a little better than most but not much. She looked like the typical suburban professional, could have passed for a legal secretary. I would have missed the deal entirely if I weren't sitting in my car outside of a pancake house at night, getting my stuff together before going in for a late-night breakfast.
Long story, if this guy really likes weed that much, he'd already know every dealer in town, or which town has a dealer.
But another man being involved could be possible. He also could be trying to pin the blame on someone he knows, who knows him and could tell police things. That's why people should call the cops if they know anyone like that. If they talk to him, the man might know a few possibilities on where the Murphy girl is.
A 48 year old lifelong felon needs a teenage girl he barely knows to find him weed? He claims she, a girl on a mission to get her hair done, found him, butt ugly loser, a weed dealer in half an hour flat, then she supposedly came to and sat in his skanky camper filled with God knows what just so she could facilitate a drug deal for this roach and some black guy and he adds that she neither ate nor drank? Nice try, Taylor. Taylor knows that when her body is found, it will not show evidence of weed or alcohol consumption. What kind of lawyer goes out and tell his clients shabby, incredible lies? If any of these lawyers know where either girl is, and they are not saying, they are in complicity with Taylor's crimes and are accessories after the fact. Taylor says he went to dealer's house? Really??! Then tell us where black man with cornrows and burgundy caprice lives then, Taylor!!
Samantha Clarke investigation:
"A guy runs out with this tiny piece of marijuana and says it's enough to field test," says Taylor, who denies having any pot in his house.
"I had six officers all on me saying that if I sign a piece of paper saying they found it in my house, they wouldn't arrest me," says Taylor. Under duress, he says, he did sign; and, 362 days later, he was served with an arrest warrant for a pot charge.
Alexis Murphy investigation:
The tale has the three then returning to Taylor's property where the Taylor purchased $60 of marijuana from the unidentified man. The man and Murphy, who had not smoked anything or consumed any alcohol, then left Taylor's property, Hallahan said, and Taylor hadn't seen her since.
Gobsmacked August 16th, 2013 | 11:45am
It reads like a broken record on groundhog day .
When will Taylors attorney announce they have reason to believe the cell phone recovered was planted by LE.
I hope the FBI are holding the aces on this one . They have to be busy all the way back to the parkway murders and I feel strongly they are looking at the Dashad Smith case .
Its time for ground searches for Alexis. Nelson is full of good people who will hit the ground when needed .
I am sure of it .
Taylor is already looking like another David Rice after the Orange ordeal.
Bizzar
Taylor is the second person behind bars from the general area after years of trying to get enough evidence to arrest him , and only after an attempted murder.
This guy was like Teflon,
A Crimora man suspected in a 2003 West Virginia homicide involving his wife and the 2008 disappearance of a girlfriend, has been charged with attempted murder.
Posted: Friday, June 7, 2013 7:30 am
http://www.dailyprogress.com/newsvirginian/news/crime/crimora-man-charge...
Augusta County Sheriff's investigators arrested Charles Spencer, 66, of 53 Spencer Lane in Crimora on Wednesday. Spencer has been charged with attempted second degree murder and unlawfully applying pressue to the neck. He was being held in Middle River Regional Jail without bond on Thursday.
Thx Dakota. Spencer sounds like another Drew Peterson and always a person of interest for any dead woman, although he appears to kill those closest to him and may be too old and tubby to hunt outside his own crib. How can one lovely locale in the 434 be home to so many predators?
Nelson county resident who sounds credible says she saw RAT with two other people (ex and son) in mud splattered camouflage SUV on Aug 5th at 7:30 am (36 hrs after ATM disappeared) pulling out of Rt 56 near Crabtree Falls, turning south on Rt 151. This is area where RAT's ex and son live. Search the Tye River and the crabtree falls area now. Why are there no feet on the ground and why has FBI moved their command post from Lovingston to Pantops?
Has anybody spotted the thermal image drones in the north garden area ?
V Tech has trained LE and Powerd chutes for search and recovery........ another option.
It appears Parasearch is not divulging who or if they were called in .... Seems a permit would be needed for the drones . Maybe not.
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.
Parasearchers last night over Anchorage Farm, remote and inaccessible Rt 29 dump site of Harrington's body? That CAN'T be a coincidence.
Theory: Taylor is Morgan Harrington's killer but he plants readily obtainable DNA of his black friend on body and his black friend is also a rapist who hunts near George Mason University. They met in prison, both are local losers who do drugs together. After Taylor killed Morgan, he simply rubbed Morgan's black tee shirt on his black friend, then placed that black T shirt on bush at Grady and 15th St to make cops think some frat guy did it, not Taylor. We know Taylor revels in deceit and one upmanship of law enforcement and he loves to implicate others, patsies who may in fact exist. Maybe Taylor killed the two female hikers in Shenandoah Park and left dna of another on them too which was a big relief for Darrell Rice. Taylor is savvy but they will get him for these two crimes and at least 4 others.
no coincidences August 16th, 2013 | 4:19pm
Parasearchers last night over Anchorage Farm, remote and inaccessible Rt 29 dump site of Harrington's body? That CAN'T be a coincidence.
They are tweeting out airial photos now . Looks like a HD cam they are using.
Over the Bass Farm
I wonder if Taylor likes Metallica and whether he attended their concert at JPJ and parked his blue and white camper in RV area where Morgan's purse and cell phone were found. Maybe his black drug dealer friend was with him that night too when they spotted a severely impaired young woman. All we need to solve these cases is to find a connection between Taylor and Anchorage farm or his black drug dealer rapist buddy and Anchorage Farm. They could very well be a team. Until I saw the parasearchers at Anchorage Farm, I was looking for two separate perps. Now I am looking at Taylor and his black rapist buddy in a whole new light. No wonder Taylor is pointing to his black cornrowed patsy.
@ 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.
Awesome brain trust here. You've got the man convicted of 3 murders already. Even more awesome that you can do it from out of state. Who's going to lead the charge down to the jail to bust him out so you can hang him? Roadtrip time!
The way he described the black "drug dealer" makes him too young to be the main suspect in the Harrington murder. Now, that's not to say that parts of that story about the drug dealer, or all of it, are fabricated.
I actually saw what was probably the getaway car from the Harrington murder, and happen to know a lot of the history of one of the predators in that car. (There were 3 white men and one black man, and then another white man a few days later seen with one of the original 3.) I doubt that any of them are really into Metallica. The one guy I recognize studies situations very carefully to plan his attack and getaway. He was a government employee in years past, and I assume he's still a government employee, with a job that's probably related to security. He's been trained to plan for attacks like that, and how to prevent them. It's also good training for people coming from the other side of the crime. He also may have done side jobs for the entertainment industry in the past.
If he went to the concert, it was specifically to look for potential victims. Everything this guy does is planned. Everything. It's why he's gotten away with it for so long, despite a string of crimes dating back 20 years, and the police getting the full license tag of the getaway car and a partial on the probable evidence clean-up team's truck.
I know this sounds incredible, but this guy... if I told you how much trouble he goes through for his crimes, or how gullible cops have been in the past just letting him walk, you wouldn't believe it.
Grapevine August 16th, 2013 | 1:52pm
Nelson county resident who sounds credible says she saw RAT with two other people (ex and son) in mud splattered camouflage SUV on Aug 5th at 7:30 am (36 hrs after ATM disappeared) pulling out of Rt 56 near Crabtree Falls, turning south on Rt 151. This is area where RAT's ex and son live. Search the Tye River and the crabtree falls area now. Why are there no feet on the ground and why has FBI moved their command post from Lovingston to Pantops?
_______________________________________________________________________
You just gave me chills! I think they are already searching Rt. 56/Crabtree Falls area. I was in that area today (from Vesuvius to 151 on Rt. 56) and a chopper was in the air overhead the whole time. I thought they were searching for ATM, but didn't know that the ex and son lived in the area! I first saw the chopper on the Rockbridge County side of the mountain.
I just noticed the theory of "no coincidences".
I saw something weird that reminds me of another scenario, with the New Jersey suspect I mentioned earlier -- the one who plans everything out like these crimes are the most important activity in his pathetic life.
I saw a man who looked just like the New Jersey stalker in Illinois earlier this year, when I was staying in a hotel, waiting for a consulting job to start that'd already been delayed several times.
He was driving down the street that my hotel was on, a frontage road, so of course I assumed that he was stalking me again. Later it occurred to me that the person with him in the front seat was probably a female and therefore it was unlikely that she was in the car with him voluntarily. So I went to the missing persons list for Illinois online, and found an "endangered missing" girl from a Chicago suburb who had the exact smile and otherwise looked consistent. I reported the sighting to the FBI, but it wasn't much info to go on.
Meanwhile, one night while leaving the hotel shortly after that, I saw a hat on the floor near the front door. I was going to leave it there, figured that whoever'd lost it would be back for it momentarily. A black man who was either coming or going said that it looked like someone had lost their hat, and so he picked it up and put it on the counter near the front desk to keep it clean until they returned, a nice thing to do.
Later it occurred to me -- the hat looked the one the girl in the front seat was wearing. And I thought, is he leaving clothes of the victims at the hotel to brag to me that he can get away with whatever he wants? Then months later I thought, maybe he took the girl to the hotel and that's why he was there, not really to stalk me. I may have just happened upon him, which is what I believe happened on the night of the Harrington murder. I did appear to spook him badly on the night of the Harrington murder for reasons that are too long to describe here.
Anyway, him leaving clothes on the ground may be a way that he brags or something that was dropped during the crime, and the evidence on the clothing could have been from whoever saw it and put it on the bush to preserve it for the person who'd lost it.
I know that's a more complicated scenario, but sometimes crimes aren't as simple as you'd like them to be. Also, when you're dealing with guys that screwed up in the head, they do all kinds of crazy things for reason only known to themselves.
You are indeed correct Old Case, nothing you write is believable.
Although, I don't remember ever reading that the DNA came from the shirt. It's possible that they recovered something from the body, like skin under the fingernails.
Wholie, you're the type of person who helps these predators continue their crimes. "Nothing to see here folks, bad predators don't exist, women deserve to be raped continuously, anyone who reports a crime is nuts" etc. What if it was YOUR daughter?
Old case August 16th, 2013 | 10:02pm
Wholie, you're the type of person who ...
_____________________________________________________________________
Old Case--you are the type person who makes people want to pull out their hair in frustration. This is a NEW CASE. It is about Alexis Murphy. It has nothing to do with Morgan Harrington. You are just one of many crackpots who try to get some kind of glory by pretending to be a witness. We. Don't. Care.
How did her car end up in C-ville, and if Taylor had anything to do with it. How did he get back to Lovingston?
"Maureen McDonnell, the first lady of Virginia, twice purchased thousands of shares of stock in Star Scientific, a spokesman for McDonnell’s legal team confirmed Friday night. The stock was bought and held in the same time frame that she and Gov. Robert F. McDonnell were taking steps to promote the dietary supplement company.
Spokesman Rich Galen said the first lady did not inform the governor either time she purchased stock, which Galen said she bought for herself and her children.
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McDonnell’s relationship with Jonnie R. Williams Sr., the chief executive of Star Scientific, is now at the center of ongoing federal and state investigations.
The relationship has been the subject of intense public scrutiny for months, but this is the first indication that the governor’s family held a personal financial stake in the success of the struggling supplement company..."AND SO ON AND SO ON
"old case" you have described yourself perfectly here: "Also, when you're dealing with guys that screwed up in the head, they do all kinds of crazy things for reason only known to themselves."
Absolutely nothing I or anyone else writes in response to a news article or the commentary that follows has or ever will influence the outcome of a case that is legitimately made in a court using standard procedures for evidence. Without the power to influence those outcomes, there is in fact NOTHING I can do to as you say"help[s] these predators continue their crimes" as if I would ever consider doing such a thing. You are an attention whore who has demonstrated you lack of credibility as you've written of the rebuffs that your supposed sightings have received from investigators. Nothing but sympathy from me for people who have to deal with crap like you spew while having to treat you in some sort of respectful professional manner. I can and will call BS when you dump it about.
@Chris - I have wondered how her car got to Charlottesville too. Is it possible, that Taylor- a one time Repo guy- had access to a tow truck, and towed it there? Giving him a way back home?
Wtf you make sense. I read this because I am out of state and want to know the time line of this latest girl gone missing. Amazing how a disappeared girl brings out people who don't care about the girl or blame her. Cville you DO have a problem with someone who is a predator. Hopefully this is the guy or one of them. Meanwhile why don't you local posters try to get a list of "runaways" that the crack C ville police force has ignored for 20 years and see if you can get anyone to look for them or their killers, instead of talking about your "viewings" or trashing victims and their families. Again wtf thanks for interjecting some logic.
@Cat--to you, wtf might "make sense" and "interject logic" but the statements are inaccurate. Never did RAT, through his attorney, say that RAT was ever at "Cornrow's/dealer's house"--they went to "another location"--doubt seriously if they were invited to his house.
"He had indicated to her that he would like to get some more. She said, ‘I know a guy' she told him to meet at another location in Lovingston and they rode up there in both cars."
Then, according to Hallahan, the three of them - Taylor, Alexis and the unidentified man - drove three separate vehicles back to Taylor's camper in Lovingston."
A request that we wear some small articles of green and pink for the victims and their families: Colors of Love:
Green nurturing the physical and Pink restoring Peace to the Spirited Soul.
Also: Please take a pause and focus on any of the following:
1. the restoration of TRUTH and Accountability concerning all matters surrounding this case.
2. visualize RAT's belly churning and the Beast of Truth inside. It breaks loose, traveling up his esophagus and breaking through his tight lips, splitting them open and pouring it's self for "TRUTH"
3. Visualize Alexis, Samantha and any other victim ghosts rapped in the frequency colors of Green and Pink in your heart for a few moments. Alexis may still be alive. Perhaps not, but either way, lets rap her in Love represented by visualizing these colors in our hearts.
4. Visualize Alexis turning up so that she may be brought home to her family.
12AM, 6AM, 12noon and 8PM are choice times in which we can coordinate for individual/group focus efforts, where ever we may be.
Thank you for participating.
Focused Group Energized/Conscious Intention has been known to affect outcome in miraculous ways.
Alexis Mother , Aunt on the live interview this am on CNN appeared to have been well coached .
Badly damaged cellphone and the possibility RAT had been stalking Alexis was interesting.
I was hoping they would tie in or reference the FELONY capias issued from Albemarle Yesterday .
@Dakota--I have thought from the beginning that RAT had been stalking Alexis. From the beginning, they have said that Alexis was frequently at the Liberty station, and the MickyD's is right there, as is the grocery store--within 7/10s of a mile of RAT's home. He worked at a car wash--how many can there be in that small town? Many places to run into this beautiful and vivacious young lady.
What I do NOT believe is that even if Alexis was completely stoned from smoking pot, that she would have WILLINGLY associated in any way with a butt-ugly, OLD, tattooed loser like RAT. I remember being a teen and how old I thought 30 was--RAT looks more like 68 than he does 48.
If she interacted with him at all, like talking to him at the pumps, it was because she was raised to be polite.
Gobsmacked, are you trying to confuse the issue? Why do you make Taylor's account more demeaning to the victim than Taylor himself? Are you his friend?
For those who've read the news, Taylor said that the victim and the alleged dealer didn't partake. So she didn't leave "stoned" according to Taylor, she just left with her "dealer" friend after helping Taylor make a connection to buy a large amount of pot (according to Taylor).
Taylor said that the "dealer" drank an Ice House beer, and that his DNA might still be on the bottle. Why wouldn't they test that bottle for DNA? It might provide a valuable lead. No one has located the victim yet, and so they're going to have to do the work and follow every lead they have. Sometimes cases are often solved on the smallest detail.
It's also not very smart to write off witnesses. Seeing nothing doesn't make you more credible, it just makes you less useful.
Bolero August 17th, 2013 | 2:52pm
Gobsmacked, are you trying to confuse the issue? Why do you make Taylor's account more demeaning to the victim than Taylor himself? Are you his friend?
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" that she would have WILLINGLY associated in any way with a butt-ugly, OLD, tattooed loser like RAT."
I think that part of my statement would remove all doubt as to whether I am his friend or not. Are you being deliberately obtuse???
I am not demeaning the victim in any way--I am certain that those pictures of Alexis on Vine with smoke in her mouth (supposedly pot) have been photoshopped, and that her twitter posts regarding pot are just a teen wanting to be cool. As she is an athlete, subject to drug tests, I don't think she used any kind of drugs.
My whole point being, worse case scenario that I could think of, was that if she was totally compromised, she would STILL not go anywhere WILLINGLY with the likes of Randy Taylor. Besides, going with him willingly (from Taylor's statement) started at Liberty--not after being at his camper. She was obviously not under the influence of anything at Liberty, so there is absolutely no doubt in my mind that this intelligent young woman would NOT go anywhere willingly with Randy Taylor.
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Bolero August 17th, 2013 | 2:52pm
For those who've read the news, Taylor said that the victim and the alleged dealer didn't partake.
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For those who've read the news CORRECTLY, Taylor said the dealer DID partake. He said that Alexis did not drink or smoke, because he knew when her body is found there will be no substances found because she doesn't do drugs.
"Where the drug deal went down, where my client purchased $60 worth of marijuana from this man, he said they drank a beer together and they smoked. The girl did not smoke or drink anything," Hallahan said."
They probably did test the bottle for DNA, but how do you know that RAT didn't drink with this guy at another time, snagged the bottle, and was setting him up. You butted in on a conversation where Dakota and I were discussing the fact that RAT probably had been stalking ATM for some time. My personal opinion is that he learned some hard lessons with Samantha Clarke and was trying to improve his methods this time, but he is too stupid to get it right.
Gobsmacked August 17th, 2013 | 1:52pm
I am have a difficult time wrapping my mind around Alexsis following , leading or even scheduling a meet with Taylor or anybody else from an interaction at the gas pumps .
If her direction of travel was north exiting the gas station . .......
All bets are off this girl didn't have other plans .
Cornrow dude has been identified, seems he would come out to clear his name . But , seeing he may be peddling weed ... he might wanna keep quiet.
Right busy airsearch going on , with this years cool temps and rainfall , foliage and underbrush is the thickest I have seen it in years.
It seems a groundsearch has to be in order soon .
@ Dakota:
"Right busy airsearch going on , with this years cool temps and rainfall , foliage and underbrush is the thickest I have seen it in years.
It seems a groundsearch has to be in order soon."
Can you share with readers more specifically in what area the air search is going on?
I have been the saying the same thing since ATM's disappearance, i.e., with all of the rain we have had, the ground cover is overgrown significantly from years past. This makes a BG's job of hiding a body infinitely easier, and LE's job of finding same that much more difficult.
From your lips to God's ear that an intensified ground search commences soon. There are undoubtedly countless people in the area who would be more than willing to offer up time to assist.
Dakota August 17th, 2013 | 5:22pm
If her direction of travel was north exiting the gas station . .......All bets are off this girl didn't have other plans .
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I have read so much on so many different media outlets, my brain is getting fried, but here goes with something I read in more than one place: I have read more than once that the "Burg bound" tweet was around 3 o'clock in the afternoon. If so, she could have already been to Lynchburg and was on her way back north towards home, possibly stopping for gas, then heading north to Charlottesville. All she was going to L'burg for was hair extensions, easily down and back in four hours, plus stopping for dinner. She's 17, school starts Monday, a night out before hitting the books??? She could have been going to grandma's in C'ville for that matter. Something to think about.
Help me to understand... August 17th, 2013 | 6:01pm
Can you share with readers more specifically in what area the air search is going on?
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I drove from Vesuvius (Rockbridge County) over Rt. 56 to Nelson County, past Crabtree Falls to Rt. 151. The choppers were in the air overhead the whole time, starting on the west side of the mountain.
I read somewhere, so who knows if it is true, that his ex and son live near Crabtree Falls and his camo ride was seen there on August 4.
Thanks, Gobsmacked, for the intel on the air search.
Was this yesterday or today, and approx. what time was it?
Does anyone know if the air search has continued?
@ Godsmacked
Interesting , agreed the timeline is broken .
@ Help me
As stated by Godsmaked Steeles Tavern area , west side of Blue Ridge ( choppers )
Fixed Wing reported doing grid runs east side of Afton Mountain OLD route 6 area and south / may have been the same plane running low near the Monroe Institue = where the crazy people live .
Help me to understand... August 17th, 2013 | 6:01pm
From your lips to God's ear that an intensified ground search commences soon. There are undoubtedly countless people in the area who would be more than willing to offer up time to assist.
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Agreed , Its both time and the people will show up to help .
Plenty of finger pointing to go around.
Help me--yesterday afternoon. I was on the road for nearly two hours, and they were in the air the whole time. I first saw/heard the chopper come over my car from the west. It was flying low and slow. They appeared to be following Rt. 56 and the river on the Nelson County side.
Dakota August 17th, 2013 | 9:46pm
@ Godsmacked
As stated by Godsmaked
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LOL!!!!!! It's GOBsmacked, not GODsmacked, though sometimes I feel like God has smacked me!!!!
Gobsmacked = utterly astounded, to be completely dumbfounded or shocked. It's an old Irish expression.
OOOOPs sorry bro
I better stick to copy/paste rather than spelling :)
We older folks need some input from the drug crowd. Is Taylor a dealer? I'm too old to know what people pay for weed these days, but is $60 a normal transaction? It sounds like enough for intent to distribute.
Also, I don't have time to read all of the comments because some of them are clearly predators trying to bash anyone who cares.
But I did see the comment that the girl wouldn't have weed in her system, but that's not true if other people were smoking it in the same room with her.
She WOULD have weed in her system even if she didn't smoke, it's what they call passive exposure. So would the dealer, whether he smoked or not, if the suspect's story is true.
FYI I've gone to a few parties where people were doing drugs in the back room or off to the side, and I've never seen a dealer do anything but come in, delver, and get out of there. Dealers are very paranoid people. They're always afraid of getting robbed or busted, and try to keep their exposure to the public, even their customers, to a minimum.
Comments on a more recent article say that paramedics/rescue have been over Anchorage Farm again. I hope he didn't dump her there, trying to pin it on the men wanted for that crime. Of course, he could be a part of their "network".
I've seen crimes like that, where one "mastermind" gets dumb guys like this to do things for him. On crime shows they call them "dominant" and "submissive" but I call them "evil" and "dupe".
Sometimes the dumb partner/underling does it for money or just to make himself feel like he has a "friend." A friend who'll throw him under the bus as soon as things go bad!
I've noticed several other comments on different news articles say there are different police operations going on in the general area over the past couple of days, but nobody knows if they've found anyone or anything yet. It could be unrelated to the Murphy case.
wondering -- there were supposedly a paraglider group over anchorage farm looking for a body, not paramedic and rescuer searching it. It was a publicity stunt.
Why does the Hook always have a few readers who try to dominate the conversation on these missings cases, attacking other people who don't conform to their theory of how the crime happened?
Everyone can have a different opinion, and people can agree or not. Trying to control the conversation makes me wonder about peoples' motives.
@same old same old.. I think it's human nature to want to be "right".
On another note, I just read on a blog 5 phones that were in bad shape, crushed maybe were taken from the RATS property.
Without a rope
Belsma, the cell phones would be very interesting evidence if true. If they belonged to missing girls, they would be like a catalog of his crimes for police. Then again, they could be old phones of the suspect's. He's not very young, and has probably had several cell phones through his life. Even so, old call data could be interesting. Who does he know who could tell police something...
Phones being at the suspect's house are also different from the Harrington case in that he didn't return it to the scene of the crime and disable it there to make the last ping less suspicious. They say the cases aren't related, and so far it does seem that his stalking and alleged abduction was a solo operation. But... if they're not, he'd better turn on his accomplices soon, or he'll be taking all of the punishment himself.
Innocent until proven guilty in a court of law
Unfortunately
Dungeon
Pointer
Rot
Looks like a teenager found his way here, although his posts remind me of something.
I found another article on this case today that quoted someone as saying it was more than a strand of hair keeping this suspect in jail. So apparently what his lawyer is admitting to has omitted some details.
That "rat" comment of the teenager reminds me of something else. Criminals like to call people "rats" for turning on them, as if we should be on their side when they commit crimes.
Sorry, but I'm not on the side of pedophiles, rapists, or murderers. Turning them in is the right thing to do. The reason we lock them up is because they're such a danger to society. Save the psychotherapy until AFTER we've stopped them from attacking another victim, thank you.
Judge not lest ye be judged
That's my name
Harr to Heer, that may be (in regards to your first paragraph) true in some cases but not in mine. I hope they can forgive me for what I've done to them and for them. Not that I necessarily deserve it, or don't.
RAT = Randy Allen Taylor
Rebuke In Righteousness August 18th, 2013 | 5:38pm
Judge not lest ye be judged
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So, stop judging. You obviously know it is wrong.
Jesus, however, said "Do not judge according to appearance, but judge with righteous judgment" (John 7:24), as you obviously know.
We are not to judge whether a person is saved or not, only God can judge whether a person will go to heaven, but we are to boldly rebuke, warn and correct a person who is breaking the law or bringing harm to other individuals.
Not your Gob
Is the comment Alexis wrote on her FB page to Randy Taylor Jr in 2011 the son of RAT?
Is it a coincidence that the car was found parked 20 yards from Alexis Murphy's grandmother's apt?
Whose scent was it that LE's K9's tracked from the car to the apartment complex where Alexis's grandmother lived?
How did RAT get home if he drove the car there alone?
This man needs to be kept off the streets once and for all... enough is enough... I have faith that investigators will methodically leave no stone unturned when it comes to this guy and those he is affiliated with.... he has ties to VA beach and I keep waiting for law enforcement to call on the public to start searching every inch of 29 between Lynchburg and Ruckersville and 460 all the way to the beach if that's what it takes to find Alexis...
Save a noose for me. Just in case.
I am wondering where those numerous cell phones were found. RAT has only lived at the property in Nelson County for less than a year, so if they ALL were found in the camping trailer, he is dumber than I thought.
Got Ears, are you confessing to something? Have you already served time, or are you telling us about something else?
Got Ears, are you talking about feeling bad for judging criminals?
I'm sorry, maybe Jesus didn't like people getting violent and stoning people to death for the small stuff, but it's not like someone walked up to him in the bible and said "I like raping little girls and slashing their throats afterwards," and then Jesus grabbed a kid for him and said "Here, have another."
Maybe Jesus could have addressed the man's mental health problems by "casting out the demons" but you're just being too nice if you feel bad for pedophiles and rapists. People need protection from men that dangerous. If you don't lock 'em up, you're basically handing over your daughter.
Websleuth researchers are comprehensively mapping RAT's prolific lifelong criminal history in Tidewater, Cville, Albemarle, Greene, Madison, Orange. Louisa, Fluvanna and other states. It's shocking. Was he living in Tidewater when the Colonial Parkway killings were going on? Those killings, according to FBI, bear striking resemblance to the female Shenandoah hiker cases. None of the victims was robbed or sexually assaulted. Rope and knots used to bind victims in both cases was the same as was the manner in which victims were killed, leading some detectives to theorize that all victims were killed by same guy or team of killers.
zane August 19th, 2013 | 2:12pm
Websleuth researchers are comprehensively mapping RAT's prolific lifelong criminal history in ...
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Do you think the time will come that it will dawn on RAT that he should have kept to the shadows and not put himself in the public eye by first using Adam Rhea and the Hook, and now using Mike Hallahan and WVIR/NBC29 to get into the spotlight. Possibly that's what he wants--to be famous for his crimes.
LE obtained male DNA, hair, and fingerprint evidence recovered from the crime scene of double murder that occurred at the Shenandoah National Park crime scene. There was also hair, fiber, and fingerprints taken from the Alicia Showalter Reynolds crime scene.
If RT has any felony convictions (and depending upon when those convictions took place), his DNA would already be on file and could quickly be cross-referenced from the two aforementioned crime scenes.
For my $$, I think we should focus on the instant case (AM) and the recent Samantha Clarke case.
Another news web site is reporting that a car matching the description that Taylor gave was pulled over:
http://wtvr.com/2013/08/19/maroon-car-pulled-over
"Mind if my dog sniffs you?" Ha ha ha. Seriously, they say they're going to talk to him soon. I'm sure AFTER they check out his criminal history, too.
Those Colonial Parkway murders -- were they recent enough crimes to even have DNA? Or did they go back later and get DNA? I thought they happened a long time ago.
I just thought of something. Colonial Parkway is right near "Camp Peary," a CIA base. Usually when someone gets away with a crime for a long time, law enforcement training is suspected. I remember reading that investigators suspected it was a CIA agent, and who knows what kind of evidence they had but aren't giving up. The Morgan Harrington case is similar, where someone from a government security agency is suspected.
Taylor isn't exactly a genius. Calling a girl just before going missing, after calling the last girl just before she went missing? Leaving evidence in his trailer? And whatever other evidence mentioned in the court papers that his lawyer won't reveal? Sounds like your garden variety underachieving criminal.
The Wiki page for Colonial Parkway is interesting and thankfully short enough to read. They say that investigators went back to test DNA, but at first it didn't produce any results. They were going to try another method, but I haven't found any press saying that it worked. Seems people need to remind a local paper to do a follow-up article.
Interesting that some investigators thought it was a "team" of men working together. It takes discipline to have accomplices that don't turn on you. That and the care taken to avoid capture -- again something that points to a law enforcement background.
"The Morgan Harrington case is similar, where someone from a government security agency is suspected."
Uhmmm.... Citation? or just pulling that out of your [behind] ?
Haven't they found the girl yet? They should get one of those wildlife pilots to do a flyover. If they can spot an endangered birds' nest and chicks from the air, they can find a human body if it's out in the open. It would be good news if she's still alive and indoors, but if she's out in the open they should be able to find her from the air.
Does anyone think that the Colonial Parkway murders are too old to be related to the Harrington murder? Would the Secret Service hire old CIA guys? I thought the Secret Service, in fact all government jobs, don't like it if you have foreign connections, unless you're a sex worker apparently, or a girl who you think is one, apparently. And CIA guys have lots of foreign contacts as a part of their jobs. Am I missing something here? I think Colonial murders are too old to be related, and it's a different agency suspected.
I must have imagined there was a felony capias issued from Albemarle on 8-16 for a R. Taylor. I thought the Offence date was 8-1-13.
It seems to have vanished from the online court records.
Taylor seems too young for colonial parkway killings but some of those murders do appear connected to more recent Shenandoah Park hiker slayings. Is 24 too young to be a killer? Nancy Grace said Taylor was in the army. Could he actually have been in the navy? In either case, would that mean he was in Tidewater area in late 80s when those killings occurred? We know he is a confident and experienced criminal because he's been at it, nonstop, for 25 years and he knows how to game the system.
But zane, and earlier commenters,
Look at the victim type. The Colonial Parkway guy(s) liked to kill couples, which is usually a different preference than men who abduct single girls.
You know who did like killing couples? He's in jail right now -- Ralph Leon Jackson, and he's old enough.
The transient nature of Hampton Roads should be considered, too. If it was someone from the CIA or the Navy, they could have gone back to their home state or gone on assignment anywhere in the world. They may need to look at a pattern similar crimes anywhere in the world to find their suspect(s) for that one.
According to Radford university professor who posted research findings online, 45% of serial killers begin killing in their 20s. When I heard about Jackson murdering that couple up on blue ridge parkway, I was certain they would link him to other similar crimes, including the couple killed in Montgomery County campground, but they did not. I hope they did their homework on Jackson.
please, all of you armchair detectives with asinine theories should go back into your holes, or maybe you can take this discussion off line and meet up where you live, in your parents basements i assume.
I must have imagined there was a felony capias issued from Albemarle on 8-16 for a R. Taylor. I thought the Offence date was 8-1-13.
It seems to have vanished from the online court records.
@ Dakota: Felony Capias to a probation violation, it's there!
Dakota August 20th, 2013 | 8:53am
I must have imagined there was a felony capias issued from Albemarle on 8-16 for a R. Taylor. I thought the Offence date was 8-1-13.
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It's still there. Probation violation: Offense date 8/1/13, hearing date/capias issued 8/16/13. He's listed as a fugitive!!! LOL
I think this relates back to an arrest for violating a court order back in 2010, which was a probation violation. On 6/21/11 the case was finalized by RAT being sentenced to the penitentiary for 2 years, with all suspended.
Maybe something illegal he admitted to doing to investigators in Alexis' case, such as doing drugs with a drug dealer, was grounds for charging him with another probation violation. If they can't hold him on the evidence they have re: Alexis, this is a way to get him back in prison for the suspended 2 years.
I've never been arrested, much less given probation, but I imagine one of the conditions excludes doing drugs and consorting with criminal drug dealers.
Remember in the interview last fall in the Hook, where RAT claimed to be an upstanding citizen? Just looking at Albemarle County general district and circuit court records alone makes that a HUGE lie.
Actually, he claimed: "I've always been an upstanding citizen," he says. "I'm trying to raise my son."
Always?? Burglary, arson, multiple probation violations, doing drugs--those are just the things he's been convicted of or has admitted to.
@ Sunshine ..Thank You
@ Gobsmack... Thank you and LMAO @ fugitive.
slithers off.... yep there it is ....