Police activity Jefferson Ave

It sounds like there is very little doubt about who did this, so while I know TV has conditioned us to worry about “not disturbing the crime scene” or whatever I appreciate that people want to one, help someone who may be alive and two, give some care and respect to someone who is not. I don’t think I’d want a family member lying there exposed to all the things that come for the dead.

But I do get the concern.

Well, I would say there is little doubt who the police (and the NY Post) think did this. But the prosecutor still has to build a case. Part of which could be confounded by someone placing a sheet on the body, which could add fibers or hair to the crime scene. 

I am sure they were looking for anything at the scene that could place the suspect there at the time of the crime. 

Kind of have to wonder how many of the people who noticed the boyfriend in the car and in the woods called the police. 

Maybe they did. I hope they did. But then why wasn't he told to move along? 

I'm wondering what "woods" they are talking about. There are plenty of trees over there but isn't it all people's yards?

If he was standing in someone's yard yeah, you would think someone would call the police. 

An informal gathering was held today at Ricalton Square to honor the young nanny. Council man Dafis spoke a few inspirational words.  Not sure if there was any official sponsor but several of the au pairs from town were in attendance.  Flowers and messages were left behind and several white balloons were released as things ended .  It was decided not to take any photos of the au pairs in a continuing concern for their safety. All things will remain in place for a few days.

May Angels bear both victims to a better place.

kenboy said:
Kind of have to wonder how many of the people who noticed the boyfriend in the car and in the woods called the police. 
Maybe they did. I hope they did. But then why wasn't he told to move along? 

 I imagine that question will be asked and answered at some point in the coming days.

it's easy to second guess now. But even if the police were called, what could they do. Take his ID and tell him to leave. Which would not have stopped him from returning in the middle of the night. 

The guy obviously didn't care that everyone in the neighborhood could ID him and would immediately name him as a prime suspect. 

We like to believe the world is a controllable place and these horrible acts can be prevented. But unfortunately they usually can't be prevented without a crystal ball. 

From having been the subject* of newsreports (a VERY LONG time ago), please read the news with the understanding, that:

• Journalists are no experts on any subject.
• Journalists often misunderstand or mishear some details.  
• Journalists often dictate their story over the phone, and rely on software to translate the oral message into writing.  This leads to many errors in word selection & context.
• With the reduction of staff in the newsroom, there is virtually nobody left to catch the mistakes.

* = My accident way back in 1966 was reported in 7 different newspapers.  On a scale from 0-100 for veracity, only one scored a 95 or better.  The other 6 ranged from 25-75 (with several reporting details, that are against the laws of basic physics).

I've been quoted in print about 10 times over the years. And not once have I been quoted accurately. Once the quote attributed to me was from my German co-author. I really thought it would have been easy to figure out that the guy with the German name was the same guy who had the German accent. But I guess not. 

I've been at scenes of incidents...and when the story came out...was not accurate.  More recently I have seen a number of 1 sided reports where the alleged investigative reporter failed to pursue important facts.....and went off the statements of limited people...statements that weren't true...

Initial reports were not accurate. At all. Even later reports were a mess. At around 6am, a jogger came across the female victim, who may have still been alive. I don’t know. It would not surprise me if neighbors came out, saw what was happening, and covered her with a sheet. 

Does that really matter? They knew who did it and they found him. And I’m sure the Westfield high speed chase yesterday was related. 

Jackson_Fusion said:

kenboy said:
Kind of have to wonder how many of the people who noticed the boyfriend in the car and in the woods called the police. 
Maybe they did. I hope they did. But then why wasn't he told to move along? 

 I imagine that question will be asked and answered at some point in the coming days.

 "Several neighbors said that in the days before the attack, they noticed a man they did not recognize sitting in a dark-colored sedan near the family’s house. While they had alerted one another about the man, they did not call the police. The authorities have not said whether that man was Mr. Porter."

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/08/04/nyregion/maplewood-murder-david-laura-kimowitz.html?action=click&module=News&pgtype=Homepage

Knowing who did and proving who did it are entirely different things.

The media are back in front of the house. NBC and ABC has trucks parked in front, and I saw a photographer with a huge long telephoto lens walking up to the house.

https://www.nj.com/essex/2019/08/jilted-boyfriend-stabbed-au-pairs-boss-to-death-chased-her-down-street-in-maplewood-double-killing-cops-say.html

Dear God, she gave the SOB a key.

talk about inaccurate...abc just said it was a shooting...

Jackson_Fusion said:
https://www.nj.com/essex/2019/08/jilted-boyfriend-stabbed-au-pairs-boss-to-death-chased-her-down-street-in-maplewood-double-killing-cops-say.html


Dear God, she gave the SOB a key.

 Yes - and asked for it back.  Please don't blame the victim.

Harriet said:

Jackson_Fusion said:
https://www.nj.com/essex/2019/08/jilted-boyfriend-stabbed-au-pairs-boss-to-death-chased-her-down-street-in-maplewood-double-killing-cops-say.html


Dear God, she gave the SOB a key.

 Yes - and asked for it back.  Please don't blame the victim.

 Please don’t presume to judge my view of what she did. You are free however to share yours. 

We've never employed an aupair, so I can't speak from experience. But I'm surprised to find out she would have given her boyfriend a key to her employers' home. It's entirely possible she got permission from the homeowners to give a copy of the key to this man.

The most recent nj.com article seems to have filled in a lot of detail and clarified some points. 

mrincredible said:
The media are back in front of the house. NBC and ABC has trucks parked in front, and I saw a photographer with a huge long telephoto lens walking up to the house.

I heard a helicopter very close around 7:00 this morning, it seemed to be coming from the direction of that corner, and I assumed some TV news was showing it live for their morning report.

nohero said:
I heard a helicopter very close around 7:00 this morning, it seemed to be coming from the direction of that corner, and I assumed some TV news was showing it live for their morning report.

 Yes, a helicopter was circling this area, near the home, at 7AM. 

From nj.com:  "Porter tried to flee the country after killing Kimowitz and Bermudez-Rodriguez, but was captured at Newark Liberty International Airport before he could board a flight to Cancun, Mexico, authorities said in the court documents."

Once upon a time, in the long ago, boarding a plane was a frequent escape for suspected perpetrators. With lightning technology, your mug is on the screen often before you hit the airport.  Even if he had managed to take off, Mexico and the U.S. have an extradition agreement.

This is heartrendingly sad for the victims, and survivors.  

I would be shocked if the parents new the boyfriend had a key.....but it probably doesn't matter...if he wanted in, he would have found a way.  There is a possibility it was an abusive relationship all along and she felt forced to give him a key.  Or possibly he some how got a key without her knowing (ie held her keys while shopping at a store with an auto matic key maker...and he helped himself.....there are even services where you take a photo of a key and they send you one that works.......(although not likely since she asked for it back)...he could have had a key made...let her know after the fact...

I've been seeing a lot of second guessing on social media.  Why didn't the neighbors call the cops, etc.  There is only one person to blame and that's the attacker.  And as more details come out, it's looking like anything anyone would have done beforehand wouldn't have stopped him.

even if he had a key, it likely didn’t alter anyone’s outcome. A violent abuser would have found another way to strike if he wanted to kill her.

I stopped at the memorial to the young woman this morning.  Two young male teens were there showing their respect.  Gave them their privacy and made my approach only after they left.  There

were about a dozen bouquets of flowers and a number of lit candles .  Attached to

the flag pole there were several notes.......many of them written in Spanish.  A small photo of her was also attached.

I am fighting the temptation to fall into cliches,  like the new normal.  Yet I have lived here long enough to witness and appreciate our "thin blue line"  

Perhaps this was unavoidable.........we may never know.  It is that of the human condition which commands a thousand different actions and reactions

We can only hope and pray for the deceased and our communities.

Pax Vobiscum

"and now rhese three things remain

 faith, hope and love.

  But the greatest of these is love"

  1 Corinthians 13  13

conandrob240 said:

even if he had a key, it likely didn’t alter anyone’s outcome. A violent abuser would have found another way to strike if he wanted to kill her.

It might have altered the homeowner's. Porter may have waited for her to leave the house, leaving her the only victim. Or she might have been pummeled but not have died (the knives used in the attacks were acquired from within the home after he entered). Or, if he was determined to enter the house, it wouldn't have been by quietly using a key but by kicking in doors or smashing windows, which would have woken the homeowner up and have given him a fighting chance instead of being stabbed while unconscious in a vulnerable position. 911 could have been called immediately upon hearing someone barging in, bringing a police response within 5 minutes, which, even if the victims were stabbed, would greatly have increased their chances of survival. 

Sure, these are all what ifs, and it's possible the outcome would have been no different if Porter didn't have a key, but I don't think you can say that the outcome would likely have been the same whether or not he did. It was a major factor in the element of surprise in this case as well as in adding the homeowner as a victim.  

I agree with a lot of what Skywarp says. The suspect was able to gain entry with far more ease than trying to break in. There was almost no chance for the father to defend himself or call 911 or anything. 

There is probably a lot we'll never know about what happened and why. I assume there will be a trial ... I can't imagine the prosecutor accepting any kind of plea deal in a case like this. Unless there is any question that the evidence isn't rock solid against the accused. A lot may come down to what the video footage shows, or how well the neighbors were able to see what was happening. It may seem obvious to us who did it, but it has to be proven and we don't know all the facts yet. 

more likely he would have broken in if he didn't have a key.....although the noise might have warned them...but skilled people seem to be able to find a way in quietly.....