#3 July 6th, 2018: Sort out the Vivint sensor BEFORE I FLIP, plus pizza in Spring Lake #1yearagotodayCW

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On July 6th we get a peek at the sort of day-to-day chores they’re discussing. One of the things on Shan’ann’s mind is the dodgy security sensor at the garage door. Clearly this ongoing issue had gone from aggravating Shan’ann to infuriating her.

It’s possible, even likely, that Watts purposefully damaged the sensor, or wanted it to remain “on the blink”, so that he could explain why the security system wasn’t picking up his movements. [Remember, he was spending a lot of time, almost every night at Kessinger. So how did Shan’ann not know this? Either she wasn’t getting the Vivint alerts to begin with, or she wasn’t being alerted because of an intentionally ‘erratic’ sensor’].

If Watts was deliberately frustrating Shan’ann’s efforts to track his movements into and out of the house, and getting away with it, Watts may have developed the confidence that he could pull the wool over everyone else’s eyes – in a more serious scenario if it came to that.

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On July 6th Shan’ann calls Watts four times and Watts called her three times. Total chatting time on the 6th: approximately half an hour. The tone of Shan’ann’s ALL CAPS “BEFORE I FLIP” suggests she was shouting at him while giving him orders from North Carolina. Exactly a month later she would experience him as a different man: non-communicative, disassociated and cold.

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In the above photo from Shan’ann’s Facebook page, her smile looks slightly forced. We also get a glimpse of what sort of food she feels is appropriate for her children [as opposed to icecream with nuts].

It’s likely Shan’ann bought pizza on her way to or from her in-laws home in Vass Road. There’s a pizzeria just around the corner.

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#2 July 5th, 2018: Bella and Ceecee in Aberdeen, playing in a summer rainstorm #1yearagotodayCW

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On July 4th, Nichol Kessinger went to a Rockies baseball game without him. This must have stung, enough to make an impression, because Watts used the idea of going to a Rockies game alone [or with work colleagues] as his “alibi” to Shan’ann on Saturday night, August 12th.

In Aberdeen, the 4th of July was a washout, and so was the 5th, as the video below illustrates.

Despite their argument on the 4th, Watts spends the night at Kessinger’s. By 14:24 the next day, a Thursday, Shan’ann is on the phone. Watts was likely about to return home from the oil fields when he received the call.

In all Shan’ann and her husband spoke for a total of almost 23 minutes on July 5th. The telephone conversations between Watts and his wife are one of the few areas we know virtually nothing about.

It’s possible Shan’ann’s brother Frankie or her folks may have caught snippets of these conversations, or at least seen her demeanor before or after the calls. What would they have talked about? Was it all small talk? The girls did this or that today? Or was there a regular theme, such as the state of their finances, and finding ways to scrimp on money?

On July 5th Shan’ann calls her husband twice and he calls her once.

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I analysed this particular video in some detail in TWO FACE TWO POLLYANNAS. In it one can see Shan’ann’s still wearing her Thrive patches [despite being pregnant]. In a forum discussing using Thrive while pregnant, one user noted that certain ingredients like ephedrine in the DFT [Thrive patches] could be linked to heart defects in fetuses.

The more than five minute video above provides an extended view of how Shan’ann interacts with both daughters. Early on Shan’ann refers to “things coming out of the sky [in Colorado] that beat you death…” She’s referring to hailstorms.

Did Watts watch this particular video? At about 4 minutes remaining Shan’ann tells her children, “Daddy’s on here watching you.” What was he thinking on July 5th, watching them from Colorado?

#1 July 4th, 2018: Chris Watts and his mistress have a flaming row #1yearagotodayCW

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For the next 5 weeks, CrimeRocket II will be doing a recap of the Chris Watts case timeline during the summer of 2018 based on references in the Discovery Documents and the CBI Report.

On July 4th, Chris Watts’ mistress visited his home in Frederick for the first time. At this stage, Shan’ann and the kids had been in North Carolina for just over week.

July 4th was also one of the first times Watts fought with Kessinger. When he took a call from Shan’ann, Kessinger was upset and felt she would always be playing second fiddle to Watts’ wife.

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Meanwhile, it was raining in Aberdeen, North Carolina.

 

Seeing Double? Rebecca’s Height at the Door

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What is it with doors and crime scenes? Doors seem to feature almost as characters of their own in many high-profile cases. In the Oscar Pistorius case the door is elevated to a kind of time machine.

Bullet holes marked with steel rods, from bathroom side of door

Through the 4 bullet holes, when lined up to the trajectory of the shooter and the bullet wounds from the autopsy, the entire split second shooting can be reanimated. I bought a door and measured the recreated the exact ballistics as research for Justice Eventualis, my final book on the Pistorius case.

More: Modelling Reeva’s Fall Behind the Door

In the McCann case there was a lot of confusion about front and rear doors in the beginning. Was the front door locked or the rear? Did Gerry McCann do his check through the front door or the rear? Was Madeleine’s bedroom door open or closed? How many degrees was her bedroom door open? How much light was visible insight the room through the partially open door…

PICTURE FROM MA CANN CASE FILE. INSIDE THE APARTMENT…..

A bathroom door also features prominently in the Jason Rohde case. I remember attending two court cases within a few months of each other in South Africa, and both the Pistorius case and Rohde case had the doors removed and reassembled in the court.

In the Rohde case the door was discolored with fingerprint dust and other stains. So many questions surrounded the white hotel door from Spier hotel where Susan Rohde was found bound and dead against. Was she actually hanging behind the door or just sitting? Was it possible to hang from the flimsy bathroom hooks? Would anyone hanging from those hooks not kick around and awaken someone snoozing in a bed immediately opposite the door? And what sort of maximum weight might one of those bathroom hooks actually hold?

Rohde Crime Scene Schematic: What else are we missing? [ANALYSIS]

5 Key Difficulties for Jason Rohde’s Defence [and they’re all unexpected]

Would a CEO really not know how to manually unlock a hotel door with a spoon or a coin?

Interestingly, in the Pistorius and Rohde cases, the height of the victim was critical to figuring out the forensics, and in the Pistorius case, his height without his prosthetics was also vital to figuring out the ballistics.

In the Amanda Knox case, a locked bedroom door, and broken windows and broken door latches all played a prominent role. Ditto the Ramsey case.

With Rebecca Zahau there’s not just a door but a message explicitly painted in bold, black ALL CAPS on the door. The San Diego Sheriff’s Department take a simplistic, reductionist view by simply imagining Rebecca in front of the door and painting the message. In their version she’s the right height, it’s painted with her paint, so it has to be her, right?

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In the civil trial counsel for the Zahaus very cleverly did handwriting analysis on the seven word message, something the cops and experts for the defense did their best to scoff at.

But handwriting aside, if we look closely at the model used in the Sheriff’s PowerPoint presentation, she’s wearing shoes with a slight heel, and the door is slanted very slightly away from her. This simultaneously raises the model at least an inch in vertical height, while the slanting of the door lowers the message at least an inch. The model in the image also demonstrates painting her message on the lower line of text.

It’s easy to model the scenario yourself. Stand in front of a door with a pen and pretend the door is a piece of paper. Where would you automatically, naturally start writing your message? Go do the experiment quickly and then come back.

Where would you automatically, naturally start writing your message when standing right beside a vertical door?

Answer: In line with your shoulder, and looking down approximately 45 degrees [mirroring somewhat how one would write on a flat horizontal plane, in a line parallel with one’s bent elbow].

Keith Greer’s exhibit shows the height of the message a few critical inches higher than the police exhibit. The text on the bottom line is clearly above Rebecca’s shoulder level, and the word HIM virtually eye-level or slightly higher.

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Sometimes, on these tiny nuances, the height of a message on a door, a trial or an investigation can turn – for better or worse.

Two Sides to the Tugboat Captain

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When Adam Shacknai appeared in court he was impeccably dressed in a polished suit. His answers were polite and mild-mannered.

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When he testified Adam spent some time cleaning his glasses when he was asked to examine photos of the crime scene and the victim – arguably his own handiwork.

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This was his demeanor when the 911 call was played back in court.

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On Adam’s final day in court, he appeared completely different – dressed casually in black, wearing a short-sleeved shirt and compared to everyone else in the room, under dressed, especially for January in California.

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Outside court Adam was less polished, and so was his statement to the media. Fullscreen capture 20190701 011149Fullscreen capture 20190701 011306Fullscreen capture 20190701 011424Fullscreen capture 20190701 011610Fullscreen capture 20190701 011629

As the retinue left the premises, Adam stood out as something of an oddball, even from a distance. Fullscreen capture 20190701 011808Fullscreen capture 20190701 011723Fullscreen capture 20190701 011733Fullscreen capture 20190701 011749Fullscreen capture 20190701 011758

Apparently on the same day as the civil trial concluded, Adam sat down for an interview, still dressed in the same clothes. The interview appears to be in a hotel room.

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This same wardrobe change from brown-grey suit to brown-grey shirt repeatedly itself in 2018.

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DEATH AT THE MANSION – The Final[e] Analysis [Part 3 of 3]

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Significantly, two different pairs of gloves are identified in crime scene reports, and crime scene photos. In one instance what appears to be a single black latex glove was found in the dirt in the crawl space under the stairs. The second glove seems to be missing.

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And then there’s this pair, found in plain sight upstairs on the living room table.Fullscreen capture 20190701 005852

This same pair, or a similar pair, appears in Greer’s “War Room” resting on a packet of cream-yellow Multi-Purpose Latex gloves.

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In the above image we see the gloves stored beside the ski-rope in Greer’s War Room. The possible use of the gloves raises a few possibilities. Were they used to grip the rope when lowering Rebecca? A ski-rope is by its very nature slick and slippery. Were the gloves used to intentionally transfer black paint onto Rebecca’s hands, to make it seem as if she painted the message? The gloves in question appear to resemble gloves associated with watersports, including boating.

Only one of the two pairs has potentially the sort of “skin pattern” that may have left the characteristic imprint on Rebecca’s fingernail. But if a glove made this imprint, why was no black paint found on either of the gloves?

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Finally, why are we talking about two pairs of gloves?

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Who did the gloves belong to?

It makes almost no sense that no DNA was recovered from two pairs of gloves, especially because gloves would essentially serve as a receptacle for hairs and skin cells. But apparently only minute partial and mixed DNA traces were found, and the San Diego cops were pretty good at not doing much with the little they did find.

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The finale does a good job to undermine the amateurish efforts on the San Diego PD side, both in terms of the original investigation and the so-called “reinvestigation”. One of the presenters hits the hammer on the head when describing the reinvestigation as “not a true investigation”.

Crazy as it sounds, apparently whoever tested the plastic bag on the floor by the bed, and even the entire door, used a single swab in each case. That’s a little like using a toothpick to measure the size of a football field.

But even without DNA analysis to guide us, we have one pair of those same gloves appearing in a series of crime scene photos. At the bottom of the stairs on the railing.

Who did they belong to?

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DEATH AT THE MANSION – The Final[e] Analysis [Part 2 of 3]

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Many of those covering the Zahau case seem to be fixated on the knots, as well as demonstrating that they could be “self tied”. Personally I find the whole line of inquiry odd and unnecessary simply because there’s very little effort to replicate the exact bindings the way we see them in the crime scene photos.

In DEATH AT THE MANSION a fuss is made over the knot being at the top instead of at the bottom etc. It’s pedantic this late in the game to still be trying to prove it wasn’t suicide, but if you want to talk about the rope, look at how the rope is threaded under both the yellow and the black wristbands in this image.

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Ironically, I used to wear two wristbands when they were vogue, a black one and a yellow LIVE STRONG bracelet. They’re snug, they can stretch a little, but it would be impossible to tie the sort of knots under two of these wristbands.

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Remember Adam Shacknai saying he had to move “something” out of the way when reaching for Rebecca’s pulse? That statement always struck me as odd, and completely unnecessary to say. I’d assumed he was referring to the rope, but felt that didn’t make sense, because obviously he had to move the rope away. This seems to be a potential slip of the tongue. Whoever killed Rebecca had to navigate under those wristbands when securing her wrists together. That’s what had to be moved out the way and threaded inside and under, not once, but numerous times.

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DEATH AT THE MANSION – The Final[e] Analysis [WARNING – GRAPHIC IMAGES] [Part 1 of 3]

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It’s always difficult presenting graphic autopsy images in an appropriate way. There’s nothing “appropriate” about death, and so there’s no way to do this that doesn’t feel uncomfortable.

In True Crime the cadaver is often by far the most important source of evidence. It’s also the surest way to feel the scale and scope of a crime from the victim’s perspective. It’s shocking, and it should be. It should disturb us.

In DEATH AT THE MANSION the wound to Rebecca’s neck is shown. Without seeing this wound firsthand it would be difficult to appreciate the injury even with a technical description.

What we do see is a very severe asymmetrical gash caused by the rope into the right side of the neck [Rebecca’s left side]. This immediately suggests two scenarios:

  1. Rebecca was hanging in a lopsided fashion [similar to how she is seen laying on the lawn, and also with her head turned slightly].
  2. Rebecca seemed to have been dropped fairly rapidly to create the gash in the first place.

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If we imagine Rebecca hanging “lopsidedly”, we see her knees bent upwards even though gravity ought to be pulling her legs down. It also means her head is turned at an angle that is at odds with how it should look if she had hung herself.

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This suggests she was cut down not only to dramatize a theatrical rescue [even though she was clearly dead], but because if she had been found hanging, the unnatural position would immediately arouse suspicion. If Rebecca was killed close to 03:00, then, if she was hung relatively late, close to sunrise or shortly before Adam called 911, then her body may have had several hours to stiffen in the position she was bound and strangled in.

From the perspective of neighbor’s noticing something and alerting the cops before her murderer “was ready”, we can imagine leaving the staging of the suicide until the last possible moment. Does that make sense?

Although it’s debatable whether in practice law enforcement could have or should have done a reverse suicide staging in situ, if Rebecca was hung up again, this could have “proved” the above point – that immediately on sight, seeing her hanging, the cops would have realized the suicide didn’t look right. However significant tissue damage would have been incurred in such an exercise.

From the original Case File images, a black and white image presents a very different view of Rebecca’s face and neck than the autopsy photo. Her eyes are slightly open and her mouth wide open either from the shirt stuffed in her mouth, or Adam performing CPR or both. Contrast her mouth with the above image where her lips are obviously closed.

The use of the shirt might also be to conceal or minimize the ugliness of the hanging wound after the fact.

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Nahida Manzoor “Summit Photo”: Liespotting and Crooked Photospotting – it takes a keen eye [and ear]

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At first glance, one can be forgiven for assuming there might be two different people in these summit photos. Summit Photos on Mount Everest are a dime a dozen. Everyone sort of looks the same, the setting is similarly snowy but basically nondescript. Even the climbers might as well be wearing burkas – they’re usually almost impossible to identify behind their gas masks and sun visors. The main indicator tends to be the color of their suits and the signs they hold aloft identifying who they are and where they are.

Nahida Manzoor (right) morped Bhawna Dehariya’s image to receive summit certificate from government of Nepal. Courtesy: Nahida

It’s precisely because of these limiting factors that summit photos are so easy to fake. So it’s not surprising there’s a storied history when it comes to fake Summit Photos on Mount Everest and faked ascents in general.

After Faking ‘Historic’ Everest Climb, This Couple Was Banned From Nepal Mountains – Huffington Post

Photoshopped images, false claims: Everest ascents too easy to fake? – Hindustan Times

Most brazen Photoshop fakes we’ve ever seen – Metro

FAKING MOUNT EVEREST? – Adventure Alternative

Yes, This Photo from Everest Is Real – Outside

Three Indian climbers make fake Everest summit claim? – The Himalayan

Swiss Climber’s Feat Honored Despite Lack of Proof – The New York Times

Let’s take a closer look at Nahida Manzoor’s effort here, just to get an idea how much work went into this [or…ahem…didn’t].

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The first indicator that this is a staged photo is the basic layout. Same flag, same bent poster [same size, same bends and creases] and, though less easy to see in the cropped version, the climber is in the exact same position too. Look at the angle of the right leg compared to the left in both images.

Looking closer the fakery becomes a lot more obvious.

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All the idiosyncrasies in Bhawna Dehariya’s image are repeated in Manzoor’s. Moving from top to bottom and left to right:

  1. The crease in the Indian flag, and the angle of orange streaking downward is identical.
  2. The angle of the orange part of the flag touching against the climber’s shoulder is the same in both images.
  3. The angle of the opaque container jutting out beside the climber’s cheek is the same in both images.
  4. The ridge of snow in the background is the same, and photographed from exactly the same angle.
  5. To the left of the poster is a small piece of triangular collar from the climbing suit jutting out. This is the first indication of mischief, where the original climbing suit has been clumsily edited out and replaced with a red suit. Notice how fuzzy the red suit is compared to the original suit in the original image.
  6. The edge of a green plastic thingy beside the gloved hand of the climber is almost cropped out, but not quite.
  7. Notice how the black gloves – both of them, in both images – are identical.
  8. A black zip tag protruding perpendicularly is visible in both images on the underside of the right-hand glove.
  9. All four corners of the poster are uniquely bent in both images.
  10. A black strap, possibly part of the climbing suit belt, protrudes from the same area at the same angle in both images.
  11. Ditto a yellow prayer flag.
  12. A line of red rope emerges in shadow beneath the poster. The image is deliberately cut off where the rope enters the sunlight, and to remove the idiosyncratic climbing gear in the foreground.

That’s 12, that’s enough.

There is one more aspect to point out, arguably, the most obvious of all: the script on the poster. It lists half a dozen sponsors. The names of the sponsors are just about bigger than Manzoor’s name and EVEREST 2019 which is telling, isn’t it?

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In mountaineering the stakes are high, and the higher the mountain the higher the stakes. Lives, reputations and fortunes are often at stake. Manzoor obviously felt pressure from her sponsors, especially the Department of Tourism, to give them their due publicity-wise, no matter what. One wonders whether the DoT put Manzoor up to it, or pressured her to do it, or whether Manzoor did this entirely at her own initiative.

Over the course of writing the NEVEREST series [a trilogy dealing with the deadly ’96 Everest disaster as a crime scene], and climbing Kilimanjaro myself in the mid-90’s, I’ve experienced the lack of ethics and honesty on mountains firsthand. What ought to a theater for heroism often turns into a Lord of the Flies fest. The New York Times recently likened Everest to a zoo. And each year it’s getting worse.

In 2016 I worked with the world famous and much beloved Alpinist Ueli Steck, nicknamed “the Swiss Machine”. Although Ueli undoubtedly achieved dizzying achievements in mountaineering, there remains some doubt and controversy about whether one of his most amazing – on Annapurna – actually happened.

…in October 2013, Kelly McMillan reported for the New York Times that, “Steck didn’t have a photo of the summit; his altimeter had broken during his ascent; and he hadn’t used a G.P.S. tracker, all of which are accepted means of documenting such a climb…”

Watch Ueli Steck’s Ascent of Annapurna’s South Face – Climbing