ST Murder Investigation Thread

I really pray they catch who did it, but I really don't think they will :(

It is very early, but my gut tells me the same thing. The police currently have no known leads or suspects, there were no witnesses, there is no description of the killer(s), there are a lot of people with motives, and we know of no evidence in the possession of the police that might lead to suspects (e.g., fingerprints). We can pray that someone talks but, with the dumb "code of silence" crap, who knows if anyone will. :(

No, I don't believe it was an accident. I believe it was a hit intended to kill. My arguement is just because he got shot in the leg/groin, it doesn't mean that he wasn't meant to die. I think the person who did this probably wasn't exactly a trained marksman. I think they didn't expect a big ass man with a machete and they shot twice and got the F out of there. They probably thought they'd break through the door and catch him in bed.

I think you make a lot of sense...

I was sifting through another site I like...just a fan...and he has many of the same questions we do...except he spent more time formulating...here it is...

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Hrmmm...

Three things came out of the Miami police presser subsequent Washington Post piece (http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/11/28/AR2007112801073.html) that merit mention in the context of the night Sean Taylor was shot and the reporting of that night.

First, original reporting in the Washington Time indicated (http://washingtontimes.com/article/20071126/SPORTS01/71126002/1023) Monday

someone in Taylor's house heard intruders attempting to pry open the rear door of the house. Taylor apparently went to investigate, and a female in the house then heard a shot.
Yesterday's WaPo piece linked at the top reported

the intruder or intruders kicked in the bedroom door Monday morning and fired twice, striking Taylor -- who had grabbed a machete from under the bed -- in the femoral artery while his high school sweetheart, Jackie Garcia, cowered on the bed with their 18-month-old daughter.
So which is it, were they all in the same room or not?


Second, the police have indicated there is no evidence Sean's home phone line was cut. Tuesday the WaPo reported (http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/11/26/AR2007112600794.html) the line had been cut and that the fiancee was forced to use her mobile phone to call 911, which delayed paramedic arrival time.

Yesterday's piece linked at the top reports that the fiancee quote had difficulty using the home phone unquote. Unless she's using a VOIP phone and teh internets waz down or her cordless battery was dead I don't know how you have a hard time using your own phone but then again I have never had the person I love bleeding out in front of me while trying to calm an 18 month old.

The police have indicated (http://www.miamiherald.com/living/health/story/323314.html) the 911 call was received approximately 15 minutes after the shooting. Why the long gap?


Third, WaPo reported (http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/11/26/AR2007112600794.html) on Tuesday per one of Sean's cousins that Sean's house had no alarm system. It would seem odd if not interesting that a wealthy man with questionable current and or former associates and with recent breakin(s) reported at his home would not make a phone call and get this taken care of.

Yesterday in the WaPo piece linked at the top says

"The home was equipped with a burglar alarm which was not turned on the night of the incident," Sharpstein said. "Sean did, however, put the hurricane shutters down on all windows. It's too little too late but I certainly would've told him to engage his alarm at all times at night and after the first burglary he probably should've had private security patrolling. This, of course, is hindsight."

Uh yeah that would have been good advice. I hope this was a case of wrong information getting out in the chaos of the reporting. All three of these things interest me because they concern either someone who was at the scene of the crime or the spokesperson for the deceased who has had no shortage of time in front of a microphone. These clarifications coming three days after the shooting is peculiar.



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And here is another on of his posts...

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I'm no Columbo...

...but something doesn't sound right here. No I am not ready to wade into the war over what we can and cannot say about Sean Taylor's life and death and who can say it. I am still not ready to engage.

So this is not about the supposed presupposition that Sean must have been murdered by an old associate or an enemy or the guy he roughed up over the ATVs or some homey. Or some resentful sycophant turned murderer or some ex girlfriend or Ted Bundy or Tommy Vercetti.

The Miami police had a press conference late yesterday. They believe Sean was the victim of a random burglary and not targeted, in fact they believe (http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/11/28/AR2007112801073.html) there is

"no reason" to think the incident was anything other than an attempted burglary, one likely involving more than one intruder...There is nothing that indicates that this was something that involved Sean," Parker said. "We're more along the lines, or the thought process, that this was a random occurrence
Unless the cops are going straight out of the academy playbook and running a misdirection this seems odd. Perhaps they have significant evidence, maybe not, but either way I suppose by announcing this was a random act they believe perhaps the suspects will not flee or will get careless.

But something is not right. The Washington Times reports (http://washingtontimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071128/SPORTS01/111280062/1001)

"This kid was assassinated; it was a hit," said one longtime Taylor friend with ties to the National Football League. "With the knife beside the bedside, it was obvious they came looking for him."
Also we know in the breakin last week a kitchen knife (butcher? steak? paring?) was left on Sean's bed. Maybe careless burglar needed a blade to cut something open, maybe it was left there as a message. I wonder, were there prints on that knife?

A breakin so close to last week's is unrelated? You know I'm not Magnum PI but if one perp breaks in last week and mentions in conversation how easy it was and that other person decides to try it and oops finds Sean at home? I think that's related.

Sean's lawyer thinks the two breakins are related (op. cit. (http://washingtontimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071128/SPORTS01/111280062/1001)). He also thinks Sunday night's perpetrators did not think Sean was home. I wonder if they checked the driveway for cars.

Also, I have come to understand that the fiancee and perhaps even a nanny live or stay in the house so do we know the circumstances around last week's breakin? Was anybody home? Does anybody actually live there full time? This piece (http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/11/26/AR2007112602207.html) on neighborhood reaction indicates that Sean's mother, long divorced from his father, lists the house as her permanent address and one of the rooms rifled by the burglars was listed as the bedroom of Sean's sister Sasha. Who really lives there?


Sean's friend and former University of Miami and current Arizona Cardinals cornerback Antrel Rolle

said Wednesday that Taylor had told him he was afraid every time he returned to the [Miami] area...

"This was not the first incident," Rolle told reporters in Arizona. "They've been targeting him for three years now."


Rolle, who said he had not spoken to Taylor in a while, did not offer any specifics, but added, "Sean, he had a large group of friends, and he no longer hung out with those friends, so you never know where this came from.(op. cit. (http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/11/28/AR2007112801073.html))

Antrel may not be Jim Rockford but something is amiss here. The burglars kicked open the bedroom door and shot him? It seems to me that if the burglars thought the house would be empty then they would have taken off when they heard noises. As it was there is nothing that appears missing from the house.

Also the WaPo piece (op. cit. (http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/11/28/AR2007112801073.html)) mentions two pieces of information that merit their own post, to follow immediately: 1) the phone line was not cut, fiancee Jackie Garcia had a 'hard time' operating the home phone and 2) the house does have an alarm system but it was not turned on. These two pieces of information contradict earlier reporting and it may be innocent in all the chaos but...odd.

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I think he's got many of the same questions that we all have...hopefully we'll find it out in time...

Wow. Great post. That's a lot of information to digest but obviously this is a very clouded situation.

It is very early, but my gut tells me the same thing. The police currently have no known leads or suspects, there were no witnesses, there is no description of the killer(s), there are a lot of people with motives, and we know of no evidence in the possession of the police that might lead to suspects (e.g., fingerprints). We can pray that someone talks but, with the dumb "code of silence" crap, who knows if anyone will. :(
You are assuming way too much. The police are not going to give out any information to tip off anyone so they run and hide. If his killer thinks there's no evidence then why would they run or hide. His dad is or was a police cheif in FL (not sure of the city) and they look after their own so this investigation will not drop even when it has left the news. I also think Snyder along with others will put up a large bounty for the killer and his friends will turn on him. It might noot happen over night but some one will give him up or the local detectives will find the guy. I also think they know it was not random and are just saying so to throw off the killer.

I also think they know it was not random and are just saying so to throw off the killer.

Let's hope so.

Also the WaPo piece (op. cit. (http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/11/28/AR2007112801073.html)) mentions two pieces of information that merit their own post, to follow immediately: 1) the phone line was not cut, fiancee Jackie Garcia had a 'hard time' operating the home phone and 2) the house does have an alarm system but it was not turned on. These two pieces of information contradict earlier reporting and it may be innocent in all the chaos but...odd.

I had thought about the the phone thing before, but one is able to disable a house's phone system without having to physically cut the line. All someone needs to do is pick up a handset and dial any number. The phone will sit there for a while waiting for the rest of the number to be entered. When a specified amount of time has expired and the user still hasn't entered a legal phone number, an automated message will play and then a beeping noise usually comes over the line if the phone is not hung up. If you just leave it off the hook, the dialtone will never reset, thus making it seem like the line has been cut.

I know what the guy is pointing towards (an inside job) with the point he brings up, but there's not enough there for me to even think about it at this point.

I had thought about the the phone thing before, but one is able to disable a house's phone system without having to physically cut the line. All someone needs to do is pick up a handset and dial any number. The phone will sit there for a while waiting for the rest of the number to be entered. When a specified amount of time has expired and the user still hasn't entered a legal phone number, an automated message will play and then a beeping noise usually comes over the line if the phone is not hung up. If you just leave it off the hook, the dialtone will never reset, thus making it seem like the line has been cut.

I know what the guy is pointing towards (an inside job) with the point he brings up, but there's not enough there for me to even think about it at this point.


Yeah a lot of people seem to be leaning towards the fact that the fiance was in on this somehow.

....We can pray that someone talks but, with the dumb "code of silence" crap, who knows if anyone will. :(
A six or seven figure "reward" (I'll call it a bounty) for information leading to an arrest and conviction will break that "code of silence" crap. If they need contributions towards the reward money, sign me up.

Yeah a lot of people seem to be leaning towards the fact that the fiance was in on this somehow.

It's not fact, it's speculation; which IMO is something people really need to be careful about right now.

The only two things we know for certain:

1.) Somebody broke in 8 days before
2.) Nothing was taken in either break ins

Judging by what we know, and not speculative information (like the phones, security system, etc.), I think it's safe to say that the motive was NOT robbery. Period. The end.