Posted on 06/25/2005 4:18:48 AM PDT by kcvl
June 25, 2005 -- CAMDEN, N.J. — The father of a missing 6-year-old boy dropped to his knees and let out a blood-curdling scream after opening the trunk of a parked car last night to discover the body of his son and two young friends who had been missing since Wednesday.
The bodies of Jesstin "Manny" Pagan, 5; Daniel "Danny" Agosto, 6; and Anibal Cruz, 11 — who were last seen playing in a yard in this hard-luck suburb of Philadelphia — were found by Danny's father, David Agosto, shortly before 7 p.m. in the maroon Toyota Camry.
"Anibal's father told me that there was a plastic bag over his son's head," Anibal's babysitter, Nancy Santana, told The Post last night.
The death car belongs to Anibal's grandmother and had been parked in the driveway of the family's house throughout the three-day search for the boys in neighboring woodlands and the nearby Delaware River.
Hearing Agosto's anguished screams, family and friends frantically ran from a nearby porch where they had held a vigil hoping for a miracle. The grim discovery echoed across the community.
"This is a moment that the families and the city hoped and prayed we wouldn't have to face," said Camden County Prosecutor Vincent Sarubbi.
Last night, law enforcement officials declined to elaborate on their investigation, but said they were searching for Angel Martinez, 28, of Camden, as a "person of interest" in the case.
snip
Sarubbi and Figueroa said the car had been searched on Thursday with a canine unit.
snip
"We looked in the car on Thursday," an anguished neighbor, who did not want to be identified, told The Post.
"I can't believe we didn't look in the trunk."
(Excerpt) Read more at nypost.com ...
Wildwood,and others, I have never stated that I believe anything that the mother says, or that they were murdered in a short time frame.
I am pointing out how that crime scene appears to me, and what I think happened according to that evidence alone.
Again, everyone seems to think that the trunk of the car was already searched, when it was not, and that there is some limiting factor because of the mother's statements.
The trunk was never searched, and the mother's claims are equally suspect until further events unravel the event history.
At this time, the witness statements do not appear to support the crime scene evidence, and further investigation is certainly warranted
That's what I wondered, at first -- but...
Most late-model cars (like this one) have remote trunk-opening levers near the driver's seat... If the passenger compartment is not locked, no key is needed for the trunk.
We havee two Camry's, both later model than the one in the pics, but the inside of the trunk is completely lined with fabric, so there's really nothing to grab if you went into the trunk and closed it behind you. OTOH, this was an older vehicle, probably not kept in real good condition and the lining may have been pulled out so that there are places to get a hand-hold. I guess we'll know soon.
Just a few weeks back,
a father led searchers to
his dead, missing kid.
Turned out he'd killed her.
(One of the news shows said police
always consider
a relative who
leads them to a body as
the leading suspect.)
Ha Ha Ha! I remember those; Boy, can you imagine the Ritalin they'd stuff into a kid who sang one of those songs now?
Not even the back of the lock mechanism?
"...a lot of times I search the same places over again out of desparation."
I'm considered very good at finding things by my family and co-workers. I always tell them that it because I am willing to look over and over again in the same places. It's also because I have a good relationship with St. Anthony.
PS, and I guess we better let this be a lesson to us if, heaven forbid, we are ever looking for a missing child, be sure to check any and all car trunks in the area.
There is no deterrent for a child molester. They can't be reasoned with, and they can't be fixed; it's a problem in the wiring. They need to be put down, humanely, if possible, to avoid any further victims. It's not about deterring them. All we can do is mop up the mess they leave, and make sure they can't do it again.
it would be hard, but it could be done.
I once talked to an animal control officer. He said if he finds a dog in a closed-up car on a hot day, he will break the window to get the dog out, no matter what.
He said within less than 20 minutes the dog would be dead, first it would slip into unconsciousness in a short time, and be dead not long after, just from the heat, even if there is air.
So I can believe these kids (if they put themselves in the trunk that is) were unconscious in a very short time, especially since there were 3 of them in such a small space.
However, reading that one of them had a plastic bag over his head takes this to a different place.
No more than 80 or 90% of the local ones.
The subpreme court says that if the murderer is under eighteen, you can't do justice with the death penalty (it ain't rehab, folks, it's a PENALTY).
What if the kids were not IN the car when it was searched Thursday? What if they were put there later by the killer?
I think we'll be learning a lot more in the next few days about this case. It's impossible right now to make much sense out of it.
I had heard that they searched the car where the boys were found. Wish they would have elabortaed it they searched the trunk.
Uh....the smell????
I cannot believe that with all the neighbors and cops around that neighborhood the last few days that somebody could sneak three boys' bodies into the trunk of the car.
If that is the case, then the cops that have been on the scene for the last three days should be disciplined.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.