Garage Door Was Open at Smart House

Fox News ^ | today | AP

[Rodney King]

SALT LAKE CITY

[mountaineer]

Perhaps you should all get to konw what regular faithfull Mormons are like.

I don't think we should go there. This is not the place for a doctrinal debate, at least under Jim's rules.

[ThinkingMan]

If you are examining the available evidence of a case with the goal of forming an opinion of the guilt or innocence of the involved parties, then you should begin your deliberations by presuming that the family is innocent. Too many people posting on this thread began their consideration of the evidence with the presumption that someone in the family kidnapped the girl. This bias has unfairly influenced their conclusions.

This is also known as the Pygmallion effect- If you start with the assumption that the family is guilty, everything takes on a sinister aspect (You see only that which you are looking for). The same holds true if you are assuming innocence.

Thanks for allowing me my Yoda moment!

[Ann Archy]

Was that really necessary? It certainly wasn't very charitable, so please be a lady and show me where it says anything about Tom Smart n that article of 105 reply. I await your kindness in this.

[Ann Archy]

I went back and read it again, so you didn;t call me DENSE again..(very UN-Christian of you, I might add) and TOM SMART is NOT mentioned in that article re" bautiful story..".

[EverOnward]

You seem quite quick to defend a person/a family you know nothing about.

What IS CLEAR, is that YOU and others of your ilk on this forum KNOW NOTHING about this family. The caustic ignorance displayed on this forum regarding this subject is shameful.

[EverOnward]

Something is not right still. I am sticking with the uncle did this. Also none of these people deserve to have the last name they do. They are far from it.

The above statement speaks more for what kind of person you are rather than the Smart family.

[Ann Archy]

Do you know the family? Why don't you offer your opinion as to why they could NOT be suspects rather than just call these two freepers names for expressing THEIR opinion.

What did you say about the Ramseys'....the Van Dams...the Levy's, even (although TOTALLY different). Did you not question them at all in your mind??

[Ann Archy]

Who says that the screen being cut from the inside is not true? The reporting on this has been awful....the way the story is written is confusing.

Being a Mormon has NOTHING to do with this story as far as I can see. It would be like saying that Catholicism had something to do with Ted Kennnedy and Mary Jo Kopeokne...that would be just as silly. Or Chandra being Jewish...etc...etc.....just silly. Mor

[ladyjane]

I'm leaning towards her running off with her boy friend.

who just happens to be her first cousin

[steveo]

This story states that the father " ...made a mental note to close the door as he rushed Elizabeth's heat-sensitive harp into the air-conditioned house". According to weather data for that day in Salt Lake City the maximum temp was about 82 deg. at 3PM. At 9PM the temp was about 70 deg. Hardly reason to worry about the heat. I hope you can allow me to assume for 9PM for the family return from the school function. Maybe it started at 7PM, an hour or so for the kids and then allowing return trip time.

This report goes on to say that after 'rushing the harp into the home' and "shortly before turning in for the night, when he found the doorway blocked by a tarp." The father discovered the door half way open.

Now if he brought the harp in through an access door into the home as most attached garages have, and not through the front of the garage, then there would have been no reason to open the front of the garage. But if he did take it through the front of the garage, and a tarp were in the way, the sensor would have stopped the door operation immediately, not half way down. Most likely it would have returned to its open position.

Most entry doors to attached garages are sturdier than your average interior doors for fire safety. And in this million dollar home I'm pretty sure it would also have a deadbolt on the door.

Please (and I'm sure you will) correct me here, was there no alarm system in place or armed that night?

Perhaps I am grabbing at straws but if there's nothing else to go on…

[Vinomori]

If Elizabeth was scheduled to play the harp, I find it very unusual that she was late for her performance. Even I am not late if I have a performance that I have committed to. While it may mean nothing, I think it bears investigation and I hope the SLC police have looked into it.

Good point. Important red flag. Although you will now probably be vilified for tearing this poor family apart with your Mormon-bashing.

[Boxsford]

I readily admit I know nothing of this family. Therefore I can neither defend them or condemn them~ only question what's been put forth in the media. If you want to call people "ilk" for doing so, which btw, is what freepers do best, I wonder what that makes you.

[Mamzelle]

What is with all you people who want to believe the worst about this poor family?)))

I'm with you. I've watched the dad, and he seems stupified with horror, grief and helplessness and sounds incoherent and bizarre when interviewed.

Heavens, I'd be incoherent and weird, too. Frankly, I don't see how anyone could pass a lie detector under these circumstances...I know I'd be too weirded out to make any sense...

Reminds me of that mom whose baby was dragged away by animals in Australia...she behaved "inappropriately" for the camers, so the whole world lost their minds and started hating her.

Where does it say every citizen must give a polished performance for the cameras when a life is falling apart?

The fact that they raised this adorable girl and five other children ought to speak for a lot. Think how quickly the Van Dam lifestyle was exposed.

[Vinomori]

The Scottish style golf hat is very important. Nobody who was a dangerous person prior to the kidnapping would wear a hat like that. Never in the history of human crime has anyone dangerous ever worn that kind of hat. I think they know who it is.

[ET(end tyranny)]

Mormon families are supposed to have family prayer every day, either in the morning, or before bedtime. This is not unusual. It was the reporter who picked out this detail to report, not the Smart family.

Smart mentioned it in his brief conference.

[ET(end tyranny)]

If this is a hostage situation, shouldn't there be a 'ransome'?

[Vinomori]

bump

[ET(end tyranny)]

I read an article the other day that said that Ed Smart called Klaas TWICE asking him to help.

[Boxsford]

It made no sense at all!