Sandy hooked
Demand an investigation into their investigations
INTO THE WOODS
Part 2: An Actual POSSIBLE SUSPECT
2 of 6
Disclaimer: I will be talking about the guy in camo that was pulled from the woods. Specifically his timeline on the day of the shooting. There will be several hypotheticals and theories presented. Some will hold water, while others won't but still needs to be presented in the interest of thoroughness. I will also be presenting my own personal theories and thoughts, which should NOT be construed as actual fact or me stating that they are actual fact. Without any disclosure from the authorities on this topic, we will never really know what is fact or fiction.
The one thing that makes the case of the Sandy Hook shooting unique from all other mass shootings in America (or any true crime case for that matter), is the bazillion narratives that came from the authorities, the media, the witnesses, their families and those around them. Hell, they still keep rolling out new narratives. It's what drew my attention to this case. And the lack of corrections, explanation and accountability is what keeps me here.
They range from the hilarious, like a 12 gauge shotgun being found in the glove compartment of Adam's car..
To the absurd like claiming that a mother's 2 children were wounded in the shooting, despite one being nowhere near the crime scenes and while the other actually was in one of the rooms effected, not only was he not wounded, but there were no wounded surviving students at all in the shooting.
But some are actual facts that seem to conflict with the official narrative they chose to stick with. One in particular, was a media interview with a witness by the name of Roy Low, who stated that a man in camo pants and a dark jacket had been pulled out the woods by law enforcement in handcuffs.
It'd seem that something like that would be immediately addressed by law enforcement. "We do have a man in custody, but he is not believed to be connected with the shooting" "I can confirm one person was arrested, but his connection to the shooting, if any.. is currently unknown." These are lines we are all too familiar with. They're about as played out as "our hearts go out to the families". Yet, these lines were never uttered. Not a single syllable was dedicated to addressing this incident whatsoever. The closest we got was being told there was only one shooter (Adam Lanza) and a few slips of the tongue at a couple press conferences.
In the meantime, Low's interview went viral on discussion forums online. Everyone wanted to know more about this guy in camo. Unfortunately, we had to rely on the media to fill in the blanks, such as that Business Insider article claiming he was in the helicopter footage (which I hopefully irrefutably debunked in part 1).
So it's no surprise that everyone's imagination went wild. People claimed he was the real shooter and Adam was just a patsy. He was Adam's CIA handler, making sure Adam got it right. Or some kind of other government operative there to oversee that the operation went according to plan. Or simply (and more logically)... He was an accomplice that tried to get away.
Then finally, nearly a year after the shooting, the District Attorney published his final report. In it, we were finally given an explanation.
Of course, the vagueness did very little to quell the theories that had been brewing for 11 months. Many people claimed that this wasn't even about the guy in camo. Afterall, where in it does he state camo? It was easy to dismiss and therefore, barely got acknowledged.
To me however, it seemed obvious that this was who he was talking about. And if true, this guy was dismissible. It made no sense to me that if this guy mattered and they were trying to cover him up, he'd be brought up in a final report of any kind, especially from a prosecutor. At best, he was a Terry Stop, and due to the hypervigilance, was handcuffed, then later agreed to give a statement at the police station.
So when I sat down to write Into the Woods, I had it all figured out. I wanted to help put to rest all the misinformation surrounding the multiple incidences perceived as other suspects and tell their stories individually. The helicopter footage was not Chris Manfredonia or the guy in camo, but was of 2 journalists doing what journalists do. The shadows running past the gym was not Manfredonia either, but were 4th grade teachers fleeing for their lives and so on. And for the most part, it was easy. But then I got to this guy. And what was originally just 1 article and an assumption that he was just briefly detained and had no significance whatsoever, turned into a 2 and a half year obsession and a long 6 part series.
It seemed like his story was incomplete. There was a lot missing and no matter how hard I looked, I couldn't fill in the blanks. I've watched hundreds of hours of news footage, viewed thousands of photos, watched the dash cam videos, listened to police audio and gone through the CSP report more times than I care to count. Every time I found an officer's name I thought was associated with his story, I'd go through the report, documenting every time I saw their name. I've combed through numerous news articles, blogs, discussion forums and other social media platforms looking for any mention of him. I've had to learn a little criminal law, various kinds of police procedures, witness to violent crime psychology.. to put it plainly... I worked my ass off.
I can't help but believe that they tried to bury this lead. They gave us only what they were willing to give us and not a micrometer more, allowing them to rewrite history the way they saw fit while keeping everything vague. I believe that they had hoped that would cause confusion and prevent any real scrutiny. And it worked for 10 years. Even with what I've been able to collect, I've only been able to find a vague timeline for him that day, possible connections to certain things in the case and patterns of what some may call evidence while other could argue as just coincidences.
As a result of all of the above, to show you what I've found, I have to do so in several parts. This part will be dealing with just his timeline and events from that day.
We'll start with him getting an alert. Unfortunately there's no mention of what app he supposedly got an alert from so there's no real way to tell what time he would've gotten the alert. However, there are a few things we can look into to get a general idea as to when he could've gotten it.
The earliest communication to anyone in the public was with the media at 9:53:47. You can find it in StartTime 2012-12-14 14-53-47 Logger 45170321 Channel 5 Radi. And I apologize upfront. This is my own transcription and I wasn't able to make everything they said out. If anyone out there has better ears than me and can fill in the blanks, I'd greatly appreciate it.
Dispatch: State Police emergency
NBC CT: Hi this is (name/something that starts with an L) calling from NBC Connecticut I'm calling to find out if you guys are responding to a shooting on Dickinson drive?
Dispatch: Uh, we got, we got help in route we're not exactly sure what it is but we uh we're fielding calls right now so uh
NBC CT: Do you know where the call came from?
Dispatch: (unsure what he says) we're really really trying to get these calls
NBC CT: So you're just responding to Dickinson Street is that confirmed?
Dispatch: (while she's still talking) yup yup yup
NBC CT: Yeah?
<<end of call>>
Since that was the first call from a media outlet, I'm gonna take this as being the first confirmation to the media that the police were responding to an incident (a possible shooting) on Dickinson Drive. Of course, this does not tell us exactly when the media began informing the public. But, it's reasonable to assume that it was at around this time. I did try to find any posts from NBC Connecticut from around this time but failed.
The earliest post I could find (from anyone) was from BNO News from 10:08.
Unfortunately he doesn't provide a link to the Hartford Courant, so we have no idea when they put it out or even where.
I think it's safe to say though, that a general time the media would've been posting/saying anything would've been anywhere between 9:55 - 10:05. This timeline perfectly coincides with the first robocall sent out from the Newtown Board of Education to parents, which was at 9:55. Even though it did state that there was a shooting, it didn't state which school.
CFS 1200704559 Book 2 00152008 p. 1
Maybe I'm wrong here, but it'd seem that regardless of the app used, he would've gotten the alert during this general timeline (9:55 - 10:05).
Now, what about him "working in a nearby town". We have 4 options here:
1. He was on his way to work, got an alert from an app and decided to skip work
2. Was already at work, got the alert and decided that going to Newtown would be more amusing, clocked out and left
3. Was leaving work, suggesting he worked a night shift
4. It was his day off, but was still in Connecticut (remember that it said he was from New York)
For obvious reasons, 1 and 2 are extremely problematic. I'm sure I'm not alone in sharing the sentiment for wanting to be anywhere but work, but really? I mean.... I guess it's possible but not very probable. As far as 3 and 4 are concerned, without knowing where he worked—or at the very least, what he did for a job—there's no way to analyze this. Both scenarios mean that he was on his own time and allow the possibility that he was already on the road and close to the scene.
So what about his car? I figured if he ended up having to leave it behind for a little while, whether because he was still in custody or if they needed to process it at all, I should look in CFS 1200704559 Book 4 00182444. In it, lists all the cars that were left behind at the school, Dickinson Drive and at the firehouse. Even though we don't get to read all the names and personal info, we still get to see make, model, color, plate number, VIN, location and date of return. While there were cars left behind at the firehouse, none of them had New York plates or stood out at all. Same thing for all the vehicles on Dickinson.
After yielding 0 results, I thought that maybe this just suggested that he was able to come back and get it. So I went searching on my own through videos and photos. I found possibly 2.
Here's what we're looking for.
First one is the silver Jeep in the background, just left of the officer.
It left some time before 1:40. Below is a screenshot from the 1:40 press conference. (at :019)
But as you will see, this timeline means we can rule this vehicle out as being the suspect's.
The second (possible) one is the truck next to it. It's hard to make out, but at 1:37 in the footage below, you can kinda see the plate and it appears to match the blue and white New York plate.
Here's a screenshot just in case.
I have no idea when it left, but I was able to confirm that it was there in the same spot later in the day. (yes, that's Krista and Richard Rekos just right of the truck. Also note, the Jeep is gone and the one that was behind it has pulled up in it's place).
But gone the following morning.
If this was his vehicle, it would certainly be interesting cause it was a work truck for Brickman Landscaping.
I have a few problems with this being his truck though. Starting with the obvious, this would suggest that he was on company time. And secondly, they had uniforms which did not include camo pants. Of course, there's always the possibility that he was allowed to keep the truck for a little while. After all, Hurricane Sandy just happened and they did help out in clearing debris. It could be possible that he was just staying in Connecticut for a little while to help out and thus, was allowed to keep the truck in the meantime. Meaning, even though he was driving a company truck, he was still on his own time. This could've been his day off or maybe he didn't have to show up to his next job for a little while and had only planned to stop by and check out the scene before going in. Honestly, without any context though, we could be sitting here all day debating this. Point is, we can't rule this truck out entirely.
For the sake of being thorough, I continued searching beyond the firehouse. I included all of Riverside Rd. to include parking lots and driveways, side streets and even up Dickinson Dr. and the school's parking lot. I got 2 results.
One, was an SUV parked at the entrance of the Children's Adventure Center, not too far from the corner of Dickinson Dr.
I was able to find a picture that gets us closer to the vehicle.
Even though the plate itself isn't very clear, we can still see that it matches the yellow with the dark blue border at the top.
And, as luck would have it, I was able to nail down the time it arrived.
Starting at 3:22 in the video below, you can see that there's no SUV there. The camera turns right, showing Governor Malloy arriving at the scene. When the camera comes back to the area, the SUV is there. Meaning, it parked while Governor Malloy was coming down Riverside Rd.
Here are some screenshots of the footage.
3:22
4:10
3:44
4:20
If you continue watching, you'll see the black SUV park right out front of the firehouse, just in front of the fire truck. At 5:06 you can see someone walking from the SUV and it looks like someone putting on a jacket while walking towards the firehouse. That'd be Governor Malloy and you can see him do that more clearly in the footage below at 2:53 (note, in both videos you can see the man in the brown jacket that had the red and white stripe scarf that we talked about earlier in Part 1).
Live footage proves that this occurred at 12:25. You can view it at 1:25:50 in this video. And just in case for the naysayers, here's an update from The Atlantic at 12:28 stating Malloy had arrived.
But just like the Jeep at the firehouse, we can rule this vehicle out because of timeline as well (as I will demonstrate).
The fourth car, wasn't anywhere near the firehouse, but right in the school's own parking lot.
Meehan - parking lot photos #10
It was parked at the corner where the upper lot and bottom lot meet.
Farr - scene photos #130
And this one does come with documentation. It was returned on the 18th. Note that at the top of the page, it cites CFS 1200704559. This will become relevant later on. As well as the fact that it states "CT OP" in the "property released to" section. This means that whoever this vehicle was returned to, had a Connecticut Operators License.
CFS 1200704559 Book 4 00182444 p. 28
Besides having New York plates, there are 2 things about this car that has caught the eye of many researchers.
One, is that it can be seen in dash cam footage as early as 9:48.
00056732_MVR_Part_1 at 11:15
This is just 12 minutes after the first broadcast went out to officers to respond (which was at 9:36:06 and can be confirmed in CFS 1200704559 Book 4 00179629), just 8 minutes and 43 seconds after the first officer got there (which was at 9:39:00 and can be confirmed in CFS 1200704559 Book 4 00184096) and roughly 7 minutes before the first robocall went out to parents (9:55). If this was his car, it'd be game over for his official alibi.
The second thing is that there was blood droplets on the ground next to it.
Farr - nighttime exterior photos #155
Seems super suspicious right? Sure, at first glance. But there's a logical explanation for it that has nothing to do with this guy.
Remember Deborah Pisani? She was the paraeducator in Room 1 that was wounded while stepping out into the hallway. She was escorted out of the building at 10:07:07 (CFS 1200704559 Book 4 00184096 p. 17 and can be seen on Seabrook's dash cam as well). She was brought to the northeast corner of the parking lot (where the car is located), where she was then treated by Karin Halstead and Peter Barressi of the Sandy Hook Volunteer Fire
Meehan - parking lot photos #12
Department. Halstead gave an update regarding Pisani at 10:16:57, "gunshot wound to the left foot. Needs transport but she's conscious and alert." You can hear this in the audio below.
(Reminder: State Police only included their audio from 9:35 - 10:33 from that morning in their final reports. The audio below contains Fire, EMT, state police and Newtown up to 11:43. It was originally posted by Radioman911 but they have since taken it down. Since I had already downloaded it for myself and it's the only source I am aware of that contains State Police audio past 10:33 and the only source for Fire and EMT, I uploaded it to my channel).
It was after they bandaged her foot when they handed her over to EMS Chelsea Fowler, who then walked her down to the firehouse.
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Peter Barresi's statement - CFS 1200704559 Book 6 00256436
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Karin Halstead's statement - CFS 1200704559 Book 6 00256486
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Chelsea Fowler's statement - CFS 1200704559 Book 6 00002134
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To confirm Karin is #410 - CFS 1200704559 Book 2 00260162 p. 4
However, this car isn't his either. We'll get to that in a little while.
Unless there was a vehicle I overlooked or he drove something with Connecticut plates, these were the only vehicles I could find.
Next, is that he walked up on foot to the school from the firehouse. I've outline his path below.
Google maps says the walk would've taken 3 minutes. I do realize that this is based on the new landscape, but the estimation in distance should remain the same.
Before I move on, I want to dispel any theory that he walked up via the woods and that's why he was found in them. In the picture below, you can see a fence within the woods that would've prevented him from walking up through them.
Our next stop on this true crime mystery tour, is the media interview of witness Roy Low. Who said the man was pulled out of the woods wearing camo pants and a dark jacket.
Wait. Let's freeze frame for a moment. Did you notice that I just skipped over the entire section of him being in the woods and getting caught? I skipped it because there's nothing to write. Go back to the description we started out with from Sedensky's report. "He drove to the firehouse and went up to the school on foot" _________________ "He was taken from the scene of the school in handcuffs and later to Newtown Police Department." Doesn't even mention him being in camo (which will become important in a little while). And if you thought we'd find anything in the CSP report, you'd be sadly mistaken. Notice how I haven't even cited that yet? That'd be because documentation for him doesn't even start until after he was already apprehended and pulled out. There's nothing about the woods or camo in there too. The only reason why we know this part is solely because of Roy.
Pardon my language but what the f**k? This is quite literally one of the most important parts. He didn't just show up and was apprehended for no reason. He was found in the damn woods! So where the hell is his story? When did he enter the woods? Was it immediately upon arrival or later? Who spotted him? Was it a civilian or law enforcement? After being spotted, did he give chase? How long did that chase take place? Did he try to hide? Did he throw up his hands immediately? How long did this encounter in the woods take place? There's no radio transmission about this encounter, so does that mean law enforcement contacted dispatch (or someone else like another officer on scene) through a private call? Did they not contact any one at all? How long after this ordeal did they bring him out? How many officers were involved? What are their names? Why was he dressed in camo pants? Did his job not have a dress code or uniforms? Was he not on the clock when he got the alert? And of course... why did he enter the woods in the first place? What caused this super genius to enter the woods of a school that just suffered a mass shooting, wearing camouflage? I've tried to answer this question myself, and despite moving the goalpost really really far, I was only able to come up with a few ideas. Those that could still support the official narrative:
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He was suffering a mental episode and tried to flee. For example, say he was a paranoid Schizophrenic. After seeing the heavy police response, his psychosis took over. Fearing he'd be abducted by the government again, he tried to leave through the woods but got caught. However, the evidence doesn't support this. Something like this would've been his worst fears coming into fruition. He would've tried to resist as much as possible. However, there's not even a tiny hint of this in any of the reports (as you will see).
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He just wanted to go smoke a joint. Sounds absurd, but man are there some really dumb criminals in the world. Marijuana was still illegal in Connecticut at the time. Maybe after seeing all the chaos and being hit with the reality that a mass shooting just occurred in an elementary school, he just wanted to get high. (note, this logic fits for any other kind of drug).
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He had to urinate. Even if no one saw him actually do it, he technically was exposed on school property. Pretty sure that'd land you on a registry. Perhaps law enforcement took pity on him and waived it off, agreeing to also not include it in the public record. Even though I can't prove one way or the other, I still don't think this is what happened.
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Remembered there was a warrant out for him (an example would be for an unpaid fine) and started to get worried after seeing the heavy police response and tried to back out of there through the woods but got caught.
Of course, there's always the option that the official story is just crap, and he was there for another reason. Perhaps he was an eyewitness that fled. Ooorrrr... he was a co-conspirator trying to get away.
Thankfully we're not totally in the dark. Roy's interview not only tells us that he was wearing camo and was found in the woods, it also helps us figure out the time he was seen pulled out and where this occurred.
Let's start with when.
Some would argue that this timeline begins with Det. Rachel Van Ness's statement. In it, she recalls seeing a male walking across the parking lot in handcuffs upon arriving. She was told he was from New York with no reason to be there.
CFS 1200704559 Book 6 00001113 p. 2
But like I said in Part 1, it was the janitor, Rick Thorne that she saw. Remember, he was escorted out in cuffs at 10:02:41.
CFS 1200704559 Book 4 00184096 p. 16
Van Ness arrived at 10:01:42, just a minute before he was escorted out.
CFS 1200704559 Book 4 00184096 p. 16
Even though it's pretty clear that who she saw was Thorne and not our suspect, it needs to be noted that we can't dismiss her claim entirely. She is not clear on when she was told he was the guy from NY. Although it's entirely possible she was told this hours or even days or weeks later, there still remains the possibility that she was told at the same time or just after seeing Thorne. If true, this would place the suspect at the scene at around 10:02, which would be a huge problem, as I will later demonstrate.
This part of his timeline (post apprehension) really begins with 4th grade witness Brendan Murray. Who stated in a media interview, that while he was being evacuated from the school, he saw a man pinned down in handcuffs. At first it sounds as if he's stating this was at the firehouse. But then goes on to say "there was a car blocking it. Plus we were running really quick. So then we got to the firehouse"...
NOTE: A previous version of this article included the video interview. However, due to recent events with my site being blocked and threatened to be taken down, I thought it was unwise to keep it that way just in case. So you will all have to deal with having a link to the video instead. But same disclaimer applies. I am not in any way trying to exploit him. His interview is absolutely vital to this topic since he's not only the first documented witness (giving us an idea for a timeline) but gives us a location of the suspect as well. I am only providing this interview for the interest in context and analysis related to the suspect. If Brendan and/or his family would like me to remove the link though, I ask that they contact me and I will do so immediately.
Based on what he says in the interview, I believe he is stating that he saw the suspect in the school's parking lot.
The gym was evacuated through the front at 10:12:32. Placing this sighting just seconds later.
CFS 1200704559 Book 4 00184096 p. 19
And here's a generalized path they would've taken.
Side note: we get to debunk Salon's ironically titled article "comprehensive answer to every Sandy Hook conspiracy theory" yet again. According to them, this happened outside the firehouse and it was a passerby.
First, at the risk of being a nitpicker, it was a child, not children. Stating children implies that there was more than one witness corroborating this narrative. However, I have only found the one. Second, clearly we're talking about this suspect who wasn't a passerby whatsoever. He was found in the woods. Third, unless I'm wrong, he was seen in the school's parking lot, not outside the firehouse.
Looks like the need to be first and publish an article claiming to know every answer to every theory only a month and 4 days after the shooting was a bad idea. You tend to end up spreading even more misinformation, risking creating even more conspiracy theories.
Now we need to take another brief pause.
We've established that he couldn't have gotten an alert any earlier than 9:55. He still needs time to drive there (accounting for any traffic he would've encountered including the numerous law enforcement vehicles all responding), time to park, get out of his car, walk up to the school (which we established would've been a 3 minute walk), time to enter the woods, be seen and to be pulled out, cuffed and proned out all by 10:12. To break it down even more...... 9:55 he gets an alert. We'll give him a very generous time of 5 minutes to get to the firehouse so that'd be 10:00. 1 minute to get out = 10:01. 3 minutes to walk up = 10:04. That gives him only 8 minutes for everything else to unfold. This is all assuming that he was already in his vehicle and pretty close by. If he was actually at his job in another town, we have to add even more time to this story, to include clocking out, leaving the building, getting into his car and traveling making this entire story completely illogical.
But let's keep going and see where this journey takes us.
Our next encounter is the Statewide Narcotics Task Force (SNTF). Their precise time of arrival is unknown, but I estimate around 10:12ish. They parked the raid van on Dickinson Dr. (the private road up to the school). I have circled their van in the photo below.
Here's a photo from the ground. You can see the van more clearly.
(Note: I could be 100% here. I am only making an educated guess that this is their van. The location matches the description in their statement, and when I went searching for the Connecticut SNTF raid van, a large white van like this was a consistent result and it matches their timeline of 10:15. This picture shows an active evacuation. And the evacuation of the building occurred between 10:00 - 10:33).
They walked up to the school, where they then saw the suspect already apprehended with TFC Orlando "Lonny" Mo. I believe this would've occurred around 10:15ish. Sgt. Bennett then assigned TPR Janice Warkoski and Officer Leonard Greene to help Mo and the rest of the team advanced to the school, where they were then seen on Lt. Michael Davis's dash at 10:19:35. (it's even noted that Warkoski and Greene are missing from the group).
CFS 1200704559 Book 4 00184096 p. 20
Here's a screenshot from their report (note, we do not have individual statements, but just one generalized report from TPR Brian Marino).
CFS 1200704559 Book 6 00006484 p. 2
Here's them on Officer Liam Seabrook's dash cam.
So, if Warkoski and Greene were assigned to help Mo upon arrival and the rest of the team continued to the school where they were seen on dash cam footage, this implies that wherever Mo and the suspect was, was before the location of Davis's dash (if approaching the school). It also has to be along the path the gym would've taken during their evacuation.
To also support this notion, is TFC Mo's arrival time (reminder: Lt. Davis's dash time was off by 1 minute and 21 seconds, which we need to add. Making the time 10:23:02. The time discrepancy can be confirmed in CFS 1200704559 Book 4 00179599). From this point on, whenever I cite from his dash cam transcript, I will be using the correct time and noting "adjusted time").
CFS 1200704559 Book 3 00055705 p. 4
Below, is a clip from TFC William Blumenthal's dash. Mo can be seen talking to a couple of other officers, pointing north, walking back to that area and then coming back moments later, advancing towards the school, where he is then seen on Seabrook's dash. (note, Blumenthal's dash was off by 20 seconds, which needs to be added to it).
And here's a screenshot of him on Seabrook's dash walking towards the northeast corner of the school.
It is my belief that Mo was discussing the suspect with the other officers and went back to where he was (unsure why) and then advanced to the school.
Unfortunately, none of this helps us nail down an exact time the suspect was apprehended, but we know he had to be apprehended and proned-out by the time the gym was evacuated at 10:12.
Now let's factor in the location description we got from Roy Low which was that the suspect was seen brought out of the woods and encountered a group of parents (and it'd be roughly around 10:12), plus the area Mo was pointing to.
There's only 1 location he could've been found in that comes to mind. The woods at the north side of the parking lot (circled below, and yes... that's where the white car was parked).
Sec 13 - Aerial photos #12
Below, I have circled Blumenthal's and Davis's cruisers and starred where Mo was.
And indeed, there were people seen in that area on Blumenthal's dash.
We also have this picture, taken by a local reporter, Shannon Hicks (now Shannon Will, but I will be referring to her as Shannon (Hicks) Will for the remainder of this series). It's of Room 7 being escorted out, which happened at 10:06:46 (CFS 1200704559 Book 4 00184096 p. 17 / CFS 1200704559 Book 3 00055705 p. 3). note, this would be the same path the gym would've taken during their evacuation through the front only 6 minutes later.
Here is their location. Close to the wood line and in a location that'd be considered just before Davis's dash cam while approaching the school.
Sec 13 - Aerial photos #12 (zoomed in)
It's all a perfect match. I have no doubt in my mind that the suspect was pulled from the woods in this spot whatsoever.
At 10:21:08, Lt. Davis radioed that there could be 2 shooters.
CFS 1200704559 Book 4 00184096 p. 20 - 21
The reason for this however, can only be speculated. It's possible that he was aware of the suspect but it's equally possible that he was just referring to the 2 hoodies found on the ground near the car which lead many officers to believe that there could be more than one suspect.
Meehan - parking lot photos #24
The reason/purpose of these hoodies were never really explained. Some have theorized that they were used to wrap up the weapons as Adam drove to the school. Some have claimed that it was apart of his untreated OCD (refer to CFS 1200704559 Book 7 00017458 and CFS 1200704559 Book 7 00018334). While others believe this is evidence there was as second or maybe even a third person involved. Regardless... they certainly alarmed arriving officers.
Next on our timeline is Cpt. Robert Cedegren, who saw the suspect upon his arrival. (Note that he states he saw the suspect on the ground sitting against a parked car. This helps support that Brendan Murray saw the suspect in the school's parking lot, not at the firehouse).
CFS 1200704559 Book 6 00008850
There's no documentation for his time of arrival. But based on the things he says, it was around 10:21ish. The 2 female kitchen staff members were seen on Davis's dash cam being evacuated at 10:22:17 (adjusted time).
CFS 1200704559 Book 3 00055705 p. 4
The woman with a foot wound was Deborah Pisani, who I mentioned earlier. Placing this timeline some time after 10:16.
And lastly, the only chance he could've seen Lt. Chris Vanghele with Chief Michael Kehoe was right before Vanghele evacuated Room 12.
According to Vanghele in his statement, he had escorted Kehoe to one of the rooms that contained victims. He then left and entered Room 12 and heard noises in the bathroom and realized people were hiding in it and subsequently evacuated them. This can be found in CFS 1200704559 Book 6 00002060 p. 5 - 6. They were evacuated at 10:24:58.
CFS 1200704559 Book 4 00184096 p. 22
Upon returning to the school, Vanghele noticed the suspect and went over to see what was going on. This marks the first documented direct encounter with the suspect.
CFS 1200704559 Book 6 00002060 p. 6
So, a few things. First, this just further confirms that Brendan Murray saw the suspect in the school's parking lot and not at the firehouse. Second, I have no idea who the 2 officers that had the suspect flanked was. It's possible it was Warkoski and Greene or someone else. Third, that apparently the suspect used to live in the area. I guess that could help explain how he knew he could park at the firehouse and walk up. Someone not familiar with the area might've thought that the walk would've been a lot longer than one would like and would've continued driving up. Fourth, that Vanghele has now introduced us to what will later become the suspect's alibi. That he was apprised of the situation via a cellphone app. Fifth, he said that the guy was under arrest. However, I believe Vanghele was wrong and he was only being detained at this point. But we'll get into all that later. And lastly, that he assigned 2 Brookfield officers to escort the suspect down to his car at the firehouse. This is untrue. They were Redding Police officers Anthony Signore and Jason Heibeck. Both cite doing this in their statements, along with their Chief.
CFS 1200704559 Book 6 00040428 p. 2 (Sgt. Signore - Redding PD) "Upon arrival at approximatey 0945 we parked at the Sandy Hook Fire Department, which is located near the Sandy Hook School gathered our equipment and proceeded to the Elementary School. Officer Heibeck and I then recognized Officer McGowan of the Newtown Police searching cars in the parking lot of the school. I then asked him if he needed our assistance. He advised he did and stated that there was a shooter in the school who had taken his own life and they were not sure if there was another. At this time Officer Heibeck and I then searched the vehicles in the parking lot along with Officer McGowan. We then noticed an officer questioning a male individual wearing a brown jacket who had no reason to be on scene. We then assisted the State Police in searching his vehicle and taking him into Custody."
CFS 1200704559 Book 6 00040345 p. 2 (Officer Heibeck - Redding PD) "Sergeant Signore and I then proceeded to the Elementary School and found the EMS triage area located in the school parking lot. Just next to the triage area another Officer was speaking with a white male wearing a brown jacket. As we interviewed this male he explained to us that he had no reason to be here at the school and stated 'I guess I shouldn't be here I have no reason to be, I think I got too close. I followed the flashing lights and I wanted to see what was going on.' This individual was detained and brought to the State Police Troopers near the Sandy Hook Fire House to be further interviewed."
CFS 1200704559 Book 6 00040403 p. 2 (Chief Fuchs - Redding PD) (after bringing back the 4th grade teachers from Subway) "Upon arrival at the school I met with Chief Kehoe to ascertain what assistance they needed. There was a white, male who had been detained by the Newtown Police Officers and there was great uncertainty as to what, if any, involvement he had in the incident. Officer Heibeck and Sgt. Signore took temporary custody of this individual who was eventually turned over to the Connecticut State Police."
Time for another pause.
Let's put ourselves in this guy's shoes. You were just pulled out of the woods off a school's parking lot just moments after a mass shooting. You are dressed practically tactical, given that you're in camo in the woods. You are now being looked at as a possible mass murderer or at the very least, someone with a connection to the mass murder. But you're innocent. Dumb (for entering the woods) but innocent. You're there because you got some alert from a phone app about the shooting and curiosity got the best of you. So what do you do?
A) Tell them exactly that. You hand them your phone and adamantly show them the app that alerted you. If you hadn't deleted it yet, even show them the notification itself. Or,
B) Tell one officer that you have no reason to be there while telling another officer that you essentially just saw emergency vehicles (implying you were already on the road driving) and followed the lights and sirens to see what the situation was (implying you didn't get an alert at all) and not say a single word about the phone or app to anyone?
For some reason, this guy chose B. His whole phone app story was only "later discovered" according to Vanghele. For all we know, that was just some cover story given to him. It makes 0 sense that he wouldn't have just told the truth right then and there. Unless of course..... that was never the truth....
Think about it. Did Heibeck or Signore say anything about taking temporary custody of a phone while walking him down to the firehouse? Did they mention taking it from his car and handing it to CSP? Maybe it's possible that someone else had custody of his phone and they were the ones who brought it down to CSP and Redding was totally oblivious to this. It's also possible that he never said anything about the phone until after they had already brought him down and were no longer apart of his story. Regardless, it's still something that's worth noting.
Another thing that is lacking from these reports, is any suggestion that he was resisting or causing a scene of any kind. So the notion that he was in the woods due to some kind of mental issue falls by the wayside.
Now back to the timeline...
Interestingly, at about this time, Sgt. David Kullgren (from Newtown PD) announced that there was no longer an active shooter.
CFS 1200704559 Book 4 00179629 p. 10
This could be interpreted a couple of different ways. One being that the suspect had been apprehended and had been now removed from the scene. That, along with Adam being dead inside the school, meant that the threat(s) had been identified and neutralized. Another could be that the building had been essentially all evacuated at this point (except for 2 groups that were seen on dash at 10:32:59 and 10:33:24, which can be confirmed in CFS 12000704559 Book 4 00184096 p. 24 - 25). I'm of the mind that it could've been both. But of course, we'll never really know for sure.
Back to the suspect..... We don't know when exactly he was escorted down either. But we do know that it was by 10:49, when journalist Libor Jany posted this photo on twitter.
He's in the cruiser on the right. And there's Heibeck and Signore standing near it.
I do realize that they're backs are towards the camera, making it hard to ID them. However, they are spotted in news clips just after this time period. Here are screenshots from this video, and as you can see, they're identical.
At 0:26
At 0:29
If you're still not convinced, go to the Redding PD Facebook page and browse through the numerous photos and compare the RPD seal patch to that seen on Heibeck. It's a perfect match. If need be, go to this video. At 1:34 you can clearly see the patch on Heibeck.
Anyways... 8 minutes later, Jany posts this photo. You can see that the suspect is in the front of the cruiser, and a lot more visible. Unfortunately just not enough for us to see what he looks like.
Yes. He's in the front passenger seat. And yes, this is something we need to discuss. But in a moment.
He posts another one at 11:00, this time showing Supervisory Assistant State's Attorney Warren Murray.
Here's a video clip of Murray on his phone. (Note: the trooper on the right in sunglasses is TFC Joshua Koval. He's gonna matter in just a moment).
And here's a photo from a different angle of the scene. The cruiser the suspect is sitting in is on the left and Murray can be seen on the far right (and yes, that's Jesse Lewis's father, Neil Heslin behind the cruiser).
(Unfortunately I do not have a source for the photo. It's been in my collection for quite some time and I wasn't able to track down the original source.)
At first glance, this all might not seem that important. Seeing the State's Attorney's office at the scene of a mass shooting isn't abnormal. However, his location and activity leads me to believe that he was directly involved with the suspect. How could he not be? He's only feet away from the cruiser the suspect was sitting in. His office, is responsible for things such as charging suspects and this one had been in custody for at least 48 minutes (at the point of Jany's 11:00 post). He'd be in the right position to know if law enforcement had probable cause for an arrest or not.
One thing to note though, is that Murray was told to go to the Newtown Police Station (not the scene) at 10:15.
CFS 1200704559 Book 4 00184096 p. 19 – 20
I suppose it's possible that Murray did go to the station and then went to the school. He certainly had enough time to do both if his time at the station was short.
Regardless, I was able to find the exact location of the cruiser. I have circled it in the photo below. (it's from this video at 9:03).
How do I know for sure that's the right one? Let's visit those pictures from Jany again.
In this one, I have circled 4 things of interest.
The area behind the officers would be the parking lot to the Children Adventure Center.
Here's a screenshot from google maps, showing where it is in relation to the firehouse and Dickinson Dr. I have also starred the approximate location of the cruiser.
In this photo, you can see the 3 vehicles I circled above. The cruiser, gold van and silver SUV. (reminder: this photo was taken much later in the day which is why the cruiser he was sitting in, is no longer there).
As you may have noticed, I also circled a red SUV as well. It can be seen in Jany's 10:49 photo. Yes, I circled the other cruiser (again) just to cover all my bases.
Jany wasn't the only media source now aware of the suspect. So wasn't Connecticut Post, who posted an update at 11:00.
Meanwhile, at the Newtown Police station, Officer Adam Greco was conducting unofficial interviews with some of the students that had fled Ms. Victoria Soto's room during the shooting. (In total, 9 fled. 4 went to a nearby home and 5 were picked up by Tricia Gogliettino, a mother on her way to the school, and were brought to the police station. Her 911 call can be found in StartTime 2012-12-14 14-45-8 Logger 45170321 Channel 5 Radio and her statement can be found in CFS 1200704559 Book 5 00091354). His first interview was with a female student who told him that the suspect looked like an Army guy wearing green fatigues. Just a friendly reminder, that Adam was wearing all black. But the suspect.... he was wearing camo pants and a brown jacket. Upon receiving that description, Greco contacted Sgt. Kullgren (who was still at the school).
CFS 1200704559 Book 5 00177428 p. 1 - 2
Greco attempts radioing Kullgren at 11:02:44 but goes unanswered.
CFS 1200704559 Book 4 00179629 p. 15
He attempted again at 11:03:32 and once more at 11:06:31, when Kullgren tells him to call him.
CFS 1200704559 Book 4 00179629 p. 16
Unfortunately, we don't have a recording of this private call but at least we get the gist.
All 5 students later gave official interviews. 3 were done by Fairfield Police and one was done by Sgt. Michael Decesare from the State Police. And despite some differences in their description, they were all consistent with the suspect being dressed like an Army guy (wearing green and camo).
CFS 1200704559 Book 5 00030129 p. 2
CFS 1200704559 Book 5 00180063 p 2
CFS 1200704559 Book 5 00198959 p. 3
CFS 1200704559 Book 5 00198970 p. 2
As for the fifth one, it was conducted by Connecticut State Police Det. William Flynn and Tpr. Jeremy Combes (remember these names. They will become relevant in Part 3). And his description.... Although mentioning a brown or camo shirt and brown pants, he sounds like he's describing Adam more than the suspect. He also mentions the shooter was wearing sunglasses (a topic I covered in "Finding Adam's Sunglasses"). Note that this interview was done at 12:50 to 1:30. This will be relevant in a bit.
CFS 1200704559 Book 5 00256448
Regardless, it's the description Greco would've given Kullgren that matters at the moment, and that was that the suspect was dressed like an army guy, in what appears to have been camouflage pants. Matching exactly what the suspect was dressed like, as oppose to Adam, who was in all black.
At some point before 11:10, Det. Paul Lukienchuk was assigned by Lt. David DelVecchia to go to the Newtown Police Department to interview the suspect (CFS 1200704559 Book 6 00172105 p. 4). Lukienchuk was last seen on dash cam leaving the parking lot at 11:10:53 (adjusted time).
Next, is the footage below. If I'm right, it was filmed around 11:14, when the FBI arrived on scene (since you can see them walking up Dickinson Dr.) Their arrival time can be confirmed in CFS 1200704559 Book 2 00259480 p. 19. You can see the cruiser on the left, driver's door open and an officer possibly writing something on top of the hood.
I am unsure when this next clip was filmed. It shows TFC Joshua Koval and an unknown officer, seemingly pointing at the cruiser the suspect was sitting in and mostly likely talking about him.
Some time by 11:30, they moved the cruiser to the grass area, just beyond the firehouse's back lot entrance. We know this because of this news clip, that was filmed at 11:31.
Yes, he claims the suspect was pulled out of the woods across the street, but obviously this is untrue. Despite the lack of information, I think it's been pretty well established at this point that it was the woods off the school's parking lot.
This next video, is just a collection of every news clip I could find that showed the cruiser in it. I am unable to timestamp any of them so I apologize if they're all over the place. But we do know that it was all filmed sometime after it was moved (presumably around 11:14) and when they left.
Also at 11:30, Det. Van Ness was doing an interview with one of the 4 other students that fled Ms. Soto's room at the firehouse. This witness described the suspect as wearing a brown jacket and green army pants. Exactly what the suspect was wearing.
CFS 1200704559 Book 5 00258277 p. 1
At 11:31, Newtown's Officer Jeff Silver announces that the State's Attorney was at the station. It is unknown if this was Warren Murray or someone else.
CFS 1200704559 Book 4 00184096 p. 30
And finally, after nearly an hour and a half of being apprehended, TFC Koval announces that he'll be bringing the suspect to the Newtown Police station at 11:38:26. "Be transporting him over to Newtown PD. Mileage 53,345. 53,345.” I believe he says something before that, but I can't quite make it out. If anyone out there can help me out with that, please contact me.
Koval then submits his information into that CAD at 11:39.
(Note: It can be verified that Koval is #992 in CFS 1200704559 Book 2 00259480 p. 4 and it can be confirmed that "IDLCHG" means who submitted it and that it was Koval that did it in CFS 1200704559 Book 2 00250882 p. 19). Also note that the License is being cited as a New York license. The white car in the school's parking lot that I mentioned earlier stated that it was returned to someone with a CT drivers license. Which means, that unless the white car was returned to someone else, like a significant other, it can't be the suspect's.
CFS 1200704559 Book 2 00259480 p. 24
(Sidenote: back at the scene, at 11:47, CNN claimed that a local news channel WTNH, had footage of the suspect walking down in cuffs. I have scoured the internet and have even tried contacting WTNH about this footage to no avail. To this day I have no idea if this was just an erroneous claim or legit because I have found no trace of it whatsoever).
Koval got to HQ at 11:52 and even though Koval never said anything in his transmission, nor was it included in the CAD, I believe he was accompanied by TFC Cono D'elia. Here's why.
At 11:52:30, it was submitted that the suspect was being escorted to the Newtown Police Station (T097 PD) by Josh Koval (#992) to meet with TRP Richard G Covello (WDMC #376).
Note: 097 is simply just the Town Code and it can be confirmed here on page 3 that
Newtown's code is 097. It can be confirmed that #376 was Covello by viewing his many reports such as CFS 1200704559 Book 8 00104294 or CFS 1200704559 Book 5 00005509. It'll be on the bottom left side of the page in the box titled "Investigator ID#".
CFS 1200704559 Book 2 00259480 p. 27
It should be noted that the time cited in the call summary report is 11:50, not 11:52. I have no idea why there's a difference, but I do know that it was not the only one that had a time discrepancy compared to the CAD report. And seeing how it's only a 2 minute difference, I'm not gonna make a big deal about it.
CFS 1200704559 Book 2 00250882 p. 21
I take all this to mean that Koval arrived at HQ at 11:52 and would be bringing the suspect to Covello.
To further support this timeline, is Ofc. Greco himself, who said in his statement, that at 11:52 he saw a suspect being brought in via the sally port.
CFS 1200704559 Book 5 00177428 p. 2
So why do I think D'elia was with them?
Remember when Koval radioed that they'd be leaving for HQ? He cited the cruiser's mileage 53,345.
At 11:52:31 (1 second after the Koval bringing suspect to Covello submission), it was submitted that Cono D'elia (#453) arrived (31) at the station, with mileage 53,348, which is only a 3 mile difference from what Koval cited his cruiser to be at.
CFS 1200704559 Book 2 00259480 p. 27
I don't have anything precise to prove 31 means arrival, but I do have this.
CFS 1200704559 Book 4 00184096 p.14
You can also compare when other officers called out a 31 and their arrival times. You'll see that the pattern holds.
And, as far as the mileage amount is concerned, I did find 1 route that's 3 miles long from the firehouse to the station.
Since technically, we have no idea how close the mileage was to 53,346 when they began (for example, it could've been 53,345.9), there is another possible route, which was 2.1 miles.
I do realize there's a discrepancy in travel times. 11:39 - 11:52 is 13 minutes. Route #1 would've taken 7 minutes and route #2 would've taken 5 minutes. However, if you factor in the immense amount of traffic they would've had to deal with and the fact the we don't know if they left at exactly 11:39 or not, it's all a perfect match.
-
Arrived at the Newtown Police Station at 11:52. Same time Officer Greco said the suspect showed up and is the same time as Koval's CAD submission
-
A three mile difference between the mileage cited before transporting the suspect and the mileage cited when D'elia arrived at the station
-
Both routes within a 13 minute time frame (11:39 - 11:52) and allows time needed to drive through the chaotic traffic
The only thing that's seems even a little debatable here, is that D'elia was with Koval. After all, we don't have anything that states that they were together. Hell, their statements are even MIA so we can't even check them to see if there was any mentioning of this. But what are the odds that Koval would never call out the mileage amount upon arrival and D'elia would show up at the same exact time and would call out a mileage amount that only differs from Koval's by 3 miles (which matches the amount from the firehouse to the station depending on what route) and never call out a mileage amount from the beginning of his travel?
Also, the only other instance I could find with officers announcing mileage amount, was at 3:32 when they were transporting a civilian (I believe a witness based on the redaction #'s. Please refer to the redaction index for their descriptions).
CFS 1200704559 Book 2 00259480 p. 39
That would seem to imply that the only times they were concerned about calling out mileage was when there was a civilian in the vehicle.
To me, it seems like a no-brainer. Koval called out their departure information and D'elia announced their arrival.
At some point, the suspect was interviewed by TFC Paul Lukienchuk and Det. William Flynn.
CFS 1200704559 Book 6 00172105 p. 4
Note that Lukienchuk's statement is even more proof that the white car didn't belong to the suspect. If it had, the CFS cited on the car return would've been CFS 1200705183, either on it's own or along with CFS 1200704559.
Also of note, a name you should recognize, Det. Flynn. He was the one that did the interview with one of the survivors in room 10. The one that was done between 12:50 to 1:30, which was about an hour after the suspect got there and is what I consider to be the "one of these things is unlike the others" statement. I'm not saying there was anything nefarious happening here, but these coincidences can't go ignored and at least need to be put on the back burner so to speak just in case.
Finally, just after 1, the media started reporting on him in droves. Here's a few select twitter posts.
As for the suspect himself, beyond this point all we have are 2 updates that he was still at the station. One at 2:53 in Lt. Clayton Brown's report.
Sec 13 - Supplemental Reports p. 263
To dispel any confusion, it needs to made clear that he is not trying to say that Ryan was at Newtown PD. He was questioned that day by law enforcement, but was done in Hoboken, New Jersey where he lived. Reports associated with that can be found in CFS 1200704559 Book 8 00188555. You can clearly see that these are 2 separate notations marked with an "-".
Note that this officially debunks that the vehicle that parked by the Children's Adventure Center around 12:30 or the Jeep that left the firehouse at 1:40 belonged to the suspect. He was at the station during both incidences.
The last update comes from the FBI documents, and was at 2:58.
FBI 1 of 3 p. 6
At 3:24 CNN reported that a second person was being questioned, but not being called a suspect. Unfortunately, we have no idea if they were referencing Ryan or our suspect though. If so, that means he was still there at 3:30 and, at least to the media, they were saying he wasn't being called a suspect. (yes, the time says 12:24 but that was Pacific time, Connecticut is Eastern time).
At 7:45 that evening, the State Police held a press conference. After being asked if there were any accomplices Lt. Paul Vance stated "No. At this point in time, we.. we... we're confident we have the shooter of this incident." You can hear it at 3:51 in this video.
Does that mean he really wasn't being considered a suspect anymore and CNN finally got something right that day? Could it be that, that's just what they were telling the public but things were different behind the scenes? It's a common practice for law enforcement to tell the public that a person isn't a suspect (or rather.. "person of interest), despite them actually being one. It allows them to continue investigating without prying eyes.
And then, there's the press conference held at 10:14 the following day, when Lt. Vance states "You have to understand that after the shooting that we did a complete and thorough search of the entire area. The neighborhood, uh with our local partners everything... everything was examined. If we found anyone that was in the woods cutting wood, they would be detained uh, pending the investigation so, there were no other arrests that were associated with this investigation that occurred." It's at 10:33 in the video below.
Yes. The reporter's question was if Nancy Lanza had any connection to the school. But that's not relevant to this article so we're just gonna ignore it for now. I plan to cover that topic in a future article.
What is relevant, is the statement that there were no OTHER arrests. Obviously Adam wasn't arrested. We know Manfredonia, the journalists and Thorne were not arrested. Unless there's another person we're totally ignorant about, he's referring to our guy. He even mentions the woods.
Before we continue, we need to backtrack for a moment to the suspect sitting in the front of the cruiser.
This fact has certainly gained a lot of attention the last 10 years. particularly because of an article published by a local paper, The Newtown Bee, just 13 days after the shooting. At the very end of an article about police seeking funds for trauma treatment, they wrote:
This was sorta cited in Salon's comprehensive misinfo to debunk misinfo article.
I said sorta because they added their own twist to this story. That he heard gunfire. Where the h-e double hockey sticks did they get that? Remember when I said earlier that they risked helping to create more theories? That line right there would be enough. If he had heard gunfire, then it's game over. He would've been there prior to the last "official" gunshot at 9:40:03. That means he never got any alert. That his official explanation is nothing but an official lie. So way to go Salon! You've just now submitted your own conspiracy theory while claiming to be debunking them. And to add insult to injury, when you combine all the other factors in, like not having an alibi, being in camo and now said to have had a gun.... you're looking at a theory that says this guy was either the real shooter or an accomplice.
Anyways.... the Newtown Bee's claim has helped create the theory that the reason why he was in the front seat is because he was law enforcement, affording him a luxury not otherwise known to the rest of us. And it's very appealing... at first. After all, that'd mean this guy was armed, was dressed tactically and was a tactical officer, caught in the woods. It screams suspect!
But I think the Bee's intel was wrong. If he was an officer, wouldn't he have just said that? Think about it. Why would a cop basically pretend he wasn't one? He said he had no reason to be there. He just followed the lights and sirens and got too close. Does that sound like something a cop would say? Even if you wanted to argue that he was there for nefarious reasons, him being law enforcement would've been the greatest excuse on the planet. I picture him saying something more like "I heard this come across the radio and since I was in the area, thought I'd respond. When I got up here, I thought I saw something in the woods and instinct kicked in and I went in without announcing my arrival to anyone on scene. My bad guys!" Maybe he wasn't that bright and defaulted to playing dumb.... Honestly, we could just keep going back and forth on this one and never settle with an answer. Personally though, I think the Bee got it wrong and he was sitting in the front for another reason entirely.
We only have the one photo right? This only proves that he was sitting in the front in that moment in time. Not that he was sitting there all the way up until get got to the station. For all we know, he moved to the back. And I believe we may have evidence of that.
In the footage below, you can see an officer open the front passenger door and appears to be reaching in. Note, that he's wearing sunglasses. Even though he's not wearing a hat, it could be TFC Koval.
Let's pretend I'm right. Could this be Koval moving the suspect from the front? If so, why? Where would he be moving him? My answer? He was moving the suspect to the back of the cruiser and because it was protocol.
What if originally, only one of them were gonna bring him in. Well.... it doesn't appear that the cruiser had a partition. Take another look at the photo I posted earlier.
For obvious safety reasons, it's standard protocol for the majority of departments in the country to have a suspect ride in the front passenger seat when there's no partition and only 1 officer. Now let's say, for whatever reason it was decided that 2 officers would bring him in. In this scenario, it's common for the second officer to be sitting in the back with the suspect (the officer behind the driver).
To me, this is the most logical explanation and holds the most credence. But of course this is nothing but speculation.
Admittedly though, there is one other possibility. Which is that it could've been to prevent unwanted attention while they were still on scene. It just takes a quick moment before you have a mob on your hands or at best, a swarm of media surrounding the cruiser to get a closer look. Having him in the front kept everyone oblivious. The following video clip demonstrates this perfectly. The woman in the silver jacket is Krista Rekos, the guy in the red behind her is Richard Rekos. Both are parents of Jessica Rekos. The couple in front of the cruiser is Lynn and Chris McDonnell. Parents of Grace McDonnell. (If anyone has any doubt those are the McDonnells, refer to this video at 2:18 to help aide in a positive of ID).
All of them (including the person behind the camera) so close to the very guy suspected of being an accomplice of the murder of these particular parents' children.. and they appear to be totally ignorant to that fact. Had he been in the back seat, things could've been different.
(Note: they were still unsuccessful however, from keeping it from the media, just the video I cited earlier demonstrates that they absolutely knew he was being held in the cruiser in the back).
Of course one has to ask... if they could've been worried about unwanted attention, why did it take them so long to leave in the first place? Sure.. they moved the cruiser further to the back, snug between several other vehicles. But why not just go to the station? Why keep him on scene for no less than 1 hour and 27 minutes (10:12 - 11:39)? My theory is that it took that long to get probable cause.
Even though Vanghele stated that this guy was under arrest at the point he encountered him (around 10:30ish), I believe he was only being detained under an investigative detention which is very different than being under arrest. An investigative detention (aka Terry Stop) only requires reasonable suspicion. While investigative detentions don't typically exceed past an hour, there's technically no time limit on them. It really depends on the circumstances. And all these circumstances add up.
He was found in the woods off a school's parking lot just moments after a mass shooting. He's dressed nearly tactical with no alibi and maybe even armed if the Newtown Bee was right about that (but note there's no mentioning of a firearm anywhere, just like the phone). They then remove him from the scene in handcuffs and puts him in a secured police cruiser as they continue to investigate further. Maybe they're calling up his boss, running his name, thoroughly searching his vehicle and so on. At 11:00, the State's Attorneys office is there and appears to be involved in this situation, however briefly. Sometime after 11:14 (when we see the driver's door open) the car is parked in the back. We can only speculate why. Even though I did suggest that Koval moved the suspect to the back of the cruiser in that location, I don't think they moved the cruiser there solely for this reason. If they were really worried about privacy while doing that, I'm sure they could've found a different place to do so. Plus, the car stayed parked there for a while. Anywhere from 9 - 24 minutes. That amount of time, and the fact that it was snug between so many other vehicles, suggest there was another purpose. Maybe it was purely for privacy while they waited, but maybe they wanted privacy for something else. Like say.. doing a few presumptive tests on him for blood and GSR. In fact, if you look a little closer to the footage I presented earlier, we have all the right elements for this. The 2 circled below are Jeffrey Covello and Karoline Keith from the Western District Major Crimes Unit. The cruiser on the left with 140 UTZ is the cruiser the suspect was sitting in.
If you go back and review the footage I posted earlier, you'll see that they were present around the cruiser while it was in the back a lot. There was even a Major Crimes truck that pulled into the firehouse's back lot while the suspect was there.
I have to make it very clear that I am not stating that they absolutely did do presumptive tests on him. I'm only saying that all the right elements are there for the possibility. But let's say they did. Did he test positive for one or both of them? Is that what gave them probable cause? Or maybe something else gave them probable cause? Remember, Det. Van Ness did an interview with a witness at the firehouse at 11:30. That witness recalled the suspect wearing a brown jacket and "army green kind of pants". Then minutes later, Koval announces that he'd be taking the suspect in.
As unknown all this is, nothing is more unknown than what happened after he arrived at the station. What was TPR Richard Covello's involvement in this story? (sidenote, Richard is Jeffrey's brother). If they didn't do any presumptive tests at the scene, did they do any at the station? Do a buccal swab for DNA? Did they attempt getting a positive ID from any of the witnesses that were still at the station? Did the State's Attorney's office have any involvement with his interview? Cause contrary to common belief, this is pretty normal.
If he did have a phone, did they retrieve any data from it? Look into the app he supposedly got an alert from? Look to verify an alert ever happened? Review call and text history? If he had a weapon, did they process it at all? Process his clothing for any GSR or blood? How long did he stay at the police station? Hours? Days? Weeks? What ruled him out? Was he ever officially charged? Did he ever have to go to court? Did they not have enough on him to charge him with anything? Did they continue investigating him afterward? Search his home? Interview family, Boss, co-workers, friends? Look into his financials? Track down his whereabouts for the 24 hours preceding the shooting? See if he had any connections to the Lanza family? Conduct any surveillance on him? Was there a grand jury investigation? I know that last question might seem absurd, but it's really not. As a matter of fact, we know that there is 54 pages worth of grand jury material in this case. And based on the content of the material in this document, it's reasonable to assume it's ATF related.
CFS 1200704559 Book 2 00159702 p. 49
There's just so much context missing from his story. Remember, there's not even a single radio transmission about his sighting or apprehension! This would mean that if there was any communication, it was done through private calls. Actually, that entire moment is hidden from us. We have no reports talking about his sighting or apprehension. Nothing about his camo pants either. If we didn't have Roy Low's interview, the only thing we'd be able to say is that, at some point that morning, some random guy in a brown jacket for no apparent reason whatsoever was apprehended by some unknown officer and brought to the police station by TFC Koval. Wow... thanks CSP! Super helpful!
And Sedensky's report is just as bad. According to him, some dude was working in a nearby town and got an alert on his phone about the shooting. He may or may not have ditched work and drove to the firehouse and walked up on foot. Then there's a giant blackhole in his story and out of nowhere, he's just being escorted away in cuffs and later brought to the station.
Both are missing the most important parts. His full description to include camo pants, which perfectly matches the description given by direct witnesses who fled the shooting. They both have fully removed the part of him being in the woods and being pulled out by officers in cuffs. This is absolutely insane to me. Why is all that left out? How could there be no mentioning of either? Even if you wanted to make excuses for nothing being there in the CSP reports, there's no excuse for Sedensky's report.
We know the State's Attorney's office was there at the scene. It even looks like they were directly involved in the situation. They were also present at the station when he was brought in. And at some point, the suspect's case file would've been forwarded to the DA's office pending any official charges. I have 0 doubts that he would've been 100% aware about this guy being found in the woods and most likely even knew he matched the description of the suspect given by witnesses. This mean he made a conscious choice to leave that out. But why? If there's a legit reason why he was in the woods, why not just come out and say it?
My theory is this. They left it out because they wanted to rewrite history in a sense. We could try to write off Roy's story. He wouldn't have been the first person to come up with any insanely nonfactual claims about that day. Or we could pass it off as exaggerated. Make up a fairytale saying that he did see someone detained, but he wasn't pulled out of the woods. Or not really give it that much thought at all. Go the route I took and believe that this guy may or may not have been in the woods, but he was just another terry stop and most likely voluntarily came in to be interviewed and that was it. Nothing less, nothing more. If this guy really mattered, there'd be no mention of him at all. But I have come to the conclusion that he had no choice but to bring him up. Like I said in the beginning, Roy's interview went viral. That, coupled with the fact that the media did report about him that day, he couldn't just ignore it entirely.
I understand the weight of these accusations. I'm essentially arguing that there's a cover up of a possible accomplice of a mass murder and that's a really big deal. But I didn't come to this conclusion out of nowhere. I've put 2 and a half fricken years into this research. And I tried to stay in denial for the majority of it. I wanted so badly to believe I was seeing things that weren't there. It took a very long time for me to even accept my own results.
One of the most damning and most troubling things I found along this journey, was the possible connection he may have had with a phone that belonged to teacher Kaitlin Roig-Debellis who was in Room 12. Her phone... was reportedly stolen by a suspect that fled. Sounds on the nose right? But we'll do a deep dive into that in Part 3.
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