Post by intuitiva on May 1, 2017 18:52:47 GMT
Okay, so now I've read the comments of Paul Holes and had a little time to think them over. There really isn't much that's new, outside of the expert opinion on the hand-drawn map. Reminds me of the buzz that was active on this message board back in 2013-14 when I first started coming here. Here are a few brief observations.
On staging: EAR "portraying himself as something different" (younger and less-sophisticated)
This is kind-of where you have to go if you judge EAR to be at least 25 starting out, which is the average age of serial rapists. A lot of our posters place him at that age or older. I'm open to it, but I lean toward him being younger in '76, like around 18. We have access to a lot of case information thanks to Larry Crompton and Richard Shelby, including paraphrased police reports on the attacks. Assuming that what we have is accurate and representative (a big assumption) then I don't see the immature behavior as purely an act. It seems like it's too consistent. A more mature man under stressful conditions would let his true self come out, at least once in a while. Other than his success at remaining uncaught, the information suggests a younger man.
On the map possibly being made for a professional purpose
I'm also with Mitchell here. Drawn in a spiral notebook? Tucked away with old school assignments? And the creator had possibly attained a "level of trust and status" within an organization? (That last one was deduced from estimating the expense of the construction project.) Acknowledging that some people, like Leonidis, will keep and re-use old notebooks, this still seems unlikely to me.
On the expert opinions about the hand-drawn map
Imagine you're a salty old professional in the residential construction business. Maybe retired. A semi-famous police investigator comes along and consults you about a notorious cold case. He pulls out a copy of an old hand-drawn map and asks for your assessment. How would you react? I think you'd be flattered and very eager to please, and I think that would bias your opinions. It would never do to say, meh, looks like some kid playing around. That doesn't build your status in the mind of the investigator. Without realizing it, you start seeing things in that map that serves your self interest.
My mind goes there because those opinions, as relayed by Paul Holes, smell fishy. I've paraphrased with bullet points.
- drawn with a practiced hand
- shows features present only in Village Homes
- shows familiarity with Stockton building codes
- shows a non-standard off-ramp that only matches I-680 Stone Valley off-ramp
- uses industry-specific symbols
- could be work of collaboration such as father and son
We've all looked at the map endless times. Tell me those observations don't reek with Rorschach Inkblot-like interpretation. As CofW mentioned, there will be innocent, alternative explanations for every feature described.
Building codes: There were houses drawn on that map that look like houses built in a lot of different areas in Contra Costa County. And, the neighborhoods have been matched up to a ton of areas across California. So, I don't really buy into a specific area that this Map is referring to...I think it's more of an idea that it's a "fantasy map" based on a general familiarity of the areas that EAR was prowling and attacking.
Professional purpose: This map in no way looks professional. Take a look at some professional sketches (see attached examples from old neighborhoods, etc.) and compare that to the EAR Map. I just don't see a professional making this map at all. There's no professionalism in a map written on a notebook, nor does it look professional because it was very sloppy and not very precise.