Friday, January 11, 2013

Statement Analysis of Mother of Leah Aguirre


Case:  Missing Two year old found dead. 

 A caretaker was arrested, not the mother.  

What do you make of the mother's statements?


CROSBYTON, TX (KCBD) -
The FBI has found the dead body of missing 2-year-old Leah Marie Aguirre in the basement of a home at 502 S. Ayrshire in Crosbyton, according to Crosbyton Police Chief Greg Parrott. Parrott claims Leah's body was found in a box in the basement wrapped in plastic and intentionally hidden.
The homeowner is Matilda Almaraz who was Leah's temporary caregiver at the time of her disappearance. Parrott says after questioning her all day, they arrested her about 5p.m. and charged her with capital murder.
Leah's mother Tina Aguirre had given temporary custody of her daughter to Almaraz back in September while she took care of a sick aunt. Tina only knew Almaraz through a friend on Facebook, and says she rarely saw Leah after that. She says the last time she was able to get a hold of Almaraz was on Christmas Eve.

NEGLECT
Weeks later, Almaraz told police that a man going by the name Miguel posed as a CPS worker and took Leah back on January 3rd. She didn't report Leah missing until days later on January 8th.
Chief Parrott says when the investigation started they searched Almaraz's home, but found nothing out of the ordinary. An immediate Amber Alert was sent out with the information about the man Almaraz says took Leah.
However on Thursday FBI agents brought Almaraz in for more questioning which led them to a second search of her home.
"Through some statements made by her in the interview there appeared to be great concern for a particular area in the house so the FBI agents focused their efforts there," Parrott said. "You really had to have been there to understand and grasp how well concealed her little remains were; they were behind a shelf, in the basement, in a box under clothing, wrapped in plastic bags. The person who concealed her went through great lengths to do so."
Parrott says they will have to wait for an autopsy to determine how long her body had been hidden and her cause of death.
"We were all hoping and praying for a different ending. Although we've lost this baby we still owe this child and the child's family a professional investigation so that justice can now be sought for those responsible for her demise," Parrott said.
Parrott says they do not know if there is any truth in Almaraz's story about the man posing as a CPS worker. He also says they are continuing to question people at this time and it's unsure if there will be any additional arrests.


Question for Analyst:  Did mother have knowledge of what might have happened to her daughter?

 Mother appeared to know that child was dead, even if by the hands of the Facebook friend she left the child with. 

Were there any plans to sell the child?  Did mother know what happened at the hands of Facebook Friend?




Tina AguirreTina Aguirre

Leah AguirreLeah Aguirre
While the child was still missing:  
22-year-old Tina Aguirre said it has been a crazy 24 hours after her landlord called her and said her daughter Leah was missing. She was questioned by the Slaton Police Department, F.B.I and Crosbyton Police Department for around 7 hours last night as they tried to figure out what happened to Leah.
"It was very scary. They were saying that I was going to be accused if something happened to my daughter," said Tina. "I was going to go to jail for a long time and never come back out probably. I would not see my mom or my brothers ever again."
Please note that this is the perfect place for her to tell us that she would miss her daughter. 

Mother does not mention not seeing her daughter again.  
Please note that "it" was very scary.  What was "it"?
For most parents, the most frightening aspect is not knowing what has happened to the child, what the child is going through, how the child is being cared for.  In this case, the mother experienced something "very scary" that was being accused, herself.  This is not an expected reaction. 
Specifically, the mother does not express concern for the child, but concern about going to jail for a long time. 
Please note that if the mother goes to jail for a long time, according to her language, she would not see her "mom and her brothers" again. 
She does not mention her daughter. 
The analyst should not be on alert to know if the mother would not miss seeing her daughter, while in jail, because she already knew or believed the child was dead
Tina says back in September she was taking care of a sick aunt and needed help with Leah. She then let a friend in Crosbyton that she met over Facebook take Leah to temporarily care for the child while she lived with her sick aunt. It's with that friend that Leah went missing several days ago when a man named Miguel posed as a CPS worker saying he needed to take her.
(Before finding body:  
While police have no solid leads, Tina believes her cousin has something to do with Leah's disappearance. "She would tell me that she was going to come and steal her away from me, and that I would never get to see her again for the rest of my life. She has a boyfriend in Mexico who she goes to see but his name is Miguel," Tina said.
Note that she "would" and not that she "did" tell me.  This reduces commitment to the text. 
The word "but" refutes that which came before it.  What is she rebutting?  
When we asked investigators about the cousin, they said she has been questioned along with one of her friends named Miguel. However, they say Tina's story didn't add up.
While tips are coming in nationwide, Tina hopes someone will help bring her baby home, and says the first thing she would do is hug Leah and never let her go.
"She was happy all the time, she always liked playing with her dolls, her toys and she loved playing with me all the time," she said.
Here we have three references to her child in the past tense, indicating a belief or knowledge that the child is dead. 
 Does she know that her child is dead?  
It does not appear that the police have told her anything to cause her to believe the child is dead. 
This raises a question:  
If she sold the child would the child be "dead to her"?  
If she told the caretaker (now arrested) that it was okay to sell her, would the child be dead to her?
If she knew the caretaker was going to sell the child...
Please note that there is strong linguistic evidence from the mother that she knew her child was dead.  

She speaks of her in the past tense, and laments that should she go to prison, she would only miss her own mother and her brothers.  Missing her daughter is a foregone conclusion, in the language.   
The neglect was evident from the beginning as she met someone on Facebook to hand the child off to, who has now arrested with the murder, but did the mother have knowledge of what was going on?
The FBI Dallas Division has confirmed that it is working with the Crosbyton Police Department and Texas Rangers to locate Leah Marie Aguirre. The public is asked to contact the FBI at 972-559-5000 or at tips.fbi.gov with any information that can help locate Leah.

20 comments:

Tania Cadogan said...

She has a boyfriend in Mexico who she goes to see but his name is Miguel," Tina said.

BUT his name NOT AND his name is?

Maggie said...

I agree--the sentence Hobnob highlighted is what caught my attention.
It makes me wonder if there WAS actually a man who came to the babysitter's (now arrested)house to take the little girl to sell her. Then, something went horribly wrong and the little girl was then brought back dead to the babysitter's house.
The reason I say this is the mother speaking of how she had a cousin who would say that she is going to take the little girl and this cousin HAS A BOYFRIEND IN MEXICO WHO SHE GOES TO SEE BUT HIS NAME IS MIGUEL.
She IS refuting something when she says BUT. I think what she is refuting is the unstated NOT A MAN POSING UNDERCOVER AS A CPS AGENT.
This is a practiced liar who takes grains of truth and builds lies around them.
She is trying to distance herself from knowledge of what happened--that, with her consent the child was going to be sold. Her thought process is "Hmmm, they are saying some man came posing as a CPS agent and took my daughter...well, I know nothing about that...I did have a cousin who would threaten to take my daughter and she has a boyfriend in Mexico BUT HIS NAME IS MIGUEL."
My theory anyway.

Jo said...

"It was very scary. They were saying that I was going to be accused if something happened to my daughter," said Tina. "I was going to go to jail for a long time and never come back out probably. I would not see my mom or my brothers ever again."

Isn't this her restating what the police said to her? The police would not say she would never see her daughter again if they were threatening her with going to jail for having done something to her daughter.

Nic said...

"She would tell me that she was going to come and steal her away from me, and that I would never get to see her again for the rest of my life. She has a boyfriend in Mexico who she goes to see but his name is Miguel,"

The word 'but' is so out place. Usually the word but negates that which comes before it. Such as, I like oranges, but I like apples better. The flow makes sense. However, in this case to me she's using the word differently. She's definitely story telling, I agree. I just can't figure out what "but" means in her train of thought. That there was a man but his name is not Miguel?

To me she is using the name Miguel to cover up who he really is. But is he close to her as opposed to an acquaintance via her cousin, somebody she knows herself... her own connection.

To me the word is being used completely out of character and it's blatant.

Nic said...

"She has a boyfriend in Mexico who she goes to see but his name is Miguel," "

She has a boyfriend in Mexico that she goes to see. (But) it's not him. (Her boyfriend's) name is Miguel.

Thoughts?

Nic said...

Sorry to be a serial poster, but I have to say that I can't believe someone would hand their kids off to somebody they met on Facebook. IMO, It really does speak to the mother's bond with her baby.

Jo said...

I wonder if the "but" wasn't because she was thinking "but he isn't a social worker" and it came out "but his name is Miquel" We don't hear the statement to know if she paused after "but" and changed her thought mid-sentence.

She has a boyfriend in Mexico who she goes to see but...... his name is Miguel

Otherwise I agree that the "but" doesn't fit in that sentence.

Tania Cadogan said...

off topic BBM


The search for the baby boy missing for the last 18 months has now turned into a child neglect and possibly murder case after remains were found buried at an address provided by the child's parents.
Dontrell Melvin, from Miami, was only five months old when he was last seen with his father Calvin Melvin Jr in July 2011.
He and Brittany Sierra, 21, were arrested today on charges of child neglect and are said to be blaming each other for Dontrell's disappearance.

Hallandale Beach Chief of Police Dwayne Fluornoy said at a news conference today: 'They both have intimated that the child has been harmed in some way by each other. In essence, they're blaming each other.'

Extra charges are expected to be added once the remains are identified.
'There’s evidence and statements that have led us to check this property,' said Police Chief Dwayne Flourney. 'We believe that evidence that is linked to Dontrell’s disappearance is on the property.'
The child's disappearance came to light after a routine welfare check at the home on Wednesday discovered there were only two children there when there should have been three.
Melvin told police he took Dontelle to his parents in Pompano so he could have a better life with them. When police went there, the child's grandparents said they hadn't seen the boy in more than a year.
The mother claims she did not question this account until October last year and reported the matter to Child Protection.

The Florida Department of Children and Families conducted an investigation but the findings were unknown, Flournoy said.

Child protection administrators too failed to notice Dontrell was gone, even though they received a call to their abuse hotline last year reporting concerns about Dontrell's welfare.

But the call was deemed unworthy of investigation, according to the Miami Herald.
Fluornoy said: 'The mother previously gave an indication that she hasn't seen her child since July 2011, and she has questioned the father on numerous occasions as to the whereabouts of the child.'


Melvin initially fled after police went to his parent's home but he was found a few hours later and changed his story to say that he dropped his son off at a Miami Gardens fire station utilizing the safe haven law.

There is no record of this.
After Dontrell disappeared, his parents went on to have another child. The mother has a third child with a different father.

Police are appealing to the public for help in finding Dontrell, who would now be two-years-old.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2260826/Toddler-Dontrell-Melvin-went-missing-18-months-ago-reported-missing-week.html

BostonLady said...

Yikes. Even before reading the mother's statements, the fact that she gave the baby to a "friend" on facebook, caught my attention and made me wonder about the mother's truthfulness. After reading her comments referencing past tense, confirms my suspicions. The mother is involved. I don't know to what extent but the story doesn't ring true. Who gives their child to someone they really do not know, and then claims that from September to Christmas Eve they couldn't make contact with that caregiver?? Why wouldn't the police be involved just in that instance?

Tragic. Another beautiful baby not loved and cared for by the person who gave them birth. What is wrong with these women??? Babies are a gift from God.

Skeptical said...

Tina Aguirre's account is confusing, but once again this is an ESL speaker. I hope she is interviewed in Spanish before any conclusions are drawn. If I were interviewed by Mexican police, all my speech would be in the present tense.

Anonymous said...

i agree Jo

did she tell of the cousin before the cps workers name was given to police?

i also wondered if something was lost in the translation because she used past tense through out consistently, like she didn't even know there is present tense.

the kid was at the mercy of CPS and in their hands?
when CPS takes your kids, whether it is "voluntary" or not, it takes them 30 days to assess the situation and no you cannot get to see your kid. then after that it is by permission only and it is hard to get. so i can understand why she hadn't seen her for so long.

Maggie said...

Are police asking any questions about why in the world this mother's cousin had been (allegedly) threatening to take her baby and never give her back? I mean--what was going on?
This reminds me in some way of the "telegraphing" of the "kidnapping" fears done by Justin DiPietro in the baby Ayla case!

Anonymous said...

Please help find Ayla
Skeptical said...
Tina Aguirre's account is confusing, but once again this is an ESL speaker

I agree, ESL/and perhaps mentally challenged?

Anonymous said...

Definitely mentally challenged. No person in their right mind would give their baby to someone they barely know, and then not see them at all hardly for months without contacting police. I hope the mom is at least charged with neglect. So horrible!

S + K Mum said...

She was worried her cousin was going to come steal her baby but happily handed her over to a virtual stranger ? What ?!

Anonymous said...

Could past tense br an indication that her relationship with her child had ended?

Mrs.Aleman84 said...

I'm against this and believe whomever hurt the child should burn in hell..but did you ever think maybe her dang English isent very good??

Mrs.Aleman84 said...

I'm against this and believe whomever hurt the child should burn in hell..but did you ever think maybe her dang English isent very good??

Anonymous said...

I feel Leahs mother should do time. Why have a child if you know you're just going to give it away. To someone you don't even know. Give her time for negligence & abandonment.

Habundia said...

There are thousands of children being given away to strangers through adoption. Unfortunately many end up at horrible places, worse as where they came from.
It's the fact she had to take care of some sick aunt that she signed over temporarily custody?! That made me go "excuse me? You say what?!"
Her priorities were clear!