Tuesday, December 11, 2018

Training Announcement December 2018



Team Analysis Training for December has been postponed until January 22-24, 2019. 

Subscription 

Those with annual subscription or month to month, please add one month to your membership. 

New enrollment for 2019 is limited. 

Heather and I wish for a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all analysts. 

The work in team analysis has been inspiring. 

We faced some disturbing cases, added some new fresh insightful investigators and challenged one another for excellence. It has been a testament to what it team character may accomplish. 

The learning curve has been steep at times, but both enjoyable and surmountable. 

While enjoying the holiday season, don't stop practicing! 

Best to all,

Peter and Heather 


January 2019 

Tuesday January 22, 2019  9am to 3pm EST 
Wednesday January 23, 2019  10am to 4pm EST 
Thursday, January 24, 2019  12Noon to 6pm EST 

15 comments:

Jase said...

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to you Peter and all your family.

God jul och Gott nytt år!

GeekRad said...

That is a beautiful photo of you and Heather. Merry Christmas to you and your family.

Trigger said...

Lovely pic of you and Heather! You two look darling together.

Merry Christmas, as well, to you and your family.

Paul said...

Hi Peter, thanks for letting us know.

A merry Christmas to you and your family!

Lilstr said...

OT

Practice assessment of threat...

http://thefightmag.com/2018/12/breaking-mass-shooting-threat-at-csun/

John Mc Gowan said...

OT Update:

News conference set for Monday in case of missing toddler Ayla Reynolds
The lawyer for her mother, Trista Reynolds, says he plans to talk about the next steps in the case.


The lawyer for missing toddler Ayla Reynolds’ mother says he plans to hold a news conference Monday in Portland to talk about what he plans to do next in the case.

William Childs, of the law firm Childs Rundlett Fifield & Altshuler, in Portland, said he and Ayla’s mother, Trista Reynolds, will make brief statements and then take questions.

The news conference will be held at 10 a.m. outside the Cumberland County Superior Courthouse, on the Federal Street side of the building.

Last year, a judge officially declared Ayla dead, opening the way for a civil suit to be brought against those she believes are responsible for the child’s death, though a suit was not filed.

Monday, Dec. 17, will be the seventh anniversary of when the 20-month-old child was reported missing by her father, Justin DiPietro, from his mother’s house at 29 Violette Ave. in Waterville.

The report prompted what would become the largest and most costly police investigation in Maine history. No one has ever been charged in the case.

Ayla had been staying with DiPietro at the house in late 2011. On Dec.16, the night before he reported her missing, others, including his then-girlfriend, Courtney Roberts; his sister, Elisha DiPietro; and Elisha DiPietro’s child were also at the house. Justin DiPietro’s mother, Phoebe DiPietro, was not there that night.

Justin DiPietro called police the morning of Dec. 17, 2011, to report Ayla missing.

Police scoured the house, the area and rivers and streams, finding no sign of the child.

Police have since said they believe Ayla is dead. They say they think she met with foul play and that the people who were in the house the night before she was reported missing know more than they have said.

Justin DiPietro’s last known address was in California.

https://www.centralmaine.com/2018/12/13/press-conference-set-for-monday-in-the-case-of-missing-toddler-ayla-reynolds/

John Mc Gowan said...

OT:

BRUTAL THROAT SLASHING OF UTAH MOM TAKES INVESTIGATION ON AN UNEXPECTED PATH
A young mom calls 911 claiming she cut her own throat in front of her estranged husband and her child -- doctors say there’s no way she did it to herself


Tiffany Mead met up with her estranged husband believing she was receiving a child support check. Instead, he cut her throat.

48 Hours full transcript, 911 call (Audio) and snippets (Vt) from estranged husbands arrest and questioning.

It's worth noting that Tiffany made the call and not her husband who was by her side with their

Snipped:

[This story originally aired on May 5. It was updated on Dec. 15.]

"My neck's bleeding," Tiffany Mead told a 911 dispatcher from her car late on July 23, 2013. "I tried to commit suicide. Please help me."

"I knew she was in really bad shape," first responder Jason Sorenson tells "48 Hours" correspondent Erin Moriarty. "It was a really severe wound … It was straight across her neck. All the way across."

Dr. Sheila Garvey, the Ogden Regional Hospital emergency room doctor who treated Mead, was also struck by the severity of the wound, noting most self-inflicted stab wounds are not as bad. "She was critical when she came in," Garvey says. "She just about cut off her head…There was no way she could have done that to herself and not that deep."

So severe was the cut, police responding to the scene also questioned whether it really was a suicide attempt.

"The blood all over the car was just, it was unbelievable," says Sgt. Bob Thompson. "I'm looking at this and I'm like, "There's no way that somebody's gonna be able to survive this. … I'm thinking … what am I lookin' at here?"

Just after midnight on July 24, 2013, Sgt. Bob Thompson arrived at the scene where Tiffany Mead had been found with her throat cut.

Erin Moriarty: And what did you know at that point?

Sgt. Bob Thompson: Absolutely nothing.

Tiffany had already been rushed to the hospital, but before she left, she changed her story -- telling deputies that it was actually her estranged husband, Kris Ertmann, who attacked her.

Sgt. Bob Thompson: She told Deputy Sorensen … "Keep him away from me. …He did this to me. And "save my baby."

Erin Moriarty: If she's called this in as a suicide, and now she's saying, "He really did this," you don't know what to believe at that moment, right?

Sgt. Bob Thompson: It's a bit of a conundrum.

Tiffany's car was at the scene, but Thompson noticed something didn't look quite right.

Sgt. Bob Thompson: There was blood on the outside of the door. And I'm thinkin', "How did that blood get there?"

The detective learned Tiffany and her husband had first met up at a secluded park a mile away, where investigators found a second scene.

John Mc Gowan said...

cont..

Sgt. Bob Thompson: I could see the blood … So now I know, "OK, this must have happened outside of the car."

Erin Moriarty: And before she started driving.

Sgt. Bob Thompson: Right.

Erin Moriarty: …if this woman tried to cut herself and she's clearly injured, to get in a car and drive -- did that make sense?

Sgt. Bob Thompson: Didn't make sense at all.

Young mom's gruesome injury confounds first responders
Thompson still wasn't sure what kind of crime he was dealing with -- if any.

Erin Moriarty: Do you know whether it's an attempted suicide, an actual suicide, attempted murder or a murder?

Sgt. Bob Thompson: I have no idea.

He didn't know Tiffany's condition. However, there was someone in custody: Kris Ertmann.

Sgt. Bob Thompson: He hadn't been officially arrested, but … he was not free to leave.

Ertmann was photographed and his clothes were taken as evidence. And then, Thompson wanted to hear what he had to say:

SGT. BOB THOMPSON: Why are you here tonight?

KRIS ERTMANN: Well, she -- tried to commit suicide and I helped her out and her – and – and basically help her out, I tried to save her. I assisted in saving her.

Thompson learned that Ertmann worked for a painting contractor. He and his wife had been married five years and had two children, 2-year-old Noah and Wyatt who was almost 4. The couple was divorcing and had met that night so Ertmann could give her a child support check.

KRIS ERTMANN: We exchanged a few words and I don't know how she did -- being able to put a knife to her throat, and --

SGT. BOB THOMPSON: OK.

KRIS ERTMANN: … she's trying to say I slit her throat.

According to Ertmann, Tiffany was taking antidepressants:

KRIS ERTMANN: She has a history of being s -- suicidal.

It's been almost five years, but Tiffany is permanently scarred.

Erin Moriarty: Every time you look in the mirror, are you reminded of that night?

Tiffany Mead [nods to affirm]: I avoid looking in the mirror as much as possible.

Lt. Jen Daley: You know, this girl is strong. She is strong, Erin.

At the time, Lt. Jen Daley was Bob Thompson's partner on this case and his boss. She vividly remembers arriving at the hospital to get a statement from the 22-year-old who was in critical condition.

Lt. Jen Daley: I will never forget. I can still see her laying in that hospital bed. …I'm looking at that wound and the whole time I'm thinking … "How?"

Tiffany told Daley she had only agreed to meet her estranged husband because he promised to bring that child support check. Their relationship was now so toxic, they mostly communicated by text.

Tiffany Mead: He told me not to bring anyone. He kept reminding me to come alone. Come alone.

Tiffany texted that she would have to bring 2-year-old Noah. At the last minute, Ertmann picked an out- of-the-way park to meet. They parked -- an empty space between their vehicles -- and walked towards each other.

John Mc Gowan said...

Tiffany Mead: I was terrified. …He had this look. He was so determined coming at me. I didn't know what he was gonna do.

She says suddenly Ertmann grabbed her in a bear hug and backed her up against her car door.

Tiffany Mead: And he had one hand on my mouth. And he pulled something out of his pocket. …And he slit my throat. And as he's slitting my throat, h -- he says, "Shh, don't scream. Stay calm." And I didn't scream … And I told him I was getting dizzy. So he opened my car door for me so that I could sit.

Tiffany Mead: And he said, "You know what I want." … "Say it." So I said, "I love you, and I'll get back with you." …And then he said, "Seal it with a kiss." And he leaned in, and he kissed me as blood's pouring out of my neck.

Tiffany Mead: Then he said that we needed to come up with a story if I was gonna call 911. … So I said, "OK, I'll tell 'em whatever you want me to do."

But first Tiffany had to get herself out of the remote area.

Tiffany Mead: I had to get somewhere where I could explain to 911 where I was. …All I could think was I had to get my baby to safety.

Somehow, Tiffany managed to drive with one hand on the steering wheel, the other holding back the blood pouring from her wound. When she got to a bus stop, with her husband beside her, he let her call 911:

911 OPERATOR: What -- what happened?

TIFFANY MEAD: I tried to commit suicide. Please help me.

Tiffany Mead: As soon as there were sheriffs between me and Kris, I let 'em know, "Kris did this. He tried to kill me."

Lying in the ambulance, near death, she called her mother.

Cheryl Mead: She -- she called -- she-- that Kris had tried to kill her and she needed me to pick up Noah. …I had no idea what she was going through at the time.

Tiffany Mead: As I was laying in the ambulance looking up at the lights … I was thinking, "It's over. Noah's safe. [Crying] I can die now."

A QUESTION OF INTENT

Kris Ertmann was in custody and charged with attempting to murder his ex-wife -- something unimaginable five years earlier when the couple first met online. Tiffany was a high school senior. He was in the Army.

Read More:

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/tiffany-mead-kris-ertmann-brutal-throat-slashing-of-utah-mom-takes-investigation-on-an-unexpected-path/

John Mc Gowan said...

Ayla Reynold’s mother will accuse father in wrongful death suit
Seven years after the girl's disappearance, Trista Reynolds and her attorney are prepared to act.


WATERVILLE — The mother of missing toddler Ayla Reynolds is expected to file a lawsuit Monday, alleging the father caused the child’s death seven years ago.

The wrongful death suit will be filed in Cumberland County Superior Court in Portland against Justin DiPietro, according to William Childs, the attorney for Ayla’s mother, Trista Reynolds.

Childs plans a press conference outside the courthouse. The announcement of the filing comes on the seven-year anniversary of the child’s reported disappearance, in a case that drew national attention and sparked the largest and most costly police investigation in state history.

“Through discovery, we intend on establishing how Ayla was killed, where she was killed and why she was killed,” Childs said in a phone interview.

Snipped:

PURSUING JUSTICE

Childs, of the Portland law firm Childs, Rundlett, Fifield & Altshuler LLC, said an official tried recently to serve Justin DiPietro, now 31, with a summons at his last known address in California, but was told by a tenant that DiPietro had moved in July.

The process server official, Nelson Tucker, conducted an extensive search to locate his whereabouts in Los Angeles County and elsewhere, but was unsuccessful.

Childs said he also sent the complaint and summons to the Kennebec County Sheriff’s Office to try to serve DiPietro at his mother’s house in Waterville.

Lt. Jeffrey Love, who is in charge of the Maine State Police Unsolved Homicide Unit, said police remain dedicated to solving the case.

“We received 18 leads in 2018 for a total of 1,593 leads to date,” Love said in an email last week. “Two of the leads this year led State Police detectives to search an area in Belgrade and Sidney. A search was also conducted in Winslow, which was initiated by State Police detectives. Though nothing of evidentiary value was located, detectives were able to eliminate three more areas. All three searches utilized State Police cadaver dogs.”

Trista Reynolds says she stays in touch with police in the case.

“If they want to let me know something or if I just want to know what’s going on, I give a call,” she said Tuesday. “I saw them last week just to sit down and go over the last year and where we stand.”

She said they will proceed carefully. “We have to make sure all of our ducks are lined up the right way because we only have one shot at this,” she said.

https://www.pressherald.com/2018/12/16/father-of-missing-toddler-to-be-accused-in-civil-suit/

Tania Cadogan said...

PORTLAND, Maine – The mother of a toddler whose disappearance prompted the biggest criminal investigation in Maine history sued Monday in hopes of unearthing more details.

The announcement came on the seventh anniversary of the date 20-month-old Ayla Reynolds was reported missing by her father in Waterville.

Ayla's mother, Trista Reynolds, has blamed the father, Justin DiPietro, for the toddler's death. But the body has never been found, and no charges have been filed.

Reynolds and her attorney, William Childs, filed the wrongful death lawsuit alleging DiPietro caused Ayla's death, and said at a news conference that they hope depositions related to the suit will help solve the case.

"Justin, I promise you, wherever you are, one day you will have to face me and tell me the truth of what really happened to Ayla," Reynolds told reporters in Portland. "You can't hide from this forever."

DiPietro did not return phone calls. An email to an address listed under his name was returned by a user who declined to comment. Childs said DiPietro's last known address was in California.

The lawsuit seeks a monetary award from DiPietro. But Childs and Reynolds, who held a news conference about the lawsuit during morning snowfall outside court, said they were aware that DiPietro probably has no money to provide.

Childs said the lawsuit is more about "trying to find out how Ayla was killed, why Ayla was killed, and where Ayla was killed." Detectives have said in the past that adults in the Waterville home where Ayla was last seen alive know more than they have shared with authorities.

Sworn testimony from DiPietro and others who were in the house, who could potentially be served subpoenas, could help shed light on exactly what happened that night. Reynolds said she hopes it builds groundwork for eventual criminal charges.

State police have long believed the girl is dead, and a judge declared her legally dead in 2017. But the investigation remains open.

Maine State Police spokesman Steve McCausland said Monday that the investigation is "active" and that police "remain as committed today as we were seven years ago" to solving it.

Ayla was last seen wearing pajamas with the words "Daddy's Princess" on them. DiPietro told police he believed Reynolds was abducted from a home where they were staying in the central Maine city of Waterville. State police ruled that theory out.

Ayla was reported missing Dec. 17, 2011. DiPietro said at the time that he had tucked Ayla into bed the night before and found that she was gone the next morning. Searches didn't turn up any evidence.

Trista Reynolds now lives in South Portland and has two young children. She said she lights a pink candle every December in Ayla's name.

"We've been at this for seven years," she said before the news conference, "so I've got to have hope somewhere."

https://www.foxnews.com/us/mother-sues-in-case-of-missing-toddler-ayla-reynolds

VLW said...

I was just about to post about the news conference regarding Ayla Reynolds today, but see others have already done so. I'm pleased to see some movement in this case at last.

VLW said...

Which reminds me of another "missing" girl... any movement in the Hailey Dunn case? It's been a long time. I know her body was eventually found, but what happened with the investigation?

VLW said...

Okay, just found this article. So why no arrests for Shawn Adkins and his pornography, at the very least? ux.reporternews.com/story/news/2018/12/15/hailey-dunn-disappeared-2010-and-mysteries-linger/2207518002/

Kmcoll said...

Any analysis or information on Natalie Wood death & reopening of her case?

https://youtu.be/N0fm42MGMGc