Crime Analysis Essay
The Murder of Somer Thompson
On Monday October, 10, 2009 police in Clay County, Florida began investigating the disappearance of a 7-year-old girl named Somer Thompson. Somer was walking home from Grove Park Elementary School with her twin brother and 10-year-old sister when according to her sister she got upset because some of the group she was walking with started arguing and decided to walk ahead. She was not home when the others arrived. Clay County Sheriff Sergeant Dan Mahla stated that investigators suspected foul play in the disappearance and began an all-out search including canine units, mounted police, dive teams, and helicopter with heat-sensing technology. At this time there was no evidence and no suspects. Local authorities issued an Amber Alert offering the following information: Somer is 4-foot, 5-inches tall and weighs 65 pounds. She was last seen wearing a ponytail with a red bow. She was carrying a purple Hannah Montana backpack and a lunchbox.
Two days after Somer Thompson’s disappearance local authorities discovered a child’s body in a Georgia landfill just across the Florida State line where Somer lived. Sheriff Rick Beseler said it was routine in a missing person case that police begin following garbage trucks to the nearby landfills. The child’s body was found after police secured the landfill and scoured through 100 tons of trash. With no physical evidence of who was to blame for this horrible crime the police interviewed more than 70 registered sex offenders who were living in a 5 mile radius of where Somer disappeared. An autopsy of the young girl’s body was scheduled to take place and a group called Justice Coalition put up a $30,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of Somer's killer. Some of that reward money came from Crimestoppers who urged anyone with information to anonymously call 1-866-845-TIPS. Florida Governor Charlie Crist issued a statement on the findings in the case...