Indiana police released the last known images of a missing Westchester college student taken from surveillance cameras at her apartment just hours before she vanished.
In the photos, Lauren Spierer, a 20-year-old sophomore at Indiana University, smiles as she strolls through her building wearing a loose-fitting white shirt and tight black pants on her way to a night on the town with friends.
"She's a happy, smiling, beautiful young lady on her way out for the evening…that's the Lauren we're looking for," her dad, Robert Spierer, said at a news conference on Wednesday.
The Greenburgh, N.Y., native disappeared just steps from her Bloomington apartment at around 4:30 a.m. on June 3 after partying at Kilroy's, a local hangout.
Bloomington police on Wednesday also released surveillance photos of a truck they said was spotted circling the block around the time the petite fashion student went missing.
Bloomington Police Capt. Joe Qualter described the truck as a mid-2000 white Chevy Silverado or Chevy Colorado four-door shortbed pickup with writing or logos on the sides.
Qualter said cops want to talk to the driver, though they don't know whether the truck was connected to the co-ed's disappearance.
"We are treating it as hopefully someone who can provide information to us," Qualter said.
Investigators have received thousands of tips over the past two weeks - dozens poured in after the case appeared on America's Most Wanted on Saturday - but they still have no suspects.
Cops have used lie detectors and DNA tests to interview several of Spierer's friends, including a group of male buddies who were hanging out with her in an apartment shortly before she vanished.
At the news conference, her parents continued their emotional plea with any information about the case to come forward.
"She's very dear to us…we want to get her back just to embrace her and tell her we love her," Robert Spierer said.
Okay, just thinking about this. Lauren and Rossman go to a bar. They leave and Lauren leaves her shoes and cell phone behind. It's hard to believe that Lauren didn't realize she didn't have her shoes (I like going barefoot, but not walking barefoot on dirty city sidewalks - yuck!). And why didn't Rossman notice Lauren wasn't wearing shoes?
Hopefully, someone will recognize that truck. White trucks are a dime a dozen, but at least king cabs are a bit rarer, and it looks like the hub caps might help identify it. I wonder what the load is in the bed - maybe someone will recognize that.
(06-15-2011, 10:45 PM)Kip Wrote: I wonder what the load is in the bed - maybe someone will recognize that.
I don't know if i'm just seeing something that isn't really there but it almost looks like a chick sitting in the truck bed....lol does anyone else kinda see that or am i nuts?
but even if it was someone sitting back there, it seems like the person would be larger than 4'11''/90 lbs, compared to the size of the truck
The last person to admit having seen a missing Indiana University student alive hasn't been forthcoming in providing information to police and the young woman's parents, family friends told the New York Post.
Jason "Jay" Rosenbaum told investigators that he last saw 20-year-old Lauren Spierer walking alone and barefoot to her Bloomington apartment in the early morning hours on June 3.
Spierer, who has not been seen since, had spent the night partying with friends.
Rosenbaum, a 21-year-old student at the university, is considered a "person of interest" in the case -- along with the young woman's boyfriend, Jesse Wolff, and other acquaintances of Spierer's.
The newspaper reports that Rosenbaum has hired a high-profile criminal defense attorney and moved out of his Bloomington apartment.
(06-18-2011, 12:02 AM)koko Wrote: I don't know if i'm just seeing something that isn't really there but it almost looks like a chick sitting in the truck bed....lol does anyone else kinda see that or am i nuts?
but even if it was someone sitting back there, it seems like the person would be larger than 4'11''/90 lbs, compared to the size of the truck
I can see it too - a head and two arms crossed. But, yeah, it's either a very large person or the person's body is covered with a lot of stuff. I figured transporting a victim in the bed of the pickup would be a risky proposition when she could have been stowed in the cab of the truck. This is really far-fetched,but maybe the back of the truck was filled with black garbage bags, Lauren was bound and placed under the bags but she was able to sit up and get her head out.
Hmmm, I can see hiring a lawyer (especially after seeing how good samaritans have been treated in the Casey Anthony trial). Maybe I'm naive, but if I were innocent I think I'd hire a "general-type" lawyer to represent my interests and not a high-profile criminal attorney. And what's with moving out of his apartment? Was this something totally unplanned, or was he going home for the summer or changing apartments anyway?
INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) - Autopsy results on the body of a woman found in Fall Creek in Indianapolis Sunday are expected by noon on Tuesday, officials say.
A family stumbled upon the body Sunday in the 6500 block of East Fall Creek Parkway. Police say the body was badly decomposed, causing difficult in identifying the woman’s age, height or build.
The discovery drew interest from other police agencies investigating high-profile missing person cases, including 20-year-old Indiana University student Lauren Spierer and 74-year-old Noblesville resident Dorothy Heard. There has been no indication whether the body is one of the missing women, as it was too badly decomposed to speculate.
DEVELOPING: A badly decomposed body found floating in a creek is NOT that of missing Indiana University student Lauren Spierer, a coroner said Tuesday.
The Marion County coroner's office said the body of a woman recovered from an Indianapolis creek on Sunday does not match Spierer's dental records.
Don't know if disappointed is the right word but I was really hoping that this missing body would be the start of answers in this case. Still feeling that Rosenbaum & the crew are witholding information. Hope like hell this case gets solved.
It's the hint of arsenic that gives it that extra kick.
(CNN) -- In an emotional open letter to the person responsible for her daughter's disappearance, the mother of missing Indiana University student Lauren Spierer pledges to never give up searching for answers.
"If you think for a minute her father and I are going to disappear, think again," Charlene Spierer writes in the letter, written on the three-month anniversary of Lauren Spierer's disappearance and released Saturday on the family's "Find Lauren" web site.
"We are just as determined today as we were day one. You should know that Lauren is precious to us. ... We are in this for the long haul. Do you think we are going to walk away without finding out the answers? Do you think we are going to rest until we find Lauren? We will not. You have no idea who you have taken from us. We will never give up."
Lauren Spierer, a 20-year-old sophomore, was last seen early June 3 after leaving a Bloomington, Indiana, sports bar with a male student. Surveillance camera footage from an alley between the two students' apartment buildings showed them walking toward the male student's building about 3 a.m. Spierer's keys were later found in the alley, but she has not been seen since.
One of the male student's neighbors reported seeing Spierer leave about 4:30 a.m., but police have said they found no sign of her after the 3 a.m. sighting on any of the surveillance video from the area between the two buildings. Police have not named any suspects..
In her letter, Charlene Spierer details the heartache her family has experienced since the disappearance.
"Much has happened over the past three months," she wrote. "I won't bore you with the details, if you've even gotten this far in reading this letter. I will say we have had the support and guidance of a multitude of people which has helped keep us going. For that generosity, we will be forever grateful."
She recalls being asked by a young relative, at a birthday celebration for her other daughter, Rebecca, whether the family would celebrate Lauren Spierer's birthday even if she was not there. "I didn't really know what to say," she writes. "Now I do. Of course we will celebrate Lauren's birthday."
What are you thinking? I would really like to know. I am waiting to hear from you.
--Charlene Spierer, in open letter to person responsible for her daughter's disappearance
She writes that as students returned to Indiana University for the fall semester, her family was packing her daughter's possessions and shipping them home. "Nineteen boxes," she said. "Can you imagine that so much promise would fit into 19 boxes? I won't go into the details of what it was like to pack Lauren's things. I will just tell you it was excruciating. Every moment was excruciating."
Charlene Spierer writes that she and her daughter share many things. "Today I can add to that list," she says -- the day that marks three months since the disappearance is also Charlene Spierer's birthday.
She recalls feeling "physically sick" upon learning her daughter was missing, calling hospitals in the hope that a Lauren Spierer or Jane Doe had been admitted. She immediately flew to Bloomington from New York, she writes, and her father drove her to the airport.
"Imagine a grandfather, driving his daughter to the airport on the way to discover what has happened to his granddaughter," she writes. "Imagine that. There were few words exchanged. There are no words."
"You are responsible for Lauren's disappearance," she writes. "You know where she is. You are guilty of a heinous crime."
She closes by asking the person, "What are you thinking? I would really like to know. I am waiting to hear from you."
At the end, she attaches a brief note to her daughter: "Dearest Lauren, we are loving you. Missing you. Always, Mom."
Lauren Spierer was last seen wearing black pants and a white tank top with a white shirt, according to her family's web site. She is 4 feet 11 inches tall and weighs 95 pounds and has blond hair and blue eyes.
Police searched a landfill outside of Bloomington last month in connection with Spierer's disappearance. Nothing was found, according to CNN affiliate WISH.
Attempts to reach the Spierer family Sunday were not immediately successful.
Driving along SR 37 in Indiana today, saw many billboards w/Lauren's pic & name, saying "anything small could be BIG" It just breaks my heart because the Bloomington area is sooo wooded and the roads are surrounded by trees & ravines. Anyone could have thrown her body out the back of a truck while driving along SR 37 & it could go unnoticed... My feeling is that a couple, if not several IU students were involved in Lauren's disappearance.
It's the hint of arsenic that gives it that extra kick.
The discovery of a human skull found last week by a fisherman near the White River in Indianapolis has the family of a missing woman anxiously waiting as authorities work to identify the remains.
The family of Lauren Spierer, the 20-year-old Indiana University student who disappeared last year, posted a message on their Facebook page Saturday regarding the skull discovery on July 9, MyFoxNY.com reported.
The deputy coroner for Marion County told WXIN in Indianapolis that the skull "has been submerged for some time, at least more than a year."
Authorities can't identify the race or gender of the skull and laboratory results could take weeks.
Spierer, of Greenburgh , N.Y., was last seen early the morning of June 3, 2011, on the intersection of 11th Street and College Avenue in Bloomington, Ind., according to the woman’s acquaintance and college classmate Jay Rosenbaum.
Here's someone's take that knows a lot about the details:
The Heartbreaking Disappearance of Lauren Spierer
In case you were wondering, the June 3, 2011 disappearance of Indiana University student Lauren Spierer is something I continue to ponder, and ponder, and ponder. What happened that night? Who knows where she is? Why did they cover up whatever tragic event that happened? How is it humanely possible their souls can be so cold that they let Lauren's family continue on in such pain? This case really is fascinating, but not so much as it is sad. This happened to a real college girl- she's basically "America's girl", in that she's you, me, my friends, your friends, the girl that sat next to you in math class who always had the cutest shoes. She's everyone. But where is she? While this post may be long, don't dismiss it. It's worthwhile.
If you aren't familiar with her disappearance, allow me to fill you in. I've probably read every article ever published on the Internet time and time again, watched every press conference, read every excruciatingly painful letter her mother has written, etc, so I consider myself to be quite aware of the details which have been supplied, as well as ones speculated. Lauren Spierer was a beautiful 20 year old Sophomore at Indiana University when she disappeared on June 3rd, 2011 after a night out with friends. She apparently hung out with one of her neighbors, and then they went to a mutual friend, Jay Rosenbaum's, apartment to pre-game before going out. From there, Lauren went to a bar named Kilroy's with this guy Corey Rossman, who she met a week prior through mutual friends at the Indianapolis 500. An hour or so after arriving, Lauren left the bar. It's a beach themed bar with sand, in which Lauren left her shoes and cell phone at the bar. It's obviously assumed she was drunk at this point. It bothers me when people use that fact against her. So what? She's 20 years old and in college. What do you think college students do? Give her a break. She wasn't doing anything that you won't find on majority of college campuses.
So then she and Corey Rossman went back to her apartment building. She dropped her keys along the way, so what they intended to do there was unclear. It has been said that security videos prove she was NOT in good condition at this point, could not walk straight, and was running into things. Concerned people in the hallway told Corey Rossman to take her home, asked if she needed help, etc. Someone even punched Corey in the face, which he would later use as a defense for not remembering the events of the night. So then Corey and Lauren headed for his apartment. The private investigator her family hired released a video, where he is talking about how Lauren could barely walk, how she fell on the sidewalk without putting her hands out to stop the fall, and how she hit her head so hard on concrete that circles were forming around her eyes. So what were Corey Rossman's intentions? He later claimed that LAUREN (who is 4'11 and 90lbs) helped him to his apartment after he was hit. No. Even if she was sober that would be a struggle, much less in the condition she was in. Why not call security at her apartment to let her in? Why not knock on the door until one of her roommates answered? Why did you have to take her out of her apartment when she was in no condition to be wandering? Mike Beth, who was Corey Rossman's roommate, claims he put Corey to bed when he got home (Do guys really do that....? I know girls play mom when someones drunk, but I honestly wasn't aware guys do. Especially when Corey was captured carrying Lauren to his apartment- he obviously didn't need his roommate tucking him in. Fishy, fishy LIE).
So since Lauren was drunk, APPARENTLY Mike Beth called their mutual friend Jay Rosenbaum to take care of her. Why not say "hey girl hey, take my bed and sleep it off. Or here's the couch, since you're so drunk you'll fall asleep right away, just lay down." So apparently she went to Jay Rosenbaum's, but she didn't want to stay there, so he let her walk home "once she proved she was okay." Look buddy, if a 4'11 girl is so drunk she's falling backwards on concrete and cannot walk, there's no chance it will all pass within an hour. So you're lying. According to Jay Rosenbaum, the last time he saw her she was walking home at 4:30AM. Not even an ounce of me believes this. I think there's a good chance she never even went to Jay Rosenbaum's.
So what do I think? I think Jay Rosenbaum, Corey Rossman, and Mike Beth all know what's going on. They are all the key links. They had to formulate a story for cell phone records and whatnot, so Mike tucking Corey into bed and passing her off to Jay is just their cover. Lauren's friend, David Rohn, who she was with earlier in the night was named by police as a person of interest, in addition to those three men heartless little boys listed above. He's the only one who took an FBI administrated polygraph, and passed. Security footage also proves he was at his apartment all night, as he claimed. It's so incredibly unfortunate the apartment complex that the three cold hearted snakes lived in (Corey, Jay, Mike) didn't have security footage. I feel if it did there would be A LOT less questions that still remain. What's "suspicious" (meaning I don't think it's suspicious at all) is that Jay Rosenbaum called David Rohn at 4:15AM, but David didn't answer, since he was sleeping, as most people are at that time. Jay's defense is that Lauren borrowed his phone to call David to see if he knew where her cell phone was. A- If anyone, wouldn't she call COREY, since he was the one she was with majority of the night, and when she lost her cellphone? And B-If it really was Lauren who called, which I suspect it wasn't, she would have left a voicemail. Why? College 101: People who are drunk LOVE leaving voice mails, and ALWAYS FEEL THE NEED TO. My theory is that something horrible happened, and Jay Rosenbaum called David Rohn for help of some sort.
In addition to Jay Rosebaum, Corey Rossman, Mike Beth, and David Rohn as POI's, there's Lauren's boyfriend of two years, Jesse Wolff. It's heartbreaking that these boys aren't helping police and Lauren's parents (although from where I'm sitting I don't think David Rohn had anything to do with this), but the fact her BOYFRIEND is being silent is like.....WTF. I'm sorry, but most people would help a stranger if they saw them in trouble, and/or would want justice to be served. So when it's your girlfriend? How can you keep quiet? How can you fly home to New York a couple days after she goes missing? At first I didn't understand him being a POI.....he wasn't there that night. From what I've read on the Internet, he hated the guys Lauren was hanging out with that night (and after 6/3/11 that club has grown massively), and did not associate with them. But actions speak louder than words, and dropping your summer class to fly home to New York a couple days after she vanishes, lawyering up, not taking an FBI/Police Administered polygraph does NOT seem like something one would do when their significant other of two years vanishes. One would think he would be searching day and night, etc. None of this makes sense.
So back to my theory...Jay Rosenbaum, Corey Rossman, Mike Beth know what happened. Something bad happened and they panicked. It's no secret that Lauren was in bad condition. It is rumored that those boys used cocaine, and that she did too that night. Clearly she was drinking. She could have been drugged. The combination of those things, slamming her head on concrete multiple times, and her heart condition sound like the combination of a potentially horrific outcome. In my mind, those things are irrelevant. What's relevant is that the people she was with are horrible people and did not look out for her. People she passed in a hallway were more concerned for her than her so-called friends. If your friend is in trouble, you call 911. If someone you are with tragically passes on, you call 911. You do not hide the body. How could you? If something happened to a friend, that thought wouldn't even cross my mind. How could someone be so cruel and heartless? How can you allow yourself to do that? That thought disgusts me. Lauren disappeared nearly two years ago, and little to no information into what happened that night has been answered, and Lauren has not been found.
How could somebody keep a secret so large for nearly two years??? My conscious drives me crazy when I yell at my mom, or when I forget to call somebody back- so how could it not absolutely kill you to live with the fact you hid your friend and continue to inflict the worst kind of pain on her family day in and day out? The letters her mother writes on are H-E-A-R-T-B-R-E-A-K-I-N-G. I cry like I just cut the most potent onion in the world every time I read one of them. The pain she, her husband, and Lauren's sister face on a daily basis seems inhumane. I highly suspect Jay Rosenbaum is involved, otherwise why would Corey Rossman get him involved? I obviously don't believe anything about his or Mike Beth's story. Lauren and Jay Rosenbaum have known each other since they were LITTLE KIDS. They went to the same Jewish summer camp, as did much of Lauren's core group of friends at Indiana University. No matter the nature of the relationship, being involved in something like this is incomprehensible, but being involved when it's your friend since childhood is just.....ugh, there are no words to accurately describe my thoughts on that.
So Jay, Corey, Mike, and Jesse Wolff have not provided the police, Lauren's parents, or their private investigator with anything helpful. They all hired big time, expensive attorneys right after this happened. Yeah, one of their attorneys used to represent Mike Tyson. I'm an educated gal (I'm another Big 10 college product, yayuh), and do understand that lawyering up is by no means an admission of guilt. But in this case, the circumstances speak for themselves, and most people would do anything to help find their friend. They would actually TALK. Heck, I think most people would do all they can to help find a stranger. I don't understand how the parents of these kids can let this continue? How can they not look at it from the angle of "it easily could have been my kid...what would I want the people who know information to do?" It's one thing to protect your child, it's another thing as a parent (which I definitely am NOT, but can only imagine) to sit back and let other parents live in absolute hell because of the secret your child is keeping. And that saying "A mother always knows"...it really is in the best interest of EVERYONE INVOLVED to do the right thing, and reveal where Lauren is. That's long overdue. Once it is over and the secret isn't being kept, those who know will feel reborn. Despite the obvious backlash and everything that will come along with it, clearing your conscious (assuming they have one) will be well worth it. Not to mention it's the right thing to do.
Seeing pictures of Lauren breaks my heart. This should not be her story. Her family should not have to live with not knowing. I've read time and time again how that's always the worst thing, and what can drive you the most crazy- not knowing. You can tell by looking at her smile how much she truly loved life. The stories I've read about things she would do for her friends, strangers, how she loved old people, how fearless she was, etc just are heartbreaking. They're heartbreaking because they prove what an asset Lauren was to the world, and the potential she had. It's heartbreaking because despite the results of June 3, 2011, we shouldn't be wondering on January 17, 2013 what happened, and where she is? We should know. I don't believe the boys did anything to intentionally hurt her. I believe it was a tragic accident, that really could have happened to anybody. The fault lies in how it was handled from there, and that fault is on the boys with her.
Today (Jan. 17th) is Lauren's birthday. She should be talking with friends on how they're going to celebrate tonight. She should be eating the birthday cookies her mom would always mail her, as she was away at college. Her parents should be smiling and reminiscing on how their baby is all grown up. Instead, Lauren is missing. She won't be opening presents. Her parents won't get to call her to wish her the best birthday ever. I remember reading an article last year where her father said her 21st birthday was the hardest day of his life. That poor man. I just want to give him a hug so bad. I can only hope that on this incredibly difficult day, the Spierers' are able to think about the beautiful memories, and that perhaps today could be the day their prayers are answered.
(09-03-2013, 04:51 PM)Midwest Spy Wrote: This case always interested me.
Me too, MS.
Very sad that another of Lauren's birthdays is passing and her heartbroken parents are still wondering what the hell happened to her that night in June 2011.
Back in June of this year, Rob and Charlene Spierer filed a civil lawsuit against Corey Rossman, Jay Rosenbaum and Michael Beth for providing Lauren with alcohol but failing to care for her. The civil charge is "negligence resulting in the disappearance, injury, or death of an adult child".
Rob and Charlene Spierer
Unfortunately, the civil suit strategy isn't looking too viable right now and the suit may well get thrown out; anxious to see what happens there.
Snip: “In light of the issues raised in the pending motions to dismiss, as well as Defendants’ expected assertion of their Fifth Amendment rights against self-incrimination, the Court grants the Defendants’ request to stay all discovery pending rulings on those motions,” the ruling (by Judge Baker) read.
It is unknown when a ruling will be handed down, but a deputy clerk said Judge Tanya Walton Pratt, who will decide whether to grant the motion to dismiss, has not received requests for oral arguments as of last week. She may decide to rule without a hearing.
IMO, the Spierers are just desperate for answers and want the three to be subject to questioning under oath in civil court since they ain't talking to the criminal investigators. Hoping the Spierers get some answers, one way or another, soon.
As the blogger speculated, I tend to think there was an accidental overdose of some kind.
The guys panicked, concocted a story, and are sticking to it. Instead of manning up and accepting the consequences, they've decided to take the low road.
I just imagine being a parent who has to suffer through something like this and how horrible it must be.
You and the blogger may be right. I think it's a strong possibility that one or more of the guys is covering up the fact that Lauren overdosed, or her intoxication resulted in an accidental death.
But, I also think it's possible that Rossman, Beth, and/or Rosenbaum physically took advantage of Lauren being so intoxicated and she wound up dead in the course of those criminal actions. I wouldn't consider that an accident.
Hope we learn the true story eventually.
Anyway, these are the guys believed to be the Persons of Interest (POIs) in the LE investigation.
David Rohn
Corey Rossman
Jesse Wolff (boyfriend)
Jay Rosenbaum
Jesse Wolff is not named in the Spierer's suit. Neither is David Rohn.
Mike Beth (not pictured) is, however, named in the suit. Beth is the guy who claims that he saw Lauren when she helped a drunk Rossman home. He says that Lauren had left when he came back from helping Rossman to bed.
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