Jenise Wright-Missing/Found Dead

[Cheyne]

A 6-year old girl, Jenise Wright is missing in Washington.

Jenise Paulette Wright was last seen by family members around 10 p.m. when she went to bed at her home in the 1400 block of Northeast Steele Creek Drive in East Bremerton. The girl lives with her parents and six siblings in a mobile home park. Two of those siblings are adults.

According to her family, Jenise has left their home on previous occasions and wandered around the neighborhood with siblings or friends, but checks in every few hours. When the family awakened Sunday morning and she wasn’t in the house, they assumed she was somewhere in the neighborhood.

“She is a social butterfly, she’s the youngest, she's a spoiled little brat, and she’s the princess of the household and she gets her way most times than the others and the older ones can’t stand it," said the girl's father, Jim Wright.

Police said the family became concerned when they hadn’t heard from Jenise by 8:30 p.m. Jim Wright said when she didn't show up for dinner, he organized a search and began going door to door in the mobile home park. When they couldn’t find her, they called 911 at 9:55 p.m. on Sunday, call records show.

Read More

This one stinks to high heaven. Jenise was last seen by her parents at 10 pm on Saturday and they waited until 10 pm on Sunday to report her missing? Their excuse is that she wanders the neighborhood with siblings or friends. Who in their right mind allows their 6-year-old to wander the neighborhood for hours at a time? Even if they were OK with this, why did they wait until 10 pm to call police?

[Cheyne]

Two siblings of Jenise Wright have been removed from the home by CPS.

Deputies and volunteers searched Monday for a 6-year-old girl who disappeared from her Washington home and wasn't reported missing for a day, while state child welfare workers removed two other children from the residence.

Child Protective Services took an 8-year-old boy and 12-year-old girl from the home Monday morning, Kitsap County Deputy Scott Wilson said.

Read more

The article goes on to say that there are 80 searchers including 2 tracking dogs and a cadaver dog searching for Jenise.

With 24 hours for Jenise to wander, a predator to pick her up and move her or her murderer to hide her body, it may be tough for LE to find her.

[Duchess]

Jesus. I first read that as 16 not 6. Their parenting sucks!

[HairOfTheDog]

A 6-year old girl, Jenise Wright is missing in Washington.

“She is a social butterfly, she’s the youngest, she's a spoiled little brat, and she’s the princess of the household and she gets her way most times than the others and the older ones can’t stand it," said the girl's father, Jim Wright.

This one stinks to high heaven. Jenise was last seen by her parents at 10 pm on Saturday and they waited until 10 pm on Sunday to report her missing? Their excuse is that she wanders the neighborhood with siblings or friends. Who in their right mind allows their 6-year-old to wander the neighborhood for hours at a time? Even if they were OK with this, why did they wait until 10 pm to call police?

The way the father described his missing 6 year old is concerning to me. And, waiting a full day to report her missing is even more concerning.

I hope this little girl is found safe, but won't be too surprised if she was never missing and instead met with foul play in her own home.

Jenise Paulette Wright is a mixed race of Caucasian and Filipino. She is 3 feet tall, 45 pounds with brown eyes and black hair. Anyone with information about the girl’s location is asked to contact the Sheriff’s Office via the Kitsap County Central Communications at 360-308-5400.

LE should be able to interview the 8 year old and 12 year old siblings who were removed from the home by Child Services. Hopefully, the siblings have some information that can help investigators.

The article also indicates that a 16 year old brother lives at the mobile home, but that he is currently out of the area. Wonder if he left the area before or after Jenise went missing. I'm sure investigators would like to speak with him, if they haven't already.

Hoping for the best.

[HairOfTheDog]

Damn.


RIP Jenise Wright

A body has been found in the search for Jenise Wright, a missing 6-year-old Washington girl, officials announced Thursday.

Investigators say they discovered what appears to be the body of a child in the vicinity of the mobile home park where Jenise lived, but they have not yet identified the remains.

Jenise disappeared from her home at the Steel Creek Mobile Home Park in Bremerton over the weekend. She last seen by her family Saturday night when she went to bed. Her parents reported her missing Sunday night. They reportedly told authorities that the 6-year-old has left the home on previous occasions and that they initially assumed she was somewhere nearby.

On Monday, an 8-year-old boy and a 12-year-old girl were removed from the couple's home by Child Protective Services.

Court records show Jenise's father, James Wright, was charged more than a decade ago with molesting two girls, ages 8 and 15. He pleaded guilty in Whatcom County Superior Court in December 2001 to a misdemeanor assault charge related to the older girl. It was not immediately clear why the molestation charges were dropped.

Authorities have said they were not focusing on James Wright's criminal record in connection with the investigation into Jenise's disappearance. Kitsap County Sheriff's Deputy Scott Wilson has said Jenise's parents have been cooperating with law enforcement.

According to CBS affiliate KIRO, the missing 6-year-old's parents agreed to take FBI-administered polygraph tests Monday night. The results of those tests have not been released.

No criminal charges have been filed in connection with Jenise's disappearance.

http://www.cbsnews.com/news/remains-foun...on-girl-6/

[ramseycat]

Aw shit. I'm so tired of these stories.

[HairOfTheDog]

Aw shit. I'm so tired of these stories.

I know what you mean. It sucks that this shit is always happening.

At least a body was found quickly in this case. Though that doesn't make it any less sad, it does allow a much greater possibility for physical evidence to be gathered from her body and used to prosecute the SOB who killed Jenise.

LE has just confirmed:

-- The autopsy will be complete tomorrow and the body will be formally identified at that time.

-- Jenise didn't wander off and have an accident that caused her death; this is a criminal investigation.

-- Canines led searchers to Jenise's body, in the woods adjacent to her family's mobile home.

-- The FBI and a large task force of multi-agency LE are involved in the investigation.

[Cheyne]

What kind of woman marries a man and has a kid with him when he's a convicted pedophile?

I'm sorry to say that I think Daddy Dearest had something to do with Jenise's murder.

RIP Jenise.

[ramseycat]

The father said Jenise was spoiled and always got what she wanted. The older kids didn't like that. I wonder if one of them killed her.

[sally]

Yeah, something about referring to your 6 year old as a social butterfly whom you allow to roam around the neighborhood unsupervised all hours of the night sends up a red flag.

[Cheyne]

A little more on Jim Wright:

According to court records, the girl's father was charged with first-degree child molestation in February 2000, accused of molesting an 8-year-old girl following a New Year's Eve celebration. The girl told a detective and case worker that he inappropriately touched her, according to court documents.

More than a year later, in June 2001, the charges were amended to include third-degree child molestation after a 15-year-old girl who was babysitting the girl during New Year's Eve 2000 said that Wright touched her breasts and put his hands down her pants, according to court documents.

A judge in Whatcom County Superior Court sentenced Wright to a year in jail but suspended the entire jail time provided he followed certain conditions, including paying fees.

Read more

I noted the "social butterfly" comment too. The one that bothers me is the "spoiled little brat" comment. Who calls their daughter a "spoiled little brat" when the kid has been missing for 3 days?

[ramseycat]

A 17 year old boy from the trailer park was arrested for her rape and murder. Maybe if her fucking parents watched her, little Jenise wouldn't be dead. This case just pisses me off because I blame the parents as much as the perp.

[HairOfTheDog]

LE was really on the ball in this case; relieved that an arrest has been made so quickly.

When Jenise was first reported missing, LE started collecting DNA from all of the residences of the mobile home park. That was very smart, IMO. Anyone who refused to give a voluntary sample would have looked suspicious and the samples collected could be extremely helpful once the body was found. Even if the killer had attempted to leave the area before a body was found, LE would already have his/her DNA.

The suspect did not attempt to leave the area in this case. He is a neighbor of the Wright family. He probably knew Jenise and her siblings. He raped Jenise; hope he's charged as an adult.

Snip:
Authorities have arrested a 17-year-old boy in the death of 6-year-old Bremerton girl Jenise Wright.

The teenager, who was not named, will be booked on investigation of second-degree murder, first-degree manslaughter and child rape, said detective Lt. Earl Smith of the Kitsap County Sheriff’s Office during an afternoon press conference Saturday.

Smith said the suspect was arrested earlier in the day after the Washington State Patrol crime lab produced forensic evidence linking the teenager to Wright.

Part of the investigation has focused on the collection of DNA samples, and authorities have said every person in the 103-unit community has complied voluntarily with the request for DNA samples. The Washington State Patrol was supporting the investigation by staffing its crime lab 24 hours a day until the samples could be processed.

Full story: http://blogs.seattletimes.com/today/2014...se-wright/

[HairOfTheDog]

I blame the rapist/killer completely.

But, I do agree that 6 years-old is too young to be running around freely and go unreported as missing for a full day, even in what's been described as a small tight-knit community. It could be that the Wrights' parenting led to Jenise being targeted because she was seen as easy prey by an opportunistic predator.

The parents are asking for their 8 year-old and 12 year-old children, who were removed by Children's Services early this week, to be returned home now that a suspect is in custody.

The suspect is being held at Kitsap County Juvenile Detention Center. He will appear in court on Monday; I expect the case to be kicked up to adult court at that time given the nature of the crimes.

The governor of Washington state suspended the death penalty back in February. Even if the state doesn't overturn the death penalty altogether, the suspect is not eligible for a capital sentence in any US state under Federal law because he's below the age of 18.

Police are interviewing the suspect and say that they cannot positively eliminate the possibility that nobody else was involved. I hope the teen in custody is spilling his guts and gives up all of the details. If he's the only perpetrator and/or confesses to killing Jenise intentionally, maybe the second degree murder charge (implies no intent to kill) will be upped to first degree murder.

The Latest: http://www.kitsapsun.com/news/suspect-ar...g_05591425

[FAHQTOO]

I had her dad pegged as guilty.

They're both shit (the parents). They should both be tried for child abuse, neglect and endangerment. I've read where police and CPS have been called on them numerous times. <<I don't know if that's been brought up yet or not, I haven't read the whole thread.

[HairOfTheDog]

I knew the dad had been accused of molesting his step-kids back in 2000 and the charges were dropped. He pleaded to assault on the older of the two girls.

But, I haven't seen anything about cops and CPS being called on he and his wife (Jenise's mom) Denise, FAHQTOO.

I wonder if the Wrights will regain residential custody of their other kids, as they're requesting.

ETA: Photo -- Denise and James Wright:

[HairOfTheDog]

Hearing and Potential Suspect

The hearing for the suspect is set for 3 p.m. today, PST.

A couple of news articles this morning had poster comments which point out the ID of the suspect (he's not yet been IDd in mainstream media or by LE).

I think the unconfirmed ID is legit and I'm posting the link to his Instagram page here because his social media accounts will probably all be closed after today's hearing.

(HOTD edit: deleted link -- not confirmed)

If this is the kid, it's pretty shocking. He seems to have a lot of friends, good parents, star athlete, headed to college. Did he have an accomplice? Hopefully LE has the answer to that question now.

[Duchess]

HOTD edit: deleted link

Wow! In terms of teenagers he's got it all! He's not like so many of the others we read about in the crime forum. He didn't need to do that to a child, he had all kinds of girls his own age around him. I hate this shit :(

[sally]

That's crazy if that's really him. He's the poster child for the wholesome all American teenager.

[HairOfTheDog]

That's crazy if that's really him. He's the poster child for the wholesome all American teenager.

He's not what I expected either -- definitely not a loner, apparently not from an abusive household, very active with boys and girls his own age... I can see how the community is surprised that this particular kid is the one.

He attended the vigil for Jenise on Friday.



Later, when he was arrested, police seized three vehicles from the home he lives in with his parents; it's right around the corner from the Wright's home.

I figured whoever killed Jenise was a local and that they killed her near where she was found, in the muddy ditch about 100 feet from the perimeter of the mobile park home. But, maybe she was killed elsewhere and transported there?

Anyway, since the suspect has been named by a couple of media sources in the last hour, I'll post his name and pic here.


^ The suspect is Gabe Gaeta, 17 (HOTD edit: pic deleted).

Gaeta just graduated from high school where he was a wrestler and field runner (he must be a classmate of Jenise's 16 year old brother?).