Lauren Spierer, 20, missing Indiana co-ed

[Jimbone]

The eyes usually tell the whole story about something in my experience... and in those pictures above, there's a hell of a story in Rossman and Rosenbaum.

[HairOfTheDog]

After 2 ¹⁄₂ years, 20 large "Missing" billboards for Lauren have been taken down, on direction of the mayor of Bloomington.

The male college 'friends' with whom she was partying around the time she vanished have denied any involvement and been otherwise tight-lipped, but they remain highly suspicious to many, including Lauren's parents.

On December 2^nd, attorneys for the Spierers and the 3 defendants named in their civil suit will appear before an Indianapolis judge to to determine whether the Spierers' suit against Corey Rossman, Michael Beth and Jason Rosenbaum will be thrown out. I think it will; don't think it'll go to trial. But, I do understand the Spierers' desire to keep the case alive and compel the men to answer questions - they are desperate parents in the worst possible situation.

The lawsuit claims that the three fellow Indiana University students gave Spierer alcohol and then failed to make sure the 20-year-old Westchester County, N.Y. native made it back to her Bloomington, Indiana apartment safely after a night of partying. Attorneys for the male students argue that there's no evidence that Lauren is dead, and that their clients had no responsiblity to escort and care for another adult that night.

[HairOfTheDog]

POSSIBLE NEW SUSPECT?

Lauren is still missing, 4 years later. No arrests have been made.


On Friday, 22-year-old Hannah Wilson ^ was reported missing from Indiana University, the same school attended by Lauren Spierer.

She had gone drinking with her friends at the Bloomington Hotel and then the group went to Kilroys (the same bar Lauren Spierer had been drinking at the night she disappeared).

Hannah's friends thought she was too drunk to join them inside the sports bar and Hannah got into a cab to go home. The friends reportedly heard Hannah give the cab driver her address. That's the last time she was seen alive.

On Friday night, Hannah's body was found about 10 miles from campus, in rural Brower County. RIP. She had been killed by blunt force trauma. Hannah was clothed and there were no signs of sexual assault.


Near Hannah's body a cell phone belonging to this winner ^ Daniel Messel, 49, was located.

Police obtained a search warrant and went to Messel's home where they say they found Messel carrying a plastic garbage bag that contained clothing. The documents said Messel had what appeared to be claw marks on his forearms.

Police found blood spatter on the driver's side of Messel's sport-utility vehicle and saw blood and a clump of long black hair on the console.

Authorities have not said how they believe Messel came into contact with Wilson, but Messel's stepfather told WTTV that his stepson had mentioned he'd met a woman named Hannah in recent weeks.

Messel was arrested Friday. He appeared in court today via video and was formally charged with murder. A judge entered a not guilty plea on his behalf and he was appointed a public defender. Messell reportedly has several arrests for violence against women.

WTTV reports detectives plan to examine Wilson and Spierer's cases for similarities.

Lauren's dead, of that I'm almost certain. I wonder if Messel killed her too.

[HairOfTheDog]

(^ No updates yet on whether police believe Hannah Wilson's killer, Daniel Messel, could be linked to Lauren's disappearance.)

Spierer Lawsuit Tossed on Appeal

A federal appeals court on Friday upheld a lower court's decision to dismiss a lawsuit the parents of a missing Indiana University student filed against two men who were with her the night she was last seen.

Lauren Spierer vanished in June 2011 after a night of partying with friends near the university's Bloomington campus. No criminal charges have been filed in the case and searches for her have been unsuccessful.

The lawsuit filed in 2013 by Spierer's parents, Robert and Charlene, alleged Jason Rosenbaum and Corey Rossman gave their 20-year-old daughter alcohol and didn't make sure she returned safely to her apartment, leading to her presumed death.

Rosenbaum and Rossman have denied any wrongdoing. The Spierers have long maintained the two haven't fully cooperated with investigators and hoped the lawsuit would force them to answer questions under oath. The suit initially included a third man, but a judge dismissed him from the suit shortly after it was filed.

"We have found no decisions under Indiana law where persons were held liable for the actions of their social peers, absent additional factors not present here," the 7^th Circuit Court of Appeals wrote in its decision.

"Because he was with Lauren the majority of the evening and bought drinks for her, Rossman was nearest to assuming a duty to care for her," the ruling said. "But he also appears to have been intoxicated--so much so that it is questionable whether he could effectively take care of himself, still less another person."

Charlene Spierer said her family is "disappointed with the decision (to dismiss the lawsuit) but not deterred." "We continue our search for answers and justice for Lauren," she said.

http://www.cbsnews.com/news/appeals-cour...r-lawsuit/
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I feel so badly for Lauren's parents and I too would like to hear Rossman and Rosenbaum answer questions under oath about the night Lauren went missing.

But, I think the judges got it right -- the friends Lauren was partying with that night were not legally responsible to care for her and get her home safely.

[Duchess]

But, I think the judges got it right

I do too. I don't think it's an adult's responsibility to be responsible for the actions of another adult. No way, no how. I don't expect anyone to be responsible for me and fuck all if I'm babysitting a grown man or woman.