WARNING:  This is graphic and will make your blood boil.

The police have named Sergio Garcia a suspect, with several clear CCTV images of him.  He is innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.

Mr. Garcia should turn himself in before the neighbors catch him.  That's my best advice to him.  It's not going to end well.  I can't imagine how they will protect him in prison in California.

The A&E network is that digital true crime frenemy.

On the one hand, they do a lot of crime journalism that I don't find anywhere else.  They often get things done that nobody else does.  The problem is right in the name:  Arts & Entertainment.  True crime isn't a form of entertainment, or it shouldn't be.  Therein lies the issue.  We're using the wrong tool to address the crisis of violence against women: entertainment.

Frankly, whenever I see the "graphic content" warning, I bristle.  It always seems to me like the thing creepers use to determine whether they'll be turned on by the content or not.  And unfortunately A&E usually doesn't disappoint them, routinely including at least a few graphic photos of dead/mangled women.

I didn't see the above-linked program, The Killing Season, when it first aired.  I recently watched the whole thing back-to-back.  I have thoughts.

• I'm grateful that the filmmakers put in so much time and effort.  They truly invested themselves in humanizing a lot of disposable, disposed-of women.  They went to a lot of grimy, swampy, crime-infested places, and talked to a lot of people nobody cares about.  As a survivor it means a lot to me.
• It horrifies me how easy it is for anyone with mainstream media access to get a sit-down with the authorities in this country.  As a survivor of a cold case I can't always get detectives to return my phone calls -- a refrain you'll hear over and over from loved ones of murder victims in this series.  But these filmmakers, who have no skin in the game, can get meetings with all kinds of authority figures by the grace of A&E.   Because it's entertainment.   INFURIATING.
• The filmmakers -- and I bless them very much for their efforts -- are out of their depth. 
• This genre of "entertainment" exists because women's needs are not being met by the system itself.  I hear Josh, the male filmmaker, decrying over and over the "broken system."  It is absolutely not a broken system.  The system perfectly reflects the ethos of its designers, and the violence against women that they demand.
• On the one hand, I appreciate that they are willing to track down leads from the crowdsourcers at Websleuths.  On the other hand, there's a reason they don't start police officers with murders on their first investigations.  Street smarts are something people build up over time.  It's painful to watch the filmmakers being played, especially since they don't always seem to know it, even when they should be able to see it coming, even in hindsight.  But I applaud their courage and heart.
• The most cringeable part of the show is their German profiler, a former submarine crewman and current fiction author named Brendt.  He's prominently featured on multiple episodes and even in the intro, and says such laughable drivel that I won't even waste time quoting him.  How did this person make it into the final edits?  WTF?  Don't make me pull quotes.
• The thing is, some of the other people from Websleuths were worthwhile, like the two women with the topographical surveys in New Mexico.  And because they're affiliated with A&E, the crew was able to get access to the New Mexico Department of Geology to coordinate with them.  GOOD JOB! 
  
• New Mexico was where that whole series should have stopped and done some self-examination.  Because they accomplished some very good things.  And in that episode, they also exemplified all that hurts me about A&E.  They allowed the self-important German fantasist to say all sorts of silly things as though he were equally valid as the others, entirely skewing everything IMO.
  
• In the New Mexico portion of the above-linked video, they discuss the West Mesa killer.  This bold film crew took the time and effort to speak with multiple sex workers on the stroll and ask their opinions on the murders!  For that, I give them all the stars.  That's real journalism.  And the women said the same things over and over:  the cops were involved.  They gave the same name over and over, too.  As did the social service and NGO workers they spoke with, that one guy's name kept coming up.  They did some real investigative journalism in New Mexico.
  
• Another excellent thing they did in New Mexico was to work with a private detective and possibly get a confession, or at least an admission, on tape.  Another example of the system not being broken but functioning the way the powers that be want it to work.
  
• They spoke with another credible investigator who discussed a potential Mexican cartel connection. The dumps didn't match her scenario.  And being afraid to raise American law enforcement's attention? Yes and no.  I've seen pictures of the cartels arresting the police in Mexico.  They really don't care how many of their people get arrested here, if they're not already on the ABQ police force. Then again, they don't want to raise a lot of attention if they're on the police force.  Which defeats the purpose of sending a message, right?  If nobody finds the bodies?  But that investigator is still worth listening to, unlike Brendt who is so prominently featured.
  
• Based on what I know, ABQ/Gallup is a major human/drug trafficking thoroughfare anyway, no Mexican cartels needed.  Though they're by no means ruled out.  It's already a huge place for women to disappear, especially Native women.  And all of these women were in or near the local drug scene.  The West Mesa situation looks to me, after watching this investigation, more like a Jefferson Davis 8 situation involving local law enforcement and criminals working together with a nod from the FBI, like with Whitey Bulger.
  
• They spoke with a former police officer from New Mexico -- a woman with actual credentials, who I understand had been professionally vetted by Websleuths.  And the one and only point she made was that there are some very, very bad people in law enforcement.  That was what she tried to impress upon them.  They didn't have any follow-up questions.  They didn't seem to understand what she was trying to say.  They didn't ask her if she was saying that anyone in law enforcement might also work for a Mexican cartel.  They had the German guy, the former submariner with no credentials other than chain smoking on webcam, talk out his butt.  He rambled on and on about who would or wouldn't go out on the Mesa and dump a body where.  Those three people weren't presented as equally credible or valuable.  It wasn't a level playing field. There was much, much more of him.  He was presented as more credible than either of the two women with real-world knowledge, the guy who has no credentials and has probably never been to ABQ. It was a very false narrative in that way. That keeps the conversation firmly at the gibberish level in the mainstream American media.
  
• I don't know if the filmmakers truly lost the plot that hard or if A&E won't let them bite the hand that feeds it.  But this is why we're frenemies.  Because A&E will allow that sort of ridonkulous bullshit to go unchecked.  They don't insist on critical thinking in the final edit.  They allow for emotional baiting and other foolishness, because at the end of the day it's entertainment.
  
• This will be my last point on it, the most important one, and I'll leave you to consider the following.  Because I'm very grateful that they did this series.  And I'll need to rewatch the part about Oklahoma.  I think the part about Daytona is worthwhile and well-solved -- the bikers handle their business however they do.  But what got missed on the Mesa said it all for me.  This last point landed right on my heart.
  
• At one point Josh calls the police officer who was named over and over again as the possible West Mesa killer.  Many sex workers have said they were Holtzclawed by this guy, taken up to the Mesa and shaken down for sex.  Some say they had been taken up there, beaten up, and left up there to walk back to town. These are things police are known have done to harass people in other areas of the country.  None of these complaints, if verified, would be the first time this had happened in America. The filmmakers receive at least a dozen reports on this one person. 
  
• When contacted, the accused cop says that the ABQ police department told women that they were the ones killing and dumping sex workers on the Mesa, in order to keep them off the streets.  He goes on to say that all prostitutes accuse vice detectives, and it's par for the course and means nothing.  The crew accepts both of these explanations and moves on.  I wanted to smash the device I was watching it on.
  
• Again, I don't know if these two lack the street smarts to understand what just happened there, or were not allowed to bite the hand that gets them invited into every police chief's office.  But this is why we can't have nice things. 
  
• Josh, ask yourself.  Why him and not any other officers?  Why his name over and over?  Can you imagine a police agency telling people that they're murdering people and dumping bodies to deter crime?  That absolutely didn't happen.  JFC, man.  And no prosecutor followed up after hearing that phone call, go figure.  Because for sure public safety veterans know that that absolutely didn't happen.
  
• No matter how well these filmmakers may mean, there's always what I've now come to think of as "the Harvey factor."  It's the way movies always left me unsatisfied, and I really never went.  Because movies always have to suit the male gaze.  Harvey Weinstein always has to enjoy them, which makes me not enjoy them.  And you know what?  A&E makes sure that the creepers are always okay with their content, too.  They do.
  

In the old days, I used to waste my time trying to have reasonable conversations on Reddit.  And I once pointed out that I've never heard of a woman or women dragging a random man or boy into their car, sticking things up their butts, and murdering them.  Yet the reverse happens so often that it doesn't always make the news. And because Reddit is Reddit, someone sent me an anonymous link to "Reddit cares," a thing where you can get mental health resources, because I made that totally obvious point.  The suggestion being that I'm unhinged for noticing the rampant violence that men do against women and girls.

In yet another example of the same super-obvious point, a 13-year-old girl was allegedly abducted by an adult man in Texas, as reported in the video above.  After two days of being sexually assaulted and driven around, she found herself in my old neighborhood, Cambodiatown, in Long Beach, California.

This is a very high-crime area, where anything could have happened to her aside from the kidnapping.  But it's also an actual neighborhood, where people know each other.  We even know a lot of our local homeless people in the area.  There are some really good people there.  I'm so glad she was able to get helped.

What bothers me about this story is that yet again the same old magic eraser of police work was used.  She was listed as a runaway despite being forced into a car at gunpoint.  The girl was 13 years old, and the authorities still found a way to not look for her, to blame her and assign her full agency for her own plight at the hands of a grown man.

First of all, thank God this girl is okay.  I'm proud of the strength it took for her to survive that situation and get herself out of it.

ABC13:

"Sunday night, an 18-year-old girl started knocking on doors on Foxmont Lane looking for help, according to the Harris County Precinct 4 Constable's Office.

She told constables that she was tied up and held captive in a home on the street for a month by Macias and Reyes. The girl escaped her restraints when the couple left the home Sunday night and she sought help.

Authorities reported she had marks on her hands and legs.

A search warrant was executed at the home in question on Monday, and Precinct 4 said they found a chain with multiple padlocks in the bedroom. They said other items were found that supported the teen's story."

You can read the linked article for more details.  But the married couple is now charged in her abduction and sexual abuse for a period of one month while she was missing. 

COMPARE TO CARLEE RUSSELL

• This person did not walk back to her mother's house.  She ran door to door in desperation.
• She had visible marks of restraint.
• The ruse used to allegedly kidnap her actually makes sense.  She was well-known to the perpetrators, which is the usual way.  Carlee's "baby on highway" ruse sounds like it was made up by Frank and Charlie from It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia.
• The Texas survivor immediately cooperated with the police.
• She told them where she was held, and they were able to search the location and find evidence supporting her story.
• The police were able to find physical evidence supporting her story, both on her body and in the alleged kidnap location.
  
• She's not claiming they took naked pictures of her without any physical contact.  That is one of the most laughable pieces of horseshit Carlee Russell said.

I can't go on without impacting my mood.  Thank God this Texas woman is safe now.

I followed the Long Island Serial Killer case some years ago and am really glad they caught Rex Heuermann.  I believe they have the right person.

However, along the way, they discovered an incredibly dark web of corruption and violence against women, including a police chief, a doctor, all kinds of rich people.  And a lot of dead, low-income women.

But the thing that struck me about the above video is the gender divide in the comments.  A lot of men are going so far as to call it clickbait, that the voicemail isn't creepy at all. 

Even in hindsight they aren't willing to validate that Rex Heuermann -- described as looking like an ogre by one of Amber Costello's neighbors years ago -- creeped this girl out. 

This woman sidestepped an alleged serial killer, and the comment section is jam-packed with men in hard denial about it.  This is why we can't have nice things. 

I encourage you to scroll through the comment section and see how many men lack self-awareness at that level.  They can't look at the picture of him, and the picture of her, and immediately know why that phone call accurately creeped her out in real time.  They don't get why he shouldn't think he stands any chance with her at all, especially not after bringing up his sex crimes in work conversation.

In the conversation itself he all but admits it's a ruse to talk to her.  Guess what?  Guys make excuses to talk to her all day, every day.  I remember having a similar problem.  She's not confused about it.  Really sad, the percentage of men in the comments who lack the very first clue, even with the stack of evidence in that bail hearing.  They can't give her credit for having accurately read the tea leaves about it.

At first I was hopeful, along with most people, that this young woman would be found alive.  While her whereabouts were unknown I could only take a positive position on her behalf.

But as soon as she showed up back at her mother's house, I wanted her clapped into handcuffs like old Sherry Papini, for the same reason.   Allow me to list the things that set off my bullshit detector.

• No sign of any kidnapper either at the disappearance or return site.
• No sign of any toddler.
• She sees an infant in a diaper and can identify it as male?
• Most ridiculous "ruse."  Think about it.  You put an infant on the shoulder to lure a woman?  There was no missing infant reported.  So it's your infant.  How do you know the person who stops, if anyone, won't be an Alabama State Trooper?  In that case, you got some splaining to do and probably lose your baby.  Only the dumbest ruse in the world, virtually guaranteed to fail because if the baby's far enough off the road to not get hit, nobody even sees him in the dark at 65 mph in the first place.  Think about it.  DUH.
  
• After escaping from "brutal kidnappers" in some weakened condition two days later, she goes all the way back to her mother's front door.  How many police or fire stations, hospitals, or other such places did she pass between her "kidnap" location and her mother's house, and why?
• She's too traumatized to talk to the police or the press about it now that she's back.  And the money that was raised to find her isn't being refunded.

I'm working on being the kinder, gentler version of myself.

Like false rape accusers, people who do this sort of thing and gin up all this attention make life absolute hell for people like me, who struggle to have any voice at all. 

My friend Wendy Huggy was kidnapped at age 16 and murdered by an adult man with a history of violence against women.  The authorities found every possible way to blame Wendy and decline their responsibilities to her until it was far too late.  Throw Carlee Russell's ass in jail and make them give back all the money.  I'll leave it there.

ABC3340.com

The bail document for the accused Long Island Serial Killer, Rex Heuermann, can be found here.

I always like to review the public record whenever possible.  This one delivers the bottom line in the first paragraph, literally as soon as they stop listing victims:

"As described below, based on the serious, heinous nature of these serial murders, the planning and forethought that went into these crimes, the strength of the People’s case, the length of incarceration the defendant faces upon conviction, the extended period of time that this Defendant was able to avoid apprehension, his recent searches for sadistic materials, child pornography, images of the victims and their relatives, counter-surveillance conducted online as to the criminal investigation, his use of fictitious names, burner email and cellphone accounts, and his access to and history of possessing firearms, the only means to ensure Defendant Rex A. Heuermann’s return to court is to remand him without bail. "  [emphasis added]

This is one of those situations where I wish I could laugh at the story itself, just how hilarious he sounds with that narrative coming out of his mouth.

The police commissioner of Detroit, one of the people charged with cleaning up police corruption, was allegedly caught getting a blowjob in his truck.  Kudos to the Wayne County deputies who didn't honor his alleged request to "help [him] out."  Anyway listen to his story about it, but not with liquids in your mouth.

I'm not surprised that he didn't think he'd have to resign, after Andrew Mitchell recently got a walk on that murder charge.  However, the next day the board put out a statement that Ferguson would in fact step down.

I'm so glad they caught this guy and stopped his despicable abuse, using his money and privilege to prey on desperate girls.   It sounds like some of their families were okay with it, too. He's still listed on LinkedIn as a Certified Nursing Assistant as of this writing.

From DOJ:

CHICAGO — A Chicago man has been sentenced to 30 years in federal prison for enticing at least nine girls in the Philippines to produce sexually explicit photos and videos of themselves and send them to him.
KARL QUILTER, 58, pleaded guilty last year to a federal charge of sexual exploitation of children.  U.S. District Judge Virginia M. Kendall imposed the 30-year sentence after a hearing July 7, 2023, in federal court in Chicago.
Quilter admitted in a plea agreement that he communicated with the girls via Facebook, Viber, and Skype from 2017 to 2020.  Quilter referred to the minor victims as his “girlfriends” to manipulate and pressure them into sending specific types of photos and videos that he demanded.  Quilter also preyed on the victims’ financial difficulties, using money transfers to the victims’ families to entice the girls to take the sexually explicit images.  In a message to one 16-year-old victim in 2020, Quilter promised to send money to her family for medicine and food if she complied with his demands.  “If u do what I tell you… I will make sure u can buy food for 2 weeks and your medication,” Quilter said in the message.  “Think of your little sister that she can e[a]t for 2 weeks everyday 3 meals a day and u get well.”
Quilter traveled to the Philippines in 2017 and 2018 and explicitly referenced his plans to have sex with several of the minors when he next visited the country in December 2020.  Law enforcement arrested Quilter in Chicago in November 2020.
The sentence was announced by Morris Pasqual, Acting United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois, and Sean Fitzgerald, Special Agent-in-Charge of Homeland Security Investigations in Chicago.  The Chicago Police Department provided valuable assistance.
“Victim by victim, and message by message, defendant used social media and the internet to target and groom young Filipino girls,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Ashley A. Chung argued in the government’s sentencing memorandum.  “This was not a one-time aberration, but rather a years-long pattern of predatory abuse and exploitation of minors.”
If you believe you are a victim of sexual exploitation, you are encouraged to contact the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children by logging on to www.missingkids.com
or by calling 1-800-843-5678.  The service is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

Updated July 14, 2023

I criticize the police a lot.  So I also want to take a moment to speak up when they totally nail it, like in this situation.

This man was pulled over because of his erratic driving.

When Bert Lopez, another New Mexico state trooper, was caught having sex on the job, I remember not being able to get people to take that seriously, what a major issue that was for so many reasons.  That's probably why he was rehired by another department.  They're not worried about him out Holtzclawing in their part of New Mexico apparently.  They made him a detective!

But the easiest issue to understand:  while Bert Lopez was servicing his own sexual needs, he wasn't out there pulling over apparent drunk drivers.  This amazing guy was doing Bert's share of the workload -- and then some.  This was a truly amazing catch.

When pulled out of the vehicle, Jeremy Guthrie, 41, appeared highly intoxicated.  In the shotgun seat of his truck was a 12-year-old girl with whom he allegedly had an ongoing sexual relationship, as well as her sister.  One of them had a miscarriage allegedly by him. 

There were a total of six kids ranging in age from 12 to 14 in Guthrie's vehicle during this stop, as well as two open bottles of hard liquor.  When asked, he claimed they were his "friends" and that they were 18.

Guthrie is currently said to be texting one of the girls from jail via a guard's cell phone.

So kudos to this one state trooper, for not being a Bert Lopez, for getting out there and not tolerating the nonsense of someone like Jeremy Guthrie.  He got those six kids out of harm's way for real, God bless.