Missing Donna Jou, 19 , San Diego State U Student 6/23/07

[IBE]

Whoa,

Did you see this sentence? "Witnesses said she passed out in a chair and died of an accidental overdose."

If there were witnesses then they should be charged also for doing nothing to help.. like call 911 and speaking up earlier! Hecky darn

So these "witnesses" did nothing????

If he acted alone, how can there be witnesses?

First IBE...I am so sorry and sorry for Donna's family. Your effort to find her has been unending. Second............THAT is the first thing that stood out to me! Peeps sat there when she died in a chair and did NOTHING? How many peeps?? Who the hell are they and where the hell are they now and where have they been all this time? Something is still amiss here. There is muchhhhh more to this, no doubt in my mind. This 'ain't' over yet 

Thank you, all you Good Monkeys.

Many people behind the scenes kept working on finding her.

Let's see... who was at the party? Probably his roommates from former Russian Countries. I understand some of them were there when Burgess left for FLA and left his dog go. (gee, nice roommates). Would think the FBI would talk to them back in their home countries... but then again, maybe they have expired VISAS and are still "visiting" somewhere in the US.

Then there is the past gf who was fixing up his house at least in the time frame of Sept. She was at the party and he'd call her from FLA.

He advertised as his home as being pot friendly. Party every other Saturday night, so I would guess there would be the "regulars"

IMO These witnesses should also be charged, put maybe they have been offered immunity.

What is it called when crack and heroin are mixed and put into a body with a needle?

I am now wondering if LE knew she was in the ocean or a harbor and that is why the LAPD was so decisive of not letting TES come in and search.

What about that picture of the bed and something wrapped in the Mexican type blanket, supposedly he posted on the internet June 26th

When a health psychic friend of mine did a reading he kept telling me she was in water, put in there while alive and the water has very manicured grass nearby.

Marina Del Ray and I think San Pedro marinas have areas like that.

Here's another thing to think about.. LAPD said the Coast Guard had been looking for her the last 2 weeks for Burgess said he weighted her down and threw her into the ocean; I think he said way out.

What would be left after almost 2 years? It's not a bay like the Lacie Petersen case, unless he threw her in harbor like San Pedro, Long Beach, Marina Del Rey and San Diego or other areas of Orange Counties.

Rumor had it that the text message came from a road that leads from the 405 to Laguna Beach. I read that somewhere because I remember a cell phone was faster to run down its location than a text message.

Something still doesn't feel right in this.

Ever wonder who would bid up to $800 for an itty bitty storage unit with 2 electric guitars, a refridge, some porno, all checked by LAPD?

Am still in a mixed mood on this. Happy there is progress but it means she won't be coming home.

Well, we lost another future Doctor, Natalie and Donna.

[MuffyBee]

March 19, 2009
Sex Offender Charged in Death of Donna Jou

Donna Jou Prosecutors in Los Angeles have charged 36-year-old John Steven Burgess, aka Sinjin Stevens, with multiple criminal counts in connection with the disappearance of Donna Jou, a 19-year-old resident of Rancho Santa Margarita, California, who went missing nearly two years ago.

On Tuesday, Burgess, a convicted sex offender, was charged with involuntary manslaughter, concealment of an accidental death and one count each of sale or transportation of heroin and sale or transportation of cocaine.

At the time of his arrest, Burgess was already serving a three-year prison term for failing to register as a sex offender. Those charges stem from a 2002 case, in which Burgess was convicted of performing a lewd act against a child.

"I believe [Donna] was at this party in the Palms area and she was inducing narcotics, and the cause of her death is most likely going be overdose," Detective Ron Ito, the lead investigator, said at a news conference.

The party in question occurred on June 23, 2007. On that afternoon, Donna was with her parents at their Rancho Santa Margarita home, when a man on a motorcycle picked her up and drove her to a residence in West Los Angeles. Later that night, Donna called a friend in San Diego and said that she was calling from a bathroom inside the house where the man had taken her.

"She said her friend was not there and that the guy who had picked her up was really freaking her out," Donna's father, Reza Jou, said in a July 2008, telephone interview with Investigation Discovery. "She said he was acting odd and would not get the hint that she was not interested in him. She did not ask for help, so I think she thought that the man would take her back home."

No one heard from Donna again until sometime after midnight, when her mother, Nili Jou, received a text message that read, "I WILL BE HOME SOON.  LOVE YOU MOMMY." Nili found the message odd because it was written in all caps, and "Mommy" was not a term her daughter would typically use. The next day, at about 6:08 p.m., Nili received a second text message from her daughter, which read, "I am in San Diego. I love you Mommy. I am coming home." That would prove to be the last contact ever made from Donna's phone. The following day, her parents called the police and reported their daughter missing.

When the police examined Donna's laptop, they discovered that she had been corresponding with Burgess, a man she had met on Craigslist - an Internet community for posting classified advertisements.

When police went to question Burgess, they were unable to locate him. He had moved out of his house and his roommates claimed to have no knowledge of his whereabouts. They did, however, say that Donna had been there on the night of June 23, but none of them had seen her since. 

John Steven Burgess On July 26, 2007, police in Jacksonville, Florida, arrested Burgess for possession of crack cocaine. Burgess remained behind bars in Florida until August 2006, when California had him extradited to appear in court for failing to register as a sex offender.  Following his arraignment, Burgess posted bail in the amount of $250,000 and was released from jail.  About this time, police named him as an official suspect in the disappearance of Donna Jou.  As a result, Burgess fled to Florida, where, approximately three weeks later, he was arrested for theft.

While Burgess was imprisoned in the county jail, Nili sat down with him for a face-to-face meeting.

"He told her he did not hurt Donna and that he had no reason to do so," Reza said.  "He said he was drunk [at the party] and did not know where she had gone."

Burgess remained in the county jail until Oct. 10, 2007, when he was sentenced to three years in state prison. Following the hearing, Burgess was transferred to Wasco State Prison, where he was scheduled to be released this weekend, after serving more than a year of his sentence. He is now being held on the latest charges in lieu of $1 million bail.

According to Ito, Burgess supplied Donna with heroin and cocaine at the June 2007 party. Ito said that investigators have witnesses who have informed them that Donna accidentally overdosed on the drugs and died inside the house.

When recently questioned by police, Burgess allegedly confessed to his involvement, telling them that he had rented a small boat; weighted Donna's body down, and dumped her somewhere off the coast of the Pacific Ocean.

Ito admits that finding Donna's remains is a "long shot," but said that authorities have not given up and will be reevaluate the search.

Meanwhile, Burgess has pled not guilty to the most recent charges. He is expected appear in court again on April 1, at which time the court will determine if there is enough evidence for the case to move to trial.

Even if the prosecution manages to get a conviction on each count, the maximum sentence that can be imposed is eight years.

The new revelations in the case have devastated Donna's parents, who were holding onto the shred up hope that their daughter might still be alive.

"It is so hard," Nili told reporters Tuesday. "All this time waiting and waiting and hoping, and now - it's hard, it's hard, it's hard - and Donna did not deserve this."

For more information, please visit: www.donnajou.com.
http://blogs.discovery.com/criminal_report/2009/03/donna-jou.html

[IBE]

From the above article:
When recently questioned by police, Burgess allegedly confessed to his involvement, telling them that he had rented a small boat; weighted Donna's body down, and dumped her somewhere off the coast of the Pacific Ocean.


Meanwhile, Burgess has pled not guilty to the most recent charges. He is expected appear in court again on April 1, at which time the court will determine if there is enough evidence for the case to move to trial.


How can he lead them to where he supposedly dumped the body and then at the same time plead not guilty.

Could someone please let me know what this means?

[MuffyBee]

IBE ~  I've been trying to look for and post any new news articles on Donna's case to try to gather information.  Some of it isn't making sense to me, and I don't know how good the sources are.  I hope to get some information that could give some clarity and shed light on some of the questions, such as one you posed earlier about  where the  boat  was rented and of course, the one you just posted about Burgess leading authorities to where he supposedly dumped the body and then pleaded not guilty.  Let's look at the latest charges:

1.  involuntary manslaughter
2. concealment of an accidental death
3. sale or transportation of heroin
4. sale or transportation of cocaine.

I don't think Burgess has to plead guilty to the charges.  I hope someone can explain how this works. 

[Hope07]

Hi,

Mixed feelings about Burgess being charged with this, as everyone has already stated.  SO SAD for Donna and her family!!!  I was holding out hope too that she would return home alive.

I think he pleaded "not guilty" - even though he (allegedly?) confessed to all of it - because if he pleaded "guilty", then there wouldn't be a trial.  He wants to come out with the best possible scenario he can.  If he only gets 8 years for all this, well, makes one's stomach turn.  I'm guessing the investigators told him "Look, do this, tell us that, and this is the deal we will give you."  So he made a deal and, if convicted and all goes "well," then he will get max 8 years, which is NOTHING.  He will be paroled in 2/3 of that time, right?  Wow, compared to getting the death penalty or life in prison, he is getting a sweet deal.  :/

Of course, he is going to say she was a willing participant in taking drugs.  He is going to say he didn't force the drugs on her; he didn't slip something into her drink; he is going to say she willingly took the heroine and cocaine.  To take heroine, is the only way to inject it into the body?  Or do people smoke heroine?  So were there needles at that party?  And those rubber things they tie around the upper arm to constrict the veins?  If heroine was injected into veins at the party, were they doing it in the living room, in open view, or in a closed bedroom?  What did the people at the party see?

And yes, the other people at the party when they saw Donna passed out on the chair, they probably should have done something.  But these are the same people who wanted money from the news media before they spoke with them, remember that?  I think they were from Bulgaria...?  I mean, being responsible, thoughtful, caring people probably wasn't high on their list of priorities.  They were paying a ton of money to live in that tiny crappy house, maybe here illegally, etc.  Without a care in the world.

So, did Burgess RENT a boat or did he take out his own boat, "Sinjin Sanctuary", I think it was called, the one his buddy, fellow sex offender, was renting from him?  If he rented a boat, there must be a money trail, maybe?  What did he weigh down Donna's body with, I wonder?  If it is cement or something like that, that certainly has not deteriorated in the past 2 years in the ocean, right?

SO SAD!!  That Burgess is a piece of work.  I'm glad MINIMALLY they got something on him. 

Prayers go out to Donna's family 

[Hope07]

Drove past that house on Faris Drive today and this thought came to me:

This guy is a liar, right?  He is a smooth-talking con man.  How does LE know he isn't lying now about this?  I hope LE has corroborating evidence...

If the truth is OTHER, such as, he sold her into (sex) slavery to make a profit, he would get with his lawyer and weigh the two stories:  How much time would he get if he tells X story, and how much time would he get for Y story? 

Does anyone know which is the worse offense?   Supplying drugs and there is a (concealed) death due to "accidental" overdose vs. (international) human trafficking for profit?

I just hope LE has corroborating evidence and they don't let this guy pull the wool over their eyes.  Eight years is nothing.

[Kermit]

He never rented a boat.
a. LAPD would have already had records of any boat rental during that time period.
b. There'd be a witness - boat rental guy/gal and he would not risk that.
c. He owned his own boat so why rent one and risk more
d. He made a phone call from her phone which pins down time/place of his whereabouts
e. Take the time witness's at the party said she left with Burgess, the time of the phone call and narrow down
   the areas that he would be able to travel too. Grid it out!
f. I do not believe that this highly educated/intelligent young girl went to this party and decided that she would take heroin while just calling her boyfriend in the bathroom because she was fearful. Her drink may have been drugged on purpose, but I doubt it was the girl making the decision. Therefore, it is pre-meditated murder.
Sexual predators plan, act out, feel guilt, blame the other person and then re-cylce again: plan, act out etc etc.
g. The likelihood that he sold her into sex slavery is probable. There is a reason TexasEquusearch and LAPD stopped looking for her. They have some kind of information which leads them to believe *something*.

[IBE]

Oh yes, good posts!

Was just thinking that since he was getting out of prison, that there was a high profile attorney with the family, with press coverage all over the US and world and that it would be convenient to "bring it in" at this moment.

Think I read somewhere that he appears in Court April 1 for the Judge to determine if there is enough evidence to bring him to trial.

Did he plea bargain?

Things just don't add up!

[IBE]

Hope07 said:

"And yes, the other people at the party when they saw Donna passed out on the chair, they probably should have done something.  But these are the same people who wanted money from the news media before they spoke with them, remember that?  I think they were from Bulgaria...?  I mean, being responsible, thoughtful, caring people probably wasn't high on their list of priorities.  They were paying a ton of money to live in that tiny crappy house, maybe here illegally, etc.  Without a care in the world."

Hope07 I put the blue color of you text. Why can't the Herald Examiner find them now? Any additional input seems to be needed.

[EverySunset]

Of course, he is going to say she was a willing participant in taking drugs.  He is going to say he didn't force the drugs on her; he didn't slip something into her drink; he is going to say she willingly took the heroine and cocaine.  To take heroine, is the only way to inject it into the body?  Or do people smoke heroine?  So were there needles at that party?  And those rubber things they tie around the upper arm to constrict the veins?  If heroine was injected into veins at the party, were they doing it in the living room, in open view, or in a closed bedroom?  What did the people at the party see? 

Hello Hope07,
Heroin can be injected, smoked, snorted and even ingested. I know some ecstasy pills are laced with heroin. Scary stuff & so sad. I am getting depressed thinking of her calling her friend & saying she was creeped out, then her worst nightmare came true. People saw her OD & die?! WTF?! That is disgusting. I am so sad & disturbed right now. I sure feel for her family, as well.

[IBE]

Was she wrapped in something and this is the picture supposedly posted by Burgess on June 26th? Can't someone check this out?


http://scaredmonkeys.net/index.php?topic=1337.100

Hey, witnesses at the party? How is Karma? Be careful if there is Karma.

Were you too bombed out to see her being afraid?? locking herself in the bathroom and making that call about the man had a different intent?

Court date is April 1 downtown Los Angeles. Be there to support Donna. Call, email your local TV stations and newspapers to cover it.

This is, if I am correct, where it will be ruled if there is enough evidence for a trail or has he already made a plea bargain?

Who is his high priced attorney?

[IBE]

Hope07 said:

"And yes, the other people at the party when they saw Donna passed out on the chair, they probably should have done something.  But these are the same people who wanted money from the news media before they spoke with them, remember that?  I think they were from Bulgaria...?  I mean, being responsible, thoughtful, caring people probably wasn't high on their list of priorities.  They were paying a ton of money to live in that tiny crappy house, maybe here illegally, etc.  Without a care in the world."

Hope07 I put the blue color of you text. Why can't the Herald Examiner find them now? Any additional input seems to be needed.

I meant The National Enquirer or the Globe? or ????

[IBE]

Don't forget the Nancy Grace, Greta, Dr. Phil and I even think Geraldo and Bill O'Rielly had info on about Donna

The LA stations didn't cover the announcement because the mom with the 8 children was bringing 2 of them home. KCAL9 had the org. LAPD interview that came on in the afternoon but the streaming video was cut short.

[Anna]

Speedballing?  Is that what you call using heroine with other drugs?

This is again the same wild claim as with Natalee Holloway.  Who disposes of an accidental overdoes?  That makes no sense.  Unless it was drugs given without the person participating willingly.

Too obvious there was foul play when a person goes to all that trouble to dispose of a body. 

[fatcatlurker]

Speedballing?  Is that what you call using heroine with other drugs?

This is again the same wild claim as with Natalee Holloway.  Who disposes of an accidental overdoes?  That makes no sense.  Unless it was drugs given without the person participating willingly.

Too obvious there was foul play when a person goes to all that trouble to dispose of a body. 

speedballing = heroin w/cocaine upper w/downer.

[fatcatlurker]

IBE - w/out bringing your whole post forward looks like trying to make a deal to me.  knows he's guilty and has the goods and wants to make a deal by leading to the body so as not to get the DP or strong sentence in conviction.

[IBE]

Still outstanding questions and areas:

OK, Burgess has admitted he gave her drugs and she overdosed and admitted of doing away with the body (can't remember the term)

Witnesses at the party and did nothing? We there others passed out there?

Donna's call when locked in the bathroom? What was the intent?

One news article said said he wrapped her in something and then threw her in the ocean

Again, he is supposedly posted this picture on the internet

http://scaredmonkeys.net/index.php?topic=1337.100

Who was the man and his partner who bid up to $800 on Burgess's tiny, tiny storage unit that had two guitars, some boxes of porno (so I am told), and a small refrigerator? for that amount of money you could buy several small refrigerators.

What about his boat in San Pedro Harbor? Wasn't it Skinny Puppy or a register sex offender that was renting it? Why would Burgess rent a boat when he already had one? Renting has a paper trail.

Where was the text message sent from?? Palms (West Los Angeles) near his home or somewhere near the 405 (San Diego Fwy) and the road leading through the wilderness area to Laguna Beach?

Another Monkey mentioned him taking the Toll Road in previous pages. Why? There are cameras all over the place.

Why were some of the trails in Malibu Creek State Park searched?

Is there anyone else in his past friendships who is missing?

Was money exchanged to help her disappear?

What a web we weave when we aim to deceive.

Something still smells.

As Hope07 mentioned. If he gets 8 yrs. he gets out in 2/3 time.

Will law enforcement stop working on the case if he says he is guilty? Oh, forgot, he admitted all the stuff, but says he is not guilty.

How can it be both ways?

[IBE]

Were there videos and photos involved?

[IBE]

Please pass this page along to TV, radio program directors and press.

http://scaredmonkeys.net/index.php?topic=1337.580 It's page 30 of this thread that has some background info on it.

[Bearlyhere]

Praying for Donna, her family, and those who care about her, especially IBE.

www.donnajou.com