Somer Renee Thompson #2 10/29/09 - 4/26/10

[Northern Rose]

Suspect in Florida murder case is arrested in Meridian

MERIDIAN, MS (WLBT) - A person of interest in a Florida kidnapping and murder is arrested in the Magnolia State Thursday.

24-year-old Jared Harrell was arrested in Meridian on 29 counts of possession of child pornography.

He is being held on a one-million dollar bond.

Authorities said, until recently, he lived in a home near the victim, Somer Thompson.

The seven-year-old girl vanished last October as she walked home from school. Her body was later found in a landfill some 50 miles away in Georgia.

Harrell has not been charged in Thompson's death.

http://www.wlbt.com/Global/story.asp?S=11974656

[Northern Rose]

Somer Thompson Case: Jarred Harrell Arrested, Person of Interest

<snipped>

Many child pornography images and some video were found on a computer and some CDs that Harrell used when he lived with some roommates next to Somer Thompson and her family. The computer held a file called 'Toddler Insertion' and that contained a lot of child pornography. It was discovered by the roommates and turned over to police last August, two months before Somer Thompson went missing.

http://www.nowpublic.com/world/somer-thompson-case-jarred-harrell-arrested-person-interest-2574374.html

[penny for your thoughts]

they searched a different empty house today it was not the same one as in the beginning?
"Investigators searched a separate, vacant home about a block away in the days after Somer's body was found. They collected evidence from the home and have been waiting for lab results to return."
http://www.news4jax.com/news/22535336/detail.html

[bananas]

Trinity__
 
Interesting tidbit-the Harrell guy has a record in MS for BOV. At some point, he "absconded from supervision". 12 minutes ago from web

http://twitter.com/_Trinity__

What is BOV?

[Northern Rose]

Neighbors "Have Remained on Edge" since Somer Thompson's Murder

After four months of waiting and wondering what the latest was in the Somer Thompson death investigation, some neighbors are confident that authorities got the suspect who fits the crime.
Mizelle says while some of her Orange Park neighbors have become complacent, most families have remained nervous, but vigilant since the day Somer disappeared.

"The kids, they're not kids anymore. They've lost a lot. And it's a shame that we had to see them lose some innocence."

Mizelle thinks it's time for stricter laws so people like Harrell are not allowed near children.

http://wokv.com/localnews/2010/02/neighbors-have-remained-on-edg.html

[bananas]

Neighbors "Have Remained on Edge" since Somer Thompson's Murder

After four months of waiting and wondering what the latest was in the Somer Thompson death investigation, some neighbors are confident that authorities got the suspect who fits the crime.
Mizelle says while some of her Orange Park neighbors have become complacent, most families have remained nervous, but vigilant since the day Somer disappeared.

"The kids, they're not kids anymore. They've lost a lot. And it's a shame that we had to see them lose some innocence."

Mizelle thinks it's time for stricter laws so people like Harrell are not allowed near children.

http://wokv.com/localnews/2010/02/neighbors-have-remained-on-edg.html

Now... that's what I'm talkin bout 

[seahorse]

Ohhhh, I see mymonkey.  Natalee's step-father is Jug Twitty and her father is Dave Holloway.   Thanks for letting us know about the interview.  Maybe I can find a transcript or a you-tube of it. 

Sorry,thats who I was talking about...reminder to self do not post while taking Nyquil....I feel awful. I have not had a cold in ten yrs

it may have been Dave and not Jug, I now think it was Dave Sorry

O.T. Jug has a brother named Jar.

                                                                                                         

[Missiontoconvict]

Local News      
Harrell First Appeared on Radar Screen Months Before Somer's Death
By
Rich Jones, News Director
@ February 12, 2010 4:26 AM Permalink | Comments (0)
We're learning more about the person of interest in Somer Thompson's murder.
Jarred Harrell first appeared on the radar screen in August, a few months before Somer was killed.

A police affidavit says Harrell was kicked out of a woman's apartment after stealing an Ipod.

According to the report, child pornography was discovered on a computer Harrell left behind and cops were notified.

But the state Attorney General's Cyber Crimes Unit did not finish processing the evidence until after Somer's death.

http://wokv.com/localnews/2010/02/harrell-first-appeared-on-rada.html

[no rose colored glasses]

Trinity__
 
Interesting tidbit-the Harrell guy has a record in MS for BOV. At some point, he "absconded from supervision". 12 minutes ago from web

http://twitter.com/_Trinity__

What is BOV?

Good morning, that is what I was going to ask 

[JessStar]

Trinity__
 
Interesting tidbit-the Harrell guy has a record in MS for BOV. At some point, he "absconded from supervision". 12 minutes ago from web

http://twitter.com/_Trinity__

What is BOV?

Good morning, that is what I was going to ask 

Typically it means Burglary of Vehicle

[no rose colored glasses]

Thank-you JessStar 

[trimmonthelake]

http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/diena-thompson-murdered-somer-thompson-mother-killer-die/story?id=9813969

Exclusive: Diena Thompson, Mother of Murdered Somer Thompson: 'I Want [Killer] to Die'
Mother's Heartbreaking Call for Answers Came Days Before Person of Interest Named in Child's Murder
By CHRIS CUOMO
Feb. 12, 2010
Diena Thompson, mother of murdered 7-year-old Somer Thompson, said she wants her daughter's killer "to die."
"Why? Give me your best excuse, your best reason as to why you had to do this," Thompson told ABC News in an exclusive interview that aired today on "Good Morning America." "I want them to die. I want them to get the death penalty. I have to be the voice for Somer."

The emotional interview took place just days before police named a former neighbor of the Thompson's a person of interest in the girl's death on Thursday. Jarred Harrell, 24, was arrested on 29 unrelated charges of possession of child pornography.

"We are also naming Harrell a person of interest in connection with the abduction and murder of Somer Thompson," Florida's Clay County Sheriff Rick Beseler said Thursday. Beseler would not comment further on Harrell's connection to Thompson, "as that would require I comment on evidence in an ongoing investigation," he said.

The term "person of interest" has no legal ramifications and police have not named Harrell as a suspect. Harrell's $1 million bond was likely due to the number of counts filed
Somer's body was found in a Georgia landfill two days after she went missing Oct. 19, 2009. The day she disappeared, the little girl was walking to her Jacksonville, Fla., home from school with her older sister Abby and twin brother Samuel. Somer was last seen in front of a vacant house on a block she walked every day.
Despite following up on thousands of leads since Somer's disappearance, police have yet to name a suspect in the case.

Thompson, however, is determined to find her daughter's killer and said she can't wait to meet him or her face to face.

"I feel like it'll give me some more closure because I still blame myself, you know? What if I did this?" she said. "And instead of looking in the mirror and blaming myself, I'm going to have a picture of someone else to blame. I want to see this person's face. I can't wait to meet him face to face."

Thompson said she wants to know everything about how her daughter died.

"I was there when she was born and I should know, how she left," she said. "Because I've built up so many scenarios in my head, that I honestly don't feel like anything they could tell me could be any worse than what I've already made up in my head."
Person of Interest Arrested on Unrelated Child Porn Charges

Harrell was arrested "without incident" on 29 unrelated counts of possession of child pornography in Meridian, Miss., police said.

According to arresting documents, a cluster of child pornography images and video was found on several CDs and a computer Harrell used when he lived with roommates at a home in Orange Park, Fla., in August. The computer, which had a filed called "Toddler Insertion," held "a large amount of child erotica and also child pornography," according to the documents.

The roommates, who discovered the files, turned the computer over to the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office on Aug. 10, two months before Thompson disappeared.

continued here.... http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/diena-thompson-murdered-somer-thompson-mother-killer-die/story?id=9813969&page=2

[trimmonthelake]

http://www.news4jax.com/news/22542514/detail.html
Search For Somer's Killer Leads To Mississippi
Person Of Interest Arrested; Deputies, FBI, FDLE Search Vacant Orange Park Home

POSTED: Friday, February 12, 2010
UPDATED: 9:50 am EST February 12, 2010
ORANGE PARK, Fla. -- Clay County Sheriff Rick Beseler said a 24-year-old man has been arrested on child pornography charges and been named a person of interest in the Somer Thompson case.

Beseler said Jarred Harrell has been charged with 29 counts of possession of child pornography that occurred in Clay County, and he was arrested Thursday by federal agents in Meridian, Miss., and is being held on $1 million bond
On Thursday afternoon, a search warrant was issued on a vacant house in the 1100 block of Gano Avenue near where Somer was last seen before she disappeared and was found killed in October. The 7-year-old's body was discovered three days later at a Georgia landfill. Beseler said Harrell previously lived at the home.

Beseler said other residences in Callahan and Lauderdale County, Miss., and a vehicle have also been searched in connection with the case.

According to documents released by the Clay County Sheriff's Office, Harrell possessed child pornography on his computer at a Wells Road apartment complex. Harrell was asked to move out of his residence in August after his roommates found out that he stole from them, according to an arrest warrant. He left the residence, leaving his computer and a box of CDs behind, according to the warrant.

[mymonkey]

http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/diena-thompson-murdered-somer-thompson-mother-killer-die/story?id=9813969

Exclusive: Diena Thompson, Mother of Murdered Somer Thompson: 'I Want [Killer] to Die'
Mother's Heartbreaking Call for Answers Came Days Before Person of Interest Named in Child's Murder
By CHRIS CUOMO
Feb. 12, 2010
Diena Thompson, mother of murdered 7-year-old Somer Thompson, said she wants her daughter's killer "to die."
"Why? Give me your best excuse, your best reason as to why you had to do this," Thompson told ABC News in an exclusive interview that aired today on "Good Morning America." "I want them to die. I want them to get the death penalty. I have to be the voice for Somer."

The emotional interview took place just days before police named a former neighbor of the Thompson's a person of interest in the girl's death on Thursday. Jarred Harrell, 24, was arrested on 29 unrelated charges of possession of child pornography.

"We are also naming Harrell a person of interest in connection with the abduction and murder of Somer Thompson," Florida's Clay County Sheriff Rick Beseler said Thursday. Beseler would not comment further on Harrell's connection to Thompson, "as that would require I comment on evidence in an ongoing investigation," he said.

The term "person of interest" has no legal ramifications and police have not named Harrell as a suspect. Harrell's $1 million bond was likely due to the number of counts filed
Somer's body was found in a Georgia landfill two days after she went missing Oct. 19, 2009. The day she disappeared, the little girl was walking to her Jacksonville, Fla., home from school with her older sister Abby and twin brother Samuel. Somer was last seen in front of a vacant house on a block she walked every day.
Despite following up on thousands of leads since Somer's disappearance, police have yet to name a suspect in the case.

Thompson, however, is determined to find her daughter's killer and said she can't wait to meet him or her face to face.

"I feel like it'll give me some more closure because I still blame myself, you know? What if I did this?" she said. "And instead of looking in the mirror and blaming myself, I'm going to have a picture of someone else to blame. I want to see this person's face. I can't wait to meet him face to face."

Thompson said she wants to know everything about how her daughter died.

"I was there when she was born and I should know, how she left," she said. "Because I've built up so many scenarios in my head, that I honestly don't feel like anything they could tell me could be any worse than what I've already made up in my head."
Person of Interest Arrested on Unrelated Child Porn Charges

Harrell was arrested "without incident" on 29 unrelated counts of possession of child pornography in Meridian, Miss., police said.

According to arresting documents, a cluster of child pornography images and video was found on several CDs and a computer Harrell used when he lived with roommates at a home in Orange Park, Fla., in August. The computer, which had a filed called "Toddler Insertion," held "a large amount of child erotica and also child pornography," according to the documents.

The roommates, who discovered the files, turned the computer over to the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office on Aug. 10, two months before Thompson disappeared.

continued here.... http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/diena-thompson-murdered-somer-thompson-mother-killer-die/story?id=9813969&page=2

Bless Diena and her family...maybe she will be the voice that we need for changes in the laws....she is a very determined women.

[no rose colored glasses]

http://jacksonville.com/news/metro/2010-02-12/story/man_of_interest_in_somer_thompson_slaying_to_appear_in_mississippi_court          A very interesting article.

[Brandi]

Man of interest in Somer Thompson slaying to appear in Mississippi court next week, their sheriff says
Jarred Harrell, being held on $1 million bond on child porn charges, must decide whether to waive or fight extradition
By Jim Schoettler
* Story updated at 10:13 AM on Friday, Feb. 12, 2010

A former Clay County man named by Sheriff Rick Beseler as a person of interest in the Oct. 19 Somer Thompson slaying will appear in a Mississippi court next week to be arraigned on child-pornography charges, authorities said.

Jarred Mitchell Harrell, 24, will have to decide whether to waive or fight extradition back to Clay County to face accusations that he had more than two dozen pornographic images of young girls on his computer found by roommates in Orange Park.

Harrell was arrested on Thursday while living in Meridian, Miss., and is being held on $1 million bail at the Lauderdale County Detention Facility. Lauderdale County Sheriff Billy Sollie told the Times-Union this morning that Harrell would have appeared in court this morning, but heavy snow has caused county offices and much of the rest of the city to close.

Courts are expected to reopen Tuesday after the President's Day holiday, Sollie said.

Sollie said Harrell is being kept in an isolation cell because he's being held on federal warrants. Sollie also said Harrell is being monitored frequently, but he's not under a suicide watch.

If Harrell waives extradition, he will be returned quickly to Clay County to face the 29 counts of child pornography. If he fights, a process will begin to make sure he is properly identified and is the person wanted on the pornography warrants. Once that is confirmed, a governor's warrant will then be issued allowing authorities to bring him to Clay.

Sollie said Harrell has yet to retain an attorney. He also said Harrell, whose been living in Meridian for less than a few months, has no criminal record in the city. Florida records show he had one arrest in 2007 when Jacksonville police charged him with possession of less than 20 grams of marijuana. He entered a deferred prosecution program and doesn't have a conviction on his record.

FBI agents arrested Harrell at a Meridian home without incident and turned him over to the Lauderdale County Sheriff's Office. The county of about 80,000 people is in eastern Mississippi.

The arrest warrant on the child-pornography charges said Harrell worked for a Mississippi recycling company at the time of his arrest. He is listed as 6-foot-2 and 250 pounds.

A Middleburg woman whose daughter was a one-time roommate of Harrell and who said she has known him and his family for years described him as a recluse who enjoyed playing computer games.

Lisa Buchanan said Harrell spent at least some time alone in his mother’s home at 1152 Gano Ave. at the time of Somer’s disappearance.

The home, which is a block from where 7-year-old Somer was last seen and along her route home from Grove Park Elementary School, was searched Thursday by Clay deputies and FBI agents. Authorities also served related search warrants at homes in Callahan and Mississippi, as well as a car in Mississippi, Beseler said.

Buchanan, 45, said Harrell had previously been living with her daughter in an apartment on Wells Road. But she said Harrell was kicked out in August for stealing an iPod.

She said her daughter then found child pornography, with girls as young as 6, on a computer and computer discs Harrell left behind. Harrell’s arrest docket provides graphic details of those images and movies.

Buchanan and her 46-year-old husband, Rod, said they went with their daughter to turn over the materials to police in August. Those materials were in turn given to the state attorney general’s Cyber Crimes Unit.

It remains unclear why those materials were not processed until after Somer's death.

Long article, more at: http://jacksonville.com/news/metro/2010-02-12/story/man_of_interest_in_somer_thompson_slaying_to_appear_in_mississippi_court

[no rose colored glasses]

Would love to know why, it remains unclear why those materials were not processed until after Somer's death. 

[Brandi]

Would love to know why, it remains unclear why those materials were not processed until after Somer's death. 

Is there some backlog of processing for child porn?!

Also, interesting that the roommate was female and her parents went with her to turn Harrell's computer and disks over to LE.

Also interesting that Harrell was reportedly living in the 1152 Gano house after his parentls moved out. Sounds like he was camping out at an abandoned house at the time of the murder. Didn't LE go door-to-door on this block talking to residents and wouldn't they notice that this address was vacant, and wouldn't that raise a red flag?

Just thinking out loud. I am still waking up.

[no rose colored glasses]

Would love to know why, it remains unclear why those materials were not processed until after Somer's death. 

Is there some backlog of processing for child porn?!

Also, interesting that the roommate was female and her parents went with her to turn Harrell's computer and disks over to LE.

Also interesting that Harrell was reportedly living in the 1152 Gano house after his parentls moved out. Sounds like he was camping out at an abandoned house at the time of the murder. Didn't LE go door-to-door on this block talking to residents and wouldn't they notice that this address was vacant, and wouldn't that raise a red flag?

Just thinking out loud. I am still waking up.

You would think that the child porn would be a priority, but I have no idea.    I just saw this on WS, like to know what you all think.  This is a video, at the 1:29 mark a guy in a brown jacket at the vigil. At the 3:36 mark a guy with a whit tee shirt. I don't think that is the perp in the white tee shirt, but it sure looks like the perp to me in the brown jacket.

[Brandi]

Would love to know why, it remains unclear why those materials were not processed until after Somer's death. 

Is there some backlog of processing for child porn?!

Also, interesting that the roommate was female and her parents went with her to turn Harrell's computer and disks over to LE.

Also interesting that Harrell was reportedly living in the 1152 Gano house after his parentls moved out. Sounds like he was camping out at an abandoned house at the time of the murder. Didn't LE go door-to-door on this block talking to residents and wouldn't they notice that this address was vacant, and wouldn't that raise a red flag?

Just thinking out loud. I am still waking up.

You would think that the child porn would be a priority, but I have no idea.    I just saw this on WS, like to know what you all think.  This is a video, at the 1:29 mark a guy in a brown jacket at the vigil. At the 3:36 mark a guy with a whit tee shirt. I don't think that is the perp in the white tee shirt, but it sure looks like the perp to me in the brown jacket.

Do you have a link to this video?