THE VPT JUNK DRAWER. The thread you need when you don't.

[David]

So hands up.

Who thinks the mother did it and not some random African?

On what grounds? Kind of seems a bit tasteless to speculate about this stuff when there's a grieving family involved.

[stui magpie]

Yeah, lets all just assume the random African did it.

[David]

I don't think we need to assume anything. Why not just admit that we have NFI what happened? It's a tragedy either way.

After what happened to Lindy Chamberlain, I just have a bit of an aversion to people conducting trials of grieving parents by imagination.

[stui magpie]

It's called having an opinion, uninformed as it may be. Yours is no comment, fairy nuff.

[swoop42]

It's called having an opinion, uninformed as it may be. Yours is no comment, fairy nuff.

Has David failed to grasp this very topic of conversation would be being discussed right now in the living rooms of Australia and by extension on this bulletin board.

For me this is in essence what social media is and why I don't like the notion of censorship, criminal liability or the professionally outraged that can be a by product of it's use.

As for my opinion well decades of life and seeing similar instances being blamed on some mysterious stranger only for a parent to end up being exposed as the real killer.

[David]

Unless it's not 100% clear, I'm just sharing my own opinion, not speaking as a moderator or anything. I just wonder what it's like to spend a couple of days going "I bet the mum did it" and then later realise you were accusing an innocent, genuinely grieving woman. I've seen this stuff before on social media plenty of times (e.g. people making observations about how 'shifty' Jill Meagher's husband looked, etc.), and there does seem to be something inhuman about it. Just so you can say "I knew it all along" if it turns out they did do it.

[stui magpie]

Who said we were accusing the mum? No one is calling for the lynch mob or clamouring for her arrest, it's simple conjecture. based on what information that is available, what do you think happened?

I think it's more likely the mother did it than some random bloke grabbed the kid, ran off and threw her into the creek.

If you don't like conjecture, don't engage in the discussion.

[swoop42]

If it's not the mother who killed her then it'll be another relative IMO and she's involved in trying to cover it up.

Whether or not she done that under threats of violence could be the mitigating factor in her favour.

[luvdids]

With paramedics at the house the week prior, as the little one had had a seizure caused by lack of oxygen, then cause of death comes out as asphyxiation.... I'm drawing my own conclusion. Hope to be proved wrong, not right.

[Pies4shaw]

Unless it's not 100% clear, I'm just sharing my own opinion, not speaking as a moderator or anything. I just wonder what it's like to spend a couple of days going "I bet the mum did it" and then later realise you were accusing an innocent, genuinely grieving woman. I've seen this stuff before on social media plenty of times (e.g. people making observations about how 'shifty' Jill Meagher's husband looked, etc.), and there does seem to be something inhuman about it. Just so you can say "I knew it all along" if it turns out they did do it.

One should, of course, be very careful to avoid inappropriate speculation. It is, however, clear that the police press releases have been more than usually circumspect about this matter. It's the repeated use of "alleges" and similar in connection with the mother's description of events that probably creates the scope for such speculation.

Compare these:

"She told us that the child was taken by a young, homeless man of African appearance who wore no shoes."

"She told us that the child was taken by a young, homeless man of African appearance who wore no shoes."

It doesn't take much of a change of emphasis for the story to be given an entirely different complexion.

[luvdids]

http://www.9news.com.au/national/2016/0 ... -month-old

Haven't said who it is, but her mother is 22 years old...

Doesn't appear it was 'the random African' after all.

Wonder if this will stir up any sort of anger from the African community? I can imagine they'd be fairly p***ed at someone killing a child and saying "a drunk black African man did it"..

tsk tsk tsk

[stui magpie]

The mother has been charged.

http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/law-or ... 7ad14e4a3b

7 news just showed CCTV footage showing her walking into the park with the kid in a stroller, then a few minutes later walking back out with an empty stroller. No running, no panic, just walking along.

In hindsight the first part of her story that just didn't gel was a 22 year old leaving the house without their mobile phone.

I guess that ends the conjecture. Not a happy ending by any means, a kid is dead and the mother's been charged, nothing to feel good about.

[stui magpie]

I just realised after I saw the CCTV footage again, I know exactly where that spot is. Liberty Parade in Heidelberg. I drive right through there whenever I go to Northland or Preston Bunnings.

[5150]

CSI VPT.

[stui magpie]

And to cap things off, what would be the last thing you'd want in a situation like this?

The mother photographed hiding her face in the back of a Police car by holding up the Quran.

Great.