I had been wondering about the rural angles on this story since it broke, and the child's mother and others interviewed for the story touches on several rural themes, including lack of anonymity, guns, religion, self-sufficiency, and a crummy economic landscape. Here is an excerpt from Solomon Moore's story:
Ms. Bloomfield had just returned from her latest visit when she got a call about the shooting and immediately returned to St. Johns, a windy hamlet of horse ranches, low-slung houses and double-wide trailers about 170 miles east-northeast of Phoenix. The largest buildings are a few churches and schools along the single main road, which has no stoplights.The town is elsewhere described as predominantly Mormon and Catholic. One resident, a substance abuse counselor at a health clinic in St. Johns, offers this description of the town's residents and culture: “People like their independence and freedom here *** It’s sort of the redneck ethic. A lot of people haul their own water and live off generators and candles out here. Back to the land.”
An earlier version of the story online had a lengthier description of St. Johns and included a statement from Ms. Bloomfield expressing "disgust" about the rumors regarding her son, mostly by residents who she believed were assuming his guilt. She said, "The town is too small * * * Everybody thinks they know what happened. They're saying all kinds of things about my son."
Bloomfield also said she was appalled to see her son in shackles, his hands bound to a security belt, while in court.
I, too, am appalled--not least that the 8-year-old has been charged as an adult. Surely the more important task at this point is a psychological evaluation and appropriate assistance for the boy. According to the St. Johns police chief, the boy had not experienced disciplinary problems at school or shown signs that he was troubled. “Our goal is to get him some help,” the chief was reported as saying in yesterday's story. Yet we also now know that the boy confessed to the killings while being interviewed without a lawyer or family member present. Even if the interview began as one in which he was considered a witness, it should have stopped immediately upon any hint that it was turning into a confession.
One can only hope that appropriate, highly specialized help--and legal assistance-- is made available to the boy in this rural corner of Arizona, where St. Johns is the county seat and only incorporated city in Apache County, population 69,423.
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Visit www.myspace.com/childshopeandvoice to read more about this case. Email childsvoicewithlove@yahoo.com to get the 99 pg and 200 pg DPS reports emailed to you. The results of the gun powder residue and bullet testing & more are included in the reports seemingly proving this child could not have been the perpetrator. If the child had been the shooter he would not have been able to accurately describe what a fictitious person would see coming from down the street looking toward the house finding TR 'laying there' and sounding apologetic to police during the interrogation when he described how he had to squeeze into the door saying "I tried not to hit him (TR's head with the door as he opened it enough to squeeze through) but I think I tapped it a little bit". A cold blooded killer would not have worried about such a detail but an innocent empathetic child seeking help would. Had he been the shooter he would have at some point, even if after 'he broke and confessed' described starting the episode from the 2nd story hallway, climbing down the stairs and commencing to shoot TR from the front entranceway (per placement of the spent shell casings). But, he never did. The two police officers are the ones who kept giving him the information to repeat and did not accept the numerous times he denied any wrongdoing but instead Commander Avila was the one who told the boy the gun was found on the dog cage and kept after him during questioning until he repeated that back to her. It's all in the reports. Now, how is anyone supposed to know the truth from false memories after such questioning AND being placed in solitary at the Juvenile Detention Center for about 4 mos with no grief counselor and not being allowed to discuss the events of that day or case with detention staff nor his own mother. Who knows what was told to the boy during those months. One of the two police officers (Det. Neckel) interrogating him was his own neighbor who went to his family's BBQs, who allowed him to play in her yard & pet her horse? She admits in court docs she and Commander Avila LIED to the boy. At one point, Avila asks him Why would Tim say that? (say the boy was the shooter) and Why would someone say they saw (the boy)? In the video, at that point, you see the boy look at his trusted neighbor/police officer for legitimacy. You can plainly see the boy's confusion. They are the ones who started to convince this boy that he did it. You only need to study the video, transcripts of the interrogation, and case to plainly see that. Why did the police fail to document the 'location' of the so-called murder weapon on the warrant/evidence log?
Visit www.myspace.com/childshopeandvoice to read more about this case. Email childsvoicewithlove@yahoo.com to get the 99 pg and 200 pg DPS reports emailed to you. The results of the gun powder residue and bullet testing & more are included in the reports seemingly proving this child could not have been the perpetrator. If the child had been the shooter he would not have been able to accurately describe what a fictitious person would see coming from down the street looking toward the house finding TR 'laying there' and sounding apologetic to police during the interrogation when he described how he had to squeeze into the door saying "I tried not to hit him (TR's head with the door as he opened it enough to squeeze through) but I think I tapped it a little bit". A cold blooded killer would not have worried about such a detail but an innocent empathetic child seeking help would. Had he been the shooter he would have at some point, even if after 'he broke and confessed' described starting the episode from the 2nd story hallway, climbing down the stairs and commencing to shoot TR from the front entranceway (per placement of the spent shell casings). But, he never did. The two police officers are the ones who kept giving him the information to repeat and did not accept the numerous times he denied any wrongdoing but instead Commander Avila was the one who told the boy the gun was found on the dog cage and kept after him during questioning until he repeated that back to her. It's all in the reports. Now, how is anyone supposed to know the truth from false memories after such questioning AND being placed in solitary at the Juvenile Detention Center for about 4 mos with no grief counselor and not being allowed to discuss the events of that day or case with detention staff nor his own mother. Who knows what was told to the boy during those months. One of the two police officers (Det. Neckel) interrogating him was his own neighbor who went to his family's BBQs, who allowed him to play in her yard & pet her horse? She admits in court docs she and Commander Avila LIED to the boy. At one point, Avila asks him Why would Tim say that? (say the boy was the shooter) and Why would someone say they saw (the boy)? In the video, at that point, you see the boy look at his trusted neighbor/police officer for legitimacy. You can plainly see the boy's confusion. They are the ones who started to convince this boy that he did it. You only need to study the video, transcripts of the interrogation, and case to plainly see that. Why did the police fail to document the 'location' of the so-called murder weapon on the warrant/evidence log?
Visit www.myspace.com/childshopeandvoice to read more about this case. Email childsvoicewithlove@yahoo.com to get the 99 pg and 200 pg DPS reports emailed to you. The results of the gun powder residue and bullet testing & more are included in the reports seemingly proving this child could not have been the perpetrator. If the child had been the shooter he would not have been able to accurately describe what a fictitious person would see coming from down the street looking toward the house finding TR 'laying there' and sounding apologetic to police during the interrogation when he described how he had to squeeze into the door saying "I tried not to hit him (TR's head with the door as he opened it enough to squeeze through) but I think I tapped it a little bit". A cold blooded killer would not have worried about such a detail but an innocent empathetic child seeking help would. Had he been the shooter he would have at some point, even if after 'he broke and confessed' described starting the episode from the 2nd story hallway, climbing down the stairs and commencing to shoot TR from the front entranceway (per placement of the spent shell casings). But, he never did. The two police officers are the ones who kept giving him the information to repeat and did not accept the numerous times he denied any wrongdoing but instead Commander Avila was the one who told the boy the gun was found on the dog cage and kept after him during questioning until he repeated that back to her. It's all in the reports. Now, how is anyone supposed to know the truth from false memories after such questioning AND being placed in solitary at the Juvenile Detention Center for about 4 mos with no grief counselor and not being allowed to discuss the events of that day or case with detention staff nor his own mother. Who knows what was told to the boy during those months. One of the two police officers (Det. Neckel) interrogating him was his own neighbor who went to his family's BBQs, who allowed him to play in her yard & pet her horse? She admits in court docs she and Commander Avila LIED to the boy. At one point, Avila asks him Why would Tim say that? (say the boy was the shooter) and Why would someone say they saw (the boy)? In the video, at that point, you see the boy look at his trusted neighbor/police officer for legitimacy. You can plainly see the boy's confusion. They are the ones who started to convince this boy that he did it. You only need to study the video, transcripts of the interrogation, and case to plainly see that. Why did the police fail to document the 'location' of the so-called murder weapon on the warrant/evidence log?
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