Crime-Safety-Security
Newsletter
26 February 2008

Folklore and fables – from vampire and wolfman legends to tales of The Brothers’ Grimm – tell us of ogres, fiends, and monsters. Today we call them violent criminals. They’ve always plagued us and – as long as passions, madness, and evil exist – always will. Let’s blow away a predator's biggest advantage: the naïveté of the prey.

Scam-In: a clever lie to get you to open your door.

DARTMOUTH MURDERS
Two teenage boys, Robert Tulloch and James Parker, went to five homes planning to kill and rob people. After cutting the phone lines at the first home, one teen hid nearby as the other knocked at the door and claimed his car had broken down. But the homeowner had come to the door with a gun and frightened them away. ... At the second home, they posed as students doing an environmental study but the man who answered the door said he was too busy to participate. They then surveyed a third home, but lost their nerve on the way up the driveway. They targeted a fourth home but the residents weren't home. ... Their fifth target was the secluded home of Half and Suzanne Zantop, two professors well known for generously helping students. In the middle of a sleepy New England day a few miles from the Dartmouth campus, they let the boys in and were stabbed to death in a vicious frenzy.
Excerpted from The Boston Globe – 25 March, 05 April 2002

The endless variety of flimflam scams of male and/or female predators all have the same goal: getting into your home to rob or attack you. That’s why all your family members must always know and trust the person knocking at your door before you open it.

Always using a peephole is an easy habit to develop – and foolish to disregard. Keep a stepstool nearby for youngsters. See Door Reinforcement.

Question your visitor through your closed door (though some predators purposely mumble to entice you into opening the door to hear them better). An intercom is better. It lets you talk clearly with a visitor (or just listen) without opening your door. Find easy-to-install wireless intercoms at www.smarthome.com.

Additional intercom units throughout your home let you talk to visitors at your door from anywhere in your home. You can also talk to another family member in another room – say from a second story bedroom to the basement. See www.smarthome.com. Many other intercom models are there as well – some with cameras so you can also see who’s at your door, again from anywhere in your home.

Contact Us with your comments or questions for this newsletter.

Natalee Holloway – Date Rape Drugging Murder

NATALEE HOLLOWAY INVESTIGATION REOPENED
Hidden camera footage broadcast in the Netherlands showed Dutch student Joran Van der Sloot saying he was with Natalee Holloway when she collapsed on a beach in Aruba. He said he believed she was dead and asked a friend to dump her body in the sea. "She'll never be found," he said. Holloway, 18, vanished in May 2005. ... In the recordings, Van der Sloot said Holloway was drunk and that she began shaking and slumped down on the beach as the pair were making out. Suddenly she started shaking and then she didn't say anything. ... He said he panicked and tried but failed to revive her. He said that Holloway looked dead but that he could not be sure she was not still alive when the friend took her away. ... Holloway, of Mountain Brook AL, was last seen in public leaving a bar with Van der Sloot and two Surinamese brothers – Deepak and Satish Kalpoe – hours before she was due to go home.
Excerpted from TV’s America’s Most Wanted (amw.com) / Associated Press – 19 February 2008

Van der Sloot had probably spiked Natalee Holloway’s drink with a date-rape drug. That would explain why, when she “looked dead,” he wanted to dispose of her body rather than call for medical help – to hide his guilt.

While not “blaming the victim,” let’s learn lessons from the tragic loss of this precious young woman in order to help save other young women.

Ms. Holloway made a common mistake: drinking without a sober girlfriend nearby to protect her. Alcohol and drugs weakened 90 percent of date rape and other victims. Eat plenty of food while limiting drinks to one or two per hour. Go to parties with girlfriends, watch out for each other, and leave together – not with a new beau. At least one of you should be the "Sober Sister" to safeguard the others. See Date Rape.

Contact Us with your comments or questions for this newsletter.

Think about it: the above crimes likely never would’ve happened if those innocent victims had known what you’ve just learned in this newsletter.

LAURA'S STORY: EXPLOITED, HUMILIATED, SCARRED
Laura R. was molested as a 7-year-old – 22 years ago – by Gary George Vadnais, a chess coach for decades who taught hundreds of children. Police described Laura’s interviews: "The only way Laura, sitting on her mother's lap, would talk was if "she had a blanket over her head and face." ... "I was very confused. I knew what he did was wrong and I wanted it to stop, but I didn't want to lose a friend. I thought I was in trouble by just being there. I remember my mom in her grief saying, 'I told you kids about good touch and bad touch!!' I know there's no way she could blame herself for something so terrible, but for me those words meant I screwed up." ... She was later treated for depression: "I wanted to die." School staff caught her mutilating herself. Drugs and homelessness followed. "As far as the genital warts that I was given at age 7, I will have that for the rest of my life. It will make me prone to cervical cancer. ... Today she is married and has a good job but still attends group therapy. "I am not a vigilante, or always plotting to get back at him. I'm just trying to live my life and want to make people aware of what he did to me, and to make sure that people know and that kids are safe. That's all."
Excerpted from The Pioneer Press (MN) – 10 February 2008

See Molesters and Safeguarding Children.

Do you have any Crime-Safety-Security.com Newsletter Hall of Fame Award candidates for crime survivors, citizens, journalists, heroes, or cops? Contact Us

21 February 2008
Letter-to-the-Editor,
my step daughter was tortured for hours then killed ... in [city deleted]... i cant deal with this alone.... please help..
[survivor] CANADA

[I’ve deleted the name and city to protect the survivor’s privacy – ML]

survivor,
My heart goes out to you. You do not have to deal with this alone – many people want to help you. There are hundreds of support groups worldwide for the bereaved loved ones of murder victims. They’re experts at coping with grief – and recovering.

Of the handful listed below, some are located in the US, some in the UK, and one in Australia. But it doesn’t matter where you’re located. Contact any or all of them. They’ll be happy to help you from the other side of the globe – and also refer you to a group near you for face-to-face counseling. They’re very willing to help you.

• The National Center for Victims of Crime at (US) 800-394-2255.
• Victim Support at www.victimsupport.org.uk.
• Parents of Murdered Children (POMC) at www.pomc.com.
• Survivors of Homicide www.survivorsofhomicide.com.
• Witness Justice at www.witnessjustice.org.
• Michigan Victim Alliance at www.mivictims.org.
• Compassionate Friends at www.compassionatefriends.org.
• Enough Is Enough at www.enoughisenough.org.au.

Also see Crime Survivors - Overview of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and grieving the loss of a loved one to murder.

Please let me know if I can be of any further help.

Michael

Contact Us with any questions, comments, or requests. I’ll answer as many as possible in the next newsletter.

Contact Us for Michael Edward Loftus Sr to speak to your group.

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Pointing out a victim's possible missteps before she fell prey is not always a bad thing, according to Linda Fairstein, renowned author and former New York City sex crimes prosecutor. "If we can learn something from it, we can give her back some dignity," she says. "If we see what the risks are and what would prevent this from happening to someone else, then there's something that benefits the memory of that victim."
Excerpted from The New York Daily News – 24 August 2006

We’d be wise to learn from the little mistakes of victims. Usually, they didn’t know that predators are always hunting for carefree prey. As Dr. Anna Salter wrote in Predators, "Normal, healthy people distort reality to create a kinder, gentler world than really exists."

You don’t need a bulletproof vest, a bodyguard, or to sleep with one eye open – just a new attitude toward being S.A.F.E.:

Skeptical of anyone trying to get near you or trying to isolate you,
Aware of danger zones and escape strategies,
Flexible: being tricky, changing strategies as needed – and if worse comes to worst:
Exploding like a mad dog to fight for your life. Stun & run. See Fighting Options.

Whenever you’re tempted to be careless, ask yourself, "What could possibly happen?" The stories throughout this newsletter and web site show what could possibly happen – and how to avoid being easy prey.

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