Missing and Murdered Children

The Sarah Lunde Train Wreck

Sarah Lunde's mother was a single parent with a partying type of lifestyle which pretty much left Sarah out of her life. Her mother's lifestyle put her in the position to be raising herself. Sarah's mother hooked up with David Onstott for a period of time and exposed Sarah to him.

I don't know if Sarah's mother knew of David Onstott's status as a sex offender before she dated him. I would like to believe that she did not know of his sex offender status and when she found out that status it was the motivating factor to break off the relationship with him. Out of concern for her daughter. Out of concern for herself.

I am thinking most likely this was not the case because when Sarah vanished from the home in the middle of the night the mother did not report her disappearance until 24 hours later.

Apparently David had come by the home during that night while Sarah's mother was "gone for the weekend". Sarah was there, David came in, they got into an argument and he strangled Sarah. To be fair to Sarah's mother, Sarah was supposed to be at a church camp for the weekend. Sarah's mother took this opportunity to also "leave for the weekend".

Some of the events of that night were provided by Sarah's older brother. He said after Sarah returned home early from the church camp she asked him to go to Taco Bell to get her something to eat. He told her he would bring it back to her, but instead he went to hang out with friends. When he arrived back home in the early morning hours he discovered the front door open and Sarah gone. A while after arriving home David Onstott came to the home asking for his mother. After being told she was gone for the evening, David walked to the refrigerator, got a beer and left. One thing mentioned was David was wearing muddy shoes.

Sarah's body was found a week later weighted down with cinder blocks in an abandoned fishery.

David Onstott claims he does not recall most of the events of that night; however, he did confess to detectives. The confession was not allowed to be heard in court because the judge ruled Hillsborough Sheriff's detectives did not listen to Onstott's request for an attorney.

From david-onstott-news.newslib.com:

Confession told to Hillsborough sheriff's detectives. To read the transcript and listen to the report, go to links.tampabay.com.

Detective Steve Lewis: Did you choke her?

Onstott: I think I did choke her.

Lewis: Did you have sex with her?

Onstott: Not that I remember.

Lewis: Can you tell me a reason why this happened?

Onstott: The sad part is, no.

Lewis: Were you intoxicated at the time?

Onstott: I was drunk.

Lewis: Is there anything else you can think of David?

Onstott: It's not who I am. (He starts to cry.

Lewis: Is there anything you'd like to say to her family?

Onstott: I'm so sorry.

David Onstott was tried and found guilty of second-degree murder and battery. He was sentenced in August 2008 to life in prison without parole. He also received an additional five years for failing to register as a sex offender for a previous conviction.

David Onstott apologized in court to Kelly May, Sarah's mother, but she did not accept the apology. Her feeling is that David is not sorry for what he did; he is only sorry that he got caught.

The Jetsetta Gage Train Wreck

Jetsetta Gage's mother left her home in the care of her grandmother while she attended college classes. There was a man by the name of Roger Bentley working on one of the family cars. He was described as a "family friend" in media reports. He was a brother of a former boyfriend of Jetsetta's mother.

The former boyfriend at that time was in jail awaiting trial for charges that he sexually abused Jetsetta for a year. If you want to believe Jetsetta's mother she did not know that the brother of her former boyfriend was a registered sex offender. I cannot imagine not knowing that information. They all lived in small-town Iowa. Everyone knows everyone and the business of everybody in the town.

So on the night in question the brother leaves telling the grandmother he will be back the next day. The grandmother had already put Jetsetta to bed and went to check on her. She was gone from her bed. Jetsett'as younger brother told his grandmother that he had seen Jetsetta in the truck with Roger Bentley. He thought Jetsetta had permission to leave with Bentley so he did not say anything.

The grandmother contacted her daughter at school and the search began for Jetsetta and Roger Bentley. An Amber Alert was sent out and Roger Bentley's truck was located in an isolated area. Jetsetta's body was found close by in a dilapidated mobile home.

The Evelyn Miller Train Wreck

Five-year-old Evelyn Miller was a very beautiful and by all accounts an adored child. She lived with her mother Noel Miller, her mother's fiance, and her two younger siblings. On the night of her disappearance, Evelyn's mother was at work, leaving the children in the care of the finace.

When Noel Miller arrived home from work at approximately 6:30 a.m. she found the door to the apartment open and her daughter missing. No one seemed to know what had happened to Evelyn.

During the investigation several things were learned. One item of interest is that two male friends of the fiance claim to have come by the apartment at approximately 2 a.m. One story was that they stopped by because they noticed that the television was on. When they knocked on the door Evelyn answered the door and told the men that the fiance was asleep and the two men left. In another story the two men stopped by to "see" the fiance and they discovered that he was asleep and Evelyn was asleep on the love seat.

In my opinion neither one of these stories sound very good for the men involved. It does not make sense to me that the five-year-old would have answered the door at that late hour unless she was instructed to do so by an adult. I question why Evelyn was sleeping on the love seat. Of course that can be easily explained that she fell asleep while watching television. This still does not explain the claims made by the fiance that he was in fact asleep all night.

There was a week-long search for Evelyn Miller. Her body was eventually discovered in a river a few miles from her home. Autopsy results indicate that she was murdered. There are no arrests forthcoming thus far. The two men, who were never named as suspects or POI, after they submitted to several searches of their vehicles as well as their apartment, moved away from the area. That is highly suspicious to me.

The Davion Mutts Train Wreck

Four-year-old Davion Mutts was supposed to be living in East Orange New Jersey with his grandparents. The courts determined that was the best place for him to live. For reasons unclear the grandparents sent Davion to live (for the summer) with his Aunt Latriesha Turner. The adults that occupied that home in addition to the aunt were Latriesha's boyfriend and the boyfriend's mother.

On the night of Davion Mutt's murder the boyfriend called his girlfriend at work to tell her he could not find Davion. She came home and they both looked for Davion. After 4 hours they called police. The search was not fruitful. Two days later the boyfriend lead investigators to Davion's body in a secluded wooded area.

The boyfriend has been charged with felony child abuse and first degree murder. The aunt and the mother of the boyfriend have each been charged with felony child neglect. As it turns out Davion had severe burns to his hands that none of the adults obtained medical treatment.

The biological mother lived 30 minutes from the aunt's residence.

The Lydia Rupp Train Wreck

This is the most recent situation to apply the basics of what not to do when you are a single parent. The story is that Lydia's mother met Lydia's abductor at a church function in April of this year. She did not have any background information on this man. She let him move in to her home by May.

Apparently people from the church talked to Lydia's mother to express their concerns to her that it appeared to them that the boyfriend and Lydia were "getting too close". Lydia's mother discussed her concerns with her boyfriend and there was some sort of argument.

Even though there were concerns expressed by other's and the mother herself must have had some concerns or she would not have broached the subject with her boyfriend, she left Lydia in his care when she went to work on Friday morning.

By Friday at Noon, the boyfriend called her to tell her he could not pick her up from work when she got off her shift. When she arrived home at 3 p.m. or so, she discovered a house empty of her daughter, her daughter's clothing, pictures, identification, and the family dog. Most importantly the boyfriend was also gone. I don't know why, but Lydia's mother waited a full 7 hours before calling police to report this abduction.

The FBI is involved in this case. It has been reported that the abductor has fled to Mexico. According to some of his family members he has said as soon as he finds a Christian family he will give Lydia to them. This has yet to happen. The boyfriend is a convicted sex offender who was supposed to register in Nevada. He never did. Most sex offenders are not good at keeping their word unless it is to make a threat and to follow through on that threat.

Update

Lydia was located safe in Mexico approximately 5 days after her abduction. The boyfriend was taken into custody by Mexican authorities. Lydia was reunited with her mother in San Diego.

So what do we learn from this latest train wreck?

1. We learn that as a single parent it is more important to put your children's welfare before your own.
2. It is important to not allow strangers around your children, especially not move under your roof.
3. It is important to find out the background of who you decide to put in close contact with your children. Hurt feelings can be mended over such questions. Strong responses or defensiveness to questions asked about a possible boyfriend's background should be a huge red flag to run quickly the other way to avoid the train wreck.

Please, for the sake and safety of your children watch for trains coming barreling your way. Your child's very life may depend upon it.

I know this is a huge blog entry. I am just learning about blogging. I suppose this entry could have been perhaps four separate entries. As I said I am learning.