DarkDante
01-26-2005, 09:24 PM
The Truth Regarding Ashley Pond
In 2002, Unsolved Mysteries profiled the case of two young girls named Ashley Pond and Miranda Gaddis who were abducted on their way to school. The story was set in a small tight knit community in Oregon and the segment gave viewers an impression that this was a town where children could play freely outside without fear of ending up on a milkbox. Now I am aware that “Unsolved Mysteries” from time to time for a variety of reasons (ranging from time constraints to family’s wishes) neglect to tell the whole tale regarding a disappearance or murder case but in this case (stemming from the much harpooned 2001/2002 “Lifetime sanitized” seasons) they really dropped the ball omitting several key details and neglecting the facts while concentrating on other elements that were not exactly relevant to this case. For those of you unfamiliar with the case both Pond and Gaddis were found dead in the backyard of a neighbor’s house by the name of Ward Weaver. The sad thing is when you “google” this case you will discover that as sick as this crime is the true story of Ashley Pond reads somewhat like a bad tv-movie that “Lifetime” could put together; the only tragedy is that the events in this case are real.
Lori Pond was sixteen when she had Ashley, while I do not condemn this in the least for the first ten years of Ashley’s life she was lead to believe that David Pond who eventually married Lori was indeed her father. While it does strike me as a bit odd that a sixteen year old girl who has gotten pregnant and decided to have and raise her child would not look into checking into the identity of the father of her child (if indeed as it turned out she had several partners around the time when she was impregnated) it seems even odder that the David Pond himself would not be interested in this knowledge. The first ten years of Ashley’s life seem to follow the pattern of any young girl: school, friends, family etc.
But when Ashley turned ten her parents ended up getting a divorce. It was over a quarrel about child support payments that David Pond apparently decided to look further into the possibility that he was actually not Ashley’s biological father (and therefore would have a stronger case regarding not having to pay child support) – Indeed it was proven that Ashley’s father was not David Pond but in fact another man: Wesley Roettger
Apparently at this point Ashley like any young girl who has this type of bombshell dropped on her begins to likely experience uncertainty and mixed emotions towards both her parents and decides to pursue a relationship with her biological father Roettger. Things now slowly begin to go from bad to worse as friends and family begin to notice severe changes in Ashley’s mood and behavior during this time as she becomes sullen and confrontational and there is even evidence that she might be drinking.
All this is apparently due to during her weekend visits with Roettger, he begins to sexually molest her. Roettger is convicted of over 40 counts of sexual abuse and pleads to only one and is RELEASED!!! (all American town eh? Which lets an accused child molester walk the street while awaiting his trial!) – During this time it also appears that Lori Pond is anything but the hard working parent that “Unsolved Mysteries” portrayed her as police are called to the Pond residence on several occasions including neglect and Lori’s increasing alcohol abuse problem. Ashley again withdraws from her family and seeks comfort in the house of a friend who was the daughter of WARD WEAVER!
At first it seems that the Weavers (including Ward) are caring confidants of Ashley listening to her problems and even inviting her to join them on vacations. However there are indications that Ward Weaver’s is perusing an “adult relationship” with Ashley Pond and according to a teacher of Ashley was seen kissing the young girl on the lips.
According to Ashley, Ward Weaver also molested her and threatened to testify against her in her father’s rape trial. Another interesting point is around this time (April 2001) Ashley also makes accusations that two other men are also molesting her. While it is possible that all of this was true, what is more likely is that this is a cry for help to get her mother Lori Pond to pay attention to her.
Of course by this time Ashley is ostracized by Weaver and his family due to the allegations and incredibly due to the handling of the case by this town where “apparently everybody knows each other” formal charges are never brought against Weaver.
As the presence of Weaver begins to be less of a factor on Ashley’s life: it seems as if her behavior and stability of her life begin to improve. Her relationship with her mother improves during this time period however inexplicably by December of 2001 she again renews a friendship with Weaver. At this point I begin to question that what mother of a twelve year old girl would allow her to renew a friendship with a man who is obviously many years her senior and whom she had accused less than a year ago of molesting her unless in fact Lori Pond herself was unaware of her daughter’s actions. (this would seek to indicate to me that although relationship between mother and daughter might have been on the mend there were several serious issues regarding Ashley’s mental state and blocks in communication between parent and child)
On January 9, 2002 – Ashley Pond left for school and the “Unsolved Mysteries” segment pretty much takes it from there. The only thing that is odd is that there was a viable suspect in the case of Ashley’s (if not Miranda’s) disappearances and that would be Ward Weaver, the same man accused of sexual assault on Pond months earlier. While I can understand for legal reasons this being left out of the segment there are other “Unsolved Mysteries” segments that clearly cast similar suspicion on people in regards to disappearances. The other question that sticks out in my mind is something that Robert Stack pointed out “that Ashley Pond likely knew her abductor” when her abductor turned out to be Ward Weaver, it was obvious not only did Ms. Pond know Weaver but apparently still felt comfortable enough to get into his car. Ward Weaver was convicted of murdering both Pond and Gaddis in the fall of 2004 (after delaying his trial almost two years by claiming he was unfit to stand trial) and was sentenced to two life sentences.
However even with the conviction of Weaver, this case still has more questions than answers and still has a lot to be resolved in my mind. First off I am by no means a psychologist although in my opinion, Ashley Pond was anything but the well adjusted young girl who enjoyed dancing that the segment portrayed her as: gaining sympathy is one thing but obscuring the truth is quite another. It is obvious that Pond if she had not met with such an untimely death would likely continue to struggle with her demons which involved trying to find a suitable “father figure” in her life whether it be David Pond, Wesley Roettger or even Ward Weaver. The fact that she was constantly seeking out attention from potential father figures and then levying charges against them as far as sexual assault is concerned should at least be “red flags” that all was not well with this young lady.
While I don’t doubt that the charges against Weaver and company were true, there was obviously a lot more to this story than meets the eye. Yes it is true that charges were pending against Weaver and due to a state foul up were never processed, why is it that Ashley was again in his company in the month prior to her death. Furthermore, it is extremely odd that Ashley Pond would accept a ride from Weaver under any circumstance due to their past history, but yet she did (I feel UM made a quite a good case for the fact that Pond was not forcibly abducted but instead entered Weaver’s car on her own volition)
This brings me to Ashley’s mother, Lori Pond who last I heard was planning on suing the Oregon Department of Human Services for neglect. While I do agree with Ms. Pond that the agency dropped the ball here and may have not been as diligent as one would think they should be in the case of an alleged child molestation (actually two allegations one against Weaver and the other against Roettger) – They are not the only ones on the hook here in fact everyone from the court system, to the agencies and yes to the parents themselves hold a bit of responsibility in Ashley’s death. Here we have at least two accused child molester’s roaming the streets one of which was never brought to trial due to mismanagement and the other given bail. I’m sorry if I sound cynical here but “Unsolved Mysteries” gave the impression that the area in which Pond and Gaddis lived was secure but when you have two alleged child molesters roaming amongst you, I’m sorry but that doesn’t sound like a very stable environment for children to be in.
Which brings me to the parents, yes I understand that children do not tell their parents every detail about their lives but in the case of Ashley Pond who basically experienced several traumas in her young life within a year and a half, wouldn’t it been prudent of Lori Pond to at least keep tabs on her daughter a little more closely especially after Ashley was alleging several older men had molested her? I won’t even begin to speculate that Lori Pond knew that Ashley was in Weaver’s company again and allowed it because it would be incredulous so I assume that Lori Pond was ignorant as to whom her daughter was keeping company with. Ashley Pond in my opinion was failed by the system and the adults around her. This whole case makes me sick!
Later.
In 2002, Unsolved Mysteries profiled the case of two young girls named Ashley Pond and Miranda Gaddis who were abducted on their way to school. The story was set in a small tight knit community in Oregon and the segment gave viewers an impression that this was a town where children could play freely outside without fear of ending up on a milkbox. Now I am aware that “Unsolved Mysteries” from time to time for a variety of reasons (ranging from time constraints to family’s wishes) neglect to tell the whole tale regarding a disappearance or murder case but in this case (stemming from the much harpooned 2001/2002 “Lifetime sanitized” seasons) they really dropped the ball omitting several key details and neglecting the facts while concentrating on other elements that were not exactly relevant to this case. For those of you unfamiliar with the case both Pond and Gaddis were found dead in the backyard of a neighbor’s house by the name of Ward Weaver. The sad thing is when you “google” this case you will discover that as sick as this crime is the true story of Ashley Pond reads somewhat like a bad tv-movie that “Lifetime” could put together; the only tragedy is that the events in this case are real.
Lori Pond was sixteen when she had Ashley, while I do not condemn this in the least for the first ten years of Ashley’s life she was lead to believe that David Pond who eventually married Lori was indeed her father. While it does strike me as a bit odd that a sixteen year old girl who has gotten pregnant and decided to have and raise her child would not look into checking into the identity of the father of her child (if indeed as it turned out she had several partners around the time when she was impregnated) it seems even odder that the David Pond himself would not be interested in this knowledge. The first ten years of Ashley’s life seem to follow the pattern of any young girl: school, friends, family etc.
But when Ashley turned ten her parents ended up getting a divorce. It was over a quarrel about child support payments that David Pond apparently decided to look further into the possibility that he was actually not Ashley’s biological father (and therefore would have a stronger case regarding not having to pay child support) – Indeed it was proven that Ashley’s father was not David Pond but in fact another man: Wesley Roettger
Apparently at this point Ashley like any young girl who has this type of bombshell dropped on her begins to likely experience uncertainty and mixed emotions towards both her parents and decides to pursue a relationship with her biological father Roettger. Things now slowly begin to go from bad to worse as friends and family begin to notice severe changes in Ashley’s mood and behavior during this time as she becomes sullen and confrontational and there is even evidence that she might be drinking.
All this is apparently due to during her weekend visits with Roettger, he begins to sexually molest her. Roettger is convicted of over 40 counts of sexual abuse and pleads to only one and is RELEASED!!! (all American town eh? Which lets an accused child molester walk the street while awaiting his trial!) – During this time it also appears that Lori Pond is anything but the hard working parent that “Unsolved Mysteries” portrayed her as police are called to the Pond residence on several occasions including neglect and Lori’s increasing alcohol abuse problem. Ashley again withdraws from her family and seeks comfort in the house of a friend who was the daughter of WARD WEAVER!
At first it seems that the Weavers (including Ward) are caring confidants of Ashley listening to her problems and even inviting her to join them on vacations. However there are indications that Ward Weaver’s is perusing an “adult relationship” with Ashley Pond and according to a teacher of Ashley was seen kissing the young girl on the lips.
According to Ashley, Ward Weaver also molested her and threatened to testify against her in her father’s rape trial. Another interesting point is around this time (April 2001) Ashley also makes accusations that two other men are also molesting her. While it is possible that all of this was true, what is more likely is that this is a cry for help to get her mother Lori Pond to pay attention to her.
Of course by this time Ashley is ostracized by Weaver and his family due to the allegations and incredibly due to the handling of the case by this town where “apparently everybody knows each other” formal charges are never brought against Weaver.
As the presence of Weaver begins to be less of a factor on Ashley’s life: it seems as if her behavior and stability of her life begin to improve. Her relationship with her mother improves during this time period however inexplicably by December of 2001 she again renews a friendship with Weaver. At this point I begin to question that what mother of a twelve year old girl would allow her to renew a friendship with a man who is obviously many years her senior and whom she had accused less than a year ago of molesting her unless in fact Lori Pond herself was unaware of her daughter’s actions. (this would seek to indicate to me that although relationship between mother and daughter might have been on the mend there were several serious issues regarding Ashley’s mental state and blocks in communication between parent and child)
On January 9, 2002 – Ashley Pond left for school and the “Unsolved Mysteries” segment pretty much takes it from there. The only thing that is odd is that there was a viable suspect in the case of Ashley’s (if not Miranda’s) disappearances and that would be Ward Weaver, the same man accused of sexual assault on Pond months earlier. While I can understand for legal reasons this being left out of the segment there are other “Unsolved Mysteries” segments that clearly cast similar suspicion on people in regards to disappearances. The other question that sticks out in my mind is something that Robert Stack pointed out “that Ashley Pond likely knew her abductor” when her abductor turned out to be Ward Weaver, it was obvious not only did Ms. Pond know Weaver but apparently still felt comfortable enough to get into his car. Ward Weaver was convicted of murdering both Pond and Gaddis in the fall of 2004 (after delaying his trial almost two years by claiming he was unfit to stand trial) and was sentenced to two life sentences.
However even with the conviction of Weaver, this case still has more questions than answers and still has a lot to be resolved in my mind. First off I am by no means a psychologist although in my opinion, Ashley Pond was anything but the well adjusted young girl who enjoyed dancing that the segment portrayed her as: gaining sympathy is one thing but obscuring the truth is quite another. It is obvious that Pond if she had not met with such an untimely death would likely continue to struggle with her demons which involved trying to find a suitable “father figure” in her life whether it be David Pond, Wesley Roettger or even Ward Weaver. The fact that she was constantly seeking out attention from potential father figures and then levying charges against them as far as sexual assault is concerned should at least be “red flags” that all was not well with this young lady.
While I don’t doubt that the charges against Weaver and company were true, there was obviously a lot more to this story than meets the eye. Yes it is true that charges were pending against Weaver and due to a state foul up were never processed, why is it that Ashley was again in his company in the month prior to her death. Furthermore, it is extremely odd that Ashley Pond would accept a ride from Weaver under any circumstance due to their past history, but yet she did (I feel UM made a quite a good case for the fact that Pond was not forcibly abducted but instead entered Weaver’s car on her own volition)
This brings me to Ashley’s mother, Lori Pond who last I heard was planning on suing the Oregon Department of Human Services for neglect. While I do agree with Ms. Pond that the agency dropped the ball here and may have not been as diligent as one would think they should be in the case of an alleged child molestation (actually two allegations one against Weaver and the other against Roettger) – They are not the only ones on the hook here in fact everyone from the court system, to the agencies and yes to the parents themselves hold a bit of responsibility in Ashley’s death. Here we have at least two accused child molester’s roaming the streets one of which was never brought to trial due to mismanagement and the other given bail. I’m sorry if I sound cynical here but “Unsolved Mysteries” gave the impression that the area in which Pond and Gaddis lived was secure but when you have two alleged child molesters roaming amongst you, I’m sorry but that doesn’t sound like a very stable environment for children to be in.
Which brings me to the parents, yes I understand that children do not tell their parents every detail about their lives but in the case of Ashley Pond who basically experienced several traumas in her young life within a year and a half, wouldn’t it been prudent of Lori Pond to at least keep tabs on her daughter a little more closely especially after Ashley was alleging several older men had molested her? I won’t even begin to speculate that Lori Pond knew that Ashley was in Weaver’s company again and allowed it because it would be incredulous so I assume that Lori Pond was ignorant as to whom her daughter was keeping company with. Ashley Pond in my opinion was failed by the system and the adults around her. This whole case makes me sick!
Later.