Su-Ya Kim

[WishfulDreamer]

Originally Posted by TheCars1986

I'm still not entirely convinced that it wasn't the car used to dump Su Ya's body. The student may have loaned it to the killer, or the killer could have had a key to it to use it to get rid of Su Ya's body.

This was part of the reason I was shocked they gave up on the car so quickly. The student says she last drove it around 10 p.m. and Joe Jones witnessed the suspect driving the car at 3 a.m. The police discounted it because the car hadn't been "run for hours." Well, yeah, it was hours before the police were able to trace the license plate to the exchange student, so what? Maybe they meant more hours, but it still seemed like too good a lead to pass up. And they also discounted the car because no blood was in the car. What if the killer had wrapped the body up to ensure there was no blood? I just can't believe the police wouldn't look into the exchange student's acquaintances more. Perhaps she had a boyfriend who looked just like the suspect! Just because she said no one borrowed the car, doesn't mean no one borrowed it. A boyfriend/friend could have taken it without her knowledge or she could be covering.

[MegtheEgg86]

Originally Posted by WishfulDreamer

This was part of the reason I was shocked they gave up on the car so quickly. The student says she last drove it around 10 p.m. and Joe Jones witnessed the suspect driving the car at 3 a.m. The police discounted it because the car hadn't been "run for hours." Well, yeah, it was hours before the police were able to trace the license plate to the exchange student, so what? Maybe they meant more hours, but it still seemed like too good a lead to pass up. And they also discounted the car because no blood was in the car. What if the killer had wrapped the body up to ensure there was no blood? I just can't believe the police wouldn't look into the exchange student's acquaintances more. Perhaps she had a boyfriend who looked just like the suspect! Just because she said no one borrowed the car, doesn't mean no one borrowed it. A boyfriend/friend could have taken it without her knowledge or she could be covering.

While I do definitely agree that it seems highly coincidental that the plate and the car apparently weren't "the ones" according to the police, I don't know if an exchange student from Taiwan would risk lying to the police--I guess it seems reasonable she would fear losing her visa or otherwise risking deportation.

I suppose what I'd like to know most is how extensively the vehicle was searched. Was the interior analyzed? Was evidence of tampering investigated? I know that these segments often gloss over certain details, but it sounds as though as soon as this young woman told police no one else used her vehicle, they dropped everything concerning the car.

[egswanso]

Originally Posted by lilmissd

Remember this is New York, a lot of people don't use their cars it's not practical with the crowding and traffic most people take the subway or walk. Who's to say she didn't walk to do her shopping? And do we know that she didn't make it to the store? She could have very well have been abducted on her walk to the store or on her way home, maybe she was walking and someone stopped and offered to give her a ride home, she accepted and was taken elsewhere and killed, we just don't know the circumstances. Did LE verify that her vehicle worked? Maybe she was having a problem with it, it wouldn't start or something so she decided to walk. I doubt that an abductor could get into a secure parking garage without a remote or key, etc. and why would they be in a private garage if they didn't live in that building? It is possible she could have been killed by someone she knew,(a lot of murders happen this way) maybe by someone who lived close by in the area or possibly someone who was familiar with Su-Ya's store or have shopped in her store, you never know!

These points have been all touched on before. We just don't know enough to say one way or the other how the mechanics of the murder happened. All we know is that she left around 5pm; we don't know where she was going, how she was going there, who she might have been going with, etc., etc., etc.

[egswanso]

When it comes to the car, either I'm missing something, or ya'll are, in that the search, as I understand it, the search was self-limiting; that is it would only find blue nissans because they only looked for blue nissans. This being the case, I don't find this element unusual.

[TheCars1986]

Originally Posted by egswanso

When it comes to the car, either I'm missing something, or ya'll are, in that the search, as I understand it, the search was self-limiting; that is it would only find blue nissans because they only looked for blue nissans. This being the case, I don't find this element unusual.

I thought the segment said Jones gave LE a plate number and they ran it and it matched a blue Nissan. That would indicate that it was the car used that night, or the killer stole the plates.

[MegtheEgg86]

Originally Posted by TheCars1986

I thought the segment said Jones gave LE a plate number and they ran it and it matched a blue Nissan. That would indicate that it was the car used that night, or the killer stole the plates.

Yes. Joe Jones gave the plate number and a description of the vehicle (how extensive it was isn't clear in the segment), and after running the plate number, one match turned up--on a NY plate. I guess there could exist a slight possibility that Joe Jones mistook an out-of-state plate for an in-state one, but I'm not so sure. I think it was the correct plate and vehicle.

[egswanso]

Originally Posted by MegtheEgg86

Yes. Joe Jones gave the plate number and a description of the vehicle (how extensive it was isn't clear in the segment), and after running the plate number, one match turned up--on a NY plate. I guess there could exist a slight possibility that Joe Jones mistook an out-of-state plate for an in-state one, but I'm not so sure. I think it was the correct plate and vehicle.

No - or at least that's not what the detective said - The Detective on the case says that "We ran all the Nissons that fit that description with that partial plate" - so the police are already starting out with the exact make and model.

[MegtheEgg86]

Originally Posted by egswanso

No - or at least that's not what the detective said - The Detective on the case says that "We ran all the Nissons that fit that description with that partial plate" - so the police are already starting out with the exact make and model.

We ran all the Nissans that fit that description with that plate number in New York City and we tried to match registered owners by using a partial plate. And we were able to come up with one match.

That's verbatim from the segment, so it's a little ambiguous, but I always under the impression Jones gave the full plate number. I thought it was a case of anchoring and adjustment--if the plate didn't in fact exist, the police then ran partial searches using a similar character in place of one given to them by Jones.

[egswanso]

Originally Posted by MegtheEgg86

We ran all the Nissans that fit that description with that plate number in New York City and we tried to match registered owners by using a partial plate. And we were able to come up with one match.

That's verbatim from the segment, so it's a little ambiguous, but I always under the impression Jones gave the full plate number. I thought it was a case of anchoring and adjustment--if the plate didn't in fact exist, the police then ran partial searches using a similar character in place of one given to them by Jones.

I'm pretty sure it was a partial, but they are saying they limited the vehicle selection to Nissans in New York City. I hope they did more then that.

[MegtheEgg86]

Originally Posted by egswanso

I'm pretty sure it was a partial, but they are saying they limited the vehicle selection to Nissans in New York City. I hope they did more then that.

I'm not sure how a search could even be limited to NYC, so I always thought that was a little strange. State tag numbers aren't duplicated (on regular issue tags). There would be only a single regular series tag reading 123 ABC in the entire state of NY--right?

[WishfulDreamer]

Originally Posted by MegtheEgg86

While I do definitely agree that it seems highly coincidental that the plate and the car apparently weren't "the ones" according to the police, I don't know if an exchange student from Taiwan would risk lying to the police--I guess it seems reasonable she would fear losing her visa or otherwise risking deportation.

This is true, it would be a great risk. I'm wondering if she had a boyfriend/roommate/friend who could have borrowed the car in the middle of the night without her knowledge while she slept. My roommate would leave her keys right out in the living room overnight, for example. I could have taken a joyride if I had been tempted!

[MegtheEgg86]

Originally Posted by WishfulDreamer

This is true, it would be a great risk. I'm wondering if she had a boyfriend/roommate/friend who could have borrowed the car in the middle of the night without her knowledge while she slept. My roommate would leave her keys right out in the living room overnight, for example. I could have taken a joyride if I had been tempted!

That's a good possibility too, I think. I could see that.

I just feel like we're missing something huge here regarding the police investigation.

[TheCars1986]

Jones obviously knew what NY tags looked like, so he probably gave police the number and told them it was a NY tag.

[sdb4884]

Definitely agree with her being abducted in the parking lot.

[egswanso]

Originally Posted by MegtheEgg86

I'm not sure how a search could even be limited to NYC, so I always thought that was a little strange. State tag numbers aren't duplicated (on regular issue tags). There would be only a single regular series tag reading 123 ABC in the entire state of NY--right?

Right.

The only way it could be limited to NYC would be if the search was limited only to the five boroughs, but that would be stupid and seems not to be the case considering the car they found was on LI.