Let's Talk A Bit About Jennifer Pratt

[Chichester Crowe]

In lieu of justice, the universe sent compassion.
Thanks for sharing this, Fletch.

[Fletch]

No problem, at least something good came out of that case.

[Huskerz85]

Just like a lot of the other cases on UM - this one's a definite tragedy. Glad though that karma finally caught up with at least one of the perps (see mikefairbanks' post on pg 11). Hopefully it can visit the others responsible as well.

Doesn't surprise me at all either that Croft's life turned out as it has.

[JohnUM]

Curtis gets a ton of hate in the Unsolved Mysteries community but what exactly did people expect him to do?

Even if the truck was only going 10 mph he would still be dazed and shaken before recuperating and at best would have seen shadowy figures if anything at all. He probably didnt see ****. They cannot be prosecuted because Curtis thinks that they "might be the same guys" he had previously argued with, etc

Yes its a tragedy, but the guy had little to no control over what happened and appeared to have originally cooperated with law enforcement. He was a victim himself. Not sure what people want from him...I think a lot of the hate is based purely on his personality/looks.

[Steve1990]

Originally Posted by JohnUM

Curtis gets a ton of hate in the Unsolved Mysteries community but what exactly did people expect him to do?

Even if the truck was only going 10 mph he would still be dazed and shaken before recuperating and at best would have seen shadowy figures if anything at all. He probably didnt see ****. They cannot be prosecuted because Curtis thinks that they "might be the same guys" he had previously argued with, etc

Yes its a tragedy, but the guy had little to no control over what happened and appeared to have originally cooperated with law enforcement. He was a victim himself. Not sure what people want from him...I think a lot of the hate is based purely on his personality/looks.

Curtis hasn't changed his ways judging by his streams and does seem to be hiding things.

[XCalibur]

Originally Posted by JohnUM

Curtis gets a ton of hate in the Unsolved Mysteries community but what exactly did people expect him to do?

Even if the truck was only going 10 mph he would still be dazed and shaken before recuperating and at best would have seen shadowy figures if anything at all. He probably didnt see ****. They cannot be prosecuted because Curtis thinks that they "might be the same guys" he had previously argued with, etc

Yes its a tragedy, but the guy had little to no control over what happened and appeared to have originally cooperated with law enforcement. He was a victim himself. Not sure what people want from him...I think a lot of the hate is based purely on his personality/looks.

I think the biggest problem people have with Curtis's story is that he apparently was not telling the truth about how fast the truck was going. He initially said about 55 MPH, which they determined if that was the case the attack would have killed them both instantly. Now to be fair, Curtis would have had no way of gauging the exact speed of the truck, but there is a huge difference between 55 and 10-15 MPH, which the latter is how fast they say it was going. Visually you can estimate closer than that.

That being said I agree that his story is somewhat plausible other than that, I mean if Curtis was stopped at this sign, unless the truck's occupants were yelling and calling attention to themselves before they got to him which I'm guessing they probably weren't if they wanted a successful attack and didn't want to give Curtis and Jenny time to get out of the way, its entirely possible he didn't see the truck's occupants until after getting hit at time which he could have been dazed at least for a moment, and by the time he recovered they could have been long gone. This is of course if he never looked back at the truck. If he heard the truck coming, he could easily have thought nothing of it assuming the occupants weren't yelling. So that is believable as far as it goes. But the question remains why the deception on the speed? If he said the truck was going faster than it was that would be the ideal lie to make it more believable that he did not get a good look at the truck's occupants. So that is sufficient reason to question his account of the whole thing.

its also possible the science on this whole thing could be a little off. This attack method we can all agree was very unorthodox, as far as I know there is no other assaults where something like this happened or someone was killed or attacked by someone driving by with a board. Its very odd to say the least. If the intent was to kill them both, you wonder why the truck even slowed down. I just wonder if everyone in the truck knew what the board thrower was up to. Could the driver have slowed down at the last minute realizing what was happening? If so he may have saved Curtis and Jenny's life. Obviously I have no idea but its interesting to think about. Though no one was arrested for this attack, it was still a risky one that I question if anyone really thought through, lot of things could have gone wrong. Of course the immediate thought is that someone would have spilled the beans if everyone was not on the same page in the truck, but it could be they aren't talking out of fear too. All the guys in that truck, assuming they are alive if they were teenagers or young men at the time would now be in their 60's, I can only imagine what its like to carry something like this around that you did as a kid that basically ruined someone's life.

But I got a little off the main topic here, on why Curtis is hated. The second factor other than his deception is that most people believe it was the garbage he was involved in that led to the attack. And he got off with minor injuries whereas Jenny's life was ruined. The animosity given that is pretty understandable.

I do think though, it is entirely possible he does not know who did it for the reasons outlined above, but I by no means think its a sure thing. I think he at the very least has an idea who did it, but obviously as you pointed out he can't finger people on suspicion.

Sad case all the way around. There are rumors that the person believed to have thrown the board committed suicide in 1994, whether it was related to this incident I'm not sure. But the driver and others are still alive.

[cvdixon29]

Where does he stream at?

[cvdixon29]

Originally Posted by Fletch

A heartwarming footnote to this case:

We all know the story of how the actress who portrayed Jenny in the segment (Tiffany Harris) got to know Jenny during the filming of the segment and made it her mission to help Jenny and her family pay for some of Jenny's rehabilitation. I was curious to see whatever happened to Tiffany - it looks like she is no longer acting, but is now the co-founder and CEO of a company called Shane's Inspiration and they create inclusive playgrounds for children with disabilities. It's awesome to see that her amazing gesture to Jenny and her family turned into a career of helping others.

http://articles.latimes.com/1989-02-...jennifer-pratt

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_JpG2KqWg9E

https://shanesinspiration.org/founders/

Tiffany then:


Tiffany today:

Thanks for the update!

[Street Novelist]

Originally Posted by JohnUM

Curtis gets a ton of hate in the Unsolved Mysteries community but what exactly did people expect him to do?

Even if the truck was only going 10 mph he would still be dazed and shaken before recuperating and at best would have seen shadowy figures if anything at all. He probably didnt see ****. They cannot be prosecuted because Curtis thinks that they "might be the same guys" he had previously argued with, etc

Yes its a tragedy, but the guy had little to no control over what happened and appeared to have originally cooperated with law enforcement. He was a victim himself. Not sure what people want from him...I think a lot of the hate is based purely on his personality/looks.

What a bunch of b ullspit. Were you able to type this with a straight face?

[tvscript124]

Originally Posted by XCalibur

I think the biggest problem people have with Curtis's story is that he apparently was not telling the truth about how fast the truck was going. He initially said about 55 MPH, which they determined if that was the case the attack would have killed them both instantly. Now to be fair, Curtis would have had no way of gauging the exact speed of the truck, but there is a huge difference between 55 and 10-15 MPH, which the latter is how fast they say it was going. Visually you can estimate closer than that.

That being said I agree that his story is somewhat plausible other than that, I mean if Curtis was stopped at this sign, unless the truck's occupants were yelling and calling attention to themselves before they got to him which I'm guessing they probably weren't if they wanted a successful attack and didn't want to give Curtis and Jenny time to get out of the way, its entirely possible he didn't see the truck's occupants until after getting hit at time which he could have been dazed at least for a moment, and by the time he recovered they could have been long gone. This is of course if he never looked back at the truck. If he heard the truck coming, he could easily have thought nothing of it assuming the occupants weren't yelling. So that is believable as far as it goes. But the question remains why the deception on the speed? If he said the truck was going faster than it was that would be the ideal lie to make it more believable that he did not get a good look at the truck's occupants. So that is sufficient reason to question his account of the whole thing.

its also possible the science on this whole thing could be a little off. This attack method we can all agree was very unorthodox, as far as I know there is no other assaults where something like this happened or someone was killed or attacked by someone driving by with a board. Its very odd to say the least. If the intent was to kill them both, you wonder why the truck even slowed down. I just wonder if everyone in the truck knew what the board thrower was up to. Could the driver have slowed down at the last minute realizing what was happening? If so he may have saved Curtis and Jenny's life. Obviously I have no idea but its interesting to think about. Though no one was arrested for this attack, it was still a risky one that I question if anyone really thought through, lot of things could have gone wrong. Of course the immediate thought is that someone would have spilled the beans if everyone was not on the same page in the truck, but it could be they aren't talking out of fear too. All the guys in that truck, assuming they are alive if they were teenagers or young men at the time would now be in their 60's, I can only imagine what its like to carry something like this around that you did as a kid that basically ruined someone's life.

But I got a little off the main topic here, on why Curtis is hated. The second factor other than his deception is that most people believe it was the garbage he was involved in that led to the attack. And he got off with minor injuries whereas Jenny's life was ruined. The animosity given that is pretty understandable.

I do think though, it is entirely possible he does not know who did it for the reasons outlined above, but I by no means think its a sure thing. I think he at the very least has an idea who did it, but obviously as you pointed out he can't finger people on suspicion.

Sad case all the way around. There are rumors that the person believed to have thrown the board committed suicide in 1994, whether it was related to this incident I'm not sure. But the driver and others are still alive.

It's admirable that you give him the benefit of the doubt, but I dislike the guy for several reasons.

1) He isn't telling the truth about who did it, even to give Jenny's family some peace while their daughter's life has been shattered. Now, he could have had a come to Jesus moment and talked to them privately. We will never know about that, nor should we. But he should at least own up to it given that Jenny's life will never be the same. He might be afraid of who did it, but honestly, he has some responsibility because he put Jenny in that situation.

2) Jenny's parents already disapproved of him and he was definitely bad news. Jenny was a sweet, sheltered girl who thought she was in love. He had a duty to protect her, and he didn't. That's why I don't like him.

[JohnUM]

Originally Posted by Street Novelist

What a bunch of b ullspit. Were you able to type this with a straight face?

Which part am I incorrect about?

Also, the least you could do is answer my question about "what could he do"...

[JohnUM]

Originally Posted by tvscript124

It's admirable that you give him the benefit of the doubt, but I dislike the guy for several reasons.

1) He isn't telling the truth about who did it, even to give Jenny's family some peace while their daughter's life has been shattered. Now, he could have had a come to Jesus moment and talked to them privately. We will never know about that, nor should we. But he should at least own up to it given that Jenny's life will never be the same. He might be afraid of who did it, but honestly, he has some responsibility because he put Jenny in that situation.

2) Jenny's parents already disapproved of him and he was definitely bad news. Jenny was a sweet, sheltered girl who thought she was in love. He had a duty to protect her, and he didn't. That's why I don't like him.

Nobody knows if he's telling the truth except himself.

He got ambushed/ surprise attacked while at an intersection...what could he have done to protect her?

[Street Novelist]

Originally Posted by JohnUM

Nobody knows if he's telling the truth except himself.

He got ambushed/ surprise attacked while at an intersection...what could he have done to protect her?

He lied about how fast the truck was going. This was proven by the private investigators. He also failed to tell Jenny that he was a convicted cocaine dealer who got out early for snitching. Don't give me this bull spit about what else could he have done to protect her.

[tvscript124]

Originally Posted by JohnUM

Nobody knows if he's telling the truth except himself.

He got ambushed/ surprise attacked while at an intersection...what could he have done to protect her?

Let's just say I concede your point. He still could have owned up to what happened after it happened and his girlfriend's life was shattered. If not immediately after, then in the years since. Just to give Jenny's family that much. Again, I'm not privy to whatever conversations they may have had, so perhaps he did. We just don't know. It doesn't look good at this point though.

It's evident that you want to give him the benefit of the doubt, and that's all right. We debate on this board. People think Rob Shafer (Angela Hammond) is guilty. I don't. From where I sit, Rob Shafer's story makes more sense than Curtis's. Especially given Curtis's background. We don't know much about Rob Shafer, but if he had any criminal ties, I think it would have come out by now.

This is one case I'm not changing my mind on.

[XCalibur]

Originally Posted by tvscript124

Let's just say I concede your point. He still could have owned up to what happened after it happened and his girlfriend's life was shattered. If not immediately after, then in the years since. Just to give Jenny's family that much. Again, I'm not privy to whatever conversations they may have had, so perhaps he did. We just don't know. It doesn't look good at this point though.

It's evident that you want to give him the benefit of the doubt, and that's all right. We debate on this board. People think Rob Shafer (Angela Hammond) is guilty. I don't. From where I sit, Rob Shafer's story makes more sense than Curtis's. Especially given Curtis's background. We don't know much about Rob Shafer, but if he had any criminal ties, I think it would have come out by now.

This is one case I'm not changing my mind on.

to be clear, I don't think anyone is going to nominate Curtis for man of the year. Whether he knows who did this or not, it seems highly likely that the stupid ass juvenile crap he was involved in put Jenny's life in danger, and ultimately messed up her life. Although without knowing who did this and why its impossible to be 100% certain.

I think all people are saying is its possible he did not see the attackers clearly and is not sure who did it. I believe strongly he has a good idea who was behind it but may not be 100% sure. We do know Curtis was a snitch, with whoever this was already trying to kill him once would he really have a lot to gain by protecting them? He strikes me as the type who would be quick to transfer any blame for this incident to someone else if he could, and save his own butt.

But then again, this whole attack was exceedingly strange and doesn't seem all that well planned even though you could argue no one was caught for it. If the intent was to kill them, why did the truck slow to only about 10-15 MPH in the first place? Its almost like they wanted Curtis and Jenny to see them before the attack.

Honestly, it makes me wonder if the intent was not to kill, but only to hurt and intimidate them. After all, this was not exactly an orthodox way to try to kill someone and its plausible these could have been drunken idiots who didn't realize how much damage a board thrown like that from a truck could do.

And if the guy who committed suicide in 1994 was indeed the one who did it, it fits. Could he have been riddled with guilt when he realized how much damage he did to Jenny who wasn't even the target? No way of knowing.

But I do agree with you in general about Curtis. Just happen to think its possible he doesn't know who did it. but he almost certainly has some idea.

And it seems Curtis drew the ire of several shady characters to where authorities just didn't know which one did it. Maybe they think it was the one who commited suicide and just can't prove it. But it does seem there were several people in that truckand at least one ought to man up and tell the truth.