Mysterious murder of Natasha Jennings

[McBevis]

This was the case where a 16 year old girl was mysteriously found dead in her father's house after traveling there to spend a weekend with him. Though there is no proof that I know of, I have a certain suspicion about this case, and I'm wondering if anybody knows anything that I don't. Anyway, as the investigation was taking place, there seemed to be strong disagreement between the father and one or more mysterious third parties possibly involved concerning the father's possible role as a drug informant (he claims it's absolutely not true, even though there was some strong insistence to the contrary). The idea was tossed around that the murder may have happened in retaliation for Mr. Jennings blowing the whistle on someone. While I do not believe that Mr. Jennings was involved in his daughter's death, I'm not so sure that I believe him about not being a drug informant. I believe that he probably was, and may have thought that he would be looked at suspiciously if he admitted that there might be a possibility that his actions as an informant may have put his daughter at risk. In fact, I wouldn't even go so far as to rule out the possibility that he knows who killed his daughter but won't say it for fear that this person or any associates thereof might have it in for him. This is just what I think. If anybody knows anything, or if anyone has other theories about what might have happened, I'd like to know.

[cocytus]

Originally Posted by McBevis

This was the case where a 16 year old girl was mysteriously found dead in her father's house after traveling there to spend a weekend with him. Though there is no proof that I know of, I have a certain suspicion about this case, and I'm wondering if anybody knows anything that I don't. Anyway, as the investigation was taking place, there seemed to be strong disagreement between the father and one or more mysterious third parties possibly involved concerning the father's possible role as a drug informant (he claims it's absolutely not true, even though there was some strong insistence to the contrary). The idea was tossed around that the murder may have happened in retaliation for Mr. Jennings blowing the whistle on someone. While I do not believe that Mr. Jennings was involved in his daughter's death, I'm not so sure that I believe him about not being a drug informant. I believe that he probably was, and may have thought that he would be looked at suspiciously if he admitted that there might be a possibility that his actions as an informant may have put his daughter at risk. In fact, I wouldn't even go so far as to rule out the possibility that he knows who killed his daughter but won't say it for fear that this person or any associates thereof might have it in for him. This is just what I think. If anybody knows anything, or if anyone has other theories about what might have happened, I'd like to know.

Hmmm...

1) I grew up about 30 miles north of Carson City,so I think that I'm somewhat familiar w/ the Carson City PD. While they are usually more interested in giving out speeding tickets than solving crimes, I have a hard time believing that they would "out" an informant when they were asked by someone. News like that could damage their reputation w/ other informants, as well as potentially jeopardize open investigations or prosecutions.

2) This was classified as a "homicide" because it was an unattended death and wasn't an obvious suicide. There was no evidence found that this death WAS a homicide.

In fact, not knowing the general overall health of Ms. Jennings, it's impossible to rule out a medical issue (or issues) that may have caused this. The tox screen seems to have ruled out a drug overdose or allergic reaction.

3) This isn't Italy, Mexico, Afghanistan or Colombia. Criminals rarely kill family members here,especially those not involved in criminal activities and almost never the children of person that has informed on them.

There are two good reasons for that:
a) Americans wouldn't "get the message" if they did, making the killing of an innocent relative,for want of a better word "useless." It would also very likely to bring down additional heat from:
b) The authorities. If killing the relatives of informants became a common practice to prevent testimony or in retaliation, it would force the police to crack down on various criminal activities in their jurisdiction,thus raising the price of doing business.A group doing this would be inviting retaliation from other criminal groups for the added costs and could also face destabilizing arrests and zealous prosecution.

Looking at this case from the outside in, this girl's death was made a "mystery" primarily by the rape allegation and by the obvious animosity between her parents. Since the rape allegation seems to have been addressed, that only leaves the poor relationship between the parents.

At this point,given the time has passed and the lack of proof that foul play was at work here,it's unlikely that this case will ever be "resolved",IMHO.

[McBevis]

Originally Posted by cocytus

Hmmm...

1) I grew up about 30 miles north of Carson City,so I think that I'm somewhat familiar w/ the Carson City PD. While they are usually more interested in giving out speeding tickets than solving crimes, I have a hard time believing that they would "out" an informant when they were asked by someone. News like that could damage their reputation w/ other informants, as well as potentially jeopardize open investigations or prosecutions.

2) This was classified as a "homicide" because it was an unattended death and wasn't an obvious suicide. There was no evidence found that this death WAS a homicide.

In fact, not knowing the general overall health of Ms. Jennings, it's impossible to rule out a medical issue (or issues) that may have caused this. The tox screen seems to have ruled out a drug overdose or allergic reaction.

3) This isn't Italy, Mexico, Afghanistan or Colombia. Criminals rarely kill family members here,especially those not involved in criminal activities and almost never the children of person that has informed on them.

There are two good reasons for that:
a) Americans wouldn't "get the message" if they did, making the killing of an innocent relative,for want of a better word "useless." It would also very likely to bring down additional heat from:
b) The authorities. If killing the relatives of informants became a common practice to prevent testimony or in retaliation, it would force the police to crack down on various criminal activities in their jurisdiction,thus raising the price of doing business.A group doing this would be inviting retaliation from other criminal groups for the added costs and could also face destabilizing arrests and zealous prosecution.

Looking at this case from the outside in, this girl's death was made a "mystery" primarily by the rape allegation and by the obvious animosity between her parents. Since the rape allegation seems to have been addressed, that only leaves the poor relationship between the parents.

At this point,given the time has passed and the lack of proof that foul play was at work here,it's unlikely that this case will ever be "resolved",IMHO.

Well, you certainly do bring up some good points, and certainly did a good job of making me aware of some things that I might not have bothered to consider before. I do stand firm in my belief about one thing, though: I feel very strongly that this WAS definitely a murder. From what we're told about Natasha Jennings in the segment, she seemed like a generally happy and healthy teenager who, even if she was raped, still didn't seem like somebody who would likely kill herself, and there was nothing to indicate that it was any kind of accident or freak occurrence, either.

[cocytus]

Originally Posted by McBevis

Well, you certainly do bring up some good points, and certainly did a good job of making me aware of some things that I might not have bothered to consider before. I do stand firm in my belief about one thing, though: I feel very strongly that this WAS definitely a murder. From what we're told about Natasha Jennings in the segment, she seemed like a generally happy and healthy teenager who, even if she was raped, still didn't seem like somebody who would likely kill herself, and there was nothing to indicate that it was any kind of accident or freak occurrence, either.

Well...the big four types of murder methods (shooting,stabbing,bludgeoning and strangulation) don't seem to be "in play" here as no one is stating that any of them are the cause of death.

[McBevis]

Originally Posted by cocytus

Well...the big four types of murder methods (shooting,stabbing,bludgeoning and strangulation) don't seem to be "in play" here as no one is stating that any of them are the cause of death.

Well, I really don't know, but whatever the case may be, I just really feel that there's definitely something not kosher about it.

[TheCars1986]

This segment was on Liftime yesterday and I have to disagree with all three scenarios posed by UM.

1. The Sexual Assault Scenario - This absolutely makes no sense to me whatsoever. Natasha went to a party with this "Chris" guy a few days before she was found dead. A friend of Natasha claims she told her that at the party, Natasha blacked out and "Chris" raped her. Although UM didn't come right out and say it, they seemed to indicate that "Chris" killed Natasha to silence her about the rape charge. But the autopsy report stated that she was not sexually assaulted. And the toxicology report stated that there were no drugs in her system. Natasha wasn't strangled, shot, stabbed, poisoned, or bludgeoned to death. So how exactly did "Chris" murder her then? And why did he wait days to murder her, while she could have already (and if the friend is telling the truth, then she already ahd) made incriminating statements to friends, family, or the authorities?

2. The Drug Informant Scenario - Another one that makes little sense to me. Her father denied being a drug informant. The police stated he was never an informant. But some lady off of the streets approaches Natasha's mother and tells her he is? How would she obtain that type of information? And the mother's claim that an officer flat out told her over the phone that he was an informant I do not belive at all. You can tell there is bad blood between Natasha's parents and it almost seems like Natasha's mother holds her husband responsible (albeit not directly) for her death. And this woman that approached Natasha's mother on the street seemed "skittish" and "scared" but what exactly was she scared of? She was on a public street, it wasn't like the Carson City PD had rogue agents out following this woman and/or Natasha's mother...so why act all nervous and scared? Seems to me like this woman didn't reveal anything to Natasha's mother on the street and waited for her to call because she needed time to concoct a story. It's possible this woman was making information up in an attempt to gain some sort of reward for information in the case. Hell she may have had a grudge against Natasha's father for all we know.

3. The Drug Overdose Scenario - This one is kind of laughable. If she was doing drugs on a Monday, but died on a Friday, how exactly would that be an overdose? The toxicology report stated there were no drugs in her system, doesn't an overdose require drugs being in your system? There seemed to be drug paraphernalia found around the house and it almost seems like LE is trying to grasp at straws to explain Natasha's death by suggesting a drug overdose.

I honestly think some undiscovered medical condition would be the cause of her death. Maybe she had a heart attack or a stroke. That definitely would seem more likely than the three scenarios UM presented.

[LooksLikeCRicci]

Did they ever do an autopsy on her? I know in some parts of the country, autopsies are performed whenever a death is even remotely suspicious...

[TheCars1986]

Originally Posted by LooksLikeCRicci

Did they ever do an autopsy on her? I know in some parts of the country, autopsies are performed whenever a death is even remotely suspicious...

Yes there was an autopsy and the segment never made any mention of any signs of a struggle, or any visible signs of the usual methods of murder (stab wounds, gunshot wounds, signs of strangulation, etc.).

[TheCars1986]

BUMP

Any updates/new opinions on what happened to Natasha in this case? It's been awhile since I've seen the segment, but IMHO (as I've stated previously) I think this may have been some freak medical condition that no one was aware of. Does anyone recall what the cause of death was ruled as?

[TracyLynnS]

RE: freak medical condition....

I suppose long Q T syndrome could be a possibility. I'm not sure if a cardiac cause of death would be looked into during an autopsy on young woman with no known heart disease at the time this death occurred.

Severe mitral valve prolapse has been suspected in some unexplained deaths of young healthy women. I believe about 10% of the population has this problem. I've forgotten how many people have it that are symptom-free but there are people who have it and don't know. I have this and an irregular heartbeat. Up until I learned to notice the symptoms, I would pass out when standing up from a sitting or lying position. I almost injured my baby when I fell while passing out, which is one reason I started looking for the cause. I was 20 years old. Because of my young age, doctors wouldn't consider a heart condition, and were dismissive and condescending. The doctor who correctly diagnosed me said I'd have to start acting like an old woman. I did, ever since. I have to take my time standing up, making sure that I'm not going to begin to pass out. If I feel that I'm going to pass out at any time, I just sit where ever I am. Sometimes right in the aisle at walmart, which is not a pretty sight. lol

Another possibility could be maybe a tubal pregnancy or botched abortion. You'd think this would have been looked for and found in an autopsy. I forgot if this was a violent scene or if the girl was just found dead with no obvious cause.

I saw a tv program a couple years ago about a young woman, maybe 19 years old, who had (I think) gone for an abortion, they performed it and sent her home to rest. In any event, she'd been checked out medically for some reason, was considered to be healthy, and was resting. She was home with her parents, fell asleep on the couch, and just died there in her sleep. Seems that the cause was severe internal blood loss. Either they botched the abortion, or it was a tubal pregnancy that burst, killing her (that's still botched, tho, imo, since they didn't make sure they actually terminated the pregnancy), something along those lines.

Could these be possibilities in Natasha's case?

[Orange_Sody_84]

Interesting theories Trace. what if she had been smothered? meh i guess that would show up though right? (no signs of struggle were found) it just seems strange that it appears she "dropped dead". ruling out the violent ways people are usually murdered.

[TracyLynnS]

I had also thought of suffocation, but chances are that she would have struggled, and even if a murderer had cleaned up the scene, she would probably have bruises or cuts left on her body from fighting against a killer.

If there were no drugs or alcohol in her system, then she would have been sober and able to fight if someone were trying to suffocate her.

I need to watch this one again to see if it sounds like a freak medical problem or what. Heck, I don't even remember what decade this was....

[TracyLynnS]

ohkayyyyyyyyyyyyyy

The cop interviewed says her father is not now nor was he ever a "documented" police informant. no kiddin? Are any of them documented?

Neither of these guys are convincing liars. I think he was an informant but it doesn't have anything to do with his daughter's death. They shouldn't have even brought it up if they were going to give out his name and show his face on tv.

The segment says there was a small amount of drugs in the girl's nose and trace amounts of speed and cocaine on a piece of plastic found in the house. Then they say she had no drugs in her system. Drugs are a strong possibility in her cause of death. They were found at the scene and on her body. They might find the answers if they did second autopsy or redid the toxicology tests.

Dr. Wecht seems to think she took drugs that made her feel hot, so she took a cool bath, and then collapsed of a "spasm", whatever that means. Usually, I agree with his opinions. He was very thorough when commenting on the Jack Davis Jr. case. I'm assuming he was allowed to read the autopsy report before commenting on Natasha's case, but a spasm doesn't sound like a cause of death. I wonder if Dr. Wecht explained that further, but they just left that part out of the segment.

eta -

If she did have an undiagnosed heart issue that was aggravated by taking speed, the drugs would have been a factor without the cause of death being an overdose. Some people with heart arrhythmia are advised to avoid stimulants as strong as caffeine. Imagine what kind of damage street drugs would do.

[undertakeress]

Fentanyl OD?

[TracyLynnS]

Originally Posted by undertakeress

Fentanyl OD?

Wow! It's 100 times more potent than morphine and is (was?) available in flavored lollipops. WTH?

I was aware of the fentanyl patch, and that people have accidentally overdosed while using them, but lollipops with heavy pain killers? Who's in so much pain that they need a lollipop rather than the patch or the medically administered oral or sublingual dose?

I wonder if they would have thought to test for fentanyl back in the 1997 tox screen. I'ts been around since the 1960s. If they weren't looking for fentanyl specifically, would it show up in a standard test for opiates? (Looks like this is classified as an opiate, however I don't understand all the scientific jargon used on the sites where I read up on this drug.)

GHB had crossed my mind as a possible drug that she might not have been screened for. In the segment, it's alleged that recently, she was essentially "date raped" at a party. I wonder if maybe the guy came over to visit her, using the ruse of an apology, if she knew him well enough for that to be sort of an appropriate thing to do, then slipped her GHB. Instead of it getting her under control, it killed her, explaining why there were no signs of sexual assault. Instead of making her become compliant as the assailant hoped, she died, so he fled the scene.