Big Truck, Big Problem

Big Truck, Big Problem

It seems like a small detail, but it's not.  On the day Kyron disappeared, Terri swapped cars with Kaine - he drove her Mustang to work, and she borrowed his truck for reasons we'll explore below.

Big Gaping Hole #3:

Why did she drive the
truck that day? 
(Oh and the day before, too.)

Wanted: one big white truck.  Purpose: to transport a baby, a small child,
and a folding cardboard display.

There's been a lot of talk about the white Ford truck Terri Horman was driving on the day Kyron disappeared.  (The white truck actually belonged to her husband, Kaine.  Terri's regular ride was a red Ford Mustang.)  In this 2010 Oregonlive audio interview, Kaine confirms a few things about the truck:

• Terri borrowed the truck on June 3, 2010 to drop off the science fair project at the school
• Terri borrowed the truck again on June 4, 2010 to pick upthe project
• The project was to be on display until 10:00 a.m. on June 4
• Terri left the school - in the truck - on June 4 but did not take the project with her
• Terri never returned to the school that day to pick up the project (or Kyron)

Please, someone, tell me how this makes sense.  Let's assume that the Mustang was too small to both transport the science fair project safely to the school and get it home safely on Friday.  Why, then, did she not pick up the project on Friday, if that's the specific reason she borrowed the danged truck in the first place?!  Perhaps Kaine says it best:

"Why would you need the truck to pick it up if it had to stay there? You pick it up after school. So, take the truck after school to go pick him [Kyron] up and the project, but why would you go pick up the project at 8:45 before the science fair even starts? It makes no sense."

You're right, Kaine, it makes no sense.

Now, some people might say...well, maybe she couldn't make it back there to pick up the truck.  Maybe because the baby was sick.  Or maybe she planned to pick it up on Monday.  Except that Desiree herself stated that the plan was that Kyron was going to bring the science fair project to her house on Friday evening to show it to her.  So Terri knew that she needed to pick up the project so Desiree could see it.  Again, it makes no sense.

But, once again, let's give Terri the benefit of the doubt.  Let's say she had a sick baby and had to leave the school earlier than planned - without the science fair project.  Why didn't she just go back later and pick it up?

Opportunities Terri had to pick up the science fair project:

• During that mysterious 90 minutes of missing time when she was driving around in the vicinity of Skyline School trying to get the baby to sleep
• On the way home from the gym (she would have had to drive practically right by the school)
• When Kaine came home early from work that day (she could even have sent him to get it - and Kyron)

Yet, she never picked it up.  You have to wonder why.  It's almost like she knew they wouldn't need it to show to Desiree that evening.  It's almost like she knew they wouldn't be driving Kyron to meet his mom later that day.  It's almost like - gasp - she didn't actually ever intend to pick it up in the first place.

Which begs the question: why did Terri need the truck that day?

I guess this is one of those pesky details Terri will someday clean up for us when she decides to clear her name, right?  I'm not holding my breath.

The Cinderella Effect

The Cinderella Effect

It's sad and horrible to think that a grown woman who helped raise a little boy would have something to do with his disappearance.  It's almost impossible to wrap our minds around the fact that she wrote hateful e-mails about him and blamed him for many of the problems in her life.  But, sadly, these kinds of tragedies do happen.  In fact, they happen often enough that there's a name for it: The Cinderella Effect.

  

According to Wikipedia...

 "The Cinderella effect is the alleged higher incidence of different forms of child abuse and mistreatment by stepparents than by biological parents."

In fact, according to one well-known study:

• Stepchildren are from 40-100 times more likely to be murdered or maimed as those who live with two biological parents.
• Stepmothers are also substantially and significantly more likely to kill young children than genetic mothers.
• Only 53% of the stepfathers and 25% of the stepmothers felt able to say that they had any “parental feeling” (much less “love”) for their stepchildren. 

Now, let's put this in perspective.  Are all stepkids at risk?  No.  Are all stepparents evil?  Of course not.  But statistically, Kyron Horman was in a situation that put him at a substantially higher risk of being abused and/or murdered than a child in a two-biological-parent household.  And - no matter what kind of a pretty pink bow Terri, her mother, and her supporters try to wrap around it - there is some strong evidence that Terri may have fallen into the category of a stepmother who came to resent and hate the little boy in her care, especially when her care of him came to interfere with her care of her own biological children.

For example, Terri wrote e-mails stating she hated Kyron and blamed him for her failing marriage.  In her recent appearance on the Dr. Phil show, Kyron's biological mom, Desiree Young, described these e-mails and that they convinced her Terri was not only capable of harming Kyron, but likely did harm him.

Terri was also harsh in her discipline of Kyron.  One example was her demand for daily behavior reports from his teacher, and that Kaine Horman punish him if he brought home anything but a "green" behavior card.

"Terri blamed Kyron for her failing marriage, and wanted him out of her life.  She put that all in writing."

Desiree Young

By the time June 4, 2010 rolled around, Terri Horman was in a stressful situation to say the least. Her older (biological) son had recently moved out of the family home.  She had also been treated for post-partum depression and experienced weight gain after the birth of her and Kaine's daughter. And her marriage had apparently deteriorated to the point where she was willing to pay someone to kill her husband.  Combine these circumstances with a woman who may have already had some serious underlying personality issues, and it was a recipe for disaster.

So next time someone tells you it's "impossible" that Terri hurt Kyron (Dede Spicher, I'm looking at you) just remember the Cinderella Effect.  And trust me, that fabled glass slipper did not fit Terri Horman's foot.

Top Ten "Red Flags" Pointing to Dede Spicher's Involvement (Part I)

Top Ten "Red Flags" Pointing to Dede Spicher's Involvement (Part I)

"Three people disappeared - Kyron Horman, Dede Spicher, and Terri Horman - at the same time period.  What does that say to me?  Everyone's connected."

CW Jensen, former Portland Homicide Detective

One name that seems to keep popping up in relation to Kyron's disappearance is that of Terri Horman's friend, Dede Spicher.  Spicher's name first appeared in the media in July 2010 when police informed Kyron's family that she had been in "close communication" with Terri and was not cooperating with authorities.  Apparently, Spicher was not only giving Terri "support and advice that is not in the best interests of [Kyron]" but was also "suggesting to others, who may have information about Kyron’s disappearance, not to cooperate either."  Around the same time, one of Spicher's neighbors revealed that the FBI had thoroughly searched Dede's Tualatin, Oregon condo. 

Dede Spicher's name continues to rear its ugly head in this frustrating case.  

Could she have helped Terri Horman kidnap Kyron?  

1) Terri Horman and Dede Spicher were both unaccounted for at the same time on the day of Kyron's disappearance.  Dede claimed to have been gardening at a farm just a few miles from where Kyron disappeared; but when her bosses at the farm went looking for her they couldn't find her.  A friend also tried to call Dede during the same time period but she didn't answer her phone.  Dede was apparently missing from 10:00 am until 1:00 pm. - even though her car never left the property.  This is an interesting detail, because if Dede left the farm during that time it was in someone else's vehicle.

2) Dede and Terri went to great lengths to conceal their conversations from the prying ears of law enforcement.  Dede and another friend of Terri's used cash to purchase disposable phones.   Dede even told People magazine that she and Terri refrained from talking (presumably) about Kyron's disappearance inside Terri's house, because they felt they were under surveillance.  Am I the only one wondering what they were talking about outside that they didn't want those pesky investigators to hear?

 "Any conversations that we wanted to have, we'd go out into the yard.  When we were in the house, we'd talk about the kids, we'd talk about her marriage, talked about her family."

Dede Spicher, in her interview with People magazine

3) In a 2012 deposition regarding Kyron's disappearance, Dede invoked her Fifth Amendmentrights against self-incrimination 142 times. 142 times!!! She was happy to answer questions about her work and other details unrelated to the case, but she plead the 5th when asked anything about her relationship with Terri, her knowledge of Kyron, or her activities on the day he disappeared.

Did you see Terri Horman at any time on June 4, 2010?
Dede: I'm asserting my Fifth Amendment right.

Did you talk to Terri Horman at any time on June 4, 2010?
Dede: I'm asserting my Fifth Amendment right.

Have you ever been to Skyline Elementary School?
Dede: Going to assert my Fifth Amendment right.

Have you ever purchased a disposable phone?
Dede: I'm asserting my Fifth Amendment right.

Do you know where Kyron Horman is?
Dede: I'm asserting my Fifth Amendment right.

Do you know whether Kyron Horman is alive?
Dede: I'm asserting my Fifth Amendment right.

Top Ten "Red Flags" Pointing to Dede Spicher's Involvement (Part Deux)

Top Ten "Red Flags" Pointing to Dede Spicher's Involvement (Part Deux)

"Absolutely, without a doubt, with all my heart I know that she [Terri Horman] did it.  I think she was working with one, or possibly two people...We know at least Dede Spicher."

Desiree Young, speaking on June 4, 2015

Well folks, I gotta be honest.  After writing that last blog entry I felt quite nauseated at the growing realization that Dede Spicher was, quite possibly, Terri Horman's accomplice.  It's hard to imagine that a person could assist in such a crime, but it's certainly not unheard of.  You see, I was on the "Dede fence" for quite some time.  But when I really started looking at the evidence there was no denying that she could very likely be up to her eyeballs in this horrid case.  And when, on the fifth anniversary of Kyron's disappearance, I heard his mother Desiree state her belief that Dede was indeed involved in this crime, I realized I had to finish this list.  And so, we continue with the red flags...

Dede exiting the courthouse after appearing before the Grand Jury.
AKA "the smirk seen 'round the world."  

The first three red flags were posted earlier; but here's a synopsis, followed by four more red flags you may find intriguing.

1) Terri Horman and Dede Spicher were both unaccounted for at the same time on the day of Kyron's disappearance. 

2) Terri and Dede went to great lengths to conceal their conversations from law enforcement, even going so far as to using cash to purchase disposable phones.

3) In a 2013 deposition regarding her knowledge of the crime, Dede invoked her Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination 142 times.

4) Just like Terri, Dede would not cooperate with law enforcement as they investigated Kyron's disappearance - even though she and Terri were in "close communication" and Dede could possibly have had information to help shed light on Kyron's location.  According to Kyron's mother, Desiree Young, just a few weeks after the disappearance Dede was "refusing to cooperate" with law enforcement.  In her 2013 interview with an obscure pro-Terri blog, Dede even proudly admitted that she refused to take a lie detector test. 

"She's the only witness in this entire episode that...has lawyered up and is actually trying to negotiate with the District Attorney as to when and how she is going go testify to the Grand Jury.  For somebody that's got nothing to hide, that's unusual."

Bruce McCain, former Captain, Multnomah County Sheriff's Department

5) Despite Dede's lack of cooperation, law enforcement apparently had plenty to be suspicious about.  They ultimately had enough reason to suspect she was hiding something that they were able to obtain warrants to search her condo, the property where she claimed to have been gardening on the morning Kyron disappeared, and even the property of her own aunt.  They also distributed a flyer seeking information on Dede's whereabouts on the day Kyron disappeared.  In fact, besides Terri Horman, Dede Spicher is the only other person of interest whose image has appeared on an official law enforcement flyer in this investigation.  

Besides Terri Horman, Dede Spicher is the only other person in the search for Kyron
whose image has appeared on an official law enforcement flyer.  

6) Dede claims that she signed an immunity deal with prosecutors.  Now, dear reader, I ask you: why would someone with no involvement in a crime need an immunity deal?  In fact, according toOregon law, in order for a person to receive immunity that person has to have knowledge of, or be involved in, a criminal act.  Let that sink in.  Merely by acknowledging she has an immunity deal in Kyron's disappearance, Dede herself is admitting that she either knows something about it or was actually involved in it.  Sobering, isn't it?  

 "Don't you think though if the DA offered her an immunity deal that they would have released some official document or had a presser or something to let the public know? The only people that have ever said she was cleared was DD and Blink."

Anonymous Kyron supporter

7) Dede has a history of seemingly bizarre behavior that caused at least one former friend to call the Kyron Horman tipline as soon as he became aware that her name had been associated with the case.  "My mouth was agape..." recalled Dede's ex-boyfriend Jason Wishert.  "I thought, Oh my gosh, there's two things that investigators should look at."  And in a now-deleted blog entryprior to Kyron's disappearance, Dede bragged - in detail - about petsitting a dog, locking him for hours in a laundry room, and (after he had tried to claw his way out and became bloodied in the process) complaining about having to clean up the mess.  Sadly I can't find a copy of the original blog now, but it was quite disturbing and it certainly made me wonder about what this woman might be capable of if she would allow an innocent dog to be badly hurt due to her own selfishness.  (If anyone has a copy of her blog entry feel free to cut and paste it in the comments or PM it to me on Facebook and I'll post it here.)

Three more to go, folks.  I'll try to pull myself together enough to get 'em posted sooner rather than later.  Thanks for reading!