Trentonian Insider


Sunday, July 1, 2007

Monday morning quarterbacking the police

Blame The Sopranos if you'd like. But the case of the missing mom, abandoned baby and boyfriend who took off for Italy inspires a lot of speculation about what might have happened.

Click here to read The Trentonian's latest update of the story.

To recap, an 11-month-old baby is found abandoned in the parking lot of a Delaware hospital. His doting, loving mother is missing, but there are at least some signs (leaving without her cigarettes) that point to something other than her just taking off on her own. The father of the child turns out to be married, and his wife has no idea about the girlfriend or the kid. Then it turns out the father lives in the former McMansion of a prominent Jersey mafioso. Then it turns out the father ditched his job and took off for Italy after the whole abandoned baby thing made the news. Then based on cell phone records, police charge him with being the person who abandoned the baby.

Didn't this whole thing look suspicious enough for police to have pursued the father more aggressively before he had the chance to leave the country? And why did it take reporters to dig up surveillance video of a grocery store visit by the missing mom, the fugitive father and the toddler just hours before the baby was found?

And the whole mob angle gives rise to all kinds of theories.

Is this case of local police not knowing when to call in the FBI? Or did the FBI and similar higher law enforcement authorities view it as some minor desperate mom situation and were dismissive? Or are police in multiple states having a hard time cooperating and communicating?

It's easy to second-guess police - like the Lawrence beating death murder investigation that turned out to be no beating at all, but rather a case of meningitis, or the day that Trenton police spent processing the scene of a dumped body only to find out hours later that it was the carcass of a dog.

In both cases, if their initial assessment of the "crime scene" had been true, and they hadn't pulled out all the stops to investigate and warn the public, they would have been in for even more criticism.

We'll take an overreaction any day compared to what has happened in the case of the missing mom.

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Trentonian Blogs: Trentonian Insider: Monday morning quarterbacking the police

Trentonian Insider


Sunday, July 1, 2007

Monday morning quarterbacking the police

Blame The Sopranos if you'd like. But the case of the missing mom, abandoned baby and boyfriend who took off for Italy inspires a lot of speculation about what might have happened.

Click here to read The Trentonian's latest update of the story.

To recap, an 11-month-old baby is found abandoned in the parking lot of a Delaware hospital. His doting, loving mother is missing, but there are at least some signs (leaving without her cigarettes) that point to something other than her just taking off on her own. The father of the child turns out to be married, and his wife has no idea about the girlfriend or the kid. Then it turns out the father lives in the former McMansion of a prominent Jersey mafioso. Then it turns out the father ditched his job and took off for Italy after the whole abandoned baby thing made the news. Then based on cell phone records, police charge him with being the person who abandoned the baby.

Didn't this whole thing look suspicious enough for police to have pursued the father more aggressively before he had the chance to leave the country? And why did it take reporters to dig up surveillance video of a grocery store visit by the missing mom, the fugitive father and the toddler just hours before the baby was found?

And the whole mob angle gives rise to all kinds of theories.

Is this case of local police not knowing when to call in the FBI? Or did the FBI and similar higher law enforcement authorities view it as some minor desperate mom situation and were dismissive? Or are police in multiple states having a hard time cooperating and communicating?

It's easy to second-guess police - like the Lawrence beating death murder investigation that turned out to be no beating at all, but rather a case of meningitis, or the day that Trenton police spent processing the scene of a dumped body only to find out hours later that it was the carcass of a dog.

In both cases, if their initial assessment of the "crime scene" had been true, and they hadn't pulled out all the stops to investigate and warn the public, they would have been in for even more criticism.

We'll take an overreaction any day compared to what has happened in the case of the missing mom.

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