Missing Local: Dana Bruce 10/4/2008

It bothers me how certain cases make national news, garner national coverage, outrage, and searches, and some barely make the local tv station. Such is true with the disappearance of 23 year old Dana Bruce from Sedalia, Missouri in October 2008. I first heard of the case when I saw her MISSING poster at a convenience store.  From the start, the outlook didn't look good. And now, the case has grown cold as it approaches its 5 year anniversary.

Little has been made public about Dana's disappearance, which is a bit alarming. It seemed that the case never had much of a start and that the trail went cold as immediately as she went missing.

Dana was the single mother of two children. She had gone out to a local bar "Malone's on Main" in Sedalia that evening. She was reportedly seen with a man in a late model, red Ford F-150 and left the bar with him around 11:30. She returned to the babysitter's home around midnight and gave the babysitter extra money and asked her if she would stay the evening. She never returned home.

While police have identified the man that Dana was with that evening, he soon traveled to Atlanta, GA. Police flew to Atlanta and questioned him when he was arrested there for possession of marijuana and driving while suspended. He has been named a "person of interest" but police never named him publicly, so there's not much to go on after that. They interviewed him in October 2008 and that's the last time any news reports about a suspect in the case have been written.

She reportedly has no credit cards, debit cards, cell phone, car, or checking account, so there hasn't been any activity to track since she disappeared. Her friends and family claim that she was a 'devoted' parent and would not leave her children, and foul play is suspected.
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I've thought about Dana for a long time and always wondered what happened to her. Unfortunately, it doesn't look good for Dana, and she probably was an easy target. She only weighed a reported 93 lbs at the time of her disappearance; the man that she left with wasn't someone that was familiar to others, and likely, was someone she had just met.

The lack of followup in this case is very frustrating, but I tend to think that the police didn't think Dana was a very high priority. She was young, with two children that she had with a man that has several pages of criminal infractions on Missouri CaseNet. She herself had been arrested in 2006 for theft and incarcerated after. She had no links, other than her children, to be tracked: no cell phone GPS, no car to be searched for, no money outlet. If she wanted to disappear, she could have...easily.

But that's not what happened. But what DID happen to Dana Bruce?

Several theories are available on sleuthing websites of Dana's disappearance. One claimed that the "person of interest" was a 34 year old that worked for Pro-Energy in Sedalia and they had just laid fresh concrete at the construction site, but this was never reported in any news stories. The police reportedly used scent dogs around the site, according to this article.

There were a couple of searches for Dana in the months following the disappearance. There were also websites and Myspace pages set up to find Dana, and all have come down. The only one that stands is the Dana Bruce Tribute Page on Facebook, which is updated occasionally but usually not about Dana- other information about missing locals.

Missouri is still a densely rural area, especially where Dana disappeared. Twenty miles away is Knob Noster State Park, which is a nearly 4,000 acre park near Whiteman Air Force Base and Warrensburg, Missouri. Forty miles in the other direction is Warsaw, Missouri, which is home to the Harry S Truman Reservoir/Truman Lake, a massive lake with many side areas.

Granted, without anything to go from, police may not know where to start searching for Dana. But it doesn't seem like they're doing much to find out, either.As the five year anniversary of her disappearance approaches, it's the perfect time to get her name and her face back in the news. It's time to organize searches, share her photo, and revisit the person of interest in Georgia.

 It's time to lay her to rest and give her the peace she deserves.


Source:
http://www.charleyproject.org/cases/b/bruce_dana.html

We've Piqued Someone's Interest....

Well, well, well. Look what we have here. Apparently, this little blog in the sleepy town has piqued the interest of someone in Saudi Arabia. Could it be?

If Ziyad Abid is really reading my blog, here's my proposition to you: tell your story. Email me at centralmosleuth@gmail.com. Give me an interview, and profess your innocence. Or, if you prefer, sell out the President for springing you.  This town is begging for answers. If you're willing, I promise to give you a non-biased interview.

Email me and tell your story. Centralmosleuth@gmail.com. What do you have to lose?

Ziyad Abid Keeps the Rumor Mill Churning

Ziyad Abid is currently over 7200 miles away in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, but he still has the residents of Warrensburg Missouri by the throat.

Yesterday, Ziyad's dormant Facebook profile came to life. First posting two smiley faces, then this:

We know that this is Ziyad's real profile, but until yesterday, everything was completely private- even the day he was arrested. So now it's public, you can message him, add him as a friend, and see all of his posts?

The reason that this came to my attention is because it has been shared over 250 times, but he pulled it down earlier today/last night. It's still being shared from the screenshot above, from Vince Bertucci.

I have to admit that I was stumped when this popped up. He's crediting President Obama from springing him from jail... but I think he's lying. As stated before, Ziyad is smart. Smug, even. From his very first mugshot, you can tell he doesn't care what's happening to him because he has carefully orchestrated everything. He also know about the Obama controversy, and as a narcissist, he revels in the fact that this little town is still talking about him, and loathing him- and he knows they can't do anything about it. 

Another interesting piece of information that hasn't been widely reported... he passed a lie detector test. An excerpt from The Daily Star Journal follows...



Warrensburg – After passing a lie detector test that focused on a murder accusation, Zayid Tariq Abid, 24, arrived Wednesday in Saudi Arabia, his lawyer, Patrick Peters of Kansas City said.
“He and his dad left Monday – flew to Washington, and flew out from there yesterday – and got into Saudi Arabia today,” Peters said.
Abid could have left immediately Aug. 2 after the state dropped the murder charge against him, but waited to work on his immigration status so that he could return to the country if he chooses, Peters said.
Abid received a “voluntary departure order” from an immigration judge before leaving.
“He needs to do some work to be able to come back, but it’s better than if you just leave; he could have just left,” he said.
Abid also went voluntarily to a former FBI agent who administered a polygraph test regarding the Sept. 1 murder of downtown business owner William “Blaine” Whitworth, 25, Warrensburg. The state charged Abid with the murder and armed criminal action based on a confession made, allegedly, by the accused trigger man, Reginald L. Singletary Jr., 28, Warrensburg, who is in the Johnson County Jail awaiting trial.
“Abid didn’t do anything – didn’t conspire with Reggie, ask Reggie, threaten Reggie, tell Reggie... He had nothing to do with Reggie killing Blaine Whitworth,” Peters said. “We didn’t legally need to at all, but we wanted to get polygraphed on it just so we could say, ‘Ha, told you so.’ He didn’t commit murder, didn’t pay to commit it, didn’t offer to pay to commit it, didn’t threaten or coerce.”

Obviously, his lawyer is a prick, but we already knew that.

After deleting the post about the President, he posted this: "Tomorrow night all behind the scenes pictures will be on my wall see you then" 

Intriguing, yes. He's continuing to hold everyone in suspense. And the more we talk about it, share it, and get in a tizzy, the more he wins. 

Ziyad Abid: Innocent or Mastermind of Murder?

The purpose of this blog is to explore every angle, even the unpopular ones. There is no doubt this will be an unpopular post, but it should be explored. No one else is writing it, so here it is.

Warrensburg has had time to process the release of Ziyad Abid. Overwhelmingly, many people do believe that President Obama's visit directly correlated to his release. And truth be told, they will continue to believe it, no matter how little evidence that links them (currently-none), the rumor is still driving hoards of people to this page. The stats from this page are as follows, and as you can see, the traffic sources show that people are seeking information about it. Possibly to confirm what they think they know, and I do hope that they spend a minute or two opening their minds to the fact that there's another option.

It occurred to me the other day, to consider the most unpopular opinion of them all: that Ziyad Abid is innocent of all charges.

I reported in the first post that a rumor swirled about Blaine borrowing money from Abid to keep his bar(s) afloat. This would give Abid motive to want Blaine killed; Blaine owed him money, or, Blaine was not cooperating with Abid to either repay the loan. Either way, if money was exchanged, there was surely some sort of trail. Blaine didn't seem to be the kind that would have a Cayman bank account, so if he was to borrow, say, $10,000-25,000 from Abid, it would have appeared somewhere.

1) His bank account (wire transfer, unusually large deposit)
2) He used it to pay mortgages, renovations, etc, which would have raised red flags if traced back- "5,000 in a bank account and he didn't touch it, but paid payments, bills, and contractors"?
3) Found in his home after the investigation-
4) Blaine would have documented it or told someone about the loan, that could swear under oath to the information.

Anyway you slice it, Ziyad Abid was not going to walk into a bank and withdraw money of a significant amount; write a check, or authorize a large wire transfer to Blaine's bank account (which would easily be tracked by his social security number).

This author has to deduce that this rumor is untrue. Any appearance of impropriety, or paper trail would have been enough motive to keep Abid in jail.

Let's turn to Reginald Singletary. He had the motive, means, and opportunity to kill Blaine, and he first admitted in September 2012 that this is exactly what happened.

Motive: It has been reported that Reggie was fired from Blaine's bar a week prior to Blaine's death. He was angry, is known to have a temper (Case net reports that he was charged with a Protection Order from his wife/ex-wife (Adult Abuse w/o stalking, 2010), and originally admitted to this crime. At this time, he also implicated Ziyad Abid, with the story that Abid hired him. Police arrested Abid after Reggie.

Means: Reggie had a gun, obviously. What's unclear is whose gun it was. It likely wasn't Ziyad's, as he legally could not own a gun with nonimmigrant status in the U.S. If it was stolen or procured illegally, it would likely not be traced to Ziyad, so it was probably Reggie's. We do not know if the gun has been recovered.

Opportunity: Reggie worked for Blaine and he knew his schedule. He knew that Blaine was going to be going to the bar around 9 or so, and he knew that he lived alone. It is dark around this time in September in Missouri, so he knew he would have less chance of being seen. (But this was risky- at any given time, neighbors could have been outside or driving home)

Ziyad's attorney, Patrick Peters, has called Reginald Singletary a "pathological liar". (Note: please check out Peters' website, where this is the opening statement:

"You think the criminal justice system is fair? We don't want to alarm you, but it's you and your attorney against . . . the government. The same folks that can't fix a pothole are running the system, and if you think it's fair, you're in for a rude awakening...

Patrick & Shelley Peters"

http://www.peters-lawyers.com/

If Reggie is a liar, and he knew he was caught, why not implicate his roommate, the wealthy Ziyad Abid, who could have also had the Motive, Means, and Opportunity.

Motive: If he really wanted to purchase Blaine's bars, killing Blaine could have been a way to do it. Note: I don't think he wanted Blaine's bars. Abid had no support in the US, and the Warrensburg bar  market is not as fruitful as it used to be. He would likely receive his degree in aviation, return to Saudi Arabia, enjoy an aviation career like his father. He didn't need to buy a couple of bars in Warrensburg to be successful.

Means: Ziyad had the means to get a gun, or to promise Reggie a good amount of money (even if he had no intention of following through to pay) to kill Blaine.

Opportunity: If Ziyad wanted to do it himself, he could have. He could have known Blaine's schedule as well.

There are two distinct theories to this murder. You can think that Ziyad got off on a technicality, a good lawyer or a bad justice system. If you believe this, you have to admit that he left little room for mistakes. He didn't leave a trail of money or evidence. He didn't crack under pressure from investigators. (As stated before, anyone that Blaine let in on a possible loan, obviously didn't swear under oath or produce any proof that Abid had a hit on Blaine)

 Or you can choose to believe that he didn't do it. He was simply a victim of circumstance, a poorly constructed confession that took 11 months to crack. He obviously wasn't loved by the media, with his smirk in his mugshot and his blasé attitude during all court appearances.

And finally, why did Reggie's story change? In the July 18 article in the Daily Star Journal, it was stated that Reggie wasn't willing to testify against Abid. Many people have claimed that Abid's family have paid Reggie for his silence. This is possible; however, Reggie is looking at life behind bars right now, so I doubt that he would give up any chance of acquittal or a reduced sentence, just for money for his prison commissary costs.

Whatever you choose to believe, any intelligent person has to admit that there are several variables here, and that if Abid really did get away with murder, either the state didn't do enough research to dig up the dirt, or Abid so carefully masterminded this entire situation, that the entire case hinged on Reggie's confession.

And if that's all they had, folks, the jury likely would have returned a not guilty verdict. It's tough to hear, because we want justice for Blaine, but at the same time, the state didn't meet their burden of proof. Whether it was "fair" or not means nothing in the grand scheme of things. Criminal Justice at its finest.

Sleuth

August 2, 2013: Charges DROPPED against Ziyad Abid

Warrensburg was stunned today when Prosecuter Lynn Stoppy announced that Ziyad Abid, one of the accused defendants in the murder-for-hire plot that resulted in Blaine Whitworth's death on September 1, 2012, would go free. Residents are outraged. As they should be- but who should they be angry with?

Stoppy's statement, in addition to a quote from the Missouri Attorney General's office.

Johnson County Prosecuting Attorney Lynn Stoppy released a statement early Friday that announced the case was dismissed.

“Very recently, our understanding of evidence previously obtained from a critical witness has changed,” Stoppy said in the release. “As a result, the state is currently left without sufficient evidence to support the prosecution at this time.”

The Missouri Attorney General’s Office, which has worked on the case since late June at Stoppy’s request, also released a statement about the case.

“Since being appointed to assist with the case approximately four weeks ago, we have carefully examined the evidence as it has developed,” the statement reads. “The prosecution does not currently have sufficient evidence to proceed with the case. First degree murder is the most serious offense that the State can charge. We have an ethical obligation to dismiss a case once it becomes clear that the evidence presently available to the prosecution is not sufficient to proceed.”

(Quotes courtesy of digitalburg.com)

Seems like most of the fingers are being pointed at Lynn Stoppy and even President Obama, who was in Warrensburg last week to give a speech on the economy. I've already covered the ridiculous rumor about President Obama, and as predicted, he wasn't in town long enough to take his 25 car motorcade to the Johnson County jail to "free Abid". As if he would want to anyway.

Obviously, there's no evidence to support any Obama linkage to the case. (Well there wouldn't be, would there?!) But let me just say that if Obama had anything to do with this, it would be political suicide. And is it not even considered that no one would immediately report Obama's involvement, with proof? There's a lot of money to be made for someone who can prove that the President of the United States is interfering with a court case. Politics 101/CJ 101 states that you have to let the system take its course. Presidential pardons come AFTER a guilty verdict.

Unfortunately, this case has been wrought with difficulty from the get go. First, it was the back and forth battle about Abid's bail. According to the Missouri state constitution, Abid had every right, as a man who committed a crime in the state of Missouri, to be treated fairly and receive his bond at a reasonable amount. Of course, with his specific (and sometimes uncertain) financial circumstances, the bond tug-of-war drug on for months, from the original order of no bond to be posted, to allowing a $2 million bond with certain conditions, and then when it was posted by the Saudi government on Abid's behalf in June, the denial of bail by the judge.

Now, the evidence aspect: Stoppy is quoted saying that the evidence from a "critical witness" has changed. One can only assume that the critical witness is Reginald Singletary, and for one reason or another, he has decided not to testify. While the prosecutor has remained tight-lipped about what evidence they had against Abid, it seemed that it hinged on one very important piece: Singletary's confession that Abid hired him to kill Blaine for money. Since no other details are available, we must assume the following:

1) There is no money trail between Ziyad & Reginald. 
Abid is from Saudi Arabia, and while he may have access to local banks and financial institutions, he would not be able to go into any bank and withdraw a large sum of money (It is assumed the large sum of money would convince Singletary it was worth killing another person over) Of course, he would wire it- but a large wire transfer would have alerted authorities and given them a paper trail between Abid and Singletary.

2) There are probably no incriminating texts or suspicious phone calls between the suspects. 
Abid and Singletary were roommates, so they probably spent a lot of time talking about this event in person. This may have been on purpose, a strategic move by Abid to not incriminate himself. It could have also been just dumb luck. Either way, with a court order, some texts/calls could be retrieved. However, it could be considered circumstantial evidence.

3) Reginald Singletary confessed and implicated Ziyad Abid on September 4, 2012.
It has been widely publicized through the Sherrif's department that Singletary confessed. In this confession he implicated Abid. Okay. So either Singletary is telling the truth, and attempting to say, "I did it, but he made me", OR, he's lying. Of course, no one wants to believe that Abid is innocent. It's not the way to go. And hey, he probably isn't. But fortunately for Abid, Singletary isn't speaking now. And all fingers are pointing to Singletary. He confessed; he, by all accounts, pulled the trigger. There's no money trail because money didn't exchange hands. That evening, Abid was downtown and even spent time with Blaine's friends after they heard he was killed. Singletary wasn't around.


4) The Unknown. 
How did the authorities know to question/arrest Singletary and Abid mere days after the murder? Some of Blaine's employees had spoken to the police and expressed their concerns about the two suspects, so this may have been part of it. Where's the murder weapon? It hasn't been discussed or revealed about the gun that killed Blaine.

So, this case, stripped down, is not much against Abid and a lot against Singletary. And that is precisely why the Missouri Attorney General, and the Johnson County Prosecutor, Lynn Stoppy, felt it was best to drop it. They know that Singletary will be found guilty. They atleast have that. And this sucks, for everyone involved, but it is perfectly and completely legal.

One last, final note on the Obama situation. Obama was here for all of 2 hours. He flew in on Air Force One and immediately proceeded to the University of Central Missouri around 4:45. Around 6:00 pm, there was a live feed of him returning to Whiteman and boarding Air Force One. There wasn't any time for him to poke his nose in this case, not that he would even want to (or care to!). But that's okay. If it helps you sleep at night, enjoy your theories, minions.

-Central Missouri Sleuth