Tuesday, December 15, 2009

Are they just now beginning to suspect foul play in the Mitrice Richardson case?

According to the L.A. Times, the sheriff's department has decided to start a homicide investigation for Mitrice Richardson. In case you are not familiar with this story, Mitrice was at a restaurant and unable to pay for her meal. Apparently, Mitrice was talking and behaving oddly; people at the restaurant thought she may have had some mental issues. Her grandmother was called and she offered to pay for the bill, but didn't have access to a fax machine. The couldn't accept her card payment over the phone. So, the police were called and she was arrested. The police department claims she showed no signs of drunkenness or mental issues, so they released her.

This young woman disappeared after being released from the Malibu police department in mid-September. The police claim that they had no reason to hold her at the station because she did not show any signs of being drunk or being mentally incapacitated. Now it turns out she may have had some sort of breakdown, so how is it that the police saw no reason to hold her, at least until a family member could come to the station and take her home? Mind you, she had no car (it was miles away, at the restaurant where everything started), no money, and no cell phone. Instead of dropping her off at home or simply taking her back to her car, the police department let her walk off into the night. Now she's missing. The sheriff says that they do not believe she is dead, but by starting a homicide investigation, more resources can be used to find her.

Wouldn't it have made more sense to use more resources months ago? Leads that could have been discovered back in October may be long gone! I hope that is not the case, but I'm upset at the fact that her strange disappearance did not seem to warrant a massive media blitz. I know, the story was featured on CNN Headline news, but I haven't seen or heard much else about her disappearance since October. I pray they find Mitrice and that she is able to go home to her family.

2 comments:

  1. The only ongoing coverage I have found is online from the Malibu Surfside News. The updated news perhaps is coming late. I think maybe she has either willing disappeared and has gone into hiding or something has happened to her mentally and she's just out there but nobody has realized who she is. I wonder if the investiators have thoroughly searched and questioned the homeless community?

    I have set up scheduled posting for the next few weeks and probably won't be commenting during that period, but I'll be back in real time on January 3, 2010. Merry Christmas and a truly Blessed New Year.
    Lee
    http://tossingitout.blogspot.com/

    ReplyDelete
  2. Hi Lee,

    You bring up a very good point with questioning the homeless community. I hadn't thought of that, but it makes sense. I don't have exact numbers, but I know a decent amount of homeless people suffer from mental illness and if she did suffer from a mental breakdown, it would be prudent for the authorities to go that route.

    I hope you have an awesome vacation! Enjoy the holidays! Catch ya in 2010!

    ReplyDelete