(this is going to be very long... but don't speed read it)
Everyone knows Jack McClellan. He's the pedophile who has been all over the news, the web, and the gossip benches. We all know... Jack likes little girls- in a purely sexual manner. We also know that Jack likes drugs, and used to like hookers. We know that Jack doesn't work because he's depressed. We know he used to have websites telling pedophiles where to find little girls. We know he lived in Washington, and now resides in his car in California, and is considering yet another state move.So, we know Jack, or so we think. I mean, how much can one really ever know about someone else? Jack says he has no victims... but we can't really know for sure. We must assume that there is that possibility that he is telling the truth, as hard as that might be.
Today, I received this:
This release regards the possible connection between self-described pedophile Jack McClellan and the death of 10 year old Adre'anna Jackson of Lakewood, Washington. Several news organizations have undertaken to report on this matter.
SUMMARY:
Self-described pedophile, Jack McClellan, cased and reported on the very intersection where 10 year old Adre'anna Jackson was last seen alive. Her badly decomposed remains were recovered four months later and her case remains unsolved.
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Death investigation:
Adre'anna Jackson, a 10 year old fourth grader, was last seen on December 2, 2005 near the intersection of Portland Avenue SW and Orchard Street SW in Lakewood, Washington. Adre'anna's decomposed remains were discovered April 4, 2006 approximately two miles from the location of her disappearance.
A person of interest, Spencer Douglas Grant, a transient, was briefly held in connection with Adre'anna's death. However, police determined Grant could not have been reponsible for the crime as he was in custody at the time Adre'anna disappeared.
In a possibly related matter, Terapon Adhahn, a local handyman was charged with the rape and murder of 11 year old Zina Linnik of the Tacoma area. Zina disappeared in 2000. Adhahn led authorities to Zina's remains in exchange for withdrawal of the death penalty.
Both of Adre'anna's parents were given polygraphs and have apparently been excluded as suspects.
Despite police investigation into Grant, Adhahn and the parents, the circumstances of Adre'anna's death remain unsolved. The case is open.
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McCLELLAN Connection:
Between January 2005 and September 2005, Jack McClellan published the "Seattle - Vancouver Street Prostitution Guide." This guide listed locations whereat it was possible to buy sex. Further, McClellan published information to assist in evading law enforcement when buying sex at the listed locations.
McClellan posted very detailed first-hand information including the color of undercover police vehicles, the laws and orders enforced by local authorities, the reports of prostitution and "john" arrests, observation of sting operations and the typical probationary terms of offenders. McClellan's blog entries go further in setting forth the dates and frequency with which prostitution arrests were reported.
The intersection where Adre'anna Jackson was last seen alive is one of the areas on which McClellan reported; specifically, the intersection of N Thorne Lane and Portland Avenue SW. (See http://web.archive.org/web/20050914224217/http://svstreetguide.org )
From Janaury to September 2005, McClellan's blog entry on Lakewood was considerably augmented to include reporting of several additional surrounding blocks and updating law enforcement activity in the area.
The location described by McClellan is approximately two blocks west of Tillicum Elementary School, the location to where Adre'anna was headed when she was last seen. McClellan's supplemental information over the several months suggests personal familiarity with the location. There is no question that McClellan was in the area of Tacoma at the time of Adre'anna's disappearance.
McClellan's last update of svstreetguide.org was approximately three months before Adre'anna's disappearance. At the bottom of McClellan's blog entry, he states that he is finished with prostitutes and has realized his affinity for pre-pubescent girls.
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Investigative considerations:
There was a new push to solve Adre'anna's case in March 2007. This push entailed the publishing of billboards in the Tacoma area. The billboards, conspicuously yellow and with Adre'anna's picture, bear the slogan, "Who killed me?"
It appears that the billboards went up between late March and mid-April 2007.
McClellan left the Tacoma area for Southern California approximately two to three weeks after.
Further, McClellan mentions Adre'anna's case on his blog "stegl.info." The link can be found by going to http://archive.org and putting stegl.info at the search bar. The link is the eighth link under the subheading "News" which was last updated by McClellan on March 20, 2007.
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Relevant statements by McClellan:
Inquiry into the matter should regard McClellan's statements to the press and on his blog, stegl.org (which was in addition to stegl.info). Specifically, as is now part of the court papers in support of the restraining order, McClellan blogged about visiting a food pantry as a place to get close to small children. His blog entry reads, "There might have been a single mom or two with kids as well, but they all arrived in cars, so I didn't have the 'need a ride?' offer to use, and the kids never separated from the parents (there weren't any playing in the park's playground on this cold day)."
It is also notable that McClellan stated on the John and Ken Show (KFI 640 AM) on August 10, 2007 at approximately 5:40pm that he would engage in illegal sexual activity with a minor child if he was 100% sure he wouldn't get caught. The archive of the interview can be found at http://kfi640.com at the "KFI On Demand" link near the bottom of the home page.
[...]
There was a little more to it, but the relevant part is what I included. It came from a respectable source.
When I first read this, I quickly headed to do a news search on this. I wanted to see just what was being said out there. The single link I found pointed me to Crime Library. Where Tori Richards has "investigated" this new information. While her 'story' read well, there were a few finer points that stuck out... she never mentions the lead investigator on Adre'anna Jackson case- Sgt. Lawler. One would think that she would have spoken with him, perhaps verified that they had received the tip (or given the tip to him), or at least verified that they were indeed considering this a viable lead in the case and investigating it. The very wording of her title leads one to believe that police are indeed looking at Jack as a possible suspect. "Police Eye McClellan in Unsolved Washington Murder"
A few leading quotes from her story:
He has professed attraction to a child actress who looks similar to Jackson and left his home state of Washington after the start of a billboard campaign to find the killer.
Other than hair length and color, I personally see little resemblance between the two children. And almost everyone is aware of the simple fact that Jack left Washington due to the press coverage and being forced to leave his parents home.
McClellan's website had information on death of 10-year-old Adre'anna Jackson
The 'information' was a link to a news story, one of hundreds that Jack posted over a few years time.
McClellan's site had a section called "News and Analysis." On April 19 it was updated to include a link to Tacoma News Tribune story on the reward for Adre'anna's murder. A May 20 version of the site had a category named "News" and a link to the story he labeled "New push to solve 2005 murder of cute Lakewood 10 F."
And I've linked to thousands of stories, as has Crime Library (okay... so they haven't LINKED them, but I know of a few spots where they "lifted" from them).
What the 'story' fails to mention is what made this worth posting. Personally, I'm one for verifying things... like whether Jack is really being 'eyed' as they called it. So I called the investigating officer in the murder case. It might have saved a little bandwidth for CL if Tori Richards had done so before publishing this piece.
Sgt. Lawler, the lead investigator confirmed that they had received a tip siting all of this information. And, confirmed that the police would look into the tip just as any other tip they might receive. But, he also confirmed something else- that while Jack was admittedly in the area, there were no reasons to connect him to this crime. He offered the quote that he didn't believe there was a reasonable link between McClellan and Adre'anna Jackson's murder.
Richards also failed to offer another interesting point in her 'story'... that police have already presented a possible suspect to the public, and are actively investigating the connection. Some of you may recall that back in July, in Washington a young girl was kidnapped and murdered outside of her home. This is especially odd that she choose to leave this bit of information out- since it is well known by at least one person connected to this case.
The suspect, Terapon Adhahn was arrested and charged with the killing of 12-year-old Zina Linnik. On July 31, reports were released that included information from investigators with possible evidence linking Adhahn to Adre'anna Jackson:
LAKEWOOD, Wash. – Detectives in Lakewood spent Tuesday digging through the backyard of a home where suspected child killer Terapon Adhahn used to live, and detectives say they unearthed evidence that could link Adhahn to the abduction and killing of 10-year-old Adre'anna Jackson.
So, why would Tori Richards, of Crime Library fail to provide this more reasonable theory for this murder... rather than just pointing to the barely news worthy 'tip' that police are looking into? It's no secret that police can receive thousands of false leads on a high profile case.... and they are still required to investigate any possible tips that come in, but it doesn't compute into meaning that they are "eyeing" every single person they hear about. They look for valid connections... and frankly- there are just not any in this case.
But the odd behavior of Crime Library doesn't end there, they have continued pounding the theory that Jack is responsible and being investigated by updating their page on Adre' anna Jackson's case:
UPDATE: Adre'anna's remains were discovered in an abandoned field in April of 2006. The police did find a homeless man that they took in for questioning in the case, but released him for lack of evidence. Currently, the police are looking at the possibility that Jack McClellan, a self-professed pedofile, may have been involved, though they have released no information to the public due to the on-going investigation.
Love the last line, especially since the words "I'm a blogger in Ohio" got me a quote down playing any real hopes of a connection between Jack and this case from the investigating officer.
It'd be hard for CL to deny knowing about the real suspect in the murder and kidnapping, as it was talked about on their forum, and even had links to the news stations that covered the ongoing investigation.
The likelihood that McClellan had any connection, that this is anything more than barely existent coincidences is almost laughable. Almost, because when you look at the effects this could have, at the willingness of a major crime media outlet to publish such nonsense in an attempt to create some hyped attention- it's sad and disturbing.
The simple fact is that, as much as we are sickened by Jack... it doesn't mean he is a killer. And, trying to spin that it does is nothing short of irresponsible and highly unethical.
It's one thing for people to question the possibility that Jack is connected to one crime or another... but printing it up and giving it hype just to gain a few clicks of the mouse is quite different.