Point, Counterpoint

We are posting this statement regarding the accounts in the media Saturday. State Police investigators informed us that evidence had leaked to the press regarding blood found at the scene of Ayla’s disappearance and that they were prepared to confirm the story. What they were unwilling to confirm to the press, but left to our discretion, is that it has already been determined to be Ayla’s blood. They also stated to us that it is "more blood than a small cut would produce".  We were also told by the lead investigators that it was "more than a cup full".  

Notice that in this statement, Jeffrey seems to be saying that ALL of the blood is Ayla's, and he does not ever use the word SOME.

Various media reports clarify the issue.

"The state crime lab confirms some of the blood samples are Ayla's," said Stephen McCausland, a spokesman for the Maine Department of Public Safety, referring to young Ayla Reynolds. The girl's mother, Trista Reynolds, learned of the news Saturday, McCausland said.

Police declined to comment on the website posting beyond confirming that testing revealed some of the blood was Ayla's.

Some of the blood found in a Maine home where a missing toddler was last seen six weeks ago belonged to the little girl, an official said Sunday.

State Police spokesman Stephen McCausland would not say how much of Ayla Reynolds' blood was found in her father's home in Waterville, where exactly it was found or how long it might have been there.

Police confirmed weeks ago that Ayla’s blood was found in the partially finished basement that DiPietro uses as his bedroom, but wouldn’t say how much. Police won’t confirm a report on answersforayla.com, a blog maintained by Ayla’s maternal family, that investigators have told them more than a “cup full” of blood was discovered.

Police did not confirm or deny the family's statement, but I find it funny that Stephen McCausland goes to great lengths to inform the media that only SOME of the blood was Ayla's. That counts as a correction; he corrected the Reynold's family statement that the, indicating all of the, blood was Ayla's. Perhaps they did find a cup full of blood, but I have grave doubts that all of it was Ayla's. For those of you who say that law enforcement has not directly denied the cup full of blood, keep in mind that they also have not denied the paternal family's account that there were only four drops of blood. 

We have to seriously question whether police actually told Jeffrey that the cup full of blood was Ayla's, or did they just tell him that a cup full was found. Why would the police tell the family that they can release whatever they want, but that it will not be confirmed or denied---and then turn around and confirm that only a portion of the blood was the toddler's? Doing so only drives confusion, and it makes the maternal family look like they exaggerated at best, and like liars at worst. Also, the blood evidence WAS NOT released to the family by police officers, it was leaked to the press. Before the family found out in the media, police officers did the courtesy of letting them know.

 

As for the big question about whether or not the blood evidence is relevant, Justin DiPietro answers it best: If there was something there, I don't think I'd be standing here with you right now. 

Ronald Reynold's said that police did not give any indication what the discovery (of blood) means. Jeffrey Hanson said police had not notified him or Trista that there was any change in the status of the investigation. Police also vehemently denied that they believe Ayla is dead. So even AFTER the discovery of the blood, police were still looking for a LIVE child.  If there was a cup full of a toddler's blood, wouldn't police give an indication that the focus of the investigation was changing? Jeffrey says himself, "Is this amount of blood loss survivable? Yes. Does this amount necessitate treatment? Yes." There's no indication that Ayla received treatment. So the only viable conclusion from a cup full of blood loss, is that she's dead. Why would police deny that conclusion, that Jeffrey makes seem so inevitable? Furthermore, Stephen McCausland said that the  fact that blood was discovered in the home has only recently been revealed, as it "would have interfered with the investigation." One could conclude that the blood is not playing a major role in the investigation, because the information was released.

Someone has to make sense of this. Police release information through Trista, because releasing it themselves would taint the investigation. That's stupid. It doesn't make sense even to those of you who have not graduated from high school or obtained a GED. The outcome is the same, whether Trista releases it or the police. The information is OUT THERE. Secondly, how would the information be helpful to the investigation if it is in dispute? Releasing the information clearly would be more productive. Police do not play games like that. There is also the argument that police cannot release certain information, by virtue of their jobs. Guess what? If Trista gets the information, it means that law enforcement released it. Come up with a better explanation for that. As mentioned earlier, this information regarding the blood, was leaked to the media first, and then the family was informed.

My questions (notice I don't have to put them on a picture with Ayla's face, because they are valid questions on their own merit):

• Is there anything, that we know about, that discredits Justin's claim of seeing pictures with four drops of blood circled? We do know that he was shown pictures; he'd have no reason to lie about what those photos indicated. Haven't the police "corrected" Justin before, with regard to his polygraph? When he said there were 4 drops, he had no way of knowing whether or not the police would confirm or deny that statement.

• Has Trista seen pictures of the blood, and has she, herself, disputed what Justin says about the four drops? She can say it was a cup full all she wants, but we also have her text messages saying that she doesn't agree with what her family chooses to post

Please try to stay on topic in the comments section...I will create a post to discuss random topics, but try to keep your comments here relevant to the topic at hand. 

Before anyone asks, I will post a counterpoint to every post that a certain other blog does if I choose to. It's about perspective, and that site claims to offer posts from different perspectives and welcome all view, but I bet none of you have ever seen one!? Every poster who posts an unpopular opinion over there is accused of being me. What happened to them saying they will remove all references to me from their comments/site?