knockoff nige

I don't think that would work. I assume people don't do these things thinking about what they will get if caught. Getting caught surely isn't on there mind.

When I read the above story, I turned sexist and made the assumption that the woman is not mentally well and might have went through a traumatic experience involving her own child.

Zen10

You might be right about the woman, of course. And maybe you are right about the deterrent - these people are of course insane so how do you deter a madman? Having said that, in this case, Bridger was a father, worked, paid taxes, drive a licensed vehicle, maintained social ties. No one's going to tell me he wouldn't understand how painful being flogged to death is and if he was certain this is how it would end for him perhaps that little girl would not have been abducted. Instead he new it would end with therapy on a sofa in an isolated specialist prison for 20 years and then release under a new name.

Cheetah7

I wonder what evidence the cops have on him, they were doing forensics and stuff and they must be pretty sure to charge him, but without a body or an admission of guilt, seriously I would be interested to know what they do have on this guy.

The cops have torn the place apart looking for her, where can she be?

knockoff nige

An isolated specialist prison without his kids. I don't think he was considering even that. There's probably no punishment capable of dettering anyone who has it in their mind to do this. Excuse my ignorance here but I would liken this to heroin addiction where the abuser knows what they want and does not consider consequences. Thats me being doubly ignorant though as I've never used heroin.

Zen10

I am reliably informed that this is totally out of his character and to me the whole case is just really weird and just doesn't add up. If she had just disappeared one could accept she died in an accident but the fact he picked her up in a van shows intent. Where can she be? It's wild country up there and there are lots of forests and mountains and rivers so they could be looking for a long time.

moneypenny20

I'm not a bleeding heart but can I say that so far he's been charged, he's not been found guilty of any crime. You've also used the past tense in talking about him but I guess that's just typos.

Dorothy

How does picking her up in a van show intent? To me it shows more a spur of the moment thing. He's driving by, saw her alone and picked her up.

knockoff nige

They always seem to be driving a van. Maybe only people who drive fans can abduct kids. Otherwise, you planned it.

Zen10

Not typos, past tense is used because I am thinking of him as an example. "In this case, the suspect was a bla bla" etc. Just a turn of phrase and we could say "is" just as easily. Like for example when there's an accident and you tell the police the "car that hit me was a Ford" - it still IS a Ford, but it WAS a Ford when it hit you. Like Bridger was a father when this happened. I think I naturally use this turn of phrase. No he has not been found guilty, quite right, but I'm certain they have the right man because it all happened so fast and the community there is so small and close-knit.

Zen10

No, I'm saying that if she had died in his house he could have claimed it was an accident when she was playing with his kids, but the fact he went out in a van (possibly with a woman) and asked a kid to get into it shows intent in conjunction with the murder charge. The spur of the moment thing could be the case, but others on here have suggested that a vehicle like his was seen trying to pick up other kids some time ago. All hearsay now, but it will become clearer as time goes on. It's all very odd, this one. I'm still sort of hoping she's still alive, but when the parents came out and said they had given up hope of that I wondered if the police had said something to them.

asprilla

This case is peculiar. Effectively this guy has already been found "guilty".

But what if it turns out that this guy is not guilty, and he is released? He won't be able to continue a life in the UK.

moneypenny20

Indeed. He's had trial by media and general public. Obviously (I hope) the police have way more info than is being given out. To charge him with murder so early on with no body and no admission of guilt is weird and given the period of time between abduction and being taken in for questioning was very short, if he is involved, he was one very fast mover and for an apparently decent guy with no 'previous', none of it makes any sense.

Dorothy

Wow! What a huge pile of speculation there.

If she died at his house. If she's even dead! And the biggest if of all...If he had anything at all to do with her disappearance. Was he actually seen to take her in his van? Were there eyewitnesses to him (and a woman) taking her? You seem to be saying it's fact there. From what I understand it's only what the police (and now Joe Public) suspect.

Zen10

If he were found to be not guilty then he might have a case against the police, as previous cases have demonstrated, but he would have to show that they had no cause to arrest him, I guess.

I know the police make mistakes but arresting the wrong man for a case like this would be the mother of mistakes because it would destroy his life in the UK, as you point out.

Zen10

I say a lot of it is hearsay quite clearly in my post. We know a few facts about the case - that he knew the family and the missing child, that the accused owns a vehicle matching the description of the vehicle she was seen climbing into, that she appeared to know the person inside the vehicle and expressed so, that the police have charged him with murder, that the police have stated they might never find her, and so on.

As the case proceeds more facts will come to light and I'm sure we will welcome a satisfactory conclusion to this case, but I doubt we'll get one as no punishment can be harsh enough for this kind of crime. I know the town, and I have family in the region and it is a very quiet, rural place, and this has impacted on them very badly.