Jarred Mitchell Harrell--'Person of interest' in Somer Thompson's killing kept child pornography

HOLBROOK MOHR, TAMARA LUSH

Associated Press Writers
via orlandosentinel.com

February 12, 2010

ORANGE PARK, Fla. (AP) — Somer Thompson's body was buried among 225 tons of garbage in a Georgia landfill, but no sign of her killer.

This week, nearly four months after she died, Clay County Sheriff Rick Beseler announced a person of interest in the case, an unemployed 24-year-old restaurant worker who lived on and off in Somer's neighborhood...

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authorities have not yet charged Jarred Mitchell Harrell in Somer's death...Harrell was arrested Thursday in Meridian, Miss., where he moved about three weeks ago, and charged with 29 counts of possession of child pornography. He was being held in Mississippi on $1 million bond and Lauderdale County Sheriff Billy Sollie said he did not yet have an attorney...

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Family friend Rod Buchanan says Harrell lived on and off with his parents at a brick ranch home not far from Somer's.

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read entire article here

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from News4jax:

Somer's Mom Tries Not To Get Hopes Up

Friends Found Porn On Harrell's Computer

Photo Blog: On Trail Of Jarred Harrell

Person Of Interest Named In Somer Thompson Case

February 11, 2010

wokv.com

By Jeff Hess

February 11, 2010

Clay County Sheriff Rick Beesler has named a person of interest in the Somer Thompson murder case.
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Jarred Harrell, 24, has been arrested in Meridian, Mississippi, on 29 counts of child pornography.
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Thursday, investigators served a search warrant at a home just four blocks from where Thompson was last seen before she turned up dead in a Folkston, Georgia, landfill.

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Beseler said other residences in Callahan and Lauderdale County, Miss., and a vehicle have also been searched in connection with the case.

Somer Thompson Murder: Mom Warned a Year Before 7-Year-Old's Abduction (Photos)

Solving the Somer Thompson Murder: Investigators Leaning on Community

Right: Sommer Thompson

abcnews.go.com/GMA

By SARAH NETTER

Oct. 29, 2009

Sheriff Says Killer May Have Scratches, Unnatural Interest in the case.

As police continue their desperate search for the person that killed 7-year-old Somer Thompson experts say that even the most random memory from the day she disappeared may lead to her murderer.

"I'm a strong believer that the community is an incredibly underrated and important resource for solving crimes, especially when the crimes are fresh," forensic psychiatrist Dr. Michael Welner told "Good Morning America" today. "You get the public mobilized to say ... 'What do you remember?'" ...

"We're referring to people associated with the offender in this case," Clay County Sheriff Rick Beseler said. They likely don't realize they are associated with the killer, he said.

"Clearly there is a distinction between the pedophiles you see and the pedophiles you don't," Welner said. "The pedophiles you see may violate the children again and again and again. And the pedophiles you don't see violate and destroy."

...The sheriff urged people to alert detectives if they notice certain changes in people's behavior, like "an unnatural interest" in the girl's case, or hiding their vehicle in a shed or giving it away.
"You will recognize the change and even question them about it but not realize it is associated" with the Somer Thompson case, Beseler said.

Beseler said telltale signs of someone who could have been involved with Somer's murder would be a combination of several behaviorial changes, including:
1. Leaving the area unexpectedly.
2. Having missed work or other routine engagements, especially on Oct. 19, the day Somer disappeared.
3. Unexplained injuries such as cuts or bruises on the head, arms and hands.

read article here

How Police Found Somer Thompson and How They Hope to Catch Her Killer

October 23, 2009

cbsnews.com

Posted by Edecio Martinez

ORANGE PARK, Fla. (CBS/AP) Garbage trucks were the key to finding seven-year-old Somer Thompson's body and garbage trucks may be the key to finding her killer. Officials say investigators tailed nine garbage trucks from Thompson's Florida neighborhood to a Georgia landfill and then picked through the trash as each rig spilled its load.

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They sorted through more than 225 tons of garbage before the little girl's body was found. At a news conference, Clay County Sheriff Rick Beseler said the quick discovery of Somer's body, two days after she disappeared, may have saved precious evidence that could lead to her killer...

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Somer vanished on her one-mile walk home from school Monday in a heavily populated residential area, about a mile from a stretch of fast-food restaurants and other businesses, in the Jacksonville suburb of Orange Park. Searchers combed the area before investigators, following garbage trucks that collected trash Tuesday, spotted her lifeless legs in a landfill about 50 miles away...

Now as the search for a missing girl turns into the search for her killer, the garbage trucks may again play a pivotal role. Investigators will presumably try to pinpoint the trash bin or garbage can where she was dumped, based on the trash around her and the truck's pickup route. That could hopefully help them piece together a better timeline and offer a firmer direction for the investigation...

read entire article here

Girl found in Georgia landfill thought to be Somer Thompson

Right: Somer Thompson
this just breaks my heart

firstcoastnews.com
October 21, 2009


FOLKSTON, GA -- The child found in a Georgia landfill is a female, according to the Georgia Bureau of Investigation.
A body was discovered this afternoon while officials searched a Georgia landfill - a routine part of a missing person investigation, said Clay County Sheriff Rick Beseler.

"The body of a small child has been found," Beseler said at a 4:15 p.m. news conference. "This is a rapidly unfolding matter."

He confirmed that it is a white child. The medical examiner in Georgia will do an autopsy in Savannah tomorrow.

Beseler said both parents of 7-year-old Somer Thompson who has been missing for two days after disappearing on her way home from school have been informed of the discovery...

read entire article here

CLICK HERE for complete coverage of the search for Somer Thompson from firstcoastnews.com.

also read:
Child's Body Found in Dump Near Where Somer Thompson, 7, Vanished ...
Somer Thompson Found? Cops Find Body In Georgia Landfill
Found body feared to be missing Florida girl Somer Thompson ...

This landfill is where trash from Somer's neighborhood is regularly taken, meaning the murder was probably not done in Georgia, so no federal charge. Investigators followed the trash and although the result is horrifying, at least she is found. Small consolation for a devastated family, but not knowing (Haleigh, Adji, Hasanni) has to be its own kind of hell.

Hopefully they will find items in close proximity to the body that can link her to a suspect. News reports say they will be working all night tonight to carefully remove her.

I have to wonder now, if the report is correct that a woman was driving the car 1 1/2 weeks ago when three people in a blue Nissan tried to trick a little girl to get in their car, what would that woman's involvement be? Is she Cruella herself, or doing the bidding of her significant other?

My heart goes out to Somers family and community.
The Prairie Chicken

Amber Alert for Somer Thompson 7, another Florida girl

wctv.tv

AMBER ALERT:
ENDANGERED SOMER RENEE THOMPSON
Date Missing: 10/19/2009
Missing From: Orange Park, FL
County: CLAY
Birth Date: 4/5/2002
Age Disappeared: 7 yrs 6 months
Height: 3' 07"
Race: White
Hair: Brown
Weight: 065
Sex: Female
Eyes: Brown

Narrative: A Florida AMBER Alert has been issued for Somer Thompson. She was last seen in the area of West Gano Avenue and Debarry Avenue in Orange Park.

She was last seen wearing a black shirt under a cranberry colored sweat suit with pink stripes running down the arms and legs. She possibly has a red bow in her hair and may have been wearing a white hat and a white scarf.

The phone number of Clay County Sheriff's Office has been updated to 1-877-227-6911
FDLE MISSING ENDANGERED PERSONS INFORMATION CLEARINGHOUSE1-888-FL MISSINGhttp://www.fdle.state.fl.us

If you have any information concerning the whereabouts of this endangered person, please contact the Clay County Sheriff's Office at 1-877-277-6911 or 911
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Massive Search Continues For 7-Year-Old
Abduction Attempted 10 Days Ago

It was reported yesterday, October 20, that Somer had been walking home from school on Monday with her twin brother and older sister, when Somer decided to go ahead of the others. When they arrived at their home, Somer was nowhere to be found. They phoned their mother at work, who came home and the police were notified about 5:00pm on Monday.

It had been report one week before that a woman and two men in a blue Nissan sedan had attempted to get another little girl into their car. She was on her bicycle when the woman driving told her that the child's mother had sent her to pick her up. A driver in another car stopped and interceded, asking the girl if she knew those people and when she said no, the car sped off. It' unknown whether the incident is related to Somer Thompson's disappearance, but seems likely.

The Prairie Chicken