Video surveillance shows Tommy Booth, 24, and his friends arriving at Bootleggers nightclub in Woodlyn the night of January 19, 2008. No one ever saw him leave. Two weeks later, after a warm spell melted the ice, he was found in the creek behind the bar. Tommy had epilepsy and was taking medication.
Search and Recovery
Police initially searched the area in the vicinity of the bar with no success. Tommy's mother and stepfather also organized search parties. There had been no activity on Tommy's cell phone or bank account since his disappearance.
On Sunday, February 3, 2008 about 30 volunteers from the Greater Philadelphia Search and Rescue Team organized a search with about seven K-9s and searched the wooded area behind the bar and creek and the ramps to I-95. After about two hours, they found Booth lying face down in the Ridley Creek about 200 yards downstream from the bar. According to Detective Sgt. Scott Willoughby, the rear of the bar is about 10 yards from the creek.
It was just he was in the club, and then he was in the creek, said Tommy's step-father, Tim Bush. "It never made any sense how he got there."
Portions of the creek had been frozen, but heavy rains and warmer temperatures the week prior to the search had melted sections.
A Puzzling Case
The coroner ruled Tommy's death an accidental drowning. There were no signs of trauma, not even a bump on the head. "This case always puzzled me," said Detective Sgt. Scott Willoughby. Tommy was a healthy, robust young man and hadn't had enough to drink to become disoriented. Booth, was still in possession of his wallet, cell phone and medication.“There’s no obvious sign of foul play,” said Detective Sgt. Scott Willoughby. “We don’t know what happened. I can’t figure out why he would have been back there. He doesn’t know this area, doesn’t know the bar.”
It made no sense when 24-year-old Tommy Booth was found drowned in Ridley Creek last January. Now, a chilling new twist may offer an explanation while at the same time raise a disturbing question. Was he a victim of the so-called Smiley Face Gang?
"It haunts me every day. Tommy, why were you in the creek?" wondered Barbara MacKay, Tommy's mother.
Video surveillance shows Tommy and his friends arriving at Bootleggers nightclub in Woodlyn the night of January 19th.
No one ever saw him leave.
Tommy's mother and stepfather organized search parties.
Two weeks later, after a warm spell melted the ice, he was found in the creek behind the bar.
"It was just he was in the club, and then he was in the creek. It never made any sense how he got there," said his step-father Tim Bush.
The coroner ruled Tommy's death an accidental drowning. There were no signs of trauma, not even a bump on the head.
"This case always puzzled me," said Detective Sgt. Scott Willoughby.
Tommy was a healthy, robust young man and hadn't had enough to drink to become disoriented.
Something clicked for Willoughby when he saw an ABC News report this week on the Smiley Face killings.
Two retired New York Police detectives have been following the thread for ten years. They've determined that over 40 young men have died the same way. All appear to be accidental drownings. All have been separated from their friends while drinking at frat parties or college town bars.
Bootleggers is a block from Widener University. The other common thread is a smiley face painted where the victim has disappeared.
On a hunch, Willoughby asked his detectives to take another look behind Bootleggers.
"When they went down into the area where we thought he went into the water, they noticed the graffiti and they noticed this smiley face painted on the wall," said Willoughby.
It's a smiley face with a crown on its head. It's on the wall of the bar under the party deck, just 30 feet from the creek.
Detective Willoughby called Tommy's mom who had also seen the news report.
"When he told me about the smiley face, it just gave me chills," she said.
The New York detectives believe there's more than one killer, perhaps a gang, since all of the smiley faces are painted differently.
Detective Willoughby has sent them pictures of the smiley face found near Ridley Creek. He also contacted the FBI, even though they've looked at the other cases and dismissed the possibility of a link.
"I just think we need to look a little further into this case," Willoughby said.
None of the other cases appear to be robberies. The only thing missing, usually, is the victim's cell phone. Tommy was found with his wallet in his pocket. The only thing missing -- his cell phone.
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Here is another strange case involving a young man who was murdered and left in the river. I think it's a bit uncanny that not only that these have been presented to me this way but also that so many have gone unsolved. In this case, there are similarities to other cases with smiley faces drawn on trees and walls nearby. Mind you, these are not all the same, different styles, different colors and even different mediums with some being spray paint, markers and brushed on paint. This one had a crown on it's head and not all have this either. So the comparisons are called for but they are not proven fact.
In this case, the charts were swift and clear. He was killed very shortly after he was last seen and the motive was theft although all that was taken was his phone. It would be sad indeed if this man was murdered for the use of a cellphonne but I have heard of the same and worse. Let me show you what the charts show.
This is the chart for the time he was last seen, 1:30 am, at the club where he went missing. The charts show he died shortly after this sighting and was killed by choking or throttling, which may have been facilitated by resistance. (Mars and Moon in Gemini in the eighth house with the Moon opposing Pluto). The seventh house is ruled by Taurus with Venus in the second house, showing a possession as motivation. I don't know what kind of phone Tommy had but perhaps this person asked to use it and was denied, causing him to attack Tommy. Not an excuse but a possible motive. The first house ruler, Mars, with the Moon in the eighth show his imminent death. These planets are disposed of by Mercury just outside the fourth cusp, which tells me he had just stepped outside when it happened. Perhaps this other person tried to wrestle the phone free and they had an altercation (Pluto with Venus) that ended up in the river. Perhaps Tommy ran from this person to avoid this but was chased and then throttled before the phone was wrestled free and he ended up face down in the water. This is all conjecture I realize but it fits what the charts are describing.
The violent planet Pluto was also a dispositor of the first house ruler, so Tommy did not just give in and walk. He fought back.
I also think he was knocked out during the fight and dragged to the river. I say this because Saturn, which describes his body, is on the ground out in the open by the bar (Saturn in Virgo in the tenth). I think they did not want to leave him there so he was taken to the river and dumped.
I do not know if there was a footbridge or other span over this creek but Aquarius often describes this. Especially Neptune in Aquarius in the fourth, showing location and that Neptune rules water and Aquarius is firm air and can indicate a bridge.
The Sun rules the tenth, showing the next location, which would be where his body was found. Sun in the third in Capricorn seems to indicate he was moved from earth to water and perhaps later than that evening? I do not see Tommy in a car or vehicle at all and he appears to die right outside of this bar. In that instance, perhaps the Sun in the third indicates that he was carried along by currents or rolled into the water after being left unconcious. I just can't be sure. Uranus in Pisces rules the fourth so there is no doubt that he left his body in the water, dieing right there. The fourth house often describes the end location of life or the burial place (sometimes even the coffin).
During the entire event, from the time he was last seen to the time of death, Venus rules the seventh house. Venus in Sagittarius is the marker for the killer with Jupiter in Capricorn nearby. This person is outdoorsy and athletic, probably skilled in the use of weapons and may work with ammunition in some manner. He may have dark hair and green or hazel eyes. He may be tall and rangey. Mars co rules the sixth house so he planned on Tommy's body going undiscovered, washed away or otherwise not found but no planets in the sixth to support that idea so he was found after all.
In this chart, Venus moves into the first house in the sign Sagittarius. The killer escaped to nearby woods, a place where people may hunt or play games. Is there a recreational area nearby? Or do people hunt in a nearby wooded area? This would be the place he retreated to after Tommy died. The killer did not reenter the bar. He did not leave the property in a car or other vehicle. The movement of the node in these charts indicates he has been to this area before and spent time in this bar. He is local.
In relation to the smiley face connection, I am just not sure. It could be, seeing that this person is a skilled killer who has done it before... but there is also a link to the local area in this case and not all the cases are in the same place. So it's a 50 / 50 for me and I won't make a call on it because of that.
Shortly after 11 p.m. on June 24, Zachary Pittman, 26, called his mother to say that he had gotten into a verbal argument with his sister over who would be living at the home. She called the police. When the police arrived, Pittman was gone. He had left the home with the clothes he was wearing and a backpack containing his wallet with little to no money inside and one change of clothes. Pittman, who had a three year old daughter, lived in a sparsely populated part of Pearl River, La., and did not own a car or cell phone. His mother, Christy Ragas, said her son would've had nowhere to go.
Ragas told the St. Tammany Sidell Sentry that her son had fallen on hard times. He was desperate and out of work and he had gotten mixed up in drugs. She said he was no angel, but “he was a human being and he was a good dad.” She added that they were very close and he called her often.
“Zach would never leave me no matter what,” she said.
Pittman's remains were found May 31, 2011 in a heavily wooded area of the Mossy Oak Hunting Club north of Louisiana 36, in St. Tammany and did not appear to have been buried. The remains were identified through dental records. The Coroner's Office has not yet determined the cause or manner of Pittman's death, Croft said. Because of the state of the remains, the office plans to bring in a forensic anthropologist from Louisiana State University to aid in the investigation, she said.
According to a post by Simon Barrett of Blogger News Network, "Pearl River is a small community, the population is approximately 2,000 people. It is a community where everyone knows everyone. Yet no one is talking about Zachary Pittman. It stretches my fertile imagination that a man accustomed to the area would wander off into one of the local swamps and die."
Case Details
Name/age: Zachary Pittman, 26
Residence: 35333 Mockingbird Loop, Pearl River, Louisiana
Last Seen: June 2009
Physical Description: 5'10," thin to medium build, close cut hair, goatee, three tattoos on right shoulder and forearm
Recovered: May 31, 2011, wooded area of the Mossy Oak Hunting Club north of Louisiana 36, in St. Tammany
Investigating Agency: St. Tammany Sheriff’s Department at 985-726-7836
The skeletal remains found near Pearl River over the weekend belong to a man who went missing two years ago, authorities said Tuesday.
Zachary Pittman was 25 when he was reported missing in June 2009. Authorities were able to identify the remains, which were found in the Mossy Oak Hunting Club north of Louisiana 36, based on dental records, said Melanie Croft, executive Director of the St. Tammany Parish Coroner's Office.
The Coroner's Office has not yet determined the cause or manner of Pittman's death, Croft said. Because of the state of the remains, the office plans to bring in a forensic anthropologist from Louisiana State University to aid in the investigation, she said.
A pair of residents found the remains over the weekend and notified authorities, Sheriff's Office spokesman Capt. George Bonnett said. Deputies and staff from the Coroner's Office spent Sunday and Monday combing the area for bones and other evidence, he said.
The remains were found in an area of St. Tammany that is so heavily wooded deputies could not bring in vehicles to aid in the search, Bonnett said. They did not appear to have been buried, he said.
https://www.facebook.com/MenGoMissingToo/
Unsolved case:
Zachary Pittman went missing on June 24, 2009 from Pearl River St, St. Tammany Parish, Louisiana. Zachary was recovered on May 31, 2011 in Slidell, Louisiana. If you know anything or about Zachary's recovery please contact the St. Tammany Parish Sheriff's Office at 985-726-7836.
This large number of missing or murdered men is amazing to me and has become a feature of my current work. One right after the other lately. Some of them seem to be connected, such as those that are marked by the "smiley faces" and others seem to keep cropping up in the same area. Although it is not the same city, this is the second one from Louisiana in a few weeks now.
The first chart I ran was for the time he was last seen. It appears to support the argument that has been documented, this with a sibling as shown by the third house in this chart. Mercury in Gemini in the fourth shows two people close to the same age living in the same home. This works with the information that he and his sister argued in the home (mars in the third) and he left. Seventh house ruler in the fifth at this point intimates that his sister wanted to share space with him (maybe even a bedroom?) and he did not want that. Uranus ruling the first and placed in the first shows us that this was a rash, sudden decision but that it was his decision and he was not forced. Neptune in this chart and in the next chart, shows me that he was hiding something from everyone and that he had plans no one else knew anything about. Zachary had secrets, good or bad. And the saddest marker in this chart is the Moon in the sixth house, a traditional marker for someone who will never be seen alive again.
The next chart for an hour later, midnight, shows someone picked him up in a car and he was secretive about where he was going (Neptune with Jupiter in the twelfth and seventh house ruler in the third). Saturn at the seventh shows someone older driving the other car. Pluto in the tenth opposing Sun in the fourth tells me he was not really wanted where he was going. There was resistance and maybe even an argument. Moon in the fifth in Leo may mean he was friends with a younger person in that same home. This person may even have been a girlfriend or someone he had an interest in. He may have had plans to share this persons' quarters in the house and the older person was objecting. The Moon, in turn, is disposed of by the Sun in the fourth house emphasizes this point.
Uranus continuing to be disposed of by Neptune, now in the twelfth house, seems to indicate that even when he was asked to leave, he sneaked back into that home. Uranus and Neptune in mutual reception along with the Moon opposing the node is a combination describing a plan that met opposition but was acted on anyways. Was there a girl in Zachary's life? Or was there one he knew and admired from afar? There does seem to be a girl involved in this so far. With the Moon and Sun in mutual reception, it would seem that she was receptive, even if others in the home were not.
The chart for 2 am shows a definite hook up with a female. His marker, first house ruler Mars, is together with the seventh house ruler, Venus, in the first. His ruler is disposed of by her ruler. Pretty clear. Anyways, the only problem I have with this is the closeness of these planets to certain fixed stars. That will have to be watched as the charts progress.
Zachary's ruler remains in the first house, which shows him in charge of events. Aries on the first cusp with Mars in the first makes for a dynamic combination. Mars with Venus while Venus rules the seventh, shows the young man directing the female and making plans. The north node in the tenth house indicates that he has plans for another location for them and that they may have been planning on that.
It is important, if people are trying to find out what actually happened to Zachary, to discover who the female friend or girlfriend was. There was a girl he was close to and this is where he went when he left his family home.
In the chart for 4 am we see aspects and placements that clearly have them at a new location. Either they are still together or Zachary has moved on his own. You see his ruler, Mercury, in the first house, which shows him still making decisions and doing what he wants to. Mercury in Gemini implies involvement with another, which is why I think she might still be with him. But the seventh house ruler, Jupiter, is in the tenth. This either shows us a home owner where they have landed or that she is somewhere by herself and he has moved on. I am just not sure because the markers do not clearly describe male or female.
Jupiter with Neptune in the tenth implies someone hiding at a location such as a home. This may well be the girl he left with. She may well have been left behind to hide at this new location while Zachary went about some other business. But there is no doubt in my mind, looking at these charts, that Zachary was moving under his own power, making decisions. He was not, at this point, abducted or forced against his will.
Moving forward through chart after chart, each of them showing minor events and details, I am looking for the time and place when Zachary gets into trouble. In the early morning charts I just see people getting in and out of cars, moving about from place to place. Zachary seems to be concerned about money as well as the place he may be able to settle in. There is worry and movement. He does seem to get some sleep in the early morning hours but I cannot tell from the charts where he is. I cannot say whether he is indoors or out or whether he is sleeping in a car, which is possible. In the early morning charts the Sun is in mutual reception with the Moon while the Sun rules the first. There is no doubt that Zachary was sure of himself and believed he was able to figure it out. He just seems to be sure that everything will be fine.
In the 9 am chart you can see that he is with friends. Somebody he knew or was acquainted with anyways. He has decided to remain with these people but the big problem I see is that one or more of them are criminals. Uranus rules the seventh from the eighth, a strong marker for a criminal element. This person or persons live "on the edge" of society and live a free wheeling lifestyle with few restraints. This seems to have appealed to the young man acting out. Jupiter and Neptune in the seventh with Neptune and Uranus in mutual reception, it is probable that they were using or dealing drugs from this place and that more than a few people were hanging out there. The fourth house ruler, Pluto, is in the fifth house, describing this place as a drug or party house. Pluto is a violent, chaotic planet and can portend danger.
Venus on the tenth cusp in the sign Taurus indicates that this was an attractive home in a suburb. Landscaping and fresh paint. Not a dump at all. Venus conjunct Mars, the fourth house ruler, indicates that it is a family home in fact. From the street you would think it was nice and that a family lived there. You would never know that it was a drug house.
This chart shows that these people wanted to go into hiding for some reason; they did not want to be found. The seventh house ruler, Neptune, implies deception and it's placement in the sixth supports the idea that this person was in hiding. The sixth house also indicates army / navy ties so this person may have been in the military either at that time or in the past. Neptune is conjoined Jupiter and Jupiter rules the fourth house so this person has been hiding in this home, either owning the home himself or having ties to someone who did. At the same time, Neptune is in mutual reception with Uranus in the seventh house so this person was unpopular with others, not really wanted where he was, the "black sheep" so to speak. He was just unruly and difficult.
Mercury in Gemini in the tenth while ruling the tenth shows that there are a number of people living in this home and some of them are children. More than one family, it seems. Sun in the tenth in mutual reception with Moon in the twelfh indicates that Zachary knew someone who lived in this home and was given permission to stay. They are aware he is "hiding" and seem to be ok with that. At the same time, Saturn in the first is a sign of confinement or forced restraint so there are other elements at play here and, somehow but I am not sure how, Zachary feels trapped. And when considering that, at this point, it makes me think that they brought him here, confined him, got permission to keep him here and hid him for some reason. Moon in the twelfth is also a sign of confinement or seclusion.
This first chart, just after noon around 1 pm, I see that Zachary dies. First house ruler Venus in the eighth, Saturn in the twelfth, seventh house ruler in the eighth and Pluto at the fourth house cusp. He was forcibly murdered by some sort of violence and he was murdered by a criminal. One of the criminals present in this home. He was killed the afternoon of the 25th, the day after he disappeared. I have no idea why they took him, confined him and killed him. I am sure something transpired, perhaps in conversation, that led to this. I just don't see motive in the charts. I just see Zachary being somewhere, wanted by someone and not wanted by others. As I said earlier, Venus and Mars in Taurus are very close to fixed stars that indicate sadness and death and here they are positioned in the eighth house of death. His marker, Venus, is within a few degrees and sinister to a conjunction with Caput Algol, one of the most violent fixed stars and a strong omen of death.
Venus in Taurus with Venus ruling the eighth, is an indicator of strangulation or being beaten.. Taurus is the most puglistic sign and indicates violent sports like wrestling and boxing and is often an indicator of a beating with fists. Mercury in Gemini now in the eighth shows they dropped him in a wooded outdoor area and gave him a shallow grave. Mars ruling the seventh and in the eighth with Venus is another marker for a violent beating. Mars also indicates a weapon, Aries a gun. He may have been beat up and shot. I am not sure but this is likely.
Saturn in Virgo in the twelfth indicates the grave. Virgo indicating the earth, put in the dirt. In the next chart, you see Mercury move from the ninth to the eighth, a descriptor of bringing the body to the gravesite in a car and dropping it. Again, because of Mercury ruling the twelfth, a shallow grave
A quick descriptor of the man who actually killed him is first and foremost, he is a violent criminal. He may well be in prison now for some other violent crime. Physically fit, into working out and building muscle, strong and hot tempered. Mars in Taurus can mean a body builder or a boxer. He may fancy himself an athlete. But Aries on the seventh cusp describes a violent criminal. A singular clue that might help overall is there was a car accident on the way back from dumping the body. Pluto in Capricorn disposed of by Saturn in the eleventh tells me they got rid of the body before this happened and no connection was ever made. But a car accident recorded in that area at that time may help lead the way to these people. The car they were driving belonged to a friend and not to the actual killer. But everyone knew what he did. In fact, a group of people helped him get rid of Zachary's body.
I am not sure what happened to the girl that Zachary first hooked up with. She was shown, early on, being left at another home and him heading off with other people. But she may know who those people were, perhaps only one but someone, and is keeping quiet because she's afraid of being implicated. She had nothing to do with his death but if she could be discovered, she may have information. This girl is physically beautiful, has a nice body and a pleasant face. She is voluptuous overall, a bit heavier than most but still lovely. She is short in stature and has a sweet, attractive countenance. Zachary must have known her from somewhere, work, school, the neighborhood, because he went to her first. She may be an artist such as a painter, dancer, singer. She loves music and art and may still be in school.
Forensic Astrology is the art of using charts to determine the nature of events as they occurred in unsolved crimes and missing persons cases. The method I use is uniquely mine as I have over 35 years experience in Astrology, both Forensic and in general.
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