A Few More Thoughts on Pastor Daniels

In the last few days I have received some comments on the case of Pastor Daniels. I checked to see if there were any news updates and found none other than what I posted recently. In the course of this I was talking to a friend about the comments I had received and up showing him the site on Google Earth and explaining some of my thoughts on the matter. It got me thinking about the facts of the case again.

We do not believe that the murderer enterred through the front door because the front of the church could be seen by cameras and the police said that no car pulled up in front other than hers based on the camera footage. We know that the police took the back door into evidence and have reason to believe that something was written on it in the Pastor's blood. While I have never read about what was written or drawn on the door, we know they kept the door as evidence. It is also most likely that the murderer entered through that door. If a window had been broken, I think that would have come out. In fact, we were told that a couple of her friends had come by and found the front door locked, they would have checked the windows to try and see inside and would have noticed if any were broken.

This is probably a minor point; but, how did the intruder open the back door? Did they have a key or did they force it open? If they did not force it open then where did they get the key from? If they forced it open they must have lived close by. There are at least four or five houses with line of site views of the back of the church. It can also be seen from the convenience store. I am sort of train of consciousness writing this, so excuse me if it is not completely thought out and develops as I write. A group of people could not have entered the church they would have been noticed. My guess is that the door was forced open by one person.

Another thought. Anyone just passing by would not have known there was a back door. I had considered the possibility that someone headed to the casino up the road could have done it; but, it doesn't make sense that they would know there was a backdoor unless they had been behind the church previously. Why would anyone think that church had a back door and not be afraid to be seen entering through it? How did this person know that they could break open the back of that church, get inside and not have the cops called. This is especially odd as the police station is so close by, about a block away.

I read somewhere that one of Pastor Daniels relatives asked what happened to her briefcase, I found that odd at the time; but, didn't quite know why. I have preached many times and have never brought a briefcase with me, I just bring my bible. It is not as if she thought she would be taking up a collection because everything I have read said that many times nobody showed up. It is my understanding that she really went there to serve two elderly members of the church. She would not need a briefcase to carry their contributions if they made any.

I had asked myself at a time if there could have been an economic motive behind the killing. I wondered if someone had wanted to acquire the property; but, it is a memorial and as far as I know, nobody tried to buy it. To the church it is a loss of an asset economically. They did not sell it off. I cannot see how anyone benefited economically from the Pastor Daniels death. A planned murder like this always has a motive. The most common motives for crime are money or personal revenge. We know that most people know their murderers at least on some level. Who did she meet in Anadarko that would want to harm her? How many people did she even know in the whole town, she only went there on Sundays for a couple of hours. It is not as if she went door to door inviting people to the church or at least I have read such a thing.

I believe we must assume that Pastor Daniels had met her killer previously. I believe the person was a local and felt secure in entering through the back door without being noticed in broad daylight. Kicking a door in makes a fair amount of noise, I have done it. If you kicked in my neighbors door, I would hear it and respond. The church was next door to a house. I assume the person in that house could have heard the door being forced open unless they were deaf or not at home. In either case, how did the murderer know it was safe to kick in the door or otherwise force it open?

The rational options are limited. It is possible that some random Satanist that hated Christians or Blacks randomly chose this church; but, that really makes no sense. We have been told that they brought some chemical to destroy the DNA evidence and I am convinced this murder was planned and targeted at just Pastor Daniels.

My problem with this case is that is does not make any sense to me. My little autistic brain hates a broken pattern without a good reason. I can understand how the crime was committed technically, we have sufficient information on those aspects. The motive escapes me completely. It was not random, was planned, yet, was not the work of a serial killer. Why didn't the killer set fire to the building, that would have destroyed all DNA evidence and could be done in a delayed manner. The killer was willing to do horrific things to Pastor Daniels body, why not just torch the building to hide what happened and even possibly the crime? They wanted people to know or they were concerned that a fire might impact them.

I should be sleeping; but, my mind is now too busy. The person who killed her wanted others to know that she had been killed. That effects the motive. Why would you want people to know that someone had been murdered and not want them to know that you had done it? That may sound strange so I will try and explain. When I was younger, I was very cold. My father was in federal law enforcement. My belief is that if you believe it right to kill someone (as police do on occasion) then you do it in public and take responsibility (yes, I am now a pacifist). The opposite end of that spectrum is that you don't want people to know what you have done or have any chance of catching you, you torch the building and leave no evidence that a murder even happened.

This murder was both planned and involved rage, very rare. A long time ago I learned something. Gay murders of other gays tend to be very brutal. I want to point out that I am not anti-gay, I could care less what people do in there bedroom. There are many gays that are brutalized by their self condemnation because the world tells them that they are evil. This is why we believe they can brutal in their killings of fellow gays, a sort of self hate. Brutal and explicit murders are rare. The person who killed Pastor Daniels was making a statement. If the statement were anti-Black, it would be very fuzzy as they placed her in the crucifix position according to all reports. If this then was an anti-Christian killing, it makes little sense as the church was so small.

My problem is that I cannot think of a motive that matches the method. If the police have any skill whatsoever, they have a pretty good idea of the height of the murderer. If you torch the building that would not be possibly known. The easiest thing to protect yourself from being caught is torching the building and that was not done nor planned. If there is an answer to this case, it just might be that back door and what was put on it. It may not be decisive information; but, it may be the most important clue that is left.