Wednesday, May 2, 2012

What An Indescribably Horrible Thing To Happen To A Child!!!!!!!! But Did It Have To????????

                                         
                                               Girls, the Cyndi Allinger case, which I watched the other night on "Nightmare Next Door" is a cautionary tale for parents everywhere, and the one episode I have seen  of this program where it truly earns its title!!!!!!!!

                                                   On July 4, 1996, Cyndi Allinger, age 9, disappeared.  Two weeks later, in a wooded area, her partially clothed body was found,wrapped in a thick blanket.  Evidence showed Cyndi died a painful, terrifying death--one that involved blunt force trauma, enough to fracture her jaw, not to mention rape and then strangulation.  A nine year old child, darlings!!!!!!!!!!

                                                     Weeks later, Guy Matthew Rasmussen was found to be the culprit. He was arrested, put on trial, and sentenced to Life, without parole, which he most likely deserves.  But there are underlying pieces of this story, which make it even more interesting.

                                                       Rasmussen, who was known as "Raz' about the neighborhood, near where he lived, was a musician in a band. He was in his thirties, and like most band musicians, smoked weed, and had access, I am sure, to plenty of groupies, which would have guaranteed some action. And I have no doubt he partook.  But he had other dirty little secrets.   When the search was on for Cyndi, the canvassed area revealed a total of 28 sex offenders living there.  None of them, of course, touched Cyndi.  But Rasmussen, though he had a prior record of child molestation, if not murder, in Thurston County (the case with Cyndi was in Lakewood, Washington)  was not on the roster, due to "legal technicalities."  The System fails again!!!!!!!!!

                                                        I could not determine the gender of the child or children in Rasmusssen's prior cases, but I am willing to bet they were all underage girls, about Cyndi's age.  Evidently, this sicko likes young, prepubescent girls, and the fact that he did not  show up on a registry, indicated, while exhibiting a prior history, that he was someone struggling with his impulses.  In the case of Cyndi, it was less lust, than a theft of opportunity.

                                                         Cyndi's mother, Rhonda Plank, had gone on an errand.  The two often communicated by cell phones, so Rhonda felt safe leaving Cyndi for awhile to play in the neighborhood.  Rasmussen must have seen Rhonda drive off, witness the exchange between them.  He saw his chance, and made good on it.

                                                           But there was more.  When Cyndi's young friends, who essentially cracked the case, talked to law enforcement officers, they revealed Cyndi and they had a history of visiting 'Raz' , as they called him, at his house in the woods.  He had lots of "cool" musical instruments, and a little dog they enjoyed playing with--and he seemed to enjoy having them there.  According to them, nothing happened to them as a group--but Cyndi would often visit him alone.  Now, there is a red flag right there.
What is a guy in his 30s doing hanging out with prepubescent girls?  At one point, Cyndi asked her mother if
'Raz' could come to her birthday party.  When Rhonda asked her daughter about 'Raz', how old he was, etc. Cyndi replied, "Oh, about your age!"  At which point Rhonda wisely said no.

                                                            However.
                                                     
                                                             Rhonda did not do enough. Now, I know some will say I am doing what is called "Monday morning quarterbacking" here (the Raving Queen using a SPORTS metaphor???? It doesn't happen often, but come on, darlings; I read!!!) but it seems to me from that point Rhonda should have consulted with the mothers of the other girls, and they should all have questioned why this guy would want to hang out with their inappropriately (for him) young daughters.  Whether Rhonda was overwhelmed by single motherhood (she was raising three girls on her own in a working class nabe), did not have the insight or education, or just had poor parenting skills, much more adult intervention should have taken place, to stop the girls from associating with 'Raz'.

                                                             In Rhonda's case, the reason seemed to be all of the above.  Now, though I may sound like a broken record, Rhonda was white trash, and was drawn to abusive men--both Cyndi's father, whom she left, and now David Bauschman, her live-in boyfriend, which is no way to be raising girls, having someone you are having sex with in your home, not being married, and causing your daughters exposure to immorality.   Perhaps Rhonda's lifestyle made it easy for Cyndi to think nothing was unusual about a very adult man taking an interest in her.  So, I am not saying that Rhonda is Casey Anthony, and I do not subscribe to the view held by some that she or Bauschman killed Cyndi, but I do think that, had Rhonda not been so negligent, Cyndi would be alive.

                                                            And I don't blame Rhonda's social status, or lack thereof, or even the nabe. These things happen in high end areas. Etan Patz, anyone?????????

                                                              This was a horrible tragedy that need not have happened.  Rhonda needs to work on those parenting skills, if she wants to keep her other two daughters safe.

                                                                 And don't bring sleazy boyfriends into houses filled with girls!!!!!!!!!

53 comments:

  1. Hi! I just saw your comment this morning. I agree completely with you on all counts. As I said, of all the eoisodes I have seen, this was the most nightmarish.

    Somewhere else on this blog, I know I posted this, but I will share it with you. Back in 1963-64when I was in tird grade, a female classmate of mine was almost kidnapped. She was walking home, and a man in a car had been following her. She was right by a meadow adjacent to her house (which the guy did not know) when he opened the passenger door, and tried to entice her in. Seeing this from inside, fortunately, her mother came running out of the house, and, needless to say, the lguy took off.

    We duscussed this in school the next day--not to talk to strangers, get into cars, etc. Even at that age, I knew that if my classmate had gotten into that car, she would never have been seen again; ie; killed. But what happened in between, or why an adult male would want to pick up a child and harm her, was never made clear to us. It wasn't in sixth grade, either, when we were shown the even then dated film "The Dangerous Stragner," which again did not explain the why of things.

    Children do not need to know about graphic sexual deviance. But ther must be a delicate way to inform them of the dangers of such adults, and the importance of alertnig someowne when you feel such and adult is in their sphere.

    No offense taken with the nastiness; in this case, it is well provoked. I am ssure as I watched the program, I screamed at it in similar fashion!!!!!!!!

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  2. Ladies I agree with u both.. So sick of Deviants helping themselves to innocent Children.. What a Sick nasty World we are living in.. I cried for Ths little girl.. What a Creep he is.. So Sad :(

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  3. Cyndi was my best friend. She lived near me for a few years before going to lakewood. She was supposed to be with me and my family that night but her mom said no. I have a memorial tattoo on my side. She was an amazing best friend! I think about her daily. We all miss her so much.

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  6. Cyndi was murdered in 1996 so there were no cell phones back then. You gave some wrong information!

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  7. People, people. She lost her child. That's enough punishment. Please don't do this to one another. Let's always show compassion and not be judgemental, please. Let's offer up prayer not insults. He who has a ear let him hear.

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    1. Thanks for your considerate words. You are totally correct. bless you

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    2. It is a cautionary tale that we all are young and make mistakes with our daughters and kids by not watching them close enough but it's a cautionary tale that we need to look up for other little girls and help them arms and educate each other of the dangers that can happen to these little girls when unsupervised or around men it is so scary Not even God can change the suffering that little girl endured it keeps me up at night after watching it I'm a very protective mother and grandmother and I'm far from perfect but this is an eye opener for everyone to watch we can't leave our little girls alone at all not even back then you never know

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  8. You should also watch the Forensic Files episode on this case - it is called "Seedy Intentions" .... you have an interesting point about the mother ... many single mothers have been caught in the "do I raise my children or do I have a life?! and why can't I do BOTH?!" scenerio (myself included), so I don't necessarily want to cast shadows there; Lisa E, in these comments, knowing the area very well, also makes an accurate point! ... I do think yes she should have talked to other mothers about this neighborhood character! ... Miss Momma, ty for your heartwrenching share!

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    1. There is a serial killer with the same last name his name is Terry there's also another criminal by the name of Matthew same middle name is this killer there must be a whole family of these men that kill and kill and kill how horrible they're probably all related look them up

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  9. I never got into "Forensic Files," but I will watch for this particular episode. Maybe it will hook me on the show!

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    1. You are way too flippant with this answer... Shame on you!

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  10. Monday Morning Quarterbacking indeed. What garbage.

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  11. Just whom are we calling garbage, hon????????????

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  12. Are you tallking to me, darling?
    Grow up, or play with your dollies!

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  13. I was a juror on that trial, I served 9 months with my fellow jurors listening to hours and hours of testimony and relived the final days and hours of this Cynthia's life. She was an innocent girl drawn into a wicked and very dark man web.

    His lawyers were dark and dirty also, his lead attorney would have blamed his own mother if it would have gotten Guy off. He tried to use very shoddy science to prove false timelines that the prosecution nailed.

    In the end we found him guilty, he did it and from what I have learned since he may have killed two other girls about the same age but they have never found their bodies. I also found out that he was convicted of trying to kill a girl when he was a teen. This guy was a creep, he did the crime and he is doing the time. We tried to give him the death penalty but two withheld...so he will spend the rest of his life in prison.

    There is so much that goes through my mind about this trial, but most of all I spend a lot of time thinking about this little girl, Cynthia, I now have a daughter who just turned 10 and I often think about the girl who will never get to play and learn guitar and sing and dance because of a creepy dark degenerate who for his own perverse satisfaction killed her. Many of his friends were in court, and I can tell you they were as dark and perverse as he was, I know that they hate me and the others who sat on that jury and convicted him, that is fine, we listened to all of the evidence and can to a verdict, THE RIGHT VERDICT...GUILTY!

    Yes, she lived in a messed up home and came from a dysfunctional family, but the evidence never even came close to proving anything other then that Guy was guilty.

    I have never seen this show or any others, I do not need to I was there, I lived it in real life and I still think about Cynthia. During the trial I painted a large ceramic angel that I finished after he was sent away, I placed it on her grave, it was my way of releasing what was pent up inside in a beautiful way.

    I hope and pray that her family has been able to move on from this, I cannot imagine what her has gone through.

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  14. Thank you for your very honest and touching comments. Not being a parent, myself, it has got to be hard being one, and sitting on a case like this. You brought all that out beautifully.

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  16. Hon, what happened to that child was inexcusable.
    Where has parental responsibility gone, darling?

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  17. Parenting philosophies from an individual with zero parenting skills is moot. I get a kick out of people speaking out their ears of things they know nothing about. It's like me talking of why a grown man would call himself a raving Queen. I have an idea, that coupled with being childless, I come to my own conclusion. But that's judgemental, and I try to stay away from things as such. I need to be careful here because, this being under your control it won't reach the majority of those compelled to respond if you decide it to detrimental to your ego. You will delete it. But if only you read this its enough. This was a henious act. To search for blame elsewhere is equally predatory. Nowhere do you look at the root cause. Only blame. That's the problem in this country, we look for remedies for things that happen after the fact. Never preventative. Deviance is a mode of perpetuation. The seedy underbelly of predatory humans. Manipulation and coercion their brand. Even the strictest of parents have been victimized by these social derelicts. They have been allowed to build they're psyche in a world full of deception and anonymity. It has become the norm to carry a dark side or any shade of grey you may fall into. But, under the rug its swept till the mound builds and someone trips on it. Here's where I will end this, in my perspective I believe, that pedofiles, homosexuals and transsexualism is something you're born with. Parenting is something you learn as you go. The goal is self sustaining adults with morals and families built on your legacy. But some of us bury our children, some at the hands of others, some, as for me, to a monster known as cancer. My son was 14 when sarcoma took him...and that's, another story.

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    1. .very well said.
      My sympathies about your child.

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  18. I am The Raving Queen, and proud of it.
    Now, let us get one thing straight. I wrote one--and only ONE--post,
    based on what I saw on ID. I never minimized the loss of this child;
    it was horrible, I would not want to face such a thing.
    But the implication given here that all I write about on my blog
    is this topic is also, at best, misleading.

    I saw a program. Its subject interested me enough to write about it. I did. Then I moved on!

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  20. Just watched an episode of Face of Evil on ID last night on this case...I was appalled at the mother of Cindy Allinger and her apparent neglect of this little girl. She said she last saw Cindy at around 3 PM as she left the house to play with a friend across the street. When Cindy wasn't home by 9 PM she decided to go find her...EXCUSE ME????!!!! Your 9 year old is out since 3 PM and you're just getting worried about her at 9 PM? She's 9! Not 19! Good grief...the mother's demeanor in this show was flat, unemotional and just weird overall. Doing some research on this case I find out that Cindy's mother allowed Cindy and her sisters to roam the neighborhood freely and with zero supervision. As a mother of a daughter myself I find it heartbreaking to learn that this mother, whose only job was to make sure her kids are safe, protected and cared for did none of those things. Who allows a nine year old to wander freely in a neighborhood and doesn't get worried about that child when she's been gone 6 hours and it is 9 PM at night? It was too easy for Rasmussen to groom this girl and then assault her and kill her...her mother cared little for her and did not look out for her safety. Very sad story.

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    1. Your right. Yes it could have happened to anyone bug seems mother neglected and sadly forsaken her girls ..cautionary tale ..we have to take lead and help children we see in this lif style.. look out for them all too..

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  21. Hannah,
    Thank you for your moving comments.
    I had forgotten the part about the
    mother not getting worried till 9.
    And with a nine year old???? If
    Cyndi was not there by dinner time,
    she should have been suspicious.

    I have not yet watched "Face Of Evil,"
    but I want to. Interesting they started
    with this case; obviously, it still resonates!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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  23. I felt I needed to comment here as I lived in the neighborhood when she disappeared. In fact I lived directly across the street from her apartments at the time if her murder. I was only 13 then. I knew her and she did wander the neighborhood alone. The thing about it that really got to me. The fact that she used to visit him to see his dog. When I first heard about the dog it made my stomach turn.
    See, she used to come by my apartment to play with my kitten. That is gut wrenching. I was only 13 but I knew she shouldn't have been wondering around alone. I can't remember if I ever told her so. It was so long ago. I know i thought it but everytime I see a story about her it hurts. 6 years ago I first saw the Nightmare Nextdoor episode you are talking about. Then just a few days ago I was caught of guard but an episode of Forensic Files that also featured her case. So very sad. She is not forgotten.

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  24. I felt I needed to comment here as I lived in the neighborhood when she disappeared. In fact I lived directly across the street from her apartments at the time if her murder. I was only 13 then. I knew her and she did wander the neighborhood alone. The thing about it that really got to me. The fact that she used to visit him to see his dog. When I first heard about the dog it made my stomach turn.
    See, she used to come by my apartment to play with my kitten. That is gut wrenching. I was only 13 but I knew she shouldn't have been wondering around alone. I can't remember if I ever told her so. It was so long ago. I know i thought it but everytime I see a story about her it hurts. 6 years ago I first saw the Nightmare Nextdoor episode you are talking about. Then just a few days ago I was caught of guard but an episode of Forensic Files that also featured her case. So very sad. She is not forgotten

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  25. Sorry, meant the above to be a comment not a reply to a specific person. Again, sorry about that.

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  26. Unknown,
    Apology accepted. And thanks for
    some info. I did not know Foresnic
    Files covered the case, and I would like
    to see how it is handled.

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  27. I understand the girl Rasmussen attacked earlier was 10 yrs old.
    The "technicality" was that since the attack failed, it could not be established a sex crime. Thats why he was not on the sexoffender list

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  28. ed,
    Thanks for the info. It is hard to
    fathom. Even though the attack failed,
    there was intent, so for him not to
    get charged with anything shows a glaring
    flaw in the justice system.

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    1. Yes we should all know even of the field attempts anything to do with children and our children in this world are not protected by our laws it is the sickest thing in the world to we need to all get together and change the laws

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  29. Sheilah,

    Thanks for the info. Should
    I ever encounter someone with
    that surname, I will run.

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  30. Hello, I was living in the apartments next to the feild where they found Cindy. I was in the 9th month with my first child, Lilly. I was married to a Airmen stationed at McCord AFB. I had a little dig I would walk every day, multiple times in that field, including the day she was found. I was in that field the morning of, at 7:30am at the tree where she was found, and she was not there at 7:30 am. The detectives came to my apartment later that day, because of course people knew that I was there every day. That douchbag tried to make an alibi, and I was overjoyed to be able to break that monsters story. I agree with you, that hwr mother was culpable for her death. She was definitely white trash. I was molested as a child, and I went into labor because of the death of that poor, beautiful child. I had heard that he was trying to get out, when he should be 6 feet under. I will never forget Cindy, and when I was holding my newborn daughter just two days after (I labored 48 hours and had a c section) I look at her and cried for Cindy. My daughter is now 24 years old, beautiful and accomplished in many ways, and I still think of Cindy when I look at my beautiful girl, and sometimes weep, because I don't know if anyone else ever does.

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  31. Stephaniedavis1971,

    Thanks for your share.
    Congratulations on raising a beautiful
    daughter. Being so near to a case like
    this is sure to do a number on you.
    By the way, I was also molested as a
    child--a neighbor. I moved on, but let
    me tell you, I still remember every
    single detail!
    My best to you!

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  32. Good evening Stephanie, I think about Cindy often, since the day I left the sentencing of that scum.
    I sometimes think of her when my daughter has a life accomplishment like making varsity soccer or learning to drive. Just fleeting moments, but they happen often.
    I think about her when I pass the cemetery and anytime I go by the exit to her neighborhood.
    Her life and death has been burnt into my memory after spending 9 months as a juror on her case...

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    1. I just watched the show, and did they tell you that she was in that field for two weeks? Because she wasn't. They searched that feild, and I walked my dog Odo in that field every day, she was dumped there the day she was found. I am confused, actually, but the show could be wrong. My Lilly is a surgical vet tech, taking her courses online, she's studying to be a vet, and I wonder what Cindy would have done with her life. Her mother never shead a convincing tear. Pure evil

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  33. RG,
    Thanks so much for sharing.
    Of course, your experience will haunt
    you the rest of your life. I cannot
    imagine myself serving on such a case.

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  34. I think it was wrong for the Queen to say that this mom was "white trash" as apparently she had one boyfriend not a series of men exposed to her daughters
    Plus apparently the Queen didn't know the Mom. So yes, you sir/ma'am are so wrong to label her. What about her neighbors? If they saw her at 5 years old wandering the neighborhood alone, why the heck didn't someone report her actions to Child protective Services?

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  35. Darling,

    There is nothing flippant about what I say.
    It may be stylized, but it is my POV, and the
    truth!

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  36. Honey,

    I have sympathy for the child too.
    Don't mistake my tone for how I feel
    about what happened to the child.

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  37. Unknown?

    Too flippant? Who's too flippant, honey?

    Indecent, darling? You're the one who is indecent,
    Captain Marvel!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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  38. Unknown,
    Why, thank you, darling!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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  39. Unknown.
    Trash is trash, plain and simple.
    And I do not speak of disgusting things,
    because disgusting things DISGUST me!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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