GPS Used To Pin Charges In Girl's Death

Satellite Tracking System Installed By Suspicious Wife Leads To Murder Charge For Man In Babysitter's Death

(CBS/AP)  Data from a global positioning system installed in a man's car by a suspicious wife has led police to file murder charges in the death of the couple's 12-year-old baby sitter.

George Ford Jr., 42, of Piscataway, N.J., told police he was taking Shyanne Somers home the night of July 8 but took a detour to show her some horses, then accidentally ran her over as he turned his truck around on a rural road in central New York.

Ford, who has a seasonal home in South Otselic, was held without bail and is to be arraigned Monday in Chenango County Court.

Chenango County Sheriff Thomas Loughren said Thursday that Ford's routes of travel, times and speed were all recorded on a GPS system that Ford's wife had installed a few days earlier because she suspected he was having an affair.

"Wherever he drove, the locations, the roads, the times, the speed — it's all in there," Loughren told CBS affiliate WBNG.

He was charged Thursday with second-degree murder. He was originally charged with a felony count of reckless endangerment.

Ford's lawyer, Randel Scharf, disputed the importance of the GPS data and said the case against his client was weak.

"Mr. Ford didn't kill the little girl intentionally," Scharf said. The GPS shows the location of Ford's truck but "doesn't show the time she was run over."

WBNG correspondent Jessica Light notes that the time of death is key. The sheriff said the GPS data proves that Ford was alone with the girl for three hours before he killed her. Ford's defense attorney, however, says the data proves the opposite — that after accidentally running over Somers around midnight, Ford was in shock and stayed on the road for three hours afterwards.

Investigators said the GPS data show the truck was not at the location where she was killed until 3:20 a.m. They said Ford didn't take the girl to see horses, but instead drove around other roads and spent more than three hours with her behind an abandoned house.

Police said Ford told them he didn't take Shyanne to a hospital for nearly six hours because he was in shock, then he got lost. The GPS showed Ford drove around with the girl's body for a while, passing the hospital and traveling around the city for a few minutes before taking her there.

"This evidence is really unusual in a homicide case," Loughren said. "But in this particular case, it's crucial. It's like a gift from God for Shyanne, that's how we're looking at it."

Deputies say Ford had a cell phone with him but didn't attempt to use it to call for help.

Scharf said police failed to do an aggressive investigation early on so "they jimmy the GPS data and try to fashion an intentional murder out of it, which is horrendous. It's really a stretch."

[taddles-2009]

"Scharf said police failed to do an aggressive investigation early on so "they jimmy the GPS data and try to fashion an intentional murder out of it, which is horrendous. It''s really a stretch."

For once I would like to hear a lawyer tell the truth, just once in my lifetime.

[djconklin]

Here, here! I caught the same thing--how in the world does any "jimmy" GPS data? Either was where he said he or he wasn''t.

[yoopermom]

For once I would like to hear a lawyer tell the truth, just once in my lifetime.
Posted by taddles at 04:15 PM : Aug 17, 2007

Good luck with that one. Sad to say it is unlikely to ever happen.

[trenticus-2009]

The wife''s suspicions were correct! Unfortunately it involved an innocent little girl. Crank up "ol'' Sparky" and send him to Texas!!

[tngreen]

What I want to know is what in the heck a 12-year-old girl is doing babysitting? What idiot parents let their 12-year-old do that, and what idiot parents left their baby with a 12-year-old? A 12-year-old NEEDS a babysitter, as per this case.

[sal567]

Unfortunately for lawyers, they have to defend their client whether they are guilty or not. They need to close their eyes and heart to the truth; otherwise they won''t be able to do their job. But fortunately in this case Scharf cannot do much for his client because the circumstancial evidence is glaring. That poor girl is vindicated.

[mitywhity]

Off with his HEADS.

[andor3]

taddies said "For once I would like to hear a lawyer tell the truth, ..."

Lawyers always tell the truth. It''s just not the same version of the truth. Believing in one real, absolute truth is like believing in Santa Claus. The "real world" doesn''t work that simply.

or do you believe in reality and the easter bunny?

[usayesterday]

The GPS tracking systems and RFID transponders (used as bridge/toll passes) may be considered as ''big brother'' by some...

...but for others, it is a way to bring justice to those who have been wronged, (or killed in the worst case).

I love to hear/read stories when technology is used for the good of humanity, as in this case.

[cdnchick1]

He killed her and thats a fact. There most certainly IS a "truth" here but it''s unlikely to come from his or his lawyers mouth.

[russ1985]

My question is why would Ford want to be hanging around alone with a 12 year old girl in the middle of the night, if not for very bad reasons? This idea of going to see horses at midnight sounds like a load of horse *****.

When you know you''re busted and they pretty much have him dead to rights with the GPS and the body, just do us all a favor and plead guilty.

[ringading3]

The wife is suspecious, and she has a GPS installed. OK But then she lets Goofball drive the 12 yr babysitter home? And then Goofball does not return home until after 3:20am. Article states Goofball alone with babysitter for 3 THREE hours! How long does it normally take to drive babysitter home and return? Is wife of Goofball negligent also?

[oakishpines]

to let a pet or a child run wild is a dangerous thing, for all my neighbors taught me to pick up stray pets and children and deposit them someplace civil where they may be chased through gardens and criticized to screaming and tears for naked lazy ignorant profane blemished tired hungry lusty bored scared sad or stray or for dancing, in a porno get sick tax world society, get well feed world songs rallied around sick beds drifting tens millions spore bloom weed dragon trail fickle first aid lunch farm cottage studio trail groups

i''d rather be dead than to live in this perverted freakish land of the daring grindets and the home of the shock and awe swingones

if i have to break all the bones in my body and put them all back for *** and pleasure just one more time cause some hikenswim nerfbus bump car camp n nap somebody feels like get''n frisky,

i swear find a cure for the common life

[trenticus-2009]

oakishpines? Do you live on hallucinogens? ***-sakes man, get some professional help!!

[actornaught]

2 words:

Louisville Slugger

...and one minute...

Takers?

[kaiyo4u]

If she has been molested, CASE CLOSED.

"Off with his HEADS." posted by MityWhity

I would love to be the one to do it. Hmmm, what would I use? How about a SICKLE!
Posted by erasmus6 at 07:42 PM : Aug 17, 2007

A dull bladed instrument would be preferable for the punishment of this dufus.

[karen091866]

Whoa!

oakishpines..what in the WORLD are you sayin''?

(Well said, trenticus!)

YIKES. :O

[colonieny]

I have read Trueprogress postings before. I think she is full of crrrrapola. I don''t even think she is a professor of any thing. If she is, we are all in bad trouble. Our Universities are full of such nut cases, who get women off all the time. Could she be another nut case from Colorado ? A Ward Churchill Clone ?
Women should be punished. In this case, the wife appears to be complicit. Why didn''t she call the pole after he did not come home ?

[toldyouso21]

so...did the police find any forensic evidence? Even if a rubber was used, the girl''s body may still have some of his DNA on her--even skin particulate. Because a grown man (IF he did kill her) does not take a girl behind an abandoned building for 3 hours to show her any type of "horse" on that is in a paddock. He probably showed her "horses" all right. TROJAN brand.

Poor little girl. Parents: molestation is a crime of opportunity. There is no way a grown man should ever have been left alone to roam or go anywhere with a 12 year old girl or boy that is not a relative (and possibly even if they ARE a relative) There is too many opportunities for the man to ''slip up'' and engage in illicit behavior. The woman should have been taking the sitter home and should also have ensured that her husband at no time, had access to the girl, either at his home or in a car. When, when, when will parents wake up and learn?

Or maybe the girl''s parent''s should have picked her up. This was a preventable tragedy.

[actornaught]

ColonieNY/Trueprogress are 2 sides of the same coin, each making a case for ''Women is Losers'', actually referring to each other in their generalizations. The rest of us think you''re both losers...

[toldyouso21]

I did a lot of baby sitting from the time I was 7 until I was 16. It was one of the few jobs that my dad would allow me to have. On a few occassions (after I was 13) certain homes became anethema to me. Why? Because the dad kept conveniently returning to the home when I was there alone with his kids. I thought it was flaky, especially with this one that was a fireman. He would come in, supposedly to get something then try to stay and chat. Turns out he was subtly trying to win my trust and proceed further in the molestation thing, but somehow, I never learned that until he finally blurted out that he wanted to have *** with me. (I was 15 and if he even tried to sit near me, I''d get up and move away). I told my mom and never sat for him and his wife again. Years later, when his wife tried to kill herself, I found out he had been raping his own kids (boys and girls) since they were 3 and it continued until they were in their late teens. Crime of opportunity. NO man should be left home with a pubile or prepubile sitter. The cases of babysitters being seduced or molested by the man of the house is sooo prevalent, it is a cliche.

[toldyouso21]

The wife is suspecious, and she has a GPS installed. OK But then she lets Goofball drive the 12 yr babysitter home? And then Goofball does not return home until after 3:20am. Article states Goofball alone with babysitter for 3 THREE hours! How long does it normally take to drive babysitter home and return? Is wife of Goofball negligent also?
Posted by RingADing3 at 07:19 PM : Aug 17, 2007


It could be he left after 9 and got back a little after midnight. Or....he could easily have dropped the sitter off and then gone to a bar--the time lapse does not implicate the wife at all, but it does say a lot about things that she let him take the girl home. But then again, she thought he might be having an affair and was looking for the "other woman" it probably did not occur to her that the "other woman" was a child.

[toldyouso21]

That the wife did not call police is questional reliance upon false deo- dominance resitance to change. Simpley put, not her fault, but all of our faults.
Posted by Trueprogress at 12:09 AM : Aug 18, 2007


Exactly what Penal institution are you residing in? and a word to the wise: diplomas you buy in the back of magazines for 14.99 plus tax are not real degrees. You have tried this bs many times but the fact you must preface what you say with your phoney credentials followed by your irrational, virtually illiterate spiel--indicts you. Finally, watching women or girls through peepholes is not ''women studies" it is voyeurism ergo "peeping tom". Get help for yourself. Try drugs, in your case, it can only be an improvement.

[toldyouso21]

Exactly who goes "horse seeing" at midnight? Who can see anything at midnight and whose paddock has horses running around in the dark and not put in the barn? What kind of lights are in a nighttime paddock. ***, this is the best that Ford could come up with? And why was he backing up or moving the car at all, if the girl was not in the car with him? IN the dark? Probably with strangulation marks around her neck.....hmmmmm., the lawyer who takes this case should be ashamed of himself. This man is sick scum and I hope he gets at least 20 years for every year of her life or at least 1 year for every minute he kept her behind the building.

He should never get out of prison, or better yet--death penalty.

[ecuadoriana]

"Exactly who goes "horse seeing" at midnight?" Posted by toldyouso21 at 10:37 AM : Aug 18, 2007

THAT sums his guilt up right there! I thought the same thing the second I read that in the article "...[Ford] took a detour to show her some horses, then accidentally ran her over..."

Give us a break! Like we''re supposed to believe that crock of horse sh=t?!

And I do wonder why the girl''s parents didn''t call to inquire where their daughter was at such a late hour? The wife probably assumed (almost correctly) that he was out having his little fling- hence the GPS she recently had installed. Unfortunately, it didn''t occur to her that not only is her loser husband a cheater, but also a pedophilemurderer as well.

So sad for that child.

Parents: Pay attention to your children- where they are, what they''re doing & with whom! Remember, even the priests, teachers, scout leaders, etc. can''t be trusted with your children!

[strunke]

toldyouso21- "Poor little girl. Parents: molestation is a crime of opportunity. There is no way a grown man should ever have been left alone to roam or go anywhere with a 12 year old girl or boy that is not a relative (and possibly even if they ARE a relative) There is too many opportunities for the man to ''''slip up'''' and engage in illicit behavior. The woman should have been taking the sitter home and should also have ensured that her husband at no time, had access to the girl, either at his home or in a car. When, when, when will parents wake up and learn? "

To say that a grown man shouldnt be around a 12 year old girl is ridiculous. Most men have morales and know what is right and wrong. They are not just animals as most would think. The bottom line is that there are good people and bad people in this world. Culture, religion, and most importantly parenting determines what kind of man they become. With the deterioration of strong parenting this is what happens, more people end up screwed up, and more crimes are committed. To say that a man shouldn''t or can''t be an adult and give a 12 year old female babysitter a ride home is ridiculous. This guy is a sicko, and a bad person. Unfortunately this kind of thing happens, making some law against what happens everyday without any incident just because of cases like this is wrong.

[klingon69]

As a college Professor of Woman''''s Studies, I have written much about male-female abuse, and deo-dominance. Namely, that is, domination by a bad boy god figure (bbgf) which replaces parental implied guidance and societal mores as well as what most wound consider "the self."
The wife in this case is every bit a victim. All women are victims to variable extents, due to the very nature of our male/ego male/sport male deo- dominance. Please, do not blame the wife. Blaming is not the answer for women, while blaming and punishement serves society and societal goals well for male crimes, to protect women and the children.
Posted by Trueprogress at 12:09 AM : Aug 18, 2007
D@MN, YOU ARE A FVCKING IDIOT!
That being said, I apologize for stooping to name-calling. I have been reading your so-called posts. I don''t doubt that you are a professor of Women''s Studies. I studied them long and hard (pun intended), but am not a professor, yet. However, you do remind me of a college sociology teacher I had. She had the same attitude, all men were wrong, the women were right. I have read, about how all women in prison should be let out, because the male-dominated society drove them to do it...etc, *********! People like you make me sick, always screaming about equal-rights, but then want to blame everything on men. Sweetie, wake the fvck up. Most crimes, regardless of gender or race are committed with full intention and knowledge.

[carolrhill]

Anything this man says is a out and out lie. He knew what he was going to do to her there is no doubt in my mind. I was raped by my brother-in-law when I was twelve years old and it went on for nine (9) years.
The question is why did his wife allow him to take that child home alone why didn''t she go with him? She did not trust him at all so why did she trust her husband with such a young child?
The other thing is did the mother of this child know that he was intending to her home? Something does not smell right with this whole picture.
This poor child was left alone with this man that is not someone to be trusted at all. I think his wife is just as guilty of this horrible crime.
I do not want to hear he was in shock he had to figure out a good story then go to the police about what happened. He is sick sick man and he belongs in jail for a very very very long time.
GPS OR NO GPS HE IS GUILTY OF THIS HORRIBLE CRIME.

[cyberdjs4]

BUSTED!!!

Obviously, the wife knew something wasn''t right with her hubby.
Now we know.

[erasmus6]

strunke

"Most men have morales and know what is right and wrong."

Yeah, but the problem is which ones?

Let''s face it, most men "THINK" with the little head between their legs.

Now I don''t know if you can say that MOST have morales but certainly a lot do know what is right from wrong. How do you know though which ones do and which don''t?

One time my daughter was asked to stay over at a friends house. I had never met her parents before and so I phoned to speak to the mother. She said she wouldn''t be there but her husband would. I said that my daughter couldn''t stay then and she got REALLY pissed at me. She couldn''t see my point about it at all. I myself would never have had a friend of my childs come over if I wasn''t going to be home. BECAUSE I wouldn'' want to put my husband in that position. It wouldn''t be the first time someone was accused of something they didn''t do.

Also my eyes were wide open when it came to my own kids. Do I think that my husband would molest them. NO, buy hey, how many women are married to child molesters and rapists and don''t know it, or so they say.

I don''t believe in taking chances, but there are just too many out there that do and that is why there is such a problem.

[hill_dawg]

Maybe, I read a different article then you people but I don''t see where he molested this girl. Nothing of the sort has even been mentioned.

[ecuadoriana]

"Maybe, I read a different article then you people but I don''''t see where he molested this girl. Nothing of the sort has even been mentioned." Posted by Hill_Dawg at 02:42 PM : Aug 19, 2007

Well, you do have a point there, Dawg. You''re right, we are all assuming that he molested her based on the questionable actions involving him "accidentally" running her over in the middle of the night after taking her to look at "horses" when he was supposed to be driving her home after babysitting.

See, I gotta wonder if he didn''t run her over "accidentally" as an attempt to hide evidence of any molestation. He must have ran her over pretty hard to kill her. He claimed he was attempting to "turn the truck around". So why wasn''t she in the truck with him? I place my money on the bet that he was hoping to completely destroy any evidence. Add that to the driving around for hours trying to come up with a story "because he was in shock". Oh please!

[hugbee]

I picture him making a move on the little girl and her running away. Then he chases her and runs her over.

[missmillie2]

This story has sounded absurd from the start and the details that are being revealed continue to become stranger and stranger. I am not saying that I don''t think George Ford is guilty of murdering the girl, but I''m also wondering how a GPS can determine when a person was killed. It gives details about where the vehicle was, how long it was there and the speed it was moving at a particular time. However, it doesn''t reveal any information about when an activity outside of the vehicle could have taken place. For those who accuse the wife of being responsible at all in this case - why? There may be details that haven''t been revealed that you don''t know. Maybe she didn''t even want the babysitter to begin with. Also, just because she had a GPS installed on the vehicle because she suspected he was having an affair doesn''t mean that she was suspicious of him driving around with little girls and running them over as cyberDJs4 implies. I especially enjoyed reading the comments where people made statements that have never been discussed in any newspaper. i.e., the comment from toldyouso21 "Probably with strangulation marks around her neck.....hmmmmm.," There were no signs of molestation or physical contact at all and never has that been an issue. Again, I''m not saying that he is not guilty, I''m just saying that there is really no reason in commenting unless you make valid points.