Registered sex offender Thomas James Leggs Jr. knew where the key was kept and that lead to the death of Sarah Haley Foxwell who was found dead on Christmas Day. We don't like to think of it on Christmas Day, but each day, no matter what the day, children are abducted because of mistakes made in protecting children by adults. This one is no different, the lack of security for the apartment that they lived in and the parents belief that where they lived was safe enough for their family and would never lead to the abduction and eventual murder of their child.
Just as in an automobile accidents, simple mistakes in security, made on average days cause irreversible damage. The parents mistake? They left an unprotected spare key available which allowed access into their apartment. It's a simple mistake, many make the same error in judgement. The sex offender knew where the key was kept.
It was not just one mistake in this case, there were several and the multiple errors in judgements allowed this perpetrator access to their child without them knowing he had the access, they left the keys to their apartment unprotected, which is a huge mistake.
First, never leave a key for access to your home! Don't do it, it is the first mistake made for many home invasions and insurance companies do not have to pay for unforced entry. In some states the burglar will not be charged with breaking and entry because the burglary had a key. The same is true if the doors are unlocked. In this case, he knew where the key was and used it.
The second mistake, the absence of an armed security system within the apartment. Having a security system and armed in the stay mode allows for people to remain within the home. When entry is made a code has to be entered to disarm it or it will activate. Like most security companies Rottweiler Security is no different, we have a distress code that gives a false indication that the alarm is deactivated. If entry is made, entering the distress code notifies monitoring that you need help. In this case the child could have entered a distress code.
Rottweiler Security systems have SMS texted messages and email capabilities as well, after you start using this service, you will not have it any other way. Knowing when someone disarms the security system allows you to know when it is armed and when it is disarmed. If for some reason it was disarmed while a child is home, you are notified immediately. In this case the parents would have known.
Third, they lived in an apartment where surveillance cameraswere not installed, monitored or-activated. Big mistake! The lack of surveillance cameras allows anyone to come onto the property of an apartment complex, monitor your activity and without your or any one's knowledge. You should never live in a highly traveled area with strangers coming and going without working surveillance cameras, especially in apartment complexes. If your landlord does not have them already, install one yourself. They are very inexpensive and can notify you when someone is at your door or has access to your apartment.
Fourth, the child did not have any form of mobile security. This is the reason we started the Rottweiler Guardian Angel © ™. If Sarah had had one, she could have taken it with her allow her parents to know she needed help and her location would have been communicated to them. Unfortunately, she did not.
The loss of her to her parents is far greater than we will ever imagine and our hearts break over this tragedy and trying to make sense of it. It is an awful price to pay for the lack of security.
