News >> Browse Articles >> Crime News
Slain Girl's Mother: Police Didn't Do Enough
James Lee Troutman is escorted by police into to a courthouse Tuesday, May 10, 2011, in Souderton Pa. Troutman faces charges of murder, sexual assault and kidnapping in the death of Skyler Kauffman, a nine-year-old girl who disappeared while playing outsi
Associated Press
May 11, 2011
SOUDERTON, Pa. — The mother of a 9-year-old girl allegedly raped and killed by a neighbor at her suburban Philadelphia apartment complex says police didn’t adequately respond to a previous incident involving her daughter and the suspect.
Heather Gebhard says police “blew (her) off” three weeks ago after she says her daughter, Skyler Kauffman, and another girl were lured into the Souderton apartment of 24-year-old James Lee Troutman.
Kauffman disappeared Sunday evening and her body was discovered wrapped in a blood-soaked comforter and stuffed in a trash bin near the complex. Police say Troutman raped and choked the girl and banged her head on the floor of the apartment building’s basement.
Montgomery County District Attorney Risa Vetri Ferman on Monday defended the decision not to file charges against Troutman in last month’s incident.



rsccont
about 2 years ago
14 Comments
to donnalynn and bstites, go to phillyburbs.com and search for "hoeffel wants police report released related to april 18th incident.; DA refuses. click on affidavit excerpt and explain to me why the D.A. won't release this information? on going investigation! thats the ace in the hole!
rsccont
about 2 years ago
14 Comments
i would like to ask bstites why HE asks "why is rsccont on here"?
curedgirls
about 2 years ago
3626 Comments
so no matter how horrific this tragedy is - we cannot bubble wrap our children - he was a PREDATOR - hell bent on getting what he wanted. I just hope that he gets the justice he deserves and family gets the closure/healing they need to ease the daily pain of losing a child.
Andrea312
about 2 years ago
520 Comments
www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1385814/James-Lee-Troutman-raped-strangled-murdered-Skyler-Kauffman-9.html
I came across this article posted somewhere else. It goes into more detail then the one above. Supposedly he was the fiance of the little girl murdered.
bstites
about 2 years ago
1030 Comments
why is 'rsccont' on here?
Andrea312
about 2 years ago
520 Comments
That poor little girl. Big Bump SCATX43
Shouldn't some sort of investigation occur when a child is involved. There was a creepy incident I was involved with when I was about ..9 at a park. Maybe it's because my grandfather and father were both cops at the time, but they had police officers scouring the area looking for the POS. They should've at least looked into the previous complaint. I understand the mother is grieving and it's completely understandable, but Maybe this wouldn't have happened if they would have used some discretion. I know the media doesn't always tell the whole story. Just my opinion.
ddoggreen
about 2 years ago
20 Comments
somebody please define PUBLIC DEFENDER
gudercop
about 2 years ago
1520 Comments
Any time a child is killed either in a tragic accident or murdered emotions run high. I pray for the family and the friends of this little child. God watch over them and keep them from making bad judgement calls in the days and weeks to come. Also dear Lord watch over the Officers in this city as they could be victims of backlash.
PCSO_P44
about 2 years ago
338 Comments
There's only one solution for this POS - bullet to the head. He doesn't deserve the protection of isolation - he needs to spend every day of the rest of his miserable life reliving the terror he subjected his innocent victim to.
DonnaLynn
about 2 years ago
9468 Comments
Bump Robocop33.
To rscont: someone's user name has nothing to do with what they post... you are attempting to read more into a username/nickname than is called for or necessary. 99 percent of the people on this site are not heartless jerks. You need to realize, like we do, that the media leaves a lot to be desired in the journalism department. We leave a comment and ask questions within that comment. Those questions are mostly rhetorical. And finally we realized a long time ago that the media loves to paint all LEOs with a broad negative brush.
Tbones2469
about 2 years ago
166 Comments
Grieving parents get a pass even though the press is probably having a field day with it. They especially get a pass when their child was taken in the manner that this one was. We can ony hope they take this guy out of isolation soon so that his peers can deal with him.
uncledennis1
about 2 years ago
22370 Comments
I concur with Robocop33. The mother is dealing with emotions and will need time to reflect. She wants to hold someone accountable.
fsa0033
about 2 years ago
324 Comments
My prayers to the family. This story caught my attention since my mother lives in the same town. I'll give her a call tonight. The police aren't to blame here. The justice system and judgements of the people involved have to endure the consequences of those decisions. I do hope that now this individual will spend the rest of his life from harming others.
cops1521
about 2 years ago
972 Comments
The LEOs posting here are so right. The Mother is speaking out of grief and more than likely the frustration of the Criminal Justice system that ultimately is usually justice for the criminal and nothing for the victim. I pray for this young girl, her family, friends and the LEOs involved with this case. I also pray for true justice.
rsccont
about 2 years ago
14 Comments
i will try to reply to all of these blogs concerning this crime. i wanted to respond to each one individually but decided to reply to all of them with this one blog. first i will start with "samurai30047". with a user name such as your's, and if you were a neighbor of this little girl, my investigation would start with questioning you. as far as your statment of a mother's "role", being a parent of six children, i and my wife had always stressed to our children of the dangers that could exist and occure by talking to strangers. rest assured samurai, this mother did the same. this was her only sibling.
as for lonnanj, i would thing you are a resident of new jersey, and yes i agree sick sob. but this is the world we live in today. (remember, our justice system gives the defendant more rights then the victim. i'm sorry to say).
now redwolf. your user name is almost as courious as samurai's. remember little red riding hood? but you seem to at least have the most regard and sympathy for this girl and her family. because of that i would hope you never expirenced a similar incident. as far has the previous incident, being from phila, pa which is not far from souderton and with the press given this particular crime, the news has stated that the victim and a friend prior to this used the defendants bathroom. now did they ask the defendant to use his bathroom? maybe they could not make it in time to their own? did the defendant over hear them, that they needed a bathroom and offer his? we may never know what led to their use of his bathroom. but the news has stated that the victim and friend ran from his apartment when he asked these girls if they "wanted to see his BIRD". as i stated this is what the press is writting. oh, and when the victim told her mother what had taken place, she also said that there were pictures of naked women on the defendant's bathroom walls. so as a parent would do, she notified the police. they did respond to the call only to say that there was nothing they could do because they felt no crime was committed. the montgomery county d.a. is also deffending their actions. but i ask, if the girls said they witnessed pictures of naked women on the walls and this person allowed them to use his bathroom knowing they will views these pictures, i don't know but i would see this as "corrupting the morales of a minor" which in pa is a crime. so why didn't the souderton police dept see it the same way? why wasn't there a further investigation or at least a visit to the defendants home for questioning? this may have occurred but if so it was not made public by the press.
trafficcop28. i fell the same as you do, but i think the prison system isolates these type of prisoners from the general population. i hope i'm wrong!
fraustr1. i agree 100% there sould be no trial, no appeals only an execution. but that is not how our laws are written. remember, when our forefathers wrote the constitution it was written not knowing how our society would change so drasticly from the one they lived in.
civiliangal. i understand your questions. previously i stated the "other incident" as i said this is what the local media is reporting. and your question concerning the "other girl" i'm sure after this incident she is, was or will be questioned about their ordeal in his apartment.
robocop33. you make a good point. the family needs to be calm. clear their heads and seriously think about skylar and remember the good times with her and not this tradgedy. i'm sure they will never forget skylar as so many of us who never even knew her will remember her and this tragic incident.
bprehoda. bump rhood. i'm not even going to try and understand this!
rhood. now i see what bump rhood may be about. but you are right. lets not point fingers at this time. there will be plenty of time for that. lets keep are thoughts right now with the family. wether you have children or not i trully feel that we all know the feeling when a child is taken from us, especially this way.