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Susan Fast, Bradenton, FL 6/29/07
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gozgals



Joined: 28 Jul 2005
Posts: 2892
Location: A Place Called Vertigo

PostPosted: Sat Jul 14, 2007 2:53 am    Post subject: GPS provides clues Reply with quote

Hit link for new information on the GPS tracking and investigation. Charges will be filed against the stepson Thomas soon for the theft of Susan's SUV soon.

http://www.heraldtribune.com/article/20070712/NEWS/707120545/-1/NEWS08

<snip>
New clues from GPS of missing woman
Investigators search two sites and insist Susan Fast case has not grown cold

By FRANK GLUCK

frank.gluck@heraldtribune.com

STAFF WRITERS

MANATEE COUNTY -- New information in the search for a missing East Manatee woman has led investigators to two seemingly unrelated locales -- the Sunshine Skyway Bridge and a rural area near Lakewood Ranch.

GPS tracking data from Susan Fast's sport utility vehicle shows the vehicle was at the bridge and at a site at the south end of Lorraine Road in Sarasota County between 6 p.m. June 29 and 3 a.m. June 30.
<snip>
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rd



Joined: 13 Sep 2002
Posts: 9273
Location: Jacksonville, FL

PostPosted: Sat Jul 14, 2007 6:09 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Here are some additional interesting excerpts from that article:

http://www.heraldtribune.com/article/20070712/NEWS/707120545/-1/NEWS08

New clues from GPS of missing woman
Investigators search two sites and insist Susan Fast case has not grown cold
By FRANK GLUCK
frank.gluck@heraldtribune.com
July 12, 2007

(snip)

The Sheriff's Office has not said what, if anything, it has discovered at the Skyway bridge or along Lorraine Road.

Both sites offer ample places to conceal evidence, however. The south end of Lorraine is a largely undeveloped area punctuated by ponds and broad wooded areas near the Sarasota Polo Club.

Detectives are checking the north and south ends of the Skyway bridge, spots often unseen by drivers on Interstate 275 during the late night hours.


Investigators have already searched the ponds, fields and woods in the Tara subdivision, located just south of State Road 70 to the west of Interstate 75. Previous searches across East Manatee took them through trash bins, garbage trucks and the Lena Road landfill.

(snip)

Meanwhile, Thomas Fast is not talking to the police.

Fast was arrested after authorities discovered his truck parked in a shopping mall not far from the Tara subdivision.

While police were with the truck, Fast arrived in a taxi. He was carrying two duffel bags, one of which held a gun Fast was not licensed to carry. He was arrested on the weapons charge.

click to read rest
http://www.heraldtribune.com/article/20070712/NEWS/707120545/-1/NEWS08

© Sarasota Herald-Tribune
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rd



Joined: 13 Sep 2002
Posts: 9273
Location: Jacksonville, FL

PostPosted: Sat Jul 14, 2007 6:13 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

How can these lawyers sleep at night?

from the article:

The public defender's office in Bradenton, which is representing Fast, says the $100,000 bail is excessive. Assistant public defender Franklin Roberts, assigned to Fast's case, plans to file court papers to push for lowering his bail.

But the $100,000 bail is not unusual given a combination of circumstances, one legal expert says.

Stetson University law professor Charles Rose said a judge would likely set the high bail because Fast is a suspect in his stepmother's disappearance, has a previous criminal history, was unlawfully carrying a concealed weapon and lives a nomadic lifestyle.

Fast's criminal history includes grand theft and writing worthless checks.

end quote


How many people have to die because of lawyers "just doing their job"?

It's one thing if the bail is truly excessive, fine, but these guys just say the same thing every time for Manson or Jack the Ripper or anyone. It's insane.

rd
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gozgals



Joined: 28 Jul 2005
Posts: 2892
Location: A Place Called Vertigo

PostPosted: Wed Jul 18, 2007 1:28 am    Post subject: update Reply with quote

Stepson is charged with auto-theft but Susan not found yet. At least they have him in custody while they gather evidence.

Posted on Tuesday, July 17, 2007
Suspect in woman's disappearance charged with auto theft
http://www.bradenton.com/breakingnews/story/99956.html



Thomas FastBy REBECCA BLUE
rblue@bradenton.com

MANATEE - The stepson of a woman who's been missing for more than two weeks was charged with grand theft auto this afternoon, according to the Manatee County Sheriff's Office.

The charge is the second for Thomas Fast, who remains a suspect in the disappearance of 60-year-old Susan Fast. Thomas Fast was arrested two weeks ago when he was located concealing a weapon.

His bond is set at $101,000, according to Det. Ricardo Alvarado.

The weapons charge came hours after Bruce Fast reported his wife missing from their Tara home. When he returned from the Bahamas he discovered his wife and her Lexus SUV missing.

The vehicle was found June 30 abandoned in an east Bradenton neighborhood.

Thomas Fast, who's voiced serious threats against both Bruce and Susan Fast in recent months, was spotted by authorities returning to his vehicle in a shopping center near the Fast home early June 30. He was later arrested for having a concealed weapon.

Authorities continue to search for Susan Fast's body and are awaiting forensic test results, but the additional charge will help keep him in custody.

"We have him driving the vehicle without authorization, and we're inclined to believe he was the last person to see her alive," Alvarado said. "He remains a strong person of interest and we continue to be until we can get more evidence."
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gozgals



Joined: 28 Jul 2005
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Location: A Place Called Vertigo

PostPosted: Mon Jul 23, 2007 1:10 am    Post subject: Update Reply with quote

A search of Susan's house resulted in some evidence collected but LE won't release any information on what has been found. They searched certain locations Saturday and Sunday. Maybe they gathered enough evidence to charge the stepson for Susan's death or her body will be discovered soon.

Goz

http://www.heraldtribune.com/article/20070722/NEWS/707220538

Updated July 22,07

<snip>
Helpers assist in search for woman
By MICHAEL A. SCARCELLA
michael.
scarcella@heraldtribune.com

SARASOTA COUNTY -- Volunteers searching the woods Saturday for clues in the case of a missing woman found some items that were taken from her Tara house.

Manatee County Sheriff's Office spokesman Dave Bristow said the items from the house of Susan Fast were "of evidentiary value," but declined to say what was found. Deputies will return to the area off Lorraine Road and south of University Parkway today to continue the search, Bristow said.

Fast, 60, disappeared from her home three weeks ago. Her stepson, Thomas L. Fast, 52, is a suspect in the case, though he has not been charged with murder. He is being held on a $100,000 bond on charges of carrying a concealed firearm and stealing his mother's car.

Susan Fast's husband, Bruce Fast, helped organized Saturday's search, which involved about 250 volunteers. Fast said he was "absolutely pleased" by the large show of support and encouraged by the new evidence.

Global positioning data taken from Susan Fast's Lexus led authorities to the site off Lorraine Road.

Manatee County Sheriff's Office detectives and deputies had already searched much of the 250 acres that were the target Saturday.

Helicopters had circled overhead and cadaver dogs -- trained to locate human remains -- had walked the land. A recent search of a lake nearby did not turn up any clues.

The volunteers Saturday set off at sunrise in groups of 25 with two detectives and a search-and-rescue expert joining the crew. They spread out in a line, keeping some distance between them, and walked, their heads bowed to the ground. They were told to look for anything man-made, anything that did not seem to belong. Several shoes were found in addition to some clothes and a piece of burned plastic. And there were bones -- animal bones.
<snip>
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laskipper



Joined: 17 Sep 2002
Posts: 1232
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PostPosted: Thu Jul 26, 2007 6:31 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

http://www.tampabays10.com/news/local/article.aspx?storyid=59831

Remains found, could be linked to Susan Fast


By:
Sara DorseyLakewood Ranch, Florida - Manatee County Sheriff's officials continuing the search for missing Bradenton resident Susan Fast, found female human body parts in a plastic bag floating in a pond just behind the Publix.

Deputies first came to the area because the G.P.S. in Susan Fast's SUV showed it stopped in the area. Wednesday morning as divers walked the perimeter they found a black garbage bag floating. That prompted a more thorough search of the pond.

The sheriff's office then decided to search a storm drain that feeds into the pond. Once city workers popped off a man hole, sheriff's officials discovered another large black plastic garbage bag about the size of a wooden palate. They brought in heavy machinery to lift off the cement covering. The contents of the bag are wrapped with what looks like a painter’s tarp and towel, according to sheriff's officials who say they will wait for the medical examiners office to arrive before they open it.

Sheriff's officials say if this is the body of Susan Fast it's likely going to take DNA testing and dental record comparisons to make a positive identification since the bags have been in water for weeks.

Fast was first reported missing back on June 29th by her husband, who had been out of town on business. Days later her SUV was found ten miles from home in front of an abandoned house. Detectives charged her stepson, Thomas Fast, with stealing the vehicle. He's in jail considered a person of interest in her disappearance.
_________________
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rd



Joined: 13 Sep 2002
Posts: 9273
Location: Jacksonville, FL

PostPosted: Thu Jul 26, 2007 7:10 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

wow, good searching by Manatee County Sheriff's Office, skipper. Those retention ponds are common here in Florida, and so are Publix supermarkets, and I used to live near a Publix with a similar pond behind it.

The ponds are usually behind retail facilities, back where there are dumpsters, large boxes and crates, skids, etc. The retention ponds are fenced in well, but based on how secluded it is back there, the fences can have a few places where they've been bent up from the bottom where a person could get in and out with some effort. And no one else would be in there because it's fenced in.

Add to that being under a drainage cover at the edge of the pond versus out in the open where something could float up, and you have the situation we're seeing, no one is going to find a missing woman by accident.

Nice to see for once in a missing woman case that the husband is organizing searches and actually trying to find her.

What a concept.

That's the difference between being a husband and a silent ex.

rd
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laskipper



Joined: 17 Sep 2002
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PostPosted: Thu Jul 26, 2007 9:58 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Sad to say- this will probably be Susan-

Thanks for explaining about the ponds- sounds like Tom picked an otherwise good location to hide her remains.

From what I've read, it would seem that the GPS in Susans' Lexus, gave LE the map of where Tom had been with the vehicle- which helped them narrow down the places to search.

I don't have much to say about the husband and his search party. Still think he could have used some common sense about Susan coming home alone from the vacation- when the son had been making threats for months.


And then the comment:

"There's a tremendous amount of evidence, but to make a case solid we need Susan," Fast's husband, Bruce Fast, 74, said Tuesday. "If we could just have her back, not necessarily alive, to have closure, it would help so much."


Classic!

ls
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gozgals



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PostPosted: Fri Jul 27, 2007 1:13 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Sadly, I'm sure the body is Susan's. I feel horrible just thinking about what happened to her. It seems like they did get the information from the GPS of the car.

When my brother calls I'm going to see if he has done business with Susan's family as I'm curious since he is in the area.

Quote:
don't have much to say about the husband and his search party. Still think he could have used some common sense about Susan coming home alone from the vacation- when the son had been making threats for months.


I agree Skipper. He should never have let Susan come home alone while her stepson was so out of control and making threats for months. It is obvious from the articles printed he hated her. This was the wrong move on the husbands part.

Goz
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gozgals



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PostPosted: Fri Jul 27, 2007 1:23 am    Post subject: Susan Fast's body Identifed Reply with quote

Sorry to note it is Susan Fast that has been identified. All my thoughts go out to her family.

http://www.tampabays10.com/news/local/article.aspx?storyid=59920

Susan Fast's body found

Lakewood Ranch, Florida — Manatee County Sheriff's officials have identified the remains of a woman found in a pond behind a Lakewood Ranch grocery store as Susan Fast.

The Medical Examiner's Office used dental records to make a positive match. The cause of death is described as homicidal violence. Manatee Sheriff Brad Steube says that further details of the death will not be released for investigative reasons.

Deputies first came to the area because the G.P.S. in Fast's SUV showed it stopped in the area. As divers walked the perimeter on Wednesday morning, they found a black garbage bag containing human remains floating in the water. That prompted a more thorough search of the pond.

Fast was first reported missing back on June 29th by her husband, who had been out of town on business. Days later, her SUV was found ten miles from home in front of an abandoned house.

Detectives charged her stepson, Thomas Fast, with stealing the vehicle. He's in jail considered a person of interest in her disappearance.

Anyone with information about this crime should call the Manatee County Sheriff's Office (941) 747-3011 or Crimestoppers at 877-634-TIPS
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gozgals



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PostPosted: Mon Jul 30, 2007 1:29 am    Post subject: Update on Susan Fast - recalling Susan's life Reply with quote

Sorry to say that Thomas has not been charged with the murder yet. Let us hope they will gather enough evidence shortly to arrest him for her homicide.

<snip>
Posted on Sunday, July 29, Family uniting to recall Fast life
Bruce Fast expects many at ceremony for victim of slaying
Susan FastBy REBECCA BLUE
rblue@bradenton.com


EAST MANATEE --As detectives continue to piece together evidence that will help lead to the arrest of Susan Fast's killer, her family has made plans to celebrate her life Tuesday.

Authorities discovered Fast's dismembered body Wednesday in a Lakewood Ranch retention pond and storm-water drain, nearly one month after she was reported missing from her Tara home.

Preliminary reports concluded the 60-year-old died of homicidal violence.

Manatee County Sheriff's detectives still consider her stepson, Thomas Fast, their lead suspect, but he hasn't yet been charged. He is the last person known to have seen Susan Fast alive.

He has been held in the Manatee County jail on a weapons charge and a grand theft charge since June 30, after his stepmother's disappearance. Authorities say he took her 2008 Lexus sport utility vehicle without permission. His bond is set at $101,000.

The SUV was found without a license plate at 3 p.m. June 30, in an east Bradenton neighborhood. A witness said he saw a man - later identified as Thomas Fast - leave the vehicle carrying two black duffel bags.

Susan Fast's husband, Bruce Fast, told detectives he believes his son, who has a history of mental illness, is involved. He said Thomas had threatened the couple in previous months.

"It's just really hard when you know someone has a problem that needs to be doctored, but they won't do it," Bruce Fast said Saturday.

Thomas Fast will not be invited to Tuesday's ceremony, Bruce Fast said.
<snip>

http://www.bradenton.com/local/story/109145.html
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gozgals



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PostPosted: Fri Aug 03, 2007 12:19 am    Post subject: Stepson Charged with Susan's Murder Reply with quote

As we all knew,Thomas the stepson would be charged and arrested for Susan's murder. Now we must wait and see what tricks his defense will use as Thomas is mentally ill. How much a part will this play in his defense? Thomas seemed aware of his actions due to the fact he hid the body (used afterthought) and followed through with the act of murdering someone he was known to dislike. This shows me he was cognitive even if he does suffer forms of mental disease.

Does the fact he didn't take his meds. absolve him from responsibility? This was a choice he made.

Goz

http://www.myfoxtampabay.com/myfox/pages/News/Detail?contentId=3955135&version=5&locale=EN-US&layoutCode=TSTY&pageId=3.2.1

<snip>
Stepson charged in Susan Fast's death

Last Edited: Thursday, 02 Aug 2007, 6:42 PM EDT
Created: Thursday, 02 Aug 2007, 2:46 PM EDT


BRADENTON - A closer look at a stick of deodorant in Thomas Fast's duffle bag led the Manatee County sheriff to charge him with the murder of his stepmother, Susan.

Inside that holed-out container was the jewelry Susan Fast wore the night she was kidnapped.

It's hard to imagine the agony her husband Bruce Fast faces. He lost his beloved wife and now his son is charged with killing her.

He suspected his son all along and any lingering doubts were removed when her personal possessions were found in his bag.

"There was a sense of relief that we did have something that identified Tom with Susan," he said.

Bruce says his son is a paranoid schizophrenic and had stopped taking his medication.

In the days before her murder, Susan told Bruce that Tom gave her the creeps.

"She said 'I feel strange about him being here, he seems to be stalking me,' " Bruce remembered.
<snip>
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gozgals



Joined: 28 Jul 2005
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PostPosted: Sat Sep 01, 2007 12:55 am    Post subject: Update: Thomas Indicated, allows for fast execution Reply with quote

http://www.heraldtribune.com/article/20070822/NEWS/708220313

<snip>
Indictment of Fast allows for execution
By MICHAEL A. SCARCELLA

michael.
scarcella@heraldtribune.com

EAST MANATEE -- Thomas L. Fast stalked his parents for days, talking to relatives and others to track down their whereabouts.

He was desperate to find his father, Bruce Fast, and his stepmother, Susan, whom family members say he has long disliked.

The Fasts were away on a business trip in the Bahamas. Susan returned home, alone, and Thomas Fast confronted her a day later, authorities say.

"He was literally waiting for her. He had the whole thing figured out -- his story and everything," a source familiar with the investigation told the Herald-Tribune.

Fast ambushed his 60-year-old stepmother in her home in East Manatee, cutting her neck from behind, according to the source. She bled to death. Her arms and legs were cut off and wrapped in towels and blankets.

A grand jury Tuesday indicted Fast on a first-degree murder charge, allowing the state the opportunity to pursue the death penalty. Manatee County's chief homicide prosecutor, Art Brown, said the state did not make an immediate decision about seeking the death penalty after securing the indictment.

Fast, 52, whom family members call a mentally ill drifter, killed his stepmother by "cutting or stabbing" her, according to charging documents filed Tuesday.

Bruce Fast, the defendant's father, said he wants his son to die for the murder.

"I don't think there will ever be any comfort because I don't have Susan," said Bruce Fast, 74, a construction contractor who co-owned a company with his wife of more than 30 years.

Central to the case, which generated national attention as investigators and volunteers searched for weeks for clues in Susan Fast's disappearance, is whether Thomas Fast is mentally fit to stand trial.

Two mental health experts have been appointed to examine Fast, whose mother is a clinical psychologist in Englewood.

His attorney, Assistant Public Defender Franklin Roberts, said Fast suffers from a mental illness and is prone to bizarre thought patterns.

Thomas Fast, a former paramedic in the military who later worked as an embalmer in Florida, made specific cuts into his stepmother's body, the source said. Susan Fast's legs were cut at her knees.

"What this man did is beyond understanding," the source said, calling details of the crime gruesome and nauseating.

The angle of the wounds on Susan Fast's neck shows she was cut by a person standing behind her, the source said.

Her body, exposed to the elements for more than three weeks before it was discovered in a pond, was somewhat preserved because it had been wrapped in sheets and contained in a plastic bag.

Family members say Fast has long disliked his stepmother, who reportedly stood in the way of an inheritance.
<snip>


What a horrid and gruesome crime and I hope he gets the DP.
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laskipper



Joined: 17 Sep 2002
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PostPosted: Sat Sep 01, 2007 7:04 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Thanks for the update, Goz. Grisly!

I don't see the DP as an option in this case, simple because of his past. The family made a point of his being mentally ill out of the gate.

Excerpt from article:

Two mental health experts have been appointed to examine Fast, whose mother is a clinical psychologist in Englewood.

**

So the X spouse is a Clinical Psychologist? Tom Fast's mother?

My guess is -0- percent chance he get the DP.

Sad case.

ls
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gozgals



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PostPosted: Tue Jul 14, 2009 11:37 pm    Post subject: Update Reply with quote

I'm so happy there was justice for Susan. This guy really killed her for no good reason at all except money.



Fair Use
ABC Action News
Thomas Fast guilty of killing stepmom
Reported by: Keith Baker
Email: kbaker@abcactionnews.com
Last Update: 5:32 am July 14, 09




Snip

BRADENTON, FL -- Thomas Fast was found guilty of murdering his stepmother Susan Fast in 2007. A jury wasted no time after they deliberated for five hours into the evening Monday and presented the judge with a guilty verdict of murdering and dismembering his stepmother.

Fast was also found guilty of robbery.

Fast will spend the rest of his life in jail without parole.


http://www.abcactionnews.com/news/local/story/Thomas-Fast-guilty-of-killing-stepmom/IW-8fH-AtUuF-2GcGP9Z0w.cspx
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