Gone in a Blink
There are an estimated 8 billion people in the world. In the US, approximately 2,300 people go missing every day. While some of those cases may be of their own accord, others are because of something far more sinister. Gone in a Blink is a true crime podcast that dives head first into the most mysterious and terrifying missing person cases in existence. Hosts Heather and Danielle take a deep look into some of the most horrific missing person cases that will leave you on the edge of your seat and absolutely terrified at just how fast a person can be Gone in a Blink.
Gone in a Blink
Forever 12: The Unexplained Death of Sean Daugherty
The peaceful suburb of Yorktown, Virginia became the backdrop for a harrowing mystery when 12-year-old Sean Daugherty was found hanging from a swing set in his family's backyard on April 14, 2022. What initially appeared as a tragic suicide quickly unraveled into something far more perplexing.
Sean was the kind of boy who embodied childhood joy – a straight-A student who loved Star Wars, video games, and had just returned from a Disney cruise with his family. With his mother's exciting new position at the Pentagon and upcoming family trips on the horizon, Sean had everything to live for. Nothing in his behavior suggested depression or suicidal thoughts.
Yet the circumstances surrounding his death defy simple explanation. Found wearing his stepfather's clothes with his arms bound tightly to his sides, a motorcycle helmet bag over his head, and his broken glasses lying nearby – how could a 12-year-old have orchestrated this alone? His toes were touching the ground, meaning he could have stood up at any time to relieve the pressure on his neck. His feet were mysteriously clean despite the muddy yard. His two-year-old brother, found hiding under laundry, reportedly told his mother about a "friend" chasing and punching Sean.
What happened in the short window between 3:30 PM when Sean set an alarm to take out the trash and 4:45 PM when his sister discovered his body? Why has information about this case seemingly vanished from the internet? And most importantly, why are authorities so resistant to reinvestigating despite the bizarre circumstances?
The Daugherty family continues their fight for answers through their "What Happened to Sean" Facebook page, refusing to accept the suicide ruling that contradicts everything they knew about their son. Their story is a powerful reminder that behind every headline is a family searching for truth and justice.
Join us as we examine the evidence, timeline, and unanswered questions in this baffling case that continues to haunt all who hear it. Whether you're a true crime enthusiast or simply someone who believes in seeking truth, Sean's story will leave you questioning everything you thought you knew about this case.
Sources:
https://sandhillssentinel.com/obituary-for-sean-patrick-daugherty/
https://www.wtkr.com/news/what-happened-to-sean-questions-remain-a-year-after-yorktown-boys-death
https://www.yahoo.com/news/happened-sean-york-county-boy-180500463.html
https://www.gofundme.com/f/what-happened-to-sean
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iH5wzJlFKKQ
Music:
Crime Trap by Muza Production
Sad Trap Beat by BRVAN
Suspense Background Music by ArctSound
Gone in a Blink is created by Heather Hicks and Danielle E.
Written and produced by Heather Hicks and hosted by Danielle E. and Heather Hicks.
Gone in a Blink theme: Crime Trap created and produced by Muzaproduction
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Thanks for joining us on the airwaves. And remember......Be Safe, Be Smart, and Try Not to Blink.
A young 12-year-old boy with everything to live for is home after school watching his two-year-old brother. Is home after school watching his two-year-old brother. He's a very responsible young man who does exceptionally well in school, as described by his teachers. He loves all the things that a typical 12-year-old boy is into, including video games, star Wars and Disney. He is loved by his parents, his three siblings and everyone who knew him. He is a happy child, which is why his parents have been fighting so hard to find out why their beloved son was found dead in their backyard on the afternoon of April 14, 2022.
Speaker 1:The police claim it was a suicide, but based on evidence surrounding his case, things just don't seem to add up. Case. Things just don't seem to add up. This is the case of Sean Doherty and this is Gone in a Blink. Hey, true crime fans, I'm your host, heather, and I'm Danielle. Welcome to episode 37 of Gone in a Blink. I hope everyone had a wonderful Easter. It was a very rainy one at our house, so the kiddos did an Easter egg hunt indoors, which was something different than what we normally do, but they still got to do one nonetheless, and we colored Easter eggs and just kind of laid low this Easter. Danielle, what'd you do?
Speaker 2:It was a lot of laying low my poor little doggie. He got injured, so he's in one of those cone things and so can't really move around a whole lot and with it raining out it just kind of made for a sleepy Sunday.
Speaker 1:Yeah, that's pretty much the way I could describe it too. It was just. It was really rainy and nasty out, but it was a good day nonetheless. So today's case is one out of Yorktown, virginia. Today we are talking about the strange and mysterious death of 12-year-old Sean Doherty. So if you're ready, let's jump right in.
Speaker 1:Sean Patrick Doherty was a lot like most 12-year-old boys. He loved Star Wars, playing video games, particularly Fortnite, and all things Disney. He also had a passion for reading. In fact, it was reported that at one point he even spent $107 of his own money on new books at a book fair. Sean was described by friends and family as having a strong love for life. He was a sixth grader at Tabb Middle School, where he was a straight A student. He even had dreams of one day becoming president.
Speaker 1:Sean lived on Sandalwood Lane in an upscale neighborhood in the town of Yorktown, virginia. There he resided with his mother, ramona, and his stepfather, jared, both who were lieutenant colonels in the US Air Force. Also living in the home were Ramona's 79-year-old mother, vijja, sean's 16-year-old sister, maria, and his two half-brothers, who were just five and two. Yorktown is a small community. However, it is part of York County, which is actually much bigger, with a population of somewhere around 66,000. So April 14th 2022 started out pretty much like any other day, really.
Speaker 1:Sean got off the school bus around 3.02 PM just as his mother, ramona, was leaving to take her mother to a doctor's appointment. Jared was with her five-year-old son in Williamsburg, which was approximately 40 minutes away. Ramona told Sean that she needed him to watch his two-year-old brother until his sister, maria, got home. Maria had an after-school tennis match and was expected to be home around 4.30 pm. Sean had no problems with that and in fact, he loved watching his little brother, so Sean was looking forward to playing Fortnite with his friends and just hanging out with his little brother. However, he was always really good about completing his schoolwork first. So at 3.09 pm, sean turned in his online homework assignments and along with his homework assignment, he also attached a selfie. In that picture, sean was still wearing the shirt and shorts that he'd worn to school that day. This will become very important later in the story. So around 3.27 pm, ramona called Sean to suggest that he bring his little brother upstairs with him while he played video games, and that he could let his little brother just watch a tablet and just kind of hang out with him. At 3.30 Sean's alarm went off that he had set to remind himself to take out the garbage. He went downstairs and made a snack that consisted of jarred peaches, and then he proceeded to gather the trash from around the house.
Speaker 1:It was around this time that the family claims to have sort of lost track of Sean's movements. So around 4.45 pm Sean's sister, maria, arrived home and was in a bit of a hurry. She had plans to get ready and quickly change clothes because her boyfriend, aj, and his mother were planning on swinging by the house to pick her up and take her with them to AJ's lacrosse game later that evening. When Maria got home, she discovered that the front door was locked. She rang the doorbell and knocked profusely. However, no one ever came to the door. She then called and texted Sean numerous times and still there was no answer. She then decided to call her mother, and her mother really wasn't too concerned at that point because she figured that Sean was upstairs playing video games and couldn't hear his phone or the door anyway.
Speaker 1:By this time. Maria was getting irritated, so she decided to go around to the back of the house and check the back door, much to her surprise. When Maria rounded the corner into the backyard, she saw a figure their back was facing Maria, and they had a string hanging from their neck that was tied to the swing set. There was a black bag over their head, and their arms were tied to their waist with what appeared to be a belt. They were dressed in men's baggy clothing, and Maria's whole body shivered in complete terror. She had no idea who the person was, and so she called out to them and was just like hey, but there was no answer. She began to move a little closer to the figure, and that's when her heart sank. It was Sean. He was barefoot, with his knees bent, his toes were dragging across the ground, his hands were discolored from the lack of circulation and in a complete state of shock and panic combined.
Speaker 1:Maria ran to her brother and tried to lift him up so that she could relieve the pressure on his neck and somehow get the noose off. She called 911 at 4.45 pm. She performed CPR on Sean until medics arrived shortly after, and meanwhile Ramona and Vijay were on their way home when they saw ambulances and fire trucks speeding past them in a hurry, and Ramona was just praying that they weren't heading to her house, even though they were going in that direction. So when Ramona and her mother arrived home, her worst fears became a reality. When she saw her home swarming with EMTs, she jumped out of the car and raced into the backyard where she saw her son lying on the ground surrounded by EMTs. They were trying to revive Sean and at one point one of the medics yelled out I got a heartbeat. Unfortunately, this was short-lived and Sean was pronounced dead at Riverside Regional Medical Center in Newport News.
Speaker 1:When Ramona went inside the house, she found her two-year-old son hiding under a pile of laundry. Inside the house, she found her two-year-old son hiding under a pile of laundry. Sean's crux were tossed to the side near the trash that had not yet been taken out. This was all so confusing, for the family. Police investigated the scene both inside and outside of the house, and later the autopsy report from the state office of the chief medical examiner would state the following Sean was found partially suspended by a shoelace that was tied to the swing set. There was a nylon bag over his head and a belt strapped around his abdomen, tying both of his arms to his side. He was dressed in his father's clothes and was barefoot. His glasses were found on the ground near where his body was discovered. Inside his parents' bedroom, sean's underwear was found on the floor and the dresser drawers were all open.
Speaker 1:The medical examiner, much to the family's surprise, ruled Sean's death a suicide. Now, this was a major shock to the family, obviously, and yet nothing about these findings made any sense. It was reported that some reporters at Local News 3 got hold of a document that had been written by an ER doctor claiming that Sean had a history of suicidal ideation. However, the medical examiner made a note in his report that Sean had no history of depression or suicidal ideation. However, the medical examiner made a note in his report that Sean had no history of depression or suicidal ideation. And still the medical examiner ruled Sean's death a suicide. Police raised the possibility of bullying into their investigation. However, ramona and Jared were pretty firm in their beliefs that there were no indicators that Sean was being bullied.
Speaker 1:Sean's family says that Sean was happy in the weeks before his death and had a lot to be excited about. They had just returned from a Disney cruise and were already planning their next vacation, and just two days before his death, ramona had taken her son to renew his passport and Sean was so extremely excited about this. Aside from their next upcoming trip, ramona had just accepted a new position working at the Pentagon and the family was planning for an upcoming move, and Sean was absolutely ecstatic about that as well. Sean was over the moon with excitement about moving, but also the fact that his mom would be working at the Pentagon, and he couldn't wait to tell all of his friends. He dreamed of one day getting to take a tour of his mom's future job and even get some of the iconic chocolate candies with the building stamped on them. So on Ramona's first day at her new job, she went into the chocolate shop and bought one. It now sits next to Sean's picture.
Speaker 1:According to an article in Yahoo News, the night before Sean passed, ramona bought some cookies and a few of them were Sean's favorite, which was carrot cake. He was so excited about those cookies he couldn't stop talking about them and how delicious they were. Jared recalls quote. Every night, no matter what, he would come up and follow Ramona around. He would just follow her around all over the place and talk to her about whatever they talked about, and that was the same thing the Wednesday night before he passed. Unquote. Jared would go on to say that every time the catch-up sessions, as he liked to call them, got finished, he'd turn and look at his parents and say, well, good night, guys, I love you. And then he'd bounce back down the hall.
Speaker 1:So how is it that police are ruling Sean's death a suicide? I'm sure that when something like this happens, the family goes into a state of shock as well as a sense of denial. No one wants to believe that their loved ones are capable of this or that it's ended like this, and I can definitely understand where they're coming from. However, I feel like nothing in this particular case is really adding up. So I don't believe that this was a suicide, and I will break it all down and kind of recap what we have as far as the evidence goes here in a little while. But I just feel like there are more questions than answers with this.
Speaker 2:Well, and first of all, I feel so, so bad for the family and any friends that Sean left behind.
Speaker 2:It's just when anything like this happens, it's just tragic, and from what you're saying right now, it doesn't seem like a suicide, other than, I guess, what they're finding in the house as far as him wearing his dad's clothes and just kind of how they found him.
Speaker 2:I guess something that kind of comes to mind to me is that in these cases so I have heard, like with the video game community, I have heard some things that I mean probably should do some research on about Fortnite For a while that that's been pretty controversial, especially for younger kids, because of just kind of the content that goes over.
Speaker 2:That it has been connected to kids hurting themselves and then to bullying. Then also it's an online community where people that you don't know you have the opportunity to play with them and they can cause trouble as well. It's easy to bully somebody when you can't see them face to face, or to act like a bully because you're not connecting like a face or even knowing this person, and so who knows what could have been going on. That's what I'm wondering if that's where the police come in, of thanking this because of just kind of they've seen this over and over again At this point, from what you're telling me, that doesn't necessarily mean that this case is a suicide. I'm hoping we have other information that we can tie this all together.
Speaker 1:Well, I definitely know what you mean about certain games and being able to interact with other people and there can be bullying and there can be online predators that are searching for kids. Roblox is another game that has had I guess I could call them incidences in the past with things like that and online luring of children, and so with any game like this where you're interacting with strangers, basically you run the risk of this and this isn't out of the realm of possibilities, that something like that happened. I'm hoping that police looked at that route. I don't know, I haven't found anything about that, but that is something that could be a possibility.
Speaker 2:Something that comes across my office too many times and it really just irks me is that there's like kind of a slain nowadays for, like you see it about fifth grade on into high school that they use like a saying, like a gesture of like oh you should go kill yourself. And to an adult or even a therapist, I mean that is like what, are you serious? But to kids that age they're not actually meaning that. That means that like to them that oh, that really sucks. And anytime, of course, I come across a student that's either had that used upon them or using it themselves, I probably turn into mama mode or whatever, because I'm like you do not say that, because you don't know what's on the other side of that.
Speaker 2:Someone could take that as you know what I should and do things that maybe, if we wouldn't have suggested it, not taking it to that level that's where kind of the bullying comes in too is that people use it as like a bullying tactic, but not really understanding how far that may come to somebody that's suffering with any kind of anxiety or depression. I mean, you think about if you suggest something over and over again to someone I don't care if, even if you're an adult, it's hard to like to differentiate of. You start thinking of that. You know, maybe I should, maybe that this would be the right reaction, and so this kind of reminds me of that as well. If there was some kind of bullying, it's just something, even in 2022, I see all the time of those gestures that to kids don't mean that and definitely the intent is not for them to actually do it, but a person that has that mental health issue at the time uses it as that.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I've actually heard of kids that use that terminology or that saying, and while some might mean it, I think yeah, I think a lot of times too kids are just saying it without really having anything behind it, but the recipient of that might be dealing with other things and take that totally to heart, and it infuriates me when I hear kids say that. So I definitely know what you're coming from, but after Sean was found in the backyard of his home, neighbors began to flock to the family's residence. After questioning multiple neighbors, police were discouraged and yet baffled at the fact that no one saw a thing. One neighbor even had a security camera that was pointing directly into Sean's backyard. However, are you ready for this? That particular security camera hadn't worked in years. How many times do we hear that? I mean, can you imagine they have a camera pointing directly into the backyard that could have solved this entire thing, and yet it wasn't working. I become speechless at this point, I swear. So it was also discovered that there had been a landscaper working in the yard next door right around the time that Sean died. However, he claims that he never saw a thing. How is that even possible? I'm not sure how tall the fence was in the backyard, so that could be why the landscaper never saw anything. But it's just so strange to me that this happened in the middle of the day in broad daylight and no one sees a thing.
Speaker 1:The family very strongly believes that Sean was murdered and they have started a petition in the hopes of having the case turned over to the FBI, and I really hope this happens, because the evidence surrounding this case is just incredibly strange and I want to just sort of go through what I've found, and I guess I want to start off by saying that I was completely shocked at how very little there is online regarding Sean's case, especially considering how very well known this case actually is. This was definitely a red flag for me because it was as if someone had erased most everything about Sean's case from the internet. It was really weird and I had looked up this case many, many years ago and I feel like there was actually more back then. Maybe heck, maybe it was because it was a newer case. It had just happened, but it still wasn't that long ago. I've looked up cases from 30, 40 years ago that still there's quite a bit about it, but this case is too new still for there not to be really anything.
Speaker 2:Right, it was just about, maybe about three years ago, 2022, right, april of 2022.
Speaker 1:Yeah, so that's pretty new 2022. We're in 2025. So there should be a lot all over the internet and there's just not. As I mentioned earlier, sean's arms were tied to his side by a belt. It was reported that the belt was so tight that even EMTs had trouble removing it from his tiny little arms.
Speaker 1:How would Sean have tied his own arms to his side, much less tie the knot so tight that several grown adults would have trouble untying it? Then, when Sean was found, he was barefoot and it was reported that his toes were touching the ground. And because of this, if Sean had really committed suicide at any point, he could have simply stood up to relieve the pressure on his neck from the noose, and you would think, even if suicide was his intent, that it would be one's natural instinct to stand up once their body started to become deprived of oxygen and that's where the police are drawing the conclusion of suicide because, as you had said, his toes were touching, he could have just stood up, and the fact that he didn't you know you make an interesting point that how would he have tied his own belt?
Speaker 2:and for the EMTs to have had such a struggle?
Speaker 1:Well, and I feel like your natural instinct is going to be even if you are trying to commit suicide, if you are able to touch at all, wouldn't that be your natural instinct when your body starts going through the process of struggling for air? To me and maybe I'm wrong, maybe I'm wrong about this, but to me that would be like trying to suffocate yourself and always have the ability to let go. He could have stood up at any point. That doesn't make sense to me.
Speaker 2:Right that he could have, or like the suffocation, but the thing is is that people die of suicide in those matters all the time, so it's almost like they're fighting that natural reaction. What I'm wondering in this case, could he have already been dead and they were trying to make it look like a suicide?
Speaker 1:Well, that's kind of the direction that I'm going with my own personal opinion and that seems to be like kind of the consensus for social media commenters to feel the same way. I mean everything I'm seeing. I read things on Reddit just kind of seeing what everybody else thinks, and that seems to be the theory. Also, sean's family reported that Sean hated to be barefoot, yet his Crocs were found tossed near the garbage can in the kitchen. It was also reported that the bottom of Sean's feet were clean, yet the family reported that the ground in the backyard was wet and muddy that day. Major Ron Montgomery of the York County Sheriff's Department, however, refutes this claim. Instead, he claims that images from that day show that the backyard was dry. What's strange about Major Montgomery's claim is that there are no images found anywhere on the internet that can back up his claim. They somehow have all been wiped away. As I mentioned, because I searched. I searched hard. Now I feel like way back when I might have, when I was researching this case or just kind of reading about this case, I feel like I did see some images of the backyard. I can't remember what they were exactly and I definitely don't remember seeing images about whether or not the backyard was muddy versus dry, but I can't remember what they were exactly and I definitely don't remember seeing images about whether or not the backyard was muddy versus dry. But I don't know why the mom would say that if it wasn't true. So that doesn't even make sense. But the fact that Sean's feet were completely dry even if it was kind of dry that day, they wouldn't be clean. If you're walking across the backyard you're going to have something on them, I would think so.
Speaker 1:Next we have the fact that Sean's glasses were found broken on the ground not far from where the swing set was, and family members have stated that Sean couldn't see a thing without his glasses. So how did Sean's glasses end up broken? And if Sean couldn't see anything, how did he tie himself up? It was also reported that Sean's head was covered with a nylon bag. So not only was he unable to see without his glasses, but he also supposedly tied himself up with a bag over his head because, you know, he couldn't tie his arms to his side and then place the bag over his head.
Speaker 1:It had been reported that the bag used was a motorcycle helmet bag that Jared had in the garage. The shoelace type string was the drawstring from that bag. Why go to all this trouble? And why put a bag on your head? And how are you doing all of this? Practically blind, because you don't have your glasses on and you can't see without your glasses, but it wouldn't matter anyway, because you have a bag over your head. How is this 12-year-old able to manage all of this? And if you're going to kill yourself, why go through all the trouble?
Speaker 2:To be fair, that argument can be for anybody that commits suicide is you know, I guess, of our thinking of why to go to all that trouble. But you're bringing up some really good points that for him to have committed suicide, it seems like he would have had to have planned this out for a long time and then to be able to have, he couldn't see to have the bag in a position to go over his head at the right time and, yeah, it doesn't seem like it would work.
Speaker 1:It just seems like a lot of work when the outcome is going to be the same. I don't know, but Sean's family reports that he had his alarm set at 3.30, which I mentioned reminding himself to take out the trash. When Ramona got home she noticed that the kitchen bags had been removed and new bags put in their place. However, sean hadn't taken the trash out. Ramona claims they found torn trash bags with blue strings in the kitchen, but that she doesn't know where they came from because she only buys the ones with the red handles from Costco. And I'm not too sure where this fits into the equation. Although it is strange, I'm not sure that if someone came into the house and killed Sean, that they would have brought their own trash bags and then left them. That seems a little out of reach and I don't know that she's really insinuating that, but she found him out of place nonetheless.
Speaker 2:She's pointing it out because I mean she's looking for every little thing to prove that her son did not kill himself, and he may likely did not. That's just one thing. I mean, she usually has red tie trash bags, not blue, which is odd that where would these have come from?
Speaker 1:Oh, definitely. It's definitely something that she's pointing out, because she's probably analyzing every bit of that day, and I would be too, so I definitely don't blame her in the least bit, but it seems a bit weird, about the trash bags, for sure. Next, there were reports that when Jared and Ramona went upstairs, they found that the thermostat was set to 85 degrees. Also, sean's underwear was found on the floor in his parents' bedroom. Jared and Ramona believe that whoever killed Sean likely sexually assaulted him as well, and they are firm on the belief that Sean was murdered. According to the medical examiner, though, there were no signs of sexual assault found on Sean's body. This is the same person, though, who has ruled this death a suicide, so I'm not sure just how much stock I would put into what he says at this point myself. There's also the strange fact that Sean was found wearing Jared's clothes. Why would he change into his stepdad's clothes to commit suicide? That whole aspect of it is completely out of left field. It just added a twist to this case that made everything else far more strange, just when you think it couldn't get any stranger. I don't even know that I could come up with a good theory as to why he would be wearing his stepdad's clothes.
Speaker 1:It was reported that he had his own clothes, the ones that he wore to school that day on when he took the selfie and turned in his online schoolwork that afternoon. There is such a short window between the time that he got off the school bus at 3.02 pm, at 3.09, he takes the selfie and turns in his homework online. By 3.27, ramona speaks with Sean on the phone, by 3.30, his alarm goes off to take out the trash and by 4.45, he is found dead in his backyard. We are talking about a window of less than two hours. That's a lot. That's a lot to take place in two hours. So the bowl of peaches that he had made for himself prior to taking out the trash was found still sitting on the kitchen counter untouched was found still sitting on the kitchen counter untouched. The family believes it's as if someone snatched him up while he was in the middle of taking out the trash. Everything was just left unfinished.
Speaker 2:Is there any report on the two-year-old brother? I know you had said earlier that he was found hiding in a pile of clothes, but I'm wondering, through all of this, what his reaction has been. Now he's only two, but if something like that happened and he was a witness to it, he could have different reactions. To even like in this case, trash bags, I mean. Something would trigger that emotional response. So any report on how he's doing through this?
Speaker 1:Well, ramona claims that the two-year-old told her that a friend was chasing Sean around the home and punching him and that the friend even touched his arm too. Ramona says that when she found the two-year-old he was sweating as if he'd been crying hysterically, and she believes that he may have seen someone kill his brother. So he was hiding under the clothes and there were reports that he looked exhausted. He looked like just kind of limp, like a rag doll that had been really through something traumatic and I don't know. I mean, you've got a two-year-old. I don't think the police are taking anything that the two-year-old says seriously, but I think they should.
Speaker 2:Well, and that was in 2022. So you know I also work with kids, but typically not that young. But what you can do as well is okay, things that trigger him, that even at two you can kind of get a sense. The mom is saying he's saying something about chasing, which was probably some kind of broken up English, but I wonder you know we're talking three years later if it was that traumatic. You know we're talking three years later if it was that traumatic, believe it or not that kids will hold on to that in some way. So hopefully they have talked to a psychologist and are not just taking what he may have seen it to, but seeing the reaction. Even now he'd only be five, but you would still see some of that. That would give some kind of indication of the trauma that he went through and could perhaps give some answers.
Speaker 1:That's definitely a possibility and maybe they are working with him more so the parents to try and see what might trigger him, because it sounds like the police have just kind of it's a closed case and we're not looking into any further type thing. But many people have commented on social media that they believe police staged the crime scene. They state that in pictures there is a black wicker chair near the swing set, and it has been reported, though, that the chair used to be on the deck but was moved near the swing set. Now, obviously, if Sean did kill himself, he would need that chair to be on the deck but was moved near the swing set. Now, obviously, if Sean did kill himself, he would need that chair to stand on. Police have stated that the chair was moved from under the swing set so that paramedics could perform life-saving measures on Sean, and this makes sense, however, I mean it makes sense, but however, I do not believe this was a suicide.
Speaker 1:The family also states that when they returned home later that day, they noticed a rather large handprint on the inside of one of the glass doors inside their home. It was a handprint that was too big to be any one of theirs and it left a film on the inside of the door. Investigators were able to lift prints from it and run it through the database, but unfortunately they were unable to locate a match. The family, however, does not believe that the police even attempted to send the handprint off for testing. Investigators also collected Sean's underwear that was found on the floor, but the family doesn't believe any tests were done on that either. So what happened to Sean Doherty? What did his two-year-old brother actually witness on that fateful day? Why would a 12-year-old boy who was so excited about upcoming plans for his future suddenly decide to take his own life? Why were the police and medical examiners so quick to rule Sean's death a suicide, despite some of the evidence suggesting otherwise? And why has so much about this case been wiped from the internet? There are more questions than answers as to what happened to this young man. One thing that remains the same is that Sean's family has never, nor will they ever, stop trying to uncover what really happened to Sean.
Speaker 1:Thank you for listening to another episode of Gone in a Blink. If you'd like to check out the Facebook page that the family set up in honor of Sean, the page is called what Happened to Sean. There they keep his memory alive and actively continue to fight for answers into his death. Really, like I've mentioned, most of what is still on the Internet regarding Sean's case are Reddit posts, youtube videos and other podcasters who are searching for answers as well. It's important that we all keep posting about Sean and work together to keep his story alive. We thank you again for listening. If you like our show, please consider giving us a five-star review on Apple Podcasts or on Spotify, and we love when you follow us on any of our social media sites and I will have those links listed in our show notes. And if you have an idea for a show you'd like us to cover, or if you have a loved one who is missing, drop us an email at goneinablinkpod at gmailcom. And, last but not least, please remember be safe, be smart and try not to blink you.
