Switched has a new home! Huffpost Tech.

Click here to visit the new home of Switched!

Hot on HuffPost Tech:

See More Stories
AOL Tech

Philip Garrido Kidnapping Case Displays the Reach of Google

by Terrence O'Brien on September 2, 2009 at 06:07 AM

Philip Garrido Case Displays the Reach of Google
Philip Garrido is, to put it mildly, a creepy dude. (We prefer to describe him as a tad 'rapey' looking). Everything surrounding the case of the confessed kidnapper, rapist, and now suspected serial killer is unsettling. The case gets truly bizarre and horrifying when you start looking at all of the online elements.

The most immediately disturbing, and most revealing, is Garrido's blog -- Voices Revealed. The Blogspot site, which he penned using the screen name themanwhospokewithhismind, is filled with religious ramblings, claims of controlling sound with his mind, and vague claims of being cured of a "problem," which may be a reference to pedophilia.

While the blog does offer rare and disturbing insight into the mind of the criminally insane, it contains little evidence of the true nature of Garrido's depravity. For even more horrifying direct imagery, you can turn to Google. The tent and tool shed compound that Garrido built in his backyard, where he is alleged to have held his victims, is clearly visible in the satellite imagery on Google Maps.


Perhaps the most unsettling image, though, is available when you enter Street View on Google Maps outside of Garrido's house at 1554 Walnut Ave, in Antioch, California. As the Google mobile passes the house a beat up rusty van pulls out of the driveway at the Garrido complex and follows the camera-toting Street View VW Bug for two blocks before finally veering off. It's possible that the man behind the wheel in the set of photos (conveniently collected here on Flickr by Xeni Jardin of BoingBoing) is Garrido. It's also possible that Garrido followed the car on purpose after becoming alarmed by the vehicle snapping photos of his home.

Of course it could just be a coincidence. Garrido could have simply been heading to the store for some milk in his molester-mobile at the very moment the Street View car passed. Either way, these photos are going to give us nightmares. Thanks, Google. [From: BoingBoing]

Tags: blog, crime, garrido, google maps, GoogleMaps, googlestreetview, philip garrido, PhilipGarrido, serial killer, SerialKiller, street view, StreetView, top

Add your comments

Please keep your comments relevant to this blog entry. Email addresses are never displayed, but they are required to confirm your comments.

When you enter your name and email address, you'll be sent a link to confirm your comment, and a password. To leave another comment, just use that password.

To create a live link, simply type the URL (including http://) or email address and we will make it a live link for you. You can put up to 3 URLs in your comments. Line breaks and paragraphs are automatically converted — no need to use <p> or <br /> tags.

HuffPost AOL Social News Most Popular