Alicia Marie Folkers Hummel

 

 On June 1, 2015, Alicia Marie Folkers Hummel was found deceased in Sioux City, Iowa. Her death was determined to be a homicide. A year later, there are no suspects identified, and her murder is unsolved. We will see if the Tarot can be of any help to shed light on who killed her and why.

The reading begins with the Queen of Wands, reversed, crossed by the ace of pentacles. This is interesting; we have a jealous, easily angered woman who is panting after a material prize of some sort, and this shows up as an important part of Alicia's case. In the causal background, we have the Hanged Man, which is a card of waiting and sometimes, of personal sacrifice. Then, as an event in Alicia's recent past, we have the three of swords, reversed. This speaks of family quarrels and of a distinct possibility that Alicia knew a sensitive secret about someone and compromised that person.Watching all this is the Queen of Swords. As this queen falls upright, and her suit is swords, it appears that she is either law enforcement or connected to the judicial system. She is intent upon solving this crime. A challenge she faces, however; is the Page of Swords, reversed. This is a young person who knows all of the information necessary to make an arrest and convict a suspect, but he is lying.

In the place of fears, we find the four of pentacles, reversed. Money was a factor here, yet money and resources are still being wasted. Alicia's killer(s) have not been able to completely cover their tracks and use any resources they had hoped to gain from this act. The physical environment is described by the Wheel of Fortune. This is partly a facade;the murder has not made anyone feel terribly lucky. The other message indicated by this card is that no one has been arrested yet, and the guilty party(s) is feeling as if there will never be an arrest. In hopes, we have the ten of swords,reversed. This almost speaks for itself: when this card falls reversed, we see a temporary position of power, and that is exactly what is driving the hopes and fears of the perpetrator, here. The ten of swords can also be a violent card.The reading ends with the seven of pentacles, reversed. This is clearly anxiety about money, and worry that the very reason for the murder will not come to fruition.

An important factor in solving this murder is in the reversed four of pentacles and the Wheel of Fortune. Right now, evidence is being hidden and stored, yet it remains useless to the guilty party while hidden and stored. As soon as it is no longer hidden, but in use, the case will be solved. Something else I picked up from the four of pentacles in reverse is an ever-so-slight lack of care on the part of the guilty party with evidence left near the crime scene. The crime will eventually be solved, seemingly by a stroke of luck.

Unique Harris

Unique Harris disappeared right inside her house, seemingly into thin air. Her children woke up one morning and were unable to find her. The only things that disappeared with her are her cell phone and keys. So where is she, and what happened?

This reading begins with the four of pentacles, reversed, which sets a tone of wasted resources, crossed by The Last Judgment. Events were set in motion by someone who didn't want to wisely manage money and material resources, and no chance of renewal of relationships or lost friendship and the conveniences that accompanied the friendship. Founding this, we find the World, with all of it's freedoms and opportunities. And bringing the whole situation down to earth, someone involved here took advantage of that.......a new place to live, and new opportunities. This is reiterated by the appearance of the eight of cups, telling us that Unique had recently discarded a lifestyle and direction she to which she had formerly committed. Something that never materialized, but was in the picture as a possibility, is the King of Pentacles. This is a man who had material resources and a mature, helpful outlook to offer. He was also kindly disposed toward Unique, as he falls upright in this reading. Next, we find the Hermit, which is a card of spiritual and physical searching. Unique was searching for a new direction in life, and that is what prompted her disappearance.

The staff is the part of this reading that bothers me, as it describes other individuals, and motive. In the place of fears and plans, we find the seven of pentacles. This card tells of waiting for a harvest, but here, I think it answers my question concerning what happened as "lying in wait". Someone was lying in wait for Unique, waiting for the most convenient moment to confront her. The Hermit, who appeared earlier, also suggests this. It is followed by the none of pentacles, which gives us a motive: the nine of pentacles is interpreted as financial independence, and whether Unique was actually independent or not, her potential independence was seen as a threat by someone. Also, at face value, these cards are both pentacles, which are associated with the element of Earth, and both of these cards suggest gardens and digging. I do not like them coming up in the positions they have taken in this reading, one right after the other! The six of wands appears next, and this card usually tells of successful communication and messaging....I think she got a call on her cell phone and stepped outside to talk. I think this provided the opportunity for someone to grab her. The final card in this reading is the Empress, which says quite a bit. First, it gives us insight into the fact that a woman is a big part of this picture, possibly the instigator. It also tells us about this woman's relationship to the Hermit, who is a man who is involved, but was closer to the action. Look for her to be "old enough to be his mother". Next, motherhood, and the business thereof, was, at least in part, the motive. Yet, had Unique received any challenges to custody of her young children?

These are the clues given by this reading: more than one person, with a woman calling the shots, digging, gardens, and earth. Pentacles and earth also point north, as does the Hermit, but the four of pentacles is upside down, so perhaps north is merely the direction traveled by the perpetrator. The six of wands also tells us that this crime was premeditated.

Hugues De La Plaza

Hugues De La Plaza, a young man from France, was found dead in San Francisco in 2007, having bled to death from stab wounds. To this day, his death remains unsolved, and it was rumored by some to be a suicide,, but evidence points strongly to homicide.

 

 

So how did this violence happen? The reading starts with the Tower, crossed by the four of swords, and while I was shuffling the cards, the Lovers fell out, as if to shed some additional light on matters. The Tower represents an implosion of bad habits and bad decisions, forcing a change. The four of swords is a card of rest, or as in this case, of waiting. I think that someone was waiting, either in Hugues's apartment, or outside of it, for Hugues to come home that night. Below this, describing the background of the situation, we have the three of pentacles, which is the card of the craftsman. This would indicate a connection from where Hugues worked, or made his living. Behind this, representing motive, we have the Empress, reversed, showing a female influence. As she is reversed, this female would not be favorably inclined toward Hugues, and her aspect was completely out of balence.

 

Following the event, background, and motive, we have the eight of pentacles, which is another "work and career" card. This whole matter somehow has a connection to Hugues's workplace. It is also distinctly possible, in fact, almost certain, that Hugues knew his assailant and was not that surprised at the conflict. The Page of Cups is next, and he would be a youngish man with light brown hair and hazelish or bluish eyes. He has a strong connection to the reversed Empress. Could the Empress have been involved in a relationship wherein she and her mate were attempting to start a family? In any event, there is no indication that Hugues was interested in a family, so the committed relationship of the Empress was not with him.

 

The six of cups reversed appears in the place of the fears of the person who committed the murder, and it WAS a murder. There is an element of "living in the past" here, for this person. His relationship with the Empress had changed, somehow, and he blamed Hugues! The next card, describing the environment surrounding this, is the five of swords, reversed. This is revenge, purely and simply. It would also not surprise me to hear that he was stabbed five times. The Queen of Pentacles, reversed, represent the murderer's hopes. This definately involved a woman, and betrayal and mistrust were clear factors, as this Queen is reversed. The final outcome is described by the two of swords, reversed. This suggests that perhaps the culprit had not fully decided to kill Hugues while he waited for him to come home, but conversation and events began moving in a direction that was difficult to control. Sadly, the factors in this are workplace connections, revenge, and a woman.

 

Tirell Ocobock Murder

Tirell Ocobock was found murdered in April of 1976, in Topeka, Kansas. She had been beaten to death. The ony witness was a small brown dog she had been walking, who was taken to an animal shelter. My question was, "Who killed Tirell and why?" This reading starts with the Queen of Cups, upside down, crossed by the Emperor. In and of itself, this is an interesting combination; the reversed queen here is dishonest, manipulative, and emotionally perverse...the Emperor is a father figure. But who are these two in relation to Tirell's murder? The Page of Pentacles appears reversed as a possible cause; here we have a young person, possibly a student, whose ideas are a bit unrealistic and at odds with those around him or her. The ten of swords also appears as an event in the past, and this is not only violence, but a power posturing gesture of sorts. Someone who knew Tirell's route that morning was waiting for her, or following her, and there ensued a situation that involved strong-arming for some reason. This card is followed by the reversed ten of pentacles, the second "ten" in a row to appear reversed. The ten of pentacles reversed refers to a lost inheritance. So a man who was significantly older than Tirell and a woman felt that family property or family honor was somehow threatened by Tirell. Next, we have another card from the suit of swords: the seven of swords. There was a feeling that Tirell had something that was not hers, and by the process of violence, the perpetrators took something that was not theirs.

 

The motive for this crime is represented by the ten of wands, reversed. So we have another upside down "ten"! This card tells of lawsuits and duplicity, and also of legal losses. This was on the minds of the persons who committed the murder, and was part of the general picture. There was a threat, somehow, somewhere; presented to the material well-being of a family by the presence of Terell. Strength appears in the environment.....this murder was committed by persons who honestly felt that what they were doing was right. Also, the public perception of the perpetrators is one of "they would never be involved in a crime", so the investigation stalled, partly because law enforcement was looking for known violent criminals rather than sleuthing through Tirell's affairs in search of a motive. In the place of hopes and fears, the Page of Swords reversed comes up. We have an accessory after the fact who knows who murdered Tirell and why. This person was young enough to be one of Tirell's peers in 1976. The final outcome is the nine of pentacles, reversed. This speaks of a loss of friendship or a loss of a home. It would appear that the murder did not truly protect the Queen of Cups and the Emperor, after all.

 

It really looks as if this murder was committed by two people, a man and a woman; and it also looks as if they knew Tirell, and planned the murder in advance. It was done to protect a family's resources or reputation, and the perpetrators got away with it because no thorough investigation was performed, examining all links to Tirell, her life, and her future.