Stories in the Media that have Influenced Me

Meredith Kercher

The murder of Meredith Kercher occurred in Perugia, Italy, on 1 November 2007. Kercher, aged 21 at the time of her death, was a British university exchange student from Coulsdon, south London. She was found dead on the floor of her bedroom with stab wounds to the throat. Some of her belongings were missing, including cash, two credit cards, two cell phones, and her house keys.

Rudy Guede, an Ivory Coast native raised in Perugia, was convicted in October 2008 of having sexually assaulted and murdered Kercher, and was sentenced to 30 years, reduced on appeal to 16 years in December 2009. Also charged were Amanda Knox, an American exchange student and flatmate of Kercher, and Knox's then-boyfriend, Raffaele Sollecito, an Italian student. Knox and Sollecito were convicted of sexual assault and murder in December 2009, and sentenced to 26 and 25 years respectively.

 The Crime scene of the murder

Death of two students in Mississipi (March 2012) Yahoo News

STARKVILLE, Miss. (AP) — Mississippi Gov. Phil Bryant on Sunday expressed his sorrow at the shooting deaths of two college students in the state over the weekend.

Late Saturday, 21-year-old John Sanderson of Madison, Miss., was shot to death in a Mississippi State University dormitory, though the killing appears to be isolated, according to university officials.

Early Sunday, a 19-year-old freshman at Jackson State University died from being shot in the face and killed at an off-campus apartment pool party in Jackson. Police identified the victim as Nolan Ryan Henderson III of Atlanta.

Bryant said in a statement that he and his wife Deborah were "saddened to learn that Mississippi lost two college students this weekend." He said he's spoken with university leaders and instructed the state public safety commissioner to assist in the investigations.

"Those perpetuating these crimes will be apprehended and held accountable," he said. "Mississippi does not take these instances lightly, and rest assured, we will continue to provide a safe learning environment for students at all our Mississippi College and University campuses."

At Mississippi State, university president Mark Keenum said in a statement on the school's website Sunday that the killing of Sanderson was the first time a student had been shot on the campus. Keenum said officials could reveal few other details because of the ongoing investigation.

University spokeswoman Maridith Geuder said police received a call about the shooting at Evans Hall around 10 p.m. Saturday. Police were on the scene within a minute. Sanderson was taken to Oktibbeha County Hospital, where he died.

Three male suspects fled the building in a blue Crown Victoria, officials said. No arrests had been made Sunday.

Shortly after the shooting, the university began sending a series of text message alerts to students. Police officers stepped up patrols to make sure the campus was safe, Keenum said.

The four-story Evans Hall holds about 300 male students and is located on the north side of campus. The campus of about 20,000 students is located in a rural area in the northeastern part of the state, about 125 miles northeast of Jackson.
The school's website says the campus is located in a low-crime area, and that emergencies are rare.
Within a few hours, Jackson police say a freshman at Jackson State University was killed.

Police spokeswoman Colendula Green said officers early Sunday found the body of Henderson lying on a walkway inside the Palisades Apartments.

Henderson reportedly lived on campus but was attending a pool party at the apartment complex. He was shot one time.

Green said Sunday evening that details of what happened were sketchy and that police did not have a motive or suspect. JSU students had planned a vigil for Sunday evening.
Hank Bounds, the state's commissioner of higher education, said in a statement Sunday that both deaths were "senseless tragedies and our sympathies go out to each of their families."

But Bounds stressed that university campuses are "very safe, with many precautions taken and systems in place to protect students." He praised Mississippi State for its "swift action and communication to students and the university community."

The commissioner said both universities have counseling centers and other resources available to assist students deal with the tragedies.

 Murder of Rachel McLean

On the evening of 13 April 1991, Tanner was due to arrive in Oxford by train at 6pm. 19-year-old McLean went to meet him at the station. Discovering that the train had been delayed, she returned home. At around 7.30pm, Tanner arrived at the house by taxi. The following day was FA Cup semi-finals day in football, and McLean and Tanner, an avid Nottingham Forest fan,planned to spend a lazy day at home. She studied in the front room while he watched the game on television. Afterwards, the couple were seen by neighbours outside the house at around 4.30pm, which would prove to be the last time McLean was seen alive.
Later that evening, Tanner strangled Rachel, then forced her head face down and tied a ligature around her neck.In his confession, Tanner told detectives that he spent several hours looking for a hiding place for the body in the house. It took police searchers seventeen days to locate the body hidden in an eight-inch-high gap at the back of a cupboard under the stairs, crammed with household junk. After emptying the cupboard's contents, Tanner had dragged McLean's body, clothed in silky ski pants and a T-shirt, from the adjacent bedroom, along the hall, and into the recess under the floor. He then crawled along under the hallway to hide the body under the floorboards of her bedroom.