I have been quiet, for me, on the subject of the Hannah Graham case. It creeps me out. I knew all the places mentioned. I knew the places where she was sighted by name. Grady Avenue, 14th Street, Preston Avenue, the Mall. I also wanted to shake her. She did the most foolish thing a young woman can do. She did what we warn all our daughters not to do, from her dress, to her state of inebriation, to talking to strangers.
I fear, regardless of outcome, people wont have that very serious talk with their children. Somehow if we think people are dead, we often don’t say the things that really need to be said, out of some misapplied respect.
It looks now like what I have been saying all along will be true. We have a serial killer on our hands. There is a lucky woman in Fairfax who escaped because of witnesses or neighbors. There is just something about the 29 corridor that attracts perverts and allows them to travel from one location to the other all too easily.
I hope Hannah Graham is found alive and in one piece. As each day progresses, there is less likelihood that will happen, sadly. I expect there are lots more victims than we probably know about, in different areas. The people who know Jesse Matthew are speechless. They say he is a very nice guy. Good, decent Christian fellow, in fact. That is often the case. Ted Bundy was very likeable. Michael George who was executed for killing a 15 year old boy was as nice as he could be to the older women as his work place at Quantico. He often walked them to their cars to keep them safe. Things just sometimes aren’t as they seem.
Meanwhile, Matthew is innocent until proven guilty. When all the facts come out, there will be some serious reckoning. Perhaps some families will finally get closure.
That is always the way with predators. They’re always the good guys, the ones no one ever suspects, the teacher who is so charismatic that parents let down their guards and give unlimited access to their kids, and then they live in denial when he is accused and even blame the victims.
I have college kids. I can only imagine the agony Hannah’s parents are experiencing.
My daughter is only 14. I’ve already had many of these serious talks with her.
What did Hannah’s dress have to do with her disappearance?
Perhaps nothing. I expect the fact that she appeared lost and somewhat inebriated had more to do with her vulnerability.
However, seductive clothing can attract unwanted attention from pervs. Females wear seductive clothing to attract males and sometimes they attract undesirable males.
@Moon-howler
I would posit that you are likely very right. Lost and a bit inebriated. A very late hour in unfamiliar territory. A possible predator on the prowl. The perfect recipe for this.
Even making foolish choices shouldn’t cost you your life. I think young women need to start assuming that all men they don’t know are predators. That isn’t to suggest being paranoid. Its sort of like driving when you just have the mind set that all the other drivers are idiots and may do something unpredictable and stupid. I think we call it driving defensively.
Unfortunately, young people often confuse their youth with immortality. I know I did at times. Fortunately I had this built in signal that went off and reminded me of how horrible and sad my parents and brothers would feel if something or someone killed me. It kept me from going overboard in the stupid department most of the time.
@Starry flights Sure, a teenager should be able to wear whatever she likes without being attacked. And adding inebriation to the mix shouldn’t be a death sentence. But those conditions are a predator’s dream come true.
A very wise person once said “Your rights don’t mean a damn when you’re dead.”
Who said that?
I agree. People should be able to dress how they want without that triggering some perverted behavior by some psychopath. The thing is, we don’t know what triggers something in a sociopaths mind. We do know that men are more susceptible to visual stimulus than women. People taking normal precautions couldn’t hurt. Then again, some one out there is probably set off by women wearing hoop earrings. Nothing you can do about those kind.
Drunk and vulnerable is the worst possible position to be in. Never rely on others for your own safety is probably a good motto to have.
This story gets so much attention because the victims are cute young blonde girls. We love real life crime mystery especially when the victims are attractive. The scary black dude in dreads also plays on our racial stereotyping fears of rape. So the mystery is intriguing but I feel embarrassed to click on links for this story knowing that I wouldn’t being doing this if it was an old fat lady or a boy. My actions encourage news sites to indulge our cultural bias on beauty and sexism. Newsporn! I wish I could shake the addiction.
I think you are selling yourself short. The 29 killer (did they ever catch him?) often abducted older women who were never seen or heard from again. At least we assume it was the same person. I think what captures most of our curiosity is the notion of a serial killer. Knowing that someone is out there and could strike at any time got my attention, especially if there are other women in your family.
I think I would feel the same if there was a serial killer of boys. I stayed glued to the TV when those children were disappearing in Atlanta.
“knowing that I wouldn’t being doing this if it was an old fat lady or a boy.”
Okay…that’s a strange statement. Why would you ignore a story about a local serial killer/abductor?
My wife had a point.
This guy had/has a taxi license.
Was he driving the taxi when Morgan Harrington disappeared?
What better way to “pick up” victims late at night?
I read a whole bunch of stuff in the WaPo last night that I sure didn’t know about the Harrington case, which I had followed closely also. I don’t know if facts changed, I missed a beat, or the WaPo was guilty of sloppy reporting.
I don’t think she told her friends she would find her own way home. I don’t think that she went out of the arena to find a bathroom. She went out to smoke and wasn’t allowed back in. I also don’t recall anyone seeing her trying to hitch-hike.
Its terrifying to think about a serial killer having a commercial taxi license. Talk about the perfect set up.
I think what is particularly sad about this case is that although cameras enabled the police to quickly identify a suspect, they also left Hannah Graham’s parents with some of the last images they’ll ever have of their child – vulnerable and lost. No parent wants to imagine what might have happened to their missing child, but to actually see images and be unable to reach out and protect their child must be almost more than they can bear.
Good point, Censored. That is sad.
On the other hand, without those pictures they might not have ever ferreted out Matthew. He doesn’t fit the profile of a serial killer for sure.