Her resistance "caused" him to murder....

[Horny Toad]

http://www.cnn.com/2000/US/05/24/student.slain.ap/index.html

PHILADELPHIA (AP) -- The parents of a murdered University of Pennsylvania graduate student who blame police for not rescuing their daughter during her fatal struggle with a rapist have gotten some help from the FBI.

FBI profilers concluded in a report that the attacker didn't initially plan to kill 23-year-old Shannon Schieber, but strangled the woman to keep her quiet when police knocked on her apartment door.

"It was the victim's aggressive resistance and the offender's fear that caused him to murder," the report said. "He knew that, with police officers at the door, if she screamed again, it would surely result in his immediate arrest."

Schieber, a graduate student at the University of Pennsylvania, died in her second-floor apartment on May 6, 1998. Police were called after a neighbor reported hearing screams.

Officers Steven Woods and Raymond Scherff knocked on Schieber's door several times and said, "We know you're in there." When they received no response and noticed that the apartment was dark, they left.

Once police had left, the rapist made his getaway, leaving blood on a balcony deck and curtain, the FBI report said. The suspect is believed to be at large and may have attacked as many as 18 victims, the FBI said.

Schieber's parents have sued the city and the two officers, saying their refusal to force entry into their daughter's apartment contributed to her death. Police Commissioner John F. Timoney contends they acted properly because it wasn't clear the screams had come from Schieber's apartment.

The 1999 FBI report used police and autopsy reports to put together a portrait of the rapist and of Schieber's last moments. The report recently was made public as part of the lawsuit.

City Solicitor Kenneth Trujillo on Tuesday declined comment to The Philadelphia Inquirer, citing confidentiality restrictions imposed by the judge in a civil case. A federal trial in the case is expected by fall.

Horny Toad

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NRA Life Member
SAF Member
GOA Member

[This message has been edited by Horny Toad (edited May 24, 2000).]

 

[Slowpoke_Rodrigo]

Given the premise, do we conclude that Scheiber committed suicide?

Had her resistance been augmented by a weapon, perhaps she might have 'caused' this human to be taken off the count.

 

[Horny Toad]

Amen Slowpoke.

 

[Jack 99]

Interesting case. I suspect that the cops will be cleared and no damages awarded.

NOBODY ON THIS PLANET HAS ANY LEGAL OBLIGATION TO SAVE YOUR SORRY HIDE BUT YOU!

If more people understood this, I suspect "Gun Control" would become a moot issue.

Sorry to hear about the girl though.

 

[Battler]

Maybe if they catch this rapist they can give him a medal for defending himself from the hysterical woman, eh? (sarcasm)


Battler

 

[buzz_knox]

Nah. They'd just allow him to file a claim against the woman's estate for intentional infliction of emotional distress as well as a claim against her parents for negligent entrustment of a will to live! Someone needs to find this scum and leave him waxed and boobytrapped, as Marcinko would say.

 

[jdthaddeus]

The parents should sue the University.

The woman was not allowed to have a weapon on Universtity grounds in order to defend herself. She was thereby overpowered by a stronger aggressor (is Folkbabe reading this?). He did not need, nor did he use a weapon.

I live in her situation because I spend most of my time on University grounds and I am not allowed to have any form of defense. The threat of losing my education is far greater than the threat of jail time etc. I am sure that she felt the same way; she could not afford to have a weapon and risk losing her graduate studies status.

Or, more likely, she "never thought it would happen to her" and she never even considered carrying a weapon. Such is the demise of the pacifist, or at least the ignorant non-realist.
At least she died "holding the moral high ground" (yeah right, so that this scum can go rape and kill again)

 

[Erik]

You're assuming she would have wanted a weapon, to begin with. Many people don't.

 

[Karanas]

The first year my daughter attended college she was required to live in their dorm. No allowances for personal protection! Even though a number of girls living there had been robbed (right in their own parking lot), campus police apparently never corrected the situation.
When my daughter finally moved into her own apartment, her daddy gave her a SIG 232 and a Mossberg portable firearm safe. Even though she can't carry on campus, she should be getting her CCW in the mail any day now. At 21 years of age, she knows that she's responsible for her own safety.

 

[Oleg Volk]

A year ago I gifted a .22 pistol to a daughter of acquaintances. The reasoning was that she'd be old enough to be raped but not old enough to fight back when she's on campus. The gun, ammo (lots) and accessories came to $250 and I still think it was money well spent.

 

[jdthaddeus]

Hey Erik, I think you replied before you read my whole post

 

[Jffal]

The same trash who commited this tragedy allegedly assaulted other women in the Philadelphia area. A composite sketch exists of the "Center City Rapist".

Philadelphia college and university students are fair game to monsters on and off campus. We usually only hear about the fatalities, not more "mundane" crimes like rapes, beatings, etc. Temple Univ. main campus is situated in a poverty stricken Philly neighborhood, with the homeless roaming about the grounds.

Jack 99's statement NOBODY ON THIS PLANET HAS ANY LEGAL OBLIGATION TO SAVE YOUR SORRY HIDE BUT YOU! should be spread though the population like a virus. The NRA and other pro defense groups ought to make it (and the laws supporting such a statement) their mastheads for all the sheep to read.
Jeff

 

[jthuang]

Being a seven year veteran of the University of Pennsylvania, it really made me angry to see this story when it first broke out.

Penn's "no weapon" policy is broader than most people think. The specific words used are that students may not possess "dangerous instruments" on University property. Not just weapons, but dangerous instruments. Pepper spray is tolerated under the weapon policy.

One of my ROTC buddies got bawled out for bringing a rifle into the freshman dining hall after drill. Did I mention the rifle was a wooden parade rifle? Didn't make any difference to the lady who gave my friend a good tongue lashing.

Penn also has a nice convenient "511" system -- it's like 911 but goes straight to the Penn police force (an independent police force). One night in the fall of 1990, I saw a Saab 900 crash into the retaining wall around the freshman dorm (from inside my dorm room in Hill House). I picked up the phone to call 511. THE LINE WAS BUSY.

They give the freshmen women little blue and red plastic whistles for protection. Nice, eh?

When Dan Cord and I founded the Law School Second Amendment Society, we went into the law school administrative office to submit our budget request. They gave me a blank look when I told them that we were the Second Amendment Society. "That's the right to assembly, right?"

During my first year of law school, the Penn police decided to switch from revolvers to Glocks. The school required hearings to be held and there was a strong contingent of persons who argued against giving the police Glocks because it would "escalate the arms race" with the criminal elements present in West Philadelphia. I don't know if they used my commentary or not, but the Penn police got their Glocks (my commentary was pro-Glock <G> but recommending specific training).

Penn may be Ben Franklin's university, but those of the Red and the Blue have forgotten Franklin's admonishment about those who are willing to give up liberty for a little bit of security....

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Justin T. Huang, Esq.
late of Kennett Square, Pennsylvania


[This message has been edited by jthuang (edited May 25, 2000).]