Imette St. Guillen

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Imette St. Guillen was a Hispanic American Boston graduate student who studied criminology at John Jay College of Criminal Justice in New York City. She was raped, tortured and murdered on February 25, 2006; her nude and battered body was found in a desolate stretch of Brooklyn, known as Fountain Avenue. This area is a known 'dumping ground' for criminals.

It is the gruesome aspects of the crime that attracted the national attention of the news media. St. Guillen's body was found with packing tape wrapped around her head and the coroners report indicated that she had been either gang raped or 'violated' with objects. The cause of death was found to be strangulation.

She was last seen alive at The Falls, a bar owned by the Dorrian family, which is prominent in the New York City hospitality industry. The Dorrian family business was previously associated with another infamous murder in 1986. It was at another Dorrian owned bar, Dorrian's Red Hand Restaurant, that Robert Chambers met Jennifer Levin, whom he then murdered.

When it was discovered that the bar owner had allegedly lied to New York City Police for about five days, and that two of the hired bouncers had criminal records, a group of people who were angry and outraged by this information, rallied against The Falls bar to bring attention upon the establishment and pressure on the State Liquor Authority, to have the bar closed. http://www.justiceforimette.com which was created by friends of Imette St. Guillen in New York City. With the further, related murder of Jennifer Moore, discussions in Nightlife Legislation had started and some meetings were held at St. Guillen's alma mater, John Jay College of Criminal Justice.

Darryl Littlejohn, age 41, a bouncer at the bar, was held at Rikers Island on an unrelated charge, and was later charged in the crimes against St. Guillen. On the day of his indictment, Ramona Moore's assailants were also being sentenced. The issue of race came up in the media because Ramona Moore was Black while Imette St. Guillen was considered "attractive". Ms. St. Guillen was Hispanic.

It was announced on May 12,2006, that St. Guillen's family is suing the Dorrian family, as well as state and federal authorities. Soon after, The Falls bar lost its liquor license, however Dorrian has other establishments that are still doing business in New York City, primarily Dorrian's Red Hand, and at least another one in New Jersey.

In June, 2006, the first recipient of a scholarship in Imette's name was announced, Johanna King Vespe. Also, a diploma was awarded posthumously to Imette on behalf of her mother and sister. Maureen St. Guillen, her mother, held up a picture of Imette in graduating uniform while her other daughter, Alejandra, stood by and cried. The graduating class applauded.

On September 16, 2006, a fundraiser meeting was held in Boston, Massachusetts in honor of Imette St. Guillen to raise money for a scholarship in her name at her former high school, Boston Latin. This fundraiser was successful, as was the previous creation of a scholarship in Imette's name at John Jay College.

Imette St. Guillen is survived by her mother Maureen, her sister, Alejandra and her step father and step brother.

[edit] External links

[1] Justice for Imette website created by friends of Imette St. Guillen
[2] "The Gruesome murder of Imette St. Guillen"
[3] Newsday.com: "Complete Coverage: Imette Saint-Guillen case"
[4] WHDH-TV 7News Extra Boston - Imette St. Guillen archive
[5] "John Jay College Announces Reward in Imette St. Guillen Case"
[6] Gormley Funeral Home Guestbook for Imette St. Guillen, sponsored by the Boston Globe newspaper
[7] USA Today.com - "Graduate student's funeral draws hundreds"
[8] Huff's Crime Blog - "Imette St. Guillen met a monster"
[9] The Boston Globe: "The slaying of Imette St. Guillen" - March 11, 2006
[10] Geraldo At Large Blog - "The St. Guillen Murder"
[11] Imette St. Guillen case at AMW
[12] Profile - Imette St. Guillen
[13] Rapture Ready website; "Endtime Behavior" article contained in the Nearing Midnight, April 3, 2006 section, after the article, "Are You Doing Something Productive?", discussing the Imette St. Guillen murder, protests against The Falls bar, concern only for the bar owner and peoples reactions nationwide
[14] Hub Politics: 'Boston City Council Looks At "Imette's Law"'
[15] "Imette St. Guillen, slay victim, valued community service"
[16] The CUNY Newswire: Imette St. Guillen Memorial Scholarship
[17] New York Daily News story: "His chilling words: 'You seemed like a real nice lady'" by Veronika Belenkaya, March 8, 2006
[18] New York Daily News Article: "A scary dude, neighbors say" by Adam Lisberg, Veronika Belenkaya, Rich Schapiro and Warren Woodberry Jr. Originally published on March 8, 2006
[19] Hub Politics: "Littlejohn indicted for Imette St. Guillen murder"
[20] "Imette memorialized in 'bittersweet' ceremony"
[21] Boston Latin School Association - The Imette C. Saint-Guillen Scholarship Fund
[22] OLAS - Organization of Latino American Students - George Washington University - Imette St. Guillen Memorial Fund
[23] John Jay College of Criminal Justice announcement, dated 6/4/2006, 12:26:00 PM - "1st Imetter St. Guillen Scholaarship Awarded to Johanna King Vespe "
[24] Imette St. Guillen: "I Blame Society & not Killers"
[25] A first marathon for AIDS - in memory of Imette St. Guillen
[26] Imette Kin Sues 'Killer' and Bar Owner. Summary: The family of slain grad student Imette St. Guillen yesterday filed the first lawsuit stemming from her vicious murder, targeting accused killer Darryl Littlejohn and the bar owner who hired him as a bouncer, The Post has learned.
[27] YouTube tribute by Shonya Lougheed.
[28] Huff's Crime Blog on "The Meticulous Darryl Littlejohn".
[29] John's Imette St. Guillen Murder case map.
[30] Queens Gazette, March 7, 2007 - Council Bills Make Nightclubs Safer.
[31] Comparison of Imette St. Guillen with Hunter College Student Ramona Moore on Websleuths Crime Sleuthing Community Blog board - 3 pages.