Student strangled to death 'after ignoring man's cat calls'
Hundreds of fellow students and staff staged vigil for Ruth George
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Your support makes all the difference.A man accused of murdering a 19-year-old university student in Chicago strangled her to death because she ignored his catcalling, prosecutors say.
Donald Thurman, 26, is charged with the first-degree murder and sexual assault of Ruth George, a student at the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC).
The body of George, who was called “Ruthie” by her friends, was discovered in the back of her family’s vehicle at a car park on the university campus.
James Murphy, Assistant State’s Attorney, said: “The defendant was angry that he was being ignored. The defendant came up behind the victim, grabbed her around the neck from behind, and put her into a choke hold.”
He added: “With his arms still wrapped around the victim’s neck, the defendant dragged the victim from the ground and he opened her back seat car door”.
Hundreds of fellow students and staff staged a vigil for George, who had competed on the gymnastics team at school, at a student centre on Monday night.
George was involved in planning a recent talk about women of colour and violence at the school’s Women’s Leadership and Resource Centre, according to a student at the vigil.
Michael D Amiridis, the university’s Chancellor, said: “All of us are devastated by the loss of Ruth George, a member of our Honours College and a talented kinesiology student with dreams and aspirations to become a health professional and help others.
"Our thoughts, our hearts and our condolences are with her family and friends during this trying period”.
Students decorated the university campus with yellow ribbons to pay tribute to George.
Campus police said Thurman was released from jail in December after being convicted of armed robbery.
The man had been sentenced to six years but only did two and was on parole. A judge has now ordered Thurman to be held without bail.
According to the university, George’s family told campus police she was missing on Saturday and they traced her phone to the car park.
Her death was found to be a homicide by strangulation by the Cook County Medical Examiner’s Office.
Tsitsi Matekaire, of Equality Now, a non-government organisation which aims to promote the rights of women and girls, raised concerns about the case.
She said: "Violence against women and girls is a global pandemic that affects one in three women in their lifetime, and cuts across all social and economic boundaries. Despite this, it is estimated that in the USA, out of every 1,000 sexual assaults, 995 perpetrators will walk free.
"The government need to acknowledge the scale of the problem and apply a multi-layered response that addresses risk factors, insures victims and survivors receive justice and support, and perpetrators are punished. We also need to address harmful gender stereotypes and the normalisation of violence against women and girls in the media."
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