From NY1:
Suspect Charged In Fatal Queens Slashing
March 20, 2007A Queens man was arrested Tuesday for allegedly slashing to death a woman who was expected to testify that he raped her, authorities said.
Natasha Ramen, 20, was slashed to death last Thursday in front of her home in Hollis.
Tuesday afternoon the Queens district attorney announced that they had charged Hemant Megnath, 29, with killing Ramen. If convicted he could face life in prison without parole.
Police say Ramen and Megnath met in 2005 when Megnath was allegedly helping Ramen find an apartment.
In 2006, Ramen came forward to say Megnath had raped her. He was arrested and released on $5,000 bail, and was due back in court for a pre-trial hearing on April 9th.
Authorities are speculating that he killed her so that she would not testify against him in the upcoming trial.
According to officials, Megnath was also charged late last year with making threats against the victim’s family for the rape allegations.
Local residents were shocked to hear about the violence in their neighborhood.
“It was really surprising,” said one local resident. “We have been living here for so long and we’ve never heard of anything like this, nothing like this ever happens. The kids are constantly playing on the street.”
Neighbors are also wondering why Megnath was released on bail and out prowling their streets.
That’s right, ladies – you’re more than welcome to report your rapist. Just don’t expect anyone to protect you.
daisies said,
March 21, 2007 @ 6:09 pm
why am i not surprised … sigh …
gingermiss said,
March 21, 2007 @ 11:32 pm
I know. Isn’t it horrible that such a travesty doesn’t even come as a shock anymore, it’s such a commonly told story?
There were so many opportunities for the right channels to prevent this from happening, but no one cared. It makes me sick.
apple said,
March 22, 2007 @ 12:08 am
Why are they calling it a “slashing”? For some reason, that just strikes me as a weird way to describe it? You slash tires. Why not brutally murdered or stabbed or killed?
Maybe it’s just me being English major-y.
gingermiss said,
March 22, 2007 @ 12:39 am
I had the same reaction myself, especially since I watched the same story on television and I’m pretty sure they revealed that her throat was slit.
The article is very poorly written, and my guess on the indescript use of ’slashing’ would be that the scummy reporters wanted to sensationalize the story as much as possible. When did news journalism turn into an employment avenue for failed and untalented creative writers?