The Central Park Jogger case inflamed the media in the New York area at the turn of the 1990s, with many commentators using it as a metaphor for longstanding urban issues involving crime, race, and gender. On the evening of April 19, 1989, while jogging in New York's Central Park, 28-year-old investment banker Trisha Meili was raped, beaten, and left near death. Meili suffered severe blood loss and a skull fracture, and was expected to remain in a coma. She later recovered, but with no memory of the attack.
Media coverage of the case was clamorous and seemingly never-ending, and intensified when five black teenagers were announced as suspects, and then charged for the crime. The teenagers had apparently been roaming the park harassing bystanders. Although minors, their names were released to the media by police.
The youths were convicted in 1990, after a controversial trial in which they claimed that police had coerced confessions from them. In 2002, Matias Reyes, a convicted murderer and rapist who was serving a life sentence for other crimes, confessed to being the only perpetrator of the attack. DNA evidence confirmed Mathias's account, and the convictions of the five prior defendants were vacated.
Meili reportedly remained in seclusion until after Reyes's conviction. Her identity had largely been withheld from the public -- although several journals, including the Harlem-based Amsterdam News, printed her name in response to the release, by police, of the names of the juvenile defendants. Meili's name gained public notice in 2003, when her book, I Am the Central Park Jogger was published. Meili now works as a motivational speaker.
Fast Facts:
- Meili was born June 24, 1960
- Raised in New Jersey and Pittsburgh
- Worked at the Wall Street investment bank, Salomon Brothers
