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MySpace Rumors, Jealousy Allegedly Led To S.I. Woman's Murder
By
Jen Chung
Published May 5, 2009
Modified May 5, 2009
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By
Jen Chung
Published May 5, 2009
Modified May 5, 2009
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Police have arrested a man suspected of fatally strangling Caroline Wimmer in her Staten Island apartment back in March. Calvin Lawson was charged with murder and while police didn't not disclose a motive, Wimmer's parents told the Staten Island Advance that their daughter was killed due to rumors on MySpace: The victim's mother Martha (Marti) Wimmer "said investigators believe a female enemy of her daughter's used the social networking site to suggest to another girl that Lawson had been cheating on her with Ms. Wimmer."
Wimmer's parents had found their daughter's dead body after not hearing from her for a few days. The 26-year-old had been beaten and strangled with a hair dryer cord. Lawson had allegedly gone to Wimmer's West Brighton apartment to confront her, but then snapped. Lawson, when being led from the precinct, told reporters, "I don't have anything to say. I told them who did it already." Police Commissioner Ray Kelly said that Lawson confessed, with his written confession reading, "I choked the victim accidentally. I didn't mean for this to happen and I'm truly sorry."
Marti Wimmer told the Advance that her daughter and Lawson were never involved. She added, "My daughter lost her life over a lie. It was over nothing. I want him to rot in jail for the rest of his life. If I have to live to 100 to go to parole hearings so he never walks out of jail, I will."
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Caroline Wimmer
crime
murder
myspace
staten island
Jen Chung
Jen Chung is a former WNYC and Gothamist editor.
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