I write a lot about true crime, and it’s admittedly probably a bit weird here and there. But I wanted to take it to a different place right now. Consider this tweet:
Police seize a can used by #HannahGraham suspect #JesseMatthew. Is this a big break on a 2009 murder? Next on #AC360 pic.twitter.com/R8ug3G9Zef
— Anderson Cooper 360° (@AC360) October 10, 2014
Then consider this one:
It was 4 weeks ago #HannahGraham was last seen. Look at this photo, practice these things & retweet #HSTNG pic.twitter.com/LjAkjj8HRM
— Jean Jadhon (@JJadhonWDBJ7) October 10, 2014
This is all about the Hannah Graham case, where we have a suspect — and that suspect is now linked to the 2009 disappearance of Morgan Harrington. As you can see in the top tweet above, he had a cab license in 2009, and was purportedly driving a cab on the night she (Harrington) disappeared.
Most reports indicate Morgan Harrington was probably somewhat drunk on the night of her disappearance; similar reports have surfaced about Graham.
Before I go down a rabbit hole here, let me be clear about one thing: I’m not saying this is their fault. Disappearance/murder/etc. is the fault of one person: the offender. It’s not like “the girl was asking for it” or anything. Not at all. So if you read this, please don’t accuse me of that.
You see the same thing in the Kenia Monge case — she, too, was somewhat intoxicated.
Terrible things happened (presumably) to all these girls.
So this is what I’d like to say: I know that not every time you go out, as girls or guys, you’re actually with people who are your friends. Sometimes you’re with superficial acquaintances who you like to party/drink with. That happens.
But seriously — keep track of your friends. If you think they’re drunk, text them, call them, go with them, get in cabs with them, make sure they get home and pass out in their bed. Take ownership of the situation.
This goes for girls and for guys, honestly — obviously it’s probably a bigger issue with females — but I can tell you that I’ve been drunk and done terrifyingly stupid things in my life. I was OK — I’m sitting here writing this, for example — but I’ve wished that I had people looking after me at the time. I once took a cab home from Manhattan to Queens, fell asleep in the cab, the cab driver took me to the wrong part of Queens (not a good part), I asked him to take me to where I live, and he said, “No, the ride is over.” I was drunk and stumbling around a bad part of Queens looking for another cab, which wasn’t coming. Something could have easily happened to me there. Meanwhile, none of the people I had been hanging out with — when I got drunk — actually called me or texted me or anything, even the next day. Those situations can end poorly.
Take care of your friends, especially if you’ve been drinking.
No one ever thinks these types of Dateline / 48 Hours / Investigation ID stories can happen to them or their friends, but they can happen to anyone — and they can be prevented by anyone too. All you need to do is be willing to leave the bar/club a little early to tend to one of your friends.
