The man accused of sexually assaulting and killing 19-year-old Chicago college student Ruth George says he was angry because she ignored his catcalls.
26-year-old Donald Thurman, who has been charged with first-degree murder and sexual assault, confessed to the killing.
Via NBC Chicago:
According to prosecutors, UIC student Ruth George and a friend were returning from a semi-formal event with their professional fraternity. The pair took a Lyft to their campus and the friend went to her dorm room while George walked to her car.
George walked past the Chicago Transit Authority Blue Line UIC stop when 26-year-old Thurman noticed her, prosecutors said.
“[Thurman] thought she was pretty and tried talking to her, but [George] ignored him,” a proffer from court read.
Thurman allegedly followed George into the parking garage and up to where her car was parked. Prosecutors alleged he was “angry that he was being ignored” so he “came up behind [George], grabbed her around the neck from behind, and put her in a choke hold.”
That’s when prosecutors say Thurman dragged her to the back seat of her car, face down and unconscious, before raping her and leaving a condom on the floorboard of the vehicle. Her body was found by her sisters and police the next day still face down in the back seat of her car.
Ruth George was a sophomore at UIC who was majoring in kinesiology.
Her family released the following statement after her death:
She was the beloved baby of our family.
We grieve with hope. We hold no hatred towards the perpetrator, but our hope is no other girl would be harmed in this way and for a mother to never experience this type of heartache.
Donald Thurman is being held without bail.
My sincerest condolences and prayers go out to Ruth’s family, friends, and all who loved her.
