Tomahl Cook vs Nj free essay sample

State v. Tomahl Cook The case of Tomahl Cook vs. The State of New Jersey was a very grusome study in the tragedy of Katrina Suhan. Katrina was murdered February 14, 1998 in Old Bridge, New Jersey. She was only 15 years when she was brutally murdered by a cold-hearted ruthless murderer. Katrinas life was taken away from her at such a young age due to a sick human being. The experience of driving by where Katrina lived, where she was abducted, and where she was murdered was very moving. I found it very interesting to follow the trail of a murder as if I was on the case myself. The street where Katrina was abducted is a pretty busy street which is North Stevens St. in South Amboy. I could envision it at night how it could be an eerie place to be walking alone. As to why Katrinas friend Katherine and her parents let her walk home alone, baffles me to this point. We will write a custom essay sample on Tomahl Cook vs Nj or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page The walk from Katherine’s house to Katrina’s apartment was a pretty far distance. When I drove by car from house to house, it took me approximately fifteen minutes. A fifteen minute car drive is about a fourty-five minute walk. Katherine’s parents should have never let Katrina out of the house at night to do that walk alone. Katrina insisted that she would be fine and would have no problem walking alone. I assumed she felt this way probably because she had lived in the area her whole life and knew it pretty well. A 15 year old girl shouldnt be walking alone in the midst of the night in any town. The abduction of Katrina could have been easily avoided if her friends parents took some responsibility. Driving down the road leading up to the hole in a wall led me to a spooky feeling. I could only imagine if I was walking alone at night into this tunnel with a feeling I would never escape. The next place I went to was the roller rink which was also located off N. Stevens in South Amboy. It is located approximately two miles away from Cardinal McCarrick High School where Katrina attended. I went inside the roller rink to observe the place and to get a feel of it. The place had an old fashioned feel to it with lights flashing and music playing. It almost felt as if I was back in the seventies. Looking from the outside at the building it doesn’t look like much as the building is very plainly painted white. Katrina and Katherine attended Roller Magic roller rink the night she was murdered for a Valentine’s Day party. Katrina loved to roller blade and often attended the roller rink regularly. Tomahl Cook has been there before and had observed Katrina was there and kept an eye on her. Katrina had no idea who Cook was, nor did she think he would cause any threat to her life. On the night of the Valentine’s Day party, Tomahl was present and was destined to find love with a girl. While he was there he spotted Katrina and had the urge for her to be his mistress for the night. This is when things took a turn for the worse instantly as Katrina had no clue what was coming to her this night. Inevitably, Cook abducted Katrina later that night when she was walking home from Katherine’s house. She was abducted in front of her high school. This is the next place I would visit on my journey through this case. Saint Mary’s is pretty big high school relatively in size. The school is located on Steven’s Avenue across the street from the church. This area during the day was extremely busy as Steven’s Avenue is a main street in South Amboy. There are plenty of houses in the surrounding area along with businesses. From the case study, when Katrina was abducted she gave out a scream which certainly anyone in the proximity of the area would hear. Cook acted fast and kidnapped Katrina and was off with her before anyone could see what had happened. People who lived in the neighboring houses heard the scream, but when they went outside they saw nothing suspicious. At this point it was too late and Tomahl was on a mission to make Katrina his for the night. Next I went to Katrina’s apartment where she lived with her parents which was located off Feltus Street in South Amboy. The area has been renovated with new townhouses surrounding her apartment building. The neighborhood seemed to be a nice area from how it looks now. Katrina had a very long walk that night to reach her destination. Unfortunately she would never make it back to her house the evening of Valentine’s Day. Instead she was brutally murdered and left to die in a field behind a bowling alley where now lies the Home Depot in Sayerville. Her body was found by people who were riding atv’s behind the bowling alley in a wooded area. Her skull was fractured as she suffered blunt force trauma which induced her death. The Home Depot was sincere enough to leave a space where a memorial lies for Katrina where her body was found. The memorial is a nice area where an engraved stone has Katrina’s information and the usual information a tombstone would read. Overall I found it to be a very interesting experience to go through the steps of the murder case. I could almost put myself in Katrina’s shoes that night when her life was tragically ended unfortunately. Tomahl Cook is serving a life sentence in prison which he absolutely deserves, but none the less I think he should have got the death penalty. I feel if any human being abducts somebody and murders them should have their own life taken away from them. I think this is the proper way justice should be served. A poor innocent girl on February 14. 1998 was murdered in such a painful matter for the purpose of sexual intent from a cruel and ruthless man. There are many ways this murder could have been prevented but unfortunately events like this, pave the way for future knowledge as we know today. We learn from these events which took place and adapt to them our lives presently.