Teen's Night of NYC Clubbing Ends in NJ Dumpster

Yesterday, police arrested a man suspected of killing 18 year old NJ resident, Jennifer Moore. Moore had been missing since Tuesday morning, but calls still were being made from her cellphone. Police questioned those being called and were led to Draymond Coleman, who was at an SRO in upper Manhattan. After questioning Coleman, the police found Moore's body in a dumpster in West New York, NJ, and the crime scene in a Weehawken, NJ motel nearby - the Park Avenue Hotel, which the Daily News describes as squalid. A tape from the motel showed Coleman and Moore entering the motel, and police say Coleman beat and strangled Moore, stuffed Moore's body into a duffel bag for disposal. It seems that Coleman also tried to remove his DNA evidence from her, by clipping her nails and swabbing her body with alcohol. Police believe Moore put up a fight; the Bergen Record writes, "The scene inside the room was so gruesome, [a detective] said, that he passed on viewing the body." Coleman will be extradited to NJ. His prior record includes a drug selling offense.

Moore had been missing since Tuesday morning. A night of clubbing and drinking with her 18 year old friend, Tara Keenan, ended at the NYPD impound lot at Pier 76, with the two girls trying to get Keenan's car released. From the NY Times:

But tow lot attendants refused to give Ms. Keenan the car because she appeared to be intoxicated, the police said. Ms. Keenan then passed out, collapsing, and the attendants called for an ambulance. The lot workers also called officers to the scene because another apparently inebriated woman, who was not with Ms. Moore and Ms. Keenan, was there trying to retrieve her car and was becoming ill, the authorities said.

Ms. Moore went to use the tow lot’s bathroom. About 3 a.m., just before the ambulance arrived and with officers there attending to the two ill women, Ms. Moore apparently left the bathroom, slipped by all the authorities and simply walked off unnoticed, the police said.

An impound attendant tells the Daily News that Moore "was toasted. The state she was in, anybody could have taken advantage of her." The attendant added that Keenan only realized that Moore was missing when she was in the ambulance and tried calling her. Moore's last call was to her boyfriend and she said there was a guy following her. The NY Times has a map of Moore's last hours and the Daily News has a timeline.

Guest House, the West 27th Street club where Moore and Keenan were last partying, is cooperating with authorities; though it's unclear how the two underage girls got in, the club may not be fined for serving someone under 21, because the drinks were purchased by an adult. The NY Times has an article about the dangers of partying in the city - especially alone and especially when alcohol is involved. While there are comments about kids from NJ or Connecticut or Long Island coming to the city and not knowing what they're getting in for, what bothers us much, much more is that teens everywhere are just trying to emulate their favorite underage celebrities who go clubbing while dressed provocatively. A commenter just made a good point about self-restraint being needed as well - we agree wholeheartedly.

The police were fortunate to find Coleman through the cell phone use. What's sad is that there have been no leads or breaks like that in case of Chanel Petro-Nixon, a Brooklyn teen who disappeared while walking in Brooklyn on a Sunday afternoon (to go apply for a job) and whose body was found days later. Her family and the community are trying desperately to find people who know something.

Contact the author of this article or email tips@gothamist.com with further questions, comments or tips.

By Jen Chung in News on July 28, 2006 11:06 AM

Comments [rss]

neversaynever

As the mother of 19 and 20 year old daughters, I have learned never to say never. What happened was tragic and what makes this a story to most, is that parents know that could be their child. And why do we need to hear all of the grimey details. Couldn't they just say that she was sexually assulted?

I also happen to know the girlfriend of the killer. She was a very sweet-quiet child growing up. She was raised in a very loving supportive family and you have to ask yourself how could things go so wrong? I do find it ironic that they both were raised in a similar way and how their encounter with coleman brought about a tragic ending for both.

xyz

It seems that the mayor and police are complicit in these murders. It is a well known fact that underage girls are able to into these clubs every night and drink. Whre is the enforcement of the drinking ages? Obviously, the cops are on the take here.

sistasatan

We should do something about the fact that the night is not a safe place for women. Men and women know it is dangerous for women, and 999 out of a 1000 times, you'll be fine, but it only takes once.

As for her "decisions," while intoxicated, it is a medical fact that severe drunkness leads to judgement impairment. You can not talk about her deciding to wander off as a rational decision.

What bothers me is that the NYPD were there and could have helped her. If it is a problem that drunk people stumble up to the impound lot (that is undeniably in a seedier part of town), then why hasn't our city government done something to make it safer, especially for women? The NYPD's job is to serve and to protect.

Finally, we've got a problem in this society with men and violence. This should be addressed, but we would rather blame the victim--what was she wearing, why was she there, she was drunk--then address the fact that we have predatory males who attack women regardless of what they're wearing, what time of day it is and whether they are drunk or not. I hope Coleman gets his just due.

Ambulance nurse

You think it's different there? Nope. It's the problem of all America. You can't escape it.

http://www.ambustat.com

Do Not Care

Stay in Jersey.

vote 2000five

Who knew back when Giuliani was mayor and now Bloomberg that gentrification would lead to more white people getting murdered?

Whites in harlem, East harlem, bed stuy, LES, East NY, crown heights. keep them coming.

Another consequence to overdevelopement and greed.

SoSo Blessed

I feel really bad for Jennifer. And all that has been said has some merit. The media writes to sell news papers. The racial thing is prevalant in our society. Too Bad! I know Draymond and he is not Black. The thing we should focus on is to teach our children about the dangers of drinking, driving and drinking, and what to do when you drink and what not to do. We should teach our children how to call for help. When in trouble reach out to anyone in your path and more importantly, PRAY!

Talia Kenan

My name is Talia Kenan. I was with Jen. She was an amazing daughter, sister, and friend, and forever will be missed. I love her so so so much.

We had no idea that this is what was going to happen.... we went into the city to get away and have a little fun thats all.... we didn't keep track of our drinks and had a few too many and probably got the date rape drug put into it... I passed out and when I woke up she was gone, she was probably scared b/c she knew I called the cops b/c they wouldn;t give me my car and she didnt want to get in trouble so she walked off. Its such a horrible thing that happened. NO ONE should have to go thru that. she has an amazing family. i feel so responsible. everyone should take a lesson from this... WAKE UP CALL its time to change.

epk

remember beautiful nicole "what are you going to do? shoot us?" dufresne? how drunk do you have to be to argue with someone that's got a gun pointed at your chest?

http://www.suite101.com/article.cfm/martial_arts/113774

or what about beautiful imette st. guillen, another one that was out drunk, alone, in a bar at 4am? her mother says what happened to her is the state's fault, the city's fault, the bar owner's fault, the bartender's fault. everyone's fault but imette's.

http://www.hubpolitics.com/archives/cat_st_guillen_murder.php

how many times have i traipsed through the lower east side on a saturday night and seen drunken white people laughing and staggering through the streets, like that entire neighborhood is their private little playground?

get this, loud and clear: 1. no one is entitled to a good time. no one is entitled to anything. 2. it's not smart to be drunk in public anywhere, ever -- especially in new york city. i don't care how clean it looks or how safe anyone feels. it's still dangerous. it's still new york city. everybody knows that. 3. race matters. please. everybody knows that, too. i didn't like what ko said ("knew it. Black guy."), but at least he's honest. it's probably what everyone's thinking and are to pc to let it out.

hey, JO MAM & BUMBCLAUT -- snap out if it. there are a lot of very beautiful black women in this city. i'm sure there's an exceptionally good reason as to why you don't know any. and as quiet as it's kept, and in spite of their inherent ability to "kick ass," horrible things happen to them all the time, including rape and murder.

gee. i guess some of them don't really know how to kick ass, after all.

just saying

Here is (hopefully) a better link regarding the disappearance in June of Chanel Petro-Nixon, a church-going, straight-A teen, whose body was later found stuffed in a trash bag. Chanel mysteriously disappeared in a busy area of Brooklyn while on her way to apply for a summer job at a local restaurant.

http://www.wnbc.com/news/9580434/detail.html

tasan

yeah i guess you can say she was getting herself into the situations...underaged drinking...i dunno whats the big fuss about that...

AM

Natural Selection -

She made some bad decisions, no doubt, but what happened to her is still a tragedy. I don't think anyone's arguing that it was smart for her to leave the lot and wander down the West Side Highway by herself, or that the clerk at the impound lot should have handed over the car. Nevertheless, she didn't deserve what happened to her. No one deserves that.

Kids do dumb shit all the time. I'm sure everyone on this thread has made at least one stupid decision in the past that could have gotten them in a lot of trouble - "There but for the grace of God," et cetera. As paranoid as I am about safety, I know that even I've done it before. People who are NOT kids anymore make bad decisions when they go out drinking, too. It usually doesn't end like this.

RIP, Jennifer.

Natural_Selection_Or_Deathwish

I understand why people are reluctant to "blame the victim," but come on!! Consider the following:

1. She Parks Illegally - No big deal, but not exactly smart given the NYPD's hyper-vigilant Traffic Enforcement unit.

2. She Drinks Illegally - No big deal, but AT LEAST make arrangements to get home safely.

3. She was Prepared to Drive Drunk - If her car hadn't been towed, you know she'd have driven home drunk. If she killed someone on the way home, would she still be the victim? Do you think she gave a sh*t about whose life she might take driving home? It's only the NYPD Tow Pound folks that stopped her from driving drunk and putting others' lives at risk!

4. She Used NO Common Sense - Why not take a cab to NJ and return for the car in the morning? Or call the boyfriend for a ride home rather than going to the tow lot? Why roam the streets of NYC in the pre-dawn hours when you don't know where the hell the dangerous neighborhoods might be.

Does all this mean that she deserved to die? Absolutely not, but none of the points above has anything to do with her color, mode of dress, etc. either. The fact is, she ultimately created the perfect environment in which a predator could take advantage of her. She has to bear some measure of blame for that.

By the way, if you were out on the town that night yourself, be glad she didn't get behind the wheel of her car because she might have put you in the morgue in her place!!

anonymass

Um... decertification (people in glass houses, ya know).

Someone missed the sarcasm/humor bus. Stay where you are: next time it comes around I'm sure you'll catch it.

!

The only persons to blame for her killing is the sick psycho bastard.

But,

I think if they had not gotten their car towed they would have driven drunk. It's a problem, because people go to meatpacking district and chelsea, get wasted and try to drive home.

None of this would have happened, if NJ transit and the Port Authority buses ran "night owl" service to take drunks home, then they wouldn't be stranded in manhattan in middle of the night drunk or drunk driving

Besides the 24/7 PATH train (which only services Jersey City, Hoboken, and downtown Newark), their is no public transportation back to Jersey, and the taxis charge me and my girl 60 dollars for a 5 minute ride into Jersey City.

Dead Letter Box

yea shuttered. like i felt my soul folding inwards as if it were attached by hinges.

ah, i got nothing. it was a fucking misspelling. shoot me.

jjo

what are you guys smoking? this chick is not hott at all. she's kinda an uggo. She looks like my doberman.

bumbaclaut

I am wondering if they need a NYPD officer on duty at the impound lot and a drunk tank there, since you would expect that a lot of drunks would show up to get their vehicles after a night of drinking.

[10] Posted by: Toby | July 28, 2006 11:52 AM

________________________________________

Thank you for that point. They, NYC, are aware of drunk people trying to pick up vehicles. There is supposedly a sign at the impound yard regard the surrender of cars to intoxicated people. It happens often enough. Why not detain people trying to pick up a vehicle while under the influence. Make them pay for the "babysitter" /time it takes for someone to sit with them while they sobber up.

m

*shrugs* She looks biracial to me. But the race of the people involved doesn't matter. This is a tragedy and the criminals involved should have the book thrown at them.

bumbaclaut

LOL.........

thread number 40.......from xnan Right On!!!!

LMAO..............

Hey...!!!!!! anony...m....ass......!!!! are you paying attention?

(i am rolling with laughter) Bah...ha ha ha he he he he ha ha