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The Queens DA's office has charged a man in the murder of 20-year-old Natasha Ramen. And it turns out that Hemant Megnath had raped Ramen in 2005; police believe the Megnath slashed Ramen's throat last Thursday to keep her from testifying about the rape.
In May 2005, Ramen had been apartment-hunting and was introduced to a fellow Guyanese immigrant, Megnath, who had been working for a broker. Megnath took her to his Brooklyn apartment and raped her Ramen did not tell police about the rape until Januray 2006, and in February, Megnath was "arrested, charged with rape, and freed on $5,000 bail". Though Megnath was told not to contact Ramen, he stalked her and threatened her relatives.
Last Thursday, when Ramen was leaving her Queens apartment for her job in Long Island City, Megnath grabbed her and slit her throat. Her landlady found Ramen and called 911. Ramen said she knew who killed her, but wasn't able to speak; she died after 14 hours. Megnath, who was suspected immediately, was arrested yesterday, at the home of a co-worker. He was charged with first- and second-degree murder.
Ramen's aunt spoke to the Daily News:
"My God. What was he doing walking the street. He made threatening calls. He text-messaged her, too. We reported it to the police. He told her that if she didn't drop the charges, he was going to kill her and her husband. Her husband got a text message the day she was murdered: 'One gone, one more to go.' The judge gave him more than enough time to kill her. The system failed her."Her uncle Narine Bharat told the Post, "What goes around comes around. If not in this life, then the next life, he will get the same."
Queens DA Richard Brown said, "This is a terribly sad and tragic case — not only in terms of the victim’s violent death but also because of the degradation and humiliation that she had allegedly previously suffered at the hands of the defendant." The Brooklyn DA's office declined to comment about the rape case and questions about bail.
Ramen is to be buried in Guyana. Megnath's trial date is April 10.
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death penalty
"The system failed her."
YES IT DID. how horrible...
rapists should not get bail. this animal should have been behind bars or dead already. he'll get his in prison.
what a waste – she was really hot.
Why exactly was this guy out on bail?
If a person arrested for a crime contacts the victim at all--much less threatening to kill her and her family--shouldn't he be behind bard until his trial?
I'm sure we're gonna start hearing how this was her fault somehow, she failed to do something, and so she put herself in this position.
Glad to see we take violence against women so seriously.
"Megnath was told not to contact Ramen...."
Yep, if its one thing rapists are good at doing, it's obeying commands.
It is completely disgusting that a rapist can get out on bail for a mere $5,000. I actually feel like throwing up. Nothing was done to protect this woman from her assailant. I hope they're ready for a massive civil suit.
it was a white man. Not a black man.
(Actually, the guy was southeast Asian.)
THE JUDGE should go to jail and share a cell with this bastard.
why isn't it a parole violation to contact your alleged victim??
#10:
hey stupid f uck! he wasn't out on parole and she wasn't an alleged victim, she was a victim. stupid people like you shouldn't breed.
He's Guyanese of East Indian descent and so is she...that doesn't mean he's from South East Asia...I'm Indo-Guyanese too...this is such a sad story..
edEx woke up on the wrong side of the bed this morning;)
In general, I always wondered how come heads don't roll when the system fails in cases like these. Even with child services once a high profile case hits the tabloids, they at least try to act like they are fixing their act. Whenever a known and reported stalker eventually gets what they want, its like everybody shrugs their shoulders.
My condolences to the family.
IMO, The judge really screwed up with the $5,000 bail. After the Order of protection was violated, his bail should have just been revoked.
The guy has not been convicted of any crime. He's the accused. Get that straight!
I woke up great. My boss dug his talons into me the second I got into the office. Jekyl and Hyde... The guy is such a douchebag.
$5000 Bail? This creep should not have been allowed out of jail at any price.
RIP Natasha.
Internet journalism, if that's what Gothamist does, is criticized for sloppiness. In this case the article says the dying woman said she knew who killed her before she had died. Come on, get it together. She knew who her attacker was, who is now alleged to be her murderer. Also, I didn't see any citation of evidence, but the man is said to have committed the deed as if it's already been decided in court. As far as the event, I am afraid to say it's just another sad story of man's savagery. Americans, each time something senseless happens, look for a new law or set of laws or revisions to, tightening or harshening of existing laws. They look for Papa Government to fix it. Instead we need to change our way of processing events and agree as a society to, once and for all, eliminate violence as a legitimate response to disagreements. Needless to say we're far, far from that.
"They look for Papa Government to fix it."
Um who else can enforce laws? Please tell me. You aren't the only person living here you know.
"Instead we need to change our way of processing events and agree as a society to, once and for all, eliminate violence as a legitimate response to disagreements."
I'm sure that has been said for thousands of years. But let's get back to reality. It isn't going to happen. If you take away the physical powers of human beings to abuse each other, we'll start attacking each other mentally.
I'm tired of people treating criminal charges as proof of the crimes alleged. The only fair conclusion that can be drawn from the facts presented in the news is that this woman was the victim of a homicide. There isn't enough information to even conclude that she had been raped. If it is proved that the defendant raped the woman, then you'll be justified in directing moral outrage at him. If it is further proved that this man is the same person who killed the woman, then feel free to be doubly outraged. Is it too much to ask that you abstain from indulging yourself with righteous indignation until such a time?
Apparently the mental giants at the Queens DA's office didn't take the victim's report as seriously as they should have since she waited for a time to report it.