Pamela Sue Rogers Lychner (November 9, 1958 – July 17, 1996) was an American real estate agent from

Greater Houston Greater Houston, designated by the Office of Management and Budget, United States Office of Management and Budget as Houston–The Woodlands–Sugar Land, is the List of metropolitan statistical areas, fifth-most populous metropolitan statistical ...

Gray, Lisa. "After the Crash." ''

Houston Press The ''Houston Press'' is an online newspaper published in Houston, Texas, United States. It is headquartered in the Midtown area. It was also a weekly print newspaper until November 2017. The publication is supported entirely by advertising ...

''. October 23, 1997
1
who promoted the "Pam Lychner Sexual Offender Tracking and Identification Act of 1996" bill. She was killed in the explosion of

TWA Flight 800 Trans World Airlines Flight 800 (TWA800) was a Boeing 747-100 that exploded and crashed into the Atlantic Ocean near East Moriches, New York, on July 17, 1996, at about 8:31pm. EDT, 12 minutes after takeoff from John F. Kennedy Internationa ...

Life

Lychner, a former

flight attendant A flight attendant, also known as steward/stewardess or air host/air hostess, is a member of the aircrew aboard commercial flights, many business jets and some government aircraft. Collectively called cabin crew, flight attendants are prima ...

for

Trans World Airlines Trans World Airlines (TWA) was a major American airline which operated from 1930 until 2001. It was formed as Transcontinental & Western Air to operate a route from New York City to Los Angeles via St. Louis, Kansas City, and other stops, with F ...

(TWA), bought a vacant house to sell in 1990. When she and her husband, Joe, visited it to meet who they believed was a prospective buyer, a workman from a cleaning company named William David Kelley appeared and told them that he forgot to clean under the sink. Later he tried to tear off her clothes; Joe held him as she called for help. Kelley, a convicted rapist and child molester, carried a knife and duct tape on his person and a blanket in his

pickup truck A pickup truck or pickup is a light-duty truck that has an enclosed cabin, and a back end made up of a cargo bed that is enclosed by three low walls with no roof (this cargo bed back end sometimes consists of a tailgate and removable covering) ...

. He

plea bargain A plea bargain (also plea agreement or plea deal) is an agreement in criminal law proceedings, whereby the prosecutor provides a concession to the defendant in exchange for a plea of guilt or ''nolo contendere.'' This may mean that the defendant ...

ed and received a sentence of 20 years for "aggravated kidnapping with intent to commit sex assault.""Gray, Lisa. "After the Crash." ''

''. October 23, 1997
2
After the

Texas Department of Criminal Justice The Texas Department of Criminal Justice (TDCJ) is a department of the government of the U.S. state of Texas. The TDCJ is responsible for statewide criminal justice for adult offenders, including managing offenders in state prisons, state jai ...

(TDCJ) sent a letter to the Lychner residence, notifying the household that the state nominated Kelley as a candidate for early release, Lychner decided to become an advocate for victim's rights, founding the group "Justice For All." As its president, she lobbied for repealing mandatory release laws, and in favor of registration of

sex offender A sex offender (sexual offender, sex abuser, or sexual abuser) is a person who has committed a sex crime. What constitutes a sex crime differs by culture and legal jurisdiction. The majority of convicted sex offenders have convictions for crim ...

s, as well as the construction of more

prison A prison, also known as a jail, gaol (dated, standard English, Australian, and historically in Canada), penitentiary (American English and Canadian English), detention center (or detention centre outside the US), correction center, corre ...

s. Lisa Gray of the ''

'' said that Lychner would "get up at 4 a.m. to work on the Justice For All newsletter; at night, she'd fall asleep at the computer, and Joe would carry her to bed." Lychner promoted and, according to U.S. Senators

Phil Gramm William Philip Gramm (born July 8, 1942) is an American economist and politician who represented Texas in both chambers of Congress. Though he began his political career as a Democrat, Gramm switched to the Republican Party in 1983. Gramm was a ...

and Joe Biden, crafted the language of a bill, later called the "Pam Lychner Sexual Offender Tracking and Identification Act of 1996," that established a federal database for United States sex offenders.Background Information on the Act and Its Amendments
" ''

Bureau of Justice Assistance The Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA) is a component of the Office of Justice Programs, within the United States Department of Justice. BJA provides leadership and assistance to local criminal justice programs that improve and reinforce the nat ...

'' of the ''

United States Department of Justice The United States Department of Justice (DOJ), also known as the Justice Department, is a federal executive department of the United States government tasked with the enforcement of federal law and administration of justice in the United Stat ...

''. Accessed October 30, 2008. In addition, the bill required sex offenders who move to new locations to contact authorities; if they fail to do so they face fines and prison sentences. At the time of her death in 1996, Pam was married to Joe, and they had two daughters, 10-year-old Shannon and 8-year-old Katie. They lived in Spring Valley Village, Texas in

.Gray, Lisa. "After the Crash." ''

''. Thursday October 23, 1997
5
Retrieved on July 4, 2010.

Death

Shannon had copied

Claude Monet Oscar-Claude Monet (, , ; 14 November 1840 – 5 December 1926) was a French painter and founder of impressionist painting who is seen as a key precursor to modernism, especially in his attempts to paint nature as he perceived it. During ...

's paintings, and Pam wanted her to see

Fondation Monet in Giverny The Fondation Claude Monet is a nonprofit organisation that runs and preserves the house and gardens of Claude Monet in Giverny, France, where Monet lived and painted for 43 years. Monet was inspired by his gardens, and spent years transforming ...

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

, his former garden. They had planned a three-day trip.Gray, Lisa. "After the Crash." ''

''. October 23, 1997
3
Pam, Shannon, and Katie flew from

Houston Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 ...

John F. Kennedy International Airport John F. Kennedy International Airport (colloquially referred to as JFK Airport, Kennedy Airport, New York-JFK, or simply JFK) is the main international airport serving New York City. The airport is the busiest of the seven airports in the Avia ...

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

, and then connected to

bound for

Charles de Gaulle International Airport Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport (french: Aéroport de Paris-Charles-de-Gaulle, ), also known as Roissy Airport or simply Paris CDG, is the principal airport serving the French capital, Paris ( and its metropolitan area), and the largest inter ...

near Paris, on July 17, 1996. N93119, the Boeing 747-100 used for Flight 800, exploded off the coast of

Long Island Long Island is a densely populated island in the southeastern region of the U.S. state of New York, part of the New York metropolitan area. With over 8 million people, Long Island is the most populous island in the United States and the 18 ...

, killing all of the passengers and crew, including the three Lychners. Joe advocated for an investigation of Flight 800. According to him, Pam's and Katie's bodies were recovered during the first night of rescue efforts. On July 22, five days after the crash, the

Suffolk County, New York Suffolk County () is the easternmost county in the U.S. state of New York. It is mainly located on the eastern end of Long Island, but also includes several smaller islands. According to the 2020 United States census, the county's populat ...

coroners had identified Pam's body and he was summoned to confirm the identification. Days later Katie's body was positively identified, and on July 28 Shannon's body was recovered. All three received burial in a family plot near

Chicago, Illinois (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

.Gray, Lisa. "After the Crash." ''

''. October 23, 1997
5
The

National Transportation Safety Board The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) is an independent U.S. government investigative agency responsible for civil transportation accident investigation. In this role, the NTSB investigates and reports on aviation accidents and inci ...

(NTSB) concluded that a flammable mixture of air and

aviation fuel Aviation fuels are petroleum-based fuels, or petroleum and synthetic fuel blends, used to power aircraft. They have more stringent requirements than fuels used for ground use, such as heating and road transport, and contain additives to enhan ...

vapors in the center wing fuel tank exploded, destroying the aircraft.

Legacy

After Pam, Shannon, and Katie died, the

United States Congress The United States Congress is the legislature of the federal government of the United States. It is Bicameralism, bicameral, composed of a lower body, the United States House of Representatives, House of Representatives, and an upper body, ...

passed the "Pam Lychner Sexual Offender Tracking and Identification Act of 1996." On July 15, 1997, Spring Valley Village dedicated a

bronze Bronze is an alloy consisting primarily of copper, commonly with about 12–12.5% tin and often with the addition of other metals (including aluminium, manganese, nickel, or zinc) and sometimes non-metals, such as phosphorus, or metalloids suc ...

statue of her, Shannon, and Katie, called "Love's Embrace," at the city hall. After it was posted, visitors read the plaques, left roses, and touched the bronze. Joe often visited it. Lisa Gray of the ''

'' described it as "shamelessly emotional, a monument to a secular saint and her daughters."Gray, Lisa. "After the Crash." ''

''. Thursday October 23, 1997
6
Retrieved on July 4, 2010.

Pam Lychner State Jail Pam Lychner State Jail is a Texas Department of Criminal Justice state jail for men located in Atascocita, unincorporated northeast Harris County, Texas, United States, east of Humble.Texas Department of Criminal Justice The Texas Department of Criminal Justice (TDCJ) is a department of the government of the U.S. state of Texas. The TDCJ is responsible for statewide criminal justice for adult offenders, including managing offenders in state prisons, state jai ...

Atascocita Atascocita is a census-designated place (CDP) in Harris County, Texas, United States, within the Houston metropolitan area. As of the 2020 census it had a population of 88,174. It is located north and south of Farm to Market Road 1960 about ...

unincorporated Unincorporated may refer to: * Unincorporated area, land not governed by a local municipality * Unincorporated entity, a type of organization * Unincorporated territories of the United States, territories under U.S. jurisdiction, to which Congress ...

Harris County, east of Humble, was named after her. In July 1995,
Archive
.

. October 2000. Retrieved on July 2, 2010. it had been opened as Atascocita State Jail. After Pam's death, the TDCJ board unanimously voted to rename it after her.''Texas Dept of Criminal Justice''. ''

''. ''Turner Publishing Company''. 2004
96
A duplicate of the statue in Spring Valley Village exists near it.
." ''

''. Accessed September 12, 2008.

References

External links

Justice for All
* Gray, Lisa.
After the Crash
" ''

''. Thursday October 23, 1997. *
Time hasn't dulled survivor's pain
" '' CNN''. January 17, 1997. {{DEFAULTSORT:Lychner, Pam 1958 births 1996 deaths Accidental deaths in New York (state) Crime victim advocates People from Houston Victims of aviation accidents or incidents in 1996 Victims of aviation accidents or incidents in the United States TWA Flight 800