The murder of Megan Nicole Kanka (December 7, 1986 – July 29, 1994) occurred in
Hamilton Township, Mercer County, New Jersey
Hamilton Township is a township in Mercer County, New Jersey, United States. It is the largest suburb of Trenton, the state's capital, which is located to the township's west. The township is within the New York metropolitan area as defined ...
, United States. Seven-year-old Megan Kanka was raped and murdered by her neighbor, Jesse Timmendequas, after he lured her into his house; Timmendequas had previously been convicted for child molestation. The murder attracted national attention and subsequently led to the introduction of "
Megan's Law
Megan's Law is the name for a federal law (and informal name for subsequent state laws) in the United States requiring law enforcement authorities to make information available to the public regarding registered sex offenders. Laws were creat ...
", which requires law enforcement to disclose details relating to the location of
registered sex offender
A sex offender registry is a system in various countries designed to allow government authorities to keep track of the activities of sex offenders, including those who have completed their criminal sentences. In some jurisdictions, registration i ...
s.
In 1997, Timmendequas was convicted of Kanka's murder. He was initially sentenced to death, but his sentence was commuted to life without parole after New Jersey abolished capital punishment in 2007.
Perpetrator
Jesse K. Timmendequas (born April 15, 1961) had two previous convictions for
sexually assault
Sexual assault is an act in which one intentionally sexually touches another person without that person's consent, or coerces or physically forces a person to engage in a sexual act against their will. It is a form of sexual violence, which ...
ing young girls. In 1979, he pleaded guilty to the attempted aggravated sexual assault of a five-year-old girl in
Piscataway Township, New Jersey
Piscataway () is a township in Middlesex County, New Jersey, United States. It is a suburb of the New York metropolitan area, in the Raritan Valley. At the 2010 United States Census, the population was 56,044, an increase of 5,562 (+11.0%) f ...
. He was given a suspended sentence, and after failing to attend counseling, he was sent for nine months to the Middlesex Adult Correctional Center. In 1981, Timmendequas pleaded guilty to the assault of a seven-year-old girl, and was imprisoned at the Adult Diagnostic & Treatment Center (ADTC) in
Avenel, New Jersey
Avenel is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) located within Woodbridge Township, in Middlesex County, New Jersey, United States.
Timmendequas reportedly participated little in the treatment program offered at the ADTC. He was described by one therapist who treated him at the facility as a "whiner" who spent most of his time sleeping. Another therapist stated that she had believed that Timmendequas would eventually commit another sex crime (although she did not believe he would commit murder).
Murder and trial
Timmendequas lured Kanka into his house, where he raped her before strangling her with a belt. He then disposed of her body in nearby
Mercer County Park
The Richard J. Coffee Mercer County Park is a recreational park located in Mercer County, New Jersey – mostly within West Windsor Township, but also with small western sections extending into Hamilton and Lawrence Townships. Originally and st ...
. The next day, he confessed to investigators and led police to the site.
Evidence included bloodstains, hair, and
fiber
Fiber or fibre (from la, fibra, links=no) is a natural or artificial substance that is significantly longer than it is wide. Fibers are often used in the manufacture of other materials. The strongest engineering materials often incorpora ...
samples, as well as a bite mark matching Kanka's teeth on Timmendequas' hand, and led to a guilty verdict on charges of kidnapping, four counts of aggravated sexual assault, and two counts of felony murder—causing a death in the course of certain specific felonies. The court sentenced Timmendequas to death, and the sentence was upheld by the
New Jersey Supreme Court
The Supreme Court of New Jersey is the highest court in the U.S. state of New Jersey. In its current form, the Supreme Court of New Jersey is the final judicial authority on all cases in the state court system, including cases challenging th ...
Dick Zimmer
Richard Alan Zimmer (born August 16, 1944) is an American Republican Party (United States), Republican Party politician from New Jersey, who served in both houses of the New Jersey Legislature and in the United States House of Representatives. H ...
stated, "I believe he is exactly the kind of predator that the legislature had in mind when it enacted the death penalty."
Timmendequas remained on death row in New Jersey until December 17, 2007, when the New Jersey Legislature abolished
capital punishment
Capital punishment, also known as the death penalty, is the state-sanctioned practice of deliberately killing a person as a punishment for an actual or supposed crime, usually following an authorized, rule-governed process to conclude that t ...
in the state. As a result, Timmendequas' sentence was commuted to
life in prison
Life imprisonment is any sentence of imprisonment for a crime under which convicted people are to remain in prison for the rest of their natural lives or indefinitely until pardoned, paroled, or otherwise commuted to a fixed term. Crimes for ...
without the possibility of
parole
Parole (also known as provisional release or supervised release) is a form of early release of a prison inmate where the prisoner agrees to abide by certain behavioral conditions, including checking-in with their designated parole officers, or ...
.
Megan's Law
One month after the murder, the
New Jersey General Assembly
The New Jersey General Assembly is the lower house of the New Jersey Legislature.
Since the election of 1967 (1968 Session), the Assembly has consisted of 80 members. Two members are elected from each of New Jersey's 40 legislative districts f ...
passed a series of bills proposed by Assemblyman
Paul Kramer
Paul Kramer (September 6, 1933 – June 16, 2020) was an American Republican Party politician. He served four terms in the New Jersey General Assembly, where he represented the 14th Legislative District from 1992 to 2000. He was best known fo ...
that would require
sex offender registry
A sex offender registry is a system in various countries designed to allow government authorities to keep track of the activities of sex offenders, including those who have completed their criminal sentences. In some jurisdictions, registration i ...
, with a database tracked by the state, community notification of registered sex offenders moving into a neighborhood and then life in prison for repeat sex offenders. Kramer expressed incredulity at the controversy created by the bills, saying that "Megan K would be alive today" if the bills he proposed had been law.
Foundation
The Megan Nicole Kanka Foundation is a
non-profit
A nonprofit organization (NPO) or non-profit organisation, also known as a non-business entity, not-for-profit organization, or nonprofit institution, is a legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public or social benefit, in co ...
charity
Charity may refer to:
Giving
* Charitable organization or charity, a non-profit organization whose primary objectives are philanthropy and social well-being of persons
* Charity (practice), the practice of being benevolent, giving and sharing
* C ...
founded by the family of Megan Kanka with the intent of preventing crimes against children.
Murder of Sarah Payne
Sarah Evelyn Isobel Payne (13 October 1991 – c. 1 July 2000), was the victim of a high-profile abduction and murder in West Sussex, England in July 2000.
Her disappearance and the subsequent investigation into her murder became a prominent c ...
, a 2000 crime in the United Kingdom that led to the creation of
Sarah's Law
Sarah Evelyn Isobel Payne (13 October 1991 – c. 1 July 2000), was the victim of a high-profile abduction and murder in West Sussex, England in July 2000.
Her disappearance and the subsequent investigation into her murder became a prominent c ...