Hello? Security On Campus? Is Anybody Home?
UNCW Announces Plans For Taskforce After Two High-Profile Homicides
Officials Look At Possibility Of Background Checks For Applicants
WILMINGTON, N.C. -- Officials are taking action after two high-profile incidents involving students at the University of North Carolina at Wilmington.
Police say UNCW student Christen Naujoks was shot to death by her ex-boyfriend.
Student Christen Naujoks was shot to death at her apartment complex Friday night. Investigators said her ex-boyfriend John Peck, a former student at the university, was to blame. He was found dead in a creek after a shootout with authorities in western North Carolina Tuesday night.
The cause of Peck's death has not been determined.
Naujoks had a restraining order against Peck and had filed charges against him. Investigators said they found an audiotape on which he talked about people he planned to kill, including Naujoks and her mother.
"Her death has devastated us. We don't know how we are going to go on," said Holly Naujoks, Christen's mother.
In another incident, Jessica Faulkner was raped and killed last month in a dorm room. Curtis Dixon, another student at the university, is charged with her murder.
In another incident, UNCW student Jessica Faulkner was raped and killed last month in a dorm room.
In both incidents, Peck and Dixon had prior criminal records that the university claims it did not know about.
"There are people here that are not stable, that are killing people. That is something very horrible. I think it is the university's responsibility to make sure this is a safe place for everyone," student Faith McPherson said.
"This has been a sad and trying time for the university," said UNCW Chancellor Rosemary DePaolo.
The university is starting a task force which will look at everything from stalking on campus to the feasibility of criminal background checks for applicants.
While many people would like to see more background checks, some argue they are not cost-efficient, are an invasion of privacy and are no guarantee against violence.
"It's terribly sad that we have had four students now in the last month who have been affected by this, but who is to say it is the university's fault or anybody else's fault except for the people who were involved in it?" student Lisa Davis said.
Peck would have been scheduled to appear in court Wednesday on charges that he harassed Naujoks.
posted by John Allore @ 6/08/2004 09:28:00 PM
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