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cmontyburns
Citizen
Username: Cmontyburns
Post Number: 674
Registered: 12-2003
| | Posted on Monday, February 7, 2005 - 1:10 pm: | 
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FYI. Know this case has gotten a lot of discussion here.
Glen Ridge figure shoots wife, suitor
He then commits suicide in N.C.
Monday, February 07, 2005
BY KASI ADDISON
Star-Ledger Staff
One of the people indicted in the infamous Glen Ridge rape case in 1989 killed himself Thursday after shooting his estranged wife and her boyfriend near Fort Bragg, N.C.
Spc. Richard T. Corcoran Jr. , 34, an Army Special Forces trainee, walked into his wife's home northwest of Fayetteville about 8:40 p.m. and repeatedly shot her boyfriend, fellow soldier William Paul Seifert, according to an account in the Fayetteville Observer.
His wife, Michele A. Corcoran, fled the house but Corcoran followed, shot her in the arm, then re-entered the house where he shot himself in the head, police told the North Carolina newspaper.
The couple's 7-month-old baby was in the home at the time but was not harmed, police reported.
Seifert, 35, remained in serious condition yesterday at Cape Fear Valley Medical Center. Michele Corcoran, 30, who was found at a neighbor's house, was treated and released from the hospital.
It has been nearly 16 years since Glen Ridge was catapulted into the national spotlight after news filtered out that a group of high school football players allegedly raped a mentally retarded teenage girl with a broom and a baseball bat in the basement of one of the boy's homes.
Seven boys were arrested. Christopher Archer, Kevin and Kyle Scherzer were convicted and sentenced to jail terms. Bryant Grober was convicted of conspiracy and put on probation.
Paul Archer and Peter Quigley, who admitted minor roles in the attack, reached plea bargains and were ordered to perform community service.
Corcoran, the son of a Glen Ridge police lieutenant, was indicted but the charges were dropped one day before his trial. In 1997, he won a $200,000 settlement in a federal civil rights lawsuit that charged the Essex County Prosecutor's Office with malicious prosecution.
Corcoran enlisted in the Army in June 2000. He was assigned to Fort Bragg in 2001 and in late 2002 was deployed along with the 7th Special Forces Group (Airborne) to Afghanistan, said Sgt. Kyle Cosner, a spokesman for the Army Special Operations Command.
Cocoran returned home in 2003 and was transferred to the 1st Special Warfare Training Group in August of that year.
He was in language training when he died, Cosner said.
Glen Ridge Police Chief John Magnier said everyone in the department was shocked and saddened. Many of those on the force know Corcoran's father, Lt. Richard Corcoran, who retired many years ago.
"Our thoughts and prayers are with the Corcoran family," he said.
Robert Laurino, Essex County's chief assistant prosecutor who oversees the sex crimes and child abuse units and who prosecuted the rape case, said he was also surprised by the news.
"It is all very tragic," he said. "Particularly since it looked like he was trying to turn his life around."
Laurino said the case polarized the town and has left some open wounds.
"To some extent there is that stigma that remains that the town is still dealing with," he said.
Michael Buonomo, Glen Ridge High School principal at the time of the rape, said he was shocked to hear Corcoran died in such a violent way. Buonomo said the impact would reverberate through the tight-knit town.
"This is unexpected and not something I could look back on and say you could even begin to assume this kind of terrible tragedy would occur in his life," Buonomo said. "I feel sorry for him and all those people."
Staff writer Amanda Gerut contributed to this report. |
Just The Aunt
Supporter
Username: Auntof13
Post Number: 515
Registered: 1-2004
| | Posted on Monday, February 7, 2005 - 10:01 pm: |
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I heard about this yesterday at the Stupid Brawl party I was at. I find it ironic staff writer Amanda Gerut wrties
"...allegedly raped a mentally retarded teenage girl ..."
Then goes on to report how some of the boys were convicted and others admitted their role... |
Dave
Moderator
Username: Dave
Post Number: 5199
Registered: 4-1998
| | Posted on Tuesday, February 8, 2005 - 8:17 am: |
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The author is KASI ADDISON. Also, it's more likely an editor made that decision. |
mtierney
Citizen
Username: Mtierney
Post Number: 750
Registered: 3-2001
| | Posted on Tuesday, February 8, 2005 - 1:06 pm: |
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"In 1997, he won a $200,000 settlement in a federal civil rights lawsuit that charged the Essex County Prosecutor's Office with malicious prosecution. "
In today's paper, there is a statement that the victim had retracted her identification of Corcoran as being among the boys.
I guess that individual has had the accustion dogging him, innocent or not. Did any of the Glen Ridge incident contribute to what he did so many years later? Or is it the press who loves dragging up sordid stories just because they can?
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Taylor M
Citizen
Username: Anotherusername
Post Number: 291
Registered: 8-2004
| | Posted on Tuesday, February 8, 2005 - 8:07 pm: |
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Let's face it the guy was a jerk. Was before he and his lowlife friends attacked someone with the mentality of an 8 year old. Maybe if his father didn't pull the strings he did when this happened, his son would still be alive. |
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