Children have been the subject of a lot of crimes simply because they are easy targets. Criminals find it easier to profile their targets by observing them once or twice, they lure kids into their nasty traps and gain their trust by offering sweets or money. That is exactly why your mama tells you – ‘Don’t you talk to strangers’.
While a lot of bad things happen to children of all ages all around the world, sometimes luck favours them and they go unharmed. Like Jamilah King, a writer based in New York.
Jamilah King recently posted a thread on Twitter, narrating her experience of coming across a serial killer, when she was just 11 years old. She didn’t know he was a serial killer until much later.
She starts off like this.
Hi. I have a story to tell about meeting a serial killer. It's nuts. But it's true. So here goes.
— Jamilah King (@jamilahking) January 18, 2018
It all began when she was in the sixth grade, barely an adolescent.
It was the spring of 1997. I was in the sixth grade.
— Jamilah King (@jamilahking) January 18, 2018
As any normal kid does, who is inclines towards sports.
Every day after school, I'd go to the park by my house, the Panhandle, to play basketball.
— Jamilah King (@jamilahking) January 18, 2018
So far, so good.
One day after school, the park was more empty than usual. I usually practiced on the half courts. But the full court was open, so I was pumped.
— Jamilah King (@jamilahking) January 18, 2018
Now’s when it starts to become weird.
So I'm there, doing my best MJ impression. And then I notice this guy who's watching me.
— Jamilah King (@jamilahking) January 18, 2018
There is something ominous about people dressed unusually or looking shady.
He's older than me, an adult, but still pretty young. He's wearing a long dark green coat. He's standing on the sideline, between the park's grass and the court.
— Jamilah King (@jamilahking) January 18, 2018
Because ignorance is generally bliss.
I tried to just ignore him. If you know the Panhandle in SF, you know that there are always characters lurking around, sketchy, but not dangerous.
— Jamilah King (@jamilahking) January 18, 2018
Focus on the good things, right?
Besides, I was really pumped about having this full court to myself and I didn't wanna give it up quite yet.
— Jamilah King (@jamilahking) January 18, 2018
Must be the eyes…
But dude keeps staring. Soon, he walks from the sideline and stands beneath the basket. Now, I'm annoyed. But when I look at him, he looks…sad.
— Jamilah King (@jamilahking) January 18, 2018
Better safe than sorry.
But I'm not an idiot. So I start to gather my things to leave.
— Jamilah King (@jamilahking) January 18, 2018
Remember mum’s advise?
Then he stops me. "Hey, you're really good," he says. I mutter a thank you and walk toward my bike, which is on the ground a few feet away.
— Jamilah King (@jamilahking) January 18, 2018
Your gut instincts are almost always right.
Then he calls toward me, "You should keep practicing." I'm almost at my bike and fo some reason I'd turned around. Not sure if I was curious, or irritated, or what.
— Jamilah King (@jamilahking) January 18, 2018
Boom! The trap.
And then he's like, "here's a dollar."
— Jamilah King (@jamilahking) January 18, 2018
That’s right, girl!
Now, 11-year-old me knows better than to take anything from a stranger.
— Jamilah King (@jamilahking) January 18, 2018
If he looks sketchy, he probably is.
And this dude is super sketchy.
— Jamilah King (@jamilahking) January 18, 2018
For a child, that’s a lot of happiness.
But a dollar is also real American currency, enough to buy two Baby Ruths.
— Jamilah King (@jamilahking) January 18, 2018
Caught in a dilemma.
Should I ignore the dude and go on about my business?
— Jamilah King (@jamilahking) January 18, 2018
Well, they have a good reason to tell you that.
I mean, every adult has always told me my whole life that taking things from a stranger is dangerous because that person could be a serial killer.
— Jamilah King (@jamilahking) January 18, 2018
But obviously, the sugar craving is more appealing to the child.
But also sugar is a thing that I like, and a dollar would allow me to buy said sugar.
— Jamilah King (@jamilahking) January 18, 2018
Weighing the pros and cons.
So in a matter of moments, I'm doing the math in my head: Yes, I could die in this empty ass park.
— Jamilah King (@jamilahking) January 18, 2018
I mean, someone will come for help, right?
But there are two major streets on either side of the park, Fell on one side, Oak on the other. If he tries something, someone will hear me scream, right?
— Jamilah King (@jamilahking) January 18, 2018
Decided then, a dollar it is.
Anyway, I run up and take the dollar from the dude, barely looking at him. And then I hop on my bike and speed away.
— Jamilah King (@jamilahking) January 18, 2018
A serial killer on the loose. Okay then.
I don't think much of it until months later, when I see that there's a manhunt for some guy who's going on this cross-country murder spree.
— Jamilah King (@jamilahking) January 18, 2018
The moment when it all comes back.
And then on the news, there's his mugshot. It's the same guy who gave me a dollar. His name is Andrew Cunanan.
— Jamilah King (@jamilahking) January 18, 2018
Kids like to boast, you know. She escaped a serial killer, for god’s sake!
So now I'm freaking out. And I do what all 11-year-old's do in cases of emergencies: I tell my friends.
— Jamilah King (@jamilahking) January 18, 2018
The truth and nothing but the truth.
I remember being in the yard at Roosevelt Middle School, and telling the homies: "yooooo! i met that serial killer dude on the news. he gave me a dollar and told me i was good at basketball!"
— Jamilah King (@jamilahking) January 18, 2018
No kidding.
Of course, no one believed me.
— Jamilah King (@jamilahking) January 18, 2018
There is no way to corroborate the story, too.
To this day, they still think I'm making this shit up. When I heard about the new Versace movie, I texted one of my best friends, a woman I've known since we were sixth graders.
— Jamilah King (@jamilahking) January 18, 2018
You remember the truth, they remember believing that you made it up.
Her response: pic.twitter.com/I9uRjpUC4R
— Jamilah King (@jamilahking) January 18, 2018
That’s right, believe anyone who tells you crazy things happen, unless they’re a pathological liar.
So anyway, I guess the moral of the story is this: believe your friends when they tell you crazy shit happens or else they will put you on blast via twitter cc @dreab839
— Jamilah King (@jamilahking) January 18, 2018
A narrow escape, a sweet sugar rush and the sadness for all those victims.
Oh, and also: I think I did buy that Baby Ruth and it was probably delicious because Baby Ruth's always are and I am about all of the men that Cunanan killed and RIP Versace. The end.
— Jamilah King (@jamilahking) January 18, 2018
Turns out, Jamilah had encountered Andrew Cunanan, who happens to be the same person who murdered the famous designer Gianni Versace in his own mansion. Versace was shot to death and it was this crime that made Andrew infamous.
Maybe the stars were in her favour that day, or perhaps he wasn’t in his element. Either way, she got lucky. More often than not, we do not believe people with these stories because we think, or rather, we hope that bad things do not happen this way. Keep the faith in humanity, of course, but also be safe while doing that.
Not everyone is worth trusting, not everyone is dangerous. Decide wisely.