More on the Missouri woman who shot dead her rapist

There’s more information on the Cape Girardeau woman who on October 31 shot and killed a man who was breaking into her house a second time to rape her a second time and likely to kill her. As can be seen in a local television news story about the killing linked at HotAir, the rapist, Ronnie W. Preyer, 46, was a big, menacing black man. Also he was a five time convicted felon and a registered sex offender. Yet he was free to roam the streets of America, seeking victims.

The TV story leaves out an important fact that Bridget DiCosmo of the Southeast Missourian reported in her November 1 article (discussed by me here): the first time Preyer raped the women, he told her, “Don’t tell anybody. I know where you live.” She was frightened, and initially was going to remain silent, but realized that was impossible and reported the crime to the police, who began patrolling her neighborhood more frequently, and she told other people as well. So, when Preyer broke into her house the second time and proceeded to turn off the electricity, she had reason to believe he wasn’t just coming to rape her again, but to murder her.

Also, the TV news story says that the woman borrowed a shotgun from neighbors. But according to DiCosmo the woman’s landlord, in addition to installing security in her house after the first attack, bought her a shotgun and taught her how to use it.

I hadn’t thought about the race of the rapist when writing about the article before, but if I had paid attention to his name, Ronnie W. Preyer, I would have realized he was almost certainly black.

Note the air of cheer and satisfaction with which the reporters discuss the killing of Preyer. That’s fine, that’s the way it ought to be. But when you remember that these same reporters, like all TV reporters, report every monstrous crime with a sad nonjudgmental air that says, “What can you do? Life is tough,” then their giddiness about this one happy ending seems less the expression of moral people who take the side of society against criminals, than an unprincipled exception to their usual liberalism.

- end of initial entry -

Van Wijk writes:

So Preyer became the prey. Every now and again you catch a glimpse of the world as it should be, and as it could be again.

I only hope that the prey in this case had a few minutes to think about it before he left this world behind.

James M2 writes:

My original e-mail to you on this story back in November contained a YouTube link to the KFVS12 TV news story in which a picture of Ronnie W. Preyer was shown, so I thought you knew about the race of the perpetrator from the beginning. I should have mentioned it in the subject line; I’ll blame my obliqueness on the conditioning I’ve received from our liberal environment. :)

Posted by Lawrence Auster at December 19, 2008 08:35 AM | Send