Campus releases statement five days after attack
By: KAVAHN MANSOURI
Editor-in-Chief
On Thursday, April 18, STLCC-Meramec student Blythe Grupe was attacked in one of the Communications South bathrooms. The suspect has been identified as 18-year old student Jevon Mallory of St. John.
According to Grupe, Mallory snuck up behind her in the bathroom, covered her mouth and put her into a headlock. Grupe screamed and English adjunct instructor Aurora Hill came to her aid, followed by several members of Campus Police.
“About five minutes into the class I left to use the restroom,” Grupe said. “Luckily someone saw me leave. Right when I was about to wash my hands, and I hadn’t noticed anyone around or anything, someone had walked in and kind of slipped passed me,” Grupe said. “I realized someone was standing behind me, but at that point he had me in a headlock and was choking me with his arm.”
Mallory is being charged with a class D felony and has been issued a $10,000 dollar bond and is currently being held in St. Louis County Jail. Mallory returned to the campus Tuesday, April 23 and was apprehended by Campus Police and escorted to the Student Affairs Office.
Grupe said Mallory was trying to calm her down during the attack.
“He was saying things like ‘please be quiet’ and shushing me,” Grupe said. “Not in an aggressive way or an angry way but in a weird gentle tone, like there was some other motive.”
Grupe said she began to scream and struggle before “trying to cooperate with him.”
“I was telling him while his hand was covering me ‘stop choking me, please stop choking me,” Grupe said. “He didn’t stop so I started to scream again. Shortly after my professor walked in. It was only at that moment he let go.”
Grupe said she felt his intent was to kill.
“He didn’t stop anything until someone walked in,” Grupe said. “It was a constant hold on my neck, it was really tight and it got tighter when I started screaming. He had stated that was his motive.”
Mallory attempted to cover up the attack when he was confronted by Grupe’s instructor, she said.
“Apparently he was standing over me when my professor walked in and she started asking him what he was doing,” Grupe said. “He lied and was saying that he saw me choking and was trying to help but she knew, of course.”
Grupe said Mallory then tried to run from the bathroom.
“He then ran past her and she followed him out and called for police. She knew they were around because they were responding do something different,” Grupe said. “They came in and caught him.”
From there Grupe was taken to the police station and gave a statement.
While Mallory has been taken into custody, Grupe said she is trying to get back to normal life.
“I’m getting better about talking about it; there’s no major injuries. I’m doing okay and trying to go back to classes and finish out the semester… normally,” Grupe said as her voice trembled.
This afternoon the suspect returned to campus only to be apprehended by Campus Police and escorted to the Student Affairs Office.
“I heard that from a student and I was wondering why I wasn’t alerted about that,” Grupe said. “Within the next two hours I was told he was charged and that he was in jail.”
Grupe said the silence about her attack is unfair to the students of Meramec.
“I definitely wish they would have [said something,]” Grupe said. “I understand they can’t give out confidential information like names and specifics. But I really think that it was important that they would have let the students know that this happened.”
She added that other students were annoyed by the lack of notification.
“Other students I’ve seen were annoyed they just found out about it and that there wasn’t any mention of it before,” Grupe said. “I don’t think the school has addressed it at all.”
An official memo from President George Wasson was forwarded to faculty and staff at 2 p.m. Tuesday, April 23, five days after the attack. Campus Police Chief Paul Banta said he is not sure what the suspect had in mind when he came to the campus.
“I don’t know what was in his mind, and I don’t want to talk about his interview with him because the prosecutor would rather not release the details of that interview to the media,” Banta said.
Banta said Mallory is unpredictable.
“In my opinion he’s unpredictable, I couldn’t make an educated guess what he’s going to do,” Banta said.
Please stay tuned for more updates as they unfold.
