Gayoso dwellers losing sense of security
Three slain in or near area in as many years
By Jody Callahan
Contact
April 15, 2004
Kristin Brenner sat in her Gayoso House apartment Saturday night, watching movies while fighting a bout with bronchitis.
Feeling safe in the controlled-access building, Brenner left the door to her fourth-floor apartment unlocked, as she often did.
Meanwhile, police say, 23-year-old Stanley Andrews walked along that fourth floor, knocking on doors at random.
Just four doors down from Brenner, near the laundry room and garbage chute, Andrews knocked on Rebecca Glahn's door, then burst in when she opened it.
Once inside, police say, he raped, robbed and strangled the 24-year-old Glahn, a deejay for Q107.5 who also went by the names Madison and Rebecca Fox. Her body was discovered Monday when she didn't show up for work.
Andrews was charged with first-degree murder in perpetration of rape and aggravated rape. Lontrell Williams, 27, and Marquita Thomas, 19, have been charged with forgery and accessory after the fact to first-degree murder.
Standing in the bright sunlight outside the building at 103 S. Front Wednesday, Brenner wonders how she was lucky enough to escape.
"I never had a knock on my door, and I'm probably smaller than she is," said Brenner, 18. "I just wonder why it wasn't me."
The incident Saturday marks at least the third slaying in that area of downtown in three years. Overall statistics for the downtown precinct, which covers a wide swath of area, show five slayings since 2002.
In April 2001, Robin Elizabeth Yevick of Hot Springs, Ark., was stabbed to death on Gayoso between Front and Wagner Place.
Last June, Automatic Slim's employee Kelly Clayton Wilson was shot and killed at Second and Gayoso as he was walking to his car.
Last New Year's Eve, three people also reported being stabbed during revelries on nearby Beale Street.
Still, downtown advocates insist the area remains safe.
"I say this with mixed emotions because a life has been lost in our community. It is, first and foremost, a tragedy," said Jeff Sanford, head of the Center City Commission. "But the facts are the facts, and statistically, this is not a frequent occurrence in downtown Memphis."
The latest incident has folks living in the Gayoso House on edge, while many of those who work in the area say they've become extra cautious.
Brandy Henley, 27, requested daytime shifts at the Hard Rock Cafe after the slaying, despite the fact that she'll make less money than working at night.
"I definitely would not walk alone at night again," she said. "I switched all my shifts to days so I don't have to deal with it."
Eating lunch near the Gayoso House, Donna Windham said she's become more aware of her surroundings.
"It doesn't change where I go or what I do," said Windham, who works downtown. "It changes the way you pay attention to what's around you."
Gayoso resident Doug Flowers, 18, said he used to consider his a safe building.
"The day before we found out about this, I was telling somebody how safe this building was," said Flowers, who's lived there about four months. "It just makes me question how safe is this building."
The president of the company that manages the Gayoso said he's added extra security and arranged for guards to walk people to their cars.
"All we know is it's a horrible situation. We're all very saddened by what has occurred, as everybody in the city is," said Jeff Kelly, president of LEDIC Management.
Much of the talk about the slaying this week revolved around questions as to how the assailant entered the secure building.
Residents are required to use a pass-card to enter while visitors must be buzzed in by someone inside.
However, as with many similar systems, it's not foolproof.
"For five years, (my art gallery) was over there," said Pam Craig, owner of the Rivertown Gallery near the apartments. "I would see people come in, hit the buzzer, then come around to talk to us when they couldn't get in. Then they would say, 'Never mind' and follow someone else in."
Wednesday afternoon, a man rang the buzzer in the rear of the building, said he was a Time Warner employee and was admitted, with no guard present.
Kelly said general deliveries are supposed to go to the security desk, but that "regular vendors" like postal carriers and cable workers are an exception.
Four days after the slaying, Brenner has changed her routine. She now uses both locks on her door. She's more cautious. And she's thinking about moving.
"It's just weird running down there (toward Glahn's apartment). It's really creepy. I run really fast by there now," she said. "It's really put me on edge."
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