SOURCE
The rapist who kidnapped and killed a Cobb County woman apparently abducted her just a block from where a rape victim escaped from him six days earlier, and the dead woman's husband is furious that police never alerted the public.
Further, the convicted sex offender was roaming unchecked because of a series of bureaucratic bumbles and lapses of common sense by police, said Michael Boyd in his first interview since his wife, Kimberly, was killed last week. Boyd plans to lobby state and banking industry officials to change procedures that he said could prevent such crimes.
Michael Boyd says businesses, like the Budget rental company where his wife worked, should have been told of a rapist in the area.
Kimberly Boyd was taken from her office on Glade Road in Acworth Sept. 12 by Brian O'Neil Clark. After a passer-by saw Clark beating Boyd on the side of the road, Clark threw Boyd into her SUV and sped off as the passer-by gave chase, police have said. During the pursuit, Clark, 25, turned into the path of a concrete truck, killing Boyd. As Clark tried to flee from the accident, he was shot dead by the passer-by, who told police that Clark pointed a gun at him.
Beyond the obvious pain and anger that Michael Boyd felt after learning of his wife's death, he said he's been hurt even more after learning that police may have been able to capture — or at least know about — Clark the week before.
"We're extremely outraged, as a family, that this ever took place in the first place," Boyd said Thursday as his wife's sister Rhonda Ryder sat close by, holding the youngest of his three children. "We just keep finding out more and more information about how this guy was able to get out, and the more we found out, the more angry we got."
On Sept. 6, a man believed to be Clark raped an Acworth woman at her home, then forced her to drive to a bank machine for cash, police said. Instead of withdrawing the money, the woman fled inside the bank, just a block from where Boyd ran a truck rental company.
Her husband said police should have notified nearby businesses of the incident and that banks can and should take measures to alert authorities of such forced transactions. For their part, police said they notified people in the first victim's neighborhood, though not in the area where the woman escaped.
"Because there was so little exposure to what he did on Sept. 6 — I think one press release, no composite until the next Sunday, no alerts to the people in the area — he was comfortable to walk within a half-mile radius of where he committed the other crime," Boyd said.
"Why we're so mad is that no one bothered to take the initiative to tell the businesses," he said. "I mean, my wife is pretty. I would have never let her anywhere near that place, knowing there is a rapist on the loose."
Boyd, too, was forced to drive to a bank ATM to withdraw money. Her husband said it would not be unreasonable for banks to arrange for an alternate code number that could be used in case of emergency that would alert authorities but otherwise dispense money as usual.
Boyd churned with frustration as he described how prison officials freed Clark on June 13 after he completed a sentence for forgery, but they didn't notify local police or Clark's probation officer. Prison officials said Clark should have registered himself, Boyd said.
"How absurd is it to depend on an ex-con getting out of prison to report to someone his whereabouts?" Boyd asked.
Clark, who also had been convicted of child molestation and statutory rape in an earlier incident, never checked in with his probation officer. Clark's probation officer should have been notified upon his release, something prison officials admitted Thursday did not happen.
"The local probation office was not notified of Clark's requirement to register as a sexual offender upon his release from boot camp on June 13," said Adam Baswell, executive assistant to Department of Corrections Commissioner James Donald.
As for alerting local officials to the release of Clark, whose last known address was in Acworth, Baswell said that is "not our normal procedure."
Acworth police Chief Michael Wilkie and the officer in charge of the prior assault met with Boyd on Wednesday to discuss his concerns, said Acworth police spokesman Wayne Dennard.
In the first abduction, Acworth police tried to get an alert posted on highway signs but "were informed it was not possible," Dennard said, adding that abducted children are the only such alerts posted.
" 'Not procedure' and 'not possible' " aren't acceptable excuses, Boyd said.
The tall, rangy former collegiate athlete and high school coach said he can't sit idly by as his wife's death plays down to a brief mention in news recaps. On Thursday, he was working the phones, seeking a legislator who might take up at least one of his ideas.
"We just have to get it out there," Boyd said. "I just can't see anybody in the Legislature that wouldn't want to help keep this from happening to somebody else."
His first success came early: He meets today with Gov. Sonny Perdue's staff.
The rapist who kidnapped and killed a Cobb County woman apparently abducted her just a block from where a rape victim escaped from him six days earlier, and the dead woman's husband is furious that police never alerted the public.
Further, the convicted sex offender was roaming unchecked because of a series of bureaucratic bumbles and lapses of common sense by police, said Michael Boyd in his first interview since his wife, Kimberly, was killed last week. Boyd plans to lobby state and banking industry officials to change procedures that he said could prevent such crimes.
Michael Boyd says businesses, like the Budget rental company where his wife worked, should have been told of a rapist in the area.
Kimberly Boyd was taken from her office on Glade Road in Acworth Sept. 12 by Brian O'Neil Clark. After a passer-by saw Clark beating Boyd on the side of the road, Clark threw Boyd into her SUV and sped off as the passer-by gave chase, police have said. During the pursuit, Clark, 25, turned into the path of a concrete truck, killing Boyd. As Clark tried to flee from the accident, he was shot dead by the passer-by, who told police that Clark pointed a gun at him.
Beyond the obvious pain and anger that Michael Boyd felt after learning of his wife's death, he said he's been hurt even more after learning that police may have been able to capture — or at least know about — Clark the week before.
"We're extremely outraged, as a family, that this ever took place in the first place," Boyd said Thursday as his wife's sister Rhonda Ryder sat close by, holding the youngest of his three children. "We just keep finding out more and more information about how this guy was able to get out, and the more we found out, the more angry we got."
On Sept. 6, a man believed to be Clark raped an Acworth woman at her home, then forced her to drive to a bank machine for cash, police said. Instead of withdrawing the money, the woman fled inside the bank, just a block from where Boyd ran a truck rental company.
Her husband said police should have notified nearby businesses of the incident and that banks can and should take measures to alert authorities of such forced transactions. For their part, police said they notified people in the first victim's neighborhood, though not in the area where the woman escaped.
"Because there was so little exposure to what he did on Sept. 6 — I think one press release, no composite until the next Sunday, no alerts to the people in the area — he was comfortable to walk within a half-mile radius of where he committed the other crime," Boyd said.
"Why we're so mad is that no one bothered to take the initiative to tell the businesses," he said. "I mean, my wife is pretty. I would have never let her anywhere near that place, knowing there is a rapist on the loose."
Boyd, too, was forced to drive to a bank ATM to withdraw money. Her husband said it would not be unreasonable for banks to arrange for an alternate code number that could be used in case of emergency that would alert authorities but otherwise dispense money as usual.
Boyd churned with frustration as he described how prison officials freed Clark on June 13 after he completed a sentence for forgery, but they didn't notify local police or Clark's probation officer. Prison officials said Clark should have registered himself, Boyd said.
"How absurd is it to depend on an ex-con getting out of prison to report to someone his whereabouts?" Boyd asked.
Clark, who also had been convicted of child molestation and statutory rape in an earlier incident, never checked in with his probation officer. Clark's probation officer should have been notified upon his release, something prison officials admitted Thursday did not happen.
"The local probation office was not notified of Clark's requirement to register as a sexual offender upon his release from boot camp on June 13," said Adam Baswell, executive assistant to Department of Corrections Commissioner James Donald.
As for alerting local officials to the release of Clark, whose last known address was in Acworth, Baswell said that is "not our normal procedure."
Acworth police Chief Michael Wilkie and the officer in charge of the prior assault met with Boyd on Wednesday to discuss his concerns, said Acworth police spokesman Wayne Dennard.
In the first abduction, Acworth police tried to get an alert posted on highway signs but "were informed it was not possible," Dennard said, adding that abducted children are the only such alerts posted.
" 'Not procedure' and 'not possible' " aren't acceptable excuses, Boyd said.
The tall, rangy former collegiate athlete and high school coach said he can't sit idly by as his wife's death plays down to a brief mention in news recaps. On Thursday, he was working the phones, seeking a legislator who might take up at least one of his ideas.
"We just have to get it out there," Boyd said. "I just can't see anybody in the Legislature that wouldn't want to help keep this from happening to somebody else."
His first success came early: He meets today with Gov. Sonny Perdue's staff.
Comments
Our state legislature has been exploring changes that they want to make to the public notification process because of new problems that they perceive. It is against the law to reveal the identity of a sexual assualt victim. When the end of sentence review board prepares the public notification paperwork for sex offenders, they must hide the fact that a Level 3 rapist was convicted of raping a family member, because this would reveal the victim's identity. This in turn makes it appear as if all Level 3 sex offenders were convicted of sex crimes against strangers. Our legislature also frets about victims being re-traumatized by the notice that their attacker is being released.
Coupled with the fact that a study has shown that public notification has no impact on the recidivism rate of sex offenders, (which is now judged at 19% to 22%) our legislature is seriously considering not notifying the public about released sex offenders.
The freedom of guilty sex offenders continues to have a higher value and importance than the lives of past and future victims who are permanently damaged and will always be victims for the rest of their lives. When 100 guilty sex offenders are released, it automatically condemns 20 or more innocent lives to becoming the victims of sexual assault. Not all will survive. By releasing sex offenders, we create more victims.
There is a direct connection between free roaming convicted sex offenders, and sexual assaults. We have to do everything we can to get our legislators to start placing a higher value on the lives of the innocent victims, and a lower value on the freedom of the guilty sex offenders. Until they do this, they will never find the solution to the problems associated with the public notification process about released sex offenders.
The solution is very simple. Just stop releasing them. Once they are in prison, let's just keep them there where they belong. It's not harsh at all for them. When you look at their cases and their pictures, it should be clear that prison is where these freaks of nature belong.