The beaten and strangled body of a black teenager named Anna Kithcart was discovered in Kingston, New York, in July of 1988. Shockingly, she had the initials “KKK” carved into her flesh. The mentally disturbed man who found her was investigated by the police but ruled out as her killer. But several days later, a couple came forward to report that a friend of theirs had confessed to them that he was Annie’s killer.

Join us at the quiet end for Nothing Good Ever Happens After Midnight. This apparently racially motivated violent crime had some similarities to an alleged attack which was reported less than a year earlier. Authorities investigated whether Anna’s case was linked to that of Tawana Brawley, who had claimed that she was kidnapped and raped by six white men, including one with a police badge.  But the two cases were not connected. Annie’s murder was not racially motivated. So why did she have “KKK” carved into her body?

References

Sidetracked: The Betrayal and Murder of Anna Kithcart by Robert Cahill, Jr

The Media Show: The Changing Face of the News, 1985-1990 by Edward Diamond

Man who killed Kingston teenager in 1988 released from prison, Daily Freeman, by Diane Pineiro-Zucker, 10/26/2017