In her poem, Rich (1975) asks that we find "the thing [we] came for:/ the wreck and not the story of the wreck / the thing itself and not the myth . . . " (ll. 61-63). To understand the tragedy of the loss of Megan Kanka, we must begin by learning more about her death. On Friday, July 29, 1994, Megan Kanka spent the day riding her bicycle with an eight-year-old neighbor. Megan lived on a quiet street, Barbara Lee Drive, in Mercerville, New Jersey. She was seven years old.

Megan was last seen chatting with another neighbor, Jesse T. Timmendequas, a thirty-three-year-old man who had been cleaning his boat, "Sunsation," outside of his house. He lived across the street from Megan. At 8:00 p.m., she was reported missing.

A massive search began as approximately 500 police, 39 companies of firefighters, and a multitude of volunteers searched a three-square mile area around Megan's home. Volunteers handed out flyers, others went house to house asking if anyone had seen the child. Jesse Timmendequas stopped by the Kanka home and offered to circulate flyers. Maureen Kanka, Megan's mother, went on television asking for the safe return of her daughter: "Please, please help us find our daughter. We want to bring her out safely. Whoever out there has her, she's a wonderful girl . . . she's only seven. Let her come back" (Hennessey 1994, 14).

Hamilton Police found the body. It was dumped on the West Windsor side of Mercer County Park. Jesse K. Timmendequas was arrested at 7:00 p.m. on Saturday, July 30. Police told the Kanka family that Megan's body had been found in the weeds. Richard Kanka, Megan's father, walked out on his porch and looked across the street. "Someone," he yelled, "ought to burn that house to the ground" (Hennessey 1994, 14).

On Monday, August 1, Timmendequas, an employee with the Princeton Township Public Works department, was arraigned on charges of homicide. Timmendequas, the Mercer County Prosecutor revealed, had been previously convicted twice for sexual assault in Middlesex County. On February 2, 1982, he was sentenced to 10 years at the Adult Diagnostic and Treatment Center, a prison for sex offenders. After six years he was released because of good behavior. The Prosecutor also revealed that Joseph Cifelli, Timmendequas' roommate, was another convicted sex offender who had spent nine years at the Adult Diagnostic and Treatment Center. He had been convicted after admitting to repeated sexual abuse of a relative that had begun when the child was nine. He was the son of the owner of the house on Barbara Lee Drive. A third man living in the house was Brian R. Jenin. He had twice been convicted of crimes involving young boys. As of August 6, Jenin, along with Timmendequas, was under investigation in connection with the unsolved murders of two boys in San Diego. Timmendequas, Cifelli, and Jenin had all met while at the Adult Diagnostic and Treatment Center. All three were Megan's neighbors.

Under questioning during a bail hearing, Timmendequas confessed to the rape and strangulation of Megan Kanka. He had, he said, promised to show her a puppy. To see the puppy, she would have to come into his bedroom. Once there, Timmendequas tried to molest her. She screamed and fought him. He knocked her to the floor, hitting her several times in the head He then twisted a belt around her neck until she was unconscious and raped her. Realizing she was still breathing, he wrapped her head in plastic shopping bags to prevent her blood from staining the rugs. Since he needed a way to get rid of the body, he took a toy box that he used to store tools and stuffed her inside. He then took the box three miles to Mercer County Park and dumped it in a weeded area next to a portable toilet. When he returned home and saw that police dogs had been brought in, he rubbed ammonia over everything in the room where he murdered Megan in order to kill her scent.

After questioning, on Saturday, July 30, Timmendequas volunteered to lead police to the body. When the body was found among the weeds, television stations picked up the story.

On Tuesday, August 2, 7,500 residents rallied in Veterans Memorial Park to support a proposed legislative action. Nicknamed Megan's Law, the legislation would require that a community be notified if a convicted sexual offender was in its presence. Standing on a podium, Maureen Kanka told the audience, "Don't sugarcoat it. Tell them [your children] what happens to little children by sex offenders" (Stile 3 August 1994). The Kanka family was joined by Governor Christine Whitman who said that she was examining existing legislation in 24 states so that "we can put something together" that will survive the legislative process. Many in the crowd carried candles. Their flames were extinguished as a thunderstorm broke.

The funeral was held on Wednesday, August 3, 1994.

On October 19, 1994, Jesse Timmendequas was indicted, the prosecutor seeking the death penalty. On January 13, 1997, the trial began. On April 21 twelve jurors--six men and six women and five alternates--were selected. On May 30 Timmendequas was found guilty of capital murder, and on Friday, June 20, was sentenced to death.

That is the story of the wreck. But there is more.