Murder of Jennifer Moore

Jennifer Moore, 18, of Harrington Park, New Jersey, was a recent graduate of Saddle River Day School, where she had captained the girls' soccer team, and was scheduled to attend the University of Hartford to study nursing. On the night of July 25, 2006, Moore and a friend drove into Manhattan and went clubbing at Guest House, a nightclub in Chelsea. Moore was underage at the time. Her friend's car, initially parked outside the club, was ticketed and towed to a West 38th Street impound lot. When the two young women went to retrieve the vehicle, attendants refused to release it, and Moore's friend suffered an epileptic episode requiring an ambulance to St. Vincent's Hospital. Moore walked away unnoticed. Witnesses reported seeing her walking alone near the West Side Highway, and she reportedly called her boyfriend saying a man was following her and offering her drugs.

Moore's body was later found in a trash bin in West New York, New Jersey. It was subsequently reported that the crime occurred at the Park Avenue Hotel in nearby Weehawken, New Jersey. Surveillance video from the hotel showed a man later identified as Draymond Coleman leading Moore through the premises. Investigators concluded that Coleman beat, raped, and strangled Moore, then attempted to remove DNA evidence by cutting her fingernails and cleaning her body with alcohol before disposing of her remains in a duffel bag. Coleman, 35, had a prior criminal record including assault charges and a drug-selling conviction for which he served approximately five years in prison; he had cycled in and out of custody for parole violations after his 2002 release. Police reported that cell phone usage data helped locate Coleman.

Krystal Riordan, 20, a New Jersey escort who worked for Coleman and frequently used the same Weehawken motel, was also arrested. She was initially charged with tampering with evidence and hindering prosecution; Hudson County Prosecutor Edward DeFazio later concluded she had acted as an accomplice and charged her with felony murder. Coleman fought extradition to New Jersey but was ultimately extradited in October 2006 after a New Jersey Superior Court judge set $2 million cash bail.

Moore's case drew comparisons to the earlier 2006 killing of graduate student Imette St. Guillen and prompted broader media and public scrutiny of New York City nightlife practices, underage drinking, and fake identification use at clubs. Commentary around the case also generated public controversy over victim-blaming remarks made by some media figures.

In March 2010, Coleman pleaded guilty before Hudson County Superior Court Judge Kevin Callahan to the murder of Jennifer Moore and was sentenced under plea terms requiring 50 years in prison. In May 2010, Riordan pleaded guilty to her role in the kidnapping and murder of Moore and was sentenced to 30 years. At sentencing, prosecutors and the judge emphasized that Moore was the sole victim in the case, and Moore's mother read a statement to the court describing the impact of her daughter's death.