MUPD: Woman was not robbed

After following up, police said the report was false.

By Harry Plumer

Published April 4, 2008

The MU Police Department released a statement Wednesday updating a Feb. 26 Clery release that stated a woman was assaulted and robbed on the west side of Stafford Hall.

“After a follow-up investigation and speaking to witnesses again we were able to determine that these crimes did not occur,” MUPD Capt. Brian Weimer said.

According to the original report, the woman said her assailant shoved her into her own vehicle around 2:30 a.m. Feb. 24 next to Stafford Hall. It was inside the vehicle that she claims the assault occurred.

In addition to the assault, the woman also reported her attacker stole her purse and ran toward Gardner-Hyde, which was a residence hall north of Stafford Hall. The Mid-Campus Housing Project now occupies the area.

But after Weimer’s team finished its investigative work, Weimer said the woman’s claims were found to be untrue.

“This is something that happens on occasion,” Weimer said. “We take hundreds of reports every single week.”

The Feb. 26 Clery Release was the third this school year and 14th since 2002.

“The Clery releases are intended to make people on campus aware of crime in the area,” Weimer said. “The Clery and media releases that we do with suspect information are very important to our department.”

Weimer said while the MUPD doesn’t track the success rate of the releases, at least one of the two other Clery releases, including a strong-armed robbery case from October this school year resulted in an arrest.

The Jeanne Clery Disclosure of Campus Security Policy and Campus Crime Statistics Act is a federal law that requires colleges and universities to release information about crime on and around their campuses.