Disclaimer: The article contains mentions of sexual abuse. Reader discretion is advised.
The Central Park Jogger Case became a worldwide phenomenon and forced the New York authorities to solve the case as soon as possible. In April 1989, an unknown assailant raped Trisha Meili after brutally beating her in New York City’s Central Park. Authorities discovered her body and sent her to the hospital for treatment. The victim suffered severe injuries and the doctors believed that she might not make it.
Meanwhile, the police started investigating the case and arrested five Black and Hispanic boys. The five teens—Kevin Richardson, Yusef Salaam, Raymond Santana, Korey Wise, and Antron McCray—went to trial and were found guilty. However, in 2002, everything changed after a convicted criminal named Matias Reyes came forward and admitted to raping Meili.
According to ABC News, Trisha Meili went for a jog after reaching home from the office. When police responded to calls of several young men harassing the public inside the park, Meili continued to run until two people later found her body in the wooded area in Central Park. Authorities subsequently arrested five people in connection with the assaults that took place in the park. Later, Richardson, Salaam, Santana, Wise, and McCray became suspects in the Central Park rape case.
Initially, four out of the five accused made open confessions about Trisha Meili’s attack. However, they recanted their statements and noted that the police coerced them into giving false statements, reported BBC News. Although prosecutors didn’t find any DNA evidence against the five teenagers, they took them to trial by relying on their initial confessions. The trial continued for six weeks and the jury deliberated for 10 days before delivering a guilty verdict. However, in 2002, a criminal named Matias Reyes admitted to raping Trisha Meili. After his confession, the judge vacated the sentence of the Central Park Five.
Per New York’s Department of Corrections, Reyes is currently serving his sentence in prison in Wallkill, New York.
Central Park Five: Where is Trisha Meili’s real attacker Matias Reyes now?
As mentioned above, convicted criminal Matias Reyes admitted that he raped and beat Trisha Meili in New York City’s Central Park in April 1989. Newsweek mentioned that he acted alone during the heinous crime. The outlet stated that Reyes was 17 years old and worked at a convenience store while living in a van on the street. Reyes was already serving in prison when he confessed to the attack on Meili. Authorities reportedly apprehended Reyes for raping another woman. Upon his arrest, he admitted to raping several women and killing one and received a life sentence.
According to the New York’s Department of Corrections, Matias Reyes is currently serving his sentence at the Shawangunk Correctional Facility in Wallkill, New York. However, he never got convicted for the rape of Trisha Meili. Newsweek mentioned that the statute of limitations had expired when he confessed to the crimes.
How was Matias Reyes caught?
Per ABC News, Matias Reyes met Korey Wise while serving their sentences at New York’s Rikers Island Jail. In 2002, Reyes contacted the police and told them everything about what he did to Trisha Meili. Authorities took his DNA and analyzed it. Shockingly, the DNA of Reyes matched the DNA found at the crime scene in Central Park, and the court vacated the convictions of Kevin Richardson, Yusef Salaam, Raymond Santana, Korey Wise, and Antron McCray. At the time, Wise was the only one who was still serving his sentence.
Now, the Central Park Five are known as the Exonerated Five. Richardson, Salaam, Wise, and Santana recently made an appearance at the Democratic National Convention. They extended their support to Vice President Kamala Harris, who is now running for the post of the President of the United States of America.
