Disclaimer: The article contains mentions of sexual abuse. Reader discretion is advised.
On April 19, 1989, authorities discovered a barely alive Trisha Meili in a wooded area of New York’s Central Park. Reports indicate that the culprit raped her and beat her while she was jogging in the park. After she was taken to the hospital for treatment, police started their investigation and arrested five Black and Hispanic teenagers for allegedly committing the crime. While doctors tried to revive Meili, law enforcement agencies reportedly coerced the accused into giving false confessions. Even without strong evidence, police charged them and took them to trial.
According to ABC News, Trisha Meili suffered severe injuries because of the attack and had no memory of what happened. The publication mentioned that Meili had “blunt trauma,” and the doctors felt that she might not survive. One of the medical professionals noted that Meili’s body was swollen. Additionally, she had several skull fractures. The injuries were so severe that one of the doctors told Meili’s family that it would be better if she died, per Cleveland.com. Simultaneously, police interrogated the five teens—Kevin Richardson, Yusef Salaam, Raymond Santana, Korey Wise, and Antron McCray—and got a confession from four of them.
Although the prosecutors had no DNA evidence against the five accused, they relied on the initial confessions to take them to trial. ABC News reported that Trisha Meili remained in a coma for over a week before she gained consciousness. Moreover, she testified during the trial but didn’t discuss the incident because she had no memory of it. After hearing from the witnesses and arguments, the jury deliberated for 10 days and found Salaam, Santana, and McCray guilty of raping Meili. In addition, the jury found them guilty on the charges of assault and robbery. Meanwhile, they found Wise and Richardson guilty as well.
Although her current whereabouts are unknown, a 2002 interview with Oprah Winfrey revealed that she relocated to Connecticut.
The Central Park Five: What is Trisha Meili doing now?
An interview with Oprah Winfrey revealed that Trisha Meili lived in Connecticut in 2002 and got married. On the other hand, Meili wrote a book about the entire Central Park case. Titled I Am the Central Park Jogger: A Story of Hope and Possibility, the book talks about how Meili lived her life after the Central Park incident. The book went on to receive universal acclaim and earned positive reviews from outlets such as The New York Times, San Francisco Chronicle, Orlando Sentinel, and more.
Trisha Meili became an advocate trainer for the Sexual Assault and Violent Intervention Program (SAVI) at the Mount Senai Hospital. According to the Speaker Exchange Agency, Meili joined the Board of Directors of Gaylord Hospital as an Honorary Officer. Over the years, she received several awards, including the National Courage Award from the Courage Center. Moreover, she received the Pacesetter Award from New York Hospital Queens and the Spirit of Achievement Award from Albert Einstein College of Medicine. She was also an Olympic torchbearer in New York City.
In 2002, the case took a turn when the court vacated the convictions of the Central Park Five. ABC News reported that a man named Matias Reyes came forward and confessed that he raped Trisha Meili. Kevin Richardson, Yusef Salaam, Raymond Santana, and Antron McCray were already out of prison at the time. Korey Wise was the only one still serving his sentence, and he was released early. Although Reyes admitted that he committed the crime alone, Meili believed more than one person sexually assaulted her.
Netflix series When They See Us delves deeper into the case of Central Park Five, now known as Exonerated Five. All episodes of the series are available for streaming on Netflix, along with a special interview with the Exonerated Five.
