Trisha Meili

For 14 years, Trisha Meili was known to the world only as "the Central Park Jogger," the victim of a high-profile rape case in New York City. On the evening of April 19, 1989, a 28-year-old investment banker with degrees from Wellesley and Yale was violently assaulted while jogging in Central Park. She was raped, beaten near death and nearly drowned in a pool of her own blood. When found, she was suffering from hypothermia, severe blood loss, and a fractured skull. She was initially expected to die or remain in a permanent coma, but she recovered fully, with no memory of the event. The crime provoked public outrage. According to police, the culprits were gangs of teenage men who would assault strangers, an activity called "wilding". Five black teenage boys were identified as the assailants, tried, and convicted in 1990. Four of the boys confessed to the crime, but later doubts involving possible coercion put those confessions into doubt. There was no physical evidence to connect the boys to the crime and their convictions were based on their confessions. In 2002, convicted rapist and murderer Matias Reyes, serving a life sentence for other crimes, declared that he committed the assault, and that he acted alone. DNA evidence confirmed his participation in the crime. Based on Reyes' confession, a judge exonerated the five defendants in 2002. In 2003, Meili publicly revealed her identity in a book, I Am the Central Park Jogger. After years of rehabilitation, she has fully recovered, married and returned to work, though she still cannot remember the 1989 attack.