# Old case where young man does nothing while friend molests/murders girl... **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [July 17, 2013, 3:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-case-where-young-man-does-nothing-while-friend-molests-murders-girl/663756 "2013-07-17T15:20:06Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![FriarTed](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/friarted/32/1052_2.png) [@FriarTed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FriarTed)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2013, 3:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-case-where-young-man-does-nothing-while-friend-molests-murders-girl/663756/1 "2013-07-17T15:20:06Z")
Over a decade ago, there was a notorious case in the news where a young man (late teens/early twenties) followed a little girl into a casino restroom, raped & killed her. He had a friend with him who saw him follow the little girl, thought he was up to no good, but declined to intervene as “I have my own problems”. While I think the killer got life, his friend technically broke no law but was ostracized at his university. So what were their names & what happened to them both? ---
**Author:** ![FriarTed](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/friarted/32/1052_2.png) [@FriarTed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FriarTed)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2013, 3:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-case-where-young-man-does-nothing-while-friend-molests-murders-girl/663756/2 "2013-07-17T15:24:28Z")
Found the case! > **[Jeremy Strohmeyer](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeremy_Strohmeyer)** > > Jeremy Strohmeyer (born October 11, 1978) is an American convicted murderer, serving four consecutive life terms for the sexual assault and murder of 7-year-old Sherrice Iverson (October 20, 1989 – May 25, 1997) at Primadonna Resort and Casino in Primm, Nevada, on May 25, 1997. > The case drew national attention by focusing on the safety of children in casinos and on the revelation that Strohmeyer's friend, David Cash Jr., said he saw the crime in progress but did not stop it. > In the early morn... ---
**Author:** ![Seanette](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/seanette/32/9139_2.png) [@Seanette](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Seanette)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2013, 4:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-case-where-young-man-does-nothing-while-friend-molests-murders-girl/663756/3 "2013-07-17T16:04:15Z")
Not sure which is the worse sociopath, Strohmeyer or Cash. ---
**Author:** ![anson2995](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c77e96/32.png) [@anson2995](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/anson2995)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2013, 4:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-case-where-young-man-does-nothing-while-friend-molests-murders-girl/663756/4 "2013-07-17T16:29:34Z")
Sounds similar to [what happened to Stieg Larsson](http://abcnews.go.com/Entertainment/stieg-larsson-guilt-gang-rape-lisbeth-fueled-millennium/story?id=11324859#.UebGe9LOuJQ), who wrote Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. ---
**Author:** ![Ranchoth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ranchoth/32/1066_2.png) [@Ranchoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ranchoth)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2013, 12:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-case-where-young-man-does-nothing-while-friend-molests-murders-girl/663756/5 "2013-07-19T12:39:15Z")
> [@Seanette](#): > > Not sure which is the worse sociopath, Strohmeyer or Cash. Perhaps this can be determined empirically. Through neurosurgical experimentation. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2017, 1:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-case-where-young-man-does-nothing-while-friend-molests-murders-girl/663756/6 "2017-12-01T01:53:50Z")
Bumped. The well-known American film director Sidney Lumet admitted in a PBS documentary aired earlier this year, _By Sidney Lumet_, that while in the U.S. Army during WWII and traveling on a train through India, he saw a very young (he estimated 12-year-old) girl plucked from a railroad platform by his fellow soldiers and gang-raped aboard the train. The soldier who grabbed her accepted cash payments from other soldiers for the chance to assault her. Lumet could not find the courage to report the crimes to his superiors, and later always felt guilty about it. Like Larsson, it inspired him to create work that sought to correct injustices and create a better society. ---
**Author:** ![buddha\_david](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ee7513/32.png) [@buddha\_david](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/buddha_david)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2017, 2:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-case-where-young-man-does-nothing-while-friend-molests-murders-girl/663756/7 "2017-12-01T02:07:51Z")
> [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](#): > > Bumped. > > The well-known American film director Sidney Lumet admitted in a PBS documentary aired earlier this year, _By Sidney Lumet_, that while in the U.S. Army during WWII and traveling on a train through India, he saw a very young (he estimated 12-year-old) girl plucked from a railroad platform by his fellow soldiers and gang-raped aboard the train. The soldier who grabbed her accepted cash payments from other soldiers for the chance to assault her. Lumet could not find the courage to report the crimes to his superiors, and later always felt guilty about it. Like Larsson, it inspired him to create work that sought to correct injustices and create a better society. The major difference, of course, is that David Cash never expressed any genuine remorse about the incident, and was always steadfastly adamant that it Wasn’t His Problem. :smack: ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2017, 2:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-case-where-young-man-does-nothing-while-friend-molests-murders-girl/663756/8 "2017-12-01T02:11:43Z")
Yes, more like Larsson than Cash, to be sure.