Richard Melville: Case Study

On November 1, 2014 Richard Melville, twelve years old, was riding the school bus home from Bedford Falls Middle School. He was dropped off in the area of 666 Elm Street, an area and building owned by C.D. Management. This area is urban with vacant structures, empty lots, commercial establishments, decrepit buildings, and a high frequency of crime. Richard was approached outside of 666 Elm Street, coerced into the building’s basement, and was brutally beaten, leaving him unconscious. As a result, Richard suffered serious injuries.

This was not the first time that someone had been approached outside of this building. Bruce Waterford a resident at 666 Elm Street encountered a man on October 22, 2014. He described the man as skinny, white,

While standing in front of an alleyway next to 666 Elm Street, a man approached him and asked Richard to go into the basement of 666 Elm Street to look for the man’s cat. Richard claims he started to walk away because the man was creepy looking; Richard’s description matched the description given by Bruce Waterford. After walking away, Richard believed that he was walking in the wrong direction so he turned around and passed by the man again. The man again asked Richard to look for his cat, saying he could not since he was not allowed in the basement stating if seen again someone would call the police. Richard walked away again, but then had second thoughts; he returned and told the man that he would look for his cat. The man told Richard the cat liked to hang out near the dryers in the basement, Richard went into the basement believing that it would be safe, since he thought there would be people in the basement. After going downstairs, Richard noticed the man behind him; the man grabbed him, displayed a knife, and kept asking for money. Richard kept telling the man he did not have money. Richard does not remember anything else, stating the next thing he knew he was at the