She survived a throat-slashing at age 10. Years later, a man started sending her pictures.

[mahatmakanejeeves]

True Crime

She survived a throat-slashing at age 10. Years later, a man started sending her pictures of the crime scene.

By Derek Hawkins
April 9, 2021 at 5:47 p.m. EDT

On New Year’s Eve in 1999, a 10-year-old girl and her friend were attacked in a South Texas home by a serial killer who slashed their throats. The 10-year-old survived; her friend died at her side. ... Nearly two decades later — after the killer was tried, convicted and executed — the victim was flooded with graphic reminders of that night when Alvin Willie George, a Florida resident she’d never met, started stalking her on social media.

For months, George sent the victim and her sisters Facebook messages containing photos of the crime scene, along with threats to rape and kill them, according to court records. ... On Thursday, George was sentenced to 51 months in federal prison followed by three years of supervised release after pleading guilty to federal cyberstalking charges. A public defender representing him didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.

The case is a textbook application of the relatively new federal statute barring stalking online. The law, created in 2013 as an amendment to the Violence Against Women Act, makes it a federal crime to use a computer to put a person “in reasonable fear of death or serious bodily injury” or “cause substantial emotional distress.” ... The victim was not identified in court documents, which is typical in cyberstalking cases.

The 1999 attack on the victim and her friend was carried out by Tommy Lynn Sells, a drifter then in his 30s whom investigators would go on to link to nearly two-dozen murders. Sells entered a room where they were sleeping and cut their throats with a boning knife. The younger girl survived by pretending to be dead until he left, according to news archives. ... Sells was convicted and sentenced to death for murder and attempted murder. He was executed in 2014 in Texas.

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Derek Hawkins
Derek Hawkins is a reporter covering national and breaking news. He previously covered cybersecurity for PowerPost and wrote about law, crime and politics for The Washington Post's Morning Mix. Follow https://twitter.com/d_hawk

[femmedem]

1. Oh my god. 51 months is not nearly enough.

I would be terrified if I were her, knowing he is going to be released so soon.

This is unspeakably horrific.

[Blue Dawn]

2. I completely agree, femmedem.

That’s just a little over four years, and I guarantee that he won’t serve that long.

What a horrific thing to do. This person is a danger to society and should never be allowed out of a psychiatric hospital for the rest of his life.

[femmedem]

3. Exactly. That person will always, always be violently dangerous. n/t

[LeftInTX]

4. Federal system does not have parole, but he could earn up to 6 months early release.

He will also be on 3 years of supervised release afterward.