Pam Lychner

Pam Lychner

Pamela Sue Rogers "Pam" Lychner[1][2](November 9, 1958 - July 17, 1996 in New York City)[3] was a real estate agent from Greater Houston.[4] who promoted the "Pam Lychner Sexual Offender Tracking and Identification Act of 1996" bill. She died in the Trans World Airlines Flight 800 crash.

History

Lychner, a former flight attendant for Trans World Airlines (TWA), bought a vacant house to sell in 1990.[4] When she and her husband, Joseph "Joe" Lychner,[5] visited it to meet who they believed was a prospective buyer,[6] a workman from a cleaning company named William David Kelley appeared and told them that he forgot to clean under the sink. Later he tried to tear her clothes off her body; Joe held him as she called for help. Kelley, a convicted rapist and child molester, carried a knife and duct tape on his person and a blanket in his pickup truck. He plea bargained and received a sentence of 20 years for "aggravated kidnapping with intent to commit sex assault." [7]

After the Texas Department of Criminal Justice (TDCJ) sent a letter to the Lychner residence, notifying the household that the state nominated Kelley as a candidate for early release, Lychner decided to become an advocate for victim's rights, founding the group "Justice For All." She, as its president, lobbied for repealing mandatory release laws, registration of sex offenders, and the construction of more prisons. Lisa Gray of the Houston Press said that Lychner would "get up at 4 a.m. to work on the Justice For All newsletter; at night, she'd fall asleep at the computer, and Joe would carry her to bed."[7]

Lychner promoted and, according to U.S. Senators Phil Gramm and Joe Biden, crafted the language of a bill, later called the "Pam Lychner Sexual Offender Tracking and Identification Act of 1996," that established a federal database for United States sex offenders.[8] In addition the bill required sex offenders who move to new locations are required to contact authorities; if they fail to do so they face fines and prison time.[7][9]

Life

The reconstructed wreckage of TWA Flight 800, on which Pam and her daughters were killed, stored at the Calverton Executive Airpark.
"Love's Embrace," a statue of Pam and her daughters in Spring Valley Village, Texas

At the time of her death in 1996, Pam was married to Joe, and they had two daughters, Shannon and Katie.[10] They lived in Spring Valley Village, Texas in Greater Houston.[11]

Death

Shannon Evian Lychner, Pam's 10-year-old elder daughter, had copied Claude Monet's paintings, and Pam wanted to introduce her to the Giverny, his former garden, located near Paris. They created a plan for a three-day trip.[12]

Pam, Shannon, and 8-year-old Katherine Elizabeth "Katie" Lychner,[13] flew from Houston to John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York City, and then connected to TWA Flight 800 bound for Charles de Gaulle International Airport near Paris, on July 17, 1996. N93119, the Boeing 747-100 used for Flight 800, exploded off the coast of Long Island, killing all of the passengers and crew, including the three Lychners. Joe advocated for an investigation of Flight 800.[12] According to him, Pam and Katie's bodies were recovered during the first night of rescue efforts. On July 22, five days after the crash, the Suffolk County, New York coroners had identified Pam's body and he was summoned to confirm the identification. Days later Katie's body was positively identified,[14] and on July 28 Shannon's body was recovered. All three received burial in a family plot near Chicago, Illinois.[15]

The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) concluded that a flammable mixture of air and aviation fuel vapors in the center wing fuel tank exploded, destroying the aircraft.[16]

Posthumous recognition and legacy

After Pam and her daughters died, the United States Congress passed the "Pam Lychner Sexual Offender Tracking and Identification Act of 1996."[8]

On July 15, 1997, Pam's home community, the city of Spring Valley Village, dedicated a bronze statue of her, Shannon, and Katie, called "Love's Embrace," at the city hall.[17] After it was posted, visitors read the plaques, left roses, and touched the bronze. Joe often visited it. Lisa Gray of the Houston Press described it as "shamelessly emotional, a monument to a secular saint and her daughters."[18]

Pam Lychner State Jail, a state jail for men operated by the Texas Department of Criminal Justice in Atascocita, unincorporated Harris County, east of Humble, was named after her. A duplicate of the statue in Spring Valley Village exists near the state jail.[19][20] In July 1995,[21] the jail opened as Atascocita State Jail. After her death, the TDCJ board unanimously voted to rename the facility Pam Lychner State Jail.[22]

References

  1. ↑ "HC00081F." Legislature of Texas. Accessed October 30, 2008.
  2. ↑ "Photos: 10th Anniversary of Flight 800 Crash." Newsday. Accessed October 30, 2008.
  3. ↑ http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=pv&GRid=17329033&PIpi=57575449
  4. 1 2 Gray, Lisa. "After the Crash." Houston Press. October 23, 1997. 1.
  5. ↑ Olmeda, Rafael A. "LOCAL REV COMFORTS TWA DAD." New York Daily News. July 31, 1996.
  6. ↑ "Background Information on the Act and Its Amendments." Bureau of Justice Assistance. Retrieved on July 4, 2010.
  7. 1 2 3 "Gray, Lisa. "After the Crash." Houston Press. October 23, 1997. 2.
  8. 1 2 "Background Information on the Act and Its Amendments." Bureau of Justice Assistance of the United States Department of Justice. Accessed October 30, 2008.
  9. ↑ DeLisi, Matt and Peter Conis. Violent Offenders. Jones & Bartlett Publishers. 2008. 275.
  10. ↑ Gray, Lisa. "After the Crash." Houston Press. 1. Retrieved on July 4, 2010.
  11. ↑ Gray, Lisa. "After the Crash." Houston Press. Thursday October 23, 1997. 5. Retrieved on July 4, 2010.
  12. 1 2 Gray, Lisa. "After the Crash." Houston Press. October 23, 1997. 3.
  13. ↑ Zimmermann, Stephanie. "Aurora family copes with double disaster." Chicago Sun-Times. July 21, 1996.
  14. ↑ Gray, Lisa. "After the Crash." Houston Press. October 23, 1997. 4.
  15. ↑ Gray, Lisa. "After the Crash." Houston Press. October 23, 1997. 5.
  16. ↑ National Transportation Safety Board. "Aircraft Accident Report: In-flight Breakup Over the Atlantic Ocean Trans World Airlines Flight 800" (PDF). NTSB Aircraft Accident Report. Retrieved 2008-06-18.
  17. ↑ . Web site of the sculptor Patrick McGuire, who created it. Retrieved on June 22, 2013.
  18. ↑ Gray, Lisa. "After the Crash." Houston Press. Thursday October 23, 1997. 6. Retrieved on July 4, 2010.
  19. ↑ "Saluting Employees January/February 2003" at the Wayback Machine (archived June 2, 2008). Texas Department of Criminal Justice. Accessed September 12, 2008.
  20. ↑ "Lychner (AJ)." Texas Department of Criminal Justice. Accessed September 12, 2008.
  21. ↑ "State Jail Evaluation Summary Report Lychner State Jail" at the Wayback Machine (archived November 17, 2001) (Archive). Texas Department of Criminal Justice. October 2000. Retrieved on July 2, 2010.
  22. ↑ Texas Dept of Criminal Justice. Texas Department of Criminal Justice. Turner Publishing Company. 2004. 96.
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