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For free. Free money. Free money is out there. Just go get it by starting your podcast today. What's going on, everybody? I'm Marah. And I'm Tez. And welcome back to Sisters Who Kill. May is Mental Health Awareness Month. And the case that we have today shines a light on the importance of mental health and making resources available for minorities and people of color. According to a 2020 scholarly article written by Norman Ghiazzi, Yerza Azar,
and Jasper Singh, people with mental illness are more likely to be a victim of violent crimes than the perpetrator. Though the case we discussed today deals with the mental state of the perpetrator, this is far from the regular occurrence. While today's episode is a bit harder to hear, it is our hope that healthy conversations about mental health will occur, creating a happier and healthier tomorrow. ♪♪
So let's jump right in with our players. We've got two players today. Our first is Trang Phung Ho. She's 20 years old. She's a Harvard pre-med student and she is a Vietnamese refugee. And we also have Senadu Tedesi, a 20-year-old Harvard pre-med student from Ethiopia. And this is our murderess.
Today's episode takes place on the campus of the esteemed Harvard University in 1995. Trang Phung Ho was born right after the Vietnam War ended in Saigon. As many of you can imagine, the lasting consequences of Americans in Vietnam can still be seen today.
So right after the war ended, North Vietnam troops came and they took over Saigon. Even after we left, they were still going through a lot of shit and turmoil in their country, right? And they were trying to find refuge in America. But it's not as easy as just booking a flight and leaving. The whole family tried many times to escape Vietnam, but they were always caught and brought back to their country. Finally, their dad came to the hard conclusion that there was only one way, and that would be to split up.
Jenga, her father, and the older sister successfully escaped aid at a refugee camp in Indonesia for almost a year before touching American soil. The boat ride was already harsh. There's no room to sit. Everyone's standing on the boat. I read somewhere that the boats were also attacked by pirates, so there's that. While at the refugee camp, the two older girls were practicing their English, but their father also made them cut their hair and pretend to be boys the entire year to protect them from being victims of sexual assault, which is...
crazy like here be a boy so nobody will fuck with you you know it's also was like super common exactly it's super common everywhere like women are mistreated everywhere oh this half of the family they finally settled in boston where trang attended boston technical high school and she became the valedictorian took years for her mother and other siblings to make it to america but when they did the family reunion was not joyful at all i'm
Almost immediately, their mother was accusing their father of cheating. They were arguing constantly and an inevitable divorce was on the horizon. I can't imagine what it's like to be growing up young and there's literally a war going on outside of your window. Not only a war going on outside of your window, but then also a war going on inside of your house like...
You get out of that war zone and now your home, like your safe place is now this place of conflict, you know? Right. Like we got out of war and now we're arguing in the house. Like, are we ever safe? Even as a young child, the permanent damages of these environments can be severe. So I read an article by Abby Hegleg, which she wrote in the Daily Beast. And she said that conflict zones create stressful environments and these stressful environments can have prolonged trauma on the child.
So now let's get to Senadu. Senadu Tedese was born in Ethiopia during the Derg dictatorship. During this regime, the rulers were living this lavish life, but there was a wide famine. Everybody was hungry. There were literally skeletons on the street. Do you remember in the 70s and 80s when it was like, eat your food because they're starving children in Africa? Yeah. Yeah.
They got that from because there was a famine in Ethiopia. Or they say, you're not starving. There's kids in Africa who would love this food. You know what I'm saying? Exactly. But even though there was a wide famine in the country, Sinadu's family lived a pretty decent life, despite the fact that her father ended up going away to prison for war crimes at the time.
When she was young, she tried to help her mother out as any way that she could. She was like, Mom, what do you need? I want to work. I want to help. But her mom was like, no, get your education. Focus on school because like we always know, education is your ticket out. When her father came home from war, he was different. You know, he had just been in prison for war crimes at a time where there was a lot of turmoil in a country. The family was very, very close, but they kind of have this like war mentality. Like you can't trust anyone.
Don't trust the person down the street. Don't trust anybody outside of this house. It's us and us alone. She was discouraged from playing with other kids. She basically was in her house studying and that was it. So that's what she did. Senadu studied very hard and she actually was one of the top two smartest kids in Ethiopia. She got a Fulbright scholarship to Harvard. Imagine being one of the top two smartest kids in your entire country. I can't.
I can't. Like, I'm just not that smart. I haven't been the top in anything academic. But she was known as a person that engulfed herself in her studies, right? She finally felt like, wow, this is such a great accomplishment. Like, I'm from Ethiopia. I've worked hard in my ticket to America and not just America. I'm going to freaking Harvard. So both Trang and Senadu were set to go to Harvard. And they're all bright-eyed and bushy-tailed.
The girls weren't roommates their first year, the freshman year, but they were both adjusting to this new world on Harvard. Brilliant ass kids. The rigor of Ivy League can kind of put a damper on. I can imagine. Do you remember those Ivy kids in high school? Like I took they were invisible. Well, not to me. And it was hard in regular college. Yeah. And in regular college, too. It's a lot. Your freshman year, the adjustment doing Ivy. I just couldn't imagine.
In your second language. There's just so much adjusting that they had to go through. Trang was thriving socially. She made friends with other students from Vietnam. She volunteered at homeless shelters. She even had a work study. Tendu also had a work study in a lab, but she was not doing great socially. She had a roommate, Anna, that she really enjoyed, but she didn't find a group of friends like a clique. She was having trouble adjusting to the social norms of Americans. And when invited out,
she just wasn't able to socialize that was yeah like small talk and being able to i feel you because small talk is not my shish i mean but like also when we're younger we're at least taught the practice or the act of small talk right yeah i'm trash at it her her way of like releasing you know like
I got you to talk to and I lay it all out to you or whatever but she didn't have that so she laid it all out in the journal you know she would take notes about how Americans talk to each other and how they interacted and she would be super aware of her actions it's like a lot of pressure as an adult or as a late teen trying to teach yourself social cues that you never understood and
In learning that social cue, you come across mad weird, right? Because you're expected to already know this. It's like you at your big age don't understand that you're standing too close to me. Like, girl, back the fuck up. You know what I mean? Yeah, but it's also one of those things that are taught because even as children with parents, when we're learning those cues, we were going outside. Yeah, going through her story, I can feel the pressure that she's putting on herself.
After freshman year, Anna decided, look, I don't want to be roommates anymore with Senadu. And this was pretty crushing for Senadu because it felt like rejection. Once again, those social cues, but also like, right. You know, I went to boarding school in eighth and ninth grade and then I did dorm life all through undergrad. So like,
that moment of I've been on the receiving and the giving in telling somebody that we can't be roommates anymore because of their actions and it does feel like rejection like I remember my first roommate in boarding school was like I don't like rooming with you and I felt like really shitty but
But when we stopped living together, we became best friends. You know? You can't live with everybody. No, you cannot. She was pretty upset that Anna didn't want to be her roommate. And she was writing in her journal, like, really mean things to Anna. Like, fuck her. I hate her. You stink. Dear Darla, I hate your stinking guts. Like, all of that stuff about Anna. Because, I mean, she felt, even though she wasn't social, she did feel rejection. She felt like Anna threw her to the wayside.
It's the summer between freshman and sophomore year, summer of 93. Senadu, she stays with some family that lives in the United States, and she got a job at a lab, and all that's, like, looking good for her, but she's still extremely quiet. She's still not really socializing. She's with her extended family, not her close family, so there's still, like, no closeness, no close bond that she has with anybody. She's still feeling very isolated. And, you know...
What is that song? Feeling lonely when I'm alone. You know, what's that song? Makes me think of the Tupac poem. Sometimes when I'm alone, I cry because I'm on my own. The tears I cry are bitter and warm. They flow with life, but take no form. If I had an ear to confine me, I would cry amongst my treasured friends. But who do you know that stops that long to help another carry on? It's so sad, but sometimes I cry and nobody cares to ask why. Damn.
Damn. That's what this episode is all about. Pot be knowing. But like, I don't know. There's some song and it talks about being around people but still feeling lonely. Like you ever been in a crowd of people and feel so fucking isolated? You can say, yeah, she's with family, but she still feels incredibly lonely.
incredibly anxious just sad as fuck she writes this long letter and she's crying out desperately for friendship or any type of companionship and she would like search random names and addresses in a phone book and she would send letters out we wrote a pretty long letter but we clipped out some interesting parts well why am i writing this letter because i am desperate
Most of my days are long and boring that I drag through them with sigh after sigh. Even the days that I call happy are randomly pierced with pain, realizing that I am laughing, standing on thin air. My problem is that I am not bonding with people. I do not make friends, not even with my relatives.
I live in my own shell, afraid to reveal my personality, to express my opinions, although it took me a long time to realize I am very shy. I blush at every little thing. I am like a person who can't swim, choking for life in a river. You are one of the very few people who see me struggle. All you have to do is give me a hand and put into words what you already know.
No expenses are involved and there are no risks. I am sure one of your concerns, if you have gotten this far in the letter, is, what if I am one of those criminals lurking around? But believe me, right now, I am not strong enough. Also, if I had no control over myself...
I would not have made it to Harvard all the way from Ethiopia. All it takes is a few hours from your week and some energy. Me, I have nothing to lose. I am so desperate. Please do not close the door on my face. Even if you are not interested, please give this letter to a friend or relative who might be.
Okay, so when you first started the letter, I was like, I would, I would respond to this letter. I would never meet you in person, but we can be pen pals. You know what I mean? But now you've mailed me this letter. So you have my address. And if you feel rejected, what's going to happen? No harm, no aggression. Second thing, it got a little scammish in the middle there.
all scammers say please no you must believe me this is not a scam right she's like no i don't want to hurt you i'm not some criminal like now you've you brought criminal into this situation you know so now you've got me on alert and then maybe she's a little too open for the first letter maybe she would have been like searching for pen pals somebody really oh that's cute and fun and then maybe dwelled in from there i think she just put a little too much but i'd respond
We might have to forward the address somewhere, but I'd respond. I would not respond. No? No. I love getting letters, though. I love mail. Yes. Like, I love seeing something in the mail and it's not a bill. I was about to say, that's all my mail is now. Somebody trying to give me a credit card or something. Like, I love letters. Allegedly, there's this woman that received this letter and was deeply concerned about the content. So she reached out to Harvard and was like, I think one of your students needs help. That's a good next action to do, too. Like...
very responsible very responsible the school took the letter and placed it in Senado's file but there was no follow-up with Senado um so here's my issue with this right we are at the Harvard University all this money all these donors big ass libraries big ass everything big ass everything and you cannot be bothered
with looking at this. This letter sounds desperate as fuck. And you know, you knew what students went to. You knew what student to address. So like, there's no counselor whose job it is to follow up with the students. Oh, it gets worse. But I also read, depending on what sources that you're reading, some people say that that woman
that sent the letter to be in her file, like, never exists. Some people say it does, some people say it doesn't. And I'm like, I need to know the truth. It's all a cover-up anyway, so we'll never really know. So I guess Harvard thought to themselves, like, you know what? These two young ladies, although from very different countries...
They got similar backgrounds, so put them as roommates. Thinking like Harvard assigning roommates, okay, these girls come from these type of countries. You know what I'm saying? They're both here, like you said, doing pre-med. There's distinctions on how they got here and how long that they can stay, but there's a lot of similarities in their background.
The school moved the girls into the Dunster House, which is this big historic dormitory on campus. Both girls were pretty eager to live together. They met in a class before, like a science class, but they didn't really know each other that well. So it's like, okay, I don't know her, but she seemed cool in class. Like, let's hang out. But this really excited Sinadu. She quickly grew really fond of Trang, and she wrote letters in her diary that Trang was someone that she would make the queen of her life, and that it was like a beautiful place
So she was very, very excited about her new roommate, which is also kind of like an unrealistic expectation. I did some deep dive research about growing up with a lot of toxicity, a lot of trauma. And I came across this article by Geneve Navillian, where it states that long-term effects of growing up in toxic environments like a war zone is that you create these unrealistic expectations for the people around you. And I think that's kind of what she was doing with Trang. Like,
I've definitely created some unrealistic expectations for people around me. Absolutely. Absolutely. Remember, Trang has a very thriving social life at this point. And she's a part of a lot of extracurriculars. And she also goes home every weekend to see her siblings and to teach her younger sibling English. Despite the fact that there's a little bit of argument at home, she still wants to be there. She loves her family.
Senadu, on the other hand, did not have family to go see. That extended family, she really wasn't connecting with them, so she never really hung out with them. It also was reported that she hardly ever called home. Probably very expensive, especially in 93.
Like, y'all remember, y'all remember the calls? And they'd be like, that 1-800-C-O-L-L-E-C-T and you can call collect. And they'd be trying to do it real fast on a pay phone. You don't remember that commercial? You didn't watch TV growing up. Okay. No, I did not. But I remember, like, having the calling cards. Because when I was in boarding school and didn't have a cell phone, you had to use the calling cards to call home. I remember, I remember being in the customer service section of Walmart and my mom was trying to return something. And me and my sisters, we would always play on the phone. We played.
We called 911, collect. And they answered. And we hung up. And then they called Walmart back. And they was like, did someone call 911? And my mom looks over at the payphone. She's like, yes. I'm like, I didn't know that worked like that. But yeah, call and collect. It's expensive. But to do, she started to latch herself onto Trang. She became very needy. And she wanted them to be best friends. But Trang was like, look, sis, I've already been here for a year. I've already got a best friend.
But we can still hang out. We're still cool. But they didn't live in two completely different worlds. You know what I'm saying? Sometimes they would go to the cafe together. They would eat. Sometimes they would run off campus to go out to eat. I'm sure they had to make Walmart runs together. So it wasn't like they were completely different.
not the roommate Walmart run right it was like okay who's got a car how are we getting there right at least there was some camaraderie between them but like sometimes Senadu would eat in the cafe by herself I don't know did you eat in the cafe in college very rarely you know I don't like to eat out like I rather eat in front of the TV so a lot of time I was taking my food home okay the cafe is where it's at so you didn't go to an HBC you had to go to the cafe if you've been at an HBC because that's where you see everybody
okay see that was our union our calf was in we had a union too and the union was where the party were at anyways you just have your people that you go to the calf with and if somebody did not go to the calf with you like if you if i was like hey taz are you ready to go to the calf and you was like oh i already went to the calf i would be furious like ultimate utmost betrayal
Seriously, especially, especially like, I don't know about, I went to two HBCUs and they were the same. They're like, do not go to the cap without me. If you know that we're supposed to go to the cap together, what the fuck am I going to sit? Anyways, not only was Senadu's social life going really down, but she also was not doing well with her grades. She was maintaining a B plus average, which is really great for Harvard, but it's not enough to get into Harvard med school, even though I'm sure a B plus average is
from Harvard can get you into plenty of other top med programs. But,
But this was very hard for her. Remember, she came from being the top in the country. And now she's got a B. What are Bs? We don't do Bs. Never even heard of a B. Senator was going more and more jealous of Trang's relationship. And I think she's really just like heartbroken. Like, I just really want to connect with you. And you're getting everything that I want from you somewhere else. And it's like, why not me? Why am I not good enough? You know what I'm saying? Definitely taking all that on herself. And then...
she's studying like crazy, like trying to maintain this B plus average. That's still not good enough for her. And then when she maybe finally has time, trains out with somebody else doing her own thing. And it's just like, it's feeling real. What about me? Right. But it's,
Going back, like it's those things, even my elementary students that I teach. Okay, Johnny doesn't want to play with you. He said, no, he does not want to play with you. What do you do? Are you mean to them? Or do you find somebody, one of the hundred other kids that want to play with you?
But also, you also find yourselves in these situations when you just have one person. Like, I think everybody's glorifying the whole, I keep my circle small, no new friends or whatever. But if you just, she just has this one friend. So when that one friend is unavailable, she has nobody. She's putting a lot on this one person.
And when she needs to reach out and have multiple friends, you know what I'm... And even when you have multiple friends, you ever had somebody, you know, with...
I'm not a real sociable person. I talk to my family and I talk to you. You know what I'm saying? So I know I make them five phone calls and nobody pick up the phone. It's like, great. So nobody loves me. Everybody's busy. You know what I'm saying? So with her putting all this on one person, it's hard. It's hard making friends. It really is. And especially as an adult. Can we normalize that? Making friends as an adult is extremely hard. All of my friends I either got from high school or college. Nigga, share your friends.
Everybody can be loved. All right. So, Senadu, she's, like, getting really desperate at this point. And, you know, she's sent letters out to strangers. She's, like, clinging on to Trang for dear life. And she's just like, nothing's working. I know something's wrong. I'm incredibly sad. What is life right now? So, she's like, let me go get some help. She goes to Harvard's Counseling and Mental Health Services.
And you think, great, this is a great step that she's taking. She's putting her mental health first. And they say the counseling service were understaffed or backed up or whatever the fuck. But whatever excuse they gave, she could only meet once a month. Which is not enough. Now, I know we're living in a different time. But, okay, I went to Southern my freshman year. Excellent. Excellent disability service. Excellent mental health services. Like, yeah.
From all the other schools I went to, nobody could match them, which was one of the reasons I chose to go there. You know what I'm saying? You could meet with a counselor once a week, twice a week if you wanted to. Yeah, but also that was in, when did we graduate high school? 2012 until whatever. That was not the same in 94 years.
And that's what I'm saying. I know we're living in a different time, but even still, Georgia Southern in this day of age, like this much money and Harvard, you know what I'm saying? You still had the fucking money. You always had the goddamn money. You know what I'm saying? And so for Georgia Southern to be this good, they're not a huge company.
you know big ass they're they're a big school but they're not this huge renowned school with all this money pouring into it so if they can't at that time in 2013 or whatever have this quality ass service harvard you could have did the fuck better especially since you have something on her file saying that she has been reaching out to help now she's coming to you in person saying i'm reaching out to help and you're doing a monthly check-in and here's the
Like, I feel like they should be doing something specifically for international students. Now you have to deal with racism in America on top of trying to figure out the language, on top of figuring out customs, on top of figuring out school at an Ivy League. It's just too much. And then for y'all not to put, y'all put nothing back into her because she's sitting here searching for help and everybody's just ignoring her like,
Girl, you'll be all right. That's life. College is an adjustment. But despite all of this, to Senadu's surprise, Trang was like, look, girl, we can room again in the fall. This was very surprising to Senadu, but she wasn't going to ask any questions because she was very excited. Trang didn't do this because, like, she necessarily really wanted to room with Senadu again. She was like, you know, we didn't have any beef. There was a little weirdness, but it's convenient. Like, I don't feel like moving my shit out. You don't feel like moving your shit out. We know where the bathroom is type of shit. Senadu was like, yes.
yes, this is the year we are going to be best friends forever. And Trang is like, girl, I still got Tao, who is my actual best friend. When Senadu realizes that nothing's really changing, she used to be like really neat, keep everything in the room very nice. She just became nasty. Like, that's a quick way to get somebody out your room is have a nasty roommate. I had a nasty roommate my freshman year. Oh,
I had a nasty roommate my freshman year too. Oh, it was though. I think we used to call each other and complain about how nasty our roommates. The microwave would stink all the time. Never cleaned it. There was like oodles of noodles just everywhere. And Senator was pretty much doing the same thing, leaving fruit out so that flies would come, just not picking up after herself.
just nasty what happens is triton ends up putting a sheet in the middle of their room this is your side of the room this is my side of the room don't bring your shit over here i won't bring my shit over here and it seemed like like you know possibly that could have been a good idea i don't really possibly not i think i tried to do that also in like boarding school when one of my roommates and i didn't get along it doesn't work because in their room the bathroom was on one person's side of the room and the door to get out of the room was on another side of
the room so you had to cross over no matter what so you're still going to be up in everybody's space at the end of fall of 94 train was like look i'm done with this don't know what the fuck is happening don't know what's going on so she puts in a request for a roommate change her request ended up being denied which it's very hard to get a roommate change because i always got my roommate changes approved but that's because i set up everyone's like here's all four of us she's gonna move here she's gonna move here we're gonna move here it's very hard to do a roommate change request especially in the middle of semester so they went ahead and denied
denied it. So it's spring 95 and Trang is doing everything in her power to not stay in the dorm. And so she's like, I'm going to stay at my parents' house. I'm going to stay at my friends'. Krista went through a situation like this one time, like her other sister. Oh yeah. My other sister. She was having, I don't know, some type of issues or whatever. And she was not, or no, maybe it was one of Krista's friends. It was Krista's friends and would stay with Krista all the time. And she was like, so her mama paying for an apartment that she not staying at?
She is basically just avoiding her place at all costs. And Senorita is becoming more and more upset and desperate. And she's confused like what's happening with this relationship with her so-called best friend. When Sisters Who Kill began, an online store was the furthest thing from our minds. I mean...
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writing Trang a letter begging for them to like really just be friends and stay roommates and Trang responds I respect you so you should respect my decision furthermore your actions about what happened really hurt me if I had neither care nor think of you as a friend it would have not hurt me and she ended it saying despite what happened I hope we can still be friends so still Trang is being very respectful to her you know seems like a real nice kid honestly she seemed really sweet from everything that I read about her
So finally, she has to sit Senator down. And she's like, listen, next semester, I've already asked one of my friends if they want to be my roommate. And they agreed. So this situation, it's over with, you know, no hard feelings. But this is the end of the road.
And Senadu is not having it. She starts yelling and screaming, crying and pleading with Trang. And Trang is like, it's pretty much official at this point. And I heard that Trang tried to leave the dorm while Senadu was upset, but Senadu just followed her, like begging and pleading for them to be roommates in the fall.
They're inching closer and closer towards the end of the year and Senadu is spiraling. In her mind, there's only one solution to her problem. And as always, she expressed them in her journal. She wrote in her diary, on the way to depression and battered with pessimistic thoughts, I'm unlovable and a cuckoo. Trang told me I am boring. I felt like I'm boring her. If I ever grow desperate enough to seek power...
and a fearful respect for killing, she would be the first one I would blow off. You know what annoys me the most? That situations would never reverse for me to be strong and her to be weak. She'll live on, tucked in the warmth and support of her family while I cry alone in the cold. The bad way out I see is suicide, and the good way out is killing, savoring their fear, and then suicide. But you know what annoys me the most? I do nothing.
I don't understand. If you already have plans of taking your own life, why do you have to take the others? I think it's because in her mind, like, they are meant to be together. I don't think it's even in a romantic way. I don't even think she's seeking romance from her. ♪
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It's May 23rd, 1995, and the editors at Harvard Crimson, the school newspaper, were sent an anonymous letter and a photograph. The photo was of Senadu, but it wasn't just any picture. It was all glammed up, a beauty shot almost, you know? So no one in the office knew who this person was, but the typewritten note came with a photo and it said, "'Keep this picture. There will soon be a very juicy story involving the person in this picture.'"
And the people in the office, they looked at the picture for a while, but nobody knew who she was. And days went by and it was like, ah, fuck it. And they threw it in the trash. And I was like, that's sad. Like no story came across our desk. I guess it's bullshit. Yeah. And they couldn't, she wasn't popular. They didn't know who her was.
So, May 28th, 1995. May has come, which means final season in college, of course. During finals week, Sina Du had already missed three of her final exams, which... Missing a final, do you know how hard those are to reschedule? You talk about giving your whole semester and then failing right at the very end for no reason. Well, exactly, but it's very concerning, especially for Sina Du. But no one was checking up on her because she had no friends. And...
none of her professors reported that she didn't show up for the exam. I guess maybe they didn't grade them yet and they were just like, here, here's your Scantron, big Harvard style, you know, they don't really know who's in the class and who's not in the class.
So Senadu is just laid up in her room, really not talking, staring at the ceiling, writing in her journal, doing plotting, whatever. And then so finally that night, Trang comes home with her best friend, you know, the actual BFF Tao. And they get in her, you know, their bed, you know, those twin XLs. And they're laying head to foot, very sleepover style. All right. So everyone's sleeping in a dark dormitory and suddenly an alarm goes off. The best friends wake up. But Trang said that it was Senadu's alarm and the girls go back to sleep.
Next thing you know, Trang's BFF tiles see Senadoo standing over them with a glazed look over her face. She has a wooden foldable knife in her hand and she is stabbing Trang in the face.
Freaking out, Tao puts her hands up and she tries to stop the blade from coming. She ends up grabbing the blade and when Senadu pulls it back out, her palms are sliced, leaking with blood. With gashed hands, Tao realizes she cannot stop Senadu on her own and she runs out the room down the hall screaming for help. The only thing is, she forgot. Dorm rooms lock automatically from the inside. Her friend was locked in the room with her attacker.
She's running through the dorms. No one's there. And she runs out to the courtyard and she finally gets a hold of someone and rushes to call campus police. When campus police arrives, they open the dorm room to a hurrah.
horrendous scene train was stabbed a total of 45 times in the face neck chest and legs by the way her body was laying you could tell that at some point she had tried to get up and walk towards the door but there was something missing there was no synod so police are looking around and they're like okay we only have one last place to check the shared bathroom police go to open up the bathroom but
The bathroom is barricaded in. So they're like, okay, she must be in here. Police get together. They work to open the door and that's where they find
find Senadu's body hanging from a homemade noose. After news of the story breaks out, the editors at the Harvard Crimson, they had to go through the trash to find the picture that they found to determine that the photo that they got was in fact Senadu. Both girls were taken and laid to rest by their family. After the crime scene was picked up, Senadu's journals were collected and you can see in those journals that she was going through it.
As this is all going, going like after the death, they're like trying to investigate it. But now Harvard can use all its money to shut everybody up and make everybody not talk. They're not just letting this go easy. They're like...
okay, you say this girl was sick and reaching out, but what did you, Harvard, do? And Harvard is like, listen, if she lived, y'all would not be fighting this hard for her. And so college is very much you're learning to be an adult, but college is also very much there's somebody here to help you along the way. Right. This was a bad year for Harvard.
I saw that same year they got in trouble because somebody was stealing money from one of the organizations like $105,000. So like they were just blocking staff from talking to newspapers. And, you know, I think to the point of if she was alive, would they would they put it all on Harvard or would they put it all on her? I think that's a very good question. You know what I'm saying?
because I do think had she made it out alive she would have been vilified she definitely would have there needs to be a way for international students to ensure that they are equipped to come to America not just academically because literally they have that but like socially okay in college I had to take international business right and a lot of what they teach you is when you go to another country you have to learn their customs like what I say about like
personal space or whatever that's different in every country some people it's rude for you to stand back and some people it's rude for you to stand close some people it's rude for you to wave some people it's rude for you to burp and some people that's a compliment you know what I'm saying there's so many distinct cultural differences that you have to put into effect and nobody is
making sure that they're okay and adjusting well especially those who have come into the country later in life you know what i'm saying it's one thing if you come young you grew up with these customs but even in high school you you kind of are who you are at that point if you're in america you're adjusting moving from the south to the north so think about in the same general could you imagine you moving to utah right now
No. It's so different. And it's still here in the country. So moving into a totally different country with totally different customs, all of that, it's just, it's a lot to put on a person, a young student, and she's crying out for help. And everybody was like, oh, she's quiet. And you just wonder if this was a little white girl crying out for help, would it be dismissed? It's like black women have to take on more pain. Like, you know, it's...
They don't hear black women when they're in pain. We're supposed to take it. I don't went to the doctor and they told me I had an unrealistic expectation of comfort. What the fuck is that? All right, y'all. I guess it's time for... Well, I'm not black. I'm okay. I didn't do it. But if I did, this is how I would have done it. I really like what you said about the letter. The initial letter to the strangers and just not being as detailed. I really... I'm trying to pinpoint, but when you... At what point could she have been saved? And at what point could we have turned it around? Right. Like, I'm...
I think maybe if she would have made it wait until you've built a relationship, maybe the fourth letter be like, you know what? It's been great getting to know you because I have been
going through so much and it's just not you know at that point it's like oh this girl really needed a friend come in light and then bring the heavy just you can't just come heavy because it just feels like a lot and also y'all don't ever know what somebody is going through like whether they're just quiet and shy or happy-go-lucky like you never know what turmoil that person is dealing with on the inside like I appreciate that train you know
treated her nice and kind or whatever but the people who were supposed to do their jobs didn't so i think that instead of going after change she should have went after the people who are actually set to be in charge of her mental health you know what i'm saying by the time that she reached out for help she was already in the depths you know i definitely think that there should have been some more accountability for all the adults there i just wish something would have happened before it
Nobody should have had to die. Not in this story. Like, I mean, not in a lot of stories, but like, especially this one. Like, I don't think we've had a case so far where it's,
so much cry for help like literally help me help me help me help me she reached out to her roommate to her counseling service to strangers to anybody and everybody just decided it wasn't important enough or wasn't their problem to deal with and so that just reinforced her anxiety of saying that i'm nobody i'm cuckoo i'm i'm a freak like all of those things it just reinforced that for
her really somebody should have been like no you're perfect like let's let's have a conversation let's and I feel like train tried to be that and because it's like when you have daddy issues you're like oh this man is treating me like shit like I'm I'm horrible so the first
the first nigga that treats you nice, you're like, you're it. Don't let this not-so-great example define your value and what you can get. You can get the very best. You deserve the very best. But I think that's also what I like about this generation. Like, yes, it's a lot of social media and stuff, but it's also a lot of people on there saying, bitch, you're beautiful. This fat girl is beautiful. This dark-skinned girl is beautiful. This, uh...
A vitiligo girl is beautiful. Everything that we were taught that was ugly, social media is sitting here bigging it up like, you can't tell her she's not fine. You know what I'm saying? There was this guy that bought his mom a really old car on Twitter. I mean, it was like, it wasn't a hoopty, but you know, an older Honda. But first of all, Honda's a great car. And he was like, it's not a Bentley or anything like that, but I finally bought my mom a car.
no nigga you bought your mama a car and that's an accomplishment when social media was first starting it was oh yeah it was nasty it was a lot of bullying you didn't see this type of upliftment and i think with this generation they're like girl be normal even even our discussion group they was like listen i like your rent you know we've all been there and it's just like you don't have to feel so alone and i wonder if she had today's social media in that time
She could have like went on Twitter and been like, I'm dying here. And somebody, you know what I'm saying? If you got the right algorithms on your Twitter or whatever, somebody will reach out and be like, girl, you're okay. She just needed the Tumblr. And would have been a Tumblr thread. And it's like, I'm not so alone. Exactly. Exactly. It's just very unfortunate. I wish somebody was there to look out for her. I wish people were there to look out for her. I don't even want to say somebody. Because I feel like Trayne did the best she could. But to be solely responsible for somebody's feelings a bit.
especially at that young age let's move into the next segment let's say this is how the story ended we're gonna put an alternate ending in here okay okay clue so what happened was when the cops got there she had tried to hang herself but they got there in time and they were able to bring her back to life so she survives right they were able to give her cpr she survives how do you think this goes
I think she would have still been in life. You think she would have got life? Oh, for sure. Because the conversations around mental health in 1995 are not... Even though it was... But insanity plea was still a thing. I feel like any lawyer can argue that insanity plea. You can... She'll be able to argue insanity, but...
I don't think that she would have gotten fired just because of the magnitude of this crime. So I don't think she would have got life. I think she probably would have been put into maybe a few years in an institute, like start off in an institution, finish off in jail, maybe 10 years. You know what I'm saying? If we're being harsh. But I just feel like it's too much evidence there showing that they're lacking. You know what I'm saying? I don't know. I think she would have been made a martyr for mental health, honestly.
Somebody would have used that case as an opportunity to shed life on mental health and she would have been a spokesperson. I think I think that she could have on the right circumstances. She can really she could get a better deal out of that. She can maybe even see no time. So this one is titled Given What Needed to Be Gave. You guys are awesome. My new favorite podcast. I've heard of other true crime shows, but this one is strictly black women. And that's what stands out the most to me.
I'm at the point where I'm replaying old episodes lol I know you guys get busy but the girls need more take your time though it's always worth the weekly weight thank you thank you telling y'all we are brainstorming how to give y'all more and it will come in time just hang in there I promise it will all right so this one is from we're not dating he's just my date and we're not dating he's just my date said
When I tell y'all this is the best podcast out here, I am so serious. Each episode gets better and better. The stories they cover are unique. They're blackity black black. Yes. They're hilarious. I can't wait till they start a Patreon so I can give them all my coins. Yes. Listen, we are... I told Taz, I was like, look, there's got to be something on the Patreon, but you might have to start showing your face more. You know, we might have to start giving the girls what they want. So...
And if y'all want a Patreon, DM us. Tell us what you want. Okay, so we have some ideas. Right. Like we said before, we are very new to this thing, but we are trying to give you the things that you want. So give us some ideas. Talk to us on all of the things. Mariah, let's go. I...
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girl we talk back i promise one of us will email you back you can email us at sisters who kill podcast at gmail.com um drink your water put on some deodorant it's hot out here all right bye friends