Megan Nicole Kanka (December 7, 1986 - July 29th 1994) was a young girl who was raped and murdered by her neighbor Jesse Timmendequas in Hamilton Township, Mercer County, New Jersey. Timmendequas was already a convicted sex offender.

Megan's death resulted in the New Jersey Legislature passing Megan's Law, which requires notification when a convicted sex offender moves into a neighborhood. The law is now Federal.

She was kidnapped on July 29, 1994. Kanka had approached Timmendequas' house and he told her that he had a puppy, but it was too young to come outside, so she had to go inside the house. She agreed, but found there was no puppy.

After raping her, Timmendequas murdered her by slamming her head onto a dresser and putting a plastic bag on her head. He then strangled her with a belt. He later raped her post-mortem in his car. He discarded the body in a toybox and dumped it into a park.

The Megan Nicole Kanka Foundation was founded in her memory.

External links

• Crime Library Article on Megan Kanka