ABSTRACT
Robert Chambers, nineteen, strangled Jennifer Levin, eighteen, in Central Park on August 26, 1986, an incident that was soon to be popularly known as the preppy murder. Levin and Chambers had dated a few times that summer, and on that evening they had met at Dorrian's Red Hand Restaurant. Sensational crimes are distinguished by the way in which they rework the presumed "informational" function of the news. Gang-related violence predominantly involves blacks victimizing blacks. When this violence becomes volatile black-on-white violence, there is significant news and media attention. Photographs attest to the existence of key elements in the story. Their status involves a process of marking and demonstrating claims, organizing what comes to be the narrative. The videotape of the Rodney King beating operated in a similar manner; it captured a cruel encounter between police officers and a civilian, one that is not supposed to occur and certainly is not supposed to be seen.
