Current Release: April 28th, 2009 | Vol. XXX Iss. 10

Photo courtesy elaine aird

Two years later and still no answers

By Ben Giles

brgiles1@vwc.edu

Fall Break once again served as a bleak reminder of the only murder ever to occur on campus.

On the evening of Oct. 11, 2006, Officer Walter  Wally Zakrzewski was killed while patrolling campus grounds. Two years later, his case remains unsolved. The Virginia Beach Police Department continues to handle the investigation as a homicide, so little information has been revealed to the public.

 I ve accepted the fact that Wally s not coming back, said Mary Ann Zakrzewski, Wally s wife.  It gets a little better everyday.

The murder left a community stunned and Mary Ann a widow. Wally had only begun his job as a security guard for the school, and in the months to come Mary Ann would struggle to obtain insurance through the school s policy.

As a campus, initiatives were immediately taken to make campus security safer. Donations were taken to help Mary Ann, and to help the investigation, the school maintains a $25,000 reward for information leading to the apprehension of the culprit.

 Our hearts remain heavy about this great sadness to his family and to our campus, said President William T. Greer Jr. in an e-mail to the campus.  May we all keep Officer Zakrzewski and his family in our prayers.

To honor Wally, the school presented a plaque to Mary Ann in his honor at a ceremony on the one-year anniversary of his death. An e-mail from Mary Ann to the Wesleyan community revealed that the plaque has yet to be installed at its intended location, the Peace Garden outside Clarke Hall; Mary Ann and her daughter had come to place flowers on the plaque. According to Dean of Students David Buckingham, the plaque should be in place as early as Monday.

The VBPD are still asking for tips on the case. Anyone with information should call Virginia Beach Crime Solvers at 1-888-LOCK-U-UP.