People running for exercise are murdered for a variety of reasons across the globe. Given that the majority of victims of such attacks are women, such attacks influence women's decisions to engage in physical activity. A 2023 study commissioned by Asics found environmental barriers such as the lack of safe spaces and a fear of harassment were preventing women from engaging in exercise.
People, primarily female, often report being harassed while running for exercise primarily by men. In a 2023 study commissioned by Adidas, 92% of women in nine countries reported being concerned for their safety while running. Likewise, a 2024 study from the University of Manchester found two-thirds of women in the UK experienced some form of abuse while running.
Many of the harassment incidents and physical attacks happen during daylight hours. In one nine-day period in 2016, three women were murdered while they were running, drawing wider attention to this phenomenon.
While the list below focuses on people murdered while running for exercise, there are a greater number of attacks against runners that did not result in murder. For example, from December 1977 to February 1980, San Francisco Police Department statistics indicate 15 rapes and attempted rapes against joggers occurred in Golden Gate Park alone.
This list contains people who were murdered while running for exercise.
+NameDateLocationDetails Suzanne Oakley August 1975 Tulsa, Oklahoma Multiple victims August 1977 Hackettstown, New Jersey Armida WiltseyNovember 1978Lafayette, California Kaye Turner December 1978 Camp Sherman, Oregon Peyton Moore January 1979 Ormond Beach, Florida Laura Mae McVeighApril 1979Ionia County, Michigan Kathleen Wels July 1979 Whitby, Ontario Tammy Sue Aldridge Alamance County, North Carolina Mary Bennett October 1979 San Francisco, California Robert Wilshire March 1980 Boston, Massachusetts Joyce McClain August 1980 East Millinocket, Maine David Martin & Ted FieldsSalt Lake City, Utah Tom Hnat November 1980 Stuyvesant Town, New York Vicki Riffle Dylewski April 1981 Jefferson County, Ohio Joy McKenzieJuly 1981Wearside, United Kingdom Steven Douglas Hearn October 1981 Detroit, Michigan John Hess May 1982 Acton, Massachusetts Mary Ann Thomas July 1982 Bend, Oregon Ricky StetsonAugust 1982Portland, Maine Nancy Elizabeth FinchMontgomery County, Maryland Gail OrnsteinSeptember 1982Washington, D.C. Jacinto RamosMay 1983Newark, New Jersey Sandra Nestle June 1983 Jasper Township, Michigan Robert Soto August 1983 Brooklyn, New York Diana Rae Hanson December 1983 Clark County, Nevada Jerry Posner February 1984 New Orleans, Louisiana Pamela Ellen PageApril 1984Springville, Utah Judy Weichert July 1984 Oklahoma City, Oklahoma Ronald Kaplan Miami, Florida Kathleen Lombardo August 1984 Oak Park, Illinois Heidi BergMerrifield, Virginia Roberta "Bibi" Lee November 1984 Oakland, California Winnifred Teo Suan Lie May 1985 Singapore Lisa Berry July 1985 Middletown, Connecticut Suzanne Marie CollinsMillington, Tennessee Judith DeMaria August 1985 Sterling, Virginia Melissa Montz October 1985 Baton Rouge, Louisiana Jeanette Kirby June 1986 Holt, Michigan Amy Clayton July 1986 Tupelo, Mississippi Julie Guida Manchester, Tennessee Wendy Snowdon November 1986 New Plymouth, New Zealand Marguerite TelesfordJanuary 1987Victoria, British Columbia Margaret Coon February 1987 Mandeville, Louisiana Janice Christensen August 1987 Hudson, Ohio Margaret Louise McWilliam Toronto, Canada Julie Kaye Cunningham November 1987 Kalamazoo, Michigan two victims - names not releasedDecember 1987Patiala, Punjab, Pakistan Mary Elaine Shereika May 1988 Gambrills, Maryland Brenda Gail Mills August 1988 Tucson, Arizona Donald WellingApril 1989Tuscarawas County, Ohio Mandy Stavik November 1989 Acme, Washington Jennifer Bailey August 1990 Pineville, Kentucky Linda Yalem September 1990 Amherst, New York Maria Jane Weidhofer November 1990 Berkeley, California Patsy Taylor July 1991 Farmington, New Mexico Valerie McPherson August 1991 San Antonio, Texas Jodi Watts January 1992 Houghton, Michigan Kristen Ann Lodge-MillerJuly 1993Chapel Hill, North Carolina Vanessa ChappellFebruary 1994Germanyname not providedFebruary 1994Baton Rouge, Louisiana Karen Styles October 1994 Pisgah National Forest, North Carolina Christine Munro June 1995 Redding, California Jane Carver Fountain Valley, California Catherine Casler August 1995 Coppell, Texas Maria Isabel Pinto Monteiro Alves September 1995 New York City, New York Kimberly Ernest November 1995 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania James HalversonJanuary 1997Centereach, New York Laura SmitherApril 1997Friendswood, Texas Cynthia Quinn May 1997 Yaphank, New York Nancy AdlemanJuly 1997Houston, Texas Alice Underdahl September 1997 Renton, Washington James WalkerNovember 1997Hannibal, Missouri Penny BrownMay 1999Salamanca, New York Matthew Herman New York City, New York Hardee SchmidtBaton Rouge, LouisianaDonna ZinettiOctober 1999Laurel, Maryland Shanna Marie Van Dyn HovenJune 2000Kaukauna, Wisconsin Sue Wen Stottmeister January 2001 Rockville, Maryland Margaret Lynne Baxter Hastings, New Zealand Treavor Jones August 2001 Tuscaloosa, Alabama Chandra LevyMay 2002Washington, D.C. Jack Wyatt June 2002 Honolulu, Hawaii Margaret Muller February 2003 London, United Kingdom Kathleen Aiello-Loreck May 2003 Concord, California Rebecca Park July 2003 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Sarah Fox May 2004 New York City, New York Judith Nilan December 2005 Woodstock, Connecticut Chee Gaik Yap January 2006 Sungai Petani, Malaysia Egeli Rasta July 2006 London, England Joan Diver September 2006 Clarence, New York Jose MarcheseMay 2007Coral Gables, Florida Egeli Rasta London, United Kingdom Cuc Thu Tran September 2007 Seffner, Florida Alma Mendez October 2007 Chicago Heights, Illinois Nicole Ganguzza June 2008 Orlando, Florida Wendy Ladner-Beaudry April 2009 Vancouver, Canada Sara Kuszak July 2009 Fajardo, Puerto Rico Tyler Jefferson November 2009 Pensacola, Florida Cynthia Ann Langrall December 2009 Glendale, Arizona Chelsea King February 2010 Escondido, California Jonathan Garcia-Valladares November 2010 Phoenix, Arizona Sherry Arnold January 2012 Sidney, Montana Harry Stone May 2012 Raytown, Missouri Brenna Morgart Topeka, Kansas Sarah Hart June 2012 Russell County, Kentucky Colombe Smithdeal December 2012 Avondale, Arizona Chris Lane 2013 Duncan, Oklahoma Lauren BumpJanuary 2013San Antonio, Texas John "Jack" Fay May 2013 Warwick, Rhode Island Jane E. Juergens October 2013 Westerville, Ohio Rebekah Bletsch June 2014 Dalton Township, Michigan Constance McClain-Murray August 2014 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Melissa Millan November 2014 Simsbury, Connecticut Ida Johansson August 2015 Upplands Väsby, Sweden Dave StevensOctober 2015Dallas, Texas Jo PertJanuary 2016Remuera, New Zealand Yangjie LiMay 2016Dessau, GermanyAdam GutierrezFederal Way, Washington Ally BruegerJuly 2016Rose Township, Michigan Karina VetranoAugust 2016New York City, New YorkVanessa MarcottePrinceton, MassachusettsVicente Bermúdez ZacaríasOctober 2016Metepec, Mexico Carolin Gruber November 2016 Freiburg im Breisgau, Germany Rachael Madison November 2026 Ormond Beach, Florida Mollie TibbettsJuly 2018Brooklyn, Iowa Wendy Karina Martinez September 2018Washington, D.C. Gary Dean Barnsley, England Mia Lutzenberger October 2018 San Antonio, Texas Victoria MarinovaRuse, Bulgaria Laura Luelmo December 2018 El Campillo, Huelva, Spain Carolina Cano March 2019 Jersey City, New Jersey Hidde Bergman May 2019 Groningen, Netherlands Miguel Angel Valdez-Hernandez June 2019 Brownsville, Texas Suzanne Eaton July 2019 Crete, Greece Tessa Majors December 2019 New York City, New York Nicholas DayJanuary 2020Blue Mounds, Wisconsin Ahmaud Arbery February 2020 Satilla Shores, Georgia Tay Rui Hao May 2020 Singapore Sarmistha Sen August 2020 Plano, Texas Sydney Sutherland Newport, Arkansas Victor Sidambe Johannesburg, South Africa Janell Mora September 2020 Mesa, Arizona Micala Siler Kyiv, Ukraine Warren van der Vyver December 2020 Kenton-on-Sea, South Africa Esther Horgan West Bank Greg Moore July 2021 Maple Valley, Washington Melody Rohrer September 2021 Decatur, Michigan Ashling Murphy January 2022 County Offaly, Ireland Eliza Fletcher October 2022 Memphis, Tennessee Susan Karnatz September 2022 Raleigh, North Carolina Lauren Heike April 2023 Phoenix, Arizona Stanislav Rzhitsky July 2023 Krasnodar, Russia Rachel Morin August 2023 Bel Air, Maryland Kirsten KluytsNovember 2023Sandton, South Africa Samantha Murphy February 2024 Ballarat, Australia Laken RileyAthens, Georgia Anna W. (full name not released) May 2024 Zurich, Switzerland Alyssa Lokits October 2024 Nashville, Tennessee
See also List of marathon fatalities
References
External links ABC7NEWS: A look back at women murdered while jogging