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anyone remember the anita cunningham murder in rosehill?
Posted by: anyone remember ()
Date: February 08, 2013 08:36AM

Anita Cunningham was murdered back in 1974 or 1975 behind the rosehill apartments. They caught the guy and sent him to prison I remember. Wondering if the guy ever got out, which I hope he didn't..

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Re: anyone remember the anita cunningham murder in rosehill?
Posted by: dieing breed ()
Date: February 08, 2013 09:00AM

It would help if you also refreshed our memories as to the name of the murderer.

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Re: anyone remember the anita cunningham murder in rosehill?
Posted by: Lola ()
Date: February 08, 2013 09:10AM

anyone remember Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Anita Cunningham was murdered back in 1974 or 1975
> behind the rosehill apartments. They caught the
> guy and sent him to prison I remember. Wondering
> if the guy ever got out, which I hope he didn't..
I am not as old as you, wasn't born yet.

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Re: anyone remember the anita cunningham murder in rosehill?
Posted by: fff ()
Date: February 08, 2013 09:15AM

dieing breed Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> It would help if you also refreshed our memories
> as to the name of the murderer.


Was it Steven Smith?

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­
Posted by: chuckhoffmann ()
Date: February 08, 2013 09:52AM

­



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 04/17/2013 12:44AM by chuckhoffmann.

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Re: anyone remember the anita cunningham murder in rosehill?
Posted by: Susan Rowley ()
Date: March 20, 2013 12:29PM

I remember that murder well. I was at rosehill elementary school when they found the body. The creep had defiled the body and their were bruises all over her. I tried looking up Michael McGinty on the prison system in the web and there is no record of him still being incarcenated. It seems clear that the creep has been out of prison for some time. I would like to know how much time this monster actually served.

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Re: anyone remember the anita cunningham murder in rosehill?
Posted by: Blowtorch999 ()
Date: March 20, 2013 12:52PM

Why only 20 years? Was he a mental case or something to get a reduced sentence. That sounded like a death penalty case to me.

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Re: anyone remember the anita cunningham murder in rosehill?
Posted by: Susan Rowley ()
Date: March 20, 2013 04:28PM

They tried to get him for first degree murder and the jury was deadlocked. So, they retried him for second degree murder. He tortured her and put ciggaretes out on her body. If that isn't deserving of at least life in prison - I dont know what is.

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Re: anyone remember the anita cunningham murder in rosehill?
Posted by: Facebook Thief ()
Date: March 20, 2013 05:05PM

Rose Hill was notorious for trouble.
Attachments:
Rose Hill.jpg

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Re: anyone remember the anita cunningham murder in rosehill?
Posted by: Tough One ()
Date: March 20, 2013 05:29PM

Rose Hill, I'm sure it was just a misunderstanding.

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Re: anyone remember the anita cunningham murder in rosehill?
Posted by: pizza pizza ()
Date: March 20, 2013 09:10PM

Facebook Thief Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Rose Hill was notorious for trouble.

Really? Got any stories to share about the bad old days? Not that it's a particularly great area today.

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Re: anyone remember the anita cunningham murder in rosehill?
Posted by: Killer Willie ()
Date: March 21, 2013 08:07AM

anyone remember Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Anita Cunningham was murdered back in 1974 or 1975
> behind the rosehill apartments. They caught the
> guy and sent him to prison I remember. Wondering
> if the guy ever got out, which I hope he didn't..


Looks like he's out & living in Norfolk, VA - At least the name and age are exact matches...

http://www.whitepages.com/name/William-M-McGinty/Norfolk-VA/5fsvak4

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Re: anyone remember the anita cunningham murder in rosehill?
Posted by: Pubes ()
Date: March 21, 2013 08:12AM

http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=V-FNAAAAIBAJ&sjid=MosDAAAAIBAJ&pg=3035%2C3067612

His pubes were found mixed in with hers. Not the brightest boy.

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Re: anyone remember the anita cunningham murder in rosehill?
Posted by: Billy bob ()
Date: March 21, 2013 11:50AM

He could of dragged her out into the street and run her over, then he could of claimed he was drunk driving. That seems to be OK in Virginia. Richmond feels No one needs to know if your neigbor likes to murder people.

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Re: anyone remember the anita cunningham murder in rosehill?
Posted by: 6X ()
Date: March 21, 2013 12:28PM

I check on the sex offeneders web site and he is not listed in Va. It seems it was also sex crime but he was only charged with murder.

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Re: anyone remember the anita cunningham murder in rosehill?
Posted by: susan rowley ()
Date: July 09, 2013 09:11AM

Thank you for the information. That is the correct Michael McGinty.

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Re: anyone remember the anita cunningham murder in rosehill?
Posted by: anyone remember 2 ()
Date: July 09, 2013 02:59PM

Thanks Susan.

I was a little kid in the neighborhood at the time and I remember her being a few years older but was always nice to all of us younger kids..

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Re: anyone remember the anita cunningham murder in rosehill?
Posted by: aaaaaaaaa ()
Date: July 09, 2013 04:56PM


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Re: anyone remember the anita cunningham murder in rosehill?
Posted by: asdfsdfsdfsd ()
Date: July 10, 2013 07:09AM

aaaaaaaaa Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> He got 20 years
> http://newspaperarchive.com/danville-register/1976
> -07-29/page-19

Only 20 years? What a sad miscarriage of justice.

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Re: anyone remember the anita cunningham murder in rosehill?
Posted by: Lisa K ()
Date: September 26, 2013 10:42AM

I'm now 52 and it still haunts me. I've shared this story with my own daughter now and several of her friends as a cautionary tale. I was friends with Anita. It was at our High School freshman orientation when her mom came up to a group of us frantically asking if anyone had seen her. We had been at an end of the summer party that she never made it home from. There was this huge search party and I'll never, ever get the memory of that day out of my head and what he did to her. I didn't personally see when they found her, but if you lived in that community, there wasn't a lot left to your imagination as word spread quickly of the condition of her body when she was found in the woods. The McGinty boy, if I recall correctly, had triplet sisters maybe slightly older than our age at the time. If my memory serves me right again, wasn't he acting strangley, walking along the road at 2am when he was picked up by police and that's how they solved the case? I had heard he was sent to a facility for mentally ill, violent criminals and not the regular prison.

I'm not an expert in criminology, but it would seem to me that a person that did the kind of things that he did to Anita, would be very unlikely "cured". Scary to think he could be somebody's neighbor now!

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Re: anyone remember the anita cunningham murder in rosehill?
Posted by: Miscarriage of Justice? ()
Date: September 26, 2013 11:32AM

aaaaaaaaa Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> He got 20 years
> http://newspaperarchive.com/danville-register/1976
> -07-29/page-19

How does he only get 20 years?

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Re: anyone remember the anita cunningham murder in rosehill?
Posted by: william michaud ()
Date: December 19, 2013 09:02PM

I don't know what made me think of Anita today but I did. Mike Mcginty had sisters named Sharon and Karen. I knew them well as we were in the same high
school class together. Mike was at my house 2 days before he murdered Anita. I was sent to military school in my junior year and had a small gathering of friends over the day before I left. Mike was one of the people there. Anita and I grew up together in the apartments. She was a close friend and her death was very devastating to me. I was only at the military school one day and my mom called me to break the news. there was always some doubt that mike was acted alone as he wasn't a big strong guy. Anita was tough and strong and I don't believe he could have taken her down. Apparently he received phone calls
telling him to turn himself in and confess. I always felt he didn't act alone but took the fall alone to protect his family. Rose hill did have some problems
as do all towns but I had a good upbringing and good friends that I still talk with. Mike was a little odd but I never would have expected that. I graduated from Edison High in 1977. I spent my whole childhood there without incident.
My name used to be William Bader but I took my stepfathers name Michaud later on.
If you read this Lisa K I know your pain. I stood at the sight of the murder and tried to make some sense of it but couldn't.

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­
Posted by: chuckhoffmann ()
Date: December 20, 2013 12:54AM

­



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/14/2014 04:51PM by chuckhoffmann.

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Re: anyone remember the anita cunningham murder in rosehill?
Posted by: pC9e4 ()
Date: December 20, 2013 01:48PM

So, a murderer is free?

Great!

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Re: anyone remember the anita cunningham murder in rosehill?
Posted by: Jeannine ()
Date: April 28, 2014 05:00PM

I went to middle school with the McGinty twin girls. They were very nice girls, quiet and soft spoken and I think decent students. I never knew Michael. I obviously remember the incident but was attending a private high school at that time. I am now a lawyer and don't live in the area any more. Michael was only 17 when it happened and probably a first offender. That is why he would be given a lighter sentence. However, I remember hearing that two people were involved as well in this murder. I am not sure what other evidence was uncovered in this area. I am not so interested as to go and read the trial record. I am sorry for all the families involved. It seems that Michael had mental health issues and I hope he has them addressed now.

Bottom line is that a 13 year old girl should not be "partying" and then leave into a wooded area alone with 2 boys. Where were the parents and why did all involved have bad judgment? It is important to know where your children are. There were many dangerous places around that area where one could easily be assaulted. I remember as a teen I explored the gravel pits alone one Sunday and came upon a group of men late teens/early 20s on dirt bikes. Fortunately they did not see me and I slipped away unnoticed -- no one would have ever heard any thing and a group of guys with a young girl in a remote place is a recipe for trouble. I had the good sense to get out of there. Again, I am sorry for all the families involved and think it could have been avoided through vigilant parenting.

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Re: anyone remember the anita cunningham murder in rosehill?
Posted by: mLDjJ ()
Date: April 29, 2014 07:43AM

Jeannine Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I went to middle school with the McGinty twin
> girls. They were very nice girls, quiet and soft
> spoken and I think decent students. I never knew
> Michael. I obviously remember the incident but
> was attending a private high school at that time.
> I am now a lawyer and don't live in the area any
> more. Michael was only 17 when it happened and
> probably a first offender. That is why he would
> be given a lighter sentence. However, I remember
> hearing that two people were involved as well in
> this murder. I am not sure what other evidence
> was uncovered in this area. I am not so
> interested as to go and read the trial record. I
> am sorry for all the families involved. It seems
> that Michael had mental health issues and I hope
> he has them addressed now.
>
> Bottom line is that a 13 year old girl should not
> be "partying" and then leave into a wooded area
> alone with 2 boys. Where were the parents and why
> did all involved have bad judgment? It is
> important to know where your children are. There
> were many dangerous places around that area where
> one could easily be assaulted. I remember as a
> teen I explored the gravel pits alone one Sunday
> and came upon a group of men late teens/early 20s
> on dirt bikes. Fortunately they did not see me
> and I slipped away unnoticed -- no one would have
> ever heard any thing and a group of guys with a
> young girl in a remote place is a recipe for
> trouble. I had the good sense to get out of
> there. Again, I am sorry for all the families
> involved and think it could have been avoided
> through vigilant parenting.

But only 20 years? Jeez, you get more time for killing an endangered animal.

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Re: anyone remember the anita cunningham murder in rosehill?
Posted by: Stephen ()
Date: April 29, 2014 09:26AM

This person could be your kids baby sitter and you'll never know of his past till he murders your kid. Richmond sure knows how to protect kids.

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Re: anyone remember the anita cunningham murder in rosehill?
Posted by: Wtf???? ()
Date: April 29, 2014 05:47PM

Jeannine..... This is a posting about a murder where a young girl is killed and your take away from the whole thing is that... The bottom line is that a 13 year old girl should not be partying and go into the woods with two boys. This could have been prevented by vigilant parenting?

Evil exists and preys upon us. If not that victim it would have been someone else. No amount of parenting or vigilance can keep everyone safe all the time. People like you blame the victim in order to fool yourself into feeling safe. Or you are a defense attorney.

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Re: anyone remember the anita cunningham murder in rosehill?
Posted by: Lisa A ()
Date: May 21, 2014 11:58PM

Yes I lived Alexandria Virginia fair fax co I knew Anita Cunningham she played soft ball with my best friend she like my brother David yes she was a very outgoing no one should get their life taking she had lots of plans she wanted to be a marine biologist Anitas best friend died two years after that in Dayton beach Florida they're buried next to each other I think of her often more so in the summer she died August 1975.

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Re: anyone remember the anita cunningham murder in rosehill?
Posted by: NancyD ()
Date: June 16, 2014 10:02AM

I went to school with Anita and we were good friends. We sat all together at lunch.
I spoke with detectives. I was not allowed to go to her funeral because my parents thought I would be more upset. I had nightmares and could not sleep. I was sick about what was done to her. I was afraid to go outside. She was buried with a ring I had given her. I missed her at Edison High School. She should have been with us. I went to her grave once. My family moved away before I graduated from HS but I never forgot Anita after all these years. I thought of her after having my first daughter, and many other times over the years. At that time, Rose Hill was a fun safe place to run around as a teen. We road motorcycles in the pits, went to the pool through the woods, all summer, and sang Christmas carols in the winter from house to house without supervision. We had a great time. Her murder was a shock. Everything changed.

I know others, at the time, were being accused.I was looking for news clippings. Does anyone have links to initial news reports concerning the murder and arrest of Mike?

I cant remember the name of her best friend.
I don't remember her having a specific best friend; at school anyway.
What was her best friends name and how did she die in Dayton (or is it Daytona) Beach Florida?

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Re: anyone remember the anita cunningham murder in rosehill?
Posted by: Lisa a ()
Date: June 17, 2014 01:10AM

Her name is Terry Snyder she has a brother name Darrell she died in a traitor fire

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Re: anyone remember the anita cunningham murder in rosehill?
Posted by: David Walker ()
Date: November 17, 2014 04:47AM

I graduated from Edison in 1973, and was 19 at the time of the murder. I had met Michael a few times, as he was a friend of my brother (Mike Walker). My initial reaction was shock that such a twerpy little guy could have become such a monster. I agree with William Bader, he was small and did not seem aggressive in any way. In one act, alone or not, there went the perceived safety of a small community. I did not know Anita, but I feel badly for her mother, who probably never found any solace in the loss of her daughter. BTW, I also remember Teresa Snyder and Darrell, they lived around the corner on Franconia from Leewood Drive, where I lived. Sorry to hear of her tragic death.

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Re: anyone remember the anita cunningham murder in rosehill?
Posted by: pot & kettle ()
Date: November 17, 2014 11:03AM

Jeannine Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Bottom line is that a 13 year old girl should not
> be "partying" and then leave into a wooded area
> alone with 2 boys. Where were the parents and why
> did all involved have bad judgment? It is
> important to know where your children are.


>I remember as a
> teen I explored the gravel pits alone one Sunday
> and came upon a group of men late teens/early 20s
> on dirt bikes. Fortunately they did not see me
> and I slipped away unnoticed -- no one would have
> ever heard any thing and a group of guys with a
> young girl in a remote place is a recipe for
> trouble. I had the good sense to get out of
> there.

So on that day you explored the gravel pits where were YOUR parents?

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Re: anyone remember the anita cunningham murder in rosehill?
Posted by: David Walker ()
Date: November 17, 2014 06:03PM

Update: I met Darrell Snyder when he was about 5 yo, and knew his older sister Marlene, about 13 at the time, I was perhaps 8-10 yo. Terry was probably a baby and I don't really remember her.

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Re: anyone remember the anita cunningham murder in rosehill?
Posted by: vickie epps ()
Date: February 04, 2015 02:16AM

I knew Anita but had moved away a while before the murder.tragic
Attachments:
1423033857851.jpg

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Re: anyone remember the anita cunningham murder in rosehill?
Posted by: stlouis1975 ()
Date: February 04, 2015 07:40AM

aynone remember the Rose Hill Crazies? A semi-tough group pretending to be a gang. They basically hung out at the shopping center, smoked lots of pot, and bullied little kids. Losers

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Re: ­No one remembers this shit
Posted by: Chuck Watch ()
Date: February 04, 2015 11:10AM

chuckhoffmann Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> ­


Profound, Chuck. Please, tell us more.

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Re: anyone remember the anita cunningham murder in rosehill?
Posted by: LisaE ()
Date: September 04, 2015 06:26PM

Hello. Tonight I was cleaning out an old scrapbook and came across all the newspaper clippings from this murder. I was a friend of Anita's in Mark Twain. It was sad for all of us - and when reading the articles, my son looked it up on the internet and found this post. I was about to throw all this in the trash - I don't want it. I won't ever forget what happened, we were only 13.

She is buried at Mt. Comfort cemetery.

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Re: anyone remember the anita cunningham murder in rosehill?
Posted by: Bobby Lee Rogers ()
Date: January 24, 2017 10:33PM

I remember Anita her favorite teacher at Bush Hill Elementary
was Mr. Neff the P.E. Coach.She stayed at Bush Hill when they re-zoned school districts and most of the kids at the apartments went across the street to Rose Hill Elementary.I rememner it was around freshman orientation she went missing. All the kids in the neighborhood went through the woods calling her name into that summer evening. It was so terrible.The detectives found out I knew her and that I was her friend they questioned me and I was concerned for her then for something real bad seemed to be happening to the world it changed for me and everyone for the worse. I knew her well, at Bush Hill and at Mark Train. We went to the Smithsonian on a field trip to the National Museum and had the greatest time.Her death ended our childhood.

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Re: anyone remember the anita cunningham murder in rosehill?
Posted by: Bobby Lee Rogers ()
Date: January 24, 2017 11:11PM

I talked to her mother I believe with Ronnie Cox at the apartments next to the shopping center.Her mother was older not a young woman she was so angry she wanted Mike castrated.I left feeling dismayed by the conversation for we went to offer her sympathy yet her anger and sadness overwhelmed us, we were only 13.I have thought about her as I have gone through life.In Social Studies at Mark Twain she drew funny stuff on my arm playing around with a pen.She defended when other boys picked on me I was still little.She was a little more sophisticated then myself at her age.I won't go into the drug culture then, we know how it was.
She was a true friend.I left the area and eventually went to college and became a teacher later in life a social worker.All the kids back then at the apartments were latch key kids.Home after school both parents working, the older teens were sniffing glue in paper bags in the old wooden buildings behind the strip mall and smoking pot or was a rough place even at McDonald's and the skating rink. There were a few bad teens who were thieves and criminals who preyed on other teens back then.They know who they are.
All I can remember now was how dark life became afterward.

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Re: anyone remember the anita cunningham murder in rosehill?
Posted by: Don Huffman ()
Date: April 07, 2017 04:21PM

I just found this site looking up another murder of a good friend of mine named Lisa Kerr. I remember Anita Cunnigham well from the Franconia skating rink. I skated on couples with her at least once or twice & she was murdered either the next night or two day's afterward. I remember seeing her all over TV a couple of day's later & like all the other kids I was in shock.I"m almost positive she said her "boyfriend" was named Mike and he was a jerk. I skated with her several other time's before this on couples and trios. We were friend's but not close friends.I believe it was 75' or 76. Hard to remember. She was real pretty with long brown hair and I had a little crush on her. A damned shame to say the least. I was sick to my stomach reading about this in the Gazette and seeing this on TV. Why are some people so evil, only God know's why. You are missed young lady.

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Re: anyone remember the anita cunningham murder in rosehill?
Posted by: Cold Truth ()
Date: April 08, 2017 10:29AM

pot & kettle Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Jeannine Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > Bottom line is that a 13 year old girl should
> not
> > be "partying" and then leave into a wooded area
> > alone with 2 boys. Where were the parents and
> why
> > did all involved have bad judgment? It is
> > important to know where your children are.
>
>
> >I remember as a
> > teen I explored the gravel pits alone one
> Sunday
> > and came upon a group of men late teens/early
> 20s
> > on dirt bikes. Fortunately they did not see me
> > and I slipped away unnoticed -- no one would
> have
> > ever heard any thing and a group of guys with a
> > young girl in a remote place is a recipe for
> > trouble. I had the good sense to get out of
> > there.
>
> So on that day you explored the gravel pits where
> were YOUR parents?

As tragic as any death of a young person is, the fact remains the parent(s) of the girl allowed her to run wild, and the child paid the penalty for their poor parenting.

So the parent(s) share some of the responsibly for her death.

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Re: anyone remember the anita cunningham murder in rosehill?
Posted by: Ddddd ()
Date: July 26, 2017 04:52PM

I remember both Anita Cunningham and Terry Snyder very well. Anita was a year ahead, and Terry was in my class. Both girls were much more mature than me at this age, but had hearts of gold. Both girls were kind and helpful and would always come to the rescue of anyone getting picked on. They were sweet girls. Anita's murder was the end of all our childhoods. She was such a pretty girl. She also had this cool pair of jeans that everyone was jealous of. Everyone wanted jeans like hers and no one could find out where to buy them. I heard her best friend Terry was never the same and that her death could have been prevented but she wanted to die. I don't know if that was true, but a lot of people said it. I did hear than when Terry died, she was buried in the cool jeans that Anita's mom had given her to remember Anita. They were best friends. I still think about both girls a lot and have visited their graves.

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Re: anyone remember the anita cunningham murder in rosehill?
Posted by: Ddddd ()
Date: July 26, 2017 11:15PM

I also remember one of the teachers at Mark Twain talking about Anita quite a bit and getting emotional. He was a very well liked male teacher. I can't believe his name has slipped my memory. Anyway, he had a wooden bench in the back of his class and Anita had signed her name on it with beautiful handwriting.I can still see her name written just that way. Her murder affected everyone. I can't believe the rat who did it only got 20 years. The

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Re: anyone remember the anita cunningham murder in rosehill?
Posted by: Wynxe ()
Date: July 27, 2017 12:37AM

As I recall he was out before she would have graduated HS. Sad situation.

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Re: anyone remember the anita cunningham murder in rosehill?
Posted by: Tommy ()
Date: October 28, 2017 05:51PM

I remember hearing the news on the TV. I immediately called my brother downstairs. He and Anita had been very close. I was 16 at the time. I still think of her very often. She was a very good friend of my brother and my nephews, we all grew up in and around the Rose Hill area. I attended both Mark Twain and Edison schools.

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Re: anyone remember the anita cunningham murder in rosehill?
Posted by: SkiJacksonHole ()
Date: November 14, 2017 02:51AM

Yes, I remember that awful day well. I attended Mark Twain and Edison, graduated in 1977 with Karen and Sharon McGinty. That incident changed all our lives forever. Originally everyone believed that Mike McGinty acted alone, and no one else was ever fingered in the murder, but those of us who lived through that, and had high school friends that knew certain circles, believed that Mike probably didn't act alone. There were 2 other names that circulated at the time, names that I won't repeat here, but knowing the drug associations between individuals made many of us believe that McGinty was involved but probably not alone, and that all complicit individuals were probably high/stoned/flying out of their minds when the murder occurred. In any case, the McGinty family, as anyone could guess, never recovered from that horrible crime, and Karen and Sharon, beautiful twin girls who were both smart as a whip, became reclusive and withdrawn. I can't even remember seeing either of them at our graduation ceremony, though they must have been there. It changed everything. Innocence was over, and the dirty, ugly side of life that, up to that point, hadn't reared its head, roared. RIP Anita.

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Re: anyone remember the anita cunningham murder in rosehill?
Posted by: Robinson ()
Date: January 13, 2018 11:25AM

At Mark Twain,I had a crush on Anita, she was beautiful, I was a stupid kid, She had on a white dress, I offered her a slice of chocolate cake, she smiled and said yes. I then did the (PIE in the face) thing every one sees on tv. I was so stupid. I actually thought she would see my humor, and I would win the day! WRONG. I had hurt her so bad. She never spoke to me again! But her MOM sure did, not directly to me, but to my step mother. And My family had that dress cleaned. But I wish I was around to protect her that night, she had a pure soul and was a creature of light, an angel. I think it was the history teacher Mr. White at Mark Twain, that was her favorite. I knew Mike McGinty too. He liked my older sister. I was in trouble a lot as a kid, and was locked up in the juvenile detention center when he came in. ( so that excludes me from any other, another person suspect, for any of you sherlock holmes out there. ) But please, keep looking! She did not deserve to have her life end. I did try to get McGinty alone in lock up, sadly the opportunity never presented itself after I failed the first time and was placed in lock down.. never saw him again either.
I guess what I am trying to write, is I am sorry I messed up your dress, and now I will never get a chance to explain just how stupid I was and the crush I had... I hope there is a GOD... if there is, your light will make his smile!

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Re: anyone remember the anita cunningham murder in rosehill?
Posted by: Mark Twain ()
Date: March 20, 2018 12:39PM

There was a direct route to go to Eisenhower ave area behind Mark Twain.
IIRC there were a lot of schizo transients that congregated there. This was when all there was on Eisenhower was the water AND a train switching station. No Cameron run-nothing.
I was 9 at the time going down there to throw rocks at the homeless. Stupid kid I know. The homeless would chase us on our bikes. As a grown man(6’4), I could see now just how ez a homeless guy could overtake her. RIP Anita

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Re: anyone remember the anita cunningham murder in rosehill?
Date: August 29, 2018 02:09PM

I was best friends with her at the time of her death and the guy charged with the murder was an ex-boyfriend his name Michael McGinty

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Re: anyone remember the anita cunningham murder in rosehill?
Date: August 29, 2018 02:15PM

Actually she wasn't running wild she was at rec pack at Rosehill Elementary and was walking home and there was a little patch of woods in front of the apartments and that's where Michael McGinty was hiding when she was walking home!

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Re: anyone remember the anita cunningham murder in rosehill?
Posted by: Tommy ()
Date: February 15, 2019 10:53AM

I remember it well, I still think of her often. She was my younger brothers first girlfriend. I can still remember her face on the news the night I found out she had been murdered.

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Re: anyone remember the anita cunningham murder in rosehill?
Posted by: For Those Interested ()
Date: February 15, 2019 05:54PM

Carolyn "Anita" Cunningham (November 13, 1961 – August 26, 1975) was a 13-year-old girl who was sexually assaulted and strangled to death by William "Mike" McGinty in the Rose Hill neighborhood of Alexandria on August 26, 1975.

Cunningham had graduated from Mark Twain Intermediate School the previous June, and was about to start the ninth grade at Thomas A. Edison High School when she was murdered. She was buried in the Mount Comfort Cemetery.

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Re: anyone remember the anita cunningham murder in rosehill?
Posted by: Tragic ()
Date: February 15, 2019 09:31PM

Danville Register, The (Newspaper) - July 29, 1976, Danville, Virginia --

Michael McGinty Given 20 Years In Death Of 13 Year Old Girl, FAIRFAX Va AP

Michael McGinty was given a 20 year jail term Wednesday for murdering 13 year old Anita Cunningham. Fairfax County Circuit Court Judge Arthur W Sinclair gave the 18 year old McGinty the maximum sentence because, "it is a duty I firmly believe I must fulfill".
As the sentencing ended the mother of the girl, whose battered nude body was found in a wooded area near her Rose Hill apartment last August, stood up and called to McGinty. "He owes me a debt and I will collect it if I die", Rita Cunningham said, as the bailiffs tried to silence her. "I'm sorry", she told a court official, "but I knew I wouldn't get a chance to talk to him."
Anita never returned home after walking to a neighborhood recreation center the night of Aug 26. Fairfax County police said her body was discovered the next morning by a group of searchers that included McGinty. An autopsy found she had been sexually assaulted and strangled.
McGinty pleaded guilty to second degree murder charges after a jury failed to reach a verdict on first degree murder charges against him. Defense attorney Stephen W Rideout argued for a lighter sentence saying McGinty was in need of psychiatric help because of his family situation. The youths parents have been married and divorced twice and are in the process of obtaining their third divorce. Rideout said They were not at the sentencing hearing. Rideout read the judge a handwritten statement McGinty prepared in which the youth said "I can't say why I did what I did I don't really know myself." "I'm very sorry." In the statement McGinty asked for psychiatric help.

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Re: anyone remember the anita cunningham murder in rosehill?
Posted by: Combat Vet ()
Date: February 18, 2019 06:40PM

Because Anita deserves to be remembered. And we need to remember that monsters and evil have always walked among us.

Anita was slightly older than me, but such events make a lasting impression on people. We need to learn from these events to help prevent future tragedies. I don't have any pictures of Anita, if anyone does please post. Here are the articles that summarized what happen.

Danville Register Newspaper
Thursday, August 28, 1975 - Page 8
FAIRFAX -- A 13year old Fairfax County girl reported missing Tuesday night was found dead Wednesday in a heavily wooded area near her home. Police said the nude body of Anita Cunningham was found Wednesday morning by several teenagers about 250 yards from the Prince Fairfax Apartments where she lived. The girl was lying face up and had a twine around her neck police said. Police said the girl's mother reported her missing shortly after 11 pm Tuesday when Anita did not return home from a recreation program at Rose Hill School. The cause of death has not been determined police said.

Winchester Evening Star Newspaper
Friday, October 17, 1975 - Page 3
FAIRFAX, Va. (AP) - A 17-year-old youth was held by Fairfax County police today for the August slaying of Anita Cunningham, 13. Her body was found in tall grass in a wooded area near her home at Franconia. County police said the youth was charged on a juvenile petition but a hearing was expected today on an effort by Commonwealth's Atty. Robert Horan to get the teen charged as an adult.

Winchester Evening Star Newspaper
Wednesday, March 24, 1976 - Page 2
FAIRFAX (AP) — The case of 17-year-old Michael McGinty accused in the murder of 13-year-old Anita Cunningham last August near Alexandria, was expected go to the jury today. McGinty is standing trial as an adult and will face a minimum 20 year prison term if found guilty. In court Tuesday, Fairfax County Police Sgt James Bruce testified that McGinty told him last October that he had called the girl up and asked to meet her in the woods the night of the murder. But McGinty told him, he and the girl had put their arms around each other when the girl blacked out. Rita Cunningham, the girl's mother, testified that Anita had told her she was going out to meet McGinty that night. An autopsy showed the girl had been sexually assaulted, although McGinty has not been charged with rape. Her nude both was found the next day in bushes near her home.

Winchester Evening Star Newspaper
Friday, March 26, 1976 - Page 2
FAIRFAX (AP) — A mistrial has been declared in the case of a 17-year-old youth charged with murdering a 13-year-old girl, after a jury deliberated for 10 hours but failed to reach a verdict. Fairfax Commonwealth's Atty Robert F Horan Jr. said a new trial for Michael McGinty would be held June 2. McGinty is accused of killing Anita Cunningham Aug. 26. He was one of two boys who found the girl’s battered, nude body in a wooded area of Fairfax County as part of a search party the day after she disappeared. Police said the girl had been strangled and sexually assaulted, but McGinty was tried only on murder charges. McGinty testified during the trial that he met Miss Cunningham the night she died. He said they were “horsing around in a wooded area near her apartment when she put her arms around him and passed out.

Danville Register Newspaper
Friday, March 26, 1976 - Page 5
FAIRFAX Va. (AP) -- Fairfax Circuit Court Judge Arthur Sinclair declared a mistrial in the case of Michael McGinty after a jury deliberated for ten hours but failed to reach a verdict on first degree murder charges against the 17-year-old. McGinty is accused of killing 13-year-old Anita Cunningham in a wooded area near her Rose Hill apartment Aug 26, 1975. He was one of two boys who found the girl’s battered nude body as part of the search party the day after she disappeared. Police said Anita had been sexually assaulted, but McGinty was tried only on murder charges. Fairfax County Commonwealths Atty Robert F Horan said a new trial would be held June 2. Horan had told the jury, "Some first-degree murders are worse than others. This one was worse than most." During the trial McGinty testified he met Miss Cunningham the night she died. He said they were horsing around in a wooded area near her apartment when she put her arms around him and passed out. Experts testified McGinty’s pubic hairs were found mixed with those of the Cunningham girl.

Winchester Evening Star Newspaper
Friday, April 09, 1976 - Page 2
FAIRFAX (AP) - A plea of guilty to a charge of second degree murder has been entered in Fairfax County Circuit Court by Michael McGinty in the strangulation death of 13-year-old Anita Cunningham, whose nude body was found in a wooded area near her home last Aug. 26. The girl had been sexually assaulted, police said. "I can't understand a child being beaten, raped, murdered and sodomized, and him getting off with second degree murder," said Mrs. Rita Cunningham, the girl’s mother. Fairfax County Commonwealth’s Atty Robert F. Horan said Thursday he would seek the maximum sentence of 20 years for McGinty, 19. A jury failed to reach a verdict last month on first degree murder charges against McGinty, and Judge Arthur Sinclair declared a mistrial and set a new trial date in June.

Danville Register Newspaper
Friday, April 09, 1976 - Page 5
FAIRFAX API Michael McGinty pleaded guilty Thursday to second degree murder for the strangulation death of 13 year old Anita Cunningham. Anita's nude body was found in a wooded area near her Rose Hill home in Fairfax County Aug 26. Police said the young woman had been sexually assaulted. "I cant understand a child being beaten raped murdered and sodomized and him getting off with second degree murder," said the child's mother Mrs. Rita Cunningham. Fairfax County Commonwealths Atty Robert F Horan said he would seek the maximum sentence 20 years for the charge. Last month a jury failed to reach a verdict on first degree murder charges against the youth. Fairfax County Judge Arthur Sinclair declared a mistrial and set a new trial date in June. Horan said he is not surprised by the plea. From the questions the jury asked they weren't hung up over guilt or innocence, but the degree of the charge. Horan said before accepting McGinty's plea, the judge told the youth he may well seek the maximum penalty in light of testimony at the trial. In Virginia second degree murder carries a sentence of five to 20 years of which five per cent must be served before parole can be considered. McGinty's attorney Stephen Hideout requested and was granted a mental exam for his client prior to sentencing. Horan's office said sentencing could be delayed for 30 to 45 days. At the trial McGinty admitted he met Miss Cunningham in the woods the night she was murdered. He said they were just horsing around when she blacked out. The teenager was part of a search party that found Anita's body the next day.

Winchester Evening Star Newspaper
Thursday, July 29, 1976 - Page 3
FAIRFAX (AP) -The mother of a 13-year-old girl who was sexual)- assaulted and strangled says her daughter's killer "owes me a debt and I will collect it if I die." Mrs. Rita Cunningham cried out the declaration Wednesday as she watched Michael McGinty, 18, receive a 20-year prison sentence from Fairfax County Circuit Court Judge Arthur W. Sinclair The judge said he imposed the maximum sentence because it was "a duty I firmly believe I must fulfill." The northern Virginia teenager pleaded guilty to second » murder after a jury earlier this summer to reach a verdict during his first degree murder trial on the death of Anita Cunningham. The girl's naked, battered body was found in a wooded area near her apartment home last August The girl failed to return home from a neighborhood recreation center the night of Aug 26 Her body was found the folding morning by a group of searchers. Police said McGinty was one of the searchers. Mrs. Cunningham apologized to a court official for her outburst. "I'm sorry, but I knew I wouldn't get a chance to talk to him," she said. The victim's mother said. "There is too much emphasis placed on the age of the defendant, as if that's an excuse. The law is more concerned with what is best for the defendant. The victim is dead. Why worry about her?" Defense attorney Stephen B. Rideout had sought a lighter sentence, contending McGinty needed psychiatric help. He said McGinty's home life caused him emotional problems, because his mother and father have been married and divorced twice, have remarried and now are seeking a third divorce.

Danville Register Newspaper
Friday, July 29, 1976 - Page 19
FAIRFAX, Va. (AP) - Michael McGinty was given a 20-year-jail term Wednesday for murdering 13-year-old Anita Cunningham. Fairfax County Circuit Court Judge Arthur W. Sinclair gave the 18 year-old McGinty the maximum sentence because it "is a duty I firmly believe I must fulfill"
As the sentencing ended, the mother of the girl whose battered, nude body was found in a wooded area near her Rose Hill apartment last August stood up and called to McGinty. "He owes me a debt and I will collect it if I die," Rita Cunningham said as the bailiffs tried to silence her. "I'm sorry", she told a court official, "but I knew I wouldn't get a chance to talk to him."
Anita never returned home after walking to a neighborhood recreation center the night of Aug. 26. Fairfax Country Police said her body was discovered the next morning by a group of searchers that included McGinty. An autopsy found she had been sexually assaulted and strangled.
McGinty pleaded guilty to second degree murder charges after a jury failed to reach a verdict on first degree murder charges against him. Defense attorney Stephen W. Rideout argued for a lighter sentence saying McGinty was in need of psychiatric help because of his family situation. The youth's parents have been married and divorced twice, and are in the process of obtaining their third divorce, Rideout said. They were not at the sentencing hearing.
Rideout read the judge a handwritten statement McGinty prepared, in which the youth said, "I can't say why I did what I did; I don't really know myself, I'm very sorry." In the statement, McGinty asked for psychiatric help.
Fairfax County Commonwealth's Atty. Robert Horan said, "I've never heard a pre-sentence report where the defendant didn't say, 'I'm sorry.' They all are when it comes time for sentencing." McGinty could be paroled in five years, Horan said.
With Mrs. Cunningham at the hearing was Sylvia Shalor, whose 16-year old son was murdered a year-and-a-half ago.

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Re: anyone remember the anita cunningham murder in rosehill?
Posted by: Shedeadyo ()
Date: February 26, 2019 10:49AM

She dead, yo. FCPD probably lost the casefile

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Re: anyone remember the anita cunningham murder in rosehill?
Posted by: Not saying sorry ()
Date: September 25, 2019 10:09PM

I know Michael McGinty hes married to a friend of mines grandma hes out and he lied for 20 years about what he really did this is sick and so crazy!!

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Re: anyone remember the anita cunningham murder in rosehill?
Posted by: Lucinda Adams ()
Date: February 18, 2022 06:00PM

I went to Edison high and remember the muder case
We moved away in the 70s!

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Re: anyone remember the anita cunningham murder in rosehill?
Posted by: barbara cate ()
Date: May 25, 2022 04:25PM

I am micheals step daughter,
Yes mike is out. I can’t believe that
He did this act. Yes it was lied about
For years but how do you admit something
Like that to people you love. He got treated
By my family like shit after the truth came
Out. Including myself he is not the same
Guy. I do not know why something this sad happened
But I’ve been taught that everything happens for a reason
Why this I have mo clue, but I can tell you that micheal
Mcginty is not a monster. He might have been. Stupid kid/young adult.
Trust me even though he’s out of prison he still has issues.
He suffers from nightmares yea I’m sure her mom does to I’m not
Justify what mike did I swear I’m not. I’m just saying he’s not like
That now. He’s my step dad.

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Re: anyone remember the anita cunningham murder in rosehill?
Posted by: Bob Dunwoody ()
Date: July 31, 2022 09:59PM

Mike was a friend of mine. I was shocked when he was arrested in front of me in the library at Edison High. It has been almost 50 years ago. He was not that type of guy. He had two beautiful twin sisters. I was never asked about him even though we hung out every day after school. If he did it I am disgusted and can never forgive him. God…I hope not and that he was wrongly convicted. I find that hard to believe.

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Re: anyone remember the anita cunningham murder in rosehill?
Posted by: Ex inmate of him ()
Date: July 31, 2022 10:18PM

He was brutalized in prison. I saw him raped and forced to do unspeakable things to big black men. He deserved it and still should be locked up.

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Re: anyone remember the anita cunningham murder in rosehill?
Posted by: Old Parole Laws ()
Date: August 01, 2022 08:00AM

The law back then an inmate could be released after serving 1/6 of sentence. So 93 days for a year.

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Re: anyone remember the anita cunningham murder in rosehill?
Posted by: Bob Dunwoody ()
Date: August 03, 2022 03:57PM

I didn’t know Anita was his girlfriend. I visited her apartment one time for a few minutes. Not to far from Jason Caporalettin. Perhaps he lost it when two guys that lived by me said she was putting out and they knew from experience. I won’t mention their names because if was a joke it went sour. They frequented the recreation center at Rosehill Elementary as well. Still is no excuse for what he did but might answer the why.

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Re: anyone remember the anita cunningham murder in rosehill?
Posted by: Al Cowling ()
Date: August 03, 2022 04:13PM

Somebody post a picture of Michael McGinty. I want to see what the punk-ass looks like.

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