Gallaudet University, renowned as the world’s sole bilingual institution in American Sign Language, has long been a sanctuary of inclusion and belonging for its deaf and hard-of-hearing students.
However, this tight-knit community was rocked to its core on September 28, 2000, when freshman Eric Plunkett was discovered brutally beaten and strangled in his dormitory. The fear and uncertainty deepened a few months later when another student, Benjamin Varner, was killed in a similar manner, prompting widespread concern over an elusive murderer within their midst, as detailed in Oxygen’s The Killer Among Us.
Who Was Eric Plunkett?
Eric Plunkett, hailing from Burnsville, Minnesota, was enthusiastic about embarking on this new chapter at Gallaudet in the fall of 2000.
Despite being born with cerebral palsy, which affected his balance, and experiencing profound hearing loss, Plunkett never let these obstacles hinder his vibrant spirit.
“You’d never have guessed,” his sister Erin Plunkett shared. “He exuded confidence constantly. It was just who he was. He had many friends and was naturally inquisitive, always eager to dismantle things to understand their workings.”
Plunkett quickly became an integral part of the university community, known for his friendly demeanor and easygoing nature, endearing himself to fellow students in no time.
“It’s like a small island,” former student and resident advisor Lauren Buchko explained, “where deaf people can be like a family.”
What Happened to Eric Plunkett?
Instead of starting the promising new chapter he’d hoped for, Plunkett’s time at the university tragically became his last.
On September 28, 2000, Joseph Mesa Jr.—who lived directly across from Plunkett—asked Buchko to do a welfare check after he noticed a “funny” smell coming from the teenager’s dorm room and had been unable to reach him.
She enlisted the help of fellow resident advisor Thomas Koch, who opened Plunkett’s dorm room and made a grisly discovery.
“I opened the door and wow, definitely did not expect what I saw,” Koch recalled. “I just couldn’t believe how much blood was [there]. I went straight for his body to check for a pulse and then ran out of the room.”
The room was in disarray and blood was spattered all over the scene, according to Washington, DC Metropolitan Police Det. Darryl Richmond.
“There was a struggle,” he said. “It was an up close murder.”
Eric Plunkett Was Beaten and Strangled to Death
An autopsy would later suggest that Plunkett had been hit with a chair, kicked, beaten and strangled to death.
“There is overkill involved,” Washington, DC Metropolitan Police Sgt. James LaFranchise noted. “I mean, there was blood everywhere. An overkill is usually someone who knows the person.”
Investigators also noticed that Plunkett’s wallet and debit cards had been taken. Though there were no signs of forced entry, investigators believed the killer had tried to cover their tracks by closing and locking the door.
During the investigation, detectives also learned that while at college, Plunkett came out as gay.
“It didn’t surprise any of us,” his sister remembered. “He was having a lot of fun. We heard that he made so many great relationships on campus. We didn’t know who could possibly have killed him.”
Now detectives had to consider the possibility that that he was killed in a possible hate crime after learning that Plunkett had lodged a complaint about anti-gay slurs found on campus message boards just before his death.
Detectives also considered the possibility that he was killed as the result of a possible romantic dispute. They even arrested a man who told police he’d shoved Plunkett when he tried to make a pass at him, but the charges were eventually dismissed due to a lack of probable cause. The male student’s DNA also later ruled him out as the killer.
What Happened to Benjamin Varner?
Then, on Feb. 3, 2001 the body of Benjamin Varner was discovered in the same dorm building where Plunkett was killed.
His body, which had been hidden under a mattress, was covered with stab wounds to his head, neck and stomach.
“There was blood on the wall, blood on the floor,” Richmond said. “It was a gruesome scene.”
Just like in the earlier case, Varner’s wallet, credit cards and checkbook were missing, leading investigators to believe the two cases could be connected.
Plunkett’s neighbor Mesa—who also knew Varner—told investigators that shortly before the murder Varner told him he was gay and had been secretly seeing someone.
Bloody Knife, Jacket Are Found in Dumpster Near Benjamin Varner’s Dorm
As fear and anger spread through the university, detectives faced increasing pressure to solve the murders and focused on footprints found leading away from the murder scene to a stairwell.
Though the perpetrator avoided all the surveillance cameras, detectives discovered a blood-covered paring knife believed to be from Varner’s room in a dumpster outside the building, along with a bloody jacket.
Using an FBI database, they determined the shoe prints at the scene were left by Nike Air shoes.
Then, Varner’s heartbroken family discovered that someone had cashed a check for $650 within 28 hours of his death. After subpoenaing the bank, detectives linked the check to Mesa, a football player from Guam who spent most of his time with his girlfriend.
Although Mesa claimed the check had been for computer repair work, detectives questioned his story, especially after realizing that he had inserted himself into the investigation each time.
His roommate also told police that he had owned a jacket just like the one discovered in the dumpster.
Why Did Joseph Mesa Kill Benjamin Varner and Eric Plunkett?
As investigators were working to build their case, they were surprised when Mesa returned to the station on Feb. 13, 2001 and confessed to killing Varner with a knife he found under the microwave, then writing himself the check.
When asked what he needed the money for, Mesa offered a chilling response.
“My girlfriend loves purple, so I bought a purple mouse, and then [a] purple mousepad,” he told detectives through an interpreter. “And then I have the TV that would be purple, and then there’s a plastic plate, purple, the cup that was purple.”
Stunned, detectives asked Mesa if he had anything else on his conscience.
“Also, Eric Plunkett,” Mesa replied. “I also did that one, too.”
He described going into Plunkett’s room while he was sitting at the computer, putting his arm around his neck and strangling him. Then, he used the chair to hit him in the face.
After calling the murders a “big mistake,” Mesa said he decided to confess to the crimes so that the college community could stop living in fear.
He was arrested and charged with two counts of murder. Mesa was convicted in 2002 and sentenced to two life sentences without the possibility of parole.
