The Murder of Alexandra ‘Alex’ Kogut
For this case, I watched an episode of Dateline. It’s season 23 episode 13, titled ‘After Midnight.’
An 18-year-old college student is found dead in her dorm room.
Background
Alexandra Kogut, who is referred to as Alex, was attending her first year of college at SUNY Brockport. Alex had been in relationship with her boyfriend from home, a 21-year-old named Clayton Whittemore, for about a year and a half. They seemed to be making long distance work.
Alex was described as funny and bubbly. She had been on the swim team in high school, and was now on the college swim team. Alex was described as the heart of the team, and was always there to cheer her friends on.
Alexandra Kogut
Alex and Clayton Whittemore
A Horrific Scene
On September 28, 2012, a Friday, Alex was excited because Clayton was coming up for a weekend visit.
Around 3pm, Alex went to her friend Samantha’s dorm room, and asked if she could borrow some clothes. Alex then said goodbye, and went to a swim team meeting.
The meeting had ran long, and Clayton arrived before it was over. Alex had texted him “please don’t kill me, I’m so so sorry.” Clayton said it was fine, and the two met up soon after.
They went to dinner, to a friend’s house, and returned back to the dorm room at 12:17am.
At 2:42am, Alex’s mom Becky, called the SUNY Brockport campus police. She had a feeling that something was wrong, and asked them to do a welfare check.
Officer Michael Johnson arrived, knocked on the door, and entered when he realized it unlocked. Inside the dorm room, he discovered a bloody scene.
A Jane Doe
Alex’s dorm room was covered in blood. There was blood on the bed, door, and pillow. A young woman was found facedown on the floor, and it was clear that she had been beaten.
The young woman was pronounced dead, and as a Jane Doe. The police knew that it was Alex’s room, but the young woman on the floor had dark, almost black hair. In the pictures in the room, Alex had very light hair. It was also very hard to tell who the woman was based on how badly she had been beaten.
However, the police did recognize the man in the photos as Clayton Whittemore. They had issued him a ticket that night for having an open container.
In this episode, the police spoke about the incident. Clayton, and a female, who was later identified as Alex, were walking on the sidewalk. Clayton had an empty container, which the police had to issue him a ticket for. They described Clayton as being cooperative, but that he had dropped the beer can after walking away. They told him that they could issue him an additional $100 fine. Clayton picked it up, and walked on the opposite side of the street. Alex stayed on the side that they had been on, which really stuck out to the police.
The 911 Calls
After the ticket incident, Alex had posted a tweet at 12:13am, saying “should’ve known.” She and Clayton returned to her dorm room at 12:17am.
The police still believed that Alex’s roommate was the deceased. They believed there might have been an altercation between Alex and her roommate, and that she and Clayton were on the run.
At 3am, all of the questions that everyone had would be answered. Scott Whittemore, Clayton’s dad, called the Oneida County dispatch. He said his son had just confessed to him that he killed someone.
Scott didn’t know anything else. The dispatch told Scott to call his son to get more information. Scott called back a few minutes later, and said that Clayton had a girlfriend in Brockport.
The dispatch then received a call from Sandra, Clayton’s mom. Sandra believed her son was in Canada. However, the dispatch knew that Clayton was still in the area.
Clayton then contacted the Oneida County dispatch himself at 3:44am, telling them, “I did something,” and that he wanted to turn himself in.
Clayton’s Story
Clayton Whittemore was picked up by New York State troopers, at a rest stop off the New York State freeway.
The police also learned that Alex’s roommate was alive, and had been staying in another dorm room that night. They met with her in person, and learned that Alex had recently died her hair dark. Alex Kogut was the young woman that had been killed in her room.
In the interrogation room, Clayton was asked about his relationship. Clayton said that everything was fine, but later admitted that he felt disrespected by Alex that night. Alex had raised her voice at him, but was happy and giggly around other people.
Clayton said that he was aggravated, and even more so after he received the ticket for the open container. He said when they arrived back at the dorm room, they began talking about cheating. Alex had mentioned that she saw a picture on his phone awhile back, and started pushing him.
Clayton said that he just snapped. He threw Alex against the wall, and beat her to death. Clayton said, “it was like watching an animal suffer,” and that he couldn’t watch someone he loved suffer.
Clayton was charged with second degree murder.
The Trial and Conviction
Clayton pleaded not guilty. His trial began in the spring of 2014.
The prosecution had Clayton’s own words, the crime scene, and other physical evidence against Clayton.
Clayton’s ex-girlfriend testified that she too had once been abused by him. She said that he had choked her, and she didn’t think he’d ever let go. Another friend of Clayton’s said that after a night of drinking, Clayton had grabbed a knife, and pointed it at a group of people. He described Clayton as looking possessed.
The defense didn’t deny that Clayton had killed Alex. However, they said it was manslaughter, not second degree murder. They said on the night of the murder, Clayton was under the influence of extreme emotional disturbance.
They said Clayton was a victim of abuse too, at the hands of his father Scott. Clayton had admitted to the dispatch that Scott had abused the family for years.
Clayton wrote in a text message to Alex and her family that he didn’t want to become his father, and that he was sorry for something he couldn’t take back.
After three weeks of testimony, the jury deliberated. They found Clayton guilty of second degree murder. He was sentenced to 25 years to life.
Clayton Whittemore
Other
No one in Alex’s family knew of any of the abuse that Alex went through. Clayton had left her several threatening voicemails, and she saved about 30 of them. The voicemails weren’t admissible in court.
Family friends of the Kogut’s, Sandra and Paige Whitney, created the Purple Pinkie Charitable Foundation. It raises awareness for domestic and relationship abuse. It encourages women to paint their pinkies purple to show their support. Purple was also Alex’s favorite color.
FINAL THOUGHTS
I believe Clayton probably had been abused or seen abuse at the hands of his father, but the prosecution is right, it’s not an excuse. Clayton felt disrespected, and felt the need to put Alex in her place.
I don’t believe Alex disrespected him, or pushed him around. I believe Clayton had a few drinks, and maybe became jealous or something. He then got that ticket, which made him even angrier.
No one deserves what Alex went through that night. I’m glad that the jury put Clayton in prison for life. Hopefully, he will never be able to hurt anyone ever again.
Sources
https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/real-life-stories/i-killed-girlfriend-just-snapped-4985557
