Death Space

A smell in a dormitory hallway was the first warning. The horror behind the door was unthinkable.
In the fall of 2000-only weeks into the semester at Gallaudet University-freshman Eric Plunkett was found brutally murdered in his dorm room. The discovery shattered a campus known for its closeness and safety. Within the insulated world of the Deaf community, fear spread fast, while a language barrier between investigators, students, and the media created confusion at the very moment clarity was needed most.

Weeks passed. Then months. No arrest.

When students returned after winter break, they carried hope that the nightmare had ended. But early one morning in January 2001, a fire alarm went off in Cogswell Hall. Strobe lights flashed through the dorm rooms to wake Deaf students, an emergency system meant to protect. Instead, the alarm led to another devastating discovery: Ben Varner, dead and mutilated.

The message was unmistakable: the campus was facing something far worse than a single murder.

Death Space: The True Story of A Deaf Serial Killer at Gallaudet University tells the story of two killings at Gallaudet University and the relentless investigation that followed. It chronicles the discoveries, the fear, and the resilience of a community under siege, the police pursuit of a killer, the courtroom convictions, and what became of the murderer, revealed through an interview with the author, a faculty member at Gallaudet University.