As the survivors of Michael Sharpe's kidnappings testify against him almost 40 years after their assaults, the women carried the challenge coins given to them by the Cold Case Unit of Connecticut's Division of Criminal Justice, who vowed to never forget their cases.
In court, they were known only as Jane Doe 1, 2, 3 and 4; the four women kidnapped by Michael Sharpe, a former Hartford charter school CEO, in the summer of 1984. Now, just days after justice was finally served, they want to be known by their names: Linda, Shelley, Roseanne and Kathy.
Shelley wept outside the Hartford courthouse after seeing Michael Sharpe, the 71-year-old man accused of kidnapping her and three other women in 1984, finally placed into handcuffs for his crimes. Her biggest regret was that her daughter who survived the attack with her did not live to see the day justice was finally served.