Campus Alert Archive
Gallaudet

Two Dorm Murders Months Apart at the World's University for the Deaf

DCassaultemergency notificationmedium confidence
Confirmed Threat

Two Gallaudet University freshmen were killed months apart in Cogswell Hall: Eric Plunkett on September 28, 2000, and Benjamin Varner on February 1, 2001. Fellow student Joseph Mesa Jr. was convicted of both murders, committed for robbery. The case posed acute notification challenges at the world's premier university for deaf and hard-of-hearing students, where audible alarms are useless.

Alerts
3
Response
—
Killed
2
Injured
0
Institution
Gallaudet University
Private Masters · DC
~1,900 students
Confirmed Timeline

Alert Sequence

3 messages in sequence

Some alert texts below are approximate reconstructions from news coverage, not confirmed verbatim transcripts. Reconstructed texts are shown in italic with a dashed border. Verified verbatim texts have a solid border and are marked accordingly.

INITIAL ALERTother
Approximate reconstruction208 chars
Gallaudet officials notified the campus community that a student, Eric Plunkett, had been found dead in his Cogswell Hall residence and that the death was being investigated by university and District police.

This text has been reconstructed from news coverage and may not reflect the exact original wording.

Notification at Gallaudet, the world's leading university for deaf and hard-of-hearing students, cannot rely on audible alarms or sirens; the institution depends on visual alerts, text/TTY, and signed communication — a distinctive Clery-era challenge.
Plunkett's death was not immediately classified as a homicide; that uncertainty shaped how the campus was informed in the first hours and days.
Reconstructed wording; the discovery of Plunkett's body in Cogswell Hall is documented in major news coverage.
UPDATEother
Approximate reconstruction215 chars
Gallaudet alerted students and staff that a second Cogswell Hall resident, Benjamin Varner, had been found slain, intensifying security on campus as investigators connected the two deaths in the same residence hall.

This text has been reconstructed from news coverage and may not reflect the exact original wording.

The second killing in the same dormitory roughly four months later transformed campus communication from a single tragedy into a continuing-threat situation, the core trigger for a timely-warning/emergency notification.
Varner was stabbed to death; Mesa later confessed to slashing him with a paring knife and stealing his checkbook, the evidence trail that led to the arrest.
Reconstructed wording; the second death and the heightened security are documented across news sources.
FOLLOW-UPpress-release
Approximate reconstruction222 chars
University and police officials confirmed the arrest of a former Gallaudet student, Joseph Mesa Jr., in connection with the deaths of Eric Plunkett and Benjamin Varner, both Cogswell Hall residents killed during robberies.

This text has been reconstructed from news coverage and may not reflect the exact original wording.

The arrest resolved a months-long period of fear in a tight-knit residential community of about 1,900 students.
Mesa was identified after Secret Service handwriting experts tied him to a forged check made out to himself and he was seen on bank surveillance video.
Reconstructed wording; the arrest and motive are documented in the Washington Post and CBS News.
Context

Background

Gallaudet University in northeast Washington, D.C., is the world's premier institution for deaf and hard-of-hearing students. Between fall 2000 and winter 2001, two freshmen who lived in Cogswell Hall were murdered: Eric Plunkett, 19, of Minnesota, on September 28, 2000, and Benjamin Varner, 19, of Texas, on February 1, 2001. Fellow student Joseph Mesa Jr. was convicted of both killings, which prosecutors said were committed for robbery; he was identified through a forged check and bank surveillance footage. The case is notable for the archive because it highlights an enduring campus-notification challenge: at a university where most students are deaf, audible alarms and sirens are useless, and emergency communication must rely on visual alerts, text and TTY messaging, and signed announcements. The four-month gap between two killings in the same residence hall also illustrates the 'continuing threat' situation that today triggers Clery emergency notifications and timely warnings.
Analysis

Key Findings

Two Gallaudet freshmen, Eric Plunkett and Benjamin Varner, were murdered four months apart in the same residence hall
Fellow student Joseph Mesa Jr. was convicted of both killings, which were committed for robbery
The case highlights a distinctive campus-notification challenge: audible alarms are useless at a university for deaf students, requiring visual and text-based alerting
Two killings in the same dorm created a textbook 'continuing threat' that today would drive Clery emergency notifications
Outcome
Joseph Mesa Jr., a former Gallaudet freshman, was convicted of the premeditated murders of Eric Plunkett, 19, and Benjamin Varner, 19, plus related robbery and burglary charges. Robbery was the motive in both killings; he was identified via a forged check and bank surveillance video.
Provenance

Sources

  1. News
    Ex-Student Convicted Of Gallaudet Murders — The Washington Post
    washingtonpost.com
  2. News
    Deaf Man Convicted Of Murder — CBS News
    cbsnews.com
  3. Source
    Murder In A Silent Place — TIME
    time.com
Tags
homicideresidence-halldcgallaudetdeaf-accessibilitypre-clery-notificationhistoric2000s
Added May 2026Updated May 2026Via ingestion