APPLE
PICKING
told police he targeted Megan
after seeing her talking on the
phone, according to court documents. Police say they connected
Esters to another phone robbery
in the area that day.
Esters and a cousin who police
say drove him from the crime scene
have since been charged with Megan’s murder. They are being held
at the St. Louis City Justice Center.
Their attorneys said their clients
were unavailable for interviews and
declined to comment.
Paul Boken lays blame for his
daughter’s death not just on her
killers, but also on an industry that
he says has been slow to reduce
the street value of stolen phones.
“Phone manufacturers, including
Apple, should have addressed this
problem three or four years ago,”
he said. “I don’t think they realized
someone as special as Megan can
lose her life over this.”
Police later returned Megan’s
iPhone to her father. He said he
keeps it in a box at his home.
Like everything that belonged
to his daughter, he said he can’t
bring himself to get rid of it. He
keeps her bedroom the same way
she left it. Last month, Megan’s
former volleyball teammates
at St. Louis University named
HUFFINGTON
03.24.13
an award after her, citing “her
fun-loving attitude, contagious
laugh, servant leadership and
humble demeanor.” When they
gave Boken one of her jerseys, “I
almost fell apart,” he said.
Now, when Boken sees Megan’s
friends and watches their lives
“I T’S HARD, TO BE LIKE THIS
FOR THE REST OF MY LIFE
OVER A DAMN CELL PHONE.”
unfold, he wonders what might
have been. “As a father, you invest all of this time in your children,” he said. “You show them
how to walk and throw a baseball
and hit a volleyball. You watch
them develop and take on life’s
challenges. Then, all of a sudden,
it’s over. That’s the hardest part.
You don’t get to see the next 10
chapters of that book.”
Megan’s story is not unique. As
police and wireless providers have
searched for solutions to phone
thefts, the human toll exacted by
often-violent robberies is rising.
Last month, three peopl