Anna Svidersky
Encyclopedia
Anna Esther Svidersky was a teenager who lived in the U.S. city of Vancouver, Washington
, and was murdered while working in a McDonald's
restaurant, by David Barton Sullivan, a twice-convicted schizophrenic
sex offender. News of her death quickly spread worldwide, initially through the Internet friends site MySpace
, where she had a personal page, and then through other similar sites. The widespread expression of grief over Anna's death by strangers around the world was compared by The Guardian
newspaper in Britain to that seen after Diana, Princess of Wales
' death.
and about 900 miles southeast of Moscow. They moved to California
before her second birthday. She had one older brother and two younger sisters. In 2001, her mother, Esther, moved with the children to Vancouver, Washington, where she has relatives, after a divorce from Andrew Svidersky.
Svidersky was a student at Fort Vancouver High School in Vancouver and worked at the Andresen Road McDonald's. She had intended to go to college after her senior year, and was due to graduate in June. The year before her death, she worked up to three different jobs at a time, in addition to her school studies.
Sullivan was captured soon after the attack. He had discarded the knife he used, but was still covered in blood when discovered. He was charged with first-degree murder, but on June 26, 2007, he was acquitted by reason of insanity and was committed indefinitely to a mental hospital.
by Svidersky's friends received 1,200 posts in 3 days. Internet users on other sites such as YouTube
also posted tributes.
The McDonald's restaurant where she worked in Vancouver held a fund-raising day for her family, hoping to raise $15,000, but actually achieved nearly $85,000, as of April 28, 2006, and finally ran out of food. McDonald's Corp. matched $1.50 per dollar and other local McDonald's franchises 25 cents per dollar.
The news of Svidersky's murder spread worldwide within days through internet sites, creating a phenomenon of collective grief from users, the great majority of whom were complete strangers to her. In Britain, The Guardian
newspaper compared the widespread expression of grief by strangers to that seen after the death of Diana, Princess of Wales
. The paper cited the 2004 CIVITAS
think-tank, which described such grief as "mourning sickness
", related to people's own emotional needs, rather than any real rapport with the deceased. De Volkskrant
likened the mass mourning to that which followed the death of Dutch singer, André Hazes
, and also pointed to existing personal loss as the major cause.
Stephen Coleman, Professor of Political Communication at Leeds University, said that Svidersky occupied a "shared space" with other young people, who wanted to comment, as they identified with her and shared a common discourse; distance and lack of physical encounter were not significant factors. Philip Rayner, Senior Lecturer in Media Communications at the University of Gloucestershire
, saw the reaction to Svidersky's death as pointing to a change of social interactions that had occurred in the previous few years, and in particular the phenomenon of almost immediate global dissemination of information, but that in her case a significant aspect was also "the sense of community and shared emotional response".
Richard Watson, in his book Future files: the 5 trends that will shape the next 50 years, discussed "digital immortality" through internet records, and cited Svidersky, whose MySpace page would "remain, potentially forever" as her "digital afterlife". Der Spiegel
said that Svidersky was famous, albeit posthumously, in a new way—not via traditional media as in the time of Andy Warhol
, but as with the Star Wars Kid
through the web page/blog/video and google hits.
A memorial video In Memory of Anna Svidersky on YouTube, which has now been removed, was viewed more than 3,000,000 times by April 2011, five years after the incident.
Vancouver, Washington
Vancouver is a city on the north bank of the Columbia River in the U.S. state of Washington. Incorporated in 1857, it is the fourth largest city in the state with a 2010 census population of 161,791 as of April 1, 2010...
, and was murdered while working in a McDonald's
McDonald's
McDonald's Corporation is the world's largest chain of hamburger fast food restaurants, serving around 64 million customers daily in 119 countries. Headquartered in the United States, the company began in 1940 as a barbecue restaurant operated by the eponymous Richard and Maurice McDonald; in 1948...
restaurant, by David Barton Sullivan, a twice-convicted schizophrenic
Schizophrenia
Schizophrenia is a mental disorder characterized by a disintegration of thought processes and of emotional responsiveness. It most commonly manifests itself as auditory hallucinations, paranoid or bizarre delusions, or disorganized speech and thinking, and it is accompanied by significant social...
sex offender. News of her death quickly spread worldwide, initially through the Internet friends site MySpace
MySpace
Myspace is a social networking service owned by Specific Media LLC and pop star Justin Timberlake. Myspace launched in August 2003 and is headquartered in Beverly Hills, California. In August 2011, Myspace had 33.1 million unique U.S. visitors....
, where she had a personal page, and then through other similar sites. The widespread expression of grief over Anna's death by strangers around the world was compared by The Guardian
The Guardian
The Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
newspaper in Britain to that seen after Diana, Princess of Wales
Diana, Princess of Wales
Diana, Princess of Wales was the first wife of Charles, Prince of Wales, whom she married on 29 July 1981, and an international charity and fundraising figure, as well as a preeminent celebrity of the late 20th century...
' death.
Background
Anna Svidersky was born in Russia. Her family came from Novoorenburg, a small city near the border of KazakhstanKazakhstan
Kazakhstan , officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a transcontinental country in Central Asia and Eastern Europe. Ranked as the ninth largest country in the world, it is also the world's largest landlocked country; its territory of is greater than Western Europe...
and about 900 miles southeast of Moscow. They moved to California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
before her second birthday. She had one older brother and two younger sisters. In 2001, her mother, Esther, moved with the children to Vancouver, Washington, where she has relatives, after a divorce from Andrew Svidersky.
Svidersky was a student at Fort Vancouver High School in Vancouver and worked at the Andresen Road McDonald's. She had intended to go to college after her senior year, and was due to graduate in June. The year before her death, she worked up to three different jobs at a time, in addition to her school studies.
Death
David Barton Sullivan, who had previously been convicted twice of sex crimes, left his home on the day of the murder with the single intention of "hurting a female", and according to police, did not know Anna Svidersky. He entered the Andresen Road McDonald's at around 8 pm and stabbed her with a kitchen knife.Sullivan was captured soon after the attack. He had discarded the knife he used, but was still covered in blood when discovered. He was charged with first-degree murder, but on June 26, 2007, he was acquitted by reason of insanity and was committed indefinitely to a mental hospital.
Aftermath
The murder dominated the news in her home town. A dedicated page put up on MySpaceMySpace
Myspace is a social networking service owned by Specific Media LLC and pop star Justin Timberlake. Myspace launched in August 2003 and is headquartered in Beverly Hills, California. In August 2011, Myspace had 33.1 million unique U.S. visitors....
by Svidersky's friends received 1,200 posts in 3 days. Internet users on other sites such as YouTube
YouTube
YouTube is a video-sharing website, created by three former PayPal employees in February 2005, on which users can upload, view and share videos....
also posted tributes.
The McDonald's restaurant where she worked in Vancouver held a fund-raising day for her family, hoping to raise $15,000, but actually achieved nearly $85,000, as of April 28, 2006, and finally ran out of food. McDonald's Corp. matched $1.50 per dollar and other local McDonald's franchises 25 cents per dollar.
The news of Svidersky's murder spread worldwide within days through internet sites, creating a phenomenon of collective grief from users, the great majority of whom were complete strangers to her. In Britain, The Guardian
The Guardian
The Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
newspaper compared the widespread expression of grief by strangers to that seen after the death of Diana, Princess of Wales
Diana, Princess of Wales
Diana, Princess of Wales was the first wife of Charles, Prince of Wales, whom she married on 29 July 1981, and an international charity and fundraising figure, as well as a preeminent celebrity of the late 20th century...
. The paper cited the 2004 CIVITAS
CIVITAS
Civitas: The Institute for the Study of Civil Society was founded by David G. Green and Robert Whelan early in 2000 as an independent think tank. It is a British registered charity , financed by private donations...
think-tank, which described such grief as "mourning sickness
Mourning sickness
Mourning sickness is a collective emotional condition of "recreational grieving" by individuals at the death of murder victims or celebrities. Such celebrity deaths may be linked to hyper-attentive, intrusive and voyeuristic media coverage, which has been dubbed grief porn.-History:The history of...
", related to people's own emotional needs, rather than any real rapport with the deceased. De Volkskrant
De Volkskrant
de Volkskrant is a national daily Dutch morning newspaper, the leading centre-left broadsheet, although now in tabloid size.-History:...
likened the mass mourning to that which followed the death of Dutch singer, André Hazes
André Hazes
André Gerardus Hazes was a Dutch singer in a genre called levenslied which is a form of emotional folk music about everyday life sung in the Dutch language. André Hazes was one of the most successful singers in this genre...
, and also pointed to existing personal loss as the major cause.
Stephen Coleman, Professor of Political Communication at Leeds University, said that Svidersky occupied a "shared space" with other young people, who wanted to comment, as they identified with her and shared a common discourse; distance and lack of physical encounter were not significant factors. Philip Rayner, Senior Lecturer in Media Communications at the University of Gloucestershire
University of Gloucestershire
The University of Gloucestershire is a university primarily based in Gloucestershire, England, spread over four campuses, three in Cheltenham and one in Gloucester...
, saw the reaction to Svidersky's death as pointing to a change of social interactions that had occurred in the previous few years, and in particular the phenomenon of almost immediate global dissemination of information, but that in her case a significant aspect was also "the sense of community and shared emotional response".
Richard Watson, in his book Future files: the 5 trends that will shape the next 50 years, discussed "digital immortality" through internet records, and cited Svidersky, whose MySpace page would "remain, potentially forever" as her "digital afterlife". Der Spiegel
Der Spiegel
Der Spiegel is a German weekly news magazine published in Hamburg. It is one of Europe's largest publications of its kind, with a weekly circulation of more than one million.-Overview:...
said that Svidersky was famous, albeit posthumously, in a new way—not via traditional media as in the time of Andy Warhol
Andy Warhol
Andrew Warhola , known as Andy Warhol, was an American painter, printmaker, and filmmaker who was a leading figure in the visual art movement known as pop art...
, but as with the Star Wars Kid
Star Wars Kid
"Star Wars Kid" is an Internet meme involving a video of a high school student from Trois-Rivières, Quebec, Canada, wielding a golf ball retriever in imitation of Darth Maul's lightsaber moves from the Star Wars films....
through the web page/blog/video and google hits.
A memorial video In Memory of Anna Svidersky on YouTube, which has now been removed, was viewed more than 3,000,000 times by April 2011, five years after the incident.
External links
- Anna Svidersky's MySpace page
- AnnaSvidersky.net - online condolence book
- Adams, Kelly. "Promising life cut short for Vancouver teen." Columbian. April 21, 2006. (Article reproduced on McMurder site.)
- King5 news report with video link