Dates in Rita Case

John Rita, the Notre D am e Law g r a d u a te ac c u s e d of k ill ing th e n Notre D am e f r e s h m a n M a ra Fox with his ca r in the ear ly m orn ing hours of Nov. 13, 1993, will plead guilty on Feb. 6 to a m isdem eanor charge similar to his original felony charge of leaving the scene of a fatal accident. After deliberating for nine hours, a jury acquitted Rita in 1994 of caus­ ing F ox’s d e a th by d r iv in g w hile intoxicated. Judge William Albright, who heard the case, granted a mis­ tria l on the second felony ch a rg e because of a deadlocked jury. “I feel really bad for the family [of Fox) and everybody who has waited for three years in this process,” said S is te r K a th leen B eat ty , r e c to r of Lyons Hall w here Fox lived. “The prosecutor, Mr. [Mike] Barnes, said in the fall tha t this would go to trial. And now, for whatever reason, he has decided not to prosecute him.” According to witnesses , Fox and fou r o th e r N o tre D am e s tu d e n t s w ere w alking down Douglas Road on their way home from Maori’s Deli on Grape Road in Mishawaka after midnight. The group had waited for a cab, but gave up and decided to make the trip home down the unlit road. At ju s t a b o u t 1 a .m., before the g roup rea ch ed the in te rsec tion of Douglas and South Bend Avenue, a car hit Fox head-on. It then pulled away from the scene and continued on towards Mishawaka. Three hours later, police arrested R ita in h is a p a r t m e n t . Fox w a s declared dead upon arriving to the hospital at 1:22 a.m. To this day, a sign with a wreath on it s tands on the side of Douglas Road a t th e s i te of th e a c c id e n t , reminding people of Fox’s death. Rita was charged with two felony c o u n t s in th e a c c id e n t , b u t w as a l lo w e d to f in ish h is law schoo l classes a t home and graduate with a d e g r e e f ro m N o tre D a m e ’s Law School. F o x ’s d e a t h h a d a p r o f o u n d impact on those around her. “[She] w as one of the best people I ever k n e w ,” J e n n i fe r R am irez , one of Fox’s roommates, said before g rad­ uation last year. “When we go o u t ... i t f e e ls l ike s o m e o n e w a s le f t behind.” In N o v e m b e r 1994 , Lyons Hall instituted the “Mara Fox Fun Run,” an annual event that raises money for a so p hom ore s tu d e n t to s tudy ab road in Spain. Fox had planned