Ruthie Mae McCoy and Candyman

The movie Candyman had many inspirations. It’s believed that one of them was the murder of a woman named Ruthie Mae McCoy - a middle aged lady who lived alone in a unit in Grace Abbott Apartments, the most dangerous building within the dilapidated ABLA housing projects. Ruthie Mae was very close to moving out of her apartment, because she was not doing well living there. She had become very isolated because she was so scared to leave since crime was rampant in the complex. Unfortunately, an architectural quirk in the building allowed for people looking to rob apartments to access them via their medicine cabinet. The medicine cabinets could be removed to reveal a tunnel that lead to the medicine cabinet next door, or sometimes the medicine cabinets on the floor above or below. The night of the murder Ruthie Mae heard the robbers breaking in and she ran to the phone. She told the dispatcher her address and then told them “they’re breaking in through the bathroom.” The dispatcher was confused what she meant by that but he understood enough to ask her to confirm that her apartment was being broken into, which she did. Instead of reporting the crime as a break-in, the dispatcher reported it as a disturbance - which was the first of many mistakes made by the people who were supposed to protect Ruthie Mae. Each mistake added up to culminate in no justice for Ruthie Mae, but her legacy lives on as her story has been told by many people in relation to the movie Candyman. She has been remembered as a tenacious woman who took care of those around her and cared deeply about others, even when she was struggling. Sources:“ABLA Homes.” Wikipedia, 15 Oct. 2023, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ABLA_Homes. Accessed 26 Oct. 2023.Bogira, Steve. “Cause of Death.” Chicago Reader, 12 July 1990, chicagoreader.com/news-politics/cause-of-death/. Accessed 26 Oct. 2023.---. “They Came in through the Bathroom Mirror.” Chicago Reader, 3 Sept. 1987, chicagoreader.com/news-politics/they-came-in-through-the-bathroom-mirror/.“Candyman (1992 Film).” Wikipedia, 26 Oct. 2020, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Candyman_(1992_film).“Life and Death in the Projects | the Murder of Ruthie Mae McCoy.” Https://Thekillerqueenblog.com/Ruthie-Mae-Mccoy/, 25 July 2023, thekillerqueenblog.com/ruthie-mae-mccoy/. Accessed 26 Oct. 2023.‌ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.