A deadly encounter

NEW YORK CITY - They say the eyes are the mirror of the soul, but those who knew Kendra Webdale say the true looking-glass was her smile—as big and beautiful as her dreams.

She loved the phrase “remember me in smiles and laughter.” No one imagined how soon they’d have to do that.

Andrew Goldstein's life, in many ways, was the mirror opposite of hers: one of crushing loneliness, of dreams cut short by the nightmares that tormented him, and of cries for help that went unanswered.

Mike Winerip: There’s a big piece of him that has a sense that he himself is in trouble, is a ticking time bomb, needs help.

Andrew Goldsteinand Kendra Webdale: On a gloomy January day, on a darkened subway platform, their paths collided—one terrible moment that left two lives destroyed, a family shattered, and a community struggling to understand how a system created to protect them both could fail so miserably. To find answers, Dateline spent 10 months piecing together their stories and scrutinizing thousands of confidential documents, documents which lie at the heart of this story.

Kendra Webdale grew up in Fredonia, N.Y., a tiny village nestled near Lake Erie’s eastern shore.

Her parents, Ralph and Patricia Webdale, were hospital administrators who managed to raise six lively kids under one small roof

Patty Webdale, Kendra’s mother: Kendra was a part of this big group dynamic thing we had going. We picked hundreds of pounds of strawberries every year. We raised a couple of pigs.  [laugh] Every one of our kids had a job. It was kinda neat.

Kendra grew to become the ultimate middle sister—carving out a special place in everyone’s heart.

Suzanne Webdale, sister: She was so genuine, and sincere. Like she definitely would be very open, and talk to you. And she liked to talk.

Looking back, her sisters Suzanne, Krista,  and Kelly say that as Kendra became an adult, her zest for adventure inspired them to live richer lives.

Kelly Webdale, sister: She wrote to me once and she said: experiment, experience, excite and explore.  And that just seems like what she did with everything that she did.

Before long, her own yearning to experiment and explore led her onward to New York City.  Kendra thrived on the city’s parks and museums, on its mix of people and possibilities.  Her big sister Kim lived there too.

Kim Webdale, sister: She was getting to the point in her life where she was truly happy and where she had definite goals—things that she had hoped to achieve.

Only later, says her brother Ralph, would they understand how Kendra’s warmth and approachability might be a danger to her.

Ralph Webdale Jr., brother: She was almost the perfect victim because she was so trusting.

She wouldn’t turn anyone away, he said. Not even the man in the subway. Andrew Goldstein lived just a short train ride away from Kendra. His tiny basement room was empty. His mind was filled with weird voices and violent impulses. There was nothing in his appearance that would reveal the demons within. There was just a certain strangeness about him. 

But, all of that was about to change.  The New Year, 1999, had barely begun when this utterly tortured soul would come face to face with the young woman so full of hope.

Patty Webdale:She didn’t have a chance and she didn’t have a choice.

A random encounter that would change everything.  It would devastate her family, stun a city, and a put a system of care on trial.

An anguished young man pleads for help—but finds himself on the streets.

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