Alexandra Kogut
/ File photo
NEW HARTFORD -- The tragic story of 18-year-old Alexandra Kogut, a SUNY Brockport student who was allegedly murdered by her boyfriend in September, will be featured in the March issue of "Seventeen" magazine.
The article is reportedly titled "The Time Bomb Boyfriend," and it tells the story of Kogut and her boyfriend, 21-year-old Clayton Whittemore, reports WKTV News and the Utica Observer-Dispatch.
The article is "a stern warning for teens about the dangers of possibly violent relationships," WKTV reports.
Kogut and Whittemore had dated for two years and Whittemore was visiting her at SUNY Brockport at the time of the incident.
A sheriff's office report released in October said Whittemore described killing Kogut with his fists and a curling iron after an argument. The sheriff's report says Whittemore told an officer he and Kogut got into a shoving match after they were drinking and he "just snapped."
Whittemore allegedly said that, while trying to kill Kogut, "her breathing sounded bad." He said he then beat her with a curling iron "until the noise stopped" because "I didn't want the girl I loved to suffer."
"I wasn't even drunk," Whittemore allegedly said. "I just snapped."
Whittemore pleaded not guilty to a charge of second-degree murder. Attorneys for Whittemore say they plan to base their defense on what they say was their client's "extreme emotional disturbance" at the time of the slaying. They've filed court documents alerting the Monroe County District Attorney's Office in Rochester that they'll likely present psychiatric evidence during trial.
Kogut and her accused killer both attended New Hartford High School before going their separate ways. Kogut was enrolled as a freshman at Brockport, while Whittemore attended Utica College.
Kogut was the captain of the New Hartford girl’s swimming team and Whittemore was a stand-out athlete who played hockey and ran cross-country. Former classmates told CNY Central in October that they seemed like a normal happy young couple.
(Information from the Associated Press and previous CNY Central reports were used in this report.)
