Death of Plainfield Teen Spurs Invention by NIU Alum

Dual tragedies at Northern Illinois University have inspired an alum to create a device he says could help keep students safe.

According to RedEye Chicago, NIU graduate-turned-inventor Joe Parisi has launched a $20,000 Indiegogo campaign to fund producion of a keychain-sized personal security device that would act as a mobile “panic button” to allow students to alert law enforcement in case of an emergency. Using a cell phone signal, the device would also relay the user’s GPS location to authorities, along with a photo and physical description.

A mass shooting that left six dead on the campus in 2008 and the murder of Plainfield 18-year-old Toni Keller in 2010 inspired the invention, Parisi told RedEye. At the time of both incidents, the campus was equipped with emergency alert stations that allowed students to walk up and press a button to summon campus police. Parisi said he has wondered if both tragedies could have been avoided if students could carry panic buttons to alert police in an instant.

Parisi is the CEO of EduProtect, a company he and fellow NIU graduates founded in the wake of Keller’s death. He said it was her murder that largely inspired him to create the device, which he believes could have helped police find her sooner.

Keller was attacked and killed while walking in a park near the DeKalb campus in October 2010. Her badly burned body was found days later. Her killer, William Curl, pleaded guilty in 2013 in exchange for a 37-year sentence.

‘This Could Be Anybody Else’s Kid Next Time: Curl Gets 37 Years in Toni Keller Murder

According to RedEye, the mobile panic button device allows users to press a button to transmit their information, including location, to a dispatch center in Springfield, which in turn would relay the information to the proper authorities. It can all be done while using the cell phone’s signal, while keeping the phone itself hidden.

“I know what we have built has the ability to save lives,” Parisi said.

Click here to read the full RedEye article, and learn more about the device and fundraising efforts on Indiegogo.com.