COLUMBUS (WCMH) — On January 27th, 2017, Phynesia Edwards says no one else seemed to be around at approximately 5:45 a.m. when she arrived to her job near Nationwide Children’s Hospital.
It was just her and a man she felt didn’t belong in the area. She says he was wearing a mask similar to the ones seen in medical settings that only cover the face and mouth. She waited until he was gone – or so she thought.
“I did a brief over my shoulder to see where he was. He was right there,” says Edwards, who was walking across the street to work in what is typically a busy area. “He pushed the knife to my neck and told me to shutup. That he was going to kill me.”
According to police, that man was Brian Golsby, who is accused of abducting, raping and murdering Ohio State student Reagan Tokes just 12 days later.
Edwards says Golsby got away with her laptop bag, which contained pretty much all of her essentials. Despite the terrifying incident, she says she felt fortunate a couple weeks later when she recognized the man as having been arrested for Tokes’ murder.
“He’s a very sick individual. He’s pure evil,” she adds.
On Wednesday, Edwards learned of the Reagan Tokes Act and knew she had to speak out.
“I want it to be safe for everybody’s daughter. The Tokeses wanted it to be safe for their daughter and it wasn’t.”
Now, she’s urging Ohioans to contact their state legislators to make the act a priority.
“When the legislature makes something a top priority, the legislature has the ability to move extremely quickly things,” says Ohio Representative Kristin Boggs, who has worked with Reagan’s parents and other lawmakers on putting the proposal together.
Boggs says the legislation will likely go to the Criminal Justice Committee within a few weeks. Anyone can send the committee testimony with their thoughts on the proposal and those testimonies could be the first part of getting the Reagan Tokes Act put into law in a timely fashion.
For Edwards, showing support is a simple choice – and one she plans to follow through on until the act becomes law.