Murder by Craigslist
Woman found murdered after answering Craigslist ad!
October of 2007 in Minnesota, a young woman by the name of Katherine Ann Olson, age 24 was found dead and stuffed into the trunk of her car after answering an ad on Craigslist.
She was last seen the day before she was found, heading off to meet a couple she believed had just relocated to the area and in need of a babysitter. The couple had placed an ad on Craigslist advertising that they were seeking a nanny.
Shortly after the body was found the police arrested a 19 year old man they believe placed the phony nanny ad on Craigslist. The police declined to identify the suspect except to say that he worked at the Minneapolis-St. Paul airport where he was arrested shortly after Katherine's body was found.
The police also found Olson's purse in a garbage bin along with a blood soaked towel.
Like many other online shopping sites, Craigslist has a large share of illegal activity. Prostitutes have advertised their services there for a long time, and many other types of frauds are perpetuated through what seem at first glance like legitimate ads.
This was the first time Craigslist had ever been used for Murder, or at least the first time that the police became aware of.
This goes to show that you should never invite anyone who places an ad on Craigslist to meet with you privately or come to your home. There are so many dangerous people advertising on Craigslist that if you must deal with someone from an ad posted on Craigslist the police advise that you meet with them in a very public and a well lit place. Never meet someone from a Craigslist ad alone, always have someone accompany you. Many people have been getting mugged or assaulted when they meet someone from postings on Craigslist. Another thing to keep in mind is never to carry large amounts of cash, you will be an easy target this way. If someone places an ad on Craigslist and wants to be paid in cash and will meet you somewhere to complete the deal, that is a recipe for disaster. They will assault you, maybe rape you if you are a woman, and run off with the money. It has happened, read our other pages for more details.
There are so many crimes on Craigslist that many people are now appropriately calling it Crimeslist. Even though the Craigslist management perpetuates this idea of a community, it's a load of B.S. Be very leery of this community. Treat everyone from this community at arms length. There are so many scams on Craigslist that it will take several pages for us to detail them all. What type of community does this to it's members? Don't be fooled into a false sense of security and wind up like Katherine Ann Olson. Who? The girl that was killed! You forgot already?!
More recently (Spring 2009) the now dubbed 'Craigslist Killer' has taken two victims (that we know of so far). The first was a Las Vegas prostitute which was thought to be an isolated incident until more recently, 26 year old Julissa Brisman was tied up and shot several times at a hotel room in the Boston area by someone who solicited her massage services on Craigslist. This now was the second killing in the area originating from ads on Craigslist.
Police recently released surveillance video of the man suspected to be the Craigslist Killer. According to reports, he was seen at both hotels the nights each killing took place. Bostonherald.com points out that the man was wearing a Red Sox hat and offering team stats for readers loosing interest in the local murder article. The Herald missing the true nature of the murders, dubbed the killer the more mundane and innocuous ".com killer" and has been begging it's readers for any information relating to the murders.
According to reports, Brisman was a model and actress based in New York who worked at a tanning salon and who recently began advertising her massage services on Craigslist in an attempt to supplement her income. Friends and family have denied allegations that she was also offering sexual favors on the side. One piece of information indicates that Brisman was not using her real photograph on her Craigslist ads, but instead that of another model.
The victim, Brisman, apparently advertised herself quite profusely on internet sites. She had a Facebook account along with many other social networking sites, and she worked as a model for Nearear, a cell phone courtesy advocacy organization. She apparently appeared in a video the organization made to promote this cause.
Update
2 bodies discovered in another Craigslist robbery/murder scheme. 11-25-11 The AP story reports of the body of a white male found in a shallow grave near an Akron Ohio mall. Later the same day another white male body without identification was found in another shallow grave in a rural area of Ohio. The two bodies are believed to be connected with the Craigslist robbery/murder scheme says the FBI. The FBI is working under the assumption that the body found near the Rolling Acres mall near Akron Ohio may be that of Timothy Kern, 47 years old. FBI spokesperson Anderson says Kern has not been heard from in over a week, and they cannot find him.
Kern was believed to be the second person to answer a Craigslist jobs ad for a Farm Hand. The same ad that is believed to be responsible for the death of 51 year old, Norfolk Virginia resident David Pauley who's body was found in a rural area South of Akron. A separate South Carolina man reported answering the same ad on Nov. 6 and being shot but being able to escape.
Two people from the Akron area are in custody in relation to the Craigslist Ad. A high school student who has been charged with attempted murder, and 52 year old Richard Beasley who is currently in jail for unrelated charges. Beasley's mother was contacted for comment and had the usual "My son has a very caring heart" and claimed the usual disbelief in the story.
While investigating further details of the story, the local authorities contacted other people who answered the ad but were not hired. Apparently Beasley was looking for someone to oversee a 688 acres patch of farm land that we now know doesn't exist. The type of person they were looking for was supposed to be single, or divorced with few if any family connections and able to live in a two bedroom trailer to watch over the farm land for 4300 per week. In other words, someone who would not be missed by anyone if they disappeared suddenly. The others that answered the ad but were not accepted considered themselves fortunate when they found out what the assailants intended plans were for them. The local authorities being under a judge's gag order had little comment on the situation only to say that the investigation is "on going".
