When
CraigsList was founded, I doubt that it’s founder meant it to be used as a tool
for murder. Since 2007, even up
until today, people have been murdered, and violently attacked by replying to,
or placing advertisements on CraigsList.
In 2007, Katherine Olson was found murdered, stuffed in the trunk of her
car after responding to an ad. In
2008, a Michigan woman put a contract out for murder via CraigsList. While in
2009, George Weber was found bound and stabbed over 50 times after meeting a
woman on CraigsList, Julissa Brisman was murdered by Philip Markoff after he
responded to her massage services ad, and Heather Snively and her unborn child
of eight months were brutally murdered after meeting Korena Roberts to discuss
her ad about selling baby clothes.
More
recently, in April 2010, Jimmy Sanders was murdered and his family terrorized
by four individuals including, one, Kiyoshi Higashi. Along with Joshua Reese, Amanda Knight, and Clabon Berniard
responded to Mr. Sanders’ CraigsList ad regarding a diamond ring for sale. Higashi was the first of the group to
go to trial, and the first CraigsList killer to be found guilty of first-degree
murder, as of March 9, 2011. His
presence during the murder of Mr. Sanders was enough to get a conviction on the
counts of first-degree murder, first-degree burglary, and two counts of both
second-degree assault and first-degree robbery.
Even
more recently, yesterday, December 1, 2011, another “CraigsList Killer” was
arrested. He is sixteen years old. Brogan Rafferty of Stow, Ohio, along with
his fifty-two year old mentor Richard Beasley. (Beasley has not been charged in
this case yet, due to other charges against him involving prostitution and
drugs.) The duo met when Mr.
Beasley was a chaplain mentoring the young adult. According to the New York Times article Craigslist Used in Deadly Ploy to Lure Victims in Ohio, by Erica
Goode, “The perpetrators appeared to be looking for loners who would not be
missed,” and I rather agree. Their CraigsList ad offered a job where the person
selected would be responsible for feeding some cows and watching the 688 acre
expanse of land, and came with a few perks including a free trailer to stay in
and unlimited fishing. Before agreeing to give the fake job to the people who
applied for it, they were interviewed by Mr. Beasley. One such man was Ron
Sanson; he was denied from the job in the ad on CraigsList. Perhaps it was
because he was in the Navy after attending college, and he would be missed. Three
men were murdered after ‘receiving’ the fake job, and another was injured and
luckily escaped, unraveling this CraigsList serial killing.
This
most recent CraigsList killing spree got me thinking… is the technology that we
love, that we share so much of ourselves on, that we seem to not be able to
live without our undoing? Why are we so willing to trust over the internet, yet
so unwilling to trust in person? I believe it is because those of us in the
world who have a good-hearted nature believe, or wish to believe, that others
wouldn’t do such a thing as lure innocent people to their brutal deaths. This
naive belief leads many people down a road from which they will never return.
Unfortunately many people are murdered each year, but the number of people
murdered after initial contact is made through the internet is steadily on the
rise.
Events
like the first CraigsList killing, are sadly becoming more and more common. It
is easier than ever to find information about people whom you are talking with
over the internet than ever before. Between our naïve views, and the amount of
readily accessible information, and the amount of information we willingly give
out about ourselves it is no wonder why such events are on the rise. I am very
much a supporter of the idea, the more privacy an individual has the better,
and I think more people should adopt this view. I’m not saying that I don’t
have any personal information out and about on the internet, you could probably
find some if you wanted to search hard enough, but I think that everyone should
be more wary of who they trust on the internet. A new ‘friend’ may not be so
friendly when you meet. The most recent CraigsList killings show just that.
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