5 Craigslist crimes that will creep you out
On Craigslist, you can find good deals, side gigs, even friends. What a wonderful medium, some might say. But then again, you can also be murdered, assaulted and robbed. We don't mean to scare you, but there are dangers to using the online marketplace.
Surfers, beware! Here are some scary Craigslist tales that will make you think twice before you click to respond or post.
The "Craigslist killer"
The "Craigslist killer" Philip Markoff, an engaged pre-med student, was arraigned on murder charges related to the death of Julissa Brisman, a New York woman who advertised on Craigslist, on April 2009. He was also charged for two other assaults by victims he also found on Craigslist.
Markoff committed suicide on August 2010, just one day after what would have been one year after his wedding anniversary, while he was in jail.
Teen slays Craigslist nanny
In 2009, Michael John Anderson was convicted for killing Katherine Ann Olson, a nanny who frequently used Craigslist to get jobs. She answered the ad for a babysitter on Craigslist. When she visited Anderson's home to inquire about the position, she disappeared.
When the 24-year-old Minneapolis woman's body was discovered (in the trunk of her car abandoned in a park), police searched Anderson's home five blocks away, and found Olson's blood inside and a gun in his bedroom.
Anderson claimed he was there during the slaying but that the killer was a friend of his who "thought it would be funny."
Anderson was the first murderer referred by Craigslist.
Craigslist car scam
Tina Morris, a Jacksonville, Flo. mom, went on Craigslist to buy a car for her daughter as a graduation present. She found a Honda Accord that was on sale for $2,900. She worked with a seller who said the car was in a New Jersey shipping yard (part of a divorce), and she would have to deal with a Gary Doyle, an eBay Motors agent, in Seville, Spain.
It sounded legit to Morris, so she went through with the purchase. When the seller asked her for $1,000 for insurance reasons, she asked for her money back. They told her it would take 40 days.
Morris became alarmed and called eBay Motors who told her that it was a scam.
Man allegedly rapes maid found on Craigslist
On June 2011, California man Michael Delgado was arrested after allegedly raping a maid he found on Craigslist. The housekeeper showed up to clean the 27-year-old's apartment and said she was raped for over an hour.
Delgado has been charged with false imprisonment, assault and rape with a foreign object.
Armed robbery during a Craigslist transaction
In February 2011, a man who sought to buy a cell phone on Craigslist was robbed at gunpoint when he met with the seller. The victim was connected with the robber through Craigslist after answering an online classified ad to get an iPhone for $500.
When the victim met with the seller, he pulled out a pistol, took his cash and fled the scene.