19-Year-Old Charged In Deaths Of 2 Ohio Men He Met Online Held On $2 Million Bail
COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — A man charged in the deaths of two central Ohio men authorities say were killed after meeting the suspect online was ordered held in lieu of $2 million bail.
A Franklin County municipal court judge on Saturday ordered 19-year-old Talent Bradley, of Coshocton, held on $1 million each in the deaths of Robert Goodrich of Westerville and Robert Gwirtz of Columbus.
Both men are believed to have been killed May 26 at their respective homes. Goodrich, 62, was found dead the following day and 63-year-old Gwirtz was found dead June 7, authorities said. Authorities said Goodrich was stabbed and Gwirtz died of blunt force trauma.
The prosecutor told the judge that Bradley told investigators that he acted in self-defense but "the facts just do not line up with that being the case."
WCMH-TV, however, reported that as he was being led to jail, Bradley told a reporter from the station: "I didn't do it." It's unclear whether he has an attorney; a listed number for him couldn't be found Sunday. His preliminary hearing is scheduled Aug. 20.
Westerville police said Bradley, who was arrested Wednesday, met both men on the social networking and online dating app Grindr.
Sgt. James Fuqua said investigators are still looking into why Goodrich and Gwirtz were targeted, the Columbus Dispatch reported. He said both were of similar age and lived alone, which may have made them robbery targets. Goodrich's cellphone was stolen from his home, according to court records.
Grindr released a statement Thursday saying it encourages users to report criminal allegations to authorities and cooperates with law enforcement in some cases, WBNS-TV reported.
"Grindr encourages users to be careful when interacting with people they do not know and to report improper or illegal behavior either within the app or directly," the company said.
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