Stephen King himself could not have come up with a more twisted, gruesome plot than the reality of the Craigslist killings that took place in Ohio in 2011. Now the exploits of Craigslist murderer Richard Beasley and his teen sidekick Brogan Rafferty, the stories of their victims Timothy Kern, David Pauley, and Ralph Geiger, and lone survivor Scott Davis, are detailed in a new ebook published by the Akron Beacon Journal.
It all started with a Craigslist ‘help wanted’ ad in the fall of 2011. The Craiglist posting said that the employer was looking for someone to help look after a property with more than 600 acres. The successful candidate would be able to live rent-free on the property and have the use of a vehicle, and in addition would be paid about $300 a week, and have access to all the fishing they wanted. All in exchange for looking after the property and a few cows.
The reality, however, was far more sinister. Beasley, at one time holding himself out as a street minister, and his protege Rafferty, lured the men there with the express intention of killing them. There was some talk of the motive being stealing their identities, as Beasley was a career criminal with a rap sheet as long as your arm, but in the end prosecutors said that the motive was plain old greed: robbery.
What is agreed is that the victims were selected for certain traits, including them all being middle-aged men, with few family ties.
The Internet Patrol is completely free, and reader-supported. Your tips via CashApp, Venmo, or Paypal are appreciated! Receipts will come from ISIPP.
CashApp us
Venmo us
Paypal us
The one intended victim who narrowly escaped after being shot, Scott Davis, became the prosecution’s star witness, and told a harrowing tale of hearing a gun cocked behind him, turning, deflecting the gun, and running – hiding several hours in the woods before finding help at a nearby house.
Beasley has been sentenced to death, and Rafferty to life without the possibility of parole.
All this resulting from unsuspecting people asnwering one little Craigslist ad.
Of the ebook The Craigslist Killings: a Tale of Murder in Ohio, the Akron Beacon Journal explains:
One was a con man. One was a high school student. What they did together grew into one of the most disturbing murder cases in the history of Summit County, Ohio. The details of the crimes of Richard Beasley and Brogan Rafferty emerged one body at a time. Read this chilling account of deception and murder as told in stories and pictures by the Akron Beacon Journal.
You can [Page no longer available – we have linked to the archive.org version instead]
The Internet Patrol is completely free, and reader-supported. Your tips via CashApp, Venmo, or Paypal are appreciated! Receipts will come from ISIPP.
CashApp us
Venmo us
Paypal us
