DANGER: BEWARE OF BOGUS HELP WANTED ADS ON CRAIGSLIST/ Brogan Rafferty, 16, charged & found guilty of 3 Craigslist murders/Update 3.12.13 Richard Beasely guilty in the 3 murders, jury recommends death!

This story is a little confusing... but to me the hook was yet another crime connected to "CraigsList"

November 19, 2011

COLUMBUS, Ohio — The mother of a jailed Ohio man said Saturday her son has “a very caring heart” and was a mentor to a teenager charged in a deadly robbery scheme in which police say victims were lured with bogus help-wanted ads on Craigslist.
Carol Beasley told The Associated Press that she spoke to her son Richard and she prays that a newspaper report that he is a suspect is not true.

“The most I can say is this is just a big shock to us,” she said in a telephone interview. “I pray it’s some other person and not him.”

Richard Beasley, 52, was in jail on unrelated charges when police arrested two suspects in the robbery scheme, including a 16-year-old boy Beasley’s mother says he befriended. The teenager was charged Friday with attempted murder. A judge issued a gag order in the case, and the names of the two victims and the adult suspect, who so far has not been charged, were not released.

Authorities say a South Carolina man who responded to a bogus ad for a farmhand in Ohio was taken Nov. 6 to a desolate area and shot in the arm. He escaped and sought help at a farmhouse in Caldwell. The Columbus Dispatch identified the man as Scott W. Davis, 48, citing a Noble County Sheriff’s Office incident report. Davis reportedly lived with his mother in Canton.

Last week, authorities found one hand-dug grave they believe was intended for the man who escaped and a second grave that held the body of a Florida man. The newspaper reported that paperwork in the case against the teenager says he was assisting a Richard J. Beasley in attempting to murder the man who survived.

Carol Beasley, 70, acknowledged that her son has a history of trouble with the law, but she was at a loss to explain where things went wrong. She said her son took the teenager to church almost weekly, took him fishing and to the movies or to play video games, and the two also did volunteer work delivering food to needy people.

“He worked as a street chaplain, did a lot of things like that, that’s why all of this is difficult, you know?” the mother said. “I don’t know, maybe sometimes when you work with street people, maybe you are just too close to the edge. It’s all kind of confusing to me.”

Richard Beasley faced previous charges in Ohio, including aggravated menacing, tampering with evidence, possession of criminal tools and illegal cultivation of marijuana, court records show. He also was convicted in Texas of burglary and unauthorized use of a motor vehicle in 1985, sentenced to a 40-year prison sentence and placed on parole for 34 years in 1989.

Beasley was in the Summit County jail Friday on drug trafficking, compelling prostitution and fugitive-from-justice charges when police made arrests in the robbery scheme. The Associated Press generally does not report the names of minors charged with crimes. A message left with an attorney for Beasley listed on court documents was not returned.

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STOW, Ohio—
The father of a local teen charged in a southern Ohio murder scheme involving a Craigslist ad said his son was manipulated.

He also explains the relationship between his son and a man who is also behind bars.

Brogan Rafferty, 16, of Stow, is charged with attempted murder and complicity to attempted murder.

Richard Beasley, 52, of Akron, has not yet been charged in connection with the bizarre murder plot.

"I can't believe this has happened. It's like somebody just dropped a bomb on my life," said the teen's father, Michael Rafferty.

He said his son is known as a good kid.

"About how mild-mannered he was and how polite and how much of a gentleman," he said.

But investigators in southern Ohio's Noble County arrested the Stow-Munroe Falls High School junior on Wednesday, along with Beasley.

Investigators said two men were lured to a farm by a Craigslist ad offering a job taking care of cattle.

They believe robbery was the motive.

One man from South Carolina was shot Nov. 6, but escaped.

The body of a man from Florida was found buried in a shallow grave. His brother tells Fox 8 he had spoken to Beasley about the job.

"He said he had several siblings and that the siblings were the ones who owned the farm and they still camped there and did this, that there, but they weren't able to take care of the farm," said the brother in a telephone interview.

"He probably lied to Brogan and told him he was going down there for one thing and then once he popped a cap in that guy or something, he probably scared the hell out of him," said Rafferty.

Rafferty said his family has known and trusted Beasley for more than 20 years.

Brogan's parents said Beasley became a mentor to Brogan, often taking him to church and on outings to feed the homeless.

"As Brogan got, like, to be a teenager, not so often, but him and Rich had a friendship," said Rafferty.

Earlier this year, after Beasley was charged with running a prostitution ring, Michael said he told Brogan to stay away from him. But he said Brogan and Beasley secretly stayed in touch.

"This man corrupted my son this way, and I really would like to think that he doesn't have this in him, that he was just in a bad spot and fooled by this guy and something happened and he was in over his head and just didn't feel he could turn back."

Michael Rafferty said Brogan told him and his ex-wife that Beasley threatened to kill all of them, if Brogan went to police.

Brogan is being held in a juvenile detention center in Muskingum County.

At last check, Beasley was being held at the Summit County jail.

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OMG!! He looks completely insane!!!!

At least one job applicant was murdered, one got away. Young teen arrested, one 52 year old man who was his mentor. State of Ohio. This is pitiful. A missing man who is thought to have also been murdered by these 2 only wanted to find work to support his children well, children he was devoted to. What a tragedy.



The father of a Massillon man missing since Nov. 13 said his son interviewed for a craigslist help-wanted ad that police said actually was a deadly robbery scheme that lured people to a nonexistent farm job.
Authorities said Timothy Kern, 47, was last seen in Plain Township. Police said he told his family he was meeting with a prospective employer that morning and hasn't been seen or heard from since.
An FBI agent told Newschannel5 that investigators are reaching out to the public for help and they’re concerned that foul play could be involved.
The FBI said it's unusual for Kern to be out of daily contact with his family. Agents would not provide details linking Kern's disappearance to the craigslist murder investigation. And agents won't say whether he answered a craigslist ad.
But Tim Kern's father, Jack, said his son apparently answered the craigslist ad on Oct. 30 and interviewed for the job with a man in an Akron restaurant on Nov. 9. His son left his car with a friend in Akron on Nov. 13 and was driven to what he was told was the job site.
Jack Kern said that his son was promised $300 a week, a trailer and a truck for the job near Caldwell in Noble County. Kern said his son was excited about the job because of the chance of bettering his life and helping his three sons.
Kern said he believes the outlook is grim because his son was never out of touch for long.
“Maybe someone has seen him," said Kern. "We have hope. We have to hope that he will be OK.”
Timothy Kern may be the third man caught up in the deadly scheme linked to a craigslist want ad. Investigators said a Florida man was found dead in southeastern Ohio's Noble County last week, and a North Carolina man was wounded trying to escape. He told police he was lured by the online ad promising work.
Two people were taken into custody late last week, including a 16-year-old boy from Stow, and a 52-year-old man from Akron.
Anyone with information regarding Timothy Kern's whereabouts is asked to contact the FBI in Canton at 330-456-6200.

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A body found in a shallow grave in northeast Ohio was that of a man missing more than a week who answered a deadly Craigslist ad that police say lured victims into a robbery, a medical examiner said Saturday.

Timothy Kern, 47, of Massillon, was last seen Nov. 13 after driving to Akron for a job he called a "good offer but strange." His family has said it was out of character for him not to be in touch.

Kern died of gunshot wounds to the head, the Summit County Medical Examiner’s office said.

Kern answered the same ad for a farmhand that authorities say led to the shooting death of Norfolk, Va., resident David Pauley, 51, in a rural area 90 miles south of Akron. A South Carolina man reported answering the ad but managed to escape after being shot Nov. 6.

The discovery of Kern’s body Friday near the Rolling Acres shopping mall in Akron came just a few hours before the sheriff in Noble County in southeastern Ohio announced that another body had been found in a shallow grave there.

Sheriff Steve Hannum is under a judge’s gag order and can’t comment on the case, but the title of his emailed announcement — "second body" — implied the discovery was connected with Pauley’s death.

If the two bodies discovered Friday are both linked to Pauley’s case, that would bring to three the number of deaths associated with the phony Craigslist ad.

Two people from the Akron area are in custody: a high school student who has been charged with attempted murder and 52-year-old Richard Beasley, who is in jail on unrelated charges.

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I have used craigslist looking for a job. It was recommended from our workforce center. I have always been Leary of any job posted there because of stuff like this.

OMG, LM. Don't ever do that again!

The purported Ohio chaplain linked to the murders of three men who answered a phony job ad on Craigslist defended himself in a jailhouse letter saying he is not a "con man."

Rich Beasley, 52, appeared in court today for the second time in two days. He was arraigned on 14 counts of promoting prostitution and one count of compelling prostitution. On Thursday, he was arraigned on charges of selling oxycontin.

FBI spokesman Michael Brooks told ABCNews.com that Beasley is a suspect in the Craigslist murder investigation, but would not comment on a report that Beasely is also facing federal charges of kidnapping and wire fraud. Brooks said federal documents in the case have been sealed.

Beasley appeared in court Thursday slumped in a wheelchair, wearing a striped prison uniform and with his head hanging without saying a word. His attorney Rhonda Kotnik did not respond to requests for comment today.

As the charges piled up against him, Beasely wrote to the Beacon Journal to defend his reputation.

"To call me a con man when I sacrificed for others is wrong," wrote Beasley, who has spent 15 of the last 30 years in prison. "To turn their back on me is not following Christ's example. I gave three full years of my life to that ministry and what I got out of it was the satisfaction of doing the right thing."

"I gave away almost all I had and got almost nothing in return," he wrote. "That is not the actions of a con man."

Both Akron churches that Beasley was associated with have denied direct links to the self-styled chaplain and he has been accused of using religious work as a cover for dealing drugs and managing prostitutes.

Beasley said that by helping drug addicts and domestic violence victims, he gained some enemies and denounces those who have spoken out against him.

"The point is, I have enemies, but for the right reasons," Beasley wrote. "So when you quote someone as a family friend who says something horrible about me, you better believe that's not a family friend."

Reports also emerged that Beasley should not have been free at the time of the Craigslist murders and that he was improperly set free by an Ohio judge.

After spending some time in a Texas prison, Beasley was released on parole in 2004 and transferred to Ohio. He was on parole there when he was arrested earlier this year. Those new charges resulted in a parole warrant being issued and he bonded out of jail twice in July. Texas authorities say he was supposed to be held without bond.

"The offender was released from detention on 7/12/11 under an Ohio judge's order despite the existence of the Texas warrant and detainer," read a statement from the Texas Department of Corrections. "All Texas Parole Warrants are no bond warrants."

Officials in Ohio say that a Summit County judge in Ohio lifted the holder put on him by Texas parole authorities while his drug-trafficking charges were pending, set a trial date for those charges and granted him bond in July.

Brogan Rafferty, 16, also appeared in court this week. Rafferty, whose family claims Beasley was his mentor, has been charged with attempted murder, complicity to attempted murder, aggravated assault and complicity to aggravated assault.

Rafferty is scheduled to be in court again on Dec. 15 when a judge will decide if the teenager will be tried as a juvenile or as an adult for his alleged participation in the deadly scheme. If convicted as an adult, Rafferty could face life in prison.

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A suspect in a deadly Craigslist robbery scheme pleaded not guilty to unrelated prostitution charges Friday, while an investigation continues into two deaths and a nonfatal shooting linked to the plot.

No charges related to the scheme have been filed against Richard Beasley, but the FBI has placed a hold on Beasley requiring the agency to be notified if he's released from jail.

Beasley was arraigned in Summit County Common Pleas Court in Akron on a 15-count prostitution indictment, including one count that he pressed a 17-year-old boy into prostitution.

Beasley plans to fight the charges, said his attorney, Rhonda Kotnik. She asked for more time to review evidence in light of the prosecution's announced plan to add a racketeering count to the case against Beasley.

Bond on an unrelated drug charge against Beasley was revoked Thursday and bond was set earlier at $1 million on the prostitution case.

Also, a new court date has been set to determine if an Ohio teen charged in the Craigslist plot should be tried as an adult.

Brogan Rafferty, 16, of Akron faces juvenile charges of aggravated murder, complicity to aggravated murder, attempted murder and complicity to attempted murder in the death of a Norfolk, Va., man and the shooting of a man from South Carolina.

The assignment commissioner of Noble County Probate Court scheduled a Dec. 15 hearing for Rafferty.

Rafferty appeared briefly in court earlier this week but the hearing was postponed because his father, who wasn't present, hadn't received proper notice of new charges filed last week.

Authorities say the teenager was involved in a scheme in which applicants answering a phony Craigslist ad for farm work were robbed, then killed. Two bodies and a man who survived the shooting have been tied to the scheme, while investigators haven't said whether another body, found in Noble County last week, is also connected.

Funeral services are scheduled Tuesday in Massillon for Timothy Kern, 47, who interviewed for the job earlier this month, and was last seen leaving to meet Beasley on Nov. 13. Authorities found his body Nov. 29 in a shallow grave near an Akron shopping mall.

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lindamarie wrote:I have used craigslist looking for a job. It was recommended from our workforce center. I have always been Leary of any job posted there because of stuff like this.

Would NEVER look for a job on CL; However..I have sold 2 cars, bought 2 cars and found someone to fix my computer who I am now roommates (temp) with who sold me his 17" Acer Laptop and is as nice as can be..has a 12 year old son he shares joint custody with and has Never come on to me. We get along..he does his thing, I do mine ~ This.

One has to be careful, that is for sure. I put an ad on wanting a dresser and then someone would email and ask if I found a dresser yet. I emailed them back saying "No"' ~ they then have MY personal email and got 4 spam emails wanting to "hook up" w/me. Said they knew me and heard I was good in the kipster. GMAB!!!!

good in the kipster

Be sure to add that to your Résumé!

Done!!

I am afraid of Craig's List also. I think that it started out on the up and up but is now a scary thing.

with BJ, don't do that LM. It is not safe. What happened to the old way of going to a place and inquiring and handing them your Resume?

Everything is online now.

I am not "afraid" of CL..just cautious. I also sold all my furniture when I moved from Florida to Texas and made out like a bandit. Sold a computer on it as well. The trick is to be careful. I usually put my phone number on the ad so they can just call me directly. I didn't w/the "wanted dresser". My bad.

PFF, your personal email does NOT show if you put an ad on CL...ONLY if you want it to. It is when they email you through CL and you respond back..that is when they have your email.

Now, re: Facebook. As Long As You Put Your Setting to PRIVATE, you are OK. Facebook has really stepped up to the plate in ensuring privacy. I will give them that. I believe that is one reason of many that they are far and above better than My Space.

Had it not been for FB, I would not have been able to follow the Bastrop fires. Heck, I even spoke to a gal that lives 2 houses down and told me the home I resided in was SAFE. I was Here when the fires broke out. Go figure.

I highly recommend FB. It is a lovely way of connecting with people you have not seen in ages..you can even "friend" anyone that has an account. They Have to Approve you just like you have to approve them. I am "friends" w/NG (just so I get updates on the very latest, JVM, Robin Sax, HLN, Lisa Bloom, Jean Casarus, Dr. Lillian Glass, Eyes for Lies, Pat Brown and many more. Even Renee' Rockwell, Attorney and NG's look alike and BFF. You can follow other cases big time. Now, some of the FB's, for example, like the Hailey Dunn FB's are a trip. One has to be careful. That is the bottom line.

Twitter: LOVE it and Highly recommend it. Was VERY helpful during the Anthony trial.

MOO.

Wrap, I know, everything is being done online today. I guess that I am just old-fashioned and do not adapt to change that easily. I know a lot like me also. :cheering: I do shop online though, but I am careful who I shop with. So I am not totally in the dark ages. :woot:

I hear you loud and clear, PFF.

I also shop online.

Overstock.com
Amazon.com
Walmart.com
Target.com
QVC.com
HLN.com
ShopNBC.com

Shopped online w/all of the above for years and have Never encountered one iota of any problem. Their websites are VERY secure.

I know it's difficult for we senior's (I am presuming you are??? Don't shoot me if you are not) to adjust but I have finally come around, With Caution.

That is too funny. I hate to admit it, but yes, I am a "senior", BUT, I do like the discounts that I get. :lol:

Last summer we had a girl come up to us and ask how old we were. She said that there was a discount that we could get, but she did not think that we were "old" enough. My husband ask how "old" you had to be. Then he laughed and said I hate admitting this but I am "**" and we got our discount. I sat there and kept my mouth shut, hard to believe, isn't it. I don't look like I am a senior though .

I just think that some of the old ways are the best ways. Applying for a job online, wouldn't they want to see you first in person. I am set in my ways on some things. All is well,

I have to add here that our local workforce and development told us to use Craig s list in our job hunts. I am like "yeah right buddy don't you read any crime blogs?" I have not even looked at Craig s list in months as the few jobs I did apply for seem to be scams to get personal information.

I haven't utilized CL for anything but apartment hunting but I would. I too think the trick is to be cautious and I would either meet the person in the middle of the day and out in public. If I had to go to a house to buy furniture or something I think I'd take my son w/ me and just be conscious of everything and not go in if my gut told me not too. I have a friend and she sells tons of things on CL but she's very aware too. What I would NOT do is if I suddenly went mad and decided to date I sure wouldn't look on CL! LM, I think jobs would probably be OK as long as you verify first on your own that the establishment is on the up and up and hiring. JUMOO.

February 8, 2012

There won't be a trial soon for an Ohio man suspected in the shooting deaths of three men lured to a rural area by bogus job listings on Craigslist.

Fifty-two-year-old Richard Beasley appeared in court Wednesday in Akron and waived his right to a speedy trial, a common move that allows more legal preparation time.

The self-styled chaplain from Akron has pleaded not guilty to aggravated murder and attempted murder in the slayings of three men and the wounding of a fourth. He could face the death penalty if convicted.

According to the Akron Beacon Journal (http://bit.ly/xfsP5F), Beasley shielded his face from photographers, which he has done before in court. He says he wants to avoid contaminating the jury pool.

A 17-year-old co-defendant has pleaded not guilty to juvenile counts.

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February 23, 2012

CLEVELAND (Reuters) - A judge set an October 9 trial date for an Ohio teen charged with the murder of one man and attempted murder of a second man who responded to a bogus Craigslist ad last year.

Brogan Rafferty, 17, was charged as an adult with the murder of David Pauley, 51, and the attempted murder of Scott Davis, 48, in a rural county east of Columbus. He pleaded not guilty to those charges last week in Summit County court in Akron.

Summit County Judge Lynne Callahan on Wednesday set the trial date for Rafferty.

Rafferty also faces murder charges as a juvenile in two other killings linked to Craigslist ads that could be moved to adult court. Rafferty was 16 years old at the time of the killings and ineligible for the death penalty under Ohio law.

Rafferty was initially charged in rural Noble County with the death of Pauley and the shooting of Davis, who escaped after being shot and contacted the local sheriff's department. The case was shifted later to Summit County.

Richard Beasley, 52, also has been charged with the killing of Pauley and attempted murder of Davis, who were from Virginia and North Carolina respectively, and the killing of Ohio residents Timothy Kern, 47, and Ralph Geiger, 56.

According to Beasley's indictment, Rafferty and Beasley met the men after they had answered a Craigslist ad promising a $300-a-week job as a caretaker for a ranch in Noble County, Ohio, that did not exist.

Prosecutors have said they plan to seek the death penalty against Beasley, whose trial date could be set next week.

The killings were among a number of incidents across the nation where accused attackers apparently found their victims through ad postings on Craigslist or other social media sites.

In 2009, a former medical student was accused of killing a masseuse he met through Craigslist and police believe a serial killer, or killers, in the New York area may be preying on prostitutes who advertised on the site.

In other incidents, victims advertising goods for sale have been attacked and killed as have those responding to ads.

Two men in Tennessee earlier in February were accused of killing a man and a woman for "defriending" the daughter of one of the suspects on Facebook.

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Craigslist scares me. I know Wrap has used it and like it. Stay safe Wrap.

I've only used it to buy and sell cars and furniture mainly. Have had nothing but good luck. You just have to be careful.

February 29, 2012

The trial of a man suspected in the shooting deaths of three people who authorities say were lured to a rural area by bogus job ads on Craigslist is set to begin early next year in northeast Ohio.

A judge on Wednesday set Jan. 7 as the trial date for Richard Beasley. The self-styled chaplain has pleaded not guilty to multiple charges including aggravated murder. He is accused of killing three men and wounding a fourth in a robbery scheme.

Seventeen-year-old Brogan Rafferty also has pleaded not guilty to charges in the case. His trial is set for Oct. 9.

Authorities say the victims answered Craigslist ads for work on a nonexistent cattle farm in Ohio. The victims came from Ohio, South Carolina and Virginia.

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By Associated Press
on October 26, 2012 at 7:25 AM, updated October 26, 2012 at 12:31 PM Email | Print

AKRON, Ohio — Prosecutors portray Brogan Rafferty, the teenage defendant in the slayings of three men lured by phony Craigslist job offers, as part of a murderous pair. The two were so cunning, prosecutors say, that they left a $20 bill on a pre-dug grave to make sure it hadn't been disturbed when they returned with their victim.

Rafferty's lawyer said he was a scared child stuck in a horrible situation and afraid for his life and that of his family if he rebelled.

Jurors weighing Rafferty's fate were headed into their first full day of deliberations today after getting the case the afternoon before.

Rafferty, 17, faces life in prison without chance of parole if convicted of aggravated murder in the shooting deaths of the men last year. Two were killed in rural eastern Ohio and one was killed near Akron.

His co-defendant, Richard Beasley, who has pleaded not guilty and will be tried separately, could face the death penalty if convicted. As a juvenile, Rafferty can't be sentenced to death.

In closing arguments Thursday, prosecutors portrayed Rafferty as someone who knew exactly what he was doing and ignored opportunities to go to police.

"Although Richard Beasley is a murderer and liar, he was brutally honest with one person. One person knew everything that he was doing. Just one. And that was Brogan Rafferty," assistant Summit County prosecutor John Baumoel told jurors. "Brogan Rafferty knew each and every one of his dark secrets."

He pointed jurors to Internet searches Rafferty did after the first slaying for the term "first kill" and "Sopranos' first whack," referring to the TV show about a New Jersey mafia family. And he down played arguments the defense had made that Rafferty was the product of a tough childhood, his mother a drug addict on the streets, his father rarely around as he worked long hours to support the family.

"Having a difficult childhood is neither a legal excuse nor a moral excuse for being involved in deaths and murder of multiple people," Baumoel said.

Rafferty listened intently during Baumoel's nearly 50-minute presentation, taking a sip from a cup when it was over. Rafferty's mother appeared to wipe away tears during the hearing and at one point sat with her head bowed.

Rafferty's attorney said the suspect was a 16-year-old child at the time of the killings who was afraid Beasley would harm his mother and sister and didn't know how to escape.

"Did we see Brogan Rafferty, psychopath, or a 16-year-old child who found himself in a horrible situation and couldn't find his way out?" attorney John Alexander said.

He added, "Does a 16-year-old child have the know-how how to handle these traumatic situations? Does he understand the options ahead of him?"

Alexander said Beasley hooked Rafferty by showing him with the first alleged killing of victim Ralph Geiger that Beasley could do anything because he had just killed an innocent person. When they got into the car afterward, Beasley shook a knife at Rafferty and warned him to keep his mouth shut, saying he knew where his mother and sister lived, Alexander said.

Rafferty "was a pawn. He did exactly what Beasley told him to do. His purpose in all of this was survival," Alexander said.

In a rebuttal, assistant Summit County prosecutor Paul Scarsella said the proper way to describe the suspects' relationship was that of a teacher and student.

"Mr. Beasley was the teacher in this situation. Brogan Rafferty was the student," Scarsella said. "Do not let him deceive you. Do not let him manipulate you because of his age or anything into believing he was anything other than an accomplice."

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By ANDREW WELSH-HUGGINS 10/30/12 05:50 PM ET EDT

AKRON, Ohio — An Ohio teenager was found guilty of aggravated murder Tuesday for his role in a deadly plot to lure men desperate for work with phony Craigslist job offers.

Prosecutors in the weekslong trial painted 17-year-old Brogan Rafferty as a quick student of violence and willing participant in three killings, while the defense argued he was acting under the duress of his alleged accomplice, a self-styled chaplain depicted as a mentor.

Authorities say Rafferty, of Stow, helped Richard Beasley, of Akron, lure four victims at separate times with bogus Craigslist job offers to a nonexistent cattle farm in rural Noble County in southeast Ohio; they say the motive was robbery. Authorities say Beasley shot and killed three of the men; the fourth victim was shot in the arm and survived.

Rafferty stood with his hands clasped behind his back and showed no emotion as the verdicts were read. His mother leaned over and cried softly.

Led from the courtroom, Rafferty shook his head and said, "Nothing to say." He didn't respond to reporters' questions about the verdict.

Prosecutors and the defense, who are under a gag order, didn't comment afterward.

Rafferty had testified that he didn't want to be a part of such violence and said he went along with the plan only because he feared for his life.

"I thought he'd kill me," Rafferty said.

Rafferty was tried as an adult but faces a maximum potential sentence of life in prison because he is a juvenile. His sentencing is set for Nov. 5.

Beasley, 53, has pleaded not guilty and could face the death penalty if convicted at his separate trial.

Jurors reached the verdict on their fourth day of deliberations, convicting Rafferty of three counts of aggravated murder and one count of attempted murder.

The man who survived, 49-year-old Scott Davis of South Carolina, had testified as the prosecution's star witness, identifying Rafferty as Beasley's accomplice and telling a harrowing story.

Davis told a crowded, hushed courtroom that he had moved to the Canton area after selling his South Carolina business to be closer to his family, and responded to a Craigslist ad to work as a farmhand.

He said he met Rafferty and a man who called himself "Jack" for breakfast before driving to an isolated Noble County farm.

Prosecutors say that "Jack" was actually Beasley, and that he urged Davis into a wooded area to look for farm equipment.

Davis said he heard a gun cock and turned around to find himself face to face with a handgun. He said he pushed the weapon aside, was shot in the arm and fled as "Jack" fired at him.

Davis said he kept falling as he ran away but eventually made it to a creek bed, tried to stop the bleeding and waited for dark. In rising pain and worried that the blood loss would kill him, Davis said he climbed to a hilltop, found a house and asked to call 911.

"I was getting weak at that point," Davis testified.

During Rafferty's trial, defense attorney John Alexander painted Beasley as the mastermind and said that the first killing came without warning for Rafferty, who "had no idea any of this was going on."

After the first killing, Alexander said that Beasley warned Rafferty to keep quiet and cooperate by reminding him that he knew where his mother and sister lived.

Prosecutor Emily Pelphrey told jurors that Rafferty chose to participate in the killings, saying he was a "student of violent crime."

"He made the choices he wanted to make," she said.

Prosecutors also showed jurors photographs of a suitcase filled with weapons found in Rafferty's bedroom, including a sawed-off shotgun, a .22-caliber pistol, two knives and ammunition. None of the weapons was conclusively linked to any of the three killings.

Jurors also were shown photos of the graves of the three men killed in the plot and said they were just trying to improve their lives and find work.

The three men were Ralph Geiger, 56, of Akron; David Pauley, 51, of Norfolk, Va.; and Timothy Kern, 47, of Massillon. Authorities say they were targeted because they were older, single, out-of-work men with backgrounds that made it unlikely their disappearances would be noticed right away.

All the victims were robbed of things including personal items, a truck and a weapon, prosecutors say.

Davis' escape on Nov. 6, 2011, is what led authorities to find Pauley's body in the same area where Davis was shot. Geiger's body also was found in Noble County, while Kern's body was found in a shallow grave near an Akron-area shopping mall.

Beasley was a Texas parolee who returned to Ohio in 2004 after serving time on a burglary conviction. He was awaiting trial on prostitution and drug charges when authorities took him into custody.

Police have said a halfway house he ran in Akron was a front for prostitution.

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Negotiations delay sentencing for teen convicted in Craigslist murder plot

Posted: Nov 05, 2012 6:17 AM CST
Updated: Nov 05, 2012 11:23 AM CST

AKRON, OH (WOIO) -
Sentencing for the Stow teen convicted in a Craigslist murder plot has been delayed until Friday.

Last week, jurors found 17-year-old Brogan Rafferty guilty of murder and attempted murder.

It appears Rafferty's lawyers and prosecutors are negotiating over his possible testimony against Richard Beasley, the Craigslist murder plot mastermind. They could ask for a lighter sentence if he cooperates.

According to prosecutors, Rafferty and 52-year-old Beasley lured men to a remote farm in Noble County through a Craigslist ad that promised work.

Three men were killed, a fourth man was shot, but survived.

During the trial, Rafferty testified that he feared for his life if he didn't do what Beasley told him to do.

Rafferty faces life in prison.

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Ohio AG: no sentence deal in Craigslist killings

THOMAS J. SHEERAN, Associated Press
Published 10:00 a.m., Thursday, November 8, 2012

CLEVELAND (AP) — No deal has been struck for leniency for a teenager convicted in a deadly plot to lure men with phony Craigslist job offers, Ohio's attorney general said Thursday.

The sentencing in Akron for Brogan Rafferty, 17, was postponed until Friday and his mother said earlier that a deal in return for his cooperation against the alleged triggerman was under discussion.

Because of a gag order, Attorney General Mike DeWine wouldn't comment on the sentencing except to tell The Associated Press on Thursday that there was no sentencing deal. He made no mention of any continuing talks to strike a deal.

There was no comment from the defense.

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AKRON, Ohio -- An Ohio teenager who apparently made a bid for leniency was facing sentencing in a deadly plot to lure men with phony Craigslist job offers.

The sentencing Friday in Akron was delayed earlier this week amid talks that could lead to 17-year-old Brogan Rafferty testifying against his mentor, the alleged triggerman.

Without a last-minute deal, Rafferty faces a possible life prison term without hope of parole.

Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine, whose office investigated the killings, told The Associated Press on Thursday there was no deal. He made no mention of any continuing talks to strike a deal.

There was no comment from the defense. Attorneys are under a gag order.

Rafferty, from Stow near Akron, was convicted last month on aggravated murder and attempted murder charges in the killing of three men and wounding of a fourth.

His co-defendant, Richard Beasley, 53, has pleaded not guilty and will be tried in January.

Judge Lynne Callahan postponed the sentencing during a brief court session Monday but offered no explanation.

The postponement came after prosecutors, including attorneys from DeWine's office, and defense attorneys met privately in the judge's chambers.

Rafferty's cooperation against Beasley could give him a chance for freedom at some point – perhaps in 20 or 30 years.

Prosecutors say the victims, all down in their luck and with few family ties that might highlight their disappearance, were lured with phony offers of farmhand jobs on Craigslist last year.

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November 9, 2012 3:27 PM
By Crimesider Staff Topics Daily Blotter
Brogan Rafferty, 16, of Stow, Ohio / Ed Suba Jr.,AP Photo/Akron Beacon Journal

(AP) AKRON, Ohio - A teenager was sentenced to life in prison with no chance for parole Friday for his role in a deadly plot to lure men desperate for work with phony Craigslist job offers.

Judge Lynne Callahan sentenced 17-year-old Brogan Rafferty, who had been convicted on Oct. 30 of aggravated murder and attempted murder in the deaths of three men and wounding of a fourth.

The sentencing was delayed from Monday amid talks on a deal for leniency in return for Rafferty's testimony against the alleged triggerman. Rafferty was looking to avoid a life sentence without hope of parole.

The jury rejected the defense claim that Rafferty feared for himself and his family if he didn't cooperate with his co-defendant, Richard Beasley of Akron.

The 53-year-old Beasley, described as the teen's spiritual mentor, has pleaded not guilty and faces a Jan. 7 trial.

Prosecutors say the victims, all down in their luck and with few family ties that might highlight their disappearance, were lured with phony offers of farmhand jobs on Craigslist last year.

One man was killed near Akron and the others were shot at a southeast Ohio farm during bogus job interviews.

Prosecutors say robbery was the motive.

Rafferty, a high school student from Stow, was tried as an adult but didn't face a possible death penalty because he is a juvenile.

Beasley, an ex-convict and self-styled street minister from Akron, could face the death penalty if convicted.

The surviving victim, 49-year-old Scott Davis of South Carolina, testified as the prosecution's star witness. He identified Rafferty as Beasley's accomplice and told the jury a harrowing story.

Davis, who was looking to move close to his family in the Canton area, said he was walking across what turned out to be a bogus job site when he heard a gun cock and turned and found himself face to face with a handgun. He said he pushed the weapon aside, was shot in the arm and fled through the woods.

During Rafferty's trial, defense attorney John Alexander painted Beasley as the mastermind and said that the first killing came without warning for Rafferty.

The three murdered men were Ralph Geiger, 56, of Akron; David Pauley, 51, of Norfolk, Va.; and Timothy Kern, 47, of Massillon. Authorities say they were targeted because they were older, single, out-of-work men with backgrounds that made it unlikely their disappearances would be noticed right away.

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AKRON, Ohio - A man who says he was wounded by gunfire but escaped testified Tuesday as prosecutors began trying to show that robbery and identity theft were the motives behind attacks that left three men in Ohio dead. All four of the alleged targets were lured by phony job offers on Craigslist.

Scott Davis stepped down from the witness stand Tuesday and stood in front of alleged triggerman Richard Beasley to identify him as the attacker. Davis also said he remembered a tattoo on Beasley's arm.
Beasley

Beasley, 53, has pleaded not guilty to multiple counts of aggravated murder, kidnapping and other charges in the attacks two years ago. His trial began Monday in an Akron courtroom.

"He wanted a new identity and he got it," prosecutor Emily Pelphrey told jurors Monday in an opening statement as she outlined the evidence against Beasley, an ex-convict.

His attorney, James Burdon, said there isn't enough evidence to convict Beasley. He said the defense would try to show that the survivor attacked Beasley first, not the other way around.

In what appeared to be the first such mention in the case, Burdon also said the defense would try to show that Beasley had posted the Craigslist ads at the behest of a man with a violent criminal history. He didn't detail the circumstances.

Beasley could face the death penalty if convicted.

In a 40-minute opening statement Monday, Pelphrey showed jurors photos of the victims and, without identifying the teen, a photo of Beasley hugging his co-defendant, Brogan Rafferty, 18.

Rafferty, who thought of Beasley as a mentor and friend, was convicted last year and was sentenced to life in prison without the chance of parole.

Rafferty, too young at the time of the crimes to be eligible for the death penalty, has agreed to testify against Beasley. It was unclear whether his testimony could lead to a sentence reduction.

At his sentencing, Rafferty said the crimes were horrible but he didn't see any chance to stop the killings. Rafferty said he feared Beasley would kill him and his family members if he tipped off police.

If Beasley is convicted of aggravated murder, the same jury would hear evidence on whether to recommend that the judge impose the death sentence. Any sentencing proceeding likely would begin April 8, the judge said.

Prosecutors say the victims, all down on their luck and with few family ties that might highlight their disappearance, were lured with phony offers of farmhand jobs in southeast Ohio through Craigslist ads. The slain men were Ralph Geiger, 56, of Akron; David Pauley, 51, of Norfolk, Va.; and Timothy Kern, 47, of Massillon.

The lone survivor, Davis, was shot in the arm and fled into the woods. Davis, of South Carolina, was looking to move closer to his family in the Canton area.

He fled into the woods in Noble County after hearing the click of a handgun, getting shot in the arm, and pushing the weapon aside.

Burdon signaled that the defense would challenge the prosecution's contention that Davis was attacked first by Beasley while walking at the farm and discussing a $300-a-week job. "We think the evidence will show the opposite," Burdon said.


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(CBS/AP) AKRON, Ohio - The murder trial of Richard Beasley, the alleged triggerman in the killings of three men lured by phony Craigslist job offers in Ohio, is winding down.

The trial judge in Akron has scheduled closing statements on Monday. Then the case against 53-year-old Beasley will go to the jury for deliberations.

He is charged with killing three men and wounding a fourth man. Beasley, an ex-convict and one-time street preacher, could face the death penalty if convicted.

He says he knew nothing about the killings and was attacked by the lone survivor as retaliation for serving as a police informant.

Eighteen-year-old co-defendant Brogan Rafferty was convicted and sentenced last year to life in prison without chance of parole. He was subpoenaed to testify against Beasley but the prosecution never called him to the stand.
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AKRON, Ohio — A self-styled street preacher accused of teaming up with a high school student in a deadly plot to lure men with Craigslist job offers and then rob them was found guilty Tuesday of aggravated murder and could face the death penalty.

A jury in Akron returned the verdict in the case against Richard Beasley, who was charged with killing two men from Ohio and one from Norfolk, Va. A man from South Carolina was shot but survived and testified about running for his life and hiding in the woods, scared he would bleed to death.

Family members of the victims hugged and wiped away tears as the verdict was read. Beasley, who also was convicted of aggravated robbery, kidnapping and attempted murder in wounding the lone survivor, slumped in his wheelchair, which he uses because of back problems. His mother leaned over and sobbed in the hushed courtroom.

The jury that convicted Beasley will return March 20 to consider whether to recommend the death penalty for him.

Prosecutors, who had asked jurors to use common sense and return a guilty verdict, labeled the 53-year-old Beasley the triggerman in the 2011 plot with a student he mentored. The 16-year-old student, Brogan Rafferty, was convicted and sentenced last year to life in prison without the chance of parole.

Prosecutor Jonathan Baumoel told jurors there was no reasonable doubt that Beasley plotted the killings, and he presented three possible theories for aggravated murder – planning the crimes, done with a kidnapping or done with a robbery. He said there was "prior calculation and design," a component of the death penalty aggravated murder charge.

"He was the mastermind behind this plot," Baumoel said.

Prosecutors said the victims, all down on their luck and with few family ties that might highlight their disappearances, were lured with offers of farmhand jobs.

One man was killed near Akron, and the others were shot at a southeast Ohio farm during bogus job interviews.

The slain men were Ralph Geiger, 56, of Akron; David Pauley, 51, of Norfolk, Va.; and Timothy Kern, 47, of Massillon.

The survivor, Scott Davis, testified that he heard the click of a gun as he walked in front of Beasley at the reputed job site. Davis, who was shot in an arm, knocked the weapon aside.

"I spun around," testified Davis, who told a harrowing story of running through the woods and hiding for seven hours. "I was worried about bleeding to death."

Prosecutors said it was a miracle that Davis, who also was the star witness at Rafferty's trial, survived the encounter with Beasley in Noble County, 60 miles east of Columbus.

"Only by the grace of God did he escape with his life," Baumoel told the jury.

It was Davis' escape on Nov. 6, 2011, that led authorities to find Pauley's body in the same area where Davis was shot. Geiger's body also was found in Noble County. Kern's body was found in a shallow grave near an Akron-area shopping mall.

Kern's father, Jack Kern, watched the Beasley verdict from the front row of the courtroom's gallery and said later he was satisfied.

"I didn't have a doubt," he said.

Prosecutors and defense attorneys, governed by a gag order, left the court without commenting.

Beasley, who returned to Ohio from Texas in 2004 after serving several years in prison on a burglary conviction, testified that he met with Davis and that Davis was the one who pulled a gun.

"It misfired three times about 2 feet from my face, and I ran into the woods, and he ran after me," Beasley said.

He testified that the two wrestled on the muddy ground and Davis ended up firing six shots.

"I said, `That's your six,' so if he was going to kill me, he was going to have to do it with his hands," Beasley testified.

Beasley's lawyers had said that investigators targeted him based only on a hunch and that the identity theft and robbery motives prosecutors offered were baseless.

Beasley's testimony came after the prosecution rested its case without calling Rafferty, who had been subpoenaed to testify for the prosecution. There was no explanation why he didn't testify.

When the Beasley jury reconvenes to hear evidence on whether to recommend the death penalty, prosecutors will get a chance to argue for his execution based on the crimes, and the defense can offer reasons to spare his life.

Rafferty, from Stow, was tried as an adult but didn't face a possible death penalty because he was a juvenile when the crimes occurred.

Rafferty, now 18, had said the crimes were horrible but he didn't see any chance to stop the killings. He said he feared Beasley would kill him and his family if he tipped off police.
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(CNN) -- The men jumped at the Craigslist ad for work on an Ohio cattle farm. In tough economic times, it was a job they desperately needed, a chance to pick up some needed cash.
Instead, it cost them their lives.
A Summit County jury opined Wednesday that the man responsible for their deaths -- 53-year-old Richard James Beasley -- should meet the same fate.
After convicting Beasley last week on 26 counts of aggravated murder, kidnapping, aggravated robbery and more, they unanimously recommended that he be sentenced to death.
Summit County Judge Lynne S. Callahan will issue a formal sentence next Tuesday, which could be death if she determines "beyond a reasonable doubt that the aggravating circumstances the offender was found guilty of committing outweigh the mitigating factors," according to Ohio state law.
Beasley was the man, the jury determined, who pulled the trigger, killing Ralph Geiger, 56, of Akron, Ohio; David Pauley, 51, of Norfolk, Virginia; and Timothy Kern, 47, of Massillon, Ohio.
Scott Davis apparently was in his cross hairs, too.
After answering an online ad for work on a 688-acre property in eastern Ohio, the South Carolinian in November 2011 told a deputy sheriff how he'd met with two males, then drove toward Stock Township. Told a road was closed due to a landslide, Davis got out of the car and started walking through a heavily wooded area toward what he was informed was where he'd be working.
He turned around "to see a gun pointed at his head," Noble County Sheriff Stephen S. Hannum later explained.
Shot in the arm, Davis ran and hid in the forest for seven hours. Eventually, he got the nerve to go to a house and ask for help.
After he told his story, authorities began to connect it with that of other missing persons. One of them was Kern, killed one week after Davis's escape.
All these men were "down on their luck" and yearning for "a better life," Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine said. Ironically, authorities say that one of Beasley's motive was to steal from them.
He didn't act alone.
Brogan Rafferty was 16 at the time of Kern's death and Davis's escape. His father, Michael, told CNN affiliate WJW in late November 2011 his son had been "manipulated" and "corrupted" when he paired up with Beasley, insisting the teenager was a "mild-mannered gentleman."
The Stow, Ohio, resident was convicted in October on charges of aggravated murder and attempted murder in connection with the killings, WJW reported. He is facing three life sentences without the possibility of parole -- one each for the deaths of Geiger, Pauley and Kern.
All three victims' bodies were found in different shallow graves, in Kern's case behind an Akron mall with a gunshot wound to the head. Michael Rafferty said his son had unwittingly dug the graves at Beasley's direction.
"Beasley is a master manipulator. He manipulated his victims, and then he tried to manipulate the jurors into believing his incredible story of innocence and tales of woe in an effort to spare his life," Summit County Prosecuting Attorney Sherri Bevan Walsh said in a statement.
"I am glad that the jury was able to see through his lies and recommend an appropriate punishment."
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