Overview

Craigslist is a terrific site in many ways. But it has a terrible safety record. While Craigslist has facilitated millions of transactions, not all of them go well. Rip-offs, robberies or rapes related to Craigslist are reported almost every day. And the rate of killings tied in some way to Craigslist is staggering. The list below is not necessarily complete (sadly). We also have broken down the types of killings; how the victims were lured to their deaths, and more. It’s a devastating story.

We highlight these killings only because we believe Craigslist should do much more to promote safety among its users, and because SafeTrade is the best way to stay safe when you’re trading in person through Craigslist or any other Internet site.

Tuesday, November 7, 2017

No. 121 Sale at Davie, FL CVS Ends with One Man Dead

No.121
November 1, 2017
Davie, Florida
Victim: Andre Derek Smith

Smith met Matthew J Barry at a CVS parking lot to sell an iPhone. After the sale, Smith had repeated requests. Barry felt threatened, entered the CVS, and was followed by Smith and Smith's friend. After asking several clerks to call 911, Barry pushed Smith and then shot and mortally wounded him. No one has been arrested, and the investigation is continuing.

Read more here.

Tuesday, October 31, 2017

No. 120 Former TSU Officer Killed at Meeting to Sell Car

No.120
September 30, 2017
Nashville, Tennessee
Victim: Jonathan Outlaw

A former TSU officer was murdered when he met with Ricardo Lamont Murray Jr., at a Robertson county gas station, to sell his car. Murray and 2 accomplices are accused of shooting and killing Jonathan Outlaw after stealing his car. 



Read more here.

Sunday, October 1, 2017

No. 119 Craigslist scammer charged in fatal hit and run

No.119
September 30, 2017
Morrow, Georgia
Victim: Not named

A Morrow, Ga., man was dragged and run over in a Home Depot parking lot after  meeting to buy a laptop offered on Craigslist. According Clayton County Sheriff Victor Hill, Murray Blackmon was arrested and is facing multiple charges.

Read more here.

Tuesday, September 5, 2017

No. 118 Twin Falls Man Killed in Test Drive Gone Bad

No.118
July 25, 2015
Twin Falls, Idaho
Victim: Kent Storrer

A Twin Falls man was killed after giving a test drive for a car offered on Craigslist. According to the Times-Union, in August 2017, Jerry Kimball was sentenced to 45 years in prison for killing Kent Storrer.

Read more here.



Thursday, August 31, 2017

No. 117:Atlanta man killed in truck sale

No. 117
May 1, 2017
Atlanta, Georgia
Victim: Vicente Cruz

An Atlanta man disappeared after telling a friend he was meeting someone he met through Craigslist to sell his truck. His truck was found the next day with blood inside.

Atlanta Police said David Rios was arrested in San Antonio, August 31, and charged with the murder of Vicente Cruz and unlawful flight to avoid prosecution.

Read more here.



Monday, July 10, 2017

No. 116: Cathedral staff member suffocated by man he met on Craigslist
No. 116
July, 2017
Dallas, Texas  
Victim: Robert Lee Covington
A Cathedral of Hope staff member was suffocated with duct tape by a man he met on Craigslist, Dallas police say.
Robert Lee Covington, 54, was found dead in his bed around 6:30 p.m. Friday at his locked condominium in the 3000 block of Mahanna Springs Drive, near Cedar Springs Road and the Dallas North Tollway. 
Police arrested 22-year-old Yevin Rushing of Cedar Hill on a murder charge in Covington's death. who returned to the crime scene in a U-Haul, Dallas police say. 
Read more here

Tuesday, June 20, 2017



No. 115: Grad who earned college football scholarship slain in Craigslist deal gone bad


No. 115
June, 2017
North Miami Beach
Victim: Brian Brown

A  recent high school graduate who earned a scholarship to play college football in California was shot and killed during an apparent online transaction gone bad.

Brian Brown, 19, was shot June 14 at Northeast 177th Street and Ninth Avenue. 
Relatives believe Brown was shot during a Craigslist transaction after he advertised a PlayStation console and video games for sale and went to meet the potential buyer.
Read more here.

Tuesday, June 13, 2017

No. 114: Three men charged in killing of man in Austin, Texas, during online drug transaction


No. 114
June, 2017
Austin, Texas
Victim: Cutberto Moran-Ayala


Three Chicago area men were charged in the June 8 shooting death of a man trying to sell marijuana on Craigslist, said police in Austin, Texas.

Savon Galloway, 22, Christopher Hamilton, 19, Akeem Bradford, 22, were charged with capital murder in the death of 26-year-old Cutberto Moran-Ayala, police said.

A fourth man, Keon Walton, 19, was arrested on an unrelated charge of assault with injury/family violence.

According to police, a friend drove Moran-Ayala to 4509 E. St. Elmo Road on the night of June 8 after Moran-Ayala had posted a Craigslist ad to sell pot. 

Read more here.

Tuesday, May 30, 2017

No. 113: 2 people shot, 1 killed after Craigslist cellphone sale turns into robbery gone wrong

No. 113: 2 people shot, 1 killed after Craigslist cellphone sale turns into robbery gone wrong


No. 113
May, 2017
Harris County, Texas
Victims: Unidentified

Two people were shot and one was killed May 24 after they tried to rob two people during a Craigslist cellphone sale in Harris County, Texas.
Harris County deputies said two buyers met with two sellers to buy a cellphone around 9:30 p.m. along Highway 6 near Clay Road. The men were talking inside a vehicle when two people were shot. One person later was pronounced dead at a hospital.
Deputies believe the men who were shot were trying to rob the sellers and the sellers were defending themselves
Read more here.

Wednesday, May 24, 2017

No. 112: Man charged with killing man who stole motorcycle after Craigslist deal




No. 112
May, 2017
Greenville County, S.C.
Victim: Steven Russell Ridenour


A Lyman man is charged with running over and killing another man who stile his motorcycle after a Craigslist transaction, according to the Spartanburg County Sheriff's Office.

Riddle NoNowell Harrison Riddle told authorities that a man took his motorcycle for a test drive after respondoing to a Craigslist ad and never returned. Later, Riddle called deputies again and said he saw a man riding his stolen motorcycle and was following him.
Riddle told deputies that he followed the motorcycle to a gas station, where he collided with the motorcycle with his car as the motorcyclist tried to get away. The motorcyclist, Steven Russell Ridenour, 36, of Greer, died at the scene.
Read more here.  

No. 111:  Three held in murder of Kansas man lured by Craigslist


No. 111
April, 2017
Kansas City, Mo.
Victim: Michael Luckey
Three people are charged in the stabbing death of a Kansas man who was lured to Kansas City by a Craigslist ad.
The body of Michael Luckey, 28, of Osawatomie, Kan., was found April 5 near an abandoned home in south Kansas City.
Tayelor Fitzpatrick, 20, of Quenemo, Kan., and Micah Dozier and Larry Wren III, boith 18 from Kansas City, Mo., face first-degree murder and and three other charges.
 Read more here.


Monday, March 6, 2017

No. 110: Man's remains found after he advertises for caregiver




No. 110
January, 2017
Laconia, Tenn.


The remains of a man found Feb. 2 along Highway 64 in Fayette County, Tenn., were identified as those of Ellis Vogt, who has been missing since August.
Investigators said Vogt advertised on Craigslist for a caregiver, and he and a woman who answered the ad went missing not long afterward.Read more here.


No. 109: Flint man slain in Craigslist drug deal gone bad




No. 109
January, 2017
Owosso, Mich.


Two men shot and killed in a Craigslist drug deal gone bad were found in a vehicle in a Walmart parking lot Jan. 27 in Owosso, Mich.

Police are continuing to investigate the deaths of 31-year-old Joseph Carson and 39-year-old Anthony Hammond, both of Flint.

Read more here.

No. 108: Flint man slain in Craigslist drug deal gone bad




No. 108
January, 2017
Owosso, Mich.


Two men shot and killed in a Craigslist drug deal gone bad were found in a vehicle in a Walmart parking lot Jan. 27 in Owosso, Mich.
Police are continuing to investigate the deaths of 31-year-old Joseph Carson and 39-year-old Anthony Hammond, both of Flint.

Read more here.

Wednesday, March 1, 2017

No. 107: Georgia man's shooting death may be linked to Craigslist ad


No. 107
November, 2016
College Park, Ga.
.
The body of Jamal Hodge was found at a College Park Condominium complex on November 5.
Read more here.