By CURT BROWN, EMILY JOHNS and JIM ADAMS
Minneapolis-St. Paul Star Tribune
Tuesday, October 30, 2007
Bail has been set at $1 million in the case of Michael John Anderson, 19, who has been charged with second-degree murder in the killing of a woman while she was answering an ad for a nanny on Craigslist.org.
Information released Tuesday reveals that Katherine Ann Olson, 24, was shot in the back. Police found a .357 Magnum in Anderson's house in Savage, along with blood stains and drag marks on stairs. Neighbors saw Olson's gold Hyundai Elantra sitting in front of Anderson's house for over two hours.
The car was later found five blocks from Anderson's house with Olson's body in the trunk. In a trash container nearby, police found a garbage bag with bloody towels, including one with Olson's name on it.
Anderson told police that he had nothing to do with the murder, and denied having phone contact with Olson, although cell-phone records indicated he had talked with her Thursday. Anderson then admitted he was present when Olson was killed, but said that he did not kill her. Instead, Anderson said she was killed by a friend of his who "thought it would be funny."
Family members said that Olson disappeared after responding to a nanny job in Savage that she found on Craigslist.org. The St. Olaf College grad was found dead in the trunk of her car Friday in a park.
On Monday, a Wayzata nanny agency sent memos to 12,000 young women in its national database, urging caution online. A University of Minnesota student considered a different, perhaps safer, way to sell her $850 flute.
As the popularity of Craigslist.org and other online classified ad sites has soared, the killing of Olson is creating new unease among the thousands of people who use such Web sites to find jobs, love or a buyer for their old junk.
"This generation is growing up with Facebook, MySpace and Craigslist to the point where they have become commonplace," said Joe Keeley, president of College Nannies & Tutors. "Whether you're selling a couch or looking for a job, you need to be cautious."
But when there is a financial interest, such as finally selling an old car or landing a job, "caution is sometimes not at the forefront of one's mind," said Craigslist spokeswoman Susan MacTavish Best.
But experts say that fingers should not be pointed at the Internet.
Consumers should always be savvy about meeting with strangers -- even if you have talked to them or e-mailed them -- and let common sense be your guide.
The Olson killing is why Johanna Epley is reconsidering how to sell her flute. She uses Craigslist once in a while, but the classified site's local focus made her feel safer. A week ago, she posted the $850 flute online and got two responses that she believed were shady.
"After seeing the scams, and hearing about (the killing), I've been kind of developing a discomfort with online interaction," she said. "I think I might not try to sell my flute online anymore."
Olson's killing, if proven to be tied to Craigslist, would be the first linked to the San Francisco-based company's site, said MacTavish Best. In Los Angeles, police are investigating the disappearance of a 19-year-old woman who might have met her abductor on Craigslist.
For the most part, though, such sites are considered safe and useful, considering the volume of traffic: In its 12-year history, Craigslist users have posted 450 million ads.
And Internet alternatives such as personal ads in the newspaper, bulletin boards or buying over the phone pose the same kind of risks.
"It's not the Internet," said Nora Paul, who runs the Institute for New Media Studies at the University of Minnesota. "It's just using common sense when you go into a situation when you don't know what the whole story might be."
Keeley said that Internet users fear getting scammed more than physically harmed, but Olson's killing might prompt a "slight awakening."
MacTavish Best said that Craigslist "absolutely" helps law-enforcement investigate crimes that may be facilitated by the site. She wouldn't comment on whether Savage police contacted the company, because she said police typically ask the company not to comment on specific cases.
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