Will the Craigslist Murder Keep You From Seeking Freelance Work Online?

www.inkthinkerblog.com — Late last month, reports starting coming out about a 24-year-old Minnesota woman who was murdered after she answered a Craigslist ad for a nanny.

A woman who responded to an online request for a babysitter told her roommate that the person who placed the ad “seemed kind of strange.”

Katherine Ann Olson went anyway, thinking she would be meeting a woman named Amy, or a couple. Instead, authorities say, she was lured to the home of her killer, who shot her in the back before stuffing her in the trunk of her car.

On Tuesday, prosecutors charged Michael John Anderson, 19, of Savage, with second-degree murder. Their evidence: blood spatters in the suburban home he shared with his parents, a gun in his bedroom and drag marks on the stairway.

Olson’s body was found Friday in the trunk of her car, which was abandoned in a park about five blocks from Anderson’s house. Her ankles were bound with red twine, according to the criminal complaint filed in Scott County. Her purse, her smashed cell phone, and bloody towels — one of which bore Anderson’s name — were found in a garbage can nearby. Read the whole report.

Will this keep you from sending in your resume or agreeing to meetings for jobs you find on Craigslist? Or are you going to keep doing your thing? Share your thoughts in the comments.

Contents Copyright © 2006-2014 Kristen King

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  • Susan J. Nov 15, 2007 Link

    That news story was really sad, but fortunately that doesn’t happen very often. I am a bit skeptical of CL, but I will continue to apply for jobs here and there and use my discretion when it comes to meeting in person. I tend to prefer to work remotely because it saves time and plus I have a day job.

  • Hope Wilbanks Nov 15, 2007 Link

    Wow! I missed that one somehow. I used to search for work on Craigslist but have long since written it off. There’s no telling how many emails I sent out and received very little to no response.

  • Melissa Donovan Nov 16, 2007 Link

    This post raises a very important issue about online safety. However, I feel that this crime would have been committed with or without Craig’s List and the Internet in general. Fifteen years ago, the assailant would have placed a newspaper ad.

    If someone queries me, and I don’t feel 100% comfortable, I will not take the job. Unlike the poor woman in the story, I heed my intuition. In fact rather than walking away from the story with doubts about Craig’s List, this should serve as a reminder to always listen to your gut instinct.

    -Melissa Donovan
    Writing for Writers