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Craigslist killer accomplice Brogan Rafferty convicted | Craigslist killer accomplice Brogan Rafferty convicted |
(about 1 hour later) | |
A teenager accused of helping kill three men who responded to a fake job advert on the Craigslist website has been convicted of aggravated murder. | A teenager accused of helping kill three men who responded to a fake job advert on the Craigslist website has been convicted of aggravated murder. |
Brogan Rafferty, 17, helped Richard Beasley lure victims with bogus ads for a nonexistent rural Ohio cattle farm. | Brogan Rafferty, 17, helped Richard Beasley lure victims with bogus ads for a nonexistent rural Ohio cattle farm. |
Mr Beasley has pleaded not guilty to the charges, including the attempted killing of a fourth man. | Mr Beasley has pleaded not guilty to the charges, including the attempted killing of a fourth man. |
Rafferty faces up to life in prison and is scheduled to be sentenced on 5 November. | Rafferty faces up to life in prison and is scheduled to be sentenced on 5 November. |
He was tried as an adult but will not face the death penalty because he is a juvenile. | He was tried as an adult but will not face the death penalty because he is a juvenile. |
Prosecutors argued during the trial that Rafferty was a quick student of violence and a willing participant in the killings, while defence lawyers say he went along with Mr Beasley's plan because he feared for his life. | |
The man who survived, 49-year-old Scott Davis, testified during the weeks-long trial, as the prosecution's star witness. He identified Rafferty as Mr Beasley's accomplice. | The man who survived, 49-year-old Scott Davis, testified during the weeks-long trial, as the prosecution's star witness. He identified Rafferty as Mr Beasley's accomplice. |
Mr Davis said he responded to a Craigslist ad to work as a farmhand, and met Rafferty and a man who called himself "Jack" for breakfast before driving to an isolated farm. | Mr Davis said he responded to a Craigslist ad to work as a farmhand, and met Rafferty and a man who called himself "Jack" for breakfast before driving to an isolated farm. |
Prosecutors say that "Jack" was actually Mr Beasley, and that he urged Mr Davis into a wooded area to look for farm equipment. | |
Mr Davis told the court he heard a gun cock and turned around to find himself face-to-face with a handgun, but pushed it aside and was shot in the arm. He fled, found a house and called police. | Mr Davis told the court he heard a gun cock and turned around to find himself face-to-face with a handgun, but pushed it aside and was shot in the arm. He fled, found a house and called police. |
The three men killed were Ralph Geiger, 56, David Pauley, 51 and Timothy Kern, 47. Officials say they were targeted because they were older, single, out-of-work men with backgrounds that made it unlikely their disappearances would be noticed quickly. | |
On Tuesday, Rafferty stood with his hands clasped behind his back and showed no emotion as the convictions were read. | On Tuesday, Rafferty stood with his hands clasped behind his back and showed no emotion as the convictions were read. |
The Ohio jury of seven women and five men took 20 hours to reach verdicts on 25 counts. Rafferty was acquitted of on a charge of identity theft. | |
Jury forewoman Dana Nash said it was a difficult decision because of Rafferty's age, calling him "a child", but that jurors were sceptical of some of the 17-year-old's testimony, saying they felt he contradicted himself. |