Las Vegas woman sues Match.com after scorned date tries to kill her

Wade Mitchell Ridley / Police Photo

A Las Vegas woman is suing online dating service Match.com after a scorned date brutally attacked her, CBS Las Vegas reports.

Mary Kay Beckman is seeking $10 million from the company for failing to disclose dangers of online dating.

She says Match.com paired her with Wade Mitchell Ridley, who she dumped eight days after meeting in September 2010. Four months later he hid her in a garage and stabbed her ten times.

"There were 10 stab wounds, eight on my physical body, two on my head, and when the knife broke, there was stomping on my head," Beckman told CBS affiliate KLAS-TV. "I shouldn't even be here today."

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Beckman has undergone surgeries to repair her jaw, preserve her eyesight and remove part of her skull to replace it with a "synthetic component," according to Courthouse News Service.

Ridley was arrested in February 2011 for attempted murder as well as killing another woman in Phoenix, Ariz. He committed suicide in prison last year.

Beckman's lawyer, Marc Saggese, told KLAS-TV that Match.com is "absolutely not safe" and lulls "women and men into a false sense of security."

Match.com said in a statement that Beckman's experience was horrible, but the basis for the lawsuit was "absurd" and the Ridley had no known criminal record.

This isn't the first time the online dating site has been sued for acts of violence. Carole Markin, a Hollywood producer, says she was raped by a man she met on Match.com and is demanding a sexual predator screening system be installed in the site.

[IllBeFree]

It is horrible what happened to this woman. Still, I question why Match.com suit makes headline news as AA murder suit by parents of slain young woman is virtually ignored? Whose Daughter Must Die Next?
Her name was Karla Brada. She dated a man she met in AA. Her AA sponsor encouraged this relationship. People in AA are conditioned to do as their sponsor directs. This man (allegedly) strangled her after she asked him to leave her condo. He then slept with her dead body. SEE: http://www.courthousenews.com/2012/09/28/50771.htm

http://cougarblogger.com/2013/01/10/parents-worst-nightmare/

[pammmmmm]

Why would you want to meet people on line for? Go to a church or a event or something. Learn how to socialize like people did a generation ago. Gheesh.

[Pat5002]

I was on match.com for 6 months because it was much cheaper for the six months subscription. All that kept happening was that men wanted me to go to a private email. I learned how to analyze the header on their emails. Then I was able to know where their emails originated from. It only took a matter of 2 minutes to do this. I had most writing from Nigeria and Cape Town South Africa, as well as Australia, Malaysia, and the United Kingdom. I did not get one legitimate email in the whole 6 months. I told match.com that they could analyze headers and protect paying members. I never had one date the whole 6 months because they were all scams.

Lately, I ran into a man on a free dating website that ended up being in Nigeria. This one was tricky. He went through certain email sites that looked like they were local. I googled about these email sites and found out they supported Nigerian scams, etc.

I am new in a large city. It is difficult to meet people. I am beginning to think that it would be safer to stop people on the street and ask for a date than to go through dating websites. You just do not know what is on the other end of the email. I do think most people have good intentions. However, these dating sites seem to be a magnet for some real con artists and crazies! I believe this goes for men as well as women. Take care and beware. I don't care how nice they seem, do not give out personal info for a while. If they get pushy, drop them. Nothing is worth what this woman went through. I am sure she is not the first to have this happen.

[fantomas4]

Whoa. This guy looks like he jumped straight off the "Deliverance" screenplay into real life. Creepy, just creepy. That being said, talk about a frivoulous lawsuit.

[moi187]

This is sad. As one who might find my soul mate on some computer site, this is sad. Ladies! Do not give out too much, or any, info that can get you killed. Period, end of discussion. That info you should NOT be giving out is just about, EVERYTHING! I can only hope that crazy, looks-like-I- want-to-kill-and/or-eat-you police photo of this loser was not the on-line date site photo someone responded to. A blind person can see he is 'different'. 'Different' as in let me make sure my .38 is locked and loaded... But then again, I hope I am not in a state of mind, or lack thereof, to need to protect myself from some 'nut' I gave my personal info to. Be more careful, ladies- and men too as there are some nut cases of the female gender aswell. We all need to be careful, even the ones on the 'short bus'. And no, M's Beckman, should not be bringing suit to a dating web site. If she was not taught the dangers of everyday, normal life, she should sue her parents or whoever turned her out into society when she was not able to handle it. Don't they have homes for the less fortunate, or maybe people that are paid to 'help' them? Good luck, M's Beckman. And for your sake, stay off the computer.

[OpenYourEyesSheeple]

My only question is how did she let this guy off? Did she tell him or just cold shoulder him?

[Dublin1007]

Does it matter?

[Sophos1976]

I feel for this poor woman. I can't imagine being in her shoes; *however*, I don't think I agree with her suing Match.com. It's common sense that one uses dating services at their own risk.

There must have been some kind of indicator that this guy had a screw loose. That's probably why she dumped him eight days after meeting him - maybe some people have a better "weirdo" filter than others.

I definitely think Match.com should be proactive and help her with her medical bills or make some kind of offering. Maybe they have, I don't know. It would be good for their image to do so.

Good luck to Ms. Beckman. Choose your dates carefully...online or not.

[shouttruth]

I have used these sites a bit, without success and have had strange experiences. People online can appear something they are or not. It is very important to not give out personal info. and do a background check before the person is able to have access to your home and still be cautious! Match from my limited experience is better then some. The most irritating is a "Christian" site that have pop up porn and swindlers that are out to target and prey on the lonely. Mostly women are targeted but I am certain men can be also.
Makes living alone and single feel pretty ok in comparison to the drama of "searching for Mr. Right.

[shouttruth]

I have used these sites a bit, without success and have had strange experiences. People online can appear something they are or not. It is very important to not give out personal info. and do a background check before the person is able to have access to your home and still be cautious! Match from my limited experience is better then some. The most irritating is a "Christian" site that have pop up porn and swindlers that are out to target and prey on the lonely. Mostly women are targeted but I am certain men can be also.
Makes living alone and single feel pretty ok in comparison to the drama of "searching for Mr. Right.

[juggernaut_cnet]

I while its absolutely terrible what happened to this woman, I don't agree with this lawsuit. I met my wife on this very same site and we are happily married, and have been so for five years. With that being said, when I was actively dating on the site before I met my wife, I made sure that I was very careful about who I met with, where we met, and what we did. I made it a point to take things very very slow until I felt I knew the person very well before moving forward (it took at least three months of dating until my wife saw my home). I don't know why people do not take the responsibility of exercising common sense in these situations. I understand this woman is angry and understandably so. However, this man would have done the same thing to her if they had met outside of match.com regardless. As a country, we are becoming too litigious and at this point it appears that we have adopted the mentality that if we are wronged, anyone and everyone will pay. It's as absurd as suing a garbage disposal company for not putting warning labels on the sink explaining how dangerous it is to stick your hand into the disposal to retrieve a lost utensil. They don't have to, we just know it is.

[Sophos1976]

I agree with you. I met my husband on a free dating site (before any of the pay ones started popping up). We are both normal people and have a happy marriage). I filtered out a lot of people that sounded weird. It's simply common sense.