February 11, 2009 5:27 PM
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Internet Love Triangle Comes To Deadly End
He was an 18-year-old Marine headed to war. She was an attractive young woman sending him off with pictures and lingerie.
Or so each one thought.
In reality, they were two middle-aged people carrying on an Internet fantasy based on seemingly harmless lies.
When a truthful 22-year-old was drawn in, authorities say, their cyber-escape turned deadly. Brian Barrett was shot to death Sept. 15 outside the factory where he worked to help pay for college. His death stumped investigators and Barrett's family.
Barrett, 22, was an aspiring teacher, an accomplished high school athlete who had coached Little League baseball all summer and helped his father coach soccer. Those who knew the Buffalo State College student described him as quiet and unassuming.
He had clearly been targeted. Barrett was shot three times at close range in the neck and left arm after climbing into his truck about 10 p.m. at the end of a shift at Dynabrade Corp. in Clarence, 20 miles outside of Buffalo. His body was found two days later when a co-worker spotted his pickup truck in an isolated part of the company parking lot.
"He was just a nice kid, a gentleman," said Starpoint High School Athletic Director Tom Sarkovics, who was Barrett's baseball coach for two years. "I don't think anybody could say a bad thing about him."
On Nov. 27, Barrett's 47-year-old co-worker and friend, Thomas Montgomery, was charged with Barrett's murder. The motive, investigators said, was jealousy over Barrett's budding Internet relationship with the same 18-year-old woman Montgomery had been wooing since the previous year.
What neither man knew was that the woman was really a 40-something West Virginia mother using her daughter's identity to attract Internet suitors. Cyberspace, it appeared, was enough for her, and it was a near certainty she would never have met either man.
"When you're on the Internet talking, you haven't got a clue who that is on the other end," Sheriff's Lt. Ron Kenyon said. "You don't have a clue."
CBS News technology analyst Larry Magid sounded a similar note of caution.
"We hear a lot about protecting children online but much of that advice should apply to adults as well. Regardless of their age, Internet users need to realize that people may not be who they claim to be. People should be extremely careful about giving out personal information or arranging personal meeting with those they meet online.
"The only way you can get physically hurt from an online relationship is if the person knows who you are and where to find you. Don't give out that information and don't meet up with someone unless it's in a public place with lots of other people around,'' said Magid. "And even then, be extremely careful."
© 2009 CBS Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report. Or so each one thought.
In reality, they were two middle-aged people carrying on an Internet fantasy based on seemingly harmless lies.
When a truthful 22-year-old was drawn in, authorities say, their cyber-escape turned deadly. Brian Barrett was shot to death Sept. 15 outside the factory where he worked to help pay for college. His death stumped investigators and Barrett's family.
Barrett, 22, was an aspiring teacher, an accomplished high school athlete who had coached Little League baseball all summer and helped his father coach soccer. Those who knew the Buffalo State College student described him as quiet and unassuming.
He had clearly been targeted. Barrett was shot three times at close range in the neck and left arm after climbing into his truck about 10 p.m. at the end of a shift at Dynabrade Corp. in Clarence, 20 miles outside of Buffalo. His body was found two days later when a co-worker spotted his pickup truck in an isolated part of the company parking lot.
"He was just a nice kid, a gentleman," said Starpoint High School Athletic Director Tom Sarkovics, who was Barrett's baseball coach for two years. "I don't think anybody could say a bad thing about him."
On Nov. 27, Barrett's 47-year-old co-worker and friend, Thomas Montgomery, was charged with Barrett's murder. The motive, investigators said, was jealousy over Barrett's budding Internet relationship with the same 18-year-old woman Montgomery had been wooing since the previous year.
What neither man knew was that the woman was really a 40-something West Virginia mother using her daughter's identity to attract Internet suitors. Cyberspace, it appeared, was enough for her, and it was a near certainty she would never have met either man.
"When you're on the Internet talking, you haven't got a clue who that is on the other end," Sheriff's Lt. Ron Kenyon said. "You don't have a clue."
CBS News technology analyst Larry Magid sounded a similar note of caution.
"We hear a lot about protecting children online but much of that advice should apply to adults as well. Regardless of their age, Internet users need to realize that people may not be who they claim to be. People should be extremely careful about giving out personal information or arranging personal meeting with those they meet online.
"The only way you can get physically hurt from an online relationship is if the person knows who you are and where to find you. Don't give out that information and don't meet up with someone unless it's in a public place with lots of other people around,'' said Magid. "And even then, be extremely careful."
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