Teen Charged In Craigslist Nanny Slaying
A 19-year-old man was charged with second-degree murder Tuesday in the killing of a woman who answered an ad on Craigslist for a baby sitter.
Michael John Anderson is accused of shooting Katherine Ann Olson in the back at his home in suburban Savage, according to the criminal complaint filed in Scott County District Court.
Bail was set at $1 million.
"At this point, we don't know a whole lot about our suspect," Savage police captain David Meulkin told CBS News Early Show co-anchor Harry Smith. "We have had some minor juvenile contacts with him, nothing serious, and certainly nothing violent and nothing that would indicate this."
Olson had gone to Anderson's home Thursday to inquire about a baby-sitting job she had seen advertised on the popular Internet bulletin board, authorities said.
"I think her success with getting employment through Craigslist gave her some more confidence too," Meulkin told Smith. "And people really need to be aware of making contact with strangers."
"Take it with a little bit more caution," Katherine's sister, Sarah Richter, told CBS News correspondent Dean Reynolds, referring to the use of Craigslist. "People are really good people except for a few bad apples."
A spokesman for Craigslist said if a link is confirmed, it would be the first murder ever tied to Craigslist in its 12-year existence and over 450 million classified ads.
Authorities said Olson's blood was found in Anderson's home and a gun was found in his bedroom. A neighbor saw Olson's car sitting in front of Anderson's house for more than two hours Thursday, the complaint said.
The body of the 24-year-old Minneapolis woman was found Friday night in the trunk of her car, which was abandoned in a park about five blocks from Anderson's home. Olson's purse and a bag containing bloody towels, one of which bore Anderson's name, were found in trash nearby.
Anderson has been in the Scott County Jail since his arrest late Friday.
Cell phone records indicated he talked with Olson on Thursday morning, the court documents said. Anderson also said he had not used Craigslist since January, although the e-mail address in the ad matched his address. He told police his mother and three friends had access to the account.
When confronted with evidence, Anderson admitted he was present during Olson's slaying but said the killing was committed by a friend of his who "thought it would be funny," according to the complaint.
"She was going to set the world on fire, and that's the grief that we feel," Nancy Olson, Catherine's mother, told Reynolds. "It's not just for us. It's for all these other people that she would have touched."
© 2009 CBS Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report. Michael John Anderson is accused of shooting Katherine Ann Olson in the back at his home in suburban Savage, according to the criminal complaint filed in Scott County District Court.
Bail was set at $1 million.
"At this point, we don't know a whole lot about our suspect," Savage police captain David Meulkin told CBS News Early Show co-anchor Harry Smith. "We have had some minor juvenile contacts with him, nothing serious, and certainly nothing violent and nothing that would indicate this."
Olson had gone to Anderson's home Thursday to inquire about a baby-sitting job she had seen advertised on the popular Internet bulletin board, authorities said.
"I think her success with getting employment through Craigslist gave her some more confidence too," Meulkin told Smith. "And people really need to be aware of making contact with strangers."
"Take it with a little bit more caution," Katherine's sister, Sarah Richter, told CBS News correspondent Dean Reynolds, referring to the use of Craigslist. "People are really good people except for a few bad apples."
A spokesman for Craigslist said if a link is confirmed, it would be the first murder ever tied to Craigslist in its 12-year existence and over 450 million classified ads.
Authorities said Olson's blood was found in Anderson's home and a gun was found in his bedroom. A neighbor saw Olson's car sitting in front of Anderson's house for more than two hours Thursday, the complaint said.
The body of the 24-year-old Minneapolis woman was found Friday night in the trunk of her car, which was abandoned in a park about five blocks from Anderson's home. Olson's purse and a bag containing bloody towels, one of which bore Anderson's name, were found in trash nearby.
Anderson has been in the Scott County Jail since his arrest late Friday.
Cell phone records indicated he talked with Olson on Thursday morning, the court documents said. Anderson also said he had not used Craigslist since January, although the e-mail address in the ad matched his address. He told police his mother and three friends had access to the account.
When confronted with evidence, Anderson admitted he was present during Olson's slaying but said the killing was committed by a friend of his who "thought it would be funny," according to the complaint.
"She was going to set the world on fire, and that's the grief that we feel," Nancy Olson, Catherine's mother, told Reynolds. "It's not just for us. It's for all these other people that she would have touched."
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Thinktank accuses Saudi regime over hate literature
The controversial state visit of King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia, which got under way today with a lavish ceremony, has prompted new criticism over his regime''''s alleged role in distributing hate literature in British mosques.
The Policy Exchange thinktank found extremist literature in a quarter of the 100 mosques and Islamic institutions it visited, including London Central Mosque in Regent''''s Park, which is funded by Saudi Arabia.
Some of the literature advocated violent jihad, murdering gay people and stoning adulterers, its researchers found.
http://politics.guardian.co.uk/foreignaffairs/story/0,,2201805,00.html
He probably sat around with some of his friends and came up with a scheme to lure someone to his home and murder "it", as simply the "thrill" of taking someone else''s life, and watching "it" die, he''s a "disorganized killer", an organized killer would have had enough sense to dispose of the bloody evidence and the body.
Although, in premeditation, he planned this crime in advance, it was a "fledgling" experience, he didn''t think that far ahead about covering his tracks.
His lawyer will probably plead "insanity", or his is psychologically/mentality/emotionally incapacitated to understand the gravity of what he had done...
I understand your drift god. Year ago Christmas I was leaving a store with some gifts I had bought and some guy came out of nowhere and flashed a knife telling me to lay down between the cars and not move. I started to obey and as I did I noticed his eyes were darting all around and not at me very often. My hand was still on the gift I had bought a neighbor child which was a baseball bat (small). I got angry in a heart beat and grabbed the bat and slammed him in the head hitting the knife by accident, it went flying and landed in the exit isle. The surprise was too much for him as I look ''old'' and it was totally unexpected. After it was over and I had time to think, I realized two things 1. I almost got killed and 2. that I was very lucky. I wish I had been carrying at that time but I wasn''t.
If she is as smart as everyone is saying, there are scholarships, grants, ..... Nanny services that have checked the references.... It''s not that we are not aware that this country is dangerous and violent...
People need to use their heads!
It''s the same as telling people not to leave kids or pets in hot cars, yet they keep doing it! America! Refocus!
My daughter''s murderer was charged with first-degree murder (a charge that he pled guilty to) because it was pre-meditated and he was a convicted felon in possession of a gun.
Had he committed an additional felony such as kidnapping or rape (thank God she didn''t suffer these additional atrocities) then he would have been "eligible" for felony-murder which could have resulted in the death penalty.
Although I''ve always been a proponent of the death penalty I was very surprised to realize that I did not want it for my daughter''s murderer. Was this due to forgiveness?
NO!
I realized that he would suffer much much more if he spent 24/7 locked up with trash like himself. I hope that he is broken down and torn up every day for the next 35 years. The moment before he''s released he can die.
Trust me, death is easy. It''s living that is hard.
At least for me.
The world watches in dismay and incomprehension yet again as this latest travesty unfolds...how on God''s earth can a kid think luring someone to their death is even remotely funny??? ..wait...plea bargains and a fabricated tormented childhood and presto ten years at best. It beggars belief.
Zuzu Bailey: Look, Daddy. Teacher says, every time a bell rings an angel gets his wings.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0038650/quotes
If I did not decide to protect myself and my friend with force, who knows what would have happened. We could both be dead right now! Instead two criminals hopefully learned a lesson and my friend and I got away without a scratch.
Self defense is everyone''s basic right and DUTY. It''s important these days to understand this fact with robbers who would kill you just for your shoes, or terrorists who would kill themselves just to kill you and your loved ones.
Until you have been attacked, I guess it''s impossible to understand. It''s funny and quite typical that some people would call me names and put me down with childish insults like "the klan klan gun man" or "pathetic underbelly of the trailer society, wearing your flannel and smoking and drinking Bud". Some bigots are even wishing I be killed.
When there is no valid argument to offer it''s easy to resort to stereotypes, name calling, and death threats. By the way, I''m a member of Urban Shooters at blackmanwithagun.com(there goes the "klan klan gun man" stereotype), and I don''t live in a trailer down south or drink beer(there goes the other ignorant stereotype).