Craigslist Slay Suspect "Seemed Strange"

Teen Charged In Murder Of Minnesota Woman Who Responded To Babysitter Ad

(CBS/AP)  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.

"The life of a bright, promising young woman has been taken for absolutely no reason," said Scott County Attorney Pat Ciliberto. "The evidence is that this woman was lured to the defendant's house and was shot."

Ciliberto said the evidence indicates Olson and Anderson did not know each other. He also said there was no evidence of sexual assault.

"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."

Attorneys for Anderson had no comment on the charge.

"I think in a case like this, we'll just let the judicial process take its course," said Robert M. Speeter, a defense attorney.

According to the criminal complaint, Olson, 24, went to Anderson's home Thursday for a baby-sitting job she had seen advertised on Craigslist, a popular Internet bulletin board. Olson had taken nanny jobs at least twice before, including a job in Turkey, after answering online ads.

This ad was posted by someone claiming to be "Amy." Olson's roommate, Matt Thiede, told police that Olson had talked with "Amy" and commented that "the woman seemed kind of strange."

Olson and "Amy" exchanged e-mails, and in one message, "Amy" asked Olson to baby-sit a child between 10:30 a.m. and 5 p.m. on Thursday. The address and phone number provided to Olson matched Anderson's address and cell phone number, authorities said.

Ciliberto said it appears Olson thought she was responding to a woman or a couple in need of babysitting. The evidence, he said, shows that the e-mail account with the name Amy was "one and the same with Michael John Anderson."

Olson was last seen Thursday morning at her apartment, but she never returned.

[michellem99-2009]

I don''t know any one who post here..I DON''T..

[kailumego1]

ItsNotAboutU, "struck a nerve", do you fit into the "sociopathic typology of criminal behavior", and in reality are you trying to defend your own neurotic behavior or pathological "disease"..

[itsnotaboutu]

Oh let''s face it, any killer can be a "good person" until they KILL SOMEONE. There are no garanteed ways of identifying 100% of the worlds nut jobs. I mean even Hitler hugged a baby or two...

[scarletphd]

MichelleM99 said, "ScarletPhd..Yer just showed us ye can think.."

Nah, Not think, search. Scarlet merely did a C&P (copy and paste) from a Wikipedia webpage.
But, as Pappy used to say, "Knowledge isn''''t whatcha know, but if''''n ya know where to go to get it."
Regards,
Posted by Nancy_Naive

You two must be so proud...your demonstration of how to state the obvious is simply amazing. Wow.

[scarletphd]

ScarletPhD, "first-degree, second-degree, and first-degree murder with special circumstances", doesn''''t the "charge" reside on the shoulders of the prosecuting attorney, and isn''''t it usually or generally customary to offer " a plea", in order to save the court and tax payers the expense of a possible lengthy trial..
Posted by kailumego1

yes

I read through your legal jargon, but why wouldn''''t first degree murder with special circumstances apply here.
Posted by kailumego1


I never said one way or the other what would or wouldn''t apply here.

[ruddy3333]

I can''t find the place where you answer the question on CSI/NY and it is only open till 6 am E time can anybody help me. I thank you.

[keithle1]

So long as you smile 24-7 in America & say "Good morning" to strangers then everyone thinks you''re a nice, friendly person.

Women were charmed by Ted Bundy. Look what happened to them.

[michellem99-2009]

ScarletPhd..Yer just showed us ye can think..

[bbrundj]

Unbelievable. Minor scrapes with the law, huh? Ignoring any so-called minor scrape in juvenile court is not very commendable, especially in this malevolent, freaky planet called Earth. A sweet child with an innocent smile, can be very misleading on this malevolent freaky, planet, called...

[incog-nito]

This calls for a 1st degree murder charge. Why should this particular crime be less serious than if the defendant was also committing another felony (i.e. robbery, etc.)? One could easily argue that this is MORE serious, because the defendant''s sole objective was TO KILL. The guy doing a robbery might have panicked and shot his victim. This guy did it because he WANTED TO. That makes him that much more dangerous, and the crime that much more serious.

[kailumego1]

ScarletPhD, "first-degree, second-degree, and first-degree murder with special circumstances", doesn''t the "charge" reside on the shoulders of the prosecuting attorney, and isn''t it usually or generally customary to offer " a plea", in order to save the court and tax payers the expense of a possible lengthy trial..

And if the defendant has good legal representation, a productive member of society, and doesn''t have a lengthy criminal record that generally merits consideration for a plea to a lesser included offense.

I read through your legal jargon, but why wouldn''t first degree murder with special circumstances apply here.

The act was premeditated, and he did possess actus reus, mens rea, and malice aforethought, also if he committed a felony e.g. robbery doesn''t that preclude first-degree murder with special circumstances.

Or was this simply an act of discretion by the part of the prosecuting attorney offering a plea to a "lesser offense", because of his "standing" or his parents standing in the community...

[kailumego1]

He is a "thrill seeker", read his comment "thought it would be funny," he comes from a middle-class suburban family, who has had minor skirmishes with the law where his parents and local law enforcement gave him a pass and a light slap on the wrist.

His parents undoubtedly lied to themselves over and over again claiming he%u2019s a %u201Cgood boy%u201D from a %u201Cgood family%u201D, not like those raised precariously by unscrupulous underlings, like those raised in urban %u201Cghettoes%u201D.

A %u201Cthrill seeker%u201D, who probably liked drag racing, binge drinking, vandalism, and setting fires for kicks, and when he could no longer get that %u201Cadrenaline rush%u201D he concocted an elaborate scheme of murder... But being young, unskillful and disorganized coupled with his prior experiences with local law enforcement; he didn%u2019t consider the consequences of his actions, because mommy and daddy were always there to bail him out.

Like now!

Too bad he didn%u2019t murder someone %u201Clower%u201D on the %u201Csocial ladder%u201D, because he%u2019d probably just get another %u201Cslap%u201D on the wrist%u2026

His sense of %u201Centitlement%u201D warranted and enabled him to commit this cold-blooded act without a thought of the aftermath or consequences brought on by his vicious act.

His lawyer will probably plead "insanity", or his is psychologically/mentality/emotionally incapacitated to understand the gravity of what he had done...

[scarletphd]

As with most legal terms, the precise definition of murder varies between jurisdictions and is usually codified in some form of legislation.
In some jurisdictions, murder is a common law crime, considered so wrong that there is no need for any legislation to define it. In such jurisdictions, precedent Case law or previous decisions of the Courts of Law defines what is considered murder.
Basic elements
In most jurisdictions, murder has two elements or parts:
-the act (actus reus) of killing a person
-the state of mind (mens rea) of intentional, purposeful, malicious, premeditated, and/or wanton. Murder is often expressed as the unlawful killing of another human being with "malice aforethought." However, the element of malice may not be required in every jurisdiction, though intent normally is required.
The element of malice aforethought can be satisfied by an intentional killing, which is considered express malice. Malice can also be implied: deaths that occur by extreme recklessness or during certain serious crimes are considered to be express malice murders. Motive, or the reason for intent, is rarely an element or sub-element.
Exclusions
Unlawful killings without malice or intent are considered manslaughter.
Justified or accidental killings are considered homicides. Depending on the circumstances, these may or may not be considered criminal offenses.

[scarletphd]

Sometimes murder is used to describe what is really a homicide. While the two terms are related, they are not synonymous. Relatively few homicides are murders in law. Also, police will often call their investigation into a murder a homicide investigation in order not to prejudice any findings of the investigation, possible charges that could be laid, or any conviction of an offender. However, the crime will normally be identified as a murder once there is sufficient evidence to indicate that a murder is the more likely crime than any other. In most jurisdictions murder entails intent (e.g. planning), lack of a lawful excuse (e.g. self defense or insanity) and malice (e.g. not just surgery gone wrong).

[scarletphd]

Some states, such as California, simply preserved the old distinction between two degrees and have no offense called third degree murder. They simply have "first-degree murder" (leading to life in prison with a possibility of parole) and "first-degree murder with special circumstances" (leading to death or life without the possibility of parole), while second-degree murder continues to be the default category (punished by life in prison with a shorter term until parole eligibility).

Other states use the term "capital murder" for those offenses that merit death, and the term is often used even in states whose statutes do not include the term. As of 2006, 38 states and the federal government have laws allowing capital punishment for certain murders and related crimes (such as treason and terrorism). The penalty is rarely asked for and more rarely imposed, but it has generated tremendous public debate. See also capital punishment and capital punishment in the United States.

[scarletphd]

The first scheme, used by Pennsylvania among other states:
First Degree Murder: A premeditated murder, and (in some states) murders involving certain especially dangerous felonies, such as arson or rape, or committed by an inmate serving a life sentence.
Second Degree Murder: Non pre-meditated killing.
Third Degree Murder: Any other murder.
The second scheme, used by New York among other states, as well as the Model Penal Code:
First Degree Murder: Murder involving special circumstances, such as murder of a police officer, judge, fireman or witness to a crime; multiple murders; and torture or especially heinous murders. Note that a "regular" premeditated murder, absent such special circumstances, is not a first-degree murder; murders by poison or "lying in wait" are not per se first-degree murders. First degree murder is pre-meditated. However, the New York Court of Appeals struck down the death penalty as unconstitutional in the case of People v. Taylor.
Second Degree Murder: Any premeditated murder or felony murder that does not involve special circumstances.

[Krazcarl]

He seamed strange becayse HE not a friend was planning a murder of a lady he did not know for fun and thought he could get away with it he was retarded or on drugs or both with 0 parental upbtinging they will ckasim he was hardvso ignored him and let him go his own wayv yes they had a hand in it and shown be sueed for every penny they have cause they were ti lasy to take care of there son.

[susanhelit]

It''s obviously first degree murder - inviting her out is obvious premeditation. There should be a new clause written into law, that a ''thrill killer'' gets a higher punishment as well - that kid is dangerous, and will always be dangerous, who knows when he''ll want another ''thrill''. Lock them up, throw away the key.

[rickstas]

Why is it "second-degree murder." This is as "first-degree murder" as it gets, to my limited understanding of the law.

[hoboken34]

toldyouso21 It is a very sad commentary for you to make during a tragic murder. You think a babysitter has to be uneducated? It is a honorable living? You make it out like she deserved to be murdered. What do you know? Maybe she was saving money to open a daycare or attend medical school. Do you have a soul?