Brogan Rafferty, teen suspect in Ohio "Craigslist killings," pleads not guilty

(CBS/AP) AKRON, Ohio - An Ohio teen pleaded not guilty on Friday to helping his mentor kill one man and try to kill another in a deadly Craigslist robbery scheme.

Brogan Rafferty's plea came after he was transferred to the adult system from juvenile court because of the seriousness of the charges against him.

Authorities say victims of the scheme answered a Craigslist ad for work at a nonexistent cattle ranch in Noble County, 90 miles south of Akron, where they were robbed and then killed.

The teen was questioned by the FBI and arrested in mid-November, several days after Scott Davis, of South Carolina, answered the ad and escaped after he was shot in the arm.

The body of Norfolk, Va., resident David Pauley, 51, was found on the Noble County property, which is owned by a coal company and often leased to hunters. Authorities say Pauley was killed Oct. 23.

Timothy Kern, 47, was found Nov. 29 in a shallow grave near an Akron-area shopping mall. He had been shot in the head.

The complaint against the teen says he participated in the crimes with Richard Beasley, a 52-year-old Akron resident said to have acted as his mentor.

Beasley was a Texas parolee who returned to Ohio in 2004 after serving time on a burglary conviction. He was awaiting trial on prostitution and drug charges when authorities took him into custody. Police have said a halfway house he ran in Akron was a front for prostitution.

Beasley has pleaded not guilty to the slayings and could face the death penalty if convicted, but as a juvenile, Rafferty cannot.

Complete coverage of the Ohio Craigslist murder case on Crimesider