Craigslist Killers

One of the top stories in the news right now is the 19-year-old Craigslist killer, who confessed to murdering more than 22 people as part of a satanic cult. One of Miranda Barbour’s victims was Troy LaFerrara, who she met on Craigslist. LaFerrara allegedly paid for a sexual encounter with Barbour, but she ended up killing him instead.

Craigslist has become just as infamous for its Craigslist killers as it has with its services. The online community seems like it is becoming more and more of an unsavory and shady place. My brother bought an Xbox from a user on Craigslist a few years ago, and I remember feeling a little nervous when he went to go meet the guy in person. He could easily have been another victim of a Craigslist killer.

Another strange feature on Craigslist is the “missed connections” section of the site. It allows users to try to find people they see at restaurants, gas stations, bookstores, etc. who they thought were attractive, but they were too timid to approach. The users post descriptions of the person and the place they saw them, in hopes that the person will see it and contact them.

It would be a cute idea if it didn’t seem so creepy and stalker-like. Besides, I find it very unlikely that these people would ever find each other. It’s just as likely that someone else could pretend to be the person you saw, get your contact information, meet with you, and murder you. The people who peruse the missed connections page are probably just looking to prey on people.

I’m not saying that the Craigslist community is not useful in some aspects. It’s wonderful that there can be an online marketplace and a place to post job opportunities. It just makes me uncomfortable how vulnerable people are when they put themselves on sites like Craigslist.