Minnesota and the Upper Midwest, for some reason, is the home of (by US standards, anyway) some of the most extreme (or at least interesting) criminal behavior, and not just in the movies. And today, in Shakopee, Minnesota, a freshly convicted 20 year old was sentenced to life in prison with no parole because of his killing of Katherine ann Olson (24 years old) using Craig’s List as a tool to lure his victim into a deadly trap.
Surely, that is the ultimate example of incivility on the internet.
Here is a pretty good overview of the slaying (you may not be able to see this because it is a newspaper site and newspapers do not know how to use the Inernet). And here is the latest news on the conviction.
The news on the sentencing is not in print as of this writing, I’m going with word of mouth here.
UPDATE: From WCCO:
SHAKOPEE, Minn. (WCCO) รข?? A Savage man, convicted in the shooting death of a woman he lured to his home with a fake ad for a baby sitter that he posted on Craigslist, is sentenced to life is prison with no possibility of parole.
District Judge Mary Theisen decided the sentence for 20-year-old Michael John Anderson just before noon Wednesday.
After about six hours of deliberation Tuesday, the Scott County jury found Anderson guilty on all counts, including first-degree premeditated murder, for killing Katherine Ann Olson, 24. Anderson looked straight ahead and showed no emotion as the jury returned its verdict.
…
“The light of Christ has shown in the dark valley we have been walking through,” said the victim’s father, Rolf Olson.
He said the New Testament teaches that forgiveness means to let go.
…
… prosecutors said Anderson’s acts were premeditated. Chief Deputy Scott County Attorney Ron Hocevar told the jury Anderson simply wanted to kill someone on Oct. 25, 2007.
“He brought her over because he wanted to know what it felt like,” Hocevar argued. “Well, he did.”
…
Margoles argued that Anderson, who didn’t testify during the week-long trial, lured Olson over with no clear idea of why. He said that when she tried to leave, Anderson, who had no experience with women, fell back on his video game experience and pulled his father’s gun on her. He said Anderson then shot her accidentally when he tripped or flinched.
He also asked jurors to consider that Anderson lives in an “unreal world.”
“He’s to tell a woman at gunpoint that he wants to be her boyfriend?” Margoles asked. “Demand sex? We don’t know. All we know is that this is a bizarre kid with no social skills.”
After the verdict, Margoles said his case was hindered by the judge’s refusal to allow him to discuss Anderson’s Asperger’s syndrome in court. …
“I think things would have been different if we were allowed to bring Asperger’s in, to explain why he became obsessed the last few days,” Margoles said.
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Those are the same links, and no, the paper doens’t know how to use the internet. I was able to read the article by hitting the stop button before the page finished loading and redirecting me to a “can’t find the page” page. I’d like to know more about how they caught Anderson and more about how to protect onself from craigslist murderers.
I will provide improved links shortly.
Asperger’s Syndrome, even if the diagnosis is accurate, would not account for this. Here’s a very personal “FUCK YOU” to the apparently unscrupulous defense team.