Richard Beasley, the “Craigslist Killer,” has been sentenced to death by an Ohio Judge Thursday, according to Reuters.
Beasley was charged and convicted of killing three men by putting fake ads on Craigslist and then kidnapping them when they responded to the ad.
The three men, David Pauley, 51; Ralph Geiger, 56; and Timothy Kern, 47, were in desperate need of jobs, when they responded to the ads.
"Beasley is a master manipulator even up to today, constantly trying to manipulate and lie," Summit County Prosecutor Sherri Bevan Walsh said.
Upon being handed down the sentence from Summit County Common Pleas Court Judge Lynne Callahan, Beasley told her he was innocent. He said his sentence would be turned over on appeal.
"I want to make sure you understand: I have killed nobody," he told the court.
In addition to being convicted of three murders, Beasley was also convicted of the attempted murder of Scoot Davis, 49. The man from South Carolina answered Beasley’s ad, only to run from gunfire.
Davis was shot in the arm while running from Beasley and teenager Brogan Rafferty, Beasley’s accomplice. Since Rafferty was 16 at the time he committed the crimes, he could not legally face the death penalty. Instead he faces life in prison without parole.
Davis told Beasley he'd gladly be attending the execution.
"I will be there as you go, smiling," he said.
According to Davis, he felt the God was with him when he was shot and when he was wondering through woods searching for help.
Davis told reporters that Beasley was “a liar” when he claimed to be innocent.
“When he was shooting at me I saw nothing in his eyes," Davis said.
Carol Beasley, Richard’s mother, had asked the court to not kill her son because of abuse he suffered as a child. Rafferty, who was convicted in a separate trial, will also appeal his conviction.
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