01x09 - Tim

[bunniefuu]

Narrator: In 2011, a man named
Jack posted a job opening on craigslist.

According to craigslist's
terms of service,

they are not responsible
for verifying any postings.

And it is up to users discretion
on how they choose to use the site.

Live for free.

He made sure that his victims
were white, middle-aged men,

so he could realistically
use their identities

to do things, like,
get prescriptions.

I really means a lot
that you guys picked me,

it really does.

He asked questions
about their relationships

to make sure that nobody would be
missing them or checking on them.

And he used these interviews

to Gauge the value
of their possessions.

Richard would sell most
of his victims' possessions

to pay for his life,
hiding from the police.

He was looking for a caretaker
to watch over his remote farm.

Hundreds applied.

Those who were accepted

were thrilled to live a peaceful
life in the appalachian countryside,

but none of them ever
made it to that farm.

But none of them ever
made it to that farm.

(Theme music)

It all started in
noble county, Ohio.

47-year-old, Tim
kern was a quiet man,

fresh off a painful divorce,

who wanted a fresh start.

He was searching for peace, clarity,
and most importantly, a purpose.

So, he went to craigslist,

where he found the opportunity
that was going to change his life.

A job posting from
a man named Jack.

Jack: We need someone to watch
our farm down in southern Ohio.

Live for free in a
double-wide trailer.

Nothing in the way of duties,

except to take in the
peacefulness of the countryside

and remark on the
changing of the seasons,

and to make sure no one
steals any farm equipment

or perpetrates any mischief.

The pay is $300 a week.

Tim sent in his
application immediately.

Tim sent in his
application immediately.

It was exactly what
he was looking for.

When Jack reached
out to set up an interview,

he was thrilled.

According to craigslist's
terms of service,

they are not responsible
for verifying any postings.

And it is up to users discretion
on how they choose to use the site.

There was no way to
verify this, or any job posting,

or know if any of the information
Richard beasley posted was true,

including his identity.

Jack was actually a 52-year-old
man, named Richard beasley,

who has been in trouble
with the law since his 20s.

Richard had been involved in
a string of robberies in Texas.

In 1985,

he was convicted of burglary

and unauthorised
use of a motor vehicle,

and sentenced to
40 years in prison.

In 1989, he was placed
on parole for 34 years.

He returned to Ohio in 2004.

When Richard returned to Ohio,

it appeared as though he
wanted to turn his life around.

He began the training
to become a chaplain,

and started a halfway house.

And started a halfway house.

Beasley surrounded himself
with ex-criminals and prostit*tes

under the guise that
he could help them.

Richard was a devout man
with a warped sense of morality,

who truly believed that he
could better these people's lives.

Richard beasley
advocated for the people

who lived in his halfway house,

even going as far as
testifying in their court cases.

However, the halfway house was
not a safe space for the residents.

Richard was later
charged with selling drugs

and managing prostit*tes
out of the house.

Richard beasley viewed himself
as a mentor to many people in town,

but especially, to a young
man, named Brogan Rafferty.

Richard met Brogan when
Brogan was only nine years old.

Brogan's home life
was anything from easy.

His mother was an addict,

and his father was a strict man,

who believed and taught his son

that men should not cry
and should always be tough.

Brogan found
comfort in the church,

and beasley was an
extension of church in his mind.

Throughout the years,
throughout the years,

Richard went from somebody
who gave Brogan a ride to church,

to his mentor, his confidant,
and ultimately, his partner in crime.

Before any of the
craigslist murders began,

Richard confided in Brogan

that there was about to be
a warrant out for his arrest

for a crime he didn't commit.

Well, none of it's true.

I'm a man of god,
for Christ's sakes.

That was far from the truth.

Richard beasley
had a warrant out

for 15 prostitution-related crimes
connected with his halfway house.

Brogan was furious that his mentor
was about to be unjustly arrested,

and agreed to help him
hide out from the police.

Tim walks into his interview
with Jack, aka, Richard beasley.

Richard has the gift of the gab

and a way of making
people feel comfortable.

I think you're a
very good fit for this.

There's just a couple of
other people I need to see

before I can offer you the job.

He asked all of his would-be
victims the same questions,

and if they didn't
fit the criteria,

he would just say he would,
"let them know," and leave,

he would just say he would,
"let them know," and leave,

never contacting them again.

These men thought they had
missed out on an amazing opportunity,

but they were the lucky ones.

The men that answered his
questions to his satisfaction

had no idea what
was about to happen.

'Cause we don't have any
cellphone reception out on the farm.

Is this gonna be a problem?

Nah, it's ok. I'm just
looking for a place to live.

Richard asked these questions

to make sure that he
would not be caught.

He made sure his victims
were white, middle-aged men,

so he could realistically
use their identities

to do things, like,
get prescriptions.

So, do you have a wife or kids,

or anyone that you need to
keep in constant touch with?

He asked questions
about their relationships

to make sure that nobody would be
missing them or checking up on them.

And he used these interviews

to Gauge the value
of their possessions.

Richard would sell most
of his victims' possessions

to pay for his life
hiding from the police.

Tim met all of Richard's criteria,
and he offered him the job.

Tim met all of Richard's criteria,
and he offered him the job.

Tim was excited.

This was his chance to start
over and live a peaceful life.

He was grateful to
have found Jack online.

Richard even had Tim fill out
fake paperwork during the interview

to make it seem more legitimate.

Richard told Tim to
meet him and Brogan

at a parking lot
in canton, Ohio,

about 20 miles south of akron,

and to bring all of
his possessions.

They would all drive
to the farm together.

And Brogan would come
back, pick up Tim's car,

and bring it to the farm later.

Tim was unaware that
his fate was already sealed

and his grave already dug.

47-year-old divorcee, Tim kern

applied for a job on craigslist
that sounded too good to be true.

A man named Jack

needed someone to
live on and watch over

his remote, idyllic
appalachian farmland,

complete with free housing
and a weekly stipend.

Little did he know that the job
was, in fact, too good to be true.

Tim showed up with
everything he owned,

which was only a few
garbage bags full of clothes

which was only a few
garbage bags full of clothes

and keepsakes
in his old Cadillac

that he couldn't even
drive on the highway.

He had only $5 in his wallet.

You're just gonna love
it out there on the farm.

Hope you're an early riser.

This is when Brogan
became confused.

Why did Richard choose Tim
when he didn't own anything of value?

Richard, can I talk
to you for a second?

Their previous victims had all
been picked very strategically,

and Tim did not seem to match.

He has nothing.

Richard was becoming sloppy.

He and Brogan had taken such
care with their first two victims,

55-year-old, Ralph geiger
and 51-year-old, David pauley.

But things had gone
wrong with their third victim,

47-year-old, Scott Davis.

Scott Davis was shot,

and managed to escape and
hide in the woods for seven hours,

before finding a house
with their lights on.

Davis was then able
to contact the police

and receive much
needed medical attention.

He was able to give police
the information needed

to find and arrest Richard
beasley and Brogan Rafferty.

Richard knew what
Davis escaping meant.

He was about to get caught,
and he did not have much time.

Consequently, he was less
prepared for his fourth victim, Tim kern.

But Tim kern doesn't know about

Ralph geiger, David
pauley, or Scott Davis.

Brogan loads everything
Tim owns into the car,

still unsure why they
were k*lling Tim kern.

But Brogan trusts Richard,

so they all get in the car and
get ready to depart for the farm.

Then, rich changes the
subject and convinces Tim,

just like his other victims,

to take a detour into
the nearby woods.

A couple miles up the road

I lost a watch, a couple
days ago, duck hunting.

I'd like to go look for it.

I think I know just
where I dropped it.

If you wouldn't mind, three
heads are better than one.

Yeah, that's fine.

Alright.

Tim kern didn't want to be
rude to his new employer,

but agreeing to
walk into those woods

but agreeing to
walk into those woods

ended up being a deadly mistake.

Richard, Brogan, and Tim
walk through the woods,

with Tim in the back, by
design, to make him feel safe.

Tim walks ahead for a second
to hold back a branch for Brogan.

And Brogan has
another moment of guilt.

Tim seems like a sweet guy.

But, like always, he shakes it
off and continues with the plan.

This is how it always happened.

They lured their victims
out into the woods

to search for something
with sentimental value.

The men wanted to make
a good first impression,

so they all agreed.

Richard and Brogan allowed
them to walk in the back,

so they could feel safer safe.

Then, once near
the pre-dug grave,

they would make an
excuse to turn around,

putting the victim in front,

making him an easy target.

They approach the grave

Richard ordered
Brogan to dig earlier,

but Tim doesn't notice.

Brogan crouches
down to let Tim pass,

and that's when
he hears a g*nsh*t.

(g*nsh*t)

Richard beasley and his 16-year-old
accomplice, Brogan Rafferty

have m*rder*d two men
and severely injured another.

They have taken their
next victim, Tim kern,

out to the woods,
to k*ll and Bury him.

But, the m*rder
doesn't go as planned.

(g*nsh*t) Brogan looks up

to see that Richard
has shot Tim.

Richard stands, holding his p*stol,
above Tim, who is on his knees.

Brogan later told police

that Richard then
asked Tim, "are you ok?"

As if Tim had just hurt
himself on a rogue branch.

Richard then proceeds to sh**t
Tim three more times in the head,

and Tim slumps over to the side.

But Tim still wasn't dead.

Tim is somehow still
gasping for air at this point.

Brogan tells Richard
that Tim is still alive.

Reckon he'll quit
breathing soon.

After being shot five
times, Tim kern was dead.

Richard and Brogan dragged
him to his pre-dug grave.

Brogan told Richard that
the grave wasn't deep enough

Brogan told Richard that
the grave wasn't deep enough

to completely cover the body.

But Richard didn't seem to care.

With their first
m*rder, Ralph geiger,

they had made sure the
entire body was covered,

and had even doused the body
in lime juice to hide the smell.

Tim kern was different.

Richard knew he
was already caught

because Scott Davis had
escaped and gone to the police.

Police searched the woods
and found Scott Davis' bloody hat,

which led them to find the
bodies of the three other victims.

Experts were able
to trace the ip address

of who posted the
original craigslist job.

And it took them to a random
house owned by a man

who did not know anything about
anyone named Jack or the murders.

The owner revealed that he
had rented out his basement

to a man, named Richard beasley.

They arrested Richard originally

on the prostitution and drug
charges that he was hiding from.

You've been
implicated in a m*rder.

Detectives interviewed
Richard beasley.

When asked about Scott Davis,

when asked about Scott Davis,

Richard claims

that he was just going to look at
some wildlife in the woods with him,

when Davis pulled
a g*n on Richard.

Richard claimed that
the two men wrestled,

but he was able to get the g*n,
and shot Davis in self-defence.

We sort of struggled with...

He had an excuse for everything.

He blamed Ralph gieger,
his first victim's death,

on meth dealers outside of town.

Richard blamed Brogan
for David pauley's death,

saying that Brogan
m*rder*d pauley

for initiation into a local biker
g*ng his father was involved in.

Richard: Highway 42.

When it came to Tim kern, Richard
denied ever meeting the man,

despite all the
evidence to the contrary.

Richard took no blame
for any of the murders,

and was quick to place the blame
on his 16-year-old accomplice.

Police arrested Brogan
Rafferty at his high school.

I didn't want to be
a part of any of this,

I really hope you
can believe that.

Richard shot him, but
I helped Bury the body.

Richard shot him, but
I helped Bury the body.

Mike Rafferty, Brogan
Rafferty's father,

was interviewed about his son's
involvement with Richard beasley.

He was a good kid. He
wouldn't do anything like that.

This has got something
to do with that Richard guy.

I bet you it's that
Richard guy that did it.

Richard beasley has finally
been caught and arrested

for prostitution
and drug charges.

Reporter: 15 November, a body,

which turns out to be 51-year-old,
David pauley of Norfolk, Virginia,

is found in a hand-dug grave.

Friday, two more bodies are
discovered on shallow graves.

One has been identified
as 47-year-old, Timothy kern.

A divorced dad of three sons.

Two summit county men
have been held since last week

in connection with the murders.

52-year-old, Richard
beasley of akron,

and 16-year-old,
Brogan Rafferty.

Beasley's mother says, her
son was a mentor to Rafferty.

He's a kid we have
taken to church

since he was seven
or eight years old.

Since he was seven
or eight years old.

Police were led to the pair
by a south Carolina man,

who also answered the ad.

But he says he escaped after
being shot in the arm, 6 November.

Richard beasley
has just been arrested

on prostitution
and drug charges,

as well as for the m*rder

of Ralph gieger, David
pauley, and Tim kern,

and the attempted
m*rder of Scott Davis,

along with his 16-year-old
accomplice, Brogan Rafferty.

Richard beasley's
trial had begun,

and many people
were called to testify,

including family
members of the victims.

Thank you again, god, for
saving me from that beast.

Reporter: As the sole survivor
of the craigslist shootings,

Scott Davis was the only
man who could ID the k*ller,

Richard beasley.

I'm sure you know the
ten commandments.

You've broken all of them.

Richard maintained the
entire trial that he was innocent.

When he took the stand,

he even spun an elaborate
story about how Scott Davis,

the victim that escaped,
had actually been the attacker.

Richard used all of
his skills as a preacher

to spin the truth to the jury.

To spin the truth to the jury.

Then, Brogan
Rafferty took the stand.

He claimed that the only reason
he was involved in these murders

was because Richard
beasley threatened him.

He's an animal. He's
nothing but an animal.

He m*rder*d Tim for $5.

I looked in his eyes,
and all I saw was cold.

They were black eyes.

They were just black, like
a shark in feeding in water.

Reporter: His lawyers
are trying to portray raftery

as an unwilling partner,

afraid for his family

if he backed out of helping

co-defendant, Richard beasley

with the crimes.

Many noted that Brogan
acted, and even looked,

much older than his age.

While he was only 16
at the time of his arrest,

Brogan had grown
up very quickly.

Mike Rafferty, Brogan's father,

divorced Brogan's mother
because of her addictions.

Since his father
worked long hours,

Brogan was already
making himself breakfast

and getting ready
for school by himself

when he was only five years old.

When he was only five years old.

Brogan, in an interview
with 'the Atlantic',

said that Richard beasley,

"had a jolly laugh,
a beard, a belly,

"and even carried
candy in his pocket.

"There was a period
when I was younger

"that I was convinced
he was Santa claus."

Many questioned if
Richard beasley and Brogan

had a sexual
relationship of any kind,

but both deny it.

Brogan describes their relationship
like an uncle and a nephew.

Friends and family members
of the four victims came forward

and spoke at the trial.

Brogan even acknowledged their
pain, but never directly apologised.

First of all, I agree
with the prosecutor

that this is my trial,
not mr beasleys.

And that even though
he is evil, in my opinion,

deceitful, cruel,
and a m*rder*r,

none of that makes
me (Speaks indistinctly)

Because I was involved in this.

And, I thought that it
was something horrible,

again, evil,

but again, I was
still a part of it.

But again, I was
still a part of it.

Reporter one: Life in
prison without parole.

That is the fate of a local teen

convicted of taking part in the
so-called, craigslist murders.

Reporter two: Judge lynne Callahan
was not swayed by Rafferty's words,

and handed down
the maximum penalty.

Life in prison, without
the possibility of parole.

It was cold,
calculated, methodical,

execution of three human
beings and nearly a fourth.

Brogan had a
difficult childhood,

and he claimed that his actions

were out of fear of
Richard beasley's threats.

But, the jury decided that this
was not an excuse for his actions,

and he was sentenced
with the maximum penalty,

life in prison with
no chance of parole.

While Brogan admitted to
being involved in the murders,

Richard beasley still
denied his own involvement.

Richard's mother
took to the stand

to tell the jury about how
hard her son's childhood was,

and how he suffered physical
and sexual abuse at a young age.

The defence also had a
psychologist take the stand and testify

the defence also had a
psychologist take the stand and testify

that Richard suffered from
depression and alcohol abuse,

possibly because
of his childhood.

Scott Davis and loved ones
of the other three victims

also took the stand to
tell Richard and the jury

how he had ruined their lives.

Richard kept his head down
or covered for most of the trial.

And when given time to speak,
he still maintained his innocence.

I have k*lled nobody.

You took my best friend...

..Confidant, and my twin.

He's an animal.
Nothing but an animal.

I told you before, he
m*rder*d our son for $5.

Jury, it is my understanding
that you have reached a verdict,

is that correct?

Alright.

Alright, the court has had the
opportunity to view the forms

with regard to count
one of the indictment,

aggravated m*rder regarding
the death of Ralph gieger.

This jury, "we, the jury, being
duly empanelled and sworn,

"do hereby find that the
aggravating circumstances

"do hereby find that the
aggravating circumstances

"that the defendant was
found guilty of committing

"do outweigh the mitigating
factors presented in this case

"by proof beyond
reasonable doubt.

"We therefore unanimously
find that the sentence of death

"should be imposed on
Richard James beasley."

On count two of
the indictment...

I'm sorry, count
four of the indictment,

regarding David pauley.

"We, the jury, being duly
empanelled and sworn,

"do hereby find that the
aggravating circumstances

"that the defendant was
found guilty of committing

"do outweigh the mitigating
factors presented in this case

"by proof beyond
a reasonable doubt.

"We therefore unanimously
find that the sentence of death

"should be imposed on
Richard James beasley."

Regarding count
seven of the indictment,

pertaining to Timothy kern.

"We, the jury, being duly
empanelled and sworn,

"do hereby find that the
aggravating circumstances

"that the defendant was
found guilty of committing

"do outweigh the mitigating
factors presented in this case

"by proof beyond
a reasonable doubt.

"By proof beyond
a reasonable doubt.

"We therefore unanimously
find that the sentence of death

"should be imposed upon
Richard James beasley."

Reporter: It was the outcome
these families had hoped for.

A jury recommending
that Richard beasly die

for murdering Ralph geiger,
David pauley, and Timothy kern

in the craigslist killings.

They k*lled him for $5.

$5, why?

Reporter: The family of a
fourth man, Scott Davies,

who was also shot but survived,

feels blessed tonight.

(Crying) I feel my
brother is a hero.

I really do.

And they say the man who shot
him is getting what he deserves.

He has nothing in his eyes.

They're just big holes.

And it's a shame people like
that are walking the streets.

I know I am more...

..Careful with everything I do.

Driving to and from work,
walking in and out of my door.

Scary when you know things
like this are out there like that.

Ultimately, the
evidence and testimonies

ultimately, the
evidence and testimonies

led the jury to a guilty
verdict on all counts.

Richard beasley was
found guilty of m*rder,

attempted m*rder,

kidnapping,

and was sentenced to death.

Beasley has tried multiple
times to appeal his guilty verdict,

even taking it as far as
the Ohio supreme court,

where the court's decision was
upheld with a vote of seven to zero.

While Richard beasley still has
not confessed to the murders,

Scott Davis and the
victims' families are relieved

that he is living on death row.

A man, many have
described as evil,

was able to go online

and anonymously lure
four men into the woods,

k*lling three.

A dream job turned
into their worst nightmare

when they met
their m*rder*r online.