‘Craigslist murder’ revisited
An interesting twist today in the “Craigslist murder” – the sad case of 24-year-old Katherine Olson, who was killed last year in Minnesota after answering an ad on Craigslist for a babysitter. Olson’s parents and sister – who have never blamed Craigslist for the slaying – said on NBC’s morning program, Today, that Craigslist is partnering with them to support a charity concert in Olson’s honor.
Sarah Richter, Olson’s sister, said the family would hold a concert next spring to raise money for a scholarship fund for education, which was a love of Olson’s. She said the family was working with Craigslist on the concert, and had “teams of volunteers” working on it. “It was wonderful news when Craigslist said, ‘We do want to partner with you on it,’” Richter said.
The show quoted Craigslist CEO Jim Buckmaster as saying the site was “honored” to join the family supporting the concert. “We were devastated to learn what had happened to Katherine and deeply saddened for the olson family. Their response to the tragedy has been inspirational,” he said.
Michael Anderson, 19, is charged with killing Olson, and is being held pending trial.
Obviously, no one can blame Craigslist for the killing, and it’s appropriate that the site help support the fund-raiser. But the cynics in us can’t help but wonder: Does all this publicity – unsought, clearly – actually benefit Craigslist, too?
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One other sidelight: The unfortunate headline under the link on the MSNBC page: “Craigslist murdered woman’s family”
