Teen pleads not guilty in Ohio Craigslist killings

By Thomas J. Sheeran 

AKRON, Ohio 

An Ohio teen has pleaded not guilty to killing one man and attempting to kill a second in a deadly Craigslist robbery scheme that targeted older and single out-of-work men.

Brogan Rafferty, his ankles and wrists cuffed, made a brief appearance today in adult felony court in Akron on charges originally filed in Noble County, where the case unfolded.

Rafferty, dressed in a white T-shirt and orange jail pants, also has been charged with three counts of aggravated murder in juvenile court in Summit County. Prosecutors eventually hope to merge the cases in adult court in Akron.

A magistrate continued Rafferty's $1 million bond. His attorney says Rafferty cannot afford it.

A onetime mentor of Rafferty, 52-year-old Richard Beasley of Akron, has pleaded not guilty in the killings.

Two men were shot and killed and a third was shot but survived and escaped after hiding in woods in Noble County, authorities said. Those shootings happened between Aug. 9 and Nov. 6. A fourth man was killed Nov. 13, and his body was found in Akron.

One of the victims was from Norfolk, Va. The man who escaped was from South Carolina.

The victims had answered Craigslist ads for work on a nonexistent cattle farm in the rural county. The scheme targeted older, single, out-of-work men with backgrounds that made it unlikely their disappearances would be noted right away.