By David Lohr
October 30, 2007
SAVAGE, MN (Crime Library) — "I write with the saddest news I have ever conveyed. Our beloved daughter, Katherine, is gone. She was murdered yesterday in Savage/Burnsville when she went to answer an Internet ad for a babysitter."
What you just read was taken from a message posted to Facebook.com by the parents of 24-year-old Katherine Ann Olson, a young woman police say was murdered after answering a babysitting ad posted on the Internet website Craigslist.org, an online classifieds website that hosts ads from 450 cities worldwide.
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| Savage MN Map |
On Friday, Savage police received a phone call notifying them a handbag had been found in a garbage can at Pacer Park on 126th Street. Items found inside the purse identified the owner as Katherine Ann Olson, a resident of nearby Minneapolis. Police left a voicemail message on Katherine's home phone regarding the discovery, and later that day, Katherine's roommate returned the call, informing police that she had not seen her friend since she left to answer an Internet ad Thursday morning.
"The victim was seeking employment as a babysitter through an ad on Craigslist," Capt. Dave Muelken of the Savage Police Department told Jordannews.com. "...Our investigation quickly shifted gears into a missing person case."
After talking with Katherine's roommate, police returned to Pacer Park and conducted a thorough search of the garbage can, at which time they discovered a bloody towel. Given the circumstances of the discovery, investigators conducted an extensive search of the area and a State Patrol helicopter was brought in to conduct an aerial search using an infrared thermal imaging device. The search was unsuccessful; however, when the helicopter was leaving the area, the pilot reported seeing a vehicle parked in the lot at the Rudy Kraemer Park Preserve.
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| Katherine Ann Olson |
When investigators arrived at the preserve, they checked the license plate and identified the vehicle as belonging to Katherine. Unfortunately, the search came to an abrupt end when investigators popped her trunk hatch and found her lifeless body sprawled inside.
Forensic computer experts working with technicians at Craigslist.org were able to trace the classified ad to a computer belonging to a 19-year-old man living on the 12600 block of Kipling Avenue in downtown Savage. The suspect, who has not yet been identified, was arrested late Friday night at the Minneapolis airport, where he works as an airplane fueler.
"This is a very unusual homicide," Muelken said in a press release. "I don't have a word to describe the situation. It's very tragic."
According to Katherine's parents, their daughter was a regular visitor to Craigslist.org and had frequently used it to acquire nanny jobs.
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