Answering ad leads to death

The woman found the ad on Craigslist.org.

MINNEAPOLIS STAR TRIBUNE

MINNEAPOLIS — Answering an online ad for a nanny job — which she had done at least twice before without trouble — cost Katherine Ann Olson her life, authorities said.

Olson, a 24-year-old St. Olaf College graduate, was found dead in the trunk of her car late Friday night. She was last seen by friends Thursday morning, when she went to meet someone in Savage, Minn., about the job, which authorities said she had found on Craigslist.

A 19-year-old Savage man who police believe placed the ad is being held in the Scott County jail pending charges. Authorities did not release his name but said charges could be filed as soon as late Saturday.

Olson graduated from Park of Cottage Grove High School in 2002, where she was co-valedictorian, and from St. Olaf College in 2006. She was a theater and Hispanic studies major whose family said had taken nanny jobs at least twice before, including a job in Turkey, after answering online ads.

Her family said they’d had misgivings about Katherine Olson finding jobs online. But she never seemed to worry.

“She always assumed the best in other people,” said her father.

Craigslist.org, an online bulletin board, has fallen under the watch of law enforcement agencies in recent years because of prostitution ads and its use to set up robberies, but an Internet search revealed no other homicides connected to the site.

Savage Police Capt. David Muelken gave this account of Olson’s death:

A resident told a Savage Public Works employee about a purse found in a garbage can at Pacer Park. That employee notified police, and an officer got the purse, which contained things belonging to Olson.

At first it appeared to be a theft. Police called Olson’s home and left a message telling her they had her purse.

About 5 p.m. Friday, Olson’s roommate returned the call and told police Olson hadn’t been seen since 8 a.m. Thursday.

Police went back to Pacer Park and found a garbage bag in the container. Inside the bag was a “significantly bloody towel.”