Trial date set for Craigslist suspect

Associated Press

AKRON

The trial of a man suspected in the shooting deaths of three people who authorities say were lured to a rural area by bogus job ads on Craigslist is set to begin early next year in northeast Ohio.

A Summit County judge on Wednesday set Jan. 7 as the trial date for Richard Beasley, 52. The self-styled chaplain pleaded not guilty in January to multiple charges of aggravated murder, kidnapping and robbery. He is accused of killing three men and wounding a fourth in a robbery scheme.

Seated in a wheelchair, Beasley kept his head bowed and his hand covering his eyes as a deputy sheriff wheeled him into the courtroom, the Akron Beacon Journal reported. He sat quietly in the wheelchair throughout the hearing. It was not clear why he needed a wheelchair. He has used one in the past.

A government attorney said that more than 14,000 pages of documents that might be used as evidence by prosecutors will be turned over to the defense.

The judge has prohibited attorneys for both sides from commenting on the case outside of court. If convicted, Beasley could face the death penalty.

Seventeen-year-old co-defendant, Brogan Rafferty, also has pleaded not guilty to charges in the case and is set for trial Oct. 9. Rafferty is accused of helping Beasley.

The charges stem from the deaths of Ralph Geiger, 56, of Akron; David Pauley, 51, of Norfolk, Va.; and Timothy Kern, 47, of Massillon.

Authorities say the victims answered Craigslist ads for work on a nonexistent cattle farm in rural Noble County in southeast Ohio. The scheme targeted older, single, out-of-work men with backgrounds that made it unlikely their disappearances would be noticed right away, according to authorities.