Jury selection starts Monday in the murder trial of the Savage man charged with killing a woman he met on the community message board website Craigslist.
Michael Anderson, now 21, is accused of murdering Katherine Olson, 24, of Minneapolis, in October of 2007.
Anderson is accused of killing Olson after she responded to his advertisement on the website for a nanny position.
Olson had told her roommate that the person who placed the ad "seemed kind of strange," according to prosecutors.
Olson went anyway, thinking she would be meeting a woman named Amy, or a couple. Instead, authorities say, she was lured to the home of her killer, Anderson, who shot her in the back before stuffing her in the trunk of her car.
Police found blood spatters in Anderson’s suburban home he shared with his parents, a gun in his bedroom and drag marks on the stairway.
Olson's body was found in her car, which was abandoned in a park about five blocks from Anderson's house. Her ankles were bound with red twine, according to the criminal complaint filed in Scott County. Her purse, her smashed cell phone, and bloody towels—one of which bore Anderson's name—were found in a nearby garbage can.
Officials said the evidence indicates Olson and Anderson did not know each other and that there was no evidence of sexual assault.
Olson had taken nanny jobs at least twice before, including a job in Turkey, after answering online ads.
Olson and "Amy" exchanged e-mails, and in one message, "Amy" asked Olson to baby-sit a child at an address and phone number that matched Anderson's address and cell phone number, authorities said.
Anderson was arrested at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport, where he fuels planes. He has been in the Scott County Jail since his arrest. His bail was set at $1 million.
Anderson first told police he had nothing to do with the murder, and denied having phone contact with Olson. But cell phone records indicated Olson called Anderson the morning before the murder, the court documents said. He also said he hadn't used Craigslist since January, though the e-mail address in the ad matched his address. He told police his mother and three friends had access to the account.
When confronted with the evidence, Anderson changed his story, according to the complaint. He said he was present during Olson's slaying but the killing was committed by a friend who "thought it would be funny."
Olson was a 2002 graduate of Park-Cottage Grove High School, where she was co-valedictorian. She graduated from St. Olaf College in 2006.
Susan MacTavish Best, a spokeswoman for Craigslist, said Olson's slaying is the first the company has seen in its 12-year history. She said it's important for people to be cautious.
MacTavish Best said Craigslist doesn't monitor each individual listing or user, but is self-monitored by its community. Users can log complaints or flag suspicious postings, and Craigslist staff can block users from the site if terms of use are violated.
Subject: Jury selection to begin in Mpls. woman's Craigslist murder 
Sat Mar 14, 2009 9:01 am
