Hit man allegedly sought in Craigslist ad
There are some jobs offered on Craigslist that some people would kill for, but this one may have asked a bit too much.
A Michigan woman is accused of using the popular bulletin board site to try to hire a hit man to kill the wife of a man with whom she had had an affair. Ann Marie Linscott, 49, was arrested Thursday at her home in Grand Rapids, after allegedly posting an ad in November for a "freelance" job, according to a report by the Associated Press.
Respondents to the ad were offered $5,000 to "eradicate a female living in Oroville, California," and given her name, address and other personal information, the AP reported, citing authorities and court documents.
Authorities are expected to ask that Linscott be extradited to face charges in California. Her court-appointed attorney was not reachable for comment Saturday.
Craigslist is no stranger to postings that solicit illegal activities. In the past, the popular site has seen ads for prostitution, fake sex ads to harass people, and even an invitation to loot and trash a house.
But this appears to be the first time someone has solicited murder on the site, according to Craigslist CEO Jim Buckmaster.
"Out of 550 million classified ads posted over 12 years, this is the first such incident that we're aware of," Buckmaster wrote in an e-mail to the AP. "But again, the ad itself was generic, and we're not a party to subsequent private e-mail communications."
Even law enforcement officers were left shaking their heads.
"I've seen some screwy things, but I've personally never heard of anything like this," Drew Parenti, special agent in charge of the Sacramento, Calif., FBI office, told the AP.
Steven Musil is the night news editor at CNET News. Before joining CNET News in 2000, Steven spent 10 years at various Bay Area newspapers. E-mail Steven.
