Crime & Safety

Teen To Be Charged as Adult in Craigslist Murder Case

Brogan Rafferty, 16, will face charges of attempted murder and one count of aggravated murder and complicity to aggravated murder.

student Brogan Rafferty, 16, will face murder charges as an adult.

Noble County Juvenile Court Judge John Nau order Rafferty's case to be transferred to adult court. The change means that Rafferty could face stiffer penalties if convicted.

The teen is being held on $1 million bond.

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Rafferty is charged with attempted murder, one count of aggravated murder and complicity to aggravated murder as an adult.

The charges stem from the discovery in late November of two bodies in shallow graves in Noble County. The two had been shot to death.

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Investigators say the two responded to a job ad posted by the teen and Akron resident Richard Beasley on craigslist. A third person who responded to the ad escaped after being shot in the arm. Another body was found with gunshot wounds in a shallow grave behind Akron's Rolling Acres Mall and is believed to be connected to the case.

Press release about the Craigslist incident from the Noble County Sheriff's Department:

Deputies in Noble County began investigating a possible robbery and shooting on Nov. 6. A South Carolina man told deputies he was lured to Marietta to meet with two men about an ad on Craigslist seeking a worker to help on a 688-acre cattle ranch.

After eating in Marietta, the victim and the two men drove to Caldwell and then to Stock Township.

At some point, the victim was told the road was closed and they would have to walk. As they moved through the heavily-wooded area, the victim said he heard a gun being cocked.

As he turned, he saw the gun pointed to his head. He managed to deflect the weapon and run. As he ran, he was shot in the arm. More shots followed. For the next seven hours, the man hid until he was able to reach a home and call for help.

On Nov. 11, a Boston woman called deputies about her missing twin brother. She believed her brother answered the same Craigslist ad. He had not been seen since Oct. 22 in Parkersburg, WV.

Based on the information, deputies returned to the area where the original shooting occurred. On Monday, they found evidence related to the initial shooting. The next day, using cadaver dogs, the body was found in a shallow grave.

"We believe the attempted murder of victim one and the likely murder of victim two are connected and possibly committed by the same person," said Hannum.


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