Rafferty's Arraignment in 'Craigslist Killings' Scheduled for Friday

Brogan Rafferty, the teen accused of murder in the crimes dubbed the 'Craigslist killings,' did not appear in juvenile court Thursday, but his lawyer said some hearings are coming up — including an arraignment in Summit County Common Pleas Court Friday morning.

The four shooting cases were handled in Noble County originally, where some of the crimes happened, but the cases have been moved to Summit County. Two of the cases against Rafferty remain in juvenile court; the others are in adult court, said Rafferty's lawyer, John P. Alexander Jr.

Rafferty's case was transfered from Noble County to Summit County because the case against his accused accomplice Richard Beasley is being handled in Summit, Prosecutor Sherri Bevan Walsh's office said.

Rafferty, who was 16 when he was arrested in November, faces three counts of aggravated murder, one count of attempted murder, four counts of aggravated robbery and four counts of kidnapping in Summit County. He has pleaded the juvenile court equivalent of 'not guilty.' 

The death penalty is not possible because of Rafferty's age. He is now 17. Ohio does not execute juveniles.

A probable cause hearing was set for 9 a.m. April 17 (and April 18 and 19, if needed) for the two cases in juvenile court, said the court's Community Outreach Coordinator Don Ursetti. 

"Eventually, everything will catch up together and we'll handle it as one case," Alexander said. 

In the other two cases in adult court, Rafferty has an arraignment scheduled for 8 a.m. Friday with Magistrate John Shoemaker. Alexander said Rafferty is being held at the county juvenile detention center and will appear in common pleas court on Friday. 

Alexander said he talks to his client "all the time" and his parents visit him once a week. 

"I can't go into great detail, but he's obviously upset, scared, nervous ... every feeling you could imagine when facing such serious charges," he said.