TRUE CRIME STORIES
Women’s Safety Lessons Learned

True crime stories: It’s better to know these safety lessons learned and not need them, than to need them and not know. Learn how criminals trick you... and how to stop them.

CONVICTED RAPIST CHARGED IN SMU CO-ED'S SLAYING
Donald Andrew Bess, 59, was charged with murder in the 1984 slaying of SMU coed Angela Samota, 20, who was found raped and stabbed repeatedly in her condominium near campus. ... About 1:45 a.m., her boyfriend spoke to her on the phone and heard a man's voice in the background. Miss Samota said there was a strange man in the condo asking to use the bathroom and phone. The boyfriend later told investigators there was no urgency in her voice. ... Minutes later, when the boyfriend tried calling Miss Samota back and could not reach her, he drove to her condo. About 2 a.m., he knocked on the door. "We know he knocked feverishly on the door," police said. "What we believe is that while he was there initially at 2 o'clock that Mr. Bess was actually inside, and that's the time we believe she was killed,” he said. ... Mr. Bess may have fled when the boyfriend left to search the neighborhood, police said. At some point, the boyfriend called police, and officers found Miss Samota dead on her bed at 2:17 a.m.
Excerpted from The Dallas Morning News – 10 May 2008

True Crime Stories Tip: Always use peepholes and doorbell intercoms (at Home Intercom System) before answering doorbells or knocking. See Home Security - Scam-In for more true crime stories showing to never open the door for anyone you don’t know – and trust. KNOW BEFORE YOU OPEN. Gamble in Vegas - not in your life.

True Crime Stories:
WOMEN IGNORE WARNING SIGNS
of Relationship Violence

TV’s 48 Hours Mystery correspondent Erin Moriarty reported how 17-year-old Catherine Woods was stabbed to death by her boyfriend, Paul Cortez, 24 – jealous over an ex-boyfriend. “Many young women find themselves caught up in dangerous relationships because they lack the experience to comprehend domestic violence and where it is leading them,” Moriarty said. "They cannot recognize what evil looks like," she said. "It doesn't always have the face of Charlie Manson. Catherine Woods was never afraid of Cortez, and never expressed even the slightest concerns about him," she said. "There have been so many young women murdered in violent relationships such as this." ... Catherine’s mother, Donna Woods, said, "We should impress upon our children that evil can come in forms that initially appear good."
Excerpted from The Pickens Sentinel (SC) – 08 October 2008

True Crime Stories Tip: See Teen Abuse and Women’s Safety - Domestic Violence for more true crime stories teaching lessons.

True Crime Stories:
CRAIGSLIST TRAPS
(or any want-ad)

CRAIGSLIST DEALS TURN VIOLENT – David Zoller used Craigslist happily for years so he wasn't suspicious when he spotted an ad for a big-screen TV selling for about half its value. He contacted the seller and agreed to meet at his house. But once he got inside, a gunman greeted him. ... A young couple went to see a car posted on Craigslist. "They didn't bring any money with them," police said. "So one kept the woman hostage at the house while the other followed the man to make a withdrawal from a cash machine." A similar crime took place last month. The victims arrived at a house to see a car and were robbed of $5,000. ... In all three cases, the buyers arrived at empty homes in middle-class neighborhoods with neighbors outside, traffic on the road, and didn't suspect that anything was amiss until it was too late.

Tips When Buying Off Craigslist
1. Meet in public places, like a bank or store where there are security cameras and plenty of people.
2. Never take a large amount of cash when meeting a stranger.
3. Have a friend wait a distance away on a cellphone and keep the line open. If they hear anything suspicious, they can contact police.
4. Never enter a house if someone yells for you to come inside.
5. Be aware of your surroundings and leave if something seems suspicious.
Excerpted from The Dallas Morning News – 10 September 2008

True Crime Stories Critique: The first three tips are not very practical:
1 a. Will a legitimate seller bring a big-screen TV or any big and bulky item to a public place for you? Not likely.
1 b. If a seller is willing to do so, you’ll be meeting a total stranger in a parking lot outback (where it’s less congested – with few, if any, witnesses or security cameras nearby). Is he really a seller? Why risk it?
1 c. How can you test an electrical appliance in a parking lot? You can’t.
2. A stranger will likely insist on cash (checks and even "certified Money Orders" can be bogus). Only Pollyanna Dunderhead would take a wad of cash to meet a total stranger in a prime robbery zone (a parking lot).
3. Having a friend nearby with a cell phone is too little, too late – as in, “When seconds count, cops are minutes away".
4. Good advice.
5. Good advice.

The usual police advice for want-ad buyers/sellers is to meet in well-lighted, well-populated areas, such as inside shopping malls with surveillance cameras. Big deal! Many true crime stories show that, sure, you can sell a small item while meeting a buyer in a mall hallway, but the buyer might have a criminal partner nearby to rob you when you return to the parking lot. They’ll get both the item you sold and all your money.

Or, if you’re the buyer, a criminal can simply not show up, have a partner watch as you get frustrated until you finally give up and return to the parking lot and then they’ll rob you.

CRAIGSLIST LURE
Prosecutors say Stephen Newman is obsessed with rape and fully intended to carry out the crime last summer. But they say Newman was thwarted when a woman followed her hunch that the July 27, 2007 offer of a free iPod on Craigslist was, as she told her husband, just not legit. "I said this is too creepy, honey. This is really weird." ... The woman and her husband followed the e-mail instructions to go get the i-Pod which took them to a porta-potty by a park in West Boise. The woman testified she wanted some confirmation before calling police. "Because it would sound goofy calling the police saying there's some creep on Craigslist," she testified. "I didn't know if they'd believe me or not." ... They saw a mysterious SUV and called police. Officers say they found Newman wearing a black stocking cap, and they also found a knife, BB gun and ski gloves. Police seized a laptop in Newman's SUV which later was found to contain home movies that prosecutors say showed Newman having sex with a woman who was pretending that she was being raped by him.
Excerpted from TV2 News 2 (Boise ID) – 14 July 2008

True Crime Stories
BEST ADVICE–
(and you learned it FIRST
at Crime-Safety-Security.com)

For large items that you are selling from your home (and for Garage or Yard Sales): having witnesses nearby visibly watching over you might deter a criminal from robbing you at that time. Perhaps have some of your neighbors nearby – but not so close that they can be taken hostage in an armed robbery (see Survival Options - Hostage Taking).

But do you really want strangers at your home? Criminals often respond to ads so they can check you out and return later when you least expect it. See a variety of examples at Home Security - Cracks. You'll see that you're really rolling the dice. Do you feel lucky?

For large items (that you are buying at a stranger’s “home”), Caveat Emptor!!! You’re on your own, baby! Carrying cash into a stranger’s turf is very risky. Gamble in Vegas – not in your life.

Craigslist is just the most famous example of where predators lurk. Know that any website or newspaper want-ad poses the exact same dangers – and predators search for all such opportunities – it’s their job.

See more true crime stories teaching lessons at Criminal Minds - Wolf in Sheep's Clothing and Outdoor Safety - Friendly Predators.

Scare off a predator by holding Personal Security Alarm (a.k.a. screamer or noisemaker) & Pepper Spray in plain sight.

Pages related to True Crime Stories:
Peepholes | Home Intercom System | Home Security - Scam-In | Wolf in Sheep's Clothing | Friendly Predators | Spotting Danger | Best Pepper Spray | Personal Security Alarm | Teen Abuse | True Crime Library | Domestic Violence

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