Serial killer cases are forever evolving as technology changes. For example, Dennis Rader (B.T.K) was famously caught by the metadata of a word document whch he sent to the police, having evolved past the traditional letter.
We have also seen in a previous post that social media such as Facebook and MySpace have been used around the globe as a menas of communication by killers.
However, it would seem that the evolution of technology is also changing the way in which serial killer hoaxes are orchestrated.
The most notable case is that of the YouTube hoax.
In 2009, a video appeared on the image sharing site which was posted by a user with the nickname “catchmekiller.” The person speaking on the video had distorted his voice and obscured his face.
The man claimed he had killed 16 women in Georgia, USA, and referenced the case of Tara Grinstead, who disappeared in 2005 from her home in Ocilla, Goergia.
The hoaxer never identified her by name, but prosecutors said he clearly referred to her by citing her occupation as a teacher and referenced her being a former beauty queen.
“Who is she? What does she do? You answer me this, and I will give you her body. She was still wearing her favorite pair of jeans but not her beauty queen silk.”
The video also included a fictitious address without an explanation.
There was also link to a webpage which gave details of a missing Florida woman, stating: “Maybe I can help?”
This link was also (shamefully) sent to the missing girl’s father.
The video purported to offer clues to where bodies were located and urged viewers to solve the crime. He promised to reveal his true identify if they played along, but warned “Don’t try to chase me.”
After hundreds of hours searching, the Georgia Bureau of Investigation finally tracked down the hoaxer.
Andrew Scott Haley of Gainsville, Georgia, was quickly arrested and questioned over the video, which he claimed was part of an online murder mystery game.
Although quickly absolved from any links to the actual disappearances, Haley was charged with tampering with evidence and making false statements.
He was sentenced to two years in a work release prison, and several more years of probation.
Last year, Haley asked the Georgia State Supreme Court to overturn his convictions, believing that his right to free speech had been trampled by investigators.
Although he admitted his actions were wrong, he though that he was simply convincing viewers to help solve a mystery.
Haley’s defense counsel asked the court to strike down the law used to charge him, claiming it was flawed because it doesn’t distinguish between a false statement and a fraudulent one.
Many people across the USA have been charged with similar laws, but prosecutors and defence attorneys feel thatHaley’s situation appears to be unique, because he didn’t make the false statements directly to authorities.
Assistant District Attorney, Lee Darragh, said that in his opinion, whether Haley made the statements directly to investigators or not, the video was a “self-serving lie that confounded investigators.”
He also argued that the case surrounded “a false statement in a missing person investigation that was being conducted by the Georgia Bureau of Investigation at the time the statement was made.”
Although the original video has been taken dowm form the site, this news report contains clips of the footage.
Red Ink Letters 