True Tales From Craigslist Casual Encounters

This is probably not the hedonistic situation most people envision when they think about Internet hookups. Nor was it a violent encounter that makes headlines, like the murder on April 14 in a Boston hotel room of a 26-year-old woman, Julissa Brisman, who had placed an ad for masseuse services on Craigslist, or the killing last month of George Weber, a radio news reporter who was stabbed in his Brooklyn home, police say, by a teenager who apparently answered a Craigslist ad seeking a sexual partner.

Reactions to Mr. Weber's murder among a number of people who regularly use Craigslist in search of casual sex ranged from mildly concerned to indifferent. Melvin called it a "shame" and reiterated his safety policy, adopted after his close call with the obese woman in her darkened apartment. "That's why I'm always cautious, always meet in public," he said.

Read more on nytimes.com