Online Dating Murder

Almost anyone with a working Internet connection knows the dangers and risks of meeting someone online. Still, it's hard to ignore the sparkling ads for sites like eHarmony.com, or the easy thrills of sites like Craigslist.

And we've heard the rules ad nauseum about navigating the tricky waters of online dating and meeting: Don't give out personal information. Have a friend on standby ready to come to the rescue. Don't get too serious. Don't say anything -- or respond to anything -- that could get you in trouble. And, as always, buyer beware.

But the murder of a Metro Detroit man is the latest in a string of online dating gone wrong. Is it easy to fall into a trap even when playing by the rules? Possibly. Here are seven online dating cases with varying circumstances, and varying degrees of tragedy.

1. In Southfield last weekend, 35-year-old West Bloomfield resident Venkata Cattamanchi arranged a date with 23-year-old Jessica Ermatinger of Canton, police say. After meeting at a restaurant, the pair traveled to a motel, where Cattamanchi was allegedly robbed and murdered by three men waiting there. Ermatinger and the three men were charged with murder and robbery.

2. In March, a Ferndale man was beaten and robbed by a man he met online and an accomplice. The two men are accused of tying him up, beating him with a hammer and a handgun, taking his ATM car and withdrawing money from his bank account. One of the men was dressed as a woman.

3. In December, a St. Clair Shores man set up a date with a woman he met through MySpace. While the pair were at dinner, the woman's accomplice cleaned out the man's apartment -- after she allegedly tipped him off via text message. They were charged with stealing $11,000 worth of the guy's stuff; she took a plea deal, he was sent to prison.

And outside of Metro Detroit...

4. In 2006, 28-year-old Michael Sandy of New York was killed after arranging a date through a gay chatroom. Sandy arranged to meet a man in a park, but instead was met with a group of men who robbed and beat him. While attempting to escape, Sandy was chased into traffic and hit by a car. Three men were sent to prison for his murder, while a fourth took a plea deal in exchange for testifying against them.

5. Also in New York, a New York woman who posted a Craigslist ad offering masseuse services was killed in a Boston hotel by a man who answered her ad. 28-year-old Julissa Brisman is thought to be the third victim of 24-year-old Philip Markoff, her alleged killer. Markoff is allegedly linked to the murders of two other women who posted ads on Craigslist. He is scheduled to go to trial next year.

6. Pretty much every episode of Chris Hansen's "To Catch a Predator."

7. In 2006, two teen girls in Florida set up a fake MySpace profile to lure men into robbing them. A 14-year-old and a 15-year-old girl met a man at an apartment who was "just lookin' for some fun," but robbed him at gunpoint. When police found them with another teen male accomplice, they retrieved two loaded handguns.

The number of incidents of violence in internet dating meetings is on the rise. Protecting yourself from internet predators needs to be a priority. Call Dominion Group to learn more.