Here's the story, for those that never heard:
http://www.silencewhispers.com/internetcrimes.htmInternet ViolenceTwo hundred million people a day log on to the Internet. It allows instant access to billions upon billions of pieces of information. Yet with all its benefits, it's a lawless frontier and home to a new breed of criminals where people can remain nameless and faceless. Here, we explore one example of the Internet crimes that have become all too common in recent years and also explore what we can do about it and keep the Internet a safer place.
Kerry Jason Kujawa was murdered. Here is his story:
Kerry was a 20 year old college student at Texas A&M, College Station, Texas. In his college dorm room he began an Internet romance with a woman named Kelly in a chat room. In his conversations with her, Kerry discovered that Kelly was a pre-med student in San Antonio, around the same age as Kerry. She also said she was in an abusive relationship with a man and that her jaw was wired shut, and thus why she was unable to speak with him on the phone. Several weeks went by and they talked more and more in the chat room. Finally, Kelly said that her jaw was almost healed and maybe Kerry could come visit her in San Antonio. On a break from school, Kerry did just that.
There is a twist in this story at this point that shocked everyone. Kelly was not a pre-med student at all. In fact, Kelly wasn't even female. Kelly was actually Kenny Wayne Lockwood, an unemployed 31 year old man who lived with his mother in San Antonio. When Kerry Kujawa arrived in San Antonio to see Kelly, he was met by Kenny Lockwood and was killed, shot in the back of the head and his body was dumped in Hays County, Texas.
To cover his tracks, Kenny Lockwood poses as Kerry Kujawa using "Kelly's" e-mail address and e-mailed Kerry's roommmate back at Texas A&M saying everything was okay and he would be late returning to school because he was having a great time with Kelly. Lockwood, as Kerry Kujawa, also said that "Kelly's" brother was going to arrive at the dorm and will need to use Kerry's computer. Lockwood drove Kerry's car back to College Station where Texas A&M is located, just as "Kerry" said in the e-mail, so when the roommate saw a strange man using Kerry's computer one day, he didn't think anything of it. That stranger was actually Kenny Lockwood, trying to erase traces of the crime from Kerry's computer.
Eventually people started to get suspicious. Kenny Lockwood was arrested in San Antonio on April 21, 2000 for the murder of Kerry Jason Kujawa. No motive for this crime was ever given. Mr. Lockwood committed suicide in October 2000 in his jail cell by slashing his wrist.
Are there good, decent people out there on the Net? Yes. (As a matter of fact, the authors of this web site met online and married three years later). But you need to be aware that there are predators out there just waiting for their next victim. Don't think there isn't. You need to be smart and make smart choices if you do choose to meet someone offline. The examples are many where someone meets a stranger offline and gets hurt, or even worse, gets dead. It is easy to hide behind a computer screen and be someone you are not. "Kelly" didn't turn out to be real. "She" was a man playing head games with Kerry who lured an innocent college kid to a remote location simply to kill him for no reason. There are people posing as 15 year old kids, who turn out to be 50 year old pedophiles. You take a gamble and this is why you need to be internet savvy and exercise common sense and safety.
What is the solution? Maybe there isn't one. Today we live in an age of computers, where we find romance and develop friendships. If you meet someone offline, meet in a public place, tell someone close to you where you are. Seems childish to have to do that but you are taking a gamble sometimes when you meet offline. The result can turn tragic of you don't take measures to keep yourself safe. Yes, there are people out there who want to meet offline and no harmful thoughts cross their mind to hurt the other person. But that isn't how it worked out for Kerry Kujawa, did it? Think about the next time you start up a conversation with a stranger; think smart and be safe.
