Minn. Woman Shot After Answering Web Ad

A 24-year-old woman applying for a baby-sitting gig told her roommate that a person who placed the online ad "seemed kind of strange." But she went to the home anyway, thinking she might meet a couple needing her help.

Instead, authorities said, Katherine Ann Olson met Michael John Anderson. They say the 19-year-old lured her to the suburban home using the ad on Craigslist.org, shot her in the back and stuffed her into her car's trunk. He was charged Tuesday with second-degree murder.

"The life of a bright, promising young woman has been taken for absolutely no reason," prosecutor Pat Ciliberto said.

Anderson's attorneys had no comment.

"In a case like this, we'll just let the judicial process take its course," said Robert M. Speeter, a defense attorney.

Olson's body was found Friday, a day after she went to the home. Her body was in the trunk of the car, abandoned in a park about five blocks from Anderson's house in Savage, about 15 miles south of Minneapolis.

Her ankles were bound with red twine; her purse, her smashed cell phone and bloody towels -- one of which bore Anderson's name -- were found in a garbage can nearby, according to the complaint filed in Scott County.

The job was advertised on Craigslist, the popular Internet bulletin board, the complaint said. Olson had taken nanny jobs at least twice before, including a job in Turkey, after answering online ads. The latest ad was posted by someone claiming to be "Amy."

Olson's roommate, Matt Thiede, told police that Olson had talked with "Amy" and commented that "the woman seemed kind of strange." Olson and "Amy" exchanged e-mails, and in one message, "Amy" asked Olson to baby-sit for a child between 10:30 a.m. and 5 p.m. Thursday.

Ciliberto said it appears Olson thought she was responding to a woman or a couple in need of baby-sitting. He said an e-mail account with the name Amy was "one and the same with Michael John Anderson." Olson and Anderson did not know each other, he said.

Police found blood spatters in several locations, including on the stairs, at the home he shares with his parents. In Anderson's bedroom, authorities found a gun and shell casing, as well as blood on the walls and mattress, the criminal complaint said. There was no evidence of sexual assault, Ciliberto said.

Anderson first told police he had nothing to do with Olson's death. When confronted with evidence, Anderson changed his story, according to the complaint; he said that he was present during Olson's slaying but that the killing was committed by a friend who "thought it would be funny."