Police report a 54-year-old Phoenix man was stabbed to death by a 19-year-old man he met via an online social network. Late Sunday night, Mark Woodland's roommate discovered their home ransacked and called police.
KTVK:
"When officers entered the home, they found the downstairs bathroom door closed and locked with the lights on. After forcing entry into the room, they discovered the body of Mark Woodland, 54, who had been beaten and stabbed repeatedly. Fire personnel pronounced the victim dead at the scene. During the investigation, Woodland's roommate told police he had been in contact with Woodland via text message at around 5:00 p.m. According to the roommate, Woodland said he was going to pick up a man that he met on an unknown social network and bring him home. The roommate said Woodland had asked him not to return before 11:00 p.m. A friend of Woodland who lives in California told police that Woodland met his date through an unknown social networking website. The friend provided police with a username which led them to a potential suspect."
KTVK and FOX10 report the social networking app used was Grindr, although the police have since issued a correction (BELOW). The roommate provided the victim's username to police and they traced his history. "On Tuesday, Phoenix Police located the suspect at a home near 2900 E. Mobile Lane. One of three men living at the home fit the suspect description. The investigation found that 19-year-old Tommy Reed's phone matched the phone used to arrange the date with the victim. Police say he admitted to the homicide during an interview."
Reed faces a count of second-degree murder. Charges could be upgraded to include, police add.
This incident comes one week after a Los Angeles man was arrested for kidnapping, carjacking and robbing several gay man he met on Craigslist.
UPDATE: Rod 2.0 was contacted by representatives of Grindr. They forwarded this statement by the Phoenix Police Department Press Office:
Hello all. Our detectives have learned through this continuing investigation that it was not the "Grinder" IPHONE application that was used by the victim to make contact with the suspect, it was in fact a different social network. Because this investigation is continuing, I do not have the information regarding the actual site that was used. I would ask that, as you continue to report this grizzly crime to your viewers readers and listeners, you use "unknown social network" in regards to how the victim and suspect were connected.
Watch KTVK and FOX's reports WHEN YOU JUMP ...
do not pick up random guys ever!!!!
Posted by: nathans | 29 April 2010 at 14:56
My goodness. We ALL need to learn and make concrete steps to NEVER participating in this type of behavior ...
Posted by: Edwin | 29 April 2010 at 16:14