predator or hoax?

[James S]

Simple answer - call Sue Colwell.
If it turns out it is a hoax, whoever started it would have to be a complete bastard, and you might want to forward the email through to someone like Spam Cop, or one of the other online spam/hoax investigators.

James.

[Arc]

my thoughts exactly. only a real a**hole would do that, if it was fake.

[Nagual]

While the center info is correct, the text itself looks like one of these "social engineered viruses"...
A little bit too much warning! be carefull! pay attention!
Then, the advice is not very logical.  Personaly, I would advise to talk to him and find out what he wants, while not giving any info; and then contact the police with the info you got...
Also, after being linked to 56 murder, I would not call him a simple 'suspect'...
'This is not a joke.' has of course no value...
Then, why split the warning to women and then to men (with a dumb explanation why men too)...
There is no location at all; why warn the whole planet?!?!?
Etc...

[kakkarot]

yeah, the whole no location and being vague thing is what got me thinking it was a hoax. plus, if the person had killed 56 people, wouldn't it be all over the news?

thanks for the feedback everyone [|)].

~kakkarot

[WalkerInTheWoods]

When in doubt check www.snopes.com

Seems it is sort of true, but out dated. Nothing to worry about.

http://www.snopes.com/horrors/madmen/slavemas.htm

Origins:   Information  
goes a long way in the Internet era, and this one's got the legs to outlast even AOL. There is some truth here, but the warning is outdated.

John Edward Robinson Sr., 56, was arrested on 2 June 2000 and charged with sexual assault on two women in the Kansas City area. Robinson lured the women (as he had others) into participating in sadomasochistic sex by contacting them over the Internet under the name "slavemaster." The two women filed charges after Robinson "brutalized them in a way that went beyond what they intended."

After Robinson's arrest, law enforcement authorities discovered two 55-gallon industrial barrels, each containing a woman's body, on land Robinson owned in Kansas. A few days later, they discovered three more bodies in barrels kept in a storage space Robinson rented in Missouri. All five women appeared to have been bludgeoned to death.

Robinson was also suspected in the mid-1980s disappearances of three women and an infant whose bodies had not yet been located. One of the bodies Robinson had stored in barrels was later identified as being one of these women, and the missing infant was discovered to have been adopted by Robinson's brother.

In October 2002, John Robinson was convicted of the murder of three women, the two found in the barrels on his land, and the third disappeared mother of the child he placed with his brother. In January 2003 he was sentenced to death for these murders. He has also been charged in the deaths of the three women found in Missouri.

The "slavemaster" is monstrously real, but so far he's well short of the 56 victims claimed for him, and he remains behind bars, not out trolling the Internet for additional victims.

This internet warning has taken on a life of its own, one quite independent of the facts. The small grain of truth (someone using the screen name "Slavemaster" has been arrested for the murders of women he contacted on the Internet) had almost been lost in the sandstorm of claims that he's out there now looking for more victims and that he's killed 56 so far.

As well, pranksters have been pulling off jokes by substituting their acquaintances' screen names in place of "Slavemaster," so now versions are circulating that warn netizens to be on the lookout for someone using the handle "SweetCaliGuy4evr," "ooosparklesooo88," "Monkeyman935," or "Free_mumia911," screen names that have nothing to do with John Edward Robinson.

[kakkarot]

thanks for the reference site and the clarification on that falln [].

~kakkarot

[WalkerInTheWoods]

You are welcome. []

[TheWanderer]

heh, I'm sure that we would know ( through other means, ie. media ) about someone that murdered 56 women.  That may be one of the biggest serial murders ever, if it was true.  Seeing as how you got it in a spam e-mail, it's just a stupid joke.  Slavemaster -- COME ON.  I'm sure at least his real name would be out in the public after that many murders, geez.  Probably even a picture too for that matter, even if just a sketch.

[kakkarot]

i got this message in my email and i don't know whether it's true or not, but unlike the many virus warnings and whatnot i do get through my mail, this one could be potentially dangerous. does anyone else have anymore information on it (ie, is it real or just another fake warning)?

> >----- Original Message -----
> >From: [edited out]
> >To: Undisclosed-Recipient:;
> >Sent: Tuesday, November 11, 2003 9:13 PM
> >Subject: Warning From Police, Please Read!!
> >
> >
> > Subject: Warning
> >
> > From Police, Please Read!!
> >
> > Warning from Police...take time to read .
> > Please read this very carefully then send it out to all the people online
>that you know. Something like this is nothing to take casually. This is
>something you do want to pay attention to. If a person with the screen name
> > of Slavemaster contacts you, do not reply. Do not talk to this person, do
>not answer any of his/her instant messages or email.
> > Whoever this person may be is a suspect for murder in the death of 56
>women (so far) contacted through the internet.
> > Please send this to all the women on your buddy list and ask them to pass
>this on as well. This screen name was seen on Yahoo, AOL, and Excite so far.
>
> > This is not a joke. Please send this to men too, just in case they have
>wives, daughters, mothers, etc. Send to every one you know.
> > Ladies, this is serious. If you receive something from Slavemaster,
>contact your local police department.
> > Sue Colwell
> > Office Manager
> > Sexual Assault/Rape Crisis Centre of Peel
> > Phone: (905) 273-3337
> > Fax: (905) 273-3336
> > Email: suec@on.aibn.com

~kakkarot