Monday, November 22, 2004
NOW, THIS IS ENCOURAGING
[That was sarcasm, people.]
Sometimes online dating can be...murrrrder. [Insert evil laugh here.]
I know it's not funny. I just don't deal with "downer news" that well. (Yes, 2001 was a difficult year. Actually, which year hasn't been a difficult year?)
Internet Romance Ends in Murder for Memphis Woman
There are a number of web sites that make it easy for many people to find love on-line. That's apparently what 43 year-old Linda White, who lived in Memphis with her parents, thought she had found. However, less than a year after meeting Craig Musso on-line, and moving to upstate New York, the relationship ended with Linda White's death.
"This is an unusual circumstance, this case," says Wayne County, NY Sheriff Richard Pisciotti.
Police in New York say White was strangled to death by her new husband. There is no word on Musso's motive. All that is known is that the Internet brought these two people together. White and Musso met face-to-face for the first time in Memphis, after Musso caught a bus to town. That meeting followed an eight-month relationship on-line. The two were married in Memphis almost immediately.
Linda White's neighbors say that was her first mistake.
"You should get to know that person personally, before you marry them," says Frank Benson. Criminologist Richard Janikowski agrees, but says Craig Musso may be just another predator using a computer to capture his prey.
"The Internet is used for all kinds of things, unfortunately," says Janikowski.
Unfortunately for Linda White, true love may have been just a trick. Janikowski says it's a lesson for other potentially lovelorn adults.
"There are all kinds of predators out there, and adults need to protect themselves, especially women," says Janikowski.
I share this because knowledge is power. And we must be vigilant, pay heed to the red flags wherever they are. It's not quite the imperative to "trust no one," but certainly, we need to proceed cautiously.
And gentlemen, if you're offended because women seem reluctant to get involved with you for whatever reason, just be patient, and understand where we're coming from. Of course, not every Internet contact is a potential murderer, but we have to not let our desire to connect with someone, and our yearning to have romance sweep us away, blind us to a more basic danger.
File this under "For What It's Worth."
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5 comments:
You speak the truth.
I know Craig Musso personally and I also knew his late wife Linda White. You are very, very wrong concerning the article you wrote about these two people. Theirs was a wonderful relationship. Craig and Linda were happily married. Craig is a kind, gentle, loving man who would never hurt anyone. You really need to do your homework and get all the FACTS first before you start accusing people of acts they never committed.
Craig has been damaged by these rumors, false allegations and malicous speculations. Linda White, sad to say, was a very sick woman with damaged heart and lungs. She was also extremely overweight. Her chances of living a long life were poor. The medical Examiner admitted that he made a terrible mistake in saying that Linda died of stangulation. He now says her death was due to a massive heart attack, combined with her other serious health problems. Her throat was crushed when she collasped and landed on the bathtub. Craig knew she was very ill, but he loved her and wanted to spend his life with this woman. You owe Craig and his family both a public and personal apology. but I know he will never receive it.
Shame on you for speaking about a case in which you knew nothing about.
Anonymous--thank you for your note. I only wish you had signed your name, so that I could write to you personally to extend my sympathies on your loss, but I guess I'll just have to post my explanation here and hope you read it.
I'm certainly willing to take responsibility for my words, and if they caused you or the victim's families any grief, I am sincerely sorry.
That said, if you reread the article above, you will see that all of the italicized text is quoted from another source. Your central grievance should be with the news source that originated the story. This is a blog about online and offline dating, not a reputable news source, and I am an unpaid staff of one. I cannot check every news source for veracity.
I shared this story with my readers, who often are dealing with people who are less than what they claim to be.
As I said:
"I share this because knowledge is power. And we must be vigilant, pay heed to the red flags wherever they are. It's not quite the imperative to "trust no one," but certainly, we need to proceed cautiously. And gentlemen, if you're offended because women seem reluctant to get involved with you for whatever reason, just be patient, and understand where we're coming from. Of course, not every Internet contact is a potential murderer, but we have to not let our desire to connect with someone, and our yearning to have romance sweep us away, blind us to a more basic danger. File this under "For What It's Worth."
By this, I did not mean to malign the memory of Ms. White or to cause further grief to Mr. Musso. All I can say is that I wish you, Mr. Musso, and his family no further sorrow, and am sorry that you believed me complicit in any slander.
I would like to confirm the accuracy of the anonymous comment about the true story surrounding Linda Whites death.
I am an attorney and represented Craig at the time of his arrest.
Not only did the medical exhaminer wrongfully say the death was by strangulation rather than the true cause of massive heart attack, he had the laboratory tests in his possession that confirmed this BUT NEVER LOOKED AT THEM. Had it not been for this error the police would not have arrested Craig.
It is also interesting and depressing that the Medical Examiners Office of Monroe County, NY and the County itself have never even said they were sorry for their mistake.
It seems to me that if public officials can make this type of error with impunity and not feeling responsible, then our system of justice is significantly weakened.
Ron
Ron, thank you for commenting and sharing what you know about this case. I'm sure that Craig's pain is considerable, but I hope that he will find comfort and move on. Also, I hope that he will be able to get the justice that he deserves.
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