it’s even higher in the US, at 2 in 5). As these types of connections become more and more commonplace,
it unfortunately makes sense that some people are increasingly more likely to exploit them. Here are a few
that I came across during my research:
- The “Craigslist Killer” Philip Markoff murdered three women he had met on Craigslist in New England in
the space of a few days in April 2009. Books, made-for-TV movies, and multiple docu-series episodes about
this case have come about in the decade since. - Adam Hilarie met a woman through the dating site Plenty of Fish and took her bowling; the date seemed
to go well, because the woman texted him later, saying, “I had a good time and would like to see you
again”. But the following night, his date showed up at his house with two male accomplices and, after
robbing him, shot him in the head. - Sydney Loofe met a woman on Tinder and they hit it off. But when they met up for a second date, Loofe
was killed and dismembered by her date and an older male accomplice. - Mediterranean island Cyprus experienced its first ever serial killings thanks to online dating sites and the
35-year-old army officer who used them to find the seven women he confessed to murdering. - Nurse Samantha Stewart was murdered by her Tinder date who then used her credit card to flee cross-
country to Los Angeles, where he was later arrested – with another woman found tied up in his hotel room. - Usha Patel was stabbed to death in her home after inviting an online paramour over.
- Meshach Cornwall invited over a woman he met on Plenty of Fish and they spent the night together. She
returned two days later and robbed and killed him, making off with cell phones, guns, a television and a car.
Unfortunately, there are a lot of these stories. But online dating isn’t responsible for the terrible acts
humanity is capable of committing. The real problem, when you get right down to it, is that people are
awful. Hashtag optimism. Hip-deep in research at this point, I knew the story that I wanted to tell existed
in the liminal space between in-person and online. In addition to amassing this very bleak list of crimes, I
also did some hands-on exploration.
Gable Tostee leaves court after being found
not guilty of killing Warriena Wright, whom he
met on Tinder (EPA)Tinder is one of the most well known of the myriad dating apps, and I don’t doubt that meaningful
connections can be found there, but the information users provide on their profiles is limited to: a 500-
character description (that’s less than two full tweets), basic stats – like job title, alma mater and sexual
orientation – Instagram and Snapchat profiles, Spotify playlists, and the all-important photos. Can you get a
good sense of a person if they’ve included all of that? Definitely. Is everyone including all of that? No.