14 DAY TRIAL // Ohio teen Brogan Rafferty, described by prosecutors as a “student of violent crime,” was found guilty of aggravated murder. Rafferty and “mentor” Richard Beasley killed 3 men and injured 1 after luring them to a deserted farm with fake Craigslist job ads.
Rafferty’s defense attorneys argued that he only took part in the extreme acts of violence because he feared for his life and that not once did he intend to take another man’s life.
The purpose behind the deadly Craigslist scheme was robbery, not murder, they told the court, as The Huffington Post reports.
Prosecutors painted him as a willing participant in the 3 murders and 1 murder attempt. The victim that was only shot in the arm and managed to escape and survive was the one who led authorities to the two killers.
He testified in court, telling a gruesome tale of the attempt made on his life after he responded to the fake Craigslist ad offering jobs for farmhands.
“Rafferty stood with his hands clasped behind his back and showed no emotion as the verdicts were read. His mother leaned over and cried softly,” the Post notes.
“Led from the courtroom, Rafferty shook his head and said, ‘Nothing to say.’ He didn't respond to reporters' questions about the verdict,” adds the same media outlet.
Rafferty will be sentenced on November 5 and stands good chances of spending his entire life behind bars. He was tried as an adult but being a minor means he won’t get the death penalty.
Beasley, on the other hand, the man who orchestrated the scheme and did the actual killings, will probably get the death penalty.
Speaking to the press after the intensely mediated trial, jury forewoman Dana Nash stressed that the ruling in Rafferty’s case was a very difficult one but one that, they believe, is fair.
“We were trying to be fair, and we were fair. We listened to everything, we observed everything, and we feel we made the right decision,” she said, adding that Rafferty made his choices and would now have to live with their consequences.