Back in early 2015, retired couple Bud and June Runion of Marietta, Georgia, went missing after going to look at a classic Mustang they saw on craigslist. There was no actual Mustang as it seemed to be more of a ploy to try to lure them into a robbery. A then 28-year-old Jay Towns was charged with their murders as he is believed to have been the person who placed the craigslist ad for the fictitious Mustang. Towns allegedly shot the Runions. Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty against Towns but they’ll have to wait a little longer.
Towns’ murder indictment was thrown out by a Cobb County judge because the grand jury was not chosen at random. More recently, the Georgia State Supreme Court upheld the lower court’s decision to vacate the indictment.
Thankfully, this doesn’t mean that Towns gets to walk free. He is still currently incarcerated and prosecutors have stated that they will be re-indicting Towns as soon as possible.
The Runions, unfortunately, fell for a common craigslist scam. A crook will place a craigslist ad for a classic car. They’ll convince potential buyers to come to take a look at the car and then will try to rob them of the large amount of cash they brought with them to buy the car.
Even when buying or selling a car on craigslist, have the other person always meet you at a local police department. While not perfect, it will go a long way in discouraging thieves and murderers from showing up.
Real Crime with Trench Reynolds 