stardust
Murder - Online Dating Service
Posted on: 04/15/2011 22:43
This is very scary but I'm sure it doesn't happen too often.
Surrey resident Dmitry Smirnov, 20, who has been charged with the first-degree murder of a 36-year-old Illinois woman he briefly dated after meeting on the Internet.
Vesel and Smirnov, who had once served in the Canadian military, had met through an online dating service in 2008 and Smirnov moved to the Chicago area to begin seeing her, said Berlin. But, after what Berlin called a "brief relationship," Vesel resumed dating a previous boyfriend, the prosecutor said.
Smirnov returned to Canada but began harassing Vesel by phone and the Internet, Berlin said. In 2009, Vesel filed a police complaint stating that Smirnov had threatened to harm her.
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Sterton
Posted on: 04/16/2011 21:37
I have never met anyone from "online" for dating and this is why. You really don't know the person.
I would feel much safer hanging out with a guy who someone I knew recommended. And yes I know just because I know him or he is friends with someone I know, I still can be assaulted.
I have read and spoken with people who suggest and have actually met for the very first time at one of their houses. If they are crazy, now they know where you live to stalk you or they can hurt you more easily that you aren't out in public.
I'm sorry this woman got hurt looking for love. She didn't find it with him so he killed her. YIKES.
GordW
Posted on: 04/16/2011 21:44
Actually the involvement of the online site is a red herring IMO. These things happen with any way people meet each other.
But it makes a more spectacular news story with teh online angle.
Serena
Posted on: 04/17/2011 12:39
Actually, Gord is right. Guys (and girls) murder their significant friend both online and offline. Alberta actually has the highest rate of domestic violence in Canada. Online is just the way to meet people in the 25-50 year old age range because the 25-50 year olds are all online and working double shifts so we don't get out much. :)
I have met 10 guys online. Only one I was afraid of. Just because a friend sets you up on a date doesn't mean the guy is not dangerous. I know women whose dates have raped them on the first date and they didn't tell anyone because this was a "friend of a friend" and they thought nobody would believe them. This is why you don't take a guy you barely know home on the first date for tea or coffee. The women I know did. That is why I have the dating rule that they don't pick me up at my home until date #4. I don't invite them in until date #5 or 6. I do this with guys I know and with guys on the internet. Some guys believe that they should have sex on every date. This guy can be online or offline. Doesn't mean his belief is changes. Guys and girls may only show this wacko behaviour to someone they are dating and not to their friends. Girls can be stalkers and smash vehicles up etc. too.
Nowadays you need to be safe. If you meet a guy at bowling (unlikely but possible) you can't give him your last name or address or landline. It is the same with a guy online. Till about date #4 don't get in the guy's vehicle or have him pick u up at home and don't give out your home # only your cell.
MistsOfSpring
Posted on: 04/17/2011 15:19
I agree that the online part of the story is unrelated to what eventually happened. This is a case of a jilted lover harassing and then murdering his ex which happens regardless of how people meet.
YouthWorker
Posted on: 04/17/2011 23:34
I agree with everything Serena wrote above...
I know one guy who was in a couple emotionally abusive relationships -- with girls that he met in real life, in situations we would normally think are safe. (These girls, in addition to being emotionally abusive, followed up the breakup with stalking, harassment, and threats of physical violence.) And I know people who meet tons of people off the internet (myself included) and we've had very few bad experiences. So the internet part of the story above is really unrelated to the rest of it.