Detroit

Statement from Backpage.com representative on Detroit murders:

Backpage released a statement through one of their attorneys in reference to the recent murders in Detroit of Demesha Hunt, Renisha Landers and two unnamed women. Three of the victims are believed to have been prostitutes that were advertised on the Village Voice Media owned backpage.com.

Here is the statement in its entirety…

“After we heard about these terrible crimes, we reached out to the Detroit Police Department, even before we heard from them, to offer assistance in the investigation. Our team has already provided the police with detailed information about the ads that the suspect or others posted on numerous web sites.

“Law enforcement authorities now have evidence that the investigation appears to connect to at least 30 different ads or other postings on at least 15 different websites, separate and distinct from ours. We are not aware of the existence of any evidence that would indicate which of these many sites were used by the suspect to establish contact with his victims.

“We have a team of more than 100 content monitors and internet experts who will continue to cooperate with the investigation and provide as much helpful information as we can.

“Backpage.com shares the concerns of law enforcement and the community that every effort be made to stop violent criminals from using the internet to commit their crimes.

Backpage has developed strong cooperative relationships with front-line state and federal police agencies nationwide, assisting with sting operations, promptly responding to subpoenas, and otherwise aiding in the identification, apprehension and prosecution of criminals.

“We do our best to provide a safe and legal environment for our customers through aggressive content monitoring and sophisticated content filtration software.

We agree with a recent USC study that recommended leveraging online technologies and datadriven information in real time to detect and apprehend online criminals.

Steve Suskin
Legal Counsel
backpage.com

Pretty much exactly as I predicted.

For those of you who aren’t fluent in bullshit please allow me to translate for you.

*AHEM*

Since this is a PR nightmare for us we decided to call the Detroit police to see how much they know to see what we could exploit in our favor.

Slimy McMouthpiece
Head Weasel
Classifieds site that makes its money from the trafficking of women and children.

Backpage crime post #181
Killers post #157
Prostitution/Human Trafficking post #768

Renesha Landers and Denesha Hunt

3 women found dead linked to escort Web site, Detroit police say:

Bodies found in Detroit linked to online ads:

Detroit police chief says 4 murders related:

Within the last week four murdered women were found in the trunks of cars in Detroit, 3 of them were reported to be escorts on the Village Voice Media owned backpage.com.

The bodies of cousins Demesha Hunt, 24, and Renisha Landers, 23, were found in the trunk of a car in December 19th. On early Christmas morning two more women were found burnt beyond recognition in the trunk of a burning car. Their names have not yet been released. It has also not been made public yet which of the three women had ads on backpage. The causes of death have also not been released. However police do believe that the incidents are connected.

Not surprisingly Village Voice Media has not yet responded to media requests for comment. I’ll save you all some time. VVM will say something to the effect that those these deaths are regrettable they are working with law enforcement. Then they’ll stick in something about how their thinly veiled prostitution ads are a first amendment right and that they’re ability to make money off the women and children that are trafficked on their site trumps the right for these women to not be murdered. Not necessarily in those words but you get the idea.

Will this new national attention on backpage get VVM to reconsider their stance on the adult ads on backpage? As long as their making money hand over fist I seriously doubt it.

Thanks to Sue and Bonnie for the tips.

Backpage crime post #180
Killers post #156
Prostitution/Human Trafficking post #767