She later explained under police questioning that her relationship with her friend had curdled after the hurtful and humiliating remarks Satomi, the more attractive girl, had made about her during exchanges in internet chatrooms.
Inevitably, the Japanese media later highlighted the dangers of this form of interpersonal communication. Similar to text messaging, this method of conversing with another person does not easily convey nuances or subtleties. Neither can it give a precise indication of their mood. As a result, intentions can be misread and animosity can burgeon when one person misconstrues the intention of another participant.
Describing the event that day to police, Nevada stated, ‘She [Mitarai] wrote something bad about my appearance several times on the net a few days before the incident. I didn’t like that, so I called her [to a classroom] and slashed her neck after getting her to sit on a chair.’
Revealing that the murder had been premeditated, she took investigators through the planning and preparation she had made. She told how she had been inspired to use the small knife after seeing the method used in one of her favoured television shows. ‘I saw that drama,’ she stated. ‘I thought I’d do it that way.’
In the aftermath of the killing, Nevada had expressed remorse, going so far as to openly question her inexplicable actions. ‘I wonder why I did it. If I thought and acted properly, it wouldn’t have happened. I would like to apologise.’
A psychiatric examination found her to be suffering from no effects of any recognised mental disorder. Nevertheless, the sudden outward alteration in Nevada’s behaviour sparked concerns that the problem may be broader. Once again, the internet became the prime target. ‘Over a computer… you can’t see the person’s face, so it’s easier to use increasingly violent language. If that’s the case, it’s an incident that reflects a pathology of society in the age of the internet,’ declared the Tokyo Shimbun, a major metropolitan newspaper.
Around this time, other national papers covered stories about the surging use of the internet by children, reporting, courtesy of the Telecommunications Ministry, that 62 per cent of Japanese children between the ages of six and 12 have internet access. The gruesome crime committed by Nevada cast a pall over the emphasis on technology, which is particularly marked within the country’s schools.
‘What children need most is to be able to piece together real things and real experiences,’ wrote Hisashi Sonoda, an internet crime expert at Konan University.
‘We must make children understand even more the basic importance of life,’ the newspaper Yomiuri said in an editorial.
Although Japan is still reportedly one of the safest of all the developed nations, youth crime has dramatically increased there in recent years. In fact, the number of children under 14 committing serious crimes in 2003 rose to 212, an increase on the previous year of 47 per cent.
Youth crime in Japan has been a source of great concern since a horrific incident dating from 1997, in which a 14-year-old lad murdered an 11-year-old, placing the boy’s severed head outside the gates of the school the two attended.
This shocking incident nudged Japan’s parliament a step in the right direction: it lowered the age of criminal responsibility from 16 to 14.
In 2002, a 12-year-old boy in Nagasaki was accused of the murder of a toddler by pushing him from a rooftop.
Nevada, too young to be punished under Japan’s penal code, was transferred to juvenile detention until her case was determined in a family court.
This horrific crime, perpetrated by one so young, stirred up as much sensation as might be expected, especially in media-frenzied Japan. It is another example of internet addiction leading to destruction: in this case, not just one life, but two. And not only did the lure of the net drag Nevada away from what she should have been focusing on in her real, everyday life and feed her horror-orientated interests to dangerous proportions: but, bizarrely, it also helped to turn her into a celebrity in the wake of her atrocity.
Many began to cruise the internet looking for the latest piece of ‘fan art’ to do with young Nevada, or sought to join the most recent chatroom discussion about her. This tragic, lonely, 11-year-old killer was transformed into an online phenomenon – perhaps as bold a statement about the perverse pull of the internet as one can make.
MEN AND WOMEN BEHIND BARS: INTERNET LOVEBIRDS
In 2001, something extremely strange started happening at the Super-Max Correctional Facility at Broward, where the state of Florida also houses its female Death Row population. Indeed, the events unfolding at the Florida Department of Corrections’ (FDC) headquarters led to worn-out soles and bald patches in the plush carpet of the director’s office, after one its most unattractive inmates started to receive a lot of mail.
At first, the letters arrived in a trickle, which then became a flood, before growing, to the consternation and alarm of officials, into a daily tidal wave of packages of all sizes and from all around the world.
At first, the prison’s censors – already overworked and underpaid at the best of times – vetted the contents but soon a collective ‘Fuck this!’ went around the mail room. People started scratching their heads because every single letter professed undying love for inmate FDC # 160885 Robin J Lunceford. Moreover, most of the registered mail contained cheques, money orders and cash in amounts ranging from $50 to several thousand.
Diners in the prison officers’ canteen screamed in unison, ‘Beeeeee Jeeeeezus’ after one donation of $8,000 dropped on the mat for Robin Lunceford.
With no fewer than three aliases, and more tattoos than a fairground worker, this ungodly-looking felon had committed more robberies using a firearm than Bonnie and Clyde, and has drawn a staggering 260 years’ punishment for her crimes. So why all the fan mail?
By the time Ms Lunceford’s prison bank account reached $1.8 million, the combined intelligence of the Florida Department of Corrections was at its wit’s end, yet the money continued to roll in. She agreed to receive only a few female visitors and a shrewd little attorney; she wasn’t replying to much of the mail and, as far as the prison authorities could see, she wasn’t running an illegal business from jail.
It is a popular misconception that scamming originated in Eastern Europe. As we mentioned in our first chapter, it started in America with Peters and Takers, and maybe this had now returned to haunt them. However, Lunceford’s fiddle put her predecessors in the shade. She became, and still is, the Einstein of Scam.
Early in 2002, a colleague of one of the authors at the Criminology Research Institute rushed into work clasping a note on which was written: ‘Women Behind Bars’. It referred to an internet-run dating agency dedicated solely to American prisoners seeking love. We checked out WBB’s website and on one of the pages saw a photo of one of the most beautiful women on the planet.
Clad in French red underwear, black stockings and stiletto shoes, this creature was as hot as chilli peppers.
Robin’s profile gave few other details – notably absent was her rich criminal CV – but she alluded to her search for an older, financially stable man, and possible suitors were invited to write to the dating agency and pay around $17 for her address.
Smelling a rat, we wired the money, and after it had cleared – it was refunded later – we received an email with Robin’s address at Broward, Pembroke Pines, Florida. And at that time the lady’s next-door neighbour was the serial killer Aileen Wuornos!
But then we carried out a very simple exercise. Within seconds we had logged on to the FDC’s Inmate Search, typed in Robin’s name and ID number, and bingo, up popped a photograph of the real Robin Lunceford that bore no resemblance at all to the sexy shot of supermodel Laetitia Casta that appeared on WBB’s website.
Try doing a search for yourself and check out the FDC site, along with anything you can find on Laetitia. We’re sure you’ll notice the difference. Unfortunately, the Florida state government and its entire prison system had not.
But the $1.8 million was by no means t
he end of it.
We drew this discrepancy to the attention of Women Behind Bars, who politely explained that ‘We do not check out photographic details’ but assured us that they would do so in the future. Of course, WBB must have earned a tidy sum from this caper, and obviously they could not have noticed the striking likeness between one of the world’s most famous models and the photo they had posted on their site.
We also contacted the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, based in Tallahassee. It soon became clear that Robin Lunceford really had polished up her scheme. She had handed all of her mail to her few visitors – all quite legal – and they had replied to the potential suitors with a duplicated series of correspondence – all carefully worded and sending a message to this effect: ‘I don’t have much time to write because I study a lot. I am working for university degrees in economics and teaching. You are so handsome and kind. I could fall for you. Here are some more of my pictures. I hope you like them because they are just for you, etc. I have my own website, which will show I am innocent. Please write to my mother on the physical address there.’
Now short-circuiting the prison system, the excited suitors logged on to a porn site containing carefully doctored photos. ‘I used to be a model,’ it was claimed on the first page. ‘I trusted a man and he got me in trouble with the Law.’
Writing to the ‘mother’ drew the standard response: ‘…not many men write me because they are afraid of my beauty. My heart is warm and I would love to walk and dine with you by a fire… etc… if you can help me with a little money, I know you are sincerely in love with me… etc.’
Thousands of mugs from around the world did exactly that. They sent more money… serious money. Of course, when any punter asked if he could visit Robin, he received another standard reply, one that rounded things off nicely: ‘Darling, I would adore seeing you – perhaps for a few minutes alone. I ache for you, darling. I am so happy. When I passed your letter to the prison governor, she said no. It was against the rules. If you write to them, they will punish me. It has broken my heart.’
The fact of the matter is, Robin Lunceford is not able to receive general visitors, period, because of her security status, and the FDC does not, as a matter of policy, enter into correspondence with people who wish to do so – not least thousands of them all gagging to see the woman.
It is true to say that many of the women featured on WBB’s site have a genuine intention of finding a soul mate and hope to get married and settle down once they have paid their debt to society. However, a percentage of these women not only want to fleece you of every dollar you have saved or are likely to ever earn, but are also extremely dangerous. Here are just a few of them:
Inmate ADC # 704072 Kimberley F Forrester
Ms Forrester, who has two aliases, is serving 50 years for offences including forgery, theft by receiving, probation violation, possession of firearms and criminal conspiracy. She used a photograph of an international model to sell herself, and Kim is no shrinking violet, for she was vociferous when it came to asking for money. When we brought this delicate matter to the attention of the Arkansas Department of Corrections and the internet agency itself, it was discovered that this evil woman had been getting away with this type of fraud for ages.
You will be pleased to learn, however, that her parole expectations have since been drastically reduced after the authors contacted the prison.
Inmate KDOC # 55885/004966 Rebecca Kincer
But there are good stories to be had, so it is not all bad news. Dick, 69, from the USA, first saw convicted murderess 62-year-old Rebecca ‘Becky’ Kincer on the WBB website in February 1999. He wrote to her on St Valentine’s Day ‘as a lark’, he said in an email to the authors.
‘She just hit me as a fun person and I wrote back,’ he told us. ‘I received an answer much quicker than I expected and we started writing daily. It wasn’t long before we started fighting via mail because I thought she wanted money, but it was because something I had written was misinterpreted.’
However, ever pleased to bring you some good and exciting news, we are delighted to report that the couple are now blissfully married and the white-haired lady in question will be released in 2040.
Dick said, ‘She will either come home to me or I will die here waiting for her! She is my life and I will never leave her.’
Inmate MDC # 167734 Carmel Cynthia Robinson
Philip A Robinson hit a three-cherry jackpot after contacting a woman who advertised on the WBB site. After a rollercoaster ride of a relationship, including the shredding of one of her letters after she threatened to break with him, they were married on 26 June 2001, in the Visitors Room of the Scotts Correctional Facility in Plymouth, Michigan.
However, unknown to Phillip, he had been kept in the dark.
Born on 5 September 1961, Carmel has several aliases: Carmel Allen, Cynthia Moss, Cynthia Reed, Sharon Green and Shirley Hall. Her crimes are: assault to commit murder (30 years); manslaughter (ten years); carrying concealed weapons (six months); escape from prison (six months); uttering and publishing (two and a half years).
The couple’s present marital status is unknown.
Mr Lenny Madrid, however, had a less than loving relationship when he met a lady through WBB’s site. He wrote to complain to the agency on 13 August 2001:
‘The relationship I had with one of your ladies from your listing was a joke. She provided me with a photo that was not what it seemed to be. She had consistently requested me to send money, but, as long as I didn’t get a recent photo of her, her cash flow became smaller. Upon her release, she waited two weeks before she told me they let her out. Anyway, she was a conniver to get me to send money. The last amount she asked for was $600,000, claiming she needed to move out to a different house with her mother. She claimed that with her criminal record she was finding it hard to find a place to live. I sent her money and a phone card to call me once she got the $100 I sent her. Well, it has been a month now since we have had contact with one another. I don’t plan on contacting her in any way. I figure she’ll be back in the jail system before the end of the year. This relationship has come to an end, by me giving up the idea of getting married to her. Thank you for your site.’
But, not one to be thwarted, Lenny has since met another female prisoner, who said she wanted to marry him when she is released. Careful, Lenny, you should have learned a lesson or two by now!
Tommy, from the USA, rather sums it all up in his email:
‘Dear Christopher, I met someone thru WBB, visited her in prison many times and thought things were wonderful and I still have the letters to prove it, and once she got the TV money, she now claims she never asked for the jig was up and not only did she not write, she did not let me visit her any more. Her friend does the same thing and has 15 guys on a list that she calls. I even saw someone come to visit her friend and would have warned him but I was not given the chance because of tight security. These girls are professional con artists and trade their skills around to get money to buy clothes and ice cream and whatever from unsuspecting people like me who get drawn into this by the elaborate web they weave. They are very convincing and ruin it for the few real good honest women trying to reach out for a penpal and beyond. I don’t trust any of them, nor the guards any more. Women Behind Bars is ruined by the very people it serves.’
Actually, Women Behind Bars is run by two pretty decent Christian people. They have been more than fair when dealing with the authors and we are sure they will endorse the following.
The bottom line is enjoying the search for your bride-to-be, even on the sites which advertise female criminals. But remember this: they are in prison for offences ranging from fraud, through drugs and armed robbery, to murder. One of America’s most vicious female killers advertised on WBB’s site. And did she have some nerve!
Lora Lee Zaiontz was a co-defendant with TDC # 999784 Troy Albert Kunkle. For any girls who may have a compulsion to write to the handsome Troy, bear in mind th
at he was executed by lethal injection on 1 April 2005.
But, if you look up Troy’s rap sheet under ‘Texas Executed Offenders’ before you write to Lora, at least you’ll know what you are letting yourself in for.
There are hundreds of websites set up for convicted inmates who either want pen friends or are cunningly protesting their innocence in money-making schemes. Here we expose a few of them. Don’t get sucked in.
RODGERS, Jeremiah (Florida # 123101) DOB 19.04.1977
‘I’m positive, a good listener. I am outgoing, generous, respectful, friendly, caring and humorous.’
This is how necrophiliac Rodgers ludicrously describes himself on the internet. And this killer awaits his fate in Florida’s electric chair for shooting a man in what only can be described as a ‘thrill killing’, in Santa Rosa County, Florida. Weighing 146 pounds, with brown eyes and brown hair, Rodgers has his birth sign, the Ram’s horns, tattooed on his head.
Of the events that put him on Death Row, there isn’t an enormous amount of detail on record. However, the basic facts are that Rodgers loosed off a volley of shots at a person’s home and missed his intended target. He later returned, shot a man dead and committed some pretty awful sexual acts on the corpse.
The repugnant Rodgers, who advertises for pen friends on the internet, describes his eye colour as blue – they are brown – and says he enjoys reading, crosswords, playing volleyball, chess and ‘learning new things’.
OSBORNE, Larry Cecil (Kentucky # 121516) DOB 22.03.1980
Nineteen-year-old Larry Osborne was sentenced to death on 27 January 1999 in Whitley County. The charges proved were: two counts of intentional murder; first degree burglary; first degree robbery, and first degree arson.
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