Man tries to use Craigslist to lure a woman for sex, then kill her, police say

A Kent man has been arrested for investigation of attempted murder after trying to recruit a woman from Craigslist to have sex with and then kill.

The 24-year-old man posted an ad in the "Casual Encounters" section of Craigslist titled "A strange desire," according to Seattle police.

Undercover detectives who saw the ad e-mailed the man, who said that he was looking for someone who wanted to be killed.

A detective instead said he wanted someone killed, and asked that the suspect do it. The suspect agreed, but wanted to be paid for it, police said.

The man had doubled his fee to $2,000 by the time he had exchanged about 30 e-mails with the vice detective. He described what he wanted to do to her and arranged to meet her at a Seattle motel.

Police staked out the motel and arrested the man when he arrived there Monday. Detectives said the man was carrying a length of heavy chain, a knife and two long shoelaces, according to court records.

He's being held in the King County Jail.

Mark Rahner: 206-464-8259 or mrahner@seattletimes.com