Crime and Craig's List: The Murder of Katherine Olson *UPDATED*

10/30/07 by True Crime Weblog Admin (Steve Huff)

(This post's date and time have been changed to place it at the top of the weblog. Revisions and updates have been made since the original post date of 10/28/07, including the addition of links to two ads placed by Anderson on Craig's List under his own name and e-mail, workindew2@aol.com. Some of these links are listed at the bottom of the entry.)

Michael John Anderson (photo above) may have a baby face. Anderson may not look his age -- 19. Michael John Anderson, at first glance, looks pretty harmless.

But he sits in the Scott County, Minnesota jail tonight, accused of a strange, senseless murder.

His alleged victim: 24-year-old Katherine Ann Olson.

On Thursday morning, Katherine decided to meet someone in Savage, MN about a babysitting job. She'd found the ad for the job on Craigslist. The people posting the position were supposedly a married couple who'd relocated to the Twin Cities area. Katherine Olson, a well-educated and experienced nanny, headed out to 12649 Kipling Avenue in downtown Savage.

She wasn't seen again until late Friday night. That was when Katherine's car was found in a park in Burnsville, MN. Her body was in the trunk.

Investigators think Michael Anderson placed the ad (a link to his MySpace profile is at the bottom of this entry).

Katherine Olson majored in theater and Hispanic studies at St. Olaf College. After graduating from St. Olaf in 2006, Katherine took a number of nanny jobs, and she'd found those through online listings.

Katherine had also performed leading roles in musicals -- parts like Belle in Beauty and the Beast, Maria in The Sound of Music.

She was a woman of faith, too. In 2006 Katherine participated in St. Olaf's Lilly Program for Lives of Worth and Service. She wrote about the experience, and the college posted her testimonial online. Some excerpts:
When I arrived in Montana on May 31, I hoped this summer would help clarify for me my future plans in the theatre. As a Theatre and Hispanic Studies major with a strong social conscience, I often wonder how I can best serve. Will I live a life in the theatre? Will I go on to graduate school, conducting studies in Latin American theatre? Or will I do something completely different; yet call upon the training I've learned from my language studies and the theatre? While this summer didn't make clear to me the specific plans I will follow, it did set up three things I need in my life in order to live a life of service: a solid Christian community, time to rest, and faith that God has blessed me with the gifts to complete a task.

[. . .]

in order to live a life of service, I must allow myself to rest. Sometimes this summer it felt like I never had a moment to breathe or to evaluate how the week was going. Instead I ran from one activity to the next, barely able to catch my bearings. Yet I found that I worked best when I was well rested and fed, intellectually and emotionally. It was a challenge on weekends to assert my need to sleep and have some alone time, but the weekends that I did that, I was more fully equipped to serve the children the following week. That rest and time for myself was essential.

[. . .]

While this summer didn't necessarily clarify for me what my life of service will entail, it did help me establish what I need in order to live a life of service: a strong Christian community, time to rest, and faith that the tasks set for me are attainable.
Katherine may have inherited that faith from her parents. In an open letter to the Facebook group begun to memorialize Katherine Olson, Rolf and Nancy Olson wrote:
We got a phone call on Friday that Savage police had her purse-- found in a garbage can in a Savage park. Katherine's housemate called around on Friday after she didn't return home on Thursday night. We traced her route to this house, and police moved quickly to arrest a suspect andfind her abandoned car-- with her in it.

Ironically, I was at a conference in Burnsville on Friday on "non-violent understanding of the atonement' [what God did in Jesus to reconcile the broken relationship between God and humanity]. This was a blessing since the whole day was wrapped in resurrection thinking. I am fortunate to still have that mindset in the face of this crushing loss. One of my favorite quotes about this comes from Robert Schuller. He wrote a condolence note to a man after the man's wife died. Schuller said he would pray for the widower 'in his loss.' The grieving husband replied:"My wife is not lost. I know exactly where to find her." I hold onto this promise now with a vengeance...
Katherine Olson's body was found after someone spotted her purse in a park garbage can. Cops thought they were dealing with stolen property. They didn't know that no one had seen the young woman since Thursday morning. Police called Katherine's residence to let her know they'd found the purse.

Her roommate called back and let them know that she might be missing.

A return trip to the garbage can where Katherine's purse was found yielded a piece of significant, troubling evidence -- a bloody towel.

In the meantime, police helicopters had been engaged to search for some sign of Katherine. They spotted her vehicle at the Kraemer Nature Preserve in Burnsville, MN, not far from the park where the purse and bloody towel were recovered. This led to the recovery of Katherine's remains.

Police arrested Michael Anderson at his workplace, the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport. Speaking to the Minneapolis-St. Paul Star Tribune, Savage (MN) police Captain David Muelken said that authorities were "confident [they] have the suspect in custody."

Michael Anderson apparently did not know Katherine Olson. It may be that he posted the ad as a lure, that he was a predator attempting to jump-start a new career in homicide. If so, he was no different from a number of killers in years past who simply posted their ads in newspapers.

Katherine's family told the media that they did worry sometimes about her answering job ads. She was, by all accounts, a bright, trusting and open young woman. She no doubt had faith in her own instincts and in her personality, which comes across in photos and in the words she had published on St. Olaf's website. And she'd traveled as far away as Turkey and South America both as a performer and as a caregiver. Katherine probably felt perfectly confident in her ability to handle unexpected situations, and justifiably so.

Others can repeat the necessary admonitions about being wary any time you answer an ad posted anywhere. People have been aware of such precautions since ads were first published in newspapers.

Here there is only the reminder that even the best and brightest among us will sometimes fall victim to evil, and evil can wear the most innocuous expression.

It can come packaged behind a blandly staring baby-face, looking like a guy anyone could handle.

No one is ever truly prepared for that.

UPDATE 1, 4:30 p.m. ET, 10/29/07

In this thread discussing Katherine Olson's murder at Websleuths.com, websleuther "filly" posted a link to an online dating profile that may have been created by Michael John Anderson.

Using the screen name "Cutlass350" (see below: Anderson's MySpace profile nick was 84Cutlass350), the dating profile owner gave his birthdate as October 16, 1987. He further indicated that he lived in Savage, MN and that he was a brown-haired, brown-eyed hetero male seeking friendship. "Cutlass350's" occupation was listed as "painter," and his education was "A level/High School."

For his 'personal description,' "Cutlass350" wrote this alluring bit of prose:
I enjoy being outdoors I like doing everything outdoors from camping to wildlife and im looking for someone who shares the enjoyment of the outdoors.
"Cutlass350's" profile was created in July of 2006.

UPDATE 2, 3:15 p.m. ET, 10/30/07

Michael John Anderson has been charged with second-degree murder. His bail is $1 million.

Investigators found Katherine Olson's blood in Anderson's home. They also uncovered a gun in Anderson's bedroom. A witness said Olson's car was parked in front of the Anderson Residence on Kipling Ave. for a few hours the day she disappeared.

One of the bloody towels found in a garbage can that along with Katherine Olson's purse had Michael John Anderson's name on it.

The ad answered Katherine Olson was attached to Anderson's e-mail address. Anderson claimed he'd not used the account in several months, and that his mom and a handful of friends could also use the same account.

When police confronted Anderson with some of the damning evidence, he claimed he witnessed Olson's murder. Michael Anderson said a friend of his did it.

Court documents referenced by the Associated Press indicated that Anderson said his "friend" thought the murder "would be funny."

The complaint against Michael Anderson, published online as a .pdf by TwinCities.com, is difficult reading in some respects. If you're squeamish, don't read it.

It does reveal a detail about Katherine Olson's murder that may create as much outrage as Anderson's statement about the murder potentially "being funny."

Katherine Olson's killer shot her in the back.

Links, notes:

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