Carol Costello presents The God Hook

In the fall of 2011, Southeast Ohio was ground zero for a religious con man on the run from the law, who lured his victims with talk of God and a Craigslist ad. He murdered three men, and attempted to murder a fourth, affecting countless other lives in the process.
But Richard Beasley, aka “The Ohio Craigslist Killer,” had a prior history that’s never been fully explored – until now.

In this second installment of her award-winning true crime series, journalist Carol Costello investigates the crimes before the murders, uncovering shocking details about a religious con man who used the Bible to lure and hook his victims, and bend them to his will. In the process, Costello’s investigation brings to light the human trafficking case that investigators in Northeast Ohio had been building against Beasley.

With help from Emily Pelphrey, the special prosecutor who put Beasley on death row, Carol explores the twisted world of a criminal who used the Bible to exploit not only the faith of his victims, but the legal system itself. Featuring insight from investigators, victims, court documents, journalists, and hours of previously unreleased jailhouse calls, The God Hook tells a cautionary tale about how the Ohio Craigslist killings were entirely preventable, and how something similar could easily happen again today.

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