MySpace Murder: Did God Dial a Cellphone?

Josie Brown, age 27, single parent to a young daughter, had some "issues" but  was taking steps to get her life in order. Her computer and her cell phone played an integral role in her life and, as it turned out, her death.  The young Hampden mother occupied a different life space from a 23-year-old University of Maryland biochemistry student, 23-year-old John C. Gaumer.  One space where their lives overlapped, however, was MySpace.

Gaumer's housemates in Arbutus noted that he often when on blind dates--singular. He apparently never took a woman on a second date.

On the night of Dec. 28, 2005, John collected Josie from her home.  The pair hit a number of Charles Street restaurants and drinking places. They ate tapas at Tapas Teatro, a crowded, bustling restaurant in the 1700 block N. Charles Street.  Dionysus, 8 E. Preston, was another stop.(Many reincarnations ago this restaurant was Bechelli's, with its ominous archway entrance.)

When they got down to an Asian tapas lounge at 930 N. Charles Street, they had arrived at "Mysterious Mount Vernon." Things grew much more mysterious after that. The young mother apparently agreed to finish her evening at Gaumer's Arbutus home. Somewhere near Interstate 95 she changed her mind. Curiously, Josie punctuated her evening with cell phone calls. Later, when the police examined these calls, her cell phone had become a virtual global positioning system. When Gaumer told police that he had driven Josie back to Hampden, her phone log proved the lie.

The couple argued. John ordered Josie out of his car at the beltway ramp of 695 and Rt. 95. near Arbutus. The hour was late, the night was cold. John drove away but later reconsidered his action. He returned to the spot and offered to drive Josie to her home. If the young mother had somehow read the smoke signals, put on her best face, allowed John to save face, she might also have saved her own face. Instead, she greeted him with much vitriol. John stated that she was cursing, actually striking him. Measuring in at 6 feet 5, 225 lbs., John would have been able to handle Josie if in fact she did get physical.

John threw Josie over a guard rail. His 70 blows with his fists and a stick were overkill. After he beat Josie with the stick, he rammed it up her vagina.  Trying to delete the woman's identity, he left his Myspace date with no face, removing jaws, teeth, finger tips. These items, he carried home with his in Josie's purse. Afterward, Gaumer claims that he washed his car and clothes and sent Josie a post-date email--all in attempts to cover up his crime.

As John was in the process of beating this woman to death, a strange thing happened. His cell phone accidentally dialed hers. Josie's phone recorded his shouts of rage, her screams.  The police now had an audio recording of the murder.

The murder of Josie is included in "Haunting Murders" because it illustrates the worst result of cyberspace dating. At the risk of sounding like someone's carping mother, I cite the cautionary list for dating someone you've never met face to face. Try to get to know the person a little bit on the phone--your cell phone, not your work or home phone. Always trust your instincts.  Use your own transportation - letting your date pick you up at your home is as dangerous as jumping in a stranger's car on the street, only worse because now the person knows where you live. Meet in a public place. Do something like a lunch, something time limited. Pay your own way.  Meet as equals. Carry a cell phone. Let a friend know where you'll be, and try to let your date know that your friend knows. Avoid drinking and drugging to the point that your judgment is impaired. May you be merry met and merry-meet again!

In May 2007 a Baltimore County jury found John Gaumer guilty of first degree murder, first degree rape and felony murder. This combination of offenses would have made him eligible for the death penalty. Amidst the sobs of Gaumer and his parents, he was sentenced to life without the possibility of parole.

Keri:  The Murder of a Beautiful Young Woman

All murders are senseless murders, but the murder of Keri Sirbaugh on June 20, 1995 was that of a true lamb to the slaughter. Keri was her parents' heart. A college student aged just 21, she worked nights at Louie's Bookstore at 518 N. Charles Street. Hers was a commanding figure, tall, 160 lbs., long red hair. She had no criminal record, no known drug involvement. She was well-liked. To be free, young, intelligent, confident and beautiful, to have hopes and plans, to have your whole life before you sounds like an idyllic situation.  Yet, with Keri and with her friends, one gets a sense of the coming-of-age struggles. Often, Keri and her coworkers would travel to Fells Point after closing time, hit a pub or two, socialize, relax.  The hour was late. The next morning might call for early class at school.  But when you're 21, you can do it. There was, for instance, Keri's close buddy and confidant, George. The pair had worked together for 3 years. George had been on his own from a young age.  Keri had considered sharing living space with him, but thought that his Read Street apartment would not be too safe. She chose Everall Avenue in Hamilton. Many of the travelers to Fells Point, Keri's friends,  had reported being robbed at one time or another during their nocturnal wanderings.  After a certain hour, the streets of Baltimore (including the neighboring counties) become risky to navigate.

Louie's Bookstore, now closed, is missed by many, even if some of its young employees (excluding Keri) posed as too avant garde, too aloof. (It was one of those places where, if you're a person of 60, a bit overweight, have wide feet, buy your clothes at Walmart, have a Baltimore accent -- do not even consider applying for a job?) The magazines were extensive, the books were thoughtfully selected. The rear of the store was a two-tiered restaurant. A combo played jazz on weekend nights. Artworks lined the walls.  The place had cache. On June 21, Keri did not report for work.

Keri left a family birthday party at 8:30 p.m. the previous night to see a man whom she had recently met in Fells Point. At 3:15 a.m. one resident of the usually quiet 6400 block of Everall Avenue heard a woman's anguished voice, heard a man tell her to shut up. The resident phoned 911, triggering a police car's arrival in the block. Seeing and hearing no evil, the police car left. The neighbor heard more voices, footsteps near Keri's second floor apartment. 911 was phoned a second time. The police came, saw and heard no evil, left. Meanwhile, Keri lie strangled and beaten in a wooded area that abutted her apartment. Not until the next evening was the body found, in a way that traumatized her parents forever. The Sirbaughs had gone to their daughter's apartment. No Keri, no signs of a struggle, a couple hundred dollars sitting on a dresser. The parents phoned the police. Mr. Sirbaugh wandered into the nearby woods and let out a horrified scream. He had found  Keri's body.

The murder of Keri Sirbaugh has not been solved. Dozens of formal statements, hundreds of interviews, retirement of detectives, involvement of parents, a feature on America's Most Wanted (in 1999), produced no yield.  Suspects, yes. The police interviewed an old high school friend, a heroin addict. At the time of the interview, he was in jail. A couple days later he was found hanged in his cell. They interviewed Keri's June 20 date, a man who had not come forth of his own volition. He had a semi-alibi and later lawyered-up. There was insufficient evidence to pursue him. A friend of Keri's date was interviewed. The woman who had generated the 911 call was interviewed. Emotionally at the breaking point, she could not be leaned on further. Pushing on, the police learned that Keri's social life was extensive. She visited clubs, pubs, bars--even some men's gay bars. There was little likelihood of an unhealthy fixation from the latter. The police uncovered no known sinister connections.  Perhaps some day.  Rest in Peace, Keri.