Beware of a person online named SLAVEMASTER-Truth! and Fiction!

"SlaveMaster," An Internet Killer who Prowls Via Email-Truth! & Fiction!

Summary of eRumor:
An email said to be from the Maryland State Police warning directed toward women that says there is someone on the Internet who goes by the name of "SlaveMaster" and who contacts women online. He is said to have killed 56 of them.

This is also other version of the story circulating with various other names identifying the killer.

The Truth:
There is a man in custody in Kansas who called himself "Slavemaster" and who is being investigated in connection with the deaths of five women in Kansas and Missouri, according to CNN. There are not 56 victims, and he is not currently on the Internet. The killings are being called "The Barrel Slayings" because the bodies of the victims were found in barrels. Authorities in Kansas say Fifty-six year old John Edward Robinson was arrested in June, 2000, at his home in Olathe, Kansas. Investigators say he toured the Internet for sadomasochistic sex and was arrested after two women told police that Robinson had brutalized them during an encounter in a Kansas hotel.

Some of the other names that have been substitied for "Slavemaster" and circulated on the Internet include SweetCaliGuy4evr, MonkeyMan, Monkeyman935, Jason Stallings, and Buc Vet.
(Last updated 1/2/08

An example of the story as it has been circulated:

This is something I received from the MD State Police Please read this "very carefully"...then send it out to all the people online that you know. Something like this is nothing to take casually; this is something you DO want to pay attention to. Think of it as a bit of advice too. If a person with the screen-name of Slavemaster contacts you, do not reply. Do not talk to this person; do not answer any of his/her instant Messages or e-mail. Whoever this person may be, he/she is a suspect for murder in the death of 56 women (so far) contacted through the Internet. Please send this to all the women on your buddy list and ask them to pass this on, as well. This screen-name was seen on Yahoo, AOL, and Excite, so far. This is not a joke! Please send this to men too...they can tell their loved ones, just in case! Send to every one you know! Ladies, this is serious.