MICHIGAN: Gay Murder Victim Met His Alleged Killers On Grindr

Detectives in Ann Arbor, Michigan say that a 71 year-old gay man was murdered by three men that he hooked up with on Grindr.

Nineteen-year-old Richard Thompson, of Flat Rock, told police that when he was signaled by 20-year-old Rikky Ranger and 19-year-old Mark Paling, he got David Maurer in a chokehold while the two other men went through the Lurie Terrace apartment and stole a gun, computer, cash and credit cards, according to transcripts of a Dec. 15 probable cause hearing obtained by The Ann Arbor News Wednesday. [Detective William] Stanford detailed for the magistrate how Ranger met Maurer on the gay hook-up website, Grindr, how the three suspects came to Ann Arbor from the Downriver area to drink, smoke marijuana and engage in sexual activity with Maurer that night only to leave the 71-year-old face down dead in his own couch. The three suspects, who identified themselves as homeless to Stanford, used Maurer’s credit cards and cash in the ensuing days for necessities. “They used the money for hotel rooms, gasoline and food,” Stanford said.

The suspects remain jailed without bond and face life in prison. (Tipped by JMG reader Glenn.)