brogan rafferty's parents aren't buying his. his father told me his son may have gone along with it because beasley threatened him and his family. >> i think that he probably didn't realize what he was involved in until it was too late and over his head and that he was in fear for his life and the lives of people he loved. >> reporter: brogan's mother told me her son will have to pay for the decision to hang around with the wrong person. >> i have the pain in what my son is going through every day and he has to live with this the rest of his life. . >> reporter: does he think about that? >> i know he does. >> reporter: tonight brogan rafferty sits in a juvenile detention center and tomorrow he will likely be transferred to an adult prison. in a letter home, brogan tells his family, he fears that when he finally gets out, everybody he knows and loves will be dead. for "nightline" this is dan harris, in akron, ohio. >> and we'll stay on that case. our thanks to dan. >>> just ahead how some enterprising moms are turning the high dr

brogan rafferty will be in court this morning. and in an exclusive interview with dan harris, his father previews the defense. >> reporter: 16-year-old brogan rafferty, caught up in a sensational murder case. a plot to kill people who reply to a bonus help wanted ad on craigslist. now, brogan's father, michael rafferty, tells abc news, in this exclusive taped inter, that his son fell under the spell of this man, 52-year-old rich beasley, who mentored brogan for a decade. >> to think that my son would be capable of masterminding a crazy scheme like this, that's beyond belief. >> reporter: he did not shoot anybody. but he did unwittingly dig some of the graves, thinking they were simply drainage ditches. >> reporter: i think he probably didn't realize what he was involved in until it was too late. and that he was in fear for his life and the lives of people that he loved. >> reporter: also this morning, we're learning more about the man they call chaplain rich beasley, a self-styled man of god. several churches he says he was associ

this is 16-year-old brogan raferty. from a quiet suburb outside of akron, ohio. this morning, he's in a juvenile detention center, accused of helping to carry out a plot that lured unsuspecting men, many down on their luck and in need of work, into rural areas where they were murdered and buried in a shallow grave. >> the only connection was answering ads for employment on craigslist. >> of course he's scared. >> reporter: this morning, brogan's mom says her son was manipulated by his alleged accompli accomplice, 52-year-old chaplain rich beasley. >> there's a amongster here. it's not my son. >> reporter: in this letter, brogan writes from behind bars that authorities are more concerned with hanging me than helping me. over the last 30 year, rich beasley has spent a total of 15 years in jail. he's now back in jail on drug and prostitution charges while police try to build a case for the so-called craigslist murders. ron saw this ad on craigslist. he says he met rich beasley at this mall for an interview. when you heard amonth or so later that people who did go fo

board of governors chairwoman ava parker on tuesday asked chancellor frank brogan to look into whether university officials responded to problems of hazing brought to them by julian white, the band's former director. >> wow. we will listen to the victim's mom and she told police she found the sitter through online bay shy sitting websites and both sites said they did background checks on the sitter and came back clean. police commented by saying he doesn't have a record because this is the first time he's been accused of anything. >> that's why you have to talk to your kids, everybody. >>> it's just like when we thought we were cool when we had the candy cigarettes. >> this is a message you don't want your kids seeing. >>> another thing to watch out for. why she thinks the airline should refund her the money because she can't travel because of her terminal cancer but they won't. >>> why it took a gentleman to return cold hard cash. we will be back in just 60 seconds. at bank of america, we're lending and investing in the people and communities who call baltimore home. from funding to h

brogan. bill lawson. donald l. marks. the associate members of the committee are located in the box is to my left. hold your applause until the end, please. norma luther. jeanette early. janet broussard. peter forbes. s. sanford schlit. carl barrett jeffrey ladue. mike lynch gerald de arancisco. david fletcher. laurie montgomery jack klemp. gerald yamada j. david bailey. darlene baker. charles able. walker williams. tim moon. vicky haiduk. ladies and gentlemen, please join me in recognizing our veteran national leadership with your applause. [applause] it is now my pleasure to introduce our veterans organization host, founded in 1919, the military order of the world force was formed at the suggestion of general of the armies, john j. pershing. as a veteran service organization comprised of members who were or are commissioned as warrant officers of the u.s. army, navy, marine corps, air force, coast guard, public health service, and the national oceanic and atmospheric administration. the military order of the world wars

brogan rafferty is officially charged with murder. dan harris has the story. >> reporter: looking clean-cut and sullen, the teen at the center of the so-called craigslist killings, was in court this morning. do you have anything to say? >> no comment. >> reporter: he says he is not a murderer. but in court, rafferty learned he is now charged as one. prosecutors say rafferty, along with his 52-year-old friend and mentor, richard beasley, led a man into rural ohio where that man was shot in the head. police have found two other bodies, both shot in the head and both buried in shallow graves. rafferty and beasley recruited their men, through a bogen help-wanted ad on craigslist. on her way out of court, brogan's mother reacted to the charges. >> no comment. >> reporter: your parents are saying you got roped into a scheme that beasley concocted. is that true? >> no comment. >> reporter: we're learning more about richard beasley, the self-styled man of god known as chaplain rich. abc news obtained this police report that says the chaplain

been held since last weekend in connection of the murders. 52-year-old richard beasley and 16-year-old brogan rafferty. >> he's a kid that we had taken to church since he was 7, 8 years old. >> reporter: police were led to a pair by a south carolina who also answered the ad, he said that he escaped after being shot in the arm. november 6th. heather one of the dozens of other responders to the posting was initially disappointed that she didn't get the job. >> i instantly got sick to my stomach just thinking how i lucky i was had i gotten a response back. >> reporter: experts say that criminals love craigslist because they can remain anonymous. >> you can place an ad, lure them to a particular location, rob them, scam them and there's no way to identify you. >> reporter: local authorities fear in this latest case, they are dealing with a serial killer. that's why the fbi continues to investigate as if there may be more victims out there. richard beasley who hasn't been charged in this case maintains his innocence. but, you know, security experts tell us, if you're going to apply for a job onlin

this is 16-year-old brogan rafferty. a high school junior and animal lover from a quiet suburb outside of akron, ohio. this morning, he's in a juvenile detention center, accused of helping to carry out a plot that lured unsuspecting men, many down on their luck and in need of work, into rural areas where they were murdered and buried in a shallow grave. >> the only connection was answering ads for employment on craigslist. >> of course he's scared. >> reporter: this morning, in her first on-camera interview, broeginterview brogan's mom, says her son was manipulated by his alleged accomplice, 52-year-old chaplain rich beasley. >> my son told me that he didn't do it. there is a monster here, but it's not my son. >> reporter: in this letter, shown exclusively to abc news brogan writes from behind bars that authorities are more concerned with hanging me than helping me. over the last 30 years, rich beasley has spent a total of 15 years in jail. he's now back in jail on drug and prostitution charges while police try to build

the father of 16-year-old brogan rafr furt tells affiliate wjw his son is one of them. he's charged with attempted murder. a second suspect is being held on unrelated charges. his mother identifies him as richard beasley and says he mentored the teen. this man says he also answered the ad and was interviewed by beasley but it didn't sound right. >> wait a minute. he owns 688 acre farm. and he doesn't know the exact equity it's at? something's wrong there. >> police say a possible motive is robbery, though it's unclear what killers could have gained from unemployed victims, also not known, whether there are more victims of the online ad. ted? >> susan candiotti, thank you. >>> florida a&m's long time band director is fighting to keep his job after a band member's death was linked to hazing. police say robert champion, a drum major in the marching band died after a performance last saturday. he reportedly vomited and complained of not being able to breathe. later he was pronounced dead at an orlando hospital. band director julian white has been put on administrative leave

since last week in connection with the murders. 52-year-old richard beasley of akron and 16-year-old brogan rafferty. beasley's mother says he was a mentor to rafferty. >> he's a kid that we had taken to church since he was 7, 8 years old. >> reporter: police were led to the pair by a south carolina man who also answered the ad, but he says he escaped after being shot in the arm november 6th. heather tunnel, one of the dozens of other responders to the posting, was initially disappointed she didn't get the job. >> i just instantly got sick to my stomach just thinking how lucky i was because it could have very well been me had i gotten a response back. >> reporter: experts say criminals love craigslist because they can remain anonymous. >> you can place an ad, lure somebody to a particular location, rob them, kill them, scam them, and there's really no way to identify you. >> reporter: federal and local authorities fear in this latest case, they are dealing with a serial killer. and that's why the fbi continues to investigate as if there may be more victims out there. richard beasley, who ha

the father of 16-year-old brogan rafferty tells affiliate wjw his son is one of them. he's charged with attempted murder. a second suspect is being held on unrelated charges. his mother identifies him as richard beasley and says he mentored the teen. this man says he also answered the ad and was interviewed by beasley but it didn't sound right. >> wait a minute. he owns an 688-acre farm. and he doesn't know the exact exit it's at? there's something wrong there. >> police say a possible motive is robbery, though it's unclear what killers could have gained from unemployed victims. also not known, whether there are more victims of the online ad. ted? >> susancandiotti, thank you. >>> florida a&m's long-time band director is fighting to keep his job after a long-time band member's death was linked to hazing. police say robert champion, a drum major in the band, died after a performance saturday. he reportedly vomited and complained of not being able to breathe. later he was pronounced dead at an orlando hospital. band director julian white has been put on administrative le

brogan. military chaplains association. bill lawson. paralyzed veterans of america. donald l. marks. legion of valor of the usa. the social members of the committee are located in the boxes to my left. please hold your applause until the end. jeanette early. cold storage -- goldstar wives of america. janet broussard. blue star mustard -- blue star mothers of america. peter fords. s. samfort schlit. airforce association. carl berritt. maybe veterans of america. jeffrey ledeaux. air force sgt association. mike lynch. gerald d. francisco. president of the humanitarian services, american red cross. david fletcher. national association of veterans affairs. gloy s. montgomery -- glory s. montgomery. gerad yamada. japanese american veterans association. j. david bailey. veterans of the battle of the bulge. darlene baker. charles able. woundedwalker williams. reserve officers association. tim moon. association of the united states navy. latest installment, please drum -- ladies and gentlemen, please join me in recognizing our veterans national leadership with your plots -- ladies and

the father of 16 year old brogan rafferty says his son is one of them. he's chargewide attempted murder. a second suspect is being held on unrelated charges. his mother identifies him as richard beasley. this man answered the ad and was interviewed. it doesn't sound right. >> wait a minute. he owns 688 acre farm, he doesn't know the exit. >> police say a possible motive is robbery though it's unclear what killers could have gained from unemployed victims. also not known, whether there are more victims of the online ad. susan can did i ot at this, cnn new york. >> coming up, good news for coffee drinkers. new study says it could cut some people's cancer risk. we'll explain. >>> checking stories making news later today. 11:00 eastern, a family whose son was a drum major will announce their decision to file a lawsuit against the school. then at 1:40 eastern president obama, along with officials of the european union will make remarks to the news media following a summit at the white house. >>> a celebration at 6:00 eastern at norfolk, virginia. the u.s. s.

brogan. bill lawson. donald l. marks. the social members of the committee are located in the boxes to my left. please hold your applause until the end. genjeanette early. janet broussard. peter fords. s. samfort schlit. carl berritt. jeffrey ledeaux. mike lynch. gerald d. francisco. david fletcher. gloy s. montgomery -- glory s. montgomery. gerad yamada. j. david bailey. darlene baker. charles able. alker williams. tim moon. latest installment, please drum in recognizing our veterans national leadership with your plots -- ladies and gentlemen please join me in recognizing our veterans national leadership with your applause. it is my pleasure to introduce our host. the military order of the world wars was formed as a suggestion of john j. pershing. is comprised of members who work or are commissioned officers of the army, navy, marine corps, public health service, and the national oceanic and atmospheric administration. they represented by russell vowinkel. he served as a flight officer. ladies and gentlemen, russell vowin

brogan. military chaplains association. bill lawson. paralyzed veterans of america. donald l. marks. legion of valor of the usa. the social members of the committee are located in the boxes to my left. please hold your applause until the end. jeanette early. goldstar wives of america. janet broussard. blue star mothers of america. peter fords. s. samfort schlit. airforce association. carl berritt. maybe veterans of america. jeffrey ledeaux. air force sgt association. mike lynch. ceo, help hospitalize veterans. gerald d. francisco. president of the humanitarian services, american red cross. david fletcher. national association of veterans affairs. glory s. montgomery. gerad yamada. japanese american veterans association. j. david bailey. veterans of the battle of the bulge. darlene baker. charles able. woundedwalker williams. reserve officers association. tim moon. association of the united states navy. ladies and gentlemen please join me in recognizing our veterans national leadership with your applause. [applause] it is my pleasure to introduce our host. the military order of