AKRON, Ohio --

A self-styled chaplain suspected in a deadly Craigslist robbery scheme in Ohio has pleaded not guilty to charges including aggravated murder and kidnapping.


An attorney for 52-year old Richard Beasley entered the plea Wednesday on his behalf. Beasley is accused of killing three men and wounding a fourth.


Beasley hid his face in his arms during his arraignment by video hookup from jail. He asked about news cameras in the Akron courtroom and said he worried that showing his face might contaminate the jury pool.


Prosecutors said the victims of the alleged plot were lured with a Craigslist job ad.


Beasley was indicted on 27 counts and could face the death penalty if convicted. He denied involvement in the killings.


A 16-year-old boy also charged in the case, Brogan Rafferty, has also pleaded not guilty.


Last fall, police said as many as three people were killed and another wounded after they were lured to Noble County with the prospect of landing jobs doing farm work, then tricked into going to a rural area with men who intended to kill them.


Sheriff Stephen Hannum said a South Carolina man told police that he responded to a local job listing on Craigslist. When he came to town for the work, two men picked him up and said they were going to drive him to the project, but then started shooting at him.



That investigation led officers to the body of a man buried in a shallow grave in a wooded area along a road about 10 miles outside of Caldwell. A death certificate showed the victim, 51-year-old David Pauley, of Norfolk, Va., died of a gunshot wound to the head.


Next, the body of 47-year-old Timothy Kern of Massillon, Ohio, was found in a shallow grave near an Akron mall. Police said Kern also answered a Craigslist ad connected to Noble County. The Summit County medical examiner said Kern died from gunshot wounds to the head.



Soon after Kern's body was discovered, the Noble County Sheriff's Office said the body of Ralph Geiger was found in Stock Township. Geiger had also been buried in a shallow grave.


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