Jury Selection Begins In Alleged South Jersey Craigslist Murder

By JUSTIN HEINZE (Patch Staff)

Jury selection has begun in the Philadelphia murder trial of a Willow Grove man who allegedly used Craigslist to lure and rob victims, the Philadelphia Inquirer reports.

Thomas Coffee, 23, allegedly lured multiple victims by posting an ad for an all-terrain vehicle on Craiglist, and then robbed them at gunpoint.

One of those incidents allegedly ended in the murder of Daniel Cook, 27, from Williamstown, New Jersey.

Cook answered an Craigslist ad for a dirtbike on June 26, and met Coffee on that Friday night in the area of East Walnut Lane in Philadelphia, police said.

Friends that were with Cook said that he got out of his car and walked down the street to meet Coffee, and they lost sight of him.

Witnesses in the area later told police they soon heard gunshots.

A 911 call was placed at about 11:14 p.m. that night.

Emergency responders found Cook already dead when they arrived at 11:23 p.m. with gunshot wounds to his face and ankle.

Coffee, of the 1900 block of Lukens Avenue in Abington, which is a Willow Grove mailing address, was traced all the way back to his home by detectives.

Court records show Coffee pled guilty to robbery and possession of an instrument of crime in 2010, according to NBC Philadelphia.