On April 28th, 2010, James Sanders was fatally shot in Edgewood, Washington while showing a diamond ring that was listed for sale on Craigslist.
Three men and a woman went to James' house to inspect a diamond ring offered for sale on Craigslist. The suspects said by telephone that the ring was sought for a Mother's Day gift for a mother-in-law. The family was detained. When the suspects started to beat one of the children, the elder Sanders intervened and was fatally shot.
Based on tracing emailed information, four suspects were sought, Clabon Berniard, Joshua Reese, Kiyoshi Higashi, and Amanda Knight. Three were later apprehended near San Fransisco, California after they were found driving without a front licence plate and a gun was found. Amanda paid bail and was released before the suspects were linked with the crime. The suspects were featured on the America's Most Wanted television show. Amanda later surrendered to police. Clabon also surrendered to police in Washington state. In court, they were charged with one count of first degree murder, two counts of robbery, two counts of assault, and one count of burglary. The suspects wept in court and entered not guilty pleas. The ring was later retrieved at a San Francisco pawn shop.
The four suspects were thought to be involved with a robbery after answering another Craigslist advertisement. Amanda was seen on video allegedly pawning items obtained during a Craigslist robbery in Lake Stevens, Washington.
The wife of James gave several interviews to the news media. She said that she "forgave" the arrested suspects. Kiyoshi's father attended the funeral and expressed regret as well as noting that his son will probably spend the rest of his life in prison.
Subsequent to the killing, Craigslist posted additional warnings to their website. Craigslist related murders have received much publicity with the media warning of the dangers of contact after online encounters.
The four suspects were held on $2 million bail.
In 2011, all four were convicted of numerous crimes, including first degree murder, and received sentences of 71 to 124 years in prison.