Woman Sues Match.com After Being Stabbed and Beaten by Man She Met
A woman in Nevada who was viciously attacked by a man she met on an online dating site is suing the site for $10 million for failing to warn her of potentially dangerous members.
Mary Kay Beckman, 50, accused the popular dating website Match.com of not providing enough security measures and failing to warn other members by providing a false sense of security. Beckman also became aware that the man who attacked her had also previously confessed to killing another woman.
Beckman explained that she met Wade Ridley, 53, in September 2010 on Match.com, but after only eight days she called off the relationship. Several months later, Ridley broke into her garage and waited for her to arrive home before attacking and stabbing her 10 times with a knife. He also proceeded to beat her as she lay on the garage floor before he left.
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Police reports stated that after Ridley was arrested he told investigators that he was mad at Beckman for calling off the relationship and wanted to get back at her. While he was being questioned he confessed to killing another woman. Ridley committed suicide while in custody before he could be tired for his crimes.
While Beckman was the victim of a brutal assault, Match.com issued a statement saying that this is an isolated incident and the website cannot be held responsible.
"What happened to Mary Kay Beckman is horrible but this lawsuit is absurd. The many millions of people who have found love on Match.com and other online dating sites know how fulfilling it is. And while that doesn't make what happened in this case any less awful, this is about a sick, twisted individual with no prior criminal record, not an entire community of men and women looking to meet each other," the statement read.
Match.com's terms of use does state that no criminal background checks are conducted on members and that they cannot be held liable for any injuries related to bodily harm or emotional distress. Match.com also advises users to review their Dating Safety Tips.
