When Salem police Officer Greg Smith saw the message, he responded, and soon enough, the apparent 19-year-old female wrote back: “Kill my ex fiance He’s trying to get custody of our daughter.”
Yet, as Smith unraveled the case, he learned the poster was not a 19-year-old female. It was the ex himself — and now that man has been charged in what court documents say was a suicide attempt.
Smith saw the post on Oct. 22. Over the next few days, he and the man — then posing as his ex-girlfriend — messaged back and forth.