Woman Murdered after Man Tricks Her with Lost Puppy Ruse

/in /by

This entire post is brutal and for some, hard to read. But if there is a woman or girl in your life that might benefit from being freaked out, read it, forward and share it.

We’ve all heard about the man approaching a child, showing her a picture of his “lost” puppy, asking the child to help him look for “Truman” or “Roxie.” The child goes off with the predator – never again seen alive.

You’d think that no ADULT could ever fall for this scheme. But at least one woman, 36, did. Now maybe Kimra Riley, mother of a toddler, had never heard of the lost puppy ruse.

But according to ID Channel’s “Swamp Murders: A Dark Place to Die,” there were several blaring red flags that Rodney O’Neal Hocker was a predator.

  • Take note of these red flags.
  • Teach them to your kids.
  • Teach them to YOURSELF!

In March 1996, Kimra’s decomposed body was discovered near the shore of the Tennessee River after being reported missing two months prior. Tied to the body were bricks. An autopsy revealed that she had been alive when forced into the water; she had drowned.

Lost Puppy Trick

The docudrama depicts Kimra telling her boyfriend she was headed to the Bama Club to meet a female friend. There, she ran into Rodney, who recognized her as his server at a diner several days prior.

After small-talk, he asked if she wanted to see his puppy which was in his truck outside.

  • RED FLAG: What adult asks a stranger in a building to come outside to see his puppy?
  • When in doubt: Ask yourself if it’s easy to imagine the man asking another man if he’d like to see this puppy!
  • What to do: Tell the stranger to bring the puppy inside “so everyone can see it.”

Kimra went to the parking lot with Rodney. Rodney, 27, said the puppy had escaped the back of his pickup truck. He asked if she’d like to get in his vehicle to help look for the alleged yellow lab.

  • RED FLAG: The man immediately wants to drive around to search for the puppy. If a puppy jumps out of a parked vehicle, the first place to look is the parking lot, on foot! A puppy won’t get far!
  • What to do: Run back inside the building. Never mind hurting the stranger’s feelings.

Once Kimra was in the truck, her fate was sealed. He stopped the vehicle, came onto her; she resisted. The investigation determined he had rammed her head into the windshield, incapacitating her. Sexual assault was suspected because her body had on only a shirt, but was too decomposed for a rape kit.

If You Love Puppies…

  • Don’t ever go off with ANYONE to see an unseen
  • Tell the suspicious individual that you get enough puppy fixes with your neighbors’ dogs.

Robert Siciliano personal security and identity theft expert and speaker is the author of Identity Theft Privacy: Security Protection and Fraud Prevention: Your Guide to Protecting Yourself from Identity Theft and Computer Fraud. See him knock’em dead in this Security Awareness Training video.