Death by dating app: Woman says she killed man she met on Farmers Only site
While there used to be a stigma around meeting your spouse online, recent polls suggest the practice has become the norm. Even as far back as 2013, some statistics suggest that one-third of married couples met online.
Dating services have been around for years. “Happy Families Planning Services” launched in 1959. The creators used a questionnaire and an IBM 650 to match 49 men and 49 women. Then, the newspaper personal ad cropped up. Naturally, with the introduction of the internet, people started to try to find true love online.
Over the years, more niche dating services have appeared. In 1995, Match.com launched. JDate, a site for Jewish individuals, was founded in 1997, followed in 2000 by eHarmony, which is dedicated to creating long-term relationships. In 2002, Ashley Madison, a website dedicated to helping members cheat on their spouse, made its debut.
FarmersOnly.com launched in 2005 on the premise that “city folks just don’t get it.” If you live in a rural area, you have probably seen its ad featuring the catchy jingle: “You don’t have to be lonely at FarmersOnly.com.”
However, one couple who met on the site didn’t have such a happy ending.
Sheri Williams Jones, 57, turned herself in on Monday at the Cumberland County Detention Center for the alleged murder of 61-year-old Clarence Smith in 2015.
The two had met on Farmers Only.
The two dated for several months before their breakup.
After she called her ex-boyfriend to pick up his belongings, Jones called 911 and said she had fired a gun at Smith. When police arrived, Smith was “lying in the front yard motionless.”
In a press release, the sheriff said, “Jones said she is the one who shot him; it was self-defense.”
The sheriff’s office did not say why it took her three years to be charged and turn herself in.
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