Man charged in serial killer hoax

ATLANTA --- A man who authorities say disrupted investigations into the disappearances of two women by posing as the killer of 16 people in an online video under the moniker "catchmekiller" has been indicted by a northeast Georgia grand jury.

Andrew Scott Haley, 26, of Gainesville, was charged Tuesday in Hall County with evidence tampering and making false statements, the district attorney's office said.

In a video posted on YouTube in February, a man whose face was digitally obscured claimed to have killed 16 people and threatened to kill one more, said Gary Rothwell, a Georgia Bureau of Investigation agent.

Georgia laws do not specifically address Internet hoaxes. District Attorney Lee Darragh would not explain the charges because the case is pending.

He said a warrant had been issued for Mr. Haley, who was not in custody Wednesday. In a telephone call to a number listed for him, a woman who identified herself as his mother-in-law said he was working and not available.

The woman, who declined to give her name, said the investigation into what started out as a game was "absolutely childish" and "a waste of taxpayer money." She said Mr. Haley could have explained that the video wasn't meant to harm anyone.

To Drew Kesse of Bradenton, Fla., whose daughter has been missing more than three years, it was personal. A link to the "catchmekiller" video was posted on a Web site devoted to the search for Jennifer Kesse. "He should be prosecuted," he said. "You can't screw with people's lives."