'Monkeyman935' State Police Warning
Netlore Archive: Beware the Monkeyman! Internet scare story dating from 2000 devolves into a name-substitution game for pranksters
Description: Email hoax
Circulating since: Oct 2002 (this version)
Status: False
Email example contributed by an AOL user, Oct. 17, 2002:
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WARNING FROM THE STATE POLICE PLEASE READ THIS Subject: WARNING From STATE POLICE (not a joke) State police warning for online: Please read this "very carefully"...then send it out to all the people online that you know. Something like this is nothing to take casually; this is something you DO want to pay attention to. Think of it as a bit of advice too. If a person with the screen-name of Monkeyman935 contacts you, do not reply. DO not talk to this person; do not answer any of his/her instant Messages or e-mail. Whoever this person may be, he/she is a suspect for murder in the death of 56 women (so far) contacted through the Internet. Please send this to all the women on your buddy list and ask them to pass this on, as well. This screen-name was seen on Yahoo, AOL, AIM, and Excite, so far. This is not a joke! Please send this to men too...just in case! Send to everyone you know! Ladies, this is serious. |
Comments: False. This email hoax originated in 2000 as the partly-true Slavemaster warning, which has since devolved into a name-substitution game for online pranksters.
The text above is virtually identical to variants circulating since 2000, except the screen name "Slavemaster" has been replaced with "Monkeyman935."
"Slavemaster" was the online moniker of real-life Internet stalker John E. Robinson, who was charged in June 2000 with the murders of five women he met in chat rooms. Ultimately, Robinson was named as a suspect in six more killings - for a total of 11 possible victims, not 56 as claimed in the email - but he has not been in a position to threaten society since his incarceration six years ago. In October 2002 a jury found Robinson guilty of three of the murders, and he will eventually face trial for three more.
The earliest "Slavemaster" warnings began circulating around the same time Robinson was first arrested and have never stopped, though they have gone through several variations. In a 2001 variant that appeared prior to "Monkeyman935," the name "SweetCaliGuy4evr" was used. "Monkeyman935" replaced "SweetCaliGuy4ever" in 2002 and that version has circulated ever since.
Update: A variant appeared in May 2006 in which the screen names "jokerkid613 / Ja$on MoNeY" have been substituted for previous names. More...
Update: A variant appeared in September 2006 in which the screen names "Rockhard abs / Jason Stallings" have been substituted for previous names. More...
Variants of the Slavemaster hoax:
SweetCaliGuy4ever Warning - 2001 Variant
From March 2001Slavemaster Warning - 2001 Variant #2
From March 2001Slavemaster Warning - 2001 Variant #3
From August 2001Jokerkid613 / Ja$on MoNey Warning - 2006 Variant
From May 2006Rockhard Abs / Jason Stallings Warning
From September 2006
Man Charged with 'Barrel Murders
BBC News, June 13, 2000First Website Killer Trial Starts
The Register, June 25, 2000Internet 'Slavemaster' Murder Trial
From CourtTV.com
Current Hoaxes / Netlore
The Urban Legends Top 25
Last updated: 06/20/06
