In a bit of a surprise move, Brogan Rafferty took the stand on his own murder trial on Tuesday, testifying to his role in the Craigslist killings, which left three people dead, and another man injured.

The Stow teenager testified that his mentor, Richard Beasley, made him dig holes for the murder victims, when he thought they were for him instead. Rafferty told the court he went along with whatever Beasley wanted because Beasley threatened to kill his mother and sister, and Rafferty had no idea there was a phony Craigslist job ad designed to lure in unsuspecting victims.

When the first murder occurred, with Ralph Geiger as the victim, Rafferty says he was horrified about what happened. He mentioned that he didn't think Beasley was the same guy he was before. Rafferty told the jury that Beasley would make surprise visits to his house in the days and weeks after the first murder, and kept a close eye on his whereabouts.

Rafferty said he even wrote a poem following Geiger's murder, saying he wasn't sure if it had really happened. If the poem was still there in the morning, that's when Rafferty knew it was real.

Rafferty even considered suicide, but knew that would only aggravate Beasley, and it would leave his family open to harm from him.

With regard to the only surviving victim, Rafferty testified that if he saw the one that got away, that he should run him over with his car. Rafferty said he did not want anyone to die.

The teenager even thought about killing Beasley himself, but couldn't bring himself up to it, saying he would have to tell his family that he killed Beasley. Rafferty told the court he was not a murderer.

Even when Rafferty was confronted at school by Police, the teenager did not believe it when officers told him Beasley was arrested. He said he could not trust anyone, even when he wanted to run for help.

Rafferty is being tried as an adult for his role in the killings. Beasley is set to go to trial early next year.

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(previous coverage)Brogan Rafferty took the stand in his own murder trial today, saying the whole craigslist scheme was his mentor's idea.

The Stow teenager told the court that he was scared for his own life, and thought the holes he was digging for the murder victims were intended for himself. Rafferty said he didn't tell someone or police about the murders because he didn't think anyone would believe him, or he thought Richard Beasley would kill him or his family. Rafferty said he was horrified by the killings, and even contemplated suicide.

...More To Come.