*The totally unnecessary death of 15-year-old Sabriya McLean proves, once again, that hooking up with someone you met online — especial without any thorough investigation — is a bad idea. The teen was stabbed 80 times before she was set on fire by Cole Swaringer-Herring, a 23-year-old man she met on Facebook.
The man confessed what he had done to his parents, who then contacted police.
McLean, who is from Delaware, reportedly went to Philadelphia to meet Swaringer-Herring.
She had turned 15 only weeks earlier.
Police found the victim’s remains were found under a pile of leaves, but no motive was revealed by the killer.
Police looked into the background of Swaringer-Herring, and learned he had “several run ins with police,” according to an article in Essence Magazine, who reports that court documents reveal he has faced robbery, terrorist threats, simple assault and reckless endangerment charges over the years.
“It’s extremely unfortunate given her age and what happened,” said Capt. Jack Ryan. “It was a very violent act so we’re looking at him in connection to some other possible cases that we’ve had.”
It’s unclear how long McLean was away from home, but her parents had reportedly placed a missing person’s report with police earlier in the week.
As it stands, Swaringer-Herring sits in a Philadelphia jail without the option of bail. He is charged with murder, arson, abuse of a corpse and related offenses.
