Police: Man posed as wife on Craigslist in attempt to frame her for murder

Becky Metrick | (Chambersburg, Pa.) Public Opinion

CHAMBERSBURG, Pa. — A Pennsylvania man posed as his estranged wife on Craigslist in an attempt to frame her for his own murder, authorities say.

Christian Koelsch, 30, of Washington Township was sentenced to up to 23 months in jail after he pleaded guilty to false reports Wednesday. That will run concurrent to a sentence he previously received on a simple assault conviction.

The conviction stems from a domestic violence incident he wrote about in the Craigslist advertisement in which he posed as his wife, requesting someone to help "her" "take care of" her ex-husband, even if it meant killing him.

Police determined Koelsch was behind the advertisement after Craigslist provided information about the ad and the account that created it. That information allowed police to determine Koelsch created the ad.

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In the advertisement, Koelsch, posing as his wife, wrote that "most recently he took an argument father (sic) than ever when he beat me and abused me," according to court documents.

On the simple assault charge, Koelsch had originally been sentenced to probation. But gaining the new charge violated his probation, and he was resentenced on July 26 to spend between four and 19 months in Franklin County Jail and six months on probation.

Koelsch is prohibited from having contact with his estranged wife, and has been ordered to complete domestic violence treatment.