Veteran Turns to Craigslist to Try and Buy a Christmas Present -- These Are the Two Men Cops Say Made It the Last Thing He Ever Did

National Guard Sergeant First Class Jim Vester from Indianapolis was killed last week while trying to complete a Craigslist transaction for an iPad that appears to have been a setup.

Jim Vester was murdered after a Craigslist transaction for an iPad turned out to be a hoax. (Image source: WISH-TV)

Police were later able to apprehend suspects in the case through phone records and witness reports, but WISH-TV gives the eerie timeline of how Wednesday afternoon ended in tragedy for the child and wife Vester left behind:

Phone records show at 3:05 p.m., Vester texted "Can I get your address"

At 3:14, the suspects responded, "920 Wyckford Dr"

Then four minutes later, the suspects texted, "tell me wen your getting close so I can direct you."

Then at 3:49pm Vester says, "are you here?"

The return text was immediate, "yes."

Five minutes later Jim Vester was shot and killed.

The iPad was meant to be a Christmas gift for Vester's parents, CNN reported.

Tryon Kincade and Tyshaune Kincade, 19 and 18 years old, respectively, were arrested Friday as suspects in the murder. WISH reported that police think this is likely not their first Craigslist con. The pair have have a history of arrests and run-ins with police, according to The Indianapolis Star.

WISH reported that the brothers denied owning phones that police used as evidence to arrest them, but authorities still believed they had enough to charge them with two counts of murder and one count of robbery. A couple pieces of this evidence included the boy's mother saying her handgun was missing and a number on the mother's phone for her son, Tryon, matched the number Vester was texting.

Tyshaune Kincade and Tyron Kincade were arrested as suspects in the murder. (Image source: Indianapolis Metro Police Department via New York Daily News)

Watch WXIN-TV's report about the brothers' initial hearing Tuesday:

The 32-year-old member of the National Guard had served one tour in Iraq. He recently started a job as a military mechanic, according to the Star.

“He wanted to be a good husband and father his entire life,” Sarah Hill, a family friend, told the newspaper. “Jim is one of those guys who is just a really genuinely good guy who loved being a dad.”

The Vester family had this picture taken around their son's first birthday. (Image source: YouCaring)

Jamie Vester, Jim's wife, recently posted her thoughts on Facebook:

Thank you to everyone who has been helping myself and Gavin out this past week, and for all of the help I know we are receiving in the future from family, friends, military, strangers, and the photography community. I am beyond grateful for the kindness and generosity everyone has shown myself and Gavin. I also want to give a personal thank you to Jamie Grossman who was the Funeral Director of Flanner and Buchanan; she has such a big hand in making the viewing and funeral services beautiful. I also want to thank Sarah Hill for taking photos during the events yesterday at my request. She did a beautiful job capturing the moments that I want to remember and for Gavin to see when he is older. Gavin will always know how loved his father was and how much he loved Gavin.

[…]

I am so happy his story has went viral worldwide so maybe people will think twice about trying to run a scam/robbery/murder through Craigslist or any other site. I want to focus on all of the good Jim brought to this world and not focus on the people who did this to him please. God has given me more strength in this situation than I ever thought was possible. This past Friday a rainbow was in the sky and my sister sent it to me; she said it wasn't raining or anything just there in the sky. I know it was Jim saying he was at peace now. God works in mysterious ways.

A fundraising page was established for Vester's wife Jamie and 1-year-old son Gavin. Its goal is to raise $100,000, and after only eight days in the 30-day funding period, it already surpassed $78,000.

(H/T: Daily Mail)

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