Caught by a Click: How Khalil Wheeler-Weaver Was Exposed as a Serial Killer Through a Dating App

Caught by a Click: How Khalil Wheeler-Weaver Was Exposed as a Serial Killer Through a Dating App

In 2016, Khalil Wheeler-Weaver appeared to be an unremarkable member of his New Jersey community. But behind his shy facade was a dark secret. He preyed on vulnerable women, many dealing with issues like sex work, using social media and dating apps such as Tagged to pick them up, then brutally killed them.

He was finally arrested when one of his victims survived, and the friends of another turned vigilantes. This article details how Wheeler-Weaver was captured, technology’s role in solving the case, and what occurred during his trial and sentencing. It is a chilling reminder of how digital crumbs can lead to the unmasking of hidden evil.

Khalil Wheeler-Weaver’s Double Life

Khalil Wheeler-Weaver resided in an upscale New Jersey neighborhood. He hailed from a family steeped in law enforcement. His stepfather worked as a police detective. At school, Khalil was a loner. He was thought to be quiet, studious, and unremarkable. He worked as a security guard and wanted to join the police after college.

But in 2016, that canny image shattered. Over four months, Khalil sought out women for sex, women he then murdered violently. According to federal documents, it is on that dating app, Tagged, where he’d soon begin connecting with girls as young as 10.

Fake Dating Profile Led To Arrest

The following article refers to the woman who vanished, who the police say went by the name Sarah Butler, a 20-year-old college student, who disappeared in November 2016. Her family reviewed her tagged messages and discovered an exchange with a user named “LilYachtRock.”

He had paid her for sex. Butler’s friends and sister made a fake account, messaged him, and met him at a Panera Bread. There was a police officer to face him. He wasn’t arrested that day, but it was the break detectives sought. Phone data later tracked him to where Butler’s body was found. Hers was the case that became the lynchpin to more.

Victims, Survivors And A Savage History

Authorities quickly tied Wheeler-Weaver to the slayings of three women: Robin West, Joanne Brown, and Sarah Butler. His fourth victim, Tiffany Taylor, survived and was an important witness. The killer’s approach was chillingly similar each time — enticing victims with cash, setting up meetings, and then binding, assaulting, and strangling them.

The majority of the women were unhoused or in precarious situations. Taylor said he raped and choked her in a car, but she escaped by feigning cooperation and getting back to a motel. Her bravery had helped make a case.

He Was Convicted Largely based on Digital Evidence

And phone records were a big part of it. Police could trace Khalil’s location to each spot where crimes were committed. They discovered web searches on his phone, like “homemade poison to kill humans.”

A video clip from his police interview betrayed him as a liar, again and again. Despite using gloves and condoms, tiny DNA traces, such as under Sarah Butler’s fingernails, linked him to the crimes. The digital trail, along with survivor testimony and strong police work, helped build a strong case. In less than two hours, a jury convicted him on all counts in 2019.

The Trial And A Milestone Sentence

At a sentencing in 2021, Judge Mark Ali described Wheeler-Weaver as a sociopath with “absolutely no remorse at all.” The men delivered emotional remarks in the courtroom. Victims’ Families Speak of Their Pain.

“I hope he lives a long time and suffers every night like he made our girls suffer,” said Sarah Butler’s father. Tiffany Taylor explained how her life was altered forever. The judge ordered Khalil to spend 160 years in prison, with the first chance of parole after 140 years, among the most punitive in New Jersey.

New Charges, Even From Behind Bars

Khalil was charged with a fifth homicide — 15-year-old Mawa Doumbia, another of the children’s boyfriends, who disappeared in 2016 — in 2022, while he was already in custody. Her body was discovered in an abandoned house. The pattern was the same.

He had appealed his sentence in 2024, claiming the court should have tried the cases separately, but was turned down. The evidence was huge. Wheeler-Weaver is in a New Jersey prison. His current location is not public. Investigators are also looking into other unsolved cases in which the circumstances are similar, indicating there could be more victims.

FAQs

Who is Khalil Wheeler-Weaver?
A convicted serial killer from New Jersey who killed three women in 2016 and tried to kill a fourth.

How was Khalil Wheeler-Weaver caught?
A friend of one victim tricked him into meeting police by pretending to be a woman on a fake dating app profile. Digital and phone records then connected him to several murders.

Which dating app did he use to ensnare victims?
That man worked the social network and dating site Tagged.

What was his sentence?
He was sentenced to 160 years in prison and will not be eligible for parole until he has served 140 years.

Had anyone survived his assaults?
Yes. Tiffany Taylor survived the attack and testified against him.

Is he linked to more murders?
He is believed to be connected to other unsolved cases and charged with a fifth murder in 2022.

Final Words

Khalil Wheeler-Weaver’s case is a grim reminder of how predators can lurk beneath the surface of our awareness. Thanks to the courage of victims and families and the wise use of technology, justice was done.

This case demonstrates the power of digital footprints and communal effort to stop even the shrewdest criminals. And while nothing can bring back what he’s done, his punishment guarantees he will never hurt anyone else.