LAS VEGAS (AP) - A Las Vegas woman is suing an online dating service for nearly $10 million, claiming it set her up with a man who brutally attacked her.
In her lawsuit filed Friday in U.S. District Court in Las Vegas, Mary Kay Beckman accuses Match.com of failing to disclose the dangers of online dating.
"I do not believe that online dating is a safe venue for men or women," she told KLAS-TV.
Company officials didn't immediately return phone calls.
Beckman, a real estate agent, broke off her relationship with Wade Ridley after being matched with him in September 2010 and only knowing him for eight days. At the time, she was 49 and Ridley was 53.
Ridley acknowledged to police that he hid in Beckman's garage in January 2011 and stabbed her 10 times with a knife until it broke, then stomped on her head and neck. He also confessed to police that he was in a rage over his Match.com dates with Beckman that didn't work out.
Ridley pleaded an equivalent of no contest in Clark County District Court to attempted murder and armed robbery in the attack and was sentenced to up to 70 years in prison, where he died last year.
In February 2011, he also was arrested in the slaying of Anne Simenson, 62, who was killed with a butcher knife at her Phoenix home.
Attorney Marc Saggese, who represents Beckman, said Match.com is "absolutely not safe."
"The basis of the lawsuit is the advertising that is utilized by Match.com, lulling women and men into a false sense of security," he told KLAS.
Match.com posts a list of safety tips when an online relationship goes offline, including telling a friend and meeting in public.
The dating website is owned by IAC/InterActive Corp.
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