She Deserved Better

A Shocking True Crime Story of a Craigslist Predator

He wasn’t looking for love.
He was looking for control.

Craigslist gave him exactly what he wanted.

When eighteen-year-old Brooke crossed paths with a man known online as “Hard Mike,” it wasn’t romance, curiosity, or recklessness that brought them together. It was opportunity—and a predator who recognized it instantly.

What began as a casual online exchange quickly turned into something far more dangerous. Behind the anonymity of Craigslist, a thirty-one-year-old man with a growing appetite for domination discovered how easily the internet could be used to hunt. Each interaction pushed him further, emboldening his fantasies and sharpening his need for control.

Brooke was eight months pregnant. Vulnerable. Isolated. And tragically visible to the wrong person at exactly the wrong time.

She Deserved Better is the true story of how a predator escalated—how online anonymity stripped away restraint, how boundaries disappeared, and how one man’s desires evolved into lethal violence. This is not a story about bad choices or internet mistakes. It is a case study in how predators adapt, test limits, and ultimately act.

Unflinching and meticulously told, this shocking true crime account exposes the mechanics of modern predation—where technology doesn’t create evil, but makes it easier to hide.

A devastating real-life story of exploitation, escalation, and a woman who paid the ultimate price.

This book is also included in the Hookups To Die For: Shocking True Crime Stories collection.