INTERNET ADVERTISEMENT DATE WITH A KILLER

HOW THE SEARCH FOR LOVE ENDED IN TRAGEDY

When young single mum, Nicole White, met Jonathan Harris online, she thought she had found just the man she was looking for: cool, strong and rugged.

There was no reason why, when the first date went well, Nicole from Pierce County, Washington, wouldn’t want to meet John a second time.

And their evening got off to a great start: “Nicole was in a great mood, she seemed to be having fun and was excited to be out on a second date with John,” says Matt Martino, a bouncer at Jeepers Bar where they had gone. “It seemed like it was going to be a great night for them.”

At closing time Matt even gave Nicole a hug and shook John’s hand, telling them both to have a great night and stay safe: “I think my exact words were ‘be good, or be good at it’,” he adds.

But the rest of the evening went differently from what Nicole had planned…

Her story features in a new Really documentary series, Swipe Right For Murder.

Each episode follows a murder case in which the victim met their murderer on an internet dating site. Key interviews take viewers through the twists and turns, while police footage and reconstructions tell of the dramatic events to catch their killers.

And it highlights the dangers of internet dating.

In the UK alone, crime linked to online dating has risen by 382% in the last five years. There is a dark side to the web that many of us remain unaware of – but others find out only too well.

And when Nicole hadn’t arrived home, concern was raised.

Nicole’s sister Melissa Nieto tells the programme: “I found out Nicole was missing around 7-8 O’Clock in the morning when she didn’t drop her son off to me and her best friend called to ask if I had seen or talked to Nicole as she hadn’t come home.

Friends and family knew she wouldn’t have missed work or left her boys. “Her boys were everything to her. Her whole life was about her boys,” says mum Jill Nichols. She reported Nicole missing to police and a search was launched.

Jonathan Harris denied any involvement in her disappearance and, with no signs of Nicole, police had little to arrest him for. But was he the man she had thought he was?

On the night of her second date with John, Matt Martino reveals: “A girl he was seeing previously had showed up with her new boyfriend and that kind of put John into a bad mood, I think because he still had feelings for her but she didn’t have feelings for him.”

Later that night, adds Matt, John had been sitting in the back yard of the bar ‘stewing’ and ‘mad’ and had smashed a beer bottle in a ‘fit of rage or anger’.

Did Nicole discover the real Jonathan Harris and what he was really like…?

Nicole’s sister, Melissa Nieto: I know Nicole was involved in online dating. I told her a lot of negative things and lectured her about it. I told her it was dangerous, you don’t know who you’re dealing with or if it’s even that person.

Nicole’s best friend, Kari Webb: Nicole said she was going to go back out to meet with John… she was like ‘come on, please go, please go, I don’t want to go by myself…’ and I just kept saying ‘not tonight, no, next time, next time’.

Harris’ friend, Matt Martino: I had known John 10 years, we were both bouncers and shared the same interests. I know John used Plenty Of Fish, I think he used Tinder. He was a good-looking guy. Women felt safe around him.

Nicole’s mum, Jill Nichols: Nicole told me about this guy John who she had just met. He looked like a normal, nice guy, someone I could trust.

Det. Sgt. John Delgado, Pierce County Sheriff ’s Dept: I only had one suspect but I always try to avoid getting tunnel vision and just focusing solely on one person, but everything was leading towards one person.