Ohio brothers sue Reddit user who accused them of the murder of Brian Shaffer
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Two central Ohio brothers have filed a civil suit against an anonymous Reddit user who they say has defamed them and wrongly accused them of being killers.
Matthew and Brian Osowski filed the lawsuit Monday in Franklin County Common Pleas Court against the Reddit user "QueeenBeeeee." The person behind the handle, who has not been identified, is listed on the court documents as "Jane Doe."
Matthew Osowski lives in Licking County and his brother, Brian, lives in Franklin County, according to court records.
Reddit is a social media platform that allows users to post and interact anonymously through handles about topics of their choosing.
According to the lawsuit, QueeenBeeeee has made comments in public Reddit threads calling the brothers "psychopath serial killers" and accused them of being involved in several homicides and missing person cases.
In a statement provided to The Dispatch on Monday, the attorneys for the brothers said they have no idea who the anonymous poster is.
"They had no involvement with any of the crimes mentioned in this person's posts. They had no contact with the victims of the crimes," the statement says. "The Osowskis have families and jobs and the wild, unsupportable allegations in the postings are irresponsible. The Osowskis are pursuing the matter legally to put a stop to this false and unscrupulous behavior."
The Dispatch reached out Monday to the QueeenBeeeee account on Reddit. The account replied, "We will get in touch," and that "we" would also be writing a story without providing details of who is behind the account.
The lawsuit says the Reddit handle was created in April 2022 and the comments were posted shortly after.
The comments have accused the brothers, particularly Matthew Osowski, of being involved in the 2005 murder of 20-year-old Julie Popovich. In 2007, Adam Saleh was convicted at trial in Popovich's death and is currently serving a life sentence without the possibility of parole for 38 years.
At the time, a woman who had been making comments, including to law enforcement, about Matthew Osowski's involvement was sent a cease-and-desist letter by the same attorneys who filed Monday's lawsuit. That woman died in 2021, according to the lawsuit.
Many of QueeenBeeeee's comments have been posted in a subreddit, or a designated forum, for commentary on the disappearance of Brian Shaffer. Other posts have been made in forums focused on true crime or unsolved murders.
In one comment thread from two months ago, QueeenBeeeee says Matthew Osowski will not file a lawsuit.
The comments, some of which The Dispatch has observed, include information about the brothers' personal lives and where they work and live, as well as images of the cease-and-desist letter.
QueeenBeeeee has also posted allegations that the Osowski brothers were involved in Shaffer's disappearance, along with several other high-profile disappearances, such as Tyler Davis and Joey LaBute. LaBute's body was found in March 2016 in the Scioto River with no water in his lungs.
Neither Osowski brother has been charged with any crime, according to a search of publicly accessible databases.
The lawsuit filed Monday seeks retractions of the postings and a court order barring the person behind the QueeenBeeeee account from publicly posting any allegations. The brothers are also asking for a judge to find that the accusations are factually false and without any basis.
In addition, the Osowski brothers are also seeking monetary damages of more than $25,000 and unspecified compensatory damages.
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Ohio brothers sue anonymous Reddit user for accusing them of murder
