BAKERSFIELD, Calif. — A lawsuit filed last month against a popular dating app claims a 26-year-old Bakersfield attorney was murdered by a man he met through the app.
According to court documents, Marcos Vargas was found lying nude and covered in blood outside of the Golden Valley Luxury Apartment complex on November 29, 2017. About four months later, investigators were able to make a connection in the homicide of Vargas that led them to 19-year-old Nicholas Charley Quintana. Investigators said they had previously requested data from the MeetMe App, which revealed that Vargas had messaged "21 subjects the nights leading up to his homicide."
The plaintiff in the lawsuit against MeetMeApp is Vargas' mother, Blanca Vargas, who filed the complaint for damages such as negligence, personal injury to descendant, wrongful death, survivor action, false advertising and fraud. Vargas claimed that Quintana used the MeetMe App, to "carry out hate crimes along with other illegal activities" and the app "failed to screen and perform sufficient background checks investigating criminal history of users like Quintana.
The lawsuit said that Vargas is seeking damages that would be determined in court along with past and future medical expenses and funeral costs.
The Washington Post reported that the app company has been the subject of lawsuits for allegedly enabling sexual predators to target minors.
According to court records, Quintana faces felony charges including first-degree murder. His trial date is scheduled for January 6.
