Daniel Tejada answered that ad, set up an appointment with her, then came to her house and strangled her to death.

Then in July, another sex worker who advertised on Backpage, Sanisha Johnson, 34, was shot and killed in a Massachusetts hotel by two men who were allegedly soliciting the services of prostitutes, then robbing them at gunpoint.

Pressured by law enforcement officials, credit card behemoths Visa, MasterCard, and American Express have since ceased doing business with Backpage entirely, leaving bitcoin, and mailing in cash, checks, and money orders as the site's only payment options.

Advertising online is an important tool for many sex workers as it places the barriers of space and time between the worker and the potential client, allowing the sex worker to negotiate from the safety of a phone or computer, rather than on the street.