D&D Stabbing Murders

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A man in Montgomery County, Pa. (US) has alread been charged with three accounts of murder and is going to be charged with another one back from 1999. The crime was committed by stabbing the victims to death. The District Attorney believes there might be a connection between the stabbing murders and the Dungeons & Dragons game that the accused played in his circle of acquaintances to which the victims also belonged. Here's a snip:

Castor (below right) says the motive appears to be jealousy, but they are also looking into some sort of connection with the fantasy role-playing game ”Dungeons and Dragons”:

"I mean, you have many, many stab wounds and those 'Dungeons and Dragons' fantasy games involve swords and knives and daggers and things of that nature. There may be a connection but I can’t say for sure.”

He says it appears they were all part of the same circle of acquaintances. Castor hopes to prosecute all four murders at one time, and says he will seek the death penalty for Eichinger.

Read the whole thing at KYW Newsradio.

 

I say it depends on his state of mind - If he thought they were orcs when he stabbed them, who can blame him?

But seriously...Uggh! Yet another DnD smear campaign. It could easily have been the kid was a stupid jackass...

 

I hear that that kid also watched TV. I think TV should be banned as it was obviously a contributing factor.

 

I also hear that the kid has been known to breathe before, after and during the murder. Breathing therefore is obviously linked to the motive. Breathing should be banned also.

 

Where there any signs of backstabs and if yes, did they dual or triple damage? That way we could easily determine the man's class and even his level. Furthermore we know his gender and race already, and his alignment must be something evil. We should also check whether the wounds have some elemental, poison or magical damage, to determine the kind of weapon used. After that we check the background of the victims, where they part of an hated organisation? (Zhents or Harpers or something?) Was there a bounty on their heads? Did they study necromancy or where they trying to set up a new thieves guild? Maybe they were even evil clerics or in some kind of cult. that brings us to a new field of research, could the stabbing have been ceremonial to appease some kind of demon?


I hope the found connection with d&d will give some really helpful new insights in this disgusting murder case

 

Well, maybe they were his racial enemies. That would explain poor reaction rolls.

 

He used the same knife for these three recent murders as he did for one from 1999. Must be his proficient weapon.

Note: This is happening right in my backyard, practically, so there's sure to be lots of local news coverage. I'll be sure to update whatever D&D-related tidbits that crop up, if Chev doesn't find them first.

 

Hmmph...playing an assassin obviously. Anyone but rogues and mages spending a proficiency slot on daggers would be a waste.


Edit: That was weird. I checked the topic and only saw Chev's initial post but when I hit "submit" then all the other replies appeared.

Now I feel stupid.

 

Did you see the picture of this guy? I thought it was some kid - this guy looks forty!! I also love the DA's quote, it's almost as is he had nothing really to say about the nature of the murders, so he threw DnD in there for shock value.

You can see both dinguses here.

 

This is about young drivers and car racing video games in Australia: click here

 

This happened very near me. The man sure doesn't look like a teenager. Mid-life crises?

 

Perhaps he didn't level up for too long.

 

Very weird, Chevalier. If the allegations are true, he certainly took role-playing to a dimension beyond fantasy. I wouldn't be all that surprised if it were true. Anyone who's played in a really good game knows how intense feelings can get, and how the lines can sometimes become a little blurred: it's not your character; it's you. Bridge is a much more sedate game played around a table and there have been at least a half dozen murders connected with it, including a famous one where a woman shot her husband for going down in a doubled contract. (Expert analysis revealed she had overbid.) The game is only a trigger (so to speak) and there are surely other factors involved in all of these cases. But it's more sensational to let the game take the "credit".

 

Agreed, people really could take it this far in the wrong circumstances. I thought it only mattered for roleplayed romance and sex for people married to someone else with children. Or for thinking someone really is a member of a class or has some stats in real life. But this is really far.

 

@ Cernak:

Agreed - it's much easier to blame something else. After all, banning something will solve the problem... really, it will! In the wise words of Bender, about discipline and TV dictating acceptable behaviour:

"Have you ever tried turning off the TV, sitting down with your kids, and hitting them?"

Even if he's living his gimmick, the problem is this guy, not the game. The prosecutor may have unwittingly given this guy some grounds for an insanity plea/defence by tying it to D&D.

@ Chev:

Yeah, level-squatting can do strange things to a person. I'm going a bit nuts waiting to multi-class from Student (7) to Public Servant (3)... better put me under observation!

I'd agree with the Australian young drivers link; it's "fully sick, mate" to be cruising around in a hotted-up late-model ute "wiv a six-speaka stereo an' a sub-woofa!" Must be why I try to walk everywhere and get told I drive like a grandmother despite never going much below the speed limit.

 

NonSequitor: Insanity defense: "I was sure I could Resurrect them."

Chevalier: You should consider moving this thread to AoDA. It deserves a wider audience.

[ April 01, 2005, 10:09: Message edited by: Cernak ]

 

Is the DA up for some election in a public office?
I can see why he is mouthing off then, he needs issues.

 

Maybe this will shut up the people who think guns are the cause for everything evil and violent.