Police detectives in Seattle, Washington are exploring Dungeons and Dragons and video games as potential motives for a brutal rape and slaying.
On Aug 17, aptly named 18 year old Tyler Savage reportedly strangled and raped his neighbor, Kimberly "Kimmie" Daily and then dumped her body in a thicket of bushes. Daily was 16 and developmentally disabled.
Savage, who had no previous criminal record, told police that he played Dungeons and Dragons Online after the crime to forget what he had done. Police are looking into the game to see if he was "acting out a violent fantasy from Dungeons and Dragons."
"The defendant admitted some kind of connection between the murder and the video game," Prosecutor Mark Lindquist.said. "I'm not clear at this point what exactly that connection is. The defendant himself said he went to play video games to forget."
Some friends and neighbors of Savage report that he seemed like a "normal" teenager.
"I don't believe he went out onto the streets with the intention of killing somebody. He wasn't that kind of person," said Rusty Sebring, a friend of Savage. "I have no idea what his home life was like or what he could have possibly been going through at this time to have left him in such a mentally unstable state."
While it features plenty of combat, D&D Online isn't a particularly violent video game. It takes place in a fantasy world, and the focus is not on blood and guts, and I'm certain there is no rape in the game. I think detectives are barking up the wrong tree here. Everyone I've ever known who plays Dungeons and Dragons in any form is an upstanding, usually shy person. The opposite of cold-blooded killers.
But the crime itself is so strange -- kid with no record suddenly commits the worst possible crime with no discernible motive -- that it makes sense that investigators are looking into strange motivations here.
Anyway, Savage has been charged with first-degree murder, but has pleaded not guilty. He could be given the death penalty. I imagine as more details become available, we'll find a much less esoteric reason behind the crime, like, say, mental illness.
Source: Seattle PI
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bigmac1812
I am really sick of video games being blamed for the actions of violent people. ust because a murder played world of warcraft all day before he commited his crime does not make it the games fault. These people are obviously unstable and law enforcement is just pointing fingers. I play halo but im not going to shoot my neighbors because i think their aliens. I play gta but im not going to live out the life of nicco bellicc in my own.
thedonyell
Sounds like the police want more funding to play mmo's while on duty and call it work.
waldo12
Im creeped out that I spent a year next to this Kid in Class he was always an odd one......
chantler
I wonder if the teen had gone out to a baseball game instead of playing D&D online would the police be investigating baseball? Maybe if he had hot pocket afterward they would be investigating that as well. This typical with brutal crimes, we all want to point our fingers at something instead of someone. We don't want to believe that people are capable of these things and that some out side force must be responsible for the heinous act. I sorry to spoil everyone's happy rainbow and unicorn filled dream land but people are capable of these things and all one their own.
I like so many of you have played violent video games and watched violent movies and TV my entire life and it did not turn me into a psychopath. If fact the opposite happen, I enjoy being the hero of the day, I like to help others and protecting them. And as a person that has seen real violence and been in a real gun fight, it is nothing like how games and movies portray. Real violence it's dirty, chaotic, and terrifying and you won't like it, not one bit.
NortheastMonk
This guy needed some serious help. D&D has been blamed for demon possession to suicide and now murder. I think it gets a tad weird how comformed some people get to the hobby, but this guy went and screwed up his entire life.
RadicalEd76
Wow its amazing, once again going after things like D&D and games for murder. I find it interesting I'm 34, play games and I have played D&D since I was 7. But odd thing is I've never murdered anyone. I agree with everyone who points out that he played to forget. games are an escape from our mundane world and are there to help us sometimes forget our problems for a little bit at least. So obviously this guy is mental unstable. He's probably had some issues going on in his head and finally like alot of people couldn't cope. Hope to see as this story continues that the game isn't the cause of the issue and look into how his relationships with friends and family went and see if that is the core of this issue
rayken15
Yeah, I think playing the game to "forget" isn't the same as playing the game to "learn how to kill" lol
The_Great_Old_Ones
How is this any different then some killers painting or reading after a murder? I presume murder is stressful so blowing off steam is something any person would have done (sane or not).
Mr.Rager
Wow just really
zenmastersamuraimonk
dude you shouldn't have dunit at 18, now you get to go to big boy prison hope her rape was worth all the rapeings you'll get behind bars, oh and old people should quit whining about those darn vidya games
Bowmanganie
It was his long hair that made him do it, pulling his skull against his brain and caused evil thoughts.
NiqqaWebbz
Why do video games always get the short end of the stick when it comes to this shxt, but hey then again since i play video games i must be a mass murderer bent on killing everyone GTA style right ?
Thogin
Well the police can login and ask his online mmo friends what he was telling them and stuff.
Since he might talk to his CLAN more than the actual police. Reason? Sometimes there doesn't need to be a reason for HST to arise.
We all have the ability to kill it is hardwire within us, it just depends how far you are pushed, some you don't have to push very far. Why does there need to be a reason? Maybe he just wanted to have sex with her since sex is more natural of a feeling than killing to most and then he went oo crap what is someone finds out... and then OO i better kill her... and then ooo crap i did a bad thing...... crap..... D&D online.... my haven..... there solved...
Metalstorm98
guys calm the hell down!... now i know that you guys feel strongly that people are biased against video games... but these cops are trying to do thier jobs and put a horrible person behind bars, or maybe even to death... dont be so concerned that they are looking in to every option... they're looking for a motive, and im sure they'll find one... the fact is that they have to present this in front of a jury, and in order to prove a viscious will they have to show some form of motive, even if there is no obvious one... im against profiling video gmes as much as any of you but im glad these police are looking down every possibility to put this monster away
imanwhowasnotthere
as soon as I read the 2nd paragraph I just stopped caring about humanity. any person who rapes a developmentally disabled person, a child no less, deserves to be eaten alive by mice with aids.
XwingVmanX
"reportedly strangled and raped his neighbor"
Did you just put that in the wrong order or did he rape her dead body??
But not for nothing I go to video games to escape real life drama every now and then. If they want to know why he did it, they should probably look into what kinda of porn he watched lol
drh1975
Of course they'll try to blame videogames, and here's why: Kratos, Master Chief and Mario (among others)can't speak in their own defense. If this sorry excuse for a human being said he'd listened to music afterward, the police would investigate the song/album in question. It's far too easy to blame fictional characters, because we all know this scumbag's family isn't to blame.
Zzanzabar
This happens in a cycle. Every 10 years or so, some psychotic SOB decides to kill someone and either the police (and or news) or the perpetrator ties to tie it to D&D or video games. Whenever up tight idiots see the world 'slipping' away from the way they want it to be they try and pin it on 'those people', video gamers,__________(you fill in the blank).
masterfenix
Not really surprised once again that they decide to look into videogames as a possible scapegoat.
What was really weird...and kinda gives the hint that Police and Politicians only look into Games and not enough Tv show/movies, was the random VIA twitter add on the right from Staff here (in this particular one, Adam) that said "Just watched Law & Order Marathon followed by CSI. I'm pretty sure I can plan the perfect muder."
topgamer101
I honestly can't understand how all these people actually think movies, music, video games, or anything like them could cause idiotic behavior like this.
You'd think logic would dictate if their are millions upon millions playing video games, and one guy kills some one, that maybe......JUST MAYBE......there was something wrong with him.
Crazy I know.
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