Matthew Pyke
Matthew Pyke of Stowmarket, Suffolk was a British student who had resided in Nottingham since 2006 with his girlfriend Joanna Witton. He was murdered by David Heiss from Limburg, Germany on 19 September 2008[1][2] after Heiss persistently stalked Witton. Pyke and Witton were administrators on the Advance Wars fansite Wars Central,[3] where Heiss was a registered user under the screen name "Eagle_the_Lightning".[4]
David Heiss developed an obsessive infatuation with Witton, and travelled to Nottingham both in June and August 2008 to meet Witton and Pyke in person. As Heiss didn't have a hotel reservation, he stayed one night at the apartment of Pyke and Witton.[5] After being admonished and rebuffed by Witton, Heiss travelled to Britain two more times, and met with Matthew and girlfriend. During his last visit to the UK, on the morning of September 19, 2008, Heiss proceeded to kill Matthew Pyke after stabbing him 86 times as the latter opened the door. He was found by his girlfriend Witton later that day. Heiss was arrested at his home in Limburg on 24 September 2008, and in May 2009 he was sentenced to a minimum of 18 years in prison.
See also
References
- ↑ Hannah Fletcher (2009-04-29). "Cyber gamer David Heiss 'fell for girl on website, then killed her boyfriend'". London: The Times. Retrieved 2010-06-07.
- ↑ "German officer worker David Heiss guilty of murdering student Matthew Pyke". London: The Independent. 2009-05-11.
- ↑ http://forums.warscentral.com
- ↑ Chris Matyszczyk (2010-05-11). "Man found guilty of stabbing fellow gamer 86 times". CNET. Retrieved 2010-06-08.
- ↑ Documentary on CI channel, broadcast June 7, 2013