Dying gamer tried to write killer's name in own blood
Matthew Pyke and his girlfriend, Joanna Witton, of Nottingham, U.K., met David Heiss, from Limburg, Germany, on their Advance Wars online gaming forum.
Heiss now stands accused of murdering Pyke, a computer science student at Nottingham Trent University, after making several surprise trips from Germany to visit Pyke and his girlfriend and allegedly becoming obsessed with Witton.
Jurors were presented on Tuesday with images of Pyke's computer, on the side of which he was said to have written the first three letters of Heiss' name in his own blood as he lay dying from 86 stab wounds to his body.
Witton had earlier given evidence from behind a curtain and said that her and Pyke's social life had largely revolved around their love of gaming.
She said that Heiss had become increasingly obsessed with her over a six-month period, despite never having seen her in person. He made two surprise visits to their Nottingham home and refused to stay in a hotel.
Nottingham Trent University, where Mr. Pyke was a computer science student.
(Credit: CC Nickstone333/Flickr)"I started blanking him as if to say leave me alone. I was afraid he was going to turn up again and I didn't know what he was capable of," she told the court.
She added: "I was willing to smash my laptop up if it meant that I would never speak to him (Heiss) again. I was ready to run away."
The jury also heard that during a conversation with another gamer, Heiss had said he wanted to smash Pyke's head against a wall.
On September 19, 2008, the day after celebrating the couple's third anniversary, Witton went to work, and, after failing to make contact with Pyke, returned home to find him dead.
The 21-year-old Heiss gave evidence in his defense Tuesday. He said he hadn't meant to kill Pyke. He had simply flown to England to confront him and Witton after they had used the online forum to allegedly make disparaging remarks about him. The couple had blocked him from their site and from IM.
"I thought that once he (Pyke) stepped outside I would give him a beating. It wasn't my intention to put him in hospital, it wasn't my intention to break any bones," Heiss told the court.
He continued: "At some point we started to punch each other. He was on his back and I was sitting on him. The next thing I felt was something inside my knee. I didn't really feel any pain and I looked down and saw it was the knife. I was terrified."
The knife allegedly belonged to Heiss and had been in his belt.
"I was trying not to let him attack me. I grabbed his arm and shook it and smashed it against the wall. I was so afraid that he would stab me again but then I stabbed at him," testified Heiss.
The court also heard that police had allegedly found a suicide note, written in such a way as to appear they were the words of Pyke, in Heiss's suitcase. Police gave evidence that, in an interview with them, he said he had written the note to "cheer himself up".
Heiss denies murdering Pyke.
Chris Matyszczyk is an award-winning creative director who advises major corporations on content creation and marketing. He brings an irreverent, sarcastic, and sometimes ironic voice to the tech world. He is a member of the CNET Blog Network and is not an employee of CNET. 
I hope this nut gets the worst possible punishment - no leniency, no consideration for "mental instability" or any junk like that.
By trying to evolve into a superior society, have really taken into account the ugly side of human nature ?
I grew up in a locality where gang fights, broken bones and [occasional] deaths surprised no one. However I was lucky to be in a setup where it was easy to see the value of doing well in studies. I chose IT industry because it was cerebral and as far removed from that world of mindless violence as I could imagine.
Seeing this kind of behavior in educated computer savvy person, I feel that my whole life was based on a wrong notion. People are people and depending on the situation they can be as bad as the worst goon on street..
I feel sorry for Heiss's family too. Perhaps they should do something to educate other people on these issues.
I know gaming can be fun and addictive, but please unplug once in a while and learn how to socialize with people in real life.
Pretty good evidence there, methinks.
"on their Advance Wars online gaming forum." This be a Nintendo DS game
"Heiss denies murdering Pyke" Deny it all you like, you had a hand in it and 86 stab wounds are not an accident. This guy should burn just to take the number of psychotic, stalkers down.
People who accidently cause the death of someone often go temporarily insane once they've realized what they did. Such as when someone backs their car over a kid.
Serial killers can be considered insane because even though they may be able to function perfectly normally in society to the point you'd never guess they were killers, they have an uncontrollable need to kill.
The ones who meticulously plan and carry one the murder of someone, who have a purpose in doing so, are the ones who are sane. Murderous yes, with an agenda, but still in control of themselves.
When it comes down to it, the only one that *might* be able to get away with it being an accident and temporary insanity is the first example and normally only when they show enough remorse to show it really was an accident and the guilt is almost enough punishment in and of itself. The last two are almost no different. You're always able to stop yourself. A serial killer can stop themselves by turning themselves in, better yet, even before they commit one murder so that all they have to do is go to a mental institution that can help them and protect others at the same time. The last example has control at any point. But I stress the similarity of them both having control when it matters.
Also, that first example happens a lot less frequently than you'd think. Most of the time, most people can stop themselves. Its not always a matter of ability, but of choice. You can let yourself go or you can force yourself under control.
Truly gruesome.
- by NetApex May 8, 2009 9:11 PM PDT
- You can't blame a video game for this one. It could have just as easily read "the users were friends over Myspace," or "They were talking about him in gym class." The part where you see the problem is "I thought that once he (Pyke) stepped outside I would give him a beating." When people take their online fights into the real world with intentions of causing physical harm, it just shows that there was already a bigger problem to start with. If Pyke didn't have a knife on him, it is likely that Heiss would have managed to take his life anyway. He came into the fight fully intending to do harm. 86 stabs is not a "self defense" fight. Consider the "He was on his back and I was sitting on him." I wouldn't flat out call him a serial killer or anything, but obviously he has a serious need for mental help, anger management, and missed out on some good old fashioned parenting as a kid.
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- by RSBaxter May 10, 2009 4:26 PM PDT
- Take this guy to the Tower of London and show him the same mercy he had on his victim it would teach murderers a good lesson. He deserves a fate like the executioners axe, no amount of rehab can change him now or take away what he did.
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