Quote:British Gamer Allegedly Murdered Over Forum Dispute
Police suspect an online argument with a German gamer may have lead to the slaying.

By Kris Pigna, 09/27/2008

Advance Wars fan Matthew Pyke, 20, was stabbed to death in his home in Nottingham, England, over what police suspect may have been an online dispute with a German gamer (via Telegraph.co.uk).
The suspect, 21-year-old David Heiss, was arrested near Frankfurt in Germany. Police at first didn't say whether the arrested man was Heiss, but details later emerged confirming that Heiss was in fact the man arrested in connection with this case (via This is Nottingham). Not long after the killing, Heiss posted a message on the Facebook page of Pyke's girlfriend, Joanna Witton, where he apologized for "having caused so much trouble lately."

Pyke and Witton ran a fansite for Advance Wars, which included (as many gaming fansites do) a forum for patrons to chat with each other. Police suspect a possible motive may be that Heiss -- who was a member of the forum under the name "Eagle the Lightning" -- entered into a dispute with Pyke online, and actually flew to the U.K. in order to exact this tragic "revenge." Curiously, another anonymous poster suggested that some forum members may know more about the case, with a message that read, "We may know a lot of what was going on prior to the killing, but I, for one, am not going to say any more."

Heiss is believed to be in custody in the German town of Limburg an der Lahn. He was scheduled to appear in court in Frankfurt for an extradition hearing, although according to MSN U.K., the hearing was delayed due to Nottinghamshire police failing to provide the extensive paperwork needed in time. It's also not yet known whether Heiss will contest the extradition application from British authorities.

Heiss' Facebook page shows he is "friends" with Witton, although the message he posted on her page was the first he ever left for her. It read in full, "I will pray for you -- you must be suffering unbelievable pain. I'm sorry for having caused so much trouble lately. I hope you won't lose all your hope. We will be there for you."

On Thursday, Pyke's parents left a memorial on his Facebook page. It read, "Darling Matthew. We love you so much and miss you. You were a truly good, sensitive person. Your smile will live on in our hearts."

' Wrote:Um, Wow! :shok::shok::shok::shok::shok::shok:

I hope no-one here ever gets that mad.

' Wrote:The world needs less guns and more porn.

' Wrote:So That's Why [OPG]Kollon has been inactive!:secret: