Gaming Addict Kills Mother Then Plays Counter-Strike.

"A 15-year-old Romanian boy has killed his adoptive mother after she refused to pay the Internet bills. Ionut Silviu Savin, who is known to be dependant on video games, stabbed his adoptive parent 17 times before leaving to play Counter-Strike at a local internet cafe.

She had considered that the only solution for Ionut to no longer spend much time in front of the computer was to no longer pay Internet fees. This decision would result in her death.

The tragedy happened on Wednesday. Only three hours after stabbing the woman, Ionut was seen at his favourite internet cafe, where he played the violent shooter Counter-Strike for four hours. The cops later discovered Ionut had taken all the money he had found at his house.

The woman's dead body was discovered by her husband, as he returned home from work. Immediately he called the police. However, Ionut turned himself in to the police of his own accord, calmly saying "I think I'm the one you're looking for."

The boy was addicted to gaming and the internet. Ultimately his addiction led to him staying at home and not going out with friends. He clocked up over 200 absences from school.

The supervisor of the internet cafe noted that Ionut would come in all the time and play Counter-Strike quietly alone, with a hood over his head. She noted that he wouldn't swear like most players when he was losing, and never got angry. He would rarely speak.

His teacher called him "quiet" and "introverted".

However, his actions surrounding this tragedy have shocked everybody close to him.

Ionut discarded the murder weapon in a garbage container. Police later found the weapon at a nearby landfill.

Ionut is currently hospitalised under guard in a psychiatric clinic. Psychiatric examinations will reveal if Ionut was fully competent at the time of the crime. If he is found guilty of murder he faces 12 years in prison. Experts have commented that the nature of the crime (17 stabs) is indicative of mental health problems.

If you are concerned about your kids and the amount of time they spend playing games, we recommend you head on over to Microsoft's helpful family page"

Source: http://allaboutthegames.co.uk/feature_story.php?headline=Gaming-addict-kills-mother-then-plays-Counter-Strike-News&article_id=10101

The media is going to hammer us with this event, unfortunately.

Here comes all the BLAME IT ON VIDEOGAMES articles now.. SMH.

oh wow umm wow

The guys a psycho, nothing more to it, videogame violence had nothing to do with it, it could have been literally anything that pushed him over the edge, it just so happened to be his mom not paying the internet bill; it was only a matter of time before he snapped and committed some heinous crime.

The guys a psycho, nothing more to it, videogame violence had nothing to do with it, it could have been literally anything that pushed him over the edge, it just so happened to be his mom not paying the internet bill; it was only a matter of time before he snapped and committed some heinous crime.

Im_single

...what is wrong with world :? poor woman...the only person who actually gave a crap was killed by the person she tried to help.

Wierd.. Ive played videogames for 24+ years and I havnt killed anyone :roll:

The kid is obvious messed up and has some serious mental issues, its got nothing to do with videogames.

it's sad to read this kind of news

This guy would most likely have killed someone at some point in his life, regardless of video games. That being said, I feel frustrations like you wouldn't believe when I can't game when I want too... so in a way I think this pushed him over the edge.

So yes, it probably was gaming that pushed him away from friends and made him more moody ... but he probably would have killed someone later in life regardless.

He doesn't have that little switch that says "bad idea", and he let the rage get ahold of him.

To pretend that video games have ZERO negative affect on personality is asinine. Nobody can make a legitimate argument that what you put in the brain has no affect on your psyche whatsoever. If you feed a kid a consistent message of "violence is OK", the kid is going to grow up thinking that violence is OK, same with games; a constant feed of a certain idea makes you more susceptible to it. Remember your mom saying "he is a bad influence", that is because your parents were aware that external forces can affect you.

I'm not blaming gaming, rather seeking accurate analysis. I find it laughable that so many people jump on the "games are only good" or "games can't influence you" bandwagon... seriously, take a psych class, read philosophy etc. this is basic stuff.

...what is wrong with world :? poor woman...the only person who actually gave a crap was killed by the person she tried to help.

painguy1

"videogame violence had nothing to do with it"

'

Ya know - the first thousand times I heard that, I might have believed it, but it's starting to become obvious now, that people who sit and pretend to murder people for hours a day ARE more likely to be violent.

[QUOTE="Im_single"]

The guys a psycho, nothing more to it, videogame violence had nothing to do with it, it could have been literally anything that pushed him over the edge, it just so happened to be his mom not paying the internet bill; it was only a matter of time before he snapped and committed some heinous crime.

drucom

if video games are truly blamed for the economic meltdown, then the human race is doomed. seriously we wont learn from our mistakes thinking like this.

how can we go from living in caves, to manned flights in space, while still having so many archaic views on certain things that seem to enslave us to ever-aging ideologies?

Could be worse...He could have been a sex addict....Get it?

"videogame violence had nothing to do with it"

'

Ya know - the first thousand times I heard that, I might have believed it, but it's starting to become obvious now, that people who sit and pretend to murder people for hours a day ARE more likely to be violent.

Born_Lucky

all environment influences all of us. period.

that includes videogames as well.

that also includes school, work, family, church, books, friends, peers, day cares, neighborhoods, local businesses, global businesses, movies, music etc.

but to blame only a single one of the tiny amount that i have listed would be naive.

yes there is a sense of self-control or self responsibility... but the environment around you has molded your beliefs and definitions of self-control so it is only really self-control to a degree.

one of the only real natures we all share is to learn. no newborn baby knows anything, no natural morals, or sense of good and evil lol. it LEARNS that along the way.....

lets see how does the saying go "it is no measure of health, to be well-adjusted to a profoundly sick society."

i have been gaming over 20 years, violent games throughout childhood, i listen to metal and dark music. but i feel for my fellow humans, i dont want to hurt anyone. prolly becausei try to learn, try to stay open to concepts instead of shutting them out before learning of them. (which seems to be common practice)

The guys a psycho, nothing more to it, videogame violence had nothing to do with it, it could have been literally anything that pushed him over the edge, it just so happened to be his mom not paying the internet bill; it was only a matter of time before he snapped and committed some heinous crime.

Im_single

Bingo

[QUOTE="Iantheone"]"Facing 12 years of prison"???? Wtf is wrong with the world? You only get 12 years for murder now?DanielDust

[QUOTE="DanielDust"][QUOTE="Iantheone"]"Facing 12 years of prison"???? Wtf is wrong with the world? You only get 12 years for murder now?Iantheone

Wierd.. Ive played videogames for 24+ years and I havnt killed anyone :roll:

The kid is obvious messed up and has some serious mental issues, its got nothing to do with videogames.

kozzy1234

Um, video games DO have an effect on humans, just like anything you see in the world around us, such as media. Now I am not singling out video games as the cause of this, as he was mentally unstable, but games such as Counter Strike could've had massive contribution to his actions.

Video games are different for different people, but I seriously cannot believe people when they deny video games having no effect on them, especially violent and sexual ones (since this was a kid, it would've had even greater effects).

Ughh it is stupid. Imo if you kill someone it should be the automatic death sentence (Unless it was an accident)Iantheone

*sigh* Nope. In this case, maybe. But to say this is extremely naive.

News from the gaming world. I wish I could say I was surprised, but this is more tiring than surprising or shocking.

I doubt it was simply a "why didn't you pay the internet fees?" "because I don't want you to play anymore" *stabs* *stabs* *stabs* dialogue.

They probably had a heated discussion before. Gaming itself has nothing to do with it, it's a matter of principle.

OMG. what the hell... who the heck stabs someone and then casually goes to play Counter-strike!? This man is psycho!

Kid obviously has mental health issues, but people saying this has nothing to with videogames are kidding themselves.

Counter-Strike (and the internet in general) were the object of his addiction, and when someone took that away from him he reacted violently.

Time to bring out the banhammer, for life.

[QUOTE="Iantheone"]"Facing 12 years of prison"???? Wtf is wrong with the world? You only get 12 years for murder now?DanielDust

What the hell?! :?

Now I'm the last guy you'd heard preaching against violent video games but there's no denying that games were a big factor in this. Banning violent games won't help at all but something must be done to prevent stuff like this from happening.

Violent video games only affect people who are messed up in the head to begin with, like this kid. Let us normal folks enjoy our FPSes!!!

The people who think that video game violence didn't play a part in this tragedy need to get a grip on reality. It's become more and more common now. The addiction he had playing CS takes a toll on his life one way or another.mo0ksi

everything in his life directly and indirectly.

the things he is directly influenced by are things in his personal life: family, friends, school, medication, music, movies, games. and including things that are bombarding him (so to speak) like the almost decade long war we have been fighting, economy problems, politicians stalling, religion, tiger woods lol etc.

everything here and a whole lot more i havent stated were in his life(a very high chance of it). (especially being on the internet) in his life: that means it had some sort of influence on him.

there is without a doubt more to the story than what is written here, you know how the media likes to (make it a story) and then publish it.

it is sad it really is, but to blame one thing is ,in a way, scapegoating.

yes counterstrike (and prolly more games) had a direct influence in his life, therefor had some influence in this tragedy. (its unfortunate but true)

i dont know him, i dont know how he was, but what i do know is the term addiction is an over-used term and often used as a weapon. (i personally think that the terms addiction and obsessive are used just as much as weapons to make us feel bad about the things we really enjoy and get to do often.) not to say that there are not serious dangerous addictions out there, im just saying its used more as a weapon than actual truth.

now i know it seems very suspicious that he goes to play counterstrike right afterwards... but lets be really honest... "when you really dig, how often are things just as they seem?" if you kill someone (especially if its your first and your still pretty much a kid) you will be in a heavy state of shock, which will confuse you, so he may have resorted to doing something that he is very use to doing and can do almost as a reaction. (and there is a high chance that he has had to go to a wifi hotspot to connect before.) not saying thats how it was, it prolly wasnt anything like that, but im just throwing it out there, a slightly different take on the situation.

ive tried to remain unbiased about this.

but there are people posting on here stating he should be put to death, who dont even know the story. only just a scrap piece of it they just skimmed thru. which i find very conceded to think you are able to judge someones life away, based on this filtered scrap of a story. our only form of justice is sophisticated revenge.... has this not been acknowledged yet? or does everyone just not care? so now we kill him (2 people now murdered) and not finding out what truly caused the tragedy in the first place... (though to be honest a fear the investigators have is: if they truly find out what the problems were, they might find out that they themselves, and the system they work for, maybe a good deal of the problem)

and i hate to say it but its the truth, his mom had an influence on him, so on this as well, even though she was the victim and i feel for her, it is truth.

Sigh...

People need to stop thinking that gaming is the ONLY reason this kid did this horrible thing.

He obviously had some issues, addiction made it worse, and he snapped. It wasn't the violence that influenced him, hell, he could've been playing Hello Kitty Online and snapped.

How many people play violent games EVERY day and don't go phsyco and kill their parent(s)? Stuff like this happens, and it isa sad thing. But games are not the whole reason.

Violent video games only affect people who are messed up in the head to begin with, like this kid. Let us normal folks enjoy our FPSes!!!

adv_tr00per

while i agree with you, the fact that publisher will sell their stuff to the messed up people without knowing. (in fact, there is no way they can figure out)

in the future, there will always be a kid who will commite a serious crime which involves video gaming. and media will always blame video game and gamers altogheter.

we, the gamers, are the real victims here.

"videogame violence had nothing to do with it"

'

Ya know - the first thousand times I heard that, I might have believed it, but it's starting to become obvious now, that people who sit and pretend to murder people for hours a day ARE more likely to be violent.

Born_Lucky

thousand times? I bet you can't name 10 times you've heard of something like this.

Sorry, but this has absolutely ZERO to do with video games. This guy was overly obsessed with something (in this case video games) and somebody tried to take it away from him so he killed her. This happens ALL the time.....Guy overly obsessed with girl, girl tries to leave...he kills her. Someone is overly obsessed with drugs....can't get any so he kills someone for them.

This is absolutely nothing new. Again, this happens all the time, it's just different things that people can get obsessed with and video games is one of them.

Mental Health issues shouldn't be stopping him from getting punished. k0r3aN_pR1d3

People who think CS or video games didn't have anything to do with this are just as much wrong as those blaming gaming as the only culprit of this terrible event. These kinds of events are never caused by one thing but a combination of various environments and events.lordlors

You cannot prove that video games have no effect on humans, good/bad, but science can affirm the opposite. In this case, FPSs do affect people (mostly in a negative way because of the violence/blood/gore). I am not saying games are the single cause he did what he did, but the truth is, ANYTHING you are able to perceive through the 5 senses affect you in some way.

Obviously millions of people play violent video games all day long and they do not all go outside with their kitchen knives killing random pedestrians, but the fact remains you are more liable to do violent things because of this.

Wierd.. Ive played videogames for 24+ years and I havnt killed anyone :roll:

kozzy1234

Yet... =O

You cannot prove that video games have no effect on humans, good/bad, but science can affirm the opposite. In this case, FPSs do affect people (mostly in a negative way because of the violence/blood/gore). I am not saying games are the single cause he did what he did, but the truth is, ANYTHING you are able to perceive through the 5 senses affect you in some way.

Obviously millions of people play violent video games all day long and they do not all go outside with their kitchen knives killing random pedestrians, but the fact remains you are more liable to do violent things because of this.

BLUBBBER

As many said, don't blame it on video games. Me, I'm a gaming addict(not much), but I wouldn't kill anyone just to play. Maybe he needs psychological help.

Everyone that say he killed because he was playing is... well at a place with lots of clouds after using way to much of the white sand...

I have played for like all my life, i know people that have played for allmost all their life. A normal person dont go around and think after gaming... "Hmm i feel like taking a knife and stabbing someone today..." The fact is that all the people that are doing these things allready have some kind of mental problem... The list with mental problems are so long that i cant even be bothered to write it... But ye... I guess this will give media another reason to say "Q.Q gaming is evil... it takes controll over our childrens mind and make them shot / stab / hack away at people!"

I have no pity for psychos.What that kid did was just cold hearted and typical sociopathic behavior.He knew what he was doing,he just didn't care...

There is no cure for 'bad wiring' in the brain like his,he'll just snap again someday after 'treatment' and another innocent person will pay the price.

The way I see it is that if you take a life non-accidentally you should lose your own..PERIOD!

Tip of the day for psychos: Take your medication,even when the 'voices' tell you NOT to.