This has to be the weirdest and saddest crime-of-virtual-passion story I’ve come across.
Kimberly Jernigan—a 33-year-old woman from North Carolina—was apparently distraught after her online relationship with a 52-year-old man from Claymont, Del., came to an end.
The pair apparently met through the online community Second Life and began a virtual relationship. The two finally met in reality several months ago, and the alleged victim ended the relationship, sending Jernigan into a downward spiral.
In early August, Jernigan allegedly drove to the victim’s Pennsylvania workplace and attempted to kidnap him at gunpoint, according to local news station CBS3.com. When she was unsuccessful, according to the report, she returned two weeks later to track down the victim’s Delaware address, and posed as a postal worker to do so. After four days of searching, authorities said she found the man’s residence in the Whitney Presidential Towers on the 7100 block of Society Drive in Claymont.
On August 21, police said, Jernigan broke into the unnamed victim’s apartment with a Taser, a pair of handcuffs, a BB gun, her dog, and a roll of duct tape. He wasn’t there, so she waited. When the virtual ex arrived home he saw what looked like a laser beam projecting on his chest. He immediately fled the apartment and contacted the Newcastle County Police.
Police said that when they arrived, they found Jernigan’s dog, Gogi, bound with duct tape in the victim’s bathtub. Jernigan’s reason for gagging her pooch—“he was making too much noise.“ The dog was said to be uninjured, but the ASPCA is looking into possible charges of animal cruelty.
Approximately an hour after the incident, authorities in Maryland spotted Jernigan’s vehicle at a rest stop on I-95. She was taken into custody after a brief struggle. Jernigan is currently facing charges of attempted kidnapping, burglary, and aggravated menacing, CBS3 said.
What’s the lesson here, kiddies? Keep your virtual relationships virtual and don’t bring it into the real world or some innocent animal may be harmed in the process ...
I had an online stalker for a while. It really creeped me out, especially when I found out it wasn’t actually the person whom I thought it was, but rather her psycho ex-boyfriend who was trying to find out who she had left him for, and where she was.
The amount of crap that went on made me *really* paranoid for a while, up until I actually met the girl in question by accident at a con. After some hasty explanations and whatall, we’ve become decently good friends. The guy is still a creep, though.
I wonder though, what the negative statistics are, to first meetings (dating) in the real world compared to dates that begin in the virtual world. My guess is that negative outcomes beginning in the virtual environment may be less than those that begin in the real world? I think it’s more likely than bad chaff can be gleaned from online meetings and then discarded before actual contact.
Of course, in this case, the guy at least thought the chaff was hurled away only to find the wind shifting and it blew right back into his face. Had this begun in the real world, it’s possible that the lady would have been faster and better equipped though to cause harm?
A virtual relationship gone wrong. Will wonders never cease?
Other than the whole ‘attempted kidnapping’ thing this isn’t even news anymore. Online relationships, and their unfortunate fallout, are becoming so common that most younger people no longer even consider it odd. The internet is now simply a fact of a person’s social life.
And yet Charybdis, this is how I met Erik…..in the virtual world; and 2 years later we were married. He has given me the most stable and rewarding life I have ever known and he is the very breath I breathe. No matter how you meet anyone, a relationship is always a risk.
after note: I think honesty in any kind of ‘meeting’, whether in letters, online, or in the real world is the key.
And yet Charybdis, this is how I met Erik…..in the virtual world; and 2 years later we were married. He has given me the most stable and rewarding life I have ever known and he is the very breath I breathe. No matter how you meet anyone, a relationship is always a risk.
after note: I think honesty in any kind of ‘meeting’, whether in letters, online, or in the real world is the key.
I would think that unless one is willing to release the ‘mask’ we all assume online, a ‘real’ relationship cannot happen (Cyber OR real…).
Unfortunately it seems that a lot of folks aren’t prepared to deal with reality and find it necessary to embellish themselves and their lives in order to make a better impression. Kinda sad. really.
I’ve rather liked the reality of those people who I met both online and in real life so far. . .
The closest I’ve had to dealing with online stalkers was when a certain former member of this Forum had something of a psychotic episode and started sending all sorts of weird PM’s to people. Aside from him or her or it (the person seemed a bit confused on that little matter), all other stalkers I’ve had to put up with were in real life. Unless you count the mighty Smerk as a stalker. . .dragons do enjoy stalking their prey, after all. . .eeeeeeeek!
