A 43-year-old woman in Japan has been arrested for killing her husband, although they weren't legally married, she didn't really kill him, and he isn't really dead.The two only met online, as part of a popular interactive game called "Maple Story" in which cartoon-like "avatars" (example shown) fight monsters, interact, and get married (or at least these two did). They also apparently get divorced, or more accurately, she got cyberdumped.
"I was suddenly divorced," the woman said, "without a word of warning. That made me so angry." She was apparently so angry that she used his login information -- which he had foolishly given her back when they were "happily married" -- to access his account and delete his avatar. He then called the police (real ones, not virtual). They, apparently having no crimes at all to prosecute in their own area, traveled 600 miles to Sapporo to arrest the woman and bring her to the jurisdiction where the brutal deletion took place.
The woman is not actually charged with murder. She was arrested for illegally accessing a computer and manipulating electronic data. She might also be charged with destruction of property, since avatars and the "things" they own arguably represent an investment of time (and money in terms of online fees).
The woman had not been formally charged as of October 23, but if convicted of the illegal-access charges she could be fined up to $5,000 or given up to five years in prison.
Via the BBC.
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