site wrote: NJ Man to Face Triple-Murder Charges in Montco by KYW's Brad Segall
A South Jersey man is being jailed without bail in Montgomery County, Pa. on charges that he stabbed three people to death last Friday in King of Prussia.
In addition to facing first-degree murder charges in the stabbing deaths of Lisa Greaves, her sister Heather, and Heather’s three-year-old daughter, district attorney Bruce Castor says John Eichinger will also be charged with the 1999 murder of Jennifer Still of Bridgeport (Montgomery County), Pa.
Castor (below right) says the motive appears to be jealousy, but they are also looking into some sort of connection with the fantasy role-playing game ”Dungeons and Dragons”:
"I mean, you have many, many stab wounds and those 'Dungeons and Dragons' fantasy games involve swords and knives and daggers and things of that nature. There may be a connection but I can’t say for sure.”
He says it appears they were all part of the same circle of acquaintances. Castor hopes to prosecute all four murders at one time, and says he will seek the death penalty for Eichinger.
It's basically a trial strategy to try to prejudice the jury by pointing out that he's one of those "D&D weirdos". I doubt the DA actually believes D&D was a real cause, but if he can somehow throw into the trial that the guy was a D&D player, many of the more conservative jurors will likely be prejudiced against the defendant.
RandomCasualty at [unixtime wrote:1112317769[/unixtime]]It's basically a trial strategy to try to prejudice the jury by pointing out that he's one of those "D&D weirdos". I doubt the DA actually believes D&D was a real cause, but if he can somehow throw into the trial that the guy was a D&D player, many of the more conservative jurors will likely be prejudiced against the defendant.
Woulden't the D&D defense actually help the bastard plead insanity? I mean, that's basically what the computer game defense is for. That and control freak fodder.
P.S. Neeek, I'm sorry to hear that. You too Arioch. I would think that one of the Lords of Chaos would get more respect...
Guest (Unregistered) at [unixtime wrote:1112326646[/unixtime]] Woulden't the D&D defense actually help the bastard plead insanity? I mean, that's basically what the computer game defense is for. That and control freak fodder.
Possibly, but I don't know if the guy is pleading insanity or not. And either way it tends to alienate him from the jury. "Video games made me do it" seems a lot more normal to most people as playing video games is a more socially acceptable thing. RPG players are still generally viewed as weirdos and generally simply bringing up that the guy played D&D is prejudicial to a lot of ignorant people. They stop viewing him as "one of us" and more "he's one of those D&D weirdos."
if you're looking to convict someone, having the jury classify them as being part of a totally different group is a good start.
Plus I generally wouldn't think the game based insanity defense is all that successful anyway, though I could be wrong about that.