Man Kills His Friend With His Bare Fists After Finding Out He ‘Poked’ His Girlfriend On Facebook
A fight in Nottingham, England, took a turn for the worse when a man killed his friend over a Facebook “poke.”
The Mirror reports that Scott Humphrey repeatedly punched Richard Rovetto during a fight in a taxi cab on the way back from a night out and drinking. The pair of friends had enjoyed a night out in Mansfield before the argument took place. However, things quickly turned south when the duo entered the taxi.
The taxi driver recalls Humphrey accusing Rovetto of contacting his girlfriend in the past and “poking” her on Facebook. “Pokes” can be seen as a way of flirting on the social media platform, and Humphrey was not happy about the action. The cab driver recalls that Rovetto told Humphrey he did not know it was his girlfriend, but Humphrey was not listening. The driver said that Humphrey made reference to the “poke” when confronting Rovetto.
“If you’re such a good friend why did you poke my missus?”
After the two had words, Humphrey struck 29-year-old Rovetto, causing him to bleed from the nose — then delivered the fatal blow, knocking his friend to floor and causing him to bang his head on the pavement.
According to The Blaze, Humphrey was arrested and charged with murder. Humphrey will spend just four years in jail for the offense, after the judge noted that Humphrey did not set out to kill anyone that night. Therefore, the judge felt the sentence should take the lack of intent into consideration.
“When you and him went out that evening, violence and death were the furthest things from your mind. You didn’t intend to kill him. Part of the tragedy is that it’s left to chance what happens. There will be a fight like this somewhere tonight and the person will get up and go home and the police will never hear about it.
However, Rovetto’s family was not happy with the sentencing, noting that the whole ordeal was a “waste of life.”
“We feel the sentence wasn’t the justice we wanted for Richard. He was a much-loved person and it will be hard for us all to move on.”
This isn’t the first time that a murder involved Facebook. A Tennessee couple were killed after “defriending” a former pal on Facebook.
What do you think of the sentencing surrounding the murder that resulted from a simple Facebook “poke?”