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Boy who killed girl: 'I did her a favor' - Teenager denies video game inspired him to slay friend
WorldNetDaily.com ^ | December 12, 2003

Posted on 12/12/2003 12:20:53 AM PST by yonif

Though an alleged teen killer claims a popular violent video game had nothing to do with his murdering a young girl, the victims father and others are convinced Grand Theft Auto III inspired the boy to bludgeon and stab his friend to death.


Dustin Lynch's mug shot

Dustin Lynch allegedly stabbed JoLynn Mishne in the side with kitchen knife after bashing her with a bedpost. Her father, Mickey, found her in a pool of blood on her bed with a pile of clothes heaped on top of her.

The then-15-year-old Lynch, a runaway, had been staying with the Mishnes in Medina, Ohio, for about a week after JoLynn, a high-school junior, begged her father to let him stay with the family, the Cleveland Scene weekly reports.

During his week's stay with the Mishnes in the fall of 2002, Lynch reportedly played the video game GTA III for hours at a time. It is a violent crime fantasy in which players earn rewards for assaults, carjackings, and murder, the Scene reports. The game has been highly successful, winning numerous game-of-the-year honors and becoming the best-selling game of 2001.

The violent nature of the game and critics' contention that youthful players act out what they see has fingered GTA III in the Lynch case.


'Grand Theft Auto Vice City' sizzles with violence (Rockstar Games)

In October, attorney and activist Jack Thompson filed a $246 million lawsuit against Sony Computer Entertainment America Inc., GTA III designers Take-Two Interactive Software and Rockstar Games, and Wal-Mart, in connection with a Tennessee case in which two teenage stepbrothers killed one person and injured another by shooting rifles at passing motorists, the Scene reported. The teens claimed GTA III as inspiration.

"I think the video game industry is about as evil as any entity in America is," Thompson told the paper. "I'm out to take their money from them – and it's blood money, in some of these instances – and give it to the people who have been harmed by them."

Thompson contacted JoLynn's father, Mickey Mishne, upon hearing about the girl's murder. After learning about the game and recalling Lynch's behavior, Mishne became convinced the boy was inspired by GTA III. Lynch's favorite GTA III murder weapon reportedly was the baseball bat.

Mishne likely will be a part of a civil suit targeting GTA III.

"We are on a crusade," he told the paper. "We'd like to see everybody who has one of the [games] turn them in, like they do with rifles and pistols. We want to put them out of business."

Dustin Lynch, sitting in jail awaiting his murder trial, recently responded to several written questions from the Scene.

When asked why he killed JoLynn, Lynch responded, "I killed JoLynn for my own personal satisfaction. I yearn to see blood, it's a need or an addiction and also a fetish. I'm just obsessed with it all."

Though Lynch could possibly benefit from claiming he was a victim of the video game, he is denying that's the case.

"Old man Mishne and whomever else believes that GTA III influenced me to brutaly [sic] kill JoLynn ... they are all idiots!" Lynch wrote to the Scene. "I killed JoLynn Mishne for my own personal satisfaction, not because of a video game," adding that he "did her a favor and satisfied all my needs while doing it!"

Lynch, now 17, claims to have begun thinking about murder at an early age: "Ever since I was 6 years old, I've wanted to kill someone," he wrote. The teen claims to have killed 35 people, though there is no evidence backing up his assertion.

The alleged killer is scheduled to face trial as an adult on Jan. 12 and faces up to 30 years in prison without the possibility of parole.

"The only people I care about is Adolf Hitler and myself! Heil the fuehrer! Hitler is God!" he wrote to the paper.

The young man says he's not afraid of prison, hoping to get his high-school diploma and write a book while there.

"I might be small, but I know how to handle my business," he writes. "I'm a 'Lynch,' it runs through [our] blood. Just like jail!"

Lynch claims he'd like to be executed eventually.

"When my book is complete and I'm ready, I'm going to kill someone else so that I can get the death penalty. I took so many lives and I'm just curious to know what it's like to be dead. Is there an 'after life'? etc. I want to die by lethal injection. I think that is better than any other method (ex. – killing myself, or by some horrible death). …"

The Cleveland Plain Dealer reports Lynch's mother, Jerrilyn Thomas, says in the past two months, her son has attempted suicide at the jail, refused to cooperate with his attorney, wrote incriminating letters to Mickey Mishne and stopped communicating with her.

Asked if he was disturbed, Lynch wrote to the Scene: "I AM NOT DISTURBED AT ALL! Like I said, I have certain needs, desires and a fetish. Cutting myself is a fetish. I feel so powerful when I do it, kind of like I'm on coke. Each slice I take is like hooting another line! I'm fascinated by the sight of blood, and when I'm locked up the way I am the only blood I can get is my own."


TOPICS: Crime/Corruption; Culture/Society; Extended News; News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: blame; crime; culturewar; deranged; girl; murder; psycho; serialkiller; teen; videogames; violentmedia
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1 posted on 12/12/2003 12:20:54 AM PST by yonif
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To: yonif
"We are on a crusade," he told the paper. "We'd like to see everybody who has one of the [games] turn them in, like they do with rifles and pistols. We want to put them out of business."

Great, so now we can be defenseless and bored.

2 posted on 12/12/2003 12:22:39 AM PST by Hawkeye's Girl
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To: yonif
Though an alleged teen killer claims a popular violent video game had nothing to do with his murdering a young girl, the victims father and others are convinced Grand Theft Auto III inspired the boy to bludgeon and stab his friend to death.

This kid actually opening admits and takes responsiblity for killing this girl and everyone else involved still want to blame something else.

Yes this kid deserves to go to jail, BUT everyone else involved needs to be locked into an insane asylum for life.

3 posted on 12/12/2003 12:27:27 AM PST by Paul C. Jesup
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To: Torie; TheAngryClam
In October, attorney and activist Jack Thompson filed a $246 million lawsuit against Sony Computer Entertainment America Inc., GTA III designers Take-Two Interactive Software and Rockstar Games, and Wal-Mart, in connection with a Tennessee case in which two teenage stepbrothers killed one person and injured another by shooting rifles at passing motorists, the Scene reported. The teens claimed GTA III as inspiration.

"I think the video game industry is about as evil as any entity in America is," Thompson told the paper. "I'm out to take their money from them ? and it's blood money, in some of these instances ? and give it to the people who have been harmed by them."

Thompson contacted JoLynn's father, Mickey Mishne, upon hearing about the girl's murder.

I wonder if Mr. Thompson has ever read the Model Rules of Professional Conduct?

4 posted on 12/12/2003 12:30:29 AM PST by ambrose
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To: yonif; mhking; dighton; hellinahandcart; aculeus; general_re; BlueLancer

What is this kid, some bizarro reincarnation from 1962? Anybody search his room/car for a flux capacitor?

5 posted on 12/12/2003 12:34:17 AM PST by Thinkin' Gal
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To: yonif
Of the 1000's of violent video games, every suit is against the ONE which made 100 million... Hmmm. Deep pockets.

This all started with Atari's "Death Race" in the 70's, even though it was 1 step more detailed than pong.

In the 80's, OZZY was sued when a teenager committed suicide, even though the song in question was a warning about alcoholism... "suicide is slow with liquor"

That was the only line in the song that even had the word in it. A lawyer sued for millions, Tipper flipped, and there was a witch hunt... about a non issue.

Numerous other games were blamed thruout the 80's for no reason. Psychiatrists dismiss it.

WND has run literally hundreds of "news articles" blaming video games for teenagers' problems. Just search on 'video games' there.

No one under 35, who was a part of the video experience, will blame pixels for behavior.
6 posted on 12/12/2003 12:35:44 AM PST by At _War_With_Liberals (IIt's more than a lib/con thing- All 3 branches of govt colluded to limit the 1st amendment)
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To: yonif
If you don't have the right values, I'm not shocked these things happen. But its a value free society liberals want and when young people commit horrible crimes, its not their character-free upbringing they criticize, but their watching some stupid video game. Only the Left could be so clever as to put the horse before the cart and in no small part to distract attention from the damage they've wreaked upon society's mores over the decades.
7 posted on 12/12/2003 12:42:24 AM PST by goldstategop (In Memory Of A Dearly Beloved Friend Who Lives On In My Heart Forever)
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To: yonif
Boy who killed girl: 'I did her a favor' - Teenager denies video game inspired him to slay friend

We ought to do this sick little f*ckhead a favor and remove him from the gene pool - with extreme prejudice!

8 posted on 12/12/2003 12:53:47 AM PST by clee1 (Where's the beef???)
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To: clee1
I noticed he's also a lover of Der Fuhrer. Rest assured his pending removal from society is no great loss to the human race.
9 posted on 12/12/2003 12:57:26 AM PST by goldstategop (In Memory Of A Dearly Beloved Friend Who Lives On In My Heart Forever)
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To: goldstategop
Oh yeah.

Where was this? Is it in a State that actually uses execution?
10 posted on 12/12/2003 1:03:08 AM PST by clee1 (Where's the beef???)
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To: clee1
Ohio. What is the Capital Punishment law like in Ohio?
11 posted on 12/12/2003 1:04:04 AM PST by clee1 (Where's the beef???)
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To: yonif
There are so many things wrong with this story, I honestly don't know where to begin.

I'm afraid the whole thing may have to be euthanized. I'm so very sorry.

12 posted on 12/12/2003 1:08:53 AM PST by Imal (The best soldiers are zealots, the best officers patriots, the best generals philosophers.)
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To: yonif
Asked if he was disturbed, Lynch wrote to the Scene: "I AM NOT DISTURBED AT ALL! Like I said, I have certain needs, desires and a fetish. Cutting myself is a fetish. I feel so powerful when I do it, kind of like I'm on coke. Each slice I take is like hooting another line! I'm fascinated by the sight of blood, and when I'm locked up the way I am the only blood I can get is my own."

Amazing what video games can do these days.

13 posted on 12/12/2003 1:13:00 AM PST by Imal (The best soldiers are zealots, the best officers patriots, the best generals philosophers.)
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To: yonif
The then-15-year-old Lynch, a runaway, had been staying with the Mishnes in Medina, Ohio, for about a week after JoLynn, a high-school junior, begged her father to let him stay with the family, the Cleveland Scene weekly reports

"Oh dad, please...PLLEEEAAASSEEEE let this runaway boy that we dont know come live with us...whats the worst that could happen?"

jesus...I hope charges are filed against the father

14 posted on 12/12/2003 1:20:41 AM PST by stuck_in_new_orleans
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To: Imal
He could be a vampire if he became Spike and lost those retard glasses.
15 posted on 12/12/2003 1:22:32 AM PST by goldstategop (In Memory Of A Dearly Beloved Friend Who Lives On In My Heart Forever)
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Comment #16 Removed by Moderator

To: yonif; Jim Robinson; John Robinson
In October, attorney and activist Jack Thompson filed a $246 million lawsuit against Sony Computer Entertainment America Inc., GTA III designers Take-Two Interactive Software and Rockstar Games, and Wal-Mart, in connection with a Tennessee case in which two teenage stepbrothers killed one person and injured another by shooting rifles at passing motorists, the Scene reported.

Veteran Freepers remember Jack Thompson, who registered at FR in 1998 and incessantly posted his baseless accusations that Janet Reno (to whom he lost a DA election in Florida) was a habitual drunk driver whose violations were covered up, and that she was captured on videotape frolicking with call girls.

He eventually started carping that he also had inside knowledge about Senator Dan Burton cheating on his wife with an assistant -- again, without a shred of evidence (which didn't stop the MSNBC.com gossip columnist from publishing the quasi-rumor). He castigated Freepers (like myself) who said he should shut his trap if all he's got is his word and no on-record sources, and his furious retorts finally ired Jim Robinson enough to delete his threads. That just made him madder, and he started baiting JimRob by accusing him of censorship. He was then banned outright, leading him to join the forces of the Washington Post Group and the L.A. Times Company in their suit against Jim and FR. As you know, FR survived the media giants attempts to kill it.

Jack will continue to pop up whenever some post-pubescent video game-playing loser kills someone. He's the go-to guy for media attention on the violent games.

17 posted on 12/12/2003 1:36:45 AM PST by L.N. Smithee (Just because I don't think like you doesn't mean I don't think for myself)
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To: Paul C. Jesup
The kid certainly seems deranged but I don't see similarties between his case and the video game. I don't have any home video game system, don't play computer games, and haven't played arcade games in over a decade (outside of the rare game of "Golden Tee golf" or pinball).

He certainly sounds like he had a screw loose. He was a runaway, this is what happens when transients are brought into a house. Yes I know that the daughter vouched for him. When I was in high school a parent wouldn't let a member of the opposite sex stay over for weeks at a time. That is something straight out of tv (Facts Of Life?). If he left or someone else threw him out, that is a danger sign.

18 posted on 12/12/2003 1:46:38 AM PST by weegee
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To: At _War_With_Liberals
There was a video game from 1983 or 1984 that was in the arcades that revolted me like no others. It was a rifle shooting video game (with a video display).

The main task as I recall was to shoot different still and moving objects (like a shooting gallery) but the bonus rounds were set in a torture dungeon and the shooter would sadisticly shoot off bits of flesh of imprisoned live humans.

This was the most sadistic and graphic video game I ever saw. As bad as it was, I have not heard any crimes attributed to this hideous machine.

19 posted on 12/12/2003 1:53:42 AM PST by weegee
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To: weegee
Chiller. Chiller was the most infamous arcade game ever. The main point of this game is to shoot helpless humans in the most gory manner possible. It is amazing that this game somehow slipped past the watchdogs back in 1986. I envy you. I never saw a real one. I have the game on my computer though. Yeah, I'm REALLY into it!
20 posted on 12/12/2003 2:14:33 AM PST by At _War_With_Liberals (It's more than a lib/con thing- All 3 branches of govt colluded to limit the 1st amendment)
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