PlayerUnknown’s Battlegroundsis currently one of the most popular games available, having broken a number of records and currently standing as thethird-highest grossing game on Steam. Since the game hit early access in March 2017, it has developed a large following of devoted fans, including 29 year old Alex Lovell. However, Lovell’s devotion to the popular battle royale game, which he wants to play professionally, resulted in him being stabbed with a katana by his girlfriend.
Lovell’s girlfriend, 30 year old Barber Emily Javier, purchased a “samurai sword” (a katana) from the mall, and kept it on her side of the bed, along with a pair of knives she taped together. Javier was frustrated with Lovell for paying less attention to her in order to playPlayerUnknown’s Battlegroundsfor about 12 hours a day. After this initial frustration, what pushed her over the edge and convinced her to attack Lovell in his sleep was finding the dating app Tinder installed on his phone and some red hairs in the shower.
Convinced that Lovell was cheating on her (Lovell denies that Tinder was installed on his phone, and he apparently also doesn’t agree with the notion that hisPUBGplaying was a motive for the attack, despite what Javier told police), Javier decided to attack him one night when he was sleeping. Lovell woke up as soon as the attack started, and while he was able to fight off his girlfriend, his fingers were severed and he suffered numerous lacerations on his limbs. Lovell’s injuries are severe enough that he is unable to walk for weeks.
After the attack, Javier ended up calling the police and admitted to stabbing Lovell. She also reportedly told police that she was “trying to kill him for cheating.” Even so, Javier has pled not guilty to first-degree attempted murder. Javier is being held on $350,000 bail as she awaits her trial.
PlayerUnknown’s Battlegroundsis available now on PC and on Xbox One through early access.
