Police arrested a Washington state woman earlier this month after she stabbed her boyfriend with a Japanese-style sword purchased at a shopping centre. She told the police that she stabbed him because she believed that he was cheating on her, and also because he played too much PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds.
Alex Lovell Recovering with his dog. Photo: Courtesy Alex Lovell (Twitter)
Barber Emily Javier, 30, had been living with her boyfriend, aspiring professional PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds player and part-time bookkeeper Alex Lovell, for the two years leading up to the incident. Lovell, 29, is currently recovering from his injuries at home.
Court documents obtained by Kotaku describe that incident from the recollection of a police officer to whom Javier, covered in blood and in the back of the patrol car, relayed the story: Javier had become exasperated because, according to the documents, “Lovell just sits at home all day playing video games and does not do anything to help.”
“I wasn’t a sweaty nerd, more of an Ethlete,” Lovell said in an interview with The Oregonian. He told the paper that he plays PUBG for 12 hours a day. According to the affidavit, Javier said she was frustrated that Lovell was paying less and less attention to her as he got deeper into PUBG, but what took her over the edge was finding Tinder on his phone, and later noticing some red hairs in the shower drain (Lovell’s hair is coloured green).
Speaking to Kotaku from his bed at home, Lovell said that while he is not participating in any more interviews prior to Javier’s trial, he disputes Javier’s statement that Tinder was installed on his phone. He also disagrees that his PUBG playing was a motive for Javier’s actions that night.
Javier’s lawyer told Kotaku that her family described the incident as “out of character”. Javier has no criminal history, he said. “There’s a whole lot of other layers to this that we just haven’t gotten to yet,” he said, but added that he could not elaborate further. Javier, who pleaded not guilty to first-degree attempted murder, is currently in gaol awaiting trial; her bail is set to $US350,000 ($444,860).
Javier stated to the police that in late February she went to a shopping centre and purchased a “samurai sword” to stab her boyfriend. “I thought I was gonna stab him while he was sleeping,” the affidavit quotes her as saying. After a week of mulling it over, Javier decided to go through with it after Lovell allegedly came home one night and simply ignored her. On her side of the bed, Javier hid the katana, along with two knives she’d taped together. She also hid Lovell’s phone.
In the middle of the night, according to the affidavit, Javier took out the weapons, illuminated her boyfriend’s body with her smartphone, and stabbed him with the sword. Lovell sprung awake and fought her off. His fingers were cut off almost at the base, he told The Columbian, and his limbs are lacerated. He won’t be able to walk for several more weeks.
“I was trying to kill him for cheating,” she said, according to the officer’s report. “That was my purpose.”
Soon after, Javier called the police at Lovell’s request. She met responding officers on her lawn with her hands up, covered in blood and crying. She asked the police to help him, adding, “I just stabbed him.” In an interview with The Oregonian, Lovell said, “I saw the look in her eyes, and it scared the living poop out of me,” he said. “I’ve been preparing my whole life for something like this.”
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35 responses to “Woman Stabs Boyfriend With Katana, Citing Cheating And Too Much PUBG”
“Violent video games”
‘Ethlete’ is that what the kids are saying now? *shakes fist at cloud*
– Purchases weapon with the intent of using it to stab.
– “I was trying to kill him for cheating,”
– Pleads not guilty to first-degree attempted murder.
Good luck with that.
A quick look at US law suggests because she called the police, and essentially spared his life, the charge can get knocked down to aggravated assault. Attempted murder usually involves the victim surviving despite the attackers’ attempts.
-notalawyer
Well, I guess I learned something today.
Any previous ‘knowledge’ I had of attempted murder laws came from the Chappelle’s Show sketch “The World Series of Dice”. That shooting someone below the waist isn’t attempted murder.
And there’s more proof that yandere girls exist
Except a yandere would kill the other girl, not the boyfriend.
I mean, she could have beheaded him afterwards and kept his noggin under her bed. That definitely sounds yandere AF.
Have you seen school days
“I wasn’t a sweaty nerd, more of an Ethlete,”
Well, now I’ve truly heard all of the bullshit. Good job Earth.
Don’t forget this:
“I saw the look in her eyes, and it scared the living poop out of me,” he said. “I’ve been preparing my whole life for something like this.”
Say what now? He’s been preparing his whole life for getting stabbed by a girlfriend? No excuse for what happened to him, but the guy sounds like a shit.
In total agreement, in no way condoning what she did, but everything about this guy in the article screams douchebag. He does a good job at making her sounds like a crazy person. According to him, PUBG wasn’t a factor in the stabbing and he doesn’t have Tinder on his phone, so she was just making the whole thing up.
If your life goal involves doing anything for twelve hours per day, more power to you. I don’t care if it’s playing PUBG or inventing a clean energy solution that feeds the homeless while curing cancer, but discuss it with your partner, find out whether they are cool with it and be as accommodating as possible in any way you can.
‘He does a good job at making her sounds like a crazy person.’
That’s a strech! He didn’t have to anyway, she admitted to buying a weapon because she was homoocidal lol. If that’s not crazy over just leaving the guy, I don’t know what is!
Another quote from him I just read in an article on The Age.
All domestic assault is inexcusable. I’m just sick of the “hysterical woman” reasoning that guys like this use.
The guy is a 100% douchy dudebro, no question. However, I really have to admire the fact that not only he kept his cool long enough to fight someone with a sword, he also subdued her then convinced her to call the police and ambulance. Someone else would either get killed or go all out and kill her instead. He saved his own life while avoiding becoming a murderer and also allowed her the possibility of a more merciful legal process.
Yeah he sounds like he kind of had it comming, Obviously she shouldn’t have tried to kill him, Leaving his lazy ass with all the bills would have been better.
Does he? Given how people are practically idolising esports and streamers as legitimate jobs, even here on Kotaku AU, I don’t know if he really was “a shit” for trying to break into that dream. I don’t know what “preparing for this my whole life” was referring to, it might be taken out of context, or he might just be an Internet Tough Guy.
I fucking hate ‘e-Athletes’ and eSports and the industry that’s sprung up, but it isn’t remotely relevant when someone decides to take a weapon and stab their significant other. Outside of attempted murder it’s a clear case of domestic violence.
Yeah, he does. Not for trying to break into competitive gaming, for his attitude and evident lack of respect for his partner. He’s also milking the fuck out of this in other media, here’s a few quotes he’s given.
“I was able to wing chun my way to survival.”
“I was just so proud for beating this samurai wannabe crazy lady with hate in her heart.”
“The feeling I had when I won the fight with my bare hands is just absolutely the best feeling.”
I said above, it doesn’t excuse what happened to him, but just because he’s a victim doesn’t mean he’s not also a shit.
I dunno, if someone stabbed me and was wielding a sword I’d probably be pretty pleased with myself if I fended them off.
He might very well be a bit of a dick but it’s totally irrelevant, just as irrelevant as the dynamics of his relationship. It shouldn’t even be part of a discussion involving domestic violence. I know you say that it “doesn’t excuse” the actions of his partner, but then why even mention it?
I don’t consider it irrelevant. Violence doesn’t happen in isolation and regardless of whether her actions were justified (they weren’t), looking at the whole picture gives insight into why or how it happened. This kind of thing doesn’t factor into the determination of guilt unless by way of self defence (which this doesn’t seem to be), but it does factor into sentencing.
I find the reasons why people commit crimes to be interesting, and in this instance his character and conduct appear to be evident factors contributing to her actions. The way he’s conducted himself since (eg. the boasting) gives some insight into that character.
There’s no justification or mitigation for domestic violence. There is no “contributing factor” of him making dumb statements and apparently being a lazy piece of shit. You can find it interesting but bringing it to the spotlight is bordering on victim blaming.
He can be a lazy piece of shit and ignore his partner. He can be a stereotypical neck beard “live by the sword” weeaboo. It doesn’t matter once the violence starts because it’s a totally unacceptable reaction.
I respect your opinion and I appreciate you sharing it, but I don’t agree. Analysing the factors that led to a crime, including factors from the victim, isn’t victim blaming. It’s the basis of any criminal investigation as well as the purpose of just about every crime documentary ever made.
Shifting blame from the aggressor to the victim is when it becomes a problem. You can do one without the other, and I believe I’ve remained on the safe side of that line in this discussion. At no point have I said he deserved it, nor that he brought it on himself, nor any other reassignment of blame for her violent actions. I’m simply assessing and discussing the available facts.
Ha! I got stabbed for cheating when I was 19. I’d say I deserved it, but really stabbing someone is illegal whilst being unfaithful is not.
This lady premeditated the whole thing. I don’t know how she internally actualised the outcome. What did she think her life would be like after going full ninja on her BF?
And also…
That’s hardcore dude!
What?
The thick plottens, hmm?
So the actual link to video games is tenuous and really just a factor in the lead up to her attempted murder? Is it really a good idea to be framing stories like this in a time when the topic of video games causing people to be violent is a hot topic?
What I find interesting is that she went out and bought a katana for the murder despite already having knives available. It seems like an awkward weapon to use for murder unless they’re talking about something like a Tanto which is more like a knife.
Maybe there’s some irony in there – she chose to use a katana due to his love of martial arts movies.
Or really, she’s just that nuts.
What I find interesting, and somewhat related, is that despite his obsession with a violent video game, he used non-lethal means and negotiation to prevent a fatal incident…
She has green hair dude, she’s nuts.
An instant givaway in my experience.
I’ve been thinking about that since I read this: Why a katana?
The only thing think of is she had a Kill Bill fantasy. She thought she was gonna become an assassin and killing her boyfriend would be a good original story.
Then she saw the detached fingers and had a moment of clarity.
So, Dr. Disrespect’s wife finally got her revenge.
Sounds to me like she attacked him for gaming too much, and then told the cops that he was cheating and gaming too much so she did not sound like a crazy person.
RESTRICTING THE PLAY AREA FOR 10 YEARS!
You injured TinderNeckBeard with a Katana – 1 left
You definitely want to tape knives together to increase their efficiency.