Times Gamers Passed Unexpectedly

    So in my last post, I talked about horrible crimes associated with video games. Well, I've decided to explore the other dark side of that; unexpected deaths. This post will mostly be focusing on untimely deaths of beloved gamers, due to video games. I will only be covering a small handful of these cases, but you can easily find other cases online. Again, a trigger warning is in place for this post, as it still contains content that some readers may find distressing. Also, if you read any, read Calvin Riley's case. You may just be able to help bring an unknown killer to justice.

Hsieh

    Hsieh, his surname, was a 32 year old gamer from Taiwan. He lived in the second largest city, Kaohsiung. He spent much of his time at internet cafes, and his family stated that he often would disappear for 2-3 days to spend time at these cafes, as he was unemployed and felt this was the only place he could go. Unfortunately, in 2015, a staff member at the café found Hsieh motionless, at one of the gaming desks, on the morning of January 8th. Hsieh was rushed to the hospital, but was pronounced dead from cardiac failure, cold temperatures and over-exhaustion was blamed. He passed while on a 3 day gaming binge. When he was picked up from the café and taken to hospital, police stated that none of the other gamers even seemed to notice what was going on. As tragic as Hsieh death is, he is far from the only one to pass away in a manner like this.

Chuang

    Another case taking place in Taiwan is the case of 18 year old Chuang. He loved gaming and had booked a private room at the Tainan Café on the afternoon of July 13th, 2012. He decided to play Diablo III, a popular RPG, dungeon crawler game that was released May of 2012. After checking into his room, Chuang proceeded to play the game for 40 hours straight, without eating. Two days later, on July 15th, an employee of the café entered Chuang's room and found him resting. The staff member woke him up, and Chuang stood. He tried to take a few steps, but collapsed. He was rushed to the hospital, but was unfortunately pronounced dead shortly after arriving. Authorities believe the cause of death may have been a blood clot that formed, due to the teen for sitting for such a long period of time.

Pavel Mateev

    This case is absolutely heartbreaking. This case took place in Russia in 2018, and revolves around 15 year old Pavel Mateev. Pavel loved video games. His mother wanted to buy him a thoughtful gift of a game, but never expected it would turn out the way it did. I couldn't find a source that said what the game was, but Pavel quickly became addicted. However, one day, Pavel lost the game. He couldn't take the loss, due to his addiction to the game, and it ended up with his passing. He decided this loss would be the end of him and he unfortunately committed suicide by chainsaw. Yes. By chainsaw. The young boy used a chainsaw to decapitate himself, due to the fact that he lost the game. Theories say that Pavel may have unknowingly been indicted in a "death group" that incited children and teens to take their own lives while playing online games. It's just a theory and there is no clear links that Pavel's suicide was connected in any way. Russia has had an issue with these groups and an anti-cyber crime official warned that 1339 online suicide groups were uncovered, with an audience of 12,000 users. Two other online games that have been reported are The Blue Whale Challenge and The Momo Challenge. If you or a loved one is struggling or having thoughts of suicide, please visit your local hospital, or call 988 for help. You're not alone and help is out there.

Shawn Woolly

    Shawn Woolly is another tragic case of video game addiction gone south. Thanksgiving 2001, Elizabeth Woolley tragically found her son, dead in front of his computer. All his life he had struggled with learning disabilities and significant emotional problems, but in 2000 he had been able to get a job and his own apartment. His mother thought things were going well, until she found him. Shawn had shot himself while sitting at his computer. On the screen was the game Everquest. Everquest is a 3D fantasy MMORPG that was released in March of 1999. Shawn had his issues, but his mother says that she believes that Everquest pushed him over the edge. Late in the fall of the same year, Shawn stopped working and he stopped going around his family. He basically stopped living far before he ended his life, all because of the game. His mother told reporters that something happened in the game, that absolutely crushed her son. He had been rejected by a character he called "iluvyou" and this absolutely destroyed him. She tried to calm him down and talk through it with him, but when she said, "Those aren't people - they're not real people," she could see the hurt in her son's face. He wasn't angry, he was hurt. Since her son's death, Elizabeth has connected with hundreds of people who claim that their Everquest addiction is ruining their lives. She hopes that Sony will include a warning on their games, that  Everquest may be a risk for some people. She also started On-Line Gamers Anonymous.

Jeff Dailey

    Berzerk is a multi-directional shooter arcade game that was released in 1980. Players control a green stick figure man that you have to direct through a maze that's filled with robots who shoot lasers at the player. Bezerk is also the first video game known to be involved in a player's death. This player was 19 year old Jeff Dailey. Jeff died of a heart attack, shortly after receiving a score of 16,660. It's unknown if he was showing signs of physical or mental distress before his death occurred. The following year, a 18 year old named Peter Burkowski made the top 10 list for the game, twice in 15 minutes. He died minutes later from a heart attack.

Anna-Lee Kehoe

    Anna-Lee Kehoe was a 13 year old girl, who suffered from asthma. One day, in 2011, Anna-Lee was immersed in her Xbox360 after finishing up her last day of school for the school year. She had been so immersed in her game, when she began to have symptoms of having an attack. However, due to her being so focused on the game, she didn't realize how bad her symptoms where getting. Once she took a break, she was able to go to her mother and say, "I can't breathe" before collapsing on the floor. She was rushed to the hospital, where doctors discovered the young girl had suffered a heart attack that was so bad that her left side of her brain was dead and she needed to be placed on life support. The doctors informed the family that Anna-Lee's asthma is what triggered the heart attack. The following day, her parents had to make the heart wrenching decision to take their little girl off life support. 

Gabriel Cavalcante Carneiro Leao

    Gabriel was a 16 year old  Brazilian teen, who was an avid player of the mobile game, Ingress. Ingress was a game that was Pokémon GO before Pokémon GO existed. In Ingress, the alternate world, two different factions were fighting for freedom and control. The player was required to go to different locations to level up and become stronger in the game. However, since the game was still growing, it didn't have any warning or caution signs for being careful and being aware of your surroundings. While the game may not have had warnings, Gabriel's mother definitely told him time after time to use caution while out playing. Sadly, Gabriel didn't heed his mother's warnings. He was on his way to capture a grey portal for his faction, when he crossed a busy street without looking. He was tragically hit by a bus in oncoming traffic and killed.

Chris Staniforth

    Chris Staniforth loved playing Halo Online on his Xbox. He loved getting to compete with and against other players that were from all over the world. However, Chris was addicted. He often would spend up to 12 hours playing the game, without breaks. Chris slowly began to get pains in his chest, but didn't bother to see a doctor about the issue. Eventually, he developed Deep Vein Thrombosis, due to sitting immobile for so long. Tragically, Chris developed a blood clot blockage in his lungs (called Pulmonary Embolism), which tragically resulted in his death. Chris was only 20 years old.

Calvin Riley

    Calvin Riley's case is very similar to Gabriel's. 20 year old Calvin loved to play the famous mobile game, Pokemon GO. The game caused several issues among its players. Some were willing to trespass and face other legal troubles, while others, who went out at night, were sometimes victims of robberies and assaults. Sadly, Calvin was one of these victims. On August 6th, 2016, Calvin and a friend were playing one night, at San Francisco's Aquatic Park. At about 10pm, Calvin was shot in the back, and died at the scene. His killer has never been caught, and it's unsure what the motive was, as Calvin's wallet and phone were untouched. Witnesses say that they did see a man  watching people from a  distance earlier that evening, and Calvin's friend said that they passed the man at one point, but remained focused on the game. If you know of any details or information that could help the case, please contact the US Park Police tip line at (415) 561-5150 or Police Communications at (415)561-5508, reference CCN 16-70686. His family had a facebook page called Justice for Calvin Riley, but their last update was in 2019.

Tim Eves

    Tim Eves was a fit, young man. At 25 years old, he often participated in outside activities and loved to travel. He enjoyed playing the game Wii Fit, which was a Wii compatible game that you used a fitness board with. This board was like a flat Wii remote that could pick up your movements and make the avatar copy your actions. It had games like running, jogging, biking, swimming, and other activities. At the time, Tim was jogging on the board, while his girlfriend and friend watched. Suddenly, he collapsed and an ambulance was called, but sadly paramedics were unable to revive him. So how could a perfectly healthy young man die so suddenly? Well, it was discovered the Tim was possibly killed by Sudden Arrhythmia Death Syndrome, which is a disorder of the heart where the heart stops pumping blood to the brain.

Lee Seung Seop

    Lee was a 28 year old industrial boiler repairman, whos family said he was a video game addict. Often times after work, Lee would go to the local internet cafes and play for hours on end without taking any breaks. He did have a normal life, obviously having a job and also having a girlfriend, who also loved gaming. But video games became more important to him. He ended up losing his job and broke things off with his girlfriend. On August 5th, 2005, a witness at the internet cafe said that Lee basically fell off his chair. His eyes were closed, but he was still conscious. He was quickly rushed to the hospital, where he sadly passed away. Lee had been playing the game "Starcraft" and had been on a 50 hour binge. He hardly ate, slept, or drank anything, and only took restroom breaks when absolutely required. Doctors discovered that the young man had died of heart failure from exhaustion and dehydration. 

Brian Vigneault

    Brian was a 35 year old father of 3 and twitch streamer, who streamed under the tag PoShYbRiD. He often would stream games for hours for different charity streams. Tragically, Brian would die doing the thing he loved. On February 19, 2017, Brian was participating in a charity stream for Make-A-Wish. He was playing one of his favorite games, World of Tanks. The time for the stream was to be for 24 hours straight. While friends and viewers were watching Brian stream, they noticed after awhile he didn't seem to be doing so well. Several viewers urged him to relax and get some rest. At the 22 hour mark, Brian did take a cigarette break, but never returned. This concerned his viewers and after several hours of inactivity, a moderator on Twitch messaged Brian to check on in. Instead of Brian replying, he got a response from a Virginia Beach detective. The detective sadly informed the mod that Brian had passed away. When he had gone on his break and went outside to smoke, he collapsed and died of a heart attack.

Zhang

    You may have heard of Zhang if you're a fan of South Park. Zhang was a 26 year old man who lived in China and who was extremely addicted to the MMORPG World of Warcraft. Over the years, Zhang became so addicted that he gained over 320 pounds and had overall become unhealthy. He had time off during the Lunar New Year, and he decided it would be the perfect opportunity to play his favorite game. For 7 days straight he played World of Warcraft. When he was found at the end of the week, he was slumped over his computer. Paramedics were called and tried to revive him, but their efforts were fruitless. Zhang passed away from his weight, poor blood circulation, and oxygen depravity from sitting for too long. You may be wondering what South Park has to do with this tragedy. Well, apparently Zhang's case inspired the episode, "Make Love, Not Warcraft".