3 Times Video Games Got Someone Life In Prison

Video games are supposed to be a relaxing hobby, but any gamer can tell you that this isn't always the case. Sometimes games can introduce a lot of tension into a group of players or an already inflamed situation, and gaming disputes don't always get resolved peacefully. Gamers have seen streamers go to jail because of video games, but it's not just the people performing for a camera who get overheated.

Believe it or not, video games have sometimes gotten people into so much trouble that they find themselves in prison — for life. Most of the time, if someone ends up behind bars over a video game, it's because an argument suddenly turned violent. Occasionally, though, people have gone to jail for the gamer equivalent of a white collar crime. The biggest leaks in gaming history haven't always gone unpunished, after all. But a life sentence is a different matter entirely.

Horrific crimes are never pleasant to think about, and even when it's justified, a long prison sentence isn't something people tend to celebrate. From violent outbursts to international hacking, here are three stories of video games leading people to life sentences.

In an utterly heartbreaking 2018 criminal case in Milwaukee, the body of 15-year-old Dennis King was discovered on May 20. He had been stabbed to death, and his attacker apparently tried to burn the body. A 22-year-old named Malik Terrell was later arrested in connection to the murder. Terrell reportedly believed that King had stolen a video game console, and he fled to Chicago after committing the murder. Terrell pleaded guilty to killing King with the help of his younger brothers.

At his sentencing hearing, Terrell offered a slightly different take on what had happened. According to Fox 6 Milwaukee, Terrell apologized to King's family before saying, "It wasn't over a video game. You right. He came back to my house to attack me. I got the stab wounds to prove it. I just overpowered him." 

Judge David Borowski interpreted Terrell's statement as showing a lack of remorse and sentenced him to life in prison without parole. Terrell's younger brother was sentenced to 18 months and his mother received a three-year sentence for aiding Terrell. Terrell later appealed his sentence, arguing that his attorney and the prosecutor had misled him into pleading guilty, but his appeal was rejected by the Wisconsin Court of Appeals.

A particularly disturbing incident somewhat related to a PlayStation 5 took place in New Hampshire in 2023. Thomas Humphrey was a 47-year-old man living with his mom, Linda Tufts, who bought him a PS5 for his birthday. The two of them reportedly got into an argument about how loud the TV was. The argument escalated, and Humphrey stabbed his mother — but sadly, it didn't stop there.

When police arrived on the scene, they found Humphrey alone in the cellar with wounds that he'd apparently inflicted on himself. By that time, Humphrey's mother was dead: he had stabbed her 22 times, nearly decapitated her, and tried to burn her body. Prosecutors charged him with second degree murder and arson.

Somewhat surprisingly, Humphrey pleaded guilty to all his charges. His case still took quite some time to resolve, however, and his sentencing didn't take place until June 2024. According to WMUR9, Judge William Delker said during Humphrey's sentencing, "This is, as I said in my more than a decade on the bench, one of the most brutal murders that I've presided over." Humphrey was sentenced to 40 years in prison for the murder and an additional 5-10 years for the arson, to be served consecutively.

Not every gamer who's gotten a life sentence committed a violent crime. British teenager Arion Kurtaj was a serial criminal, but never hurt a soul. In fact, some gamers might actually appreciate Kurtaj's crimes. The "GTA 6" leaks changed everything about what gamers expect from Rockstar's most highly-anticipated release ever, and Kurtaj had a major role in getting that information out.

Kurtaj was part of an international hacking gang that calls itself Lapsus$. He was actually out on bail from a different hacking incident when he breached Rockstar's servers using his own phone and an Amazon Firestick in a hotel room. That is an impressive technical achievement that likely cost Rockstar an amount of money that's difficult to calculate.

After being arrested in relation to the Rockstar leak, Kurtaj was reportedly violent in custody and showed no remorse for what he'd done. Because Kurtaj was a repeat offender who kept expressing his desire to be released and commit more cybercrimes, he wasn't given any leniency in his sentencing. But since Kurtaj is autistic, he was sentenced to life in a psychiatric hospital, unless doctors at some point deem that he's no longer a criminal risk.