Getting Murdered Over a facebook Status? What is the World Coming Too?

Man murdered wife for changing Facebook status to 'single'

Story By: Will Pavia of - www.timesonline.co.uk

A man murdered his estranged wife after he became “enraged” that she had changed her marital status to single on the social networking site Facebook.

Edward Richardson, 41, was found guilty of stabbing to death Sarah Richardson, 26, a hairdresser, in her parents’ house in Staffordshire on May 12 last year.

Fiona Cortese of the Crown Prosecution Service said: “Richarsdon became enraged when Sarah changed her marital status on Facebook to single and decided to go and see her as she was not responding to his messages.”

Stafford Crown Court heard that Richardson, a carpenter from Biddulph, Stoke-on-Trent, had sought out Mrs Richardson in her parents house and entered by breaking the front door window.

“Once inside he found Sarah in her bedroom and subjected her to a frenzied and brutal attack with a knife and then attempted to take his own life,” said Ms Cortese.

She said: “We hope that today’s guilty verdict will go some way to easing the pain of Sarah’s friends and family after losing her in such a violent and abrupt way.”

Beryl and Alan Boote, the parents of Mrs Richardson, issued a statement after the verdict. “There simply aren’t the words to describe how Sarah’s death, and the awful way in which she died, has affected us,” they said. “We miss her so much. Sarah was the loveliest daughter anyone could wish for. She was honest, loyal and sweet, and everyone loved her.”

My Thoughts:

This has to be the most messed up a social networking site can do to people. It sounds like I'm against it right? I'm not, but it goes to show you that in any relationship, if there is no communication and honesty, then things of this or any nature could happen. Also, occurrences like this and others invoking suicide from another social networking crime, will only create more evidence that the people as a collective will be under big brothers watchful eye for a very long time and places like facebook, which help give users a place to enjoy life and express their view and thoughts will also be taken for granted.