German's online love obsession ends in UK stabbing, court hears

LONDON - An internet gaming fanatic flew from his home in Germany to lie in wait and stab a British student to death after becoming obsessed with his victim's girlfriend, a court heard yesterday.

David Heiss, 21, stabbed 20-year-old Matthew Pyke 86 times in a "savage and sustained" attack, Nottingham Crown Court was told.

The office worker acted out of "hatred and obsession" after becoming fixated with Joanna Witton, stalking her via Warcentral.com, an online gaming site she ran with her boyfriend from their Nottingham home.

Shaun Smith, QC, for the prosecution, said the September murder was "cold, calculated and premeditated".

The jury was told Heiss was one of 40 regular users of the website which Pyke and Witton, 20, set up in December 2007. Pyke used the alias Shade and his girlfriend called herself Jojo.

They came across Heiss in March last year, when he contacted Witton, telling her he had a crush on her. Despite her insistence she was with Pyke, Heiss continued to declare his love.

In August she blocked him from the website.

In September, he went to Nottingham, slept outside their flat and then watched as Witton left for work.

When Pyke opened the door to his flat, the court heard, Heiss launched his attack. Grisly pictures showed a trail of blood inside.

Heiss then allegedly changed into other clothes he had with him, borrowed a pair of his victim's boots and a baseball cap, and set about trying to make the attack look like a robbery.

After removing items from the flat, he went home to Germany, discarding his weapon en route.

In the days after the murder, the court heard, Heiss was back online. He told friends he had nothing to do with the killing and said he wanted to attend the funeral. But he later told police he did stab Pyke "indiscriminately".

Heiss, who is from Limburg, denies murder.

- INDEPENDENT