In a disturbing example of domestic violence, a Michigan man has been accused of killing his longtime boyfriend over a fight involving a video game.
Elisha Fieldstadt of NBC News reported that Docquen Jovo Watkins “is being held without bond in the Oakland County Jail on a second-degree murder charge.”
According to Fieldstadt, “Watkins is accused of fatally choking his boyfriend, Rory Teasley, after an argument about the game Overwatch.”
The popular game, which is produced by Blizzard Entertainment, is a multiplayer shooter involving teams of players that set out on specific quests.
In reports from the Oakland County Sheriff’s Office, Watkins called authorities to his apartment in the Detroit suburb of Pontiac late on the evening of Jan. 6. In the call, Watkins claimed, “he and his boyfriend had gotten into a fight, and the boyfriend was ‘sleeping’ on the couch.”
However, when authorities tried to wake Teasley, they found he was unconscious and not breathing. He was immediately taken to the hospital and pronounced dead shortly after arrival.
Speaking about the tragic nature of the case, Sheriff Michael Bouchard said: “We see far too often across the country these days when people resort to violence over trivial and insignificant disagreements. There is never a reason where violence is acceptable over a disagreement. Those that do so will be held accountable.”
Watkins is currently scheduled for his first court hearing in the case on Jan. 18.
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