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Kimmie Daily Update: Was Suspect Tyler Savage Inspired by Game?

Was Kimmie Daily's Alleged Killer, Tyler Wolfgang Savage, Inspired by a Video Game? Cops Believe So
Tyler Savage (AP Photo/The News Tribune) AP Photo/The News Tribune

PUYALLUP, Wash. (CBS/KIRO) Was the brutal rape and murder of Kimmie Daily inspired by the video game suspect Tyler Savage apparently played for hours a day?

PICTURES: Kimberly "Kimmie" Daily Murdered

That's the question police are hoping to answer as they investigate the puzzling case of the seemingly normal teen whose "criminal history went from 0 to 100 miles an hour with one crime," according to Pierce County Prosecutor Mark Lindquist.

The body of developmentally-delayed 16-year-old Kimmie Daily body was found Monday in a vacant lot after being missing for about a week.

According to court documents, Savage told investigators that he lured Kimmie to a vacant lot the afternoon of Aug. 17 and that when Kimberly got up to leave, he grabbed her from behind around the neck and choked her until she was dead, according to CBS affiliate KIRO.

He then told them that he went to a neighbor's house to play the online video game "Dungeons and Dragons" to "cope" with what he had done and that he often turned to video games in order to "cope" with life, according to the documents. Investigators, according to local station KOMO, are investigating to see if there is a connection between the game and the brutal murder Savage is alleged to have committed.

Investigators were quick to say they aren't blaming the video game for the murder, merely looking for what could have triggered the level of violence that seemed to come out of nowhere, local station KOMO reported.

Savage's attorney says the video game theory is pure speculation and that there are other more tangible explanations for why someone might snap in the way that investigators allege the 18-year-old did.

"What if there's a chemical or organic imbalance or something physically wrong, identifiably medically wrong with his brain that caused this to happen?" defense attorney Jay Berneburg told KOMO.

Savage pleaded not guilty to aggravated first-degree murder and is being held without bail. The murder charge means he would be eligible for the death penalty if convicted.

MORE ON CRIMESIDER
August 26, 2010 - Candlelight Vigil Held for Kimberly "Kimmie" Daily, Slain Wash. Teen
August 26, 2010 - Kimberly "Kimmie" Daily Murdered: Suspect Pleads Not Guilty In Developmentally-Disabled Girl's Slaying


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