10 People Who Were Slain by Their Roommates
Finding the right roommate can be hard. There's a lot to consider:Â Will you share similar hobbies? Do they have annoying habits? Will they eliminate you in your sleep?
Slayer roommates aren't just the fodder for TV or movies - they can really happen. Roommates who snap are motivated by a variety of things from suffering a psychotic break and alleged hook up games gone wrong to losing a video game.
Once you read about these dangerous roommates, you might consider living alone.
A Slaying-Suicide At Harvard University
In 1995, Harvard University was rocked by the murder-suicide involving two roommates. Harvard pre-med student Sinedu Tadesse jabbed her roommate, Trang Phuong Ho, 45 times before tying herself up in the bathroom. Some speculated Tadesse was angry Ho didn't want to live with her during the next school year.
According to news reports, Tadesse had lived with Ho for two years before the slaying. Tadesse, a mentally unstable woman with very few friends and poor grades, is said to have become obsessed with Ho - who was popular and smart. A week before the offense, Tadesse sent a photograph of herself anonymously to the school's newspaper the Harvard Crimson, telling editors that she would be involved in a very "juicy" story.
Roommate Slain Over League of Legends
When a 16-year-old student lost a game of League of Legends, he took his anger out on his roommate by piercing him with a fruit knife.
Police had to break down the door to the dormitory and found the suspect sitting in a pool of blood, with the suspect sitting in the corner of the room.
Sarah Jo Pender Ends Roommate With Boyfriend
In 2000, Sarah Jo Pender and her boyfriend, Richard Hull, wiped out their roommates, Andrew Cataldi and Tricia Nordman. Cataldi and Nordman were reportedly selling hard substances out of Pender's home, and the atmosphere was tense between the couples leading up to the terminations. An argument ensued over money, which led Hull to shoot Cataldi in the chest with a single-barrel. He then fired at Nordman, aiming for head.
The court argued that Pender manipulated her boyfriend into felling their roommates, and she even supplied him with the arms. She was eventually found guilty and sent to prison, but she escaped in 2008. Police caught her again and she remains in custody.
Facebook Post Prompts Revenge Killing
A friendship ended with tragedy when Josiah Clark eliminated his roommate, Jason McCullough. According to McCullough's family, the target had learned some disturbing information about his friend Clark in the days leading up to his passing.
He posted the details to his Facebook account, and an enraged Clark slew him for the post. It's unclear the exact nature of the posting. Clark was on the run before authorities detained him. Three others were apprehended for helping Clark hide from the police.
Zachary Penton Tweets About Murdering His Roommate
In 2016, 23-year-old Zachary Penton called the police confessing to the elimination of his 41-year-old roommate, Daniel Garofalo. When authorities investigated further, they uncovered Penton tweeted about the event before it happened.
His tweet read, "I need to move out of my place before I viciously murder my roommates." Two days later, he shot and killed Garofalo. According to AP, "The 23-year-old says he was acting in self-defense after Garofalo tackled him, took away his phone and threatened to kill him," but "prosecutors say Garofalo was unarmed and that Penton could have run away or called for help rather than shoot his roommate." As for the tweet, Penton's lawyer argued to the court that it was merely frustrated hyperbole, not a literal admission of guilt.
In the end, he was sentenced to 12 years in prison for manslaughter.
Florida Man Kills Roommate And Throws Her In A Trunk
A Tampa, FL, man stabbed his roommate to death and placed her body in the trunk of his car.
Police said Kydel Weldon killed Tina Ryan in May 2016. At the home, the police found a substantial amount of blood and soon started investigating Weldon. Ryan's body was found in the back of his car, and he was charged with murder.