RIP, Roz
Note: I am not dead. This was an assignment for class that I couldn't resist posting here.
For nearly thirteen years, Roz L------- kept a dark secret that would ultimately cost her her life. On the surface, it appeared to be a harmless hobby that any techno-savvy young adult might partake in. But what looked like a fun way to pass the time was actually a deadly obsession.
L------- was addicted to The Sims computer game series.
L-------, 24, of Chicago, was found dead in her 13th floor apartment Thursday morning.
Police investigating the mysterious circumstances surrounding her death believe she was possessed by a demon trapped in The Sims, a video game that L-------’s friends say had “taken over her life.”
Electronic Arts, the software publisher behind The Sims franchise, declined to comment on allegations that the game had caused L-------’s death.
An outside observer would have had little idea that anything was out of the ordinary in this DePaul University graduate student’s life. But there were a few signs that something was awry.
L-------, who authored a number of blogs, would occasionally mention The Sims on some of them, and on social media sites such as Facebook. At one point a Facebook friend commented on a photo Lederman had posted of a Sim version of her dog, asking her if she had been “completely asSIMilated into the game.”
Another friend agreed that her gaming habit was a problem. “Whenever she came over to watch a movie with me, she was always playing The Sims on her phone instead of paying attention to the TV,” said P--- G---, 22, one of L-------’s closest friends. “When we first met I thought it was cool that she liked the same game that I did,” said G---. “But she took the word ‘like’ to a whole other level.”
Born October 8, 1988 in Portland, CT to M------- and C----- L-------, L------- was an excellent student, a passionate writer, and a longtime fan of The Sims, which she began playing around the time of its release in 2000. Over the course of her life she lived in Connecticut, Florida, Indiana, and Illinois, leaving her mark almost everywhere she went with her quirky personality and sense of humor.
“She told the corniest jokes, but somehow I always found myself laughing at them anyway,” G--- said.
At the time of her death, L------- was working towards her M.A. in Interdisciplinary Studies.
According to her mother, C----- L-------, L------- one day hoped to “write a book that would change the way people see the world.”
“Roz had been writing even longer than she had been playing The Sims,” she said. “Ever since she could hold a pencil she said she wanted to be a writer. [Her father] and I always encouraged her to follow that dream.”
L------- is survived by her father, M-------; her mother, C-----; and her brother, B-------.
For nearly thirteen years, Roz L------- kept a dark secret that would ultimately cost her her life. On the surface, it appeared to be a harmless hobby that any techno-savvy young adult might partake in. But what looked like a fun way to pass the time was actually a deadly obsession.
L------- was addicted to The Sims computer game series.
L-------, 24, of Chicago, was found dead in her 13th floor apartment Thursday morning.
Police investigating the mysterious circumstances surrounding her death believe she was possessed by a demon trapped in The Sims, a video game that L-------’s friends say had “taken over her life.”
Electronic Arts, the software publisher behind The Sims franchise, declined to comment on allegations that the game had caused L-------’s death.
An outside observer would have had little idea that anything was out of the ordinary in this DePaul University graduate student’s life. But there were a few signs that something was awry.
L-------, who authored a number of blogs, would occasionally mention The Sims on some of them, and on social media sites such as Facebook. At one point a Facebook friend commented on a photo Lederman had posted of a Sim version of her dog, asking her if she had been “completely asSIMilated into the game.”
Another friend agreed that her gaming habit was a problem. “Whenever she came over to watch a movie with me, she was always playing The Sims on her phone instead of paying attention to the TV,” said P--- G---, 22, one of L-------’s closest friends. “When we first met I thought it was cool that she liked the same game that I did,” said G---. “But she took the word ‘like’ to a whole other level.”
Born October 8, 1988 in Portland, CT to M------- and C----- L-------, L------- was an excellent student, a passionate writer, and a longtime fan of The Sims, which she began playing around the time of its release in 2000. Over the course of her life she lived in Connecticut, Florida, Indiana, and Illinois, leaving her mark almost everywhere she went with her quirky personality and sense of humor.
“She told the corniest jokes, but somehow I always found myself laughing at them anyway,” G--- said.
At the time of her death, L------- was working towards her M.A. in Interdisciplinary Studies.
According to her mother, C----- L-------, L------- one day hoped to “write a book that would change the way people see the world.”
“Roz had been writing even longer than she had been playing The Sims,” she said. “Ever since she could hold a pencil she said she wanted to be a writer. [Her father] and I always encouraged her to follow that dream.”
L------- is survived by her father, M-------; her mother, C-----; and her brother, B-------.