Stranger than Fiction… a story you couldn’t write.

Wandering around the internet as I often do at times, I stumbled upon an article about a man who had been sentenced to prison (20 years I believe) for murdering someone in a bizarre internet love triangle.

Now if you’re a writer, bizarre can be loosely defined.  You’ve seen, read or considering writing every sort of love triangle there is… and let’s face it, we’ve all heard the internet tales of woe.  So how could this particular story garner so much attention?

It started off like many internet “love” tales (and please note I’m not saying all internet love is bad…how could I? I met my hubby through match.com )…But back to our “leading not-so-hero-like” man:

A middle aged man, feeling who-knows-what, got online one day and discovered he could be anyone he wanted to be.  In this particular case, Joe Schmoe decides he wants to be an 18-year-old soldier headed off to war in Iraq.  Now mind you Joe is late 40s, he’s involved in his church, in the lives of his teenage daughters.

He’s president of his daughter’s swim club.

In his new persona as a marine, he meets a young 18 year old woman named Jane. (Not really her name or her age either, I know you’re shocked.)  Over time, they establish fall in love… and then things get weird.  Joe and Jane fall in love.  And Joe’s father gets involved.

Yes, Joe’s father… who is in actuality Joe.  The also-fake 18 year old marine.  Through a bizarre web of IM conversations and such, Joe is actually communicating with Jane as BOTH the father and son. He invented an entire past and history for his 18 year old self, one that includes violence, redemption and all sorts of strange choices.  Joe continued to fall deeper and deeper in love with Jane, from their communications, from the pictures she sent.  And he used both personas to keep his lies alive — 18 Year old was busy with marine duties, then Father Joe would step in and faciliate communications between the two.  18 Year Old Joe asked her to marry him.   The “real” Joe planned on leaving his wife, living in his fantasy world.  The lines between what was real and what he’d created were virtually gone.  He couldn’t see the difference.

Joe’s wife discovered a package Jane had sent and replied to Jane with a letter, giving her the truth and nothing but the truth:  The 18 year old marine wasn’t at all what she thought.   Through a strange twist of events, she continued to communicate with him.   At the same time, he was outed for being a predator lying to a young woman, and one of his coworkers, a 22 year old young man, started communication with Jane. (I’m a bit fuzzy on how this all happened.)

Joe, in a fit of rage, shot his coworker and killed him.

And somewhere along the line, it came out that Jane, his beautiful 18 year old girl was in fact a 40something mother who had stolen HER daughter’s identity and used it online.

All of this was based on nothing but lies.  With the exception of the 22year old who lost his life, from what I could gather. Sad, sad tale…

Now, as a writer, can you see trying to pitch this story to anyone?  It’s truly stranger than fiction.

Any other Stranger Than Fiction true tales you’ve read about?