Not only are Facebook pokes annoyingly pointless, but they can also be deadly.
Drunken buddies Scott Humphrey (left) and Richard Rovetto were leaving a Nottingham bar in a taxi when Humphrey asked Rovetto, “If you’re such a good friend, why did you poke my missus,” referring to Facebook. The taxi driver recalls Rovetto explaining to Humphrey that he didn’t know the woman was Humphrey’s girlfriend and the discussion getting more heated.
Things escalated when the cab stopped in Top Valley, Nottingham, and Humphrey, 27, struck Rovetto, 29. Rovetto bled from his nose and Humphrey punched him again — this time fatally. Rovetto fell to the ground and hit his head on the pavement. Humphrey fled the scene and Rovetto was taken to the hospital where he was treated for head injuries, but died hours later.
Humphrey eventually turned himself in and was sentenced to jail for four years and four months. Robert Egbuna, Humphrey’s defense lawyer, said, “The defendant is genuinely remorseful about his actions. He will never forget that day. As soon as Scott Humphrey heard about what had happened to Richard Rovetto, he was devastated … He has been very candid and admitted this offense from the very start.”
Judge Gregory Dickinson QC also spoke on the tragic accident, saying, “When you and him went out that evening, violence and death were the furthest things from your mind. You didn’t intend to kill him. Part of the tragedy is that it’s left to chance what happens. There will be a fight like this somewhere tonight and the person will get up and go home and the police will never hear about it.”
Rovetto is survived by one child.
This is a lesson to all that one simple fight can lead to a tragic ending.