Couple play computer games as children starve

mushrooms · **Joined:** Dec 2006 **Posts:** 675 **Location:**

Quote:

An American couple who authorities say were so obsessed with playing games on the internet that they left their babies to starve have pleaded guilty to child neglect.

The children of Michael and Iana Straw, a 22-month-old boy and an 11-month-old girl, were severely malnourished and close to death last month when doctors examined them after social workers took them to a hospital in Reno, Nevada.

Police said hospital staff had to shave the head of the girl because her hair was matted with cat urine. She weighed just 10 lbs and was also suffering from a mouth infection, dry skin and severe dehydration. Her brother had to be treated for starvation and a genital infection, while his lack of muscle development caused him difficulty in walking.
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Both children are doing well and gaining weight in foster care, said Kelli Ann Viloria, a public prosecutor.

Michael Straw, 25, and Iana Straw, 23, pleaded guilty to two counts each of child neglect. Each faces a maximum 12-year prison sentence. Prosecutors said the Reno couple were too distracted by online video games, mainly the fantasy role-playing Dungeons & Dragons series, to give their children proper care.

“They had food, they just chose not to give it to their kids because they were too busy playing video games,” said Ms Viloria.

Straw is an unemployed cashier and his wife worked for a temporary staffing agency doing warehouse work. After inheriting $50,000 (£25,000), he spent the money on computer equipment and a large plasma screen television.

Last month, experts at an American Medical Association meeting backed away from a proposal to designate video game addiction as a mental disorder, saying it had to be studied further. Some said the issue is like alcoholism, while others said there was no concrete evidence it is a psychological disease.

Patrick Killen, spokesman for Nevada Child Abuse Prevention, said video game addiction’s correlation to child abuse is “a new spin on an old problem”. In 2005, a Korean couple were accused of letting their four-month-old baby die while they went to play World of Warcraft, the world’s most popular online adventure game, at a local internet cafe.

Source: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jh ... ers115.xml

:banghead:

Skitsefrenik · **Joined:** Apr 2006 **Posts:** 1692 **Location:** Maryland

child neglect is child neglect, it doesn't matter if they were playing video games or went on vacation.

Snudge · **Joined:** Jun 2006 **Posts:** 4200 **Location:**

o.o' Ouch.

Blackchocob0 · **Joined:** Sep 2006 **Posts:** 2840 **Location:** HIV, CA

I LOL very hard at the moron's who think video game addiction could even possibly be classified as a mental disorder.

Bi-polar disease is a mental disorder.
Skitzofrenia is a mental disorder.
Parkinson's disease is a mental disorder.

Video game addiction is a mental disorder?

HAHAHA right?

Anyway those two are terrible. They're obviously completely irrisponsible and shouldn't have had the kids in the first place.

feba · **Joined:** Jul 2007 **Posts:** 356 **Location:**

old as hell.

and anyone who is addicted to D&D ONLINE OF ALL FREAKING THINGS deserves whatever they get.

Foilin · **Posted:** Mon Jul 16, 2007 7:13 pm

Yeah, Gaming is def not a Mental disorder, When people say that i see it as them trying to make money off of anything possible. Poor kids, thank God they're alive and getting better!

skulldiver · **Posted:** Mon Jul 16, 2007 10:16 pm

tssk... dungeons & dragons.
if you gonna do shit like this, do it WoW style

nah seriously,this is really sick

Draquish · **Joined:** Mar 2006 **Posts:** 6423 **Location:** ____

Geez, it's called obsession...happens with anything...not just videogames.

Midori · **Joined:** Mar 2007 **Posts:** 3425 **Location:**

[quote="Blackchocob0"]
Bi-polar disease is a mental disorder.
Skitzofrenia is a mental disorder.
Parkinson's disease is a mental disorder.
/quote]

bipolar isn't a disease...

feba · **Joined:** Jul 2007 **Posts:** 356 **Location:**

X-Lax wrote:

Blackchocob0 wrote:

Bi-polar disease is a mental disorder.
Skitzofrenia is a mental disorder.
Parkinson's disease is a mental disorder.

bipolar isn't a disease...

He's very wrong, honestly.

Bipolar disorder, is what he meant, but Parkinson's isn't a mental disorder. It's caused by problems with the brain, yes, but it's not mental.

Blackchocob0 · **Joined:** Sep 2006 **Posts:** 2840 **Location:** HIV, CA

LOL WOW sorry but you guys get my point don't you?

feba · **Joined:** Jul 2007 **Posts:** 356 **Location:**

We get your point, you're just wrong, and in a rather offensive way.

Blackchocob0 · **Joined:** Sep 2006 **Posts:** 2840 **Location:** HIV, CA

Um how so?

You're blowing my mind here. I cannot comprehend how I am being offensive in the least.

EDIT: Yeah, after reading through my posts, you're crazy. I wasn't being rude to anybody here in any way.

Silkroad · **Joined:** Aug 2006 **Posts:** 995 **Location:** Gone

X-Lax wrote:

Blackchocob0 wrote:

Bi-polar disease is a mental disorder.
Skitzofrenia is a mental disorder.
Parkinson's disease is a mental disorder.
/quote]

bipolar isn't a disease...

and Parkinson's is NOT a mental disorder

ontopic:
thats one of the worse stories ive ever heard... good thing those kids are alright

Devotia · **Joined:** Jan 2006 **Posts:** 822 **Location:**

Quote:

Straw is an unemployed cashier and his wife worked for a temporary staffing agency doing warehouse work. After inheriting $50,000 (£25,000), he spent the money on computer equipment and a large plasma screen television.

AHAHA poor people suck with money.

XemnasXD · **Posted:** Tue Jul 17, 2007 3:52 am

i loled....

i can't see how you can go buy food for the kids and then just forget they're there...shouldn't they have been crying or something....and dungeons and dragons.....what losers at least get immersed in a real mmo...and also if they couple didn't leave the house i wonder who tipped off child services

Dystopia · **Joined:** Jan 2007 **Posts:** 2317 **Location:**

It's true what they say; World of Warcraft ruins lives.

Reise · **Joined:** May 2006 **Posts:** 6650 **Location:**

It's not really WoW that ruins lives, it's the morons that can't stop playing it.

Locketart · **Joined:** Mar 2007 **Posts:** 2119 **Location:**

I can understand being addicted to video games but how can you let your children starve. If I had children I'd want to give them the world.

user · **Posted:** Tue Jul 17, 2007 4:28 am

as a SRO player, i feel the their situation when you gotta level your char, YOU GOTTA LVL YOUR CHAR

but how is leveling chars more interesting than making babies?

Dystopia · **Joined:** Jan 2007 **Posts:** 2317 **Location:**

Yeah, I see what you mean, is a killer decision, level up your virtual character, in a mmorpg, or give the baby some nourishment before it dies from starvation....

*sarcasm*

Reise · **Joined:** May 2006 **Posts:** 6650 **Location:**

Locketart wrote:

If I had children I'd want to give them the world.

...of Warcraft?

lol

Locketart · **Joined:** Mar 2007 **Posts:** 2119 **Location:**

Reise wrote:

Locketart wrote:

If I had children I'd want to give them the world.

...of Warcraft?

lol

Yes, that's exactly what I meant. :roll:

feba · **Joined:** Jul 2007 **Posts:** 356 **Location:**

Blackchocob0 wrote:

Um how so?

You're blowing my mind here. I cannot comprehend how I am being offensive in the least.

EDIT: Yeah, after reading through my posts, you're crazy. I wasn't being rude to anybody here in any way.

Called bipolar a disease, and saying Parkinsons is a mental disorder, and misspelling schizophrenia is incredibly offensive. Just because you don't find it so doesn't mean it isn't.

And then calling people crazy for finding your posts offensive is... well, offensive.

Quote:

Yeah, I see what you mean, is a killer decision, level up your virtual character, in a mmorpg, or give the baby some nourishment before it dies from starvation....

Maybe they're members of the Regressive Party? Against Abortion. For Killing Babies. I know I am!

Itonami · **Joined:** Mar 2007 **Posts:** 3182 **Location:**

feba wrote:

old as hell.

and anyone who is addicted to D&D ONLINE OF ALL FREAKING THINGS deserves whatever they get.

They might deserve the charges, but their innocent children did in no way deserve it.. =/

feba · **Joined:** Jul 2007 **Posts:** 356 **Location:**

[NF]Itonami wrote:

feba wrote:

old as hell.

and anyone who is addicted to D&D ONLINE OF ALL FREAKING THINGS deserves whatever they get.

They might deserve the charges, but their innocent children did in no way deserve it.. =/

well yeah, of course that's what I meant. The kids weren't addicted to D&D Online, now were they?

rek · **Posted:** Tue Jul 17, 2007 12:25 pm

feba wrote:

Blackchocob0 wrote:

Um how so?

You're blowing my mind here. I cannot comprehend how I am being offensive in the least.

EDIT: Yeah, after reading through my posts, you're crazy. I wasn't being rude to anybody here in any way.

Called bipolar a disease, and saying Parkinsons is a mental disorder, and misspelling schizophrenia is incredibly offensive. Just because you don't find it so doesn't mean it isn't.

And then calling people crazy for finding your posts offensive is... well, offensive.

Why are you making things more complicated? Its just a mistake, if he offended anyone he didnt mean it.

feba · **Joined:** Jul 2007 **Posts:** 356 **Location:**

reK wrote:

Why are you making things more complicated? Its just a mistake, if he offended anyone he didnt mean it.

If he didn't mean it, he would've apologized, instead of calling people "crazy".

Itonami · **Joined:** Mar 2007 **Posts:** 3182 **Location:**

Come on guys, no need for where this is headed.

Let's keep flamng the dumbasses who nearly let their children die. -_-

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