Teen Killed in Dispute Over $70 Pair of Domains
In yet another sign that senseless geek-on-geek crime is out of control, a 13-year-old honor student and computer genius was arrested yesterday for allegedly killing a classmate in a dispute over a $70 pair of new domain names. According to bystanders, Byron Pell, 14, was bragging to fellow computer lab students over the two .com addresses he had recently purchased when classmate Evan Gillette, a National Merit Scholar and programming wiz, hacked Pellâs password and registration information and transferred title for the domains to himself. After Gillette refused to transfer title back, police say Pell killed Gillette by shoving a Zip disk down his throat. Because Pell and Gillette are minors, police would not reveal their domain names. âThis is the third geek-on-geek crime weâve had in the past week, and each one gets more senseless,â said Secaucus police captain Wayne Bolletti. Last Monday, a carload of coders jumped a 12-year-old geek and killed the boy by repeatedly banging his head against the start button of his laptop. Police are calling the incident a drive-by booting.