Christopher Giles reportedly drove 11 hours from New Mexico to break into the Austin, Texas home of YouTube stars Gavin Free and Meg Turney with the “intent to cause harm to someone who resides there,” according to the Albuquerque Journal.
Free and Turney have about a million followers between Instagram and YouTube. KVUE reported that Giles had developed an infatuation with Turney overtime, which led to building resentment for her boyfriend. The YouTube stars were awakened by a gunshot and breaking glass at around 4 a.m., so they called the police and hid in the master bedroom closet.
University of Texas Associate Professor and expert on social media and psychology, Dr. Angeline Close Scheinbaum, told KVUE that this situation seems to fit the definition of parasocial interaction.
“It’s when a real consumer, a real person has a relationship that’s real to them, but the kicker is it’s not normal at all because it’s one sided.”
NY Daily News writes that the home’s security footage captured Giles with a gun searching for the couple. When he couldn’t find them, he left. When police arrived, Giles was backing out of the couple’s driveway when the police heard another gunshot. Giles is believed to have died from a self-inflicted gun shot wound.
Hey everyone. I just wanted to say thanks for all the support and concern regarding the recent incident. It’s been a rough time for Meg and myself the last few weeks but we are doing ok. I want to give a huge thanks to @Austin_Police for the amazing response time. ❤️ you all.
— Gavin Free (@GavinFree) February 13, 2018
In an affidavit obtained by the Albuquerque Journal, a detective wrote, “Based upon the known circumstances and investigative findings, your affiant is led to believe that evidence related to the planned burglary and homicides of Megan Turney and Gavin Free will be found.”
Free and Turney are unharmed, according to NY Daily News, and have since posted an update to their fans via Free’s Twitter.
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