It started with a scorned lover. Rodriguez, an amateur bodybuilder enrolled at Valencia Community College, had recently begun dating the ex-girlfriend of Israel Nieves (pictured above), when he started to receive messages from another woman on Facebook. Or so he thought.
The woman, named Ty Ann, exchanged flirty texts and emails with Rodriguez for a couple of weeks. They even video chatted once, building enough of a relationship that when Ty Ann asked Rodriguez to meet her, in person, at her house, he readily agreed. At around 10.15, he pulled up to the address he’d been given at the corner of Pavilion Drive and Holly Springs Circle. He texted a friend to let them know he’d made it:
“Heading to the chick house … by Valencia like right there I’ll text for the I’m good.”
Except there was no Ty Ann. There was no house. There was just, detectives say, Israel Nieves, bandana pulled over his face, gun in hand, waiting to settle whatever score he’d dreamed up when his ex had left him in December. One shot through the side window later, and Rodriguez was dead.
According to the Orlando Sentinel, it wasn’t until police searched through phone and email logs that they decided to pursue Ty Ann, and it was months of tracking false email addresses — and an unnamed iPod touch app that sent text messages from a unique number — that they found out that she was, they say, a figment of Israel Nieves’s imagination. Investigators traced back Ty Ann’s communiques to Nieves’s phone, email and iTunes accounts. That video chat? A female friend of the Nieves says he asked her to pose as the flirtatious femme fatale.
Let’s not call this a cautionary tale; someone as unbalanced as Nieves would have done something terrible eventually, internet or no. Let’s think of it as a reminder, though: That anonymity makes some people capable of anything. That the internet can be a terrifying accomplice. And that tragedies like this are part and parcel of the internet age. [Orlando Sentinel - Thanks Ricky!]
EckyThump
Wednesday, August 3, 2011 at 9:24 AM“anonymity makes some people capable of anything”
This is a rather spurious comment to make, I’m sure I’m not he only person that doesn’t like communal outlets like ‘Facebook’ etc. I value my ‘anonymity’ actually! #}
VodleyVort
Wednesday, August 3, 2011 at 10:34 AMWhy did you write that? It’s not like he said “anonymity makes everyone capable of anything”. He said “some” people, which is absolutely true.
EckyThump
Wednesday, August 3, 2011 at 11:57 AMI just thought that his conjecture was a little too broad is all, maybe spurious was a little strong, but I still think think it was a little too broad!
cayal
Wednesday, August 3, 2011 at 11:11 AMThat is damn scary.
Induna
Wednesday, August 3, 2011 at 2:18 PMHere’s a tip. When going on a blind date – and this was a blind date – it’s best to meet the person in a public place of mutual choosing. Tell somebody where it is you’re going. Do this a few time’s until you get to know and trust the other person. Whatever you do, don’t rush off to some person’s alleged home all by yourself. And remember, there’s nothing inherently wrong with anonymity but think about how much you really know about that stranger you just friended on googleface+. Safe is better than dead, or worse.