Two YouTubers suffered a break-in at the hands of a armed fan. Gavin Free, former creative director of Rooster Teeth, and Twitch streamer and cosplayer Meg Turney, hid in their closet from an armed assailant who was later killed in a confrontation with police.
The assailant, Christopher Giles, who was described by police as “single, lonely, and disturbed” had “developed a fondness” for Turney, and a resentment for her partner, Free. He drove 11 hours from Albuquerque to Austin, before breaking into the couple’s house at around 3:40 am on January 26. The couple were woken up by the noise of a gunshot and a breaking window.
The pair hid in a closet and called the police, as Giles searched their home for them. After he was unable to find them, he left the property, but was discovered by the authorities as he attempted to back out of the driveway. A shot was fired from inside the car, and one police officer returned fire. Giles was pronounced dead at the scene – according to a preliminary postmortem, he committed suicide, but this has not yet been confirmed.
Court documents state that “it was apparent that Giles’ sole intent was to cause harm to someone. Giles’ phone contained “more than 1000 notes” about the couple, one of which read that “I want Gavin Free to die alone, with no children.” Neither Free nor Turney were harmed in the incident.