A woman who met her boyfriend in the Second Life online virtual world tried to kidnap him twice at gunpoint when he broke up with her in real life.
Kimberly Jernigan, 33, of North Carolina faces charges of kidnapping, burglary and aggravated menacing after a virtual love affair went bad.
Ms Jernigan reportedly began a relationship with the 52-year-old man, whose Second Life avatar was a lion, after first meeting in cyberspace.
But the 52-year-old ended their relationship after meeting Ms Jernigan in person, allegedly prompting her to make two attempts to kidnap her former boyfriend at gunpoint.
The 33-year-old allegedly drove across two states to find the man's workplace in Pennsylvania and attempted to kidnap him at gunpoint.
She failed in her first attempt but Ms Jernigan returned two weeks later and posed as a postal worker for four days to find out where the man lived, CBS reported.
She allegedly broke into her ex-boyfriend's apartment, where she waited for him to arrive home.
She was allegedly armed with a Taser and a BB gun and had, bizarrely, taped her own dog's mouth shut to stop it from barking.
The man fled after returning home and seeing a laser-sight aimed at his chest, he told police.
Ms Jernigan also escaped, dropping her weapons and leaving behind her dog, a roll of duct tape and a pair of handcuffs.
She was arrested by police about an hour later on a nearby highway.
"We had an agreement to have a somewhat open relationship and actually being involved in (a) game online was a very safe way to do that," said Ms Jernigan, according to CBS.
She said her lover recently separated from his wife. "Or so I thought when we both got started."
