Armed with a Taser, BB guns and a laser pointer, her dog bound and gagged in the bathroom, Kimberly Jernigan laid in wait, seeking to exact revenge on her former online love. Now there will be very real consequences to pay.
Jernigan's facing attempted kidnapping, burglary and other charges after she tried to abduct her former Second Life boyfriend in real life, according to Philly's NBCNews10.com. The story began simply enough when Jernigan, whose online avatar in the 3-D virtual world was a woman, began a romance with a 52-year-old Delaware man who portrayed a lion online.
When he ended the virtual inter-species affair, Jernigan first tried to kidnap her online paramour at gunpoint at his job. When that didn't work, Jernigan impersonated a postal worker for four days so she could find her former Second Life flame's new apartment, police said. She removed a screen from his window and hid out, awaiting his arrival, according to news accounts.
"He suddenly notices the silhouette of a person standing inside of his apartment pointing what he described as an object at him," said Cpl. Trinidad Navarro. "He then notices a laser beam on his torso, and he runs out."
Jernigan also fled, leaving behind her dog, which was duct-taped and bound in the bathroom because the pooch was making too much noise. Police arrested her an hour later at a rest stop, where they recovered her arsenal.
"She had handcuffs, duct tape and a Taser," Navarro said. "It's pretty bizarre. We haven't seen anything like this in the past."
In addition to kidnapping and burglary charges, Jernigan may be hit with animal cruelty charges.
