John's narrative snowballed from there. "I wanted to be dead," John would later tell his therapist. Eventually, on June 28, 2003, his character Janet Dobinson would make the request of Mark, who replied, "U want me 2 ... kill him ... ?? that's wot ur askin me?" 

"Yes," said "Dobinson."

"And jus leave him 2 die .... Wot shud i say 2 him? Stand there a [minute] while i stab u?"

"You love him."

"I love him. But this has 2 be done?"

As Crime and Investigation states, John went on to outline specific instructions regarding which kind of knife Mark should use, and what boots to wear, and where to conduct the murder in the residential area of Goose Green, Manchester. After the attack, John spent a week in the hospital with stab wounds, one of them six inches deep through the kidney, liver, and gall bladder. 

"I love you, bro," Mark reportedly said as he drove the knife into John. Mark, an only child from a working class family, who played soccer, got passing grades, was described as exceedingly "credulous," and felt enchanted by being involved in such a grand plot. John described him as "perfect" and "out of my league."   

Eventually the police traced the fictional characters to John because every time Dobinson was online, John was at home. After months of investigation, both Mark and John were charged with attempted murder. 

"I've been a fool," Mark said in the courtroom.

ncG1vNJzZmivp6x7qL7Up56eZpOkunB%2Fj2lraW1fqbWmedOrrK2gXZavsMHTZquhnV2btrO%2F02annqqjpLtutc1mrKRlmJ7AtbvRsmStp12Xsm6vx5qpoJ2UYsSqwMdmq6Gdmad6sMPNZpitrJWivbWxw2akrqqUmr9w