On New Year’s Day, Purdue fan and national inspiration Tyler Trent lost his battle with cancer at the age of 20.
As his family made funeral preparations and planned a celebration of the young man’s all-too-brief but inspirational life, the Indianapolis Star reported, they were allegedly subjected to online death threats by 39-year-old John Matthew Pinkham of Florida.
According to the Star, Pinkham was arrested Monday afternoon by deputies from the Volusia County (Fla.) Sheriff’s Department and charged with making written threats to kill or injure.
From the newspaper’s report:
Pinkham is accused of using an alias, Julie Homan, to make multiple posts on Trent’s Facebook page. Volusia County investigators said the threats included:
- “Cant wait till I can choke the life out of you” … “funerals coming and I will appear like the reaper”
- “just wait until yall hear what I do at his funeral..i promise I will make headlines..i will kill his mother.. just watch I will be talked about forever..this is no idol threat.”
The charge Pinkham is facing is a felony.