Video-Game Love Triangle Ends With Bomb Explosion When Jilted Lover Tried To Kill Romantic Rival

A video-game love triangle ended with a man driving a bomb across half the country and injuring his romantic rival, Radar has learned.

Now, the jilted lover faces three decades behind bars.

Recently, Cayton Alexander McCoy, 32, pleaded guilty in a Maryland federal court to transporting explosives with intent to injure and to possession of an unregistered firearm/explosive device.

He faces up to three decades in prison and sentencing is set for a later date.

McCoy got to know a man and woman over several years through a live action role-playing game, according to federal prosecutors. In October 2020, McCoy expressed romantic feelings for the woman, who said she was in a relationship with the man. She did not share McCoy’s feelings.

McCoy then created a plan to build and deliver a bomb to the man’s house and kill him to remove him as a rival, prosecutors said.

The suspect researched the materials and went to multiple stores in Ohio to buy the components, prosecutors noted. He bought a single item from several businesses to try and avoid detection. He placed various shrapnel inside the bomb.

The bomb was put in a white gift box, tied with a red ribbon. It was armed to explode when the box was opened.

McCoy put the box inside a package with a shipping label and no return address, prosecutors said.

On Oct. 30, 2020, McCoy drove the bomb from Ohio to the victim’s Maryland residence. There, he left it on the front porch. The victim’s grandfather brought the package inside the house. When the victim got home hours later, he opened the larger package.

He then texted his girlfriend to ask if she sent the gift box. He took the items to his bedroom to open them. It was then the bomb detonated.

The victim was hit by shrapnel and taken to the hospital for treatment. He was released weeks later, prosecutors said.

The home had an estimated $47,000 in damage from the explosion, prosecutors stated. The home was unhabitable until March 2021.

In March, police searched McCoy’s home and took items used to make the bomb. McCoy denied knowledge of the case but eventually admitted to making and delivering the weapon.