A viral video on social media shows a UK man being arrested for murder and crying that he’ll miss Grand Theft Auto 6. The timing of this release may make some think these events are more recent than they are, given the proximity to Grand Theft Auto 6‘s release date and the way it was shared on social media. However, the events in the video took place back in May 2025 and have just now released following his sentencing.
On May 30, 2025, Robert Richens called the police to say he believed he killed a woman: Rachael Vaughan, his girlfriend, 40. It was later played at a court hearing: “You’re not going to believe this and I think I accidentally killed someone. She’s not moving. I am being honest because I am ashamed of what I’ve done. I did not mean to kill this person.” The prosecutor told the court that Richens punched, killed, and beat her with an instrument until she died, citing “64 sites of blunt trauma.”
Richens would plead guilty to murder in December 2025 and would be sentenced to life in prison on February 6, 2026. Following his sentencing, bodycam footage obtained by U.K. outlet The Independent showed Richens crying and upset over GTA 6 during his May 2025 arrest. “I’m going to miss GTA,” said Richens, to which the officer responded: “Which GTA? What are you talking about, Robert?” Richens reiterated that he would miss the release of GTA 6. The officer told him he had “ages” until its release, to which Richens responded, “I’m going to get life.”
Before Richens made this call to the police, he reportedly spent five hours at Vaughan’s home cleaning up the body, changing her clothes, and cleaning the house. Vaughan was pronounced dead at the scene, with Richens being arrested at his own home later that day. Richens and Vaughan had reportedly begun an on-and-off-again relationship in Spring 2023. According to Detective Chief Inspector Stuart May, Richens “left Rachael alone in her house, made no attempt to help her or seek medical attention, and he only contacted police when he had nowhere else to turn.”
With such cases, it bears repeating that multiple studies conducted over several years have not found strong evidence of causal links between violent crimes and violent video games, nor have they increased any sort of emotional desensitization. However, fans should be prepared for the eventual release of GTA 6. GTA 5 played a major role in movements regarding “video game violence,” and GTA 6 discourse is likely to be similar.
Source: People, The Independent
