UCA Student’s Facebook Death Threat

My wife and I were watching the news last night when this story aired and while I know it’s not funny, I couldn’t help but laugh because it’s not that hard to track someone down via the web. 

Unless the person sending the threats did a very careful job of covering their footprints, which someone with the intelligence to do something like this obviously doesn’t have the ability to do.

I know that Little Rock doesn’t have a computer hacker on their force, and they probably should get one, or at least a consultant they could reach out to, but I do know the FBI Little Rock Field Office is well staffed, and my best guess is that they already know who this person is and are just biding their time in hopes to catch them doing something else dumb.  Death threats via the web aren’t anything new, usually they are followed up by extortion as well.

I gathered from the newscast last night that this guy and his family aren’t taking any precautions and are packing heat everywhere they go, which probably isn’t a bad idea just to be on the safe side, but honestly, if you were going to do someone harm, would you first send them a warning on Facebook?  What’s this world come to??

A UCA student receives death threats over the popular social networking website Facebook. He has no idea who sent it, not recognizing the sender’s name; but thinks it’s someone who knows him because the one making the threats has personal information about the student.

Twenty-year-old Matt Cowling is studying nursing at UCA, while living with his parents in Little Rock. When the threat came in, the family locked their downs and made sure their guns were loaded for protection.

The threat reads. "I know where you live and I will kill you in your sleep. Don’t forget this."

It’s full of explicit language and goes on to name Cowling’s girlfriend saying, "I’ll kill her too. You think that I won’t. I will."

Cowling got the message last Thursday and says he freaked out.

Cowling says, "Every time I fall asleep now it’s like did I lock the doors, did I set the alarm? Did I lock my bedroom door? I check my trunk now and my back seat every time I get in my car."

Cowling called both Little Rock police and the FBI. He filed a police report with the city.

Lieutenant Terry Hastings says while the threat is taken seriously Little Rock does not have an internet crimes detective; and when the internet is involved it’s complicated.

Hastings says, "A lot of time these cases go unsolved because we never figure out who is making the threats. Hopefully it’s just that a threat that that person would never follow through with anything."

Matt’s mom, Karen is disappointed the person making the threats hasn’t been caught and says her husband has loaded more than one gun to protect the family.

Karen Cowling says, "That was strange going to bed hearing bullets going into chambers before you close your eyes to go to sleep. That was an immediate decision. The men made that decision. It was a no-brainer in this house."

The Cowlings contacted Facebook who removed the profile. But that does not answer any questions for Matt.

This raises all sorts of questions like who has jurisdiction when the threat is over the internet.
Today’s THV asked and we found out it’s the local police department in the city where the threat was received.

Today’s THV contacted Facebook for a comment on the situation. They did not respond to our request.

Lt. Hastings says this is terroristic threatening and is a felony.

UCA Student Receives Death Threats – todaysthv.com | KTHV | Little Rock, AR