His So-Called Friend Gave His Girlfriend a 'Poke' — And So He Punched That Friend to Death

"If you're such a good friend why did you poke my missus?"

Those were the words that Scott Humphrey, 27, was overheard saying to 29-year-old Richard Rovetto as the two were taking a drunken taxi ride back from a bar in Nottingham, England — and the "poke" in question was apparently a Facebook "poke," not a euphemism for something more serious.

Still, as the Mirror reported, Humphrey exacted brutal vengeance for the perceived slight: He beat Rovetto to death.

Scott Humphrey. (Image via WTSP-TV / Nottinghamshire Police)

Humphrey initially fled the cab after the beating, but he later turned himself in, and, as the Mirror reported Saturday, he was sentenced to four years in jail.

"When you and him went out that evening, violence and death were the furthest things from your mind," said the judge handing down the sentence. "You didn't intend to kill him."

Richard Rovetto. (Image via Facebook)

"This was a waste of a life," Rovetto's brother-in-law said after the sentencing. "We feel the sentence wasn't the justice we wanted for Richard. He was a much-loved person and it will be hard for us all to move on."

—

Follow Zach Noble (@thezachnoble) on Twitter