An American mother will "never be the same" after her 14-year-old son was killed by his online gaming partner in Great Britain.
Lorin LaFave, 47, told ABC News she did everything she could do to protect her gamer son Breck Bednar when she had the feeling that he was "being groomed and brainwashed for something." But LaFave was unable to stop Brecks' tragic death by computer engineer Lewis Daynes, 19, on February 17.
LaFave had received a text message one day from her ex-husband and Breck's father saying that their son had not shown up at his house, who Breck was supposed to be staying with that weekend. Her son had apparently gone to the Daynes home instead.
A few hours following the text message, Brecks's siblings began receiving messages from friends saying that their brother had been killed. LaFave says that Daynes took photos of Breck and had posted them onto social media outlets. Breck's body was discovered by police at Daynes' house in Essex, England. Breck had suffered multiple stab wounds and was declared dead by medical staff shortly after.
LaFave says that her son and Daynes had been playing online video games for several months, and she had at multiple points attempted to put an end to their relationship.
"I thought (Daynes) was a 40-year-old fat pedophile," LaFave told ABC News. "In the back of my mind, I didn't believe he was who he said he was. I called the police, talked to them for half an hour, and said 'I feel like my son is being groomed, I don't know if it's for gay sexual activity, I don't know if it's for terrorist activity . . . I don't think Breck was ever scared of things and that's what kills me."
LaFave is now pushing an effort to raise awareness about the dangers of online gaming.
"I want Breck's tragedy to help open the eyes of everyone to recognize the dangers of online predators . . . it is a very real danger today," LaFave said in a statement. LaFave created the Breck Bednar Memorial Foundation in March to promote online awareness for teens and their parents. The parent's slogan is "Play virtual, live real."
"As a parent you want to protect your child" LaFave said. "I don't know yet at what point Breck realized 'oh my god, mom was right."
ABC News contributed to this report.