'Vampire' Arrest

On August 14, 2011 in Galveston, Texas a young man claiming to be a vampire was arrested after breaking into a woman's house and attempting to drink her blood. Local police say that after forcing his way into the house of a nearby woman he did not know he made growling and hissing noises while he attacked the victim by biting and hitting her. The young man, Lyle Bensley, was found in a parking lot in only his boxer shorts claiming to be a 500-year-old vampire that needed to "feed." Fortunately, the woman was able to escape the attack unharmed.

The police that arrested Bensley wonder if the prevalence of vampires in pop culture had anything to do with the young man’s actions
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Galveston Police Captain Jeff Hayes said, "Vampires have been a focal point of literature since Bram Stoker's 1897 novel, Dracula. But fascination, particularly among young people, has peaked in recent years with the popularity of the Twilight books about teenage vampires and the television series, True Blood."

Lyle Bensley is being held in the Galveston County Jail on a $40,000 bond on charges of home burglary and intent to commit a felony. Kevin Petroff, chief of the Galveston County District Attorney's office, said that no defense attorney has been assigned to Bensley, and that if he has hired one privately there has been no notice filed.

Whether or not how vampires are portrayed in today's popular culture played a role in Bensley's actions is yet to be determined. He awaits psychiatric evaluation.