History Main / DisconnectedByDeath

* On March 4, 1993 in Lansign, Michigan, 67-year-old Audrey Nichols called 911 to report that a burglar had broken into her home. She was giving the operator her address when she suddenly screamed, at which point the line went dead. Police found her shot to death in her bathroom. The killer, a petty criminal named John Skinner, was eventually tracked down and sentenced to 60 to 90 years in jail.

* In 1995, Modesto, California teenager Genna Gamble was talking on the phone with her best friend when the call abruptly stopped. A few days later, her body was found in a local park, having been strangled. As it turns out, her stepfather Doug Mouser was her killer; she was grounded by her mother and was not allowed to use the phone, she did anyway, he discovered what she was doing and struck her hard enough to render the girl unconscious. [[DisproportionateRetribution He then killed her to make it look like a random act of violence]] and to keep his prestigious government position. He was later convicted of her murder and received a life sentence.

* In ''VideoGame/Persona4'''s final NonStandardGameOver, Naoto gets killed by Shadows (or possibly turns into one herself) in the middle of calling you.

* ''Series/MurdochMysteries'': The VictimOfTheWeek in "Big Murderer on Campus" is shot while on the phone to one of his colleagues.

* A sad example in the final season of Series/{{Supernatural}}, as Sam Winchester is urgently texting with longtime love interest Eileen on their way to meet her and try and avert whatever is magically dissolving their friends. The text bubbles indicate that she's responding ... then the text is dropped. When they arrive, [[spoiler: her phone is there but she's gone, and her fate is ambiguous in the series finale.]]

* ''He Who Dares'' (2014). Terrorists kidnap the daughter of the British prime minister for ransom. They tell a wounded bodyguard to send the radio call to let his superiors know what happened, then shoot him.

* On 8 May 1902, the telegraph in Fort-de-France (capital of Martinique) was communicating with its counterpart in Saint-Pierre (Martinique's largest city) to get news about the eruption of Mount Pelée. After sending the morning's updates, the station in Saint-Pierre handed the line over to Fort-de-France. The next second, the line went silent. Mount Pelée had just blown up, razing Saint-Pierre to the ground and killing almost everyone there in only two minutes.

* On 8 May 1902, the telegraph in Fort-de-France (capital of Martinique) was communicating with its counterpart in Saint-Pierre (Martinique's largest city) to get news about the eruption of Mount Pelée. After sending the morning's updates, the station in Saint-Pierre handed the line over to Fort-de-France. The next second, the line went silent. Mount Pelée had just blown up, razing Saint-Pierre and to the ground and killing almost everyone there in only two minutes.

* Similar example in ''Film/TheEmpireStrikesBack'' during Darth Vader's teleconference with the captains of the Star Destroyers: one man's hologram image flickers and fades from view after his spacecraft is struck by an asteroid. It's not made clear whether or not the ship is actually lost with all hands, however.

* Accidental variant, and also played for laughs: A ''ComicStrip/TheFarSide'' cartoon shows a man in an office falling out the window. Meanwhile, we see a telephone operator talking on the phone, saying "Will you accept a call from a Mr. Aaaaah?"

The basic structure of this trope is that one character has information that they '''must''' get to another character (usually the hero, or at least, one of the Good Guys). They make a phone call. They are killed after the phone is answered on the other end, but before they can pass along the information. There may be a BigNo or scream for audible over the phone if the victim sees the killer.

* In 1995, Modesto, California teenager Genna Gamble was talking on the phone with her best friend when the call abruptly stopped. A few days later, her body was found in a local park, having been strangled. As it turns out, her stepfather Doug Mouser was her killer; she was grounded by her mother and was not allowed to use the phone, she did anyway, he discovered what she was doing and struck her hard enough to render the girl unconscious. [[DisproportionateRetribution He then killed her to make it look like a random act of violence.]] He was later convicted of her murder and received a life sentence.

* ''Series/MidsomerMurders'': In "Breaking the Chain", Barnaby is talking to a suspect who is on his mobile phone to one of the other suspects. The suspect turns to Barnaby and remarks that he heard sounds of a struggle and then the phone went dead. Barnaby hurriedly races to the scene [[spoiler:and arrives in time to save the next victim who has been left in a room that is filling with gas]].

Within this structure, the trope has visual and aural variants; the visual versions can use an old-style free-standing phone booth, a land-line telephone not in a phone booth, or a cell phone. The aural version has dial-tone (where the killer hangs up the phone, causing the hero to hear a dial tone) and open-line (where the killer doesn't hang up, and the Hero spends some time yelling "Hello! Hello?" before concluding "[[CaptainObvious Something's happened.]]") Rarely, the killer will get on the phone and give a BondOneLiner about the murder or to mock the listener.

-->''(An informer is making a secret call to J-Men headquarters when the [[BigBad Lightning Bug]] bursts in on him)''
-->'''The Bug:''' "Ah-HAH! Making personal calls on MY line!"
-->''(The Bug zaps him with his ray-pistol. On the other end of the line, [[ReachingBetweenTheLines smoke pours from the phone held by the Chief]])''
-->'''The Chief:''' "Hello? Operator? Listen, we were cut off in the midst of a hot tip. I want to make sure we weren't charged for that call."

* In ''VideoGame/{{Persona 4}}'''s worst ending, Naoto gets killed by Shadows (or possibly turns into one herself) in the middle of calling you.

-->TheNarrator: "...and so nine out of the ten ate the pumpkin soup!"
-->'''Witness''': "[[HisNameIs The killer is...]] ''[inarticulate groans]''"
-->'''Miss Marple''': "Is that spelled with two G's or three?"

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[[folder:Fanfiction]]

[[folder:Film — Animated]]

[[folder:Film — Live Action]]

* A variant in ''Film/{{Midway}}'': When the last bomber in Torpedo Squadron Eight's suicidal and unsupported attack on the Japanese fleet is shot down, the film cuts to the radio room aboard ''Yorktown'', where the crew listens to the static in horrified silence.
--> ''*static fills the radio*''\\

[[folder:Radio Drama]]

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!!Examples

[[folder:Fan Fiction]]
* In ''FanFic/AuraLessBlackAndWhite'', [[spoiler:a man posing as]] Agent Harrington stabs [[spoiler:Liberty Knox]] in the arm before throwing him out of a fifth-story window while he's on the phone with Ash. [[spoiler:[[NotQuiteDead He survived, though.]]]]
* In ''FanFic/FateZeroSanity'' Sayaka's last conversation with Edgar took place over the phone, desperately telling him what had happened to her and asking whether or not Kiritsugu got his birthday present. When he tells her he did, she gratefully thanks him before being disconnected. This having been because her [[SoulJar Soul Gem]] was almost fully corrupted, she didn't die... [[AndIMustScream though that might have been preferable to the end result.]]
* In ''Fanfic/SaviorOfDemons'', Arcosian scientist [[CommunicationsOfficer Murai]] intercepts a transmission through one of the Tsufuru scouters as they're being [[AttackOfTheFiftyFootWhatever attacked by Oozaru.]] It cuts off with screaming and static, and then [[BearerOfBadNews Murai has to go tell the king about the fate of their new allies.]]
* In ''FanFic/WithThisRing'' In Failsafe OL calls Luthor in hopes of Luthor giving the team back-up. Unfortunately, Luthor's company building is also being attacked and Luthor was making a LastStand by keeping a protective shield to protect fleeing employees. Luthor gives OL his technological database before the call disconnects when the building is annihilated.

[[folder:Film -- Animated]]
* Invoked by the Joker in ''WesternAnimation/BatmanMaskOfThePhantasm'' when he launches a bomb into an apartment he called, hoping to catch the Phantasm in the blast. Batman destroys the bomb with a batarang and is spared from the worst of the explosion.
-->'''Joker:'''"AH HA HA HA HA HA HA HA! WOO HOO HOO HOO! Hello? Hello, operator? I believe my party's been ''[[DeadlyEuphemism disconnected]]''! AH HA HA HA HA!"

[[folder:Film -- Live Action]]

** In "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS9E1DayOfTheDaleks Day of the Daleks]]", the manager of the factory is on the radio to a guerilla cell when he is killed by an Ogron.

[[folder:Newspaper Comics]]
* Accidental variant, and also played for laughs: A ''ComicStrip/TheFarSide'' cartoon shows a man in an office falling out the window. Meanwhile, we see a telephone operator talking on the phone, saying "Will you accept a call from a Mr. Aaaaah?"
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* ''WesternAnimation/StarWarsTheCloneWars'': In [[Recap/StarWarsTheCloneWarsS1E9CloakOfDarkness "Cloak of Darkness"]] two of the clone troopers fighting in the hangar die while on the comms, one killed by a super battle droid and the other by Ventress.

* Similarly, the story of Angela Hammond, abducted while chatting with her boyfriend on a pay phone (they did not have a phone at home and she felt too tired to stop at his parents' home, where he was babysitting his younger brother). As they talked, she mentioned feeling uneasy about a truck that kept circling the block, then pulled in next to the phone booth. Despite her fear, she continued to talk to her boyfriend---until the last thing he heard was her scream.

* ''ComicBook/XWingRogueSquadron'': A variation happened to Tycho Celchu. He was phoning his family on his birthday when suddenly the line disconnected. At first, he thought it was just a technical fault, and his immediate reaction was that he'd have a good laugh over it with his dad, who was a high-ranking executive in a [[SubspaceAnsible hypercomm]] provider. Tycho's family were from Alderaan, which was obliterated by the Empire.

* A variation happened to Tycho Celchu in the ''Comicbook/XWingSeries''. He was phoning his family on his birthday when suddenly the line disconnected. At first, he thought it was just a technical fault, and his immediate reaction was that he'd have a good laugh over it with his dad, who was a high-ranking executive in a [[SubspaceAnsible hypercomm]] provider. [[TearJerker Tycho's family were from Alderaan.]]