Ohio teen convicted of killing mom over video game

link to article: news.yahoo.com...

ELYRIA, Ohio – Although a teenager's obsession with a violent video game may have warped his sense of reality, the boy is guilty of murdering his mother and wounding his father after they took "Halo 3" away from him, a judge ruled Monday.

"I firmly believe that Daniel Petric had no idea at the time he hatched this plot that if he killed his parents they would be dead forever," Lorain County Common Pleas Judge James Burge said.

Nonetheless, Burge rejected the defense attorneys' argument that Petric, 17, was not guilty by reason of insanity.

The "addiction to a game" didn't fly as a defense.

The defense didn't contest that Petric shot his parents in October 2007 after they took the game away from him, but insisted that the teen's youth and addiction made him less responsible.

Petric may have been addicted, but the evidence also showed he planned the crime for weeks, said Burge, who found the teenager guilty of aggravated murder, attempted aggravated murder and other charges.

Can you imagine if the defense did win? Future defenses would have all been "I couldn't help myself, the game made me do it".

Below is what the kid did - in killing his mother and almost killing his father.

Prosecutors said Petric planned to kill his parents because he was angry that his father would not allow him to play the video game, in which players shoot alien monsters that have taken over the Earth.

On the night of the shooting, Petric used his father's key to open a lockbox and remove a 9 mm handgun and the game.

Mark Petric testified that his son came into the room and asked: "Would you guys close your eyes? I have a surprise for you." He testified that he expected a pleasant surprise. Then his head went numb from the gunshot.

Deputy prosecuting attorney Anthony Cillo argued during the trial that the teenager had planned to make it appear to be a murder-suicide by putting the gun in his father's hand.

Defense Attorney James Kersey said that when the teenager fled the grisly scene, he only took one item with him: the "Halo 3" game.

Bungie LLC, once part of Microsoft, developed the Xbox 360-exclusive Halo 3, and Microsoft owns the game's intellectual property. Microsoft declined to comment beyond a statement: "We are aware of the situation and it is a tragic case."

I cant stand it when unstable mental cases try to blame anything other than there own insanity.

If you're gonna blame a video game blame something realistic like Call of Duty 4 or something brutal like Condemned. Blaming Halo is like blaming Looney Tunes. I dropped an anvil on my little brothers head because Bugs Bunny did it.

I hope all his cell buddies hear about his stupid excuse and let him have it worse than any pedophile would get.

I want to have children less and less. I'm afraid the gamble that they would be complete imbeciles is just too risky.

After reading this post, I've decided maybe it's in my best interest to let my kids have that Halo game after all. LOL

it's been down hill ever since spanking was looked down upon

kids have no respect for authority or rules or parents

granted he must be nuts,,,but seriously kids need a few good -ss beatings here and there

Already proven. Watching hours of violence can be cured with five minutes of "Don't do that" discipline. I say the kid is nuts just not criminally insane.

Typical blame a video game.If it wasnt a game it would have been his music.If it wasnt his game or music it would have been his favourite movie.The media has alot to blame for with these scapegoat reports.Its fully B.S.

God forbid they just admit the kid is a crazy little idiot who was out of control.Man for all the violent games, movies and music i have i should be a serial killn mass murdering natural born killah.But no i have common sense unlike this kid and the media