UPDATE: Daniel Petric Convicted, Sentenced For Killing Mom Over Video Game
WELLINGTON TEEN GETS 23 YEARS TO LIFE IN PRISON
by John Caniglia, The Plain Dealer
June 16th, 2009
ELYRIA, Ohio — A Wellington teenager was sentenced today to life in prison with parole eligibility in 23 years for killing his mother and shooting his father after they forbade him from playing a violent video game.
Lorain County Common Pleas Judge James Burge earlier this year convicted Daniel Petric (Original PYSIH Story), 17, of aggravated murder in the slaying of his mother, Susan, 43, and attempted aggravated murder in the attack on his father, Mark, 46.
Mark Petric asked for leniency and said his son is remorseful.
“I can’t count the number of times that he said, ‘Dad, I miss Mom,’ ” Mark Petric said.
Daniel Petric stood to address the court but started weeping and did not speak.
Burge heard the trial without a jury in December. When he announced the verdict in January, Burge appeared to place more blame on the video game Halo 3 than on Petric.
“I firmly believe that Daniel Petric had no idea at the time he hatched this plot that if he killed his parents that they would be dead forever,” the judge said. “I think that was his state of mind when this occurred.”
Burge said the youth’s addiction to the game altered his brain in the same way an addiction to drugs did.
His lawyers said he snapped Oct. 20, 2007, after his parents took away his Halo 3 game. Petric played the game as much as 18 hours a day at friends’ houses when he had the chance.
Petric gathered his unsuspecting parents in the living room and told them that he had a surprise for them and that they should shut their eyes. That’s when he pulled out his father’s gun and began shooting.
62 Comments »
Dear Mr. Petric:
Your son is the personification of evil. He killed his own mother during a temper tantrum worthy of a three year old. The whole “Halo game made me do it” line of reasoning is absolute and total garbage. My kids played so many video games they wore out five game sets. The difference is that my kids are not malevolent little bastards, enthroned by their parents as kings and queens of the household.
If you wish to kid yourself and believe that it was all some “psychiatric accident” or “delusional state” where that little animal “didn’t know what death actually meant” then you are flat out lying to yourself because you cannot handle the fact that your child is a rabid freak that really needs to be put down before he throws another fit and takes another life. You would have thought the death of your own wife, his mother, would have taught you this but you prefer to stick your head in the sand and not take responsibility for raising a murderer.
I, however, do not EVER wish to know your son, live next door to him, have my children meet him in any fashion, work with him or for him, go to church with him, eat at the same restaurant as him or even see him shopping in Walmart; I begrudge him his next breath and I intensely dislike you for making excuses for the pile of shit you call your son.
Man up to what your kid did, cut your losses, honor your wife’s memory and disown the son of a bitch.
Hear Hear….I will drink to that!
I’m dizzy.
Kid kills mom for prohibiting violent game. Dad asks for leniency, blaming the murder on the violent game the mother had prohibited?
Enabling much?
Here’s my question- who bought the POS the game and the gaming system to begin with? Ever heard of ‘My house, my rules’? I’m really getting sick of wimpy parents who try to be their kid’s best friend. Get your own adult friends, losers! Being a parent is usually not all that fun. But having your kid kill your wife because you couldn’t do the parenting thing right seems a little less fun.
I can see the dad wanting leniency in avoiding the death penalty, because not many parents want their children to die, even if they deserve it— but leniency in sentencing? What for? So he can get out early and become an asset to society? Last time I heard, even Wal-Mart doesn’t list being able to play HALO nonstop, or killing your mother cuz you had a hissy-fit as amongst the qualifications they want in their door-greeters.
This is so annoying. Send the dad to jail, too, for being an enabler.
c
Well…they bought him teh system, but forbid him buying teh game. They didn’t buy it for him. When they discovered he had bought it, they took it away and locked it in teh same safe they had the gun he used to shoot them with locked up. Honestly, I think teh parents were never to blame, until now. The fact the father is so…placent…it burns me up. I know he’s a minister and setting a good example as a shepard, I guess…but damn dude…he killed your wife! Take “son” out of the equation!
Daniel misses his Mommy. Boofucking-Hoo.
To the Bosses Secretary,
This is just sad. The father is dealing with two losses herem his wife and his son. He is just being a Dad by asking for leniency, he still loves his son regardless of his terrible actions. I’m not saying this kid doesn’t deserve every minute he will spend in prison, but chill a bit on the Dad. He’s just being a parent.
Bo, put a band-aid on your bleeding heart. This guy KILLED his own mother. He was well old enough to understand that death is permanent, and that killing is wrong unless he is retarded, and there is no indication of that.
Now, I have one question, that will settle this once and for all. Do you think that if the person who murdered his wife was anyone but his son, that he would ask for leniency? If you say “yes” you are either lying or an idiot.
So, basically what we have illustrated is that Papa is a selfish and enabling man. He is willing to overlook the horrible thing his son did, simply because it’s his child. That is so fucked up, on so many levels. Yes he lost his wife, and now his son, and that sucks. But he is now asking that the law overlook the crime, because it’s HIS son.
That explains a lot. The murderer had at LEAST one narcissistic parent, and those are the worst kinds of parents to have.
I think I can quite honestly say that if my son were to kill my wife and tried killing me, I would not be asking for leniency. I love my son very much, however, there are some sins that are unforgivable.
I don’t think he’ll ever try killing us though. We’re not raising a spoiled brat that gets hugs and kisses when he does something wrong – he knows what is expected and he knows he is loved.
the father is being an enabler. making excuses for someone considered an adult (if i believe right) is not helping them. it was premeditated from the sounds of it (close ur eyes, i have a surprise…bam bam) um, he deserves what he gets, for murder and attempted murder. u cant go around blaming games and music and movies for the stupid shit u do. if at 16 or 17 u dont realize when u shoot someone, they dont come back to life, u should really sit down with mommy and daddy and have them explain life to you……again.
This is a perfect example of a kid who was allowed to be over-indulged and when they tried to set boundaries, he threw the ultimate fit. Now this little brat is going to get one long time out where his babysitters won’t take his shit and his playmates are gonna use/abuse his ass and there will definitely be no chances of playing Halo 3.
Burge (yet again) preaching his nonsense….
Agreed. Clearly made of retards. “The video game made him do it” — what, is this guy 100? I’ll bet he denounces air travel as witchcraft, as well.
How about His honor, Judge Burge? He seems to really buy the BS line that the video game made him do it. That scares me to death, that an educated, intelligent man, can excuse this little shit’s behavior. He deserved a lot more than 23 to life, especially when you add in the assault on his father. Like the prosecutor said, “I fear the day, when Daniel Petric gets out of prison and someone tries to take away his latest pastime, or his girlfriend wants to end their relationship…”
We can only hope that the parole board recognizes that Danny Boy will kill again if he ever gets the chance, but I seriously doubt it. The only victim that could influence their decision already thinks the sentence was too long. Maybe the prosecutor will have some influence, but again, I don’t think he has a chance against a room full of church folk supporting dad as he begs for his son’s release. This whole deal is a fucking nightmare – I guess the only chance reasonable people have to be protected from Petric is a bit of prison justice.
Yeah – killing your Mama should rate pretty close to baby-rapers. After all, every single convict has (or had) a mama. That and his tender young age should guarantee that he will be highly valued currency in prison. (Not that I take any pleasure in that – I would rather that civilized society handle the punishment, but we all know it happens.)
I agree – the GP has more common sense than the judge.
Between the kid killing his mom, his dad excusing it, and the judge wanting to blame a video game, I don’t see evidence of a sane person anywhere in here.
And who lets their kid play Halo3 18 hours?
good point zillah… how did it get that far to begin with? and NOBODY seems sane in this scenario!
He did it at a friend’s house after he was laid up with a cast after a snowboarding accident. The parents weren’t aware he was playing Halo as they did not allow violent video games in tehir house. Another reason teh parents should really be given a degree of absolution…not the kid.
Don’t blame the game, I’ve been playing really violent games since I was 7, hell, my favorite childhood game is Quake 2, comparing it to Halo(I’ve only played the original but I doubt Billy decided to change much in such a popular game) is like comparing playing with knives and playing with dolls… And I’ve never physically harmed anyone, oh and I have played games for more than 18 hours a day at a time, especially when sick. Don’t blame the game. The parents were overprotective and that together with pressure from other parts of his life probably brought to this unfortunate breakdown, which ended in the murder of his mother, which he should be punished for.
The first video game I ever got was Turok: Dinosaur Hunter, just before I turned seven (obviously Santa listened to my dad on that one). It’s never even crossed my mind to kill my parents. Hell, I feel guilty when I kill bugs.
Jack Thompson notwithstanding, violent video games do not make you violent.
Are they going to try to sue the makers of Halo 3 for damages?????
Did the brat think that there was a reset button on Mommy such that she would be “undead”????
Maybe Daddy should share a jail cell with his brat….. not all the time, but Daddy should have sleep over privileges or more like obligations. Let’s see if Daddy sings a different tune then.
I like the look on the cops face behind the little twit. He’s like thinking, “fuckin little pussy”…
i still can’t buy this whole videa game defense. no matter how long you play, how can a 17 yr old boy not realize his mom won’t come back after killing her?
Look up “Twinkie defense” in Wikki :D
Unfreaking believable! There has to be some kind of bribery or friendship between the Judge and father going on. Something fishy is going on here. And those crocodile tears! Give me a break, the old dry eye cry and sniffle!. I used to do that when I was a kid, but it was usually to avoid punishment for some childish offense like not doing my chores. This monster killed his mother and it was pre-meditated. When he is released, we will definately hear his name come up again. The kid is a socio-path. The Judge should go to hell in a plastic suit!
I wonder how much daddy paid for the defense attorney?
If my kid committed a horrible crime…well, you’re on your own pal…have a nice life.
Yeah, I’m pretty sure if my kid attacks me and my husband with the intention to kill us, he’s pretty much cut off, right?
I don’t believe he is sorry.
Okay, Okay people…I see your points AND I’m not saying the judge should have been lenient, I’m just saying back off the Dad. He probably feels some sort of responsibility for raising a murderer and none of you can say you with certainty that the kid doesn’t feel bad for his actions, and HE MAY VERY WELL miss his mother. (It doesn’t excuse what he did, but this is still a person with legitimate feelings. Just because people do horrible things, does not mean they don’t feel repentant and people can change…not all people but some people…I don’t know if this kid can, but who are we to completely judge him, we don’t know him and come on—he obviously isn’t the brightest crayon in the box. I would still love my child no matter what-even if they did something this abhorrent. I might not ask for leniency- certainly not forgiveness BUT this is how this parent feels. Condemn the kid, not the dad.
Bo… while i respect your right to an opinion, i definitely place blame on the dad for being an enabler. if he was anything like this previous to his son murdering his mom, then you can deduce that it could partially be his (the father’s) behavior that could have contributed. why was the kid playing this ‘violent’ game for 18 hours a day in the first place????
What possible reason could ‘daddy’ have for feeling guilty about his wife’s murder?
Oh, yeah. The whole ‘That’s when he pulled out his father’s gun and began shooting.’. That might be it. Gee, what are the chances there was a gun in the house? And it was loaded? Seems like a normal person would be missig their wife a little more than they were being concerned that their kid is missing the mom they murdered.
I often believe that people can change if they want to. But I don’t think about that when my children have misbehaved. What I’m usually thinkng is that although it sucks, it’s my responsibility as a parent to teach my children that their actions have consequences- consequences that will not change just because some day they’re sorry and want to change. I’m sure this POS will have all the time in the world to change his nasty personality while in prison. Too bad his dad can’t join him.
c
It’s not guilt, the dad’s a minister.
Okay, Bo, I’m gonna take the really unpopular stance and agree with you on this one. Geez, is this a tough crowd or what? I also believe (hope?) I’d continue to love my child no matter what they did (and no, that doesn’t mean I’d excuse their behavior).
Momwhocares asked, “why was the kid playing this ‘violent’ game for 18 hours a day in the first place????” The story clearly states that he was playing the game at friends’ homes when he could. The original story also stated that his parents were opposed to him playing so much, and had frequent arguments with him about it.
To glorybug, I’d certainly hope that if anyone can be reformed, it’s a 16 year old boy (age when crime was committed). I hardly think his dad should have to join him in prison just for loving his son and forgiving him. Don’t forget that dad is pastor after all, and we know how forgiving those Christians are…
If loving your child unconditionally and forgiving them for a heinous act is cause for imprisonment, then the world is in worse shape than I thought.
So I guess I put conditions on love. Shooting me and my wife is not an option.
What this kid did is unforgivable – it’s not like the parents were abusive, drug addicts that were whoring him out for another hit. He was a spoiled, little brat who got his game taken away. He threw a temper tantrum.
Guess he really showed them who’s boss.
And now he misses his mommy – course he does. She’s the one that spoiled him – but he still shouldn’t have shot her. Daddy needs to quit being a pussy and make sonny-boy man up to what he did. Daddy’s part of the problem too.
Still, none of this would have happened if dumb-ass hadn’t shot his parents. I’m going to guess he knows better, even at the tender age of 16. It’s all on him – he did it, and Mommy and Daddy can’t get him out of this one.
I asked my husband if he would still support our kids if one of them shot him and killed me… From his response, I can tell you at least without profanity that it was a big “N-O”.
As for the excuses… well OK, so maybe he was at his friend’s house playing Halo but uh… why would you let your addicted and obviously behaviorally challenged kid be at his friends house for 18 hours anyway? I think at the point where we’re arguing over an addiction, which usually means other things are slipping, such as outside activity, social activity and grades, I would put my angry foot down and get strict on kiddie. Which is to say: Hell no, you aren’t staying the night at Joe’s house. You can stay home and spend some time with your family…offline.
Either way, the dad may forgive, but he has to understand that his boy KILLED his wife, which is very very abhorrent… and of course is a crime, punishable by the law. He has to be held responsible for his actions, perhaps for the first time in his life. As to the dad being stuck away in a cell with his kid, well I don’t agree. I think that having his wife gone from him forever knowing the child they raised was the cause… is enough of a cross to bear, so to speak.
On that note as well: I think it would break me if my husband died. I’m a strong woman, but I love my husband… and to have my own child be the trigger man is unfathomable to me.
I might still feel the remnants of love, but I certainly would no longer have any sense of LIKE for that child… and I would not ask for leniency for someone who took away the other half of me. I would want my child to face the consequences of their actions, not from hate, but because that is how it should be.
I’ve dealt with game-playing addicts before. Just give this kid an Xbox and he won’t even know he’s in prison. 23 years from now, they’ll have to drag him out of his cell, he’ll try to kill the guards for making him go back to the real world before he reaches level 17 million.
“BUT WE LOVE OUR CHILDRENS SOOOO MUCH”
BOOM.
Your wife’s fucking blood splatters against your face, BOOM BOOM, you open your eyes, your son is pointing a gun at you. He’s standing, his eyes are open, he’s looking at you, and he pulls the trigger. Bullet to the face. Your wife’s blood is everywhere, you’re bleeding, you can’t see or understand what’s going on, and the person you married and raised children with is dead.
And he tries to blame it on you.
And you ask the judge to set him free.
Fuck Daniel Petric, fuck his father for defacing his wife’s memory with his pleas, and fuck all their sympathizers. You are all exactly what’s wrong with the human race.
So stupid all I can say. I like video games like the next guy, but this is just sick.
If I kill someone by throwing a barrel off the roof of a building, can I blame Donkey Kong?
OK…I commented several times here. No, I’m not family and don’t know these folks at all. I did however do a bit of research on my own on this case. It’s a crazy case for sure, but seriously, it boiled down to a spoiled PK (preacher kid) throwing a tantrum and trying to kill his parents who told him NO. The parents really did teh right thing, they weren’t OK with teh gaming for 18 hours, but figured he was laid up in bed, what would it hurt? They didn’t know it was Halo because they forbid the game from their house. He played the game outside of his house and the parents had no idea. Only reason I know so much about the case was because as soon as I heard about it I went looking up as much reliable info as I could. Burn teh kid, spare the father.
What a LOSER now he will nver get to see TAYLOR SWIFT live in concert !
Are you related to Lindsay’s Personal Human Toilet? One of my buddies in Kuwait knew Princess Taylor. She dumped him for that Drew guy. She’s a royal bitch.
Interesting. There are quite a few studies which are being completed on the effects of youth and technology. Some studies which have emerged link long term exposure to video games and hand held devices to increased agitation. But to shoot your parents? This little fucker knew what he was doing. I truley believe that.
Yeah, but so does long term exposure to… everything? Besides it’s more the lack of sleep and physical activity than the actual contents of the game, try studying for 18 hours a day for a week, I bet you’ll just be itching for a fight. But you still won’t kill your mom, no sane person will.
The addiction is real. I’ve even seen otherwise-intelligent adults waste years of their lives on their internet and game addictions.
But they waste their own lives, not other people’s. Once you waste someone else’s life, you aren’t something to be pitied or scorned. You’re something to be locked up.
There has never been a book, a movie, a game, a song, a religion, a prejudice or any other “influence” that MADE anyone go out and do ANYTHING. It does not happen. People do things because they want to, because they’re angry, they’re desperate, they’re inconsiderate or, on rare occasions they’re crazy. This rotten little shit is the poster child for the spoiled, arrogant, unappreciative youth of this country (and probably others, though I can’t truthfully say). he was pissed because he was having his toy taken away. Sorry folks, no matter how amazing a video game may be… IT’S A TOY. No one is to blame but the little creep himself. The judge and his father are sending the wrong message out to both kids and parents by blaming the game for the crime and not him. I could buy a small child not understanding that if he shot someone that person would be dead forever. This boy was a teenager, and by the time you are in the double digits, you know what death is, you know it’s irreversible, unless you’re crazy, which he isn’t. He’s a selfish little twat. I hope he serves at the very least the 23 years.
I bet five bucks this asshat tries to kill himself in jail.
“I can’t count the number of times that he said, ‘Dad, I miss Mom,’ ” Mark Petric said.
Then he should not have killed her.
How about: “Dad, I am sorry I killed mom.” ?
Sad.
You can bet they’ll be a room full of Rev. Petric’s church folk at Daniel’s first parole hearing too. These people are so wrapped up in their own little Pollyanna world that they can’t see past the noses on their faces. Not one of them cares if this kid is a danger to society (i.e. you and me), and Mr. Petric is the worst of the bunch.
I remember when this happened, tons of people were/are quick to point the finger at the game. IMHO, it wasnt the game it was him. If he liked to skate, be on the internet, telephone whatever, if his parents took away whatever he got off on it probably would have been the same thing. My Grandmother used the tactic of taking away whatever we loved dearest and that was our punishment. I had my make up taken away (in high school) i hated it but it worked, my sister was a phone talker and had that taken.. i know how frustrating it can be to have something you are somewhat addicted to taken away… so i dont think games are to blame.
I however, DO know him.
Sat two seats away from him in class the day it happened.
Didn’t like him that much. But never thought he’d do this. Everyone thought it was a joke when we found out about it. (We learned of this incident as early as 10 p.m. the night it happened. We were riding home from the away football game, the marching band was at least.) Quite the shocker for little Wellington.
Anyways…
Do I think his father is wrong to forgive him? No.
Do I think he’s wrong to try to lighten to sentence?
Hell-Freakin’ yes.
23 is all you get for murder plus attempted murder now? Pathetic.
Biggest problem in this case : They are involving “god.” A thing that nobody can prove exists. Let the law take over, (as it is doing)and leave it at that.
P.S. Games are not to blame…
Too many kids play video-games.
Not enough kill their parents for the game to be the blame.
I play video-games…A lot. Probably more than he did…My parents shall live.
All of you have failed to look at this from a psychological perspective. This is called a case of a little something called “obsession” (aka: addiction), or an “act of passion”. When Humans become obsessed with objects, people, fantasies, etc… they act erratically when it’s taken away.
Examples:
Ex-lover kills ex and new lover in pre-meditated manner.
Killing over money-disputes.
With drugs or alcohol taken away, person becomes irrational and violent.
Religious zealot kills “perceived” enemies.
Children have done this many times before, including when their music/television/skateboarding/other obsessions are taken away. It is important to instill the idea that violence is never okay under any circumstance, and that obsessions must be avoided to help balance the mind. These two ideals combined will prevent a child from ever enacting what this one did (unless they have chemical imbalances).
It is impossible to call this boy evil. Evil assumes the boy enjoyed it and purposely caused harm to people for greedy goals. He is confused and psychologically unstable for reasons most of you cannot possibly comprehend, and only with extreme counseling may he possibly become “normal”.
It’s very animalistic behavior and needs to be looked after early in childhood by formulation of rules and protocols. Restricting hours of television-watching and being involved as a parent are extremely important. When your child watches a rated R movie, watch it with them. When your ten year old son wants to play a video game, set some ground rules for when/where it can be played and for how many hours. Preview the game yourself ahead of time. If its ESRB rating is 14+ and he’s 10, either don’t let him play it or make sure to watch him play it. Also, make them take breaks every hour or so. Make them go to the library a couple hours a day during the summer and subtly monitor them to ensure it’s happening, or send them to a friend’s house and ensure the friend’s parents don’t let them play video games together. The point is not to take away video games altogether, but to restrict a potential obsessions enough so they do not become obsessions and cause irrational behavior.
As for reprimands for not following guidelines, that’s a whole other story, but this really does come from improper (not “bad”, since that assumes the parents know it’s the wrong kind of parenting) parenting. The child is old enough to make his own choices, yes. Is he evil? No. Should he be locked up and given a large amount of counseling to help him adjust? Yes.
I have been a gamer since the age of 4 (I am 25 now), and was restricted enough during my childhood that I was prevented from becoming obsessed most of the time. If I started to show signs of obsession over a game, my parents would force me to stop playing. Now I healthily only play games for an hour or two a day because I learned a habit of moderation, thus causing me to become tired of the game after a certain amount of time has passed.
Hopefully this has been informative.
Sick fucking Bastards. Both him AND his Father if you ask me. I wouldn’t be surprised if he started driving a fuckin’ van with “Halo killed my wife and threw my son in jail” written on the side. The excuse for giving him such a short sentance (which, with my experience, he won’t be serving the full length of due to some stupid fuck up in the system)? “He doesn’t understand the severity of his crime.” If you don’t realise how serious it is to kill your own fuckin’ mother over a Video Game of all things, than you SHOULD be in jail for the rest of your life. Just you wait. We’ll be seeing this fucker in the headlines again in our lifetime, I guarentee it. Next time, though, his Father will probably be seen in another section also: The obituaries. Stupid fucker, Throw his ass in jail and cut your ties with him. He killed your wife, the love of your life, and tried to fucking kill you too, dumbass!! I don’t know who you think your son is, but whoever the hell he was when he was first learning to ride a bike or went on his first fishing trip with you, is GONE. He’s now a cold-hearted killer who wasn’t sorry at ALL for what he did to his mother, YOUR WIFE, and he tried to keep you from getting help! Remember when your daughter was outside, and he kept telling them to go away? Remember when he put the gun in your hand and tried to frame you for killing your own wife?! Remember when he stole the van and, as a final act, ran off WITH THE GAME?! Think about it!! He cares more about a FUCKING GAME than he does getting his dying father! And Sir, let me make it PERFECTLY CLEAR that Video Games didn’t make him do this: I have over $7000 worth of video games, and I never so much as shoved anyone in my life, yet alone glare into my mothers face with cold, dead eyes and Consciously pull a trigger and blew her brains out.
I’m sorry what happened to the mother, and I’m sorry that the father and sister and her husband have to live with this terrible event. As for that fucker, I’m just about as sorry as he is: NOT AT ALL.
OMG!!! I have only been lurking for a couple of days now (posted twice but thats besides the point) I moved to Wellington last year it’s a little itty bitty town (no I do not know any of the people invovled) just didn’t think I would come across something happening somewhere I lived that is this small on a website like this…well it really is a small world.
And yes he deserves to burn in Hell for what he did
Small? Who’s small? I’ll have you know we are the second largest website with the initials PYSIH on the web.
LoL…Just kidding IM. I know how you feel. I live in a small city in Central Connecticut. There’s no more that 40,000 people living here, and in the past couple of years we’ve had two murder cases that made the national news, and not just a quick mention either. I’m talking days of coverage. One was the Petit Family home invasion/murders, and the other was the murder of a young college student by a stalker. I guess no matter where you go, you just can’t get away from this crap.
I was just so shocked being that I have lived in major and I do mean major cities before to find a city as small as Wellington mentioned was interesting to say the least …BTW kudos on the website it is an awesome albeit somewhat dark but very informative website.
Oh and one of those cities I haved lived in was the illustrious San Diego Cali, home to Andrew Cunanan (I know I probably spelled that wrong)
hey max is there another BO thats on here to?
I don’t think so bo, at least not at the moment. Why do you ask?
i just saw a comment just below little peas i think the name is,under my name,and i didnt write it.
This brings to mind a local case of a kid named Christopher Porco who (according to media reports) was possibly upset over the fact that his father wouldn’t sign for anymore loans for him because he was screwing up in school and the belief is that Christopher entered his parents house while they were sleeping or otherwise very late at night and murdered them. Well the thing is, mom survived. The morning that EMS responded to the house, they found mom pretty badly bludgeoned and near death on her bed and dad was butchered at the bottom of the staircase. Mom initially indicated to authorities via a headshake that Christopher supposedly did it. After being in the hospital for quite some time, she comes out and says she believes her son is innocent and has no recollection of the events. This kid was found guilty but he is appealing and mom is still standing behind him. I personally believe the kid did it, and again if you research his name and the story you will see he is from a good family, likely very spoiled and used to getting his way. Kids who are yessed to death all their lives don’t like the word no and when something doesn’t go exactly their way, they snap. And yes, I am sorry to say but someone Daniel’s age should certainly understand that death is permanent, video game or not…although it is not unheard of that some people get so caught up in fantasy they forget what reality is and can’t separate the two. And why was he allowed to go to a friends house while recovering from an accident? Sounds like he should have been in his own home!