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Sunday, September 26, 2010

Teenager Kills Parents Because of Halo 3

Daniel Petric shot his parents -- killing his mother -- because they wouldn't allow him to play the video game Halo 3, prosecutors told a judge at the boy's murder trial Monday.

The trial, on charges of murder and attempted murder, opened Monday for Petric, 17, of Brighton Township. He is being tried without a jury before Lorain County Common Pleas Judge James Burge.



Prosecutors are not seeking the death penalty because of Petric's age. In their opening state ments, prosecutors outlined this version of events surrounding the shooting:

In September 2007, Daniel, then 16, had sneaked out of his bedroom window to purchase the game at a store against his father's orders. When he returned home, his parents caught him with the game and took it from him. His father, Mark, a minister at New Life Assembly of God in Wellington, put the game in a lockbox in a closet where he also kept a 9mm handgun, according to prosecutors.

About a month later, on Oct. 20, 2007, Daniel used his father's key to open the lockbox and remove the gun and the game. The boy shot his parents, killing his mother and gravely wounding his father. As his father lay wounded, Daniel tried to place the gun in his father's hand.

Daniel fled after his sister and her husband arrived at the house, taking the Halo 3 game with him.

Also on Monday, a tearful Mark Petric testified that his son came up behind him as he sat on the couch and said, "Would you guys close your eyes? I have a surprise for you."

Petric, 45, said he "expected a pleasant surprise" and closed his eyes. Then his head went numb. As the blood poured from a bullet wound in his head, he realized his wife, Susan Petric, 43, was lying dead on a nearby loveseat, shot in the head, arms and chest.

Petric said his son shoved the gun into his hand saying, "Hey Dad, here's your gun. Take it."

Mark Petric broke down on the witness stand as he said he believes he survived the shooting only because his daughter and husband arrived at the house to watch an Indians game. He heard his son telling them they couldn't come inside.

"You guys shouldn't come in," Mark Petric recalled his son saying. "Mom and Dad had a big argument."

The couple, Heidi and Andrew Archer, testified they heard a moan - possibly their names being groaned - from inside the house, pushed their way in and found the elder Petric wounded and his wife dead. The elder Petric, through his shattered jaw, managed to say his son had shot him, while Daniel tried to blame his father.

Heidi Archer called 9-1-1 and then realized that Daniel had picked up the handgun that had been lying on the couch. Her husband took the gun from the boy, who gave it up without resistance.

The boy ran out of the house and fled in the family van. He was caught by Wellington police a short time later, the Halo 3 game still on the front seat.

Daniel showed little emotion throughout the trial except when his mother's autopsy photos were flashed on a large screen. He bowed his head and stared at his hands for about 20 minutes while the photos were discussed.

Petric was allowed to visit his son in jail over the past year. He said his son has apologized. "Dad, I'm so sorry for what I did to Mom, to you and to the family," Daniel said, according to his father. "I'm so glad you are alive."

"You're my son," Petric responded. "You're my boy."

He said his wife and their son had a very close relationship.

"He was always her little boy," Petric told the judge.

Heidi Archer said the family has forgiven her brother and want him to come home because the family cannot heal until they are all together.

Daniel's lawyer, James Kersey, gave a short opening statement. He said his client had been under great stress at the time of the shooting because of a snowboarding accident that resulted in a severe staph infection. It left Daniel with such severe spinal damage that the slightest injury could leave him paralyzed.

Daniel was homebound for a year with nothing to do but watch television and play video games, Kersey said. It was during that time that he became fascinated with the Halo series and would play them for hours at friends' houses. His father forbade the games, saying that were too violent and sexually explicit.

Question to readers:

Should he get the death penalty for this?

Did he think his mom would re-spawn?

50 comments:

  1. god it's always the same media thing.

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  2. Honestly I laughed a little bit. I guess that makes me a bad person eh?

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  3. that second question was what we were all thinking xD

    seiously he mustve had alot of other problems though.

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  4. Man, Games + Violence really get the shaft in the media. I'm tired of hearing about these out of whack stories and people instantly thinking that all gamers are raging idiots.

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  5. how come the news never says "Teen Kills Parents After Watching Sesame Street, Elmo Busted" ??

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  6. Pretty standard stuff... I do stuff like this every other wednesday just to break daily habits... My mom has a very short respawn timer though, feels good man !!

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  7. He probably wanted good loot this time :3

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  8. so ridiculous. games rule people..

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  9. Shot his parents huh?
    I guess they should have put the gun...
    out of reach.

    (takes off sunglasses)

    YEEEAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!

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  10. I heard about this. He had a sucky team so he banned those n00bs.

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  11. Hmmmm nice post looking forward to more in the future cant wait always following you mate
    cya

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  12. Whew! That second comment is a tough joke! Bahahahaha.

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  13. LMAO. That second question is good. Thats fucked up though, I cant begin to imagine the pain going through him and his family. Its crazy, to kill your own parents (try to) just to play a video game is just...wow. Also am I the only one that noticed it says the father called the game sexually explicit? lulz.

    Much love and $upport headed your way
    bookmarkmeplz.blogspot.com

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  14. That is insane, nearly wet my pants at your 2nd question, lol
    following and supporting

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  15. Hahaha will his mom respawn, genius!

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  16. That's so messed up!

    Although it made the second question even funnier cos it was so serious throughout haha

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  17. at least he fled with the game. lol
    seriously though he should fry

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  18. This kind of shit happens all the time, not just with video games though.

    I hate it when the media singles out something just because it has a video game related motive.

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  19. Thats brutal as hell that can't be real lol

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  20. Of course its real, it happened in 2007 so been in the news for a while.

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  21. Yeah I remember when this happened, and oh man I lol'd at "Did he think his mom would respawn?" Haha.

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  22. he obviously would have done this anyway

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  23. he looks like the kind of guy that would do something like this...

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  24. Wow...he should have just run away and climbed a tree.

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  25. It's so sad and kind of pathetic that kids are killing people based off of video games... Although that's probably just his lawyer's excuse. Because I don't really see how video games facilitate violence. I mean, some are violent but you'd think the game would "contain" it and they'd get their release of whatever through the virtual world. Or at least you'd think they'd have the common sense to not...although mental stability may be another thing entirely.

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  26. Cool blog!
    Followin n supportin :)
    Check my blog!

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  27. I love me some halo, but not nearly as much as this kid!

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  28. i allways hated this because of games bullshit. i play postal 2 and gta all the time and i have never hurt someone in my life. on a side note i think his mom forgot her extra lives

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  29. I lol'ed at the last question, but really this is a sad story...Letting yourself so indulged in a video game like that. It'll cause lives :(

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  30. My best friend is... was a marine...

    Every day I say to myself "Respawn in 3... 2... 1..."

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  31. 17 is old enough, death penalty or mental institution for a long ass time

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  32. Jesus Christ. How can someone do something like this?

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  33. All it takes is one thing like this to happen every ten years. For that one instance, the media then has a stranglehold where every crime commited by someone of a certain age group can be tarred with the "He played videogames" brush, along with many "ban them all, they're evil" type comments.

    Absolutely ridiculous, I always find it hard to believe people being THAT influenced by a game. But hey ho, there's always one (or a few...).

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  34. sooo... what did he get convicted for? murder? manslaugther? insanity?

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