Friday February 10, 2012 8:45 PM AEST

Atomic MPC > News > Game > Console Games > Gamer shot parents after they took away his Halo...

Gamer shot parents after they took away his Halo...

... and has been judged sane.

A US gamer shot his mother dead and left his father grievously wounded after they took away his copy of Halo 3.

In a Ohio court, defence lawyers for Daniel Petric, 17, argued his addiction to Halo 3 had made him insane.

But local Common Pleas Judge James Burge decided Petric was sane enough to have planned the attack for weeks.

The judge found Petric, who tried as an adult, guilty of aggravated murder, attempted aggravated murder and tampering with evidence over the October 20, 2007, shootings.

The kid's lawyer, James Kersey never denied that Daniel shot his parents in their home, but argued he was not guilty by reason of insanity because at the time he was addicted to Halo 3.

The court heard that on that October evening, Petric found the confiscated game in his father's strong box, alongside a 9 mm pistol. He subsequently walked into the living room and said: "Would you guys close your eyes? I have a surprise for you," and shot his father Mark, a pastor of the New Life Assembly of God Church, once in the face and his mother, Sue Petric, 43, twice in the arms and once in the head.

He then tried to put the gun in his father's hands, saying: "Dad, hey, here's your gun. Take it."

The judge agreed the kid probably had a few issues. But decided he wasn't insane enough to be innocent.

He ordered more psychological testing to be carried out before passing sentence in the spring. The hapless killer faces a minimum sentence of 23 years, to life in prison and a maximum of life without parole.

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13 Comments

wraith676 Jan 14, 2009 8:14 AM	Hmm first comment is a typo; "The court heard that on that October evening, Petric found the confiscated game in his father's strtong box, alongside a 9 mm pistol." This strtong, should be strong. But yea that is pretty f@@@ up, I play excessive amounts of Counter-strike source and that don't send me bonkers.
rhys_walsh Jan 14, 2009 8:34 AM	yeah i agree, if killing one of your parents and wounding the other without good reason ISNT insane, then i dont know what a person would have to do to be classified as "insane".
n00bz0r Jan 14, 2009 8:42 AM	He then tried to put the gun in his father's hands, saying: "Dad, hey, here's your gun. Take it." Sounds like something americans would say when the kill you Halo3. Stupid kid should be shot.
Cobwebs in the Sky Jan 14, 2009 9:58 AM	"New Life Assembly of God Church" DINGDINGDINGDINGDING. Insane.
SlickGrunt Jan 14, 2009 10:47 AM	insane AND guilty. don't care if the two cannot coincide in law's verdicts. don the straight jacket and be stowed away for the rest of his life.
bastard Jan 14, 2009 11:04 AM	I think some people are missing the point. It is a [i]good[/i] thing he was judged sane. Otherwise the argument that a game sent the boy insane would have stuck and we would have had a greater push for the crackdown on censorship etc...
Hawkeye Jan 14, 2009 11:39 AM	I'm with you bastard - insanity is not a good defense here. - DH
phatbeat Jan 14, 2009 12:35 PM	This doesn't actually show the whole story. The kid never actually played halo, he purchased it without his fathers consent and then it was taken away from him before he even put it in the drive. http://forums.atomicmpc.com.au/index.php?showtopic=7265
wraith676 Jan 14, 2009 2:26 PM	Phat, damn man that's some good info for a big perception change on what happened there.
Wolfshanks Jan 14, 2009 3:24 PM	Never quite got the hang of the whole "Not guilty by means of mental illness"? A dog, rabid or not, bites someone and easy as you please is put down. A human regardless of mental state kills or maims and if they have had a few mother/father issues they get the psych ward for a few years and released. I say send them to the same place the dogs go. An animal is an animal. /end rant
Nath84 Jan 15, 2009 1:31 AM	Stupid Amercian's
Hoonbernator Jan 15, 2009 11:10 AM	Pfffft He was clearly sane and looking for any excuse. If he was telling the truth he'd have melee struck them both in the face then run them over with their own car.
sm1ddy Jan 15, 2009 3:54 PM	Most likely wasn't insane then, courts go to great ends to work this stuff out. It's easy to make a judge or court look bad by selecting certain parts of the case and throwing together a article. I wouldn't judge the judge's decision unless I'd seen the actual court file, which this article doesn't provide. There is usually some very in-depth decision and logic in there somewhere.

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Atomic Magazine

Issue: 133 | February, 2012

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