- AIG, Symbol of Crisis, Watches Its Stock Zoom Back
- Disney Profit, Sales Top Street Forecasts; Shares Jump
- Despite Rhetoric, Obama Has Few Options to Boost Jobs
- Cities With the Most Home Price Reductions
- US Debating What to Do With Billions of TARP Money Left
- Alleged Florida Ponzi Scheme Could Top $1 Billion
- Forecast From Retailers: Proceed With Caution
- Nordstrom Earnings Miss Forecasts; Shares Take Hit
- Housing Recovery 'In Uncharted Territory': HUD Chief
- Intel's Andy Bryant Offers An Explanation
- US 'Actively Working' on Weaker Dollar: Fund Manager
- Options Boil on Biotech Buyout Rumors
- Warren Buffett's $100,000 Offer and $500,000 Advice for Columbia Business School Students
- Activision Blizzard's "Modern Warfare 2" Sales Break Records
- 5-Star Manager's 5 Stocks for Changing Markets
- What's The Forecast from Retailers? Proceed With Caution
- Disney's CFO-Theme Park Chairman Executive Swap
- Road Rage Rants
- Navistar gets $127.3M Army contract
- NHL reinstates Samueli as owner of Anaheim Ducks
- NC employee health plan still has higher claims
- Oil fire in southwestern Manitoba under control
- Hemlock breaks ground on $1.2B Tennessee plant
- S&P revises outlook on Whole Foods to stable
- Wis. regulators approve electric rate increase
- Mass. Sen. candidate Coakley shows no large assets
- Movers roundup: Northwest Pipe, The Buckle
Text Size 
ELYRIA, Ohio - A judge Monday rejected the defense that a teenage boy opened fire on his family because he was addicted to video games, convicting him of wounding his clergyman father and killing his mother after they fought over a game.
Lawyers for Daniel Petric, 17, didn't contest that the boy shot his parents in October 2007, but insisted his youth and video game addiction made him less responsible.
Common Pleas Judge James Burge disagreed and pointed to evidence the boy plotted the crime for weeks.
Petric was convicted of aggravated murder, attempted aggravated murder and other charges. He faces a maximum possible penalty of life in prison without parole. The judge didn't set a sentencing date.
Angry about video game
Prosecutors said Petric planned to kill his parents because he was angry that his father would not allow him to play the video game "Halo 3," in which players shoot alien monsters that have taken over the Earth.
During the trial, deputy prosecuting attorney Anthony Cillo described Petric as a cold, calculating killer who plotted to murder his parents, Mark and Susan Petric, and make it appear to be a murder-suicide by putting the gun in his father's hand.
Defense Attorney James Kersey has said that Petric was obsessed with the "Halo" series of video games, which he played 18 hours a day when he had the chance. Petric used his father's key to open a lockbox and remove a 9 mm handgun and the game.
Mark Petric, who is a minister at New Life Assembly of God in Wellington, testified that his son came into the room and asked: "Would you guys close your eyes? I have a surprise for you."
The father testified that he expected a pleasant surprise. Then his head went numb from a gunshot and he survived. His wife, Susan, 43, died of gunshot wound to the head.
Kersey said during the trial that when the teenager fled the grisly scene, he only took one item with him: the "Halo 3" game.
Print
Email
- Warren Buffett and Bill Gates spoke to Columbia students, and Buffett made the students a startling offer.
- They may have wrecked their companies or saved our economy. Tell us what you think.
- Big pharma embraces social media, but how much should a tightly regulated sector say on Facebook or Twitter?
- A European dating site finds lovelorn singles from one country to be consistently uglier. Which is it?
- Contributor David Pogue looks at two of the latest efforts to perfect the digital pocket camera.
- PepsiCo is ramping up its onsite health facilities for workers.
Data is a real-time snapshot *Data is delayed at least 15 minutes