So-called 'Halo killer' gets 23 to life

Today, the tragic case of what the mainstream media dubbed the "Halo Killer" came to a resolution of sorts. According to a report from local Fox TV affiliate WJW-TV, an Ohio judge sentenced 17-year-old Daniel Petric to 23 years to life for fatally shooting his 43-year-old mother in October 2007. ...

Today, the tragic case of what the mainstream media dubbed the "Halo Killer" came to a resolution of sorts. According to a report from local Fox TV affiliate WJW-TV, an Ohio judge sentenced 17-year-old Daniel Petric to 23 years to life for fatally shooting his 43-year-old mother in October 2007. Petric was convicted of the crime back in January, but was spared the death penalty because of his age.

Both Petric's defense attorneys and prosecutors blamed the crime on the teen's "addiction" to the game Halo 3. His lawyers claimed that the teen had become obsessed with the game after playing it constantly while incapacitated for months following an injury. Pleading an insanity defense, they argued he would forgo food and sleep to play the game for up to 18 hours a day, creating a mental state where he didn't think death was permanent.

"The playing of the video games and the reality of shooting somebody in his case was blinded; it was merged," defense attorney James Kersey reportedly argued. "He had no thoughts during this process. During this time, he was blinded that his parents might be dead; that they might never come back."

When Petric's parents began to limit his time playing the game, he became distraught. According to a January Associated Press report, the teen planned the murder for weeks before entering his parents' bedroom and shooting them both in the head. Petric reportedly said "Close your eyes, I've got a surprise for you," before pulling the trigger and then altering the crime scene to make it look like a murder-suicide. He then fled with the game.

"His addiction was so strong, was running rampant in a tired, exhausted young man, that anybody or anything that stood between him playing the video game and not having his way was in peril," Kersey said of Petric's state of mind during the killings.

Petric's 45-year-old father, a local minister, survived his wounds and was in court supporting his son throughout the trial. Judge James Burge took the father's pleas for leniency into account in passing the sentence, which will make the younger Petric eligible for parole in the year 2032. Burge also pinned much of the blame on games themselves, voicing his wishes that game addiction be studied further.

"I feel confident that if there were no such thing as violent video games, I wouldn't know Daniel Petric," said the judge.

1564 Comments

  • AjaxsLastStand

    Posted Feb 9, 2010 3:25 pm PT

    @streetballeriol

    He might deserve jail. He might even be stupid. But he's clearly got issues as well. People don't murder because they're stupid. And while the law has a much less scientific standpoint on what insanity is, SANE people do not murder. They might kill, but they do not murder. This was clearly brought on by the mind of someone who was sincerely impaired. And while I don't think video games bring about such impairment, he was profoundly disturbed. So before you go off spouting the negativity that you do, consider that he wasn't playing with a full deck.

  • StreetBallerlol

    Posted Feb 9, 2010 2:20 pm PT

    god, this guy is stupid, he deserves jail for killing someone.

  • BlackhawkBix

    Posted Feb 9, 2010 6:41 am PT

    Are you serious? Halo 3 isn't even that violent. The kid is definitely a nutcase, but you need to look at the parents too. Why would they allow him to play that much anyway?

  • Virtual_Erkan

    Posted Feb 8, 2010 3:41 pm PT

    Halo 3 isn't that so violent! There are other games that are beyond the meaning of 'gross.' Why everyone is complaining that Halo games are violent? What is wrong with these people?

    Just look at the boy, you can predict what type of person he is!

  • mariostar0001

    Posted Feb 8, 2010 9:49 am PT

    18 hours a day? That's just wrong even if nothing else had happened.

  • epicyclical

    Posted Feb 8, 2010 8:00 am PT

    I remember reading about this. The kid had a horribly painful and debilitating injury, and so was unable to do much besides playing games. His family's religion was such that they did not get him treatment, but rather were waiting for some kind of divine healing, I guess... Let's all blame video games instead of all other contributing factors! Anyway, my heart goes out the the father.

  • jazzfan4

    Posted Feb 7, 2010 8:51 pm PT

    Its sad that someone would do anything like that.

  • ZelGreywards

    Posted Feb 7, 2010 12:55 am PT

    So um... by this kid's logic I should be able to jump on turtles, travel into sewer pipes, and then run through just about anything living after coming into contact with a star. I'm smart enough to know that the first action would leave me with terribly messy shoes and an unfortunately dead turtle, the second would leave me a stinking mess and likely drowned in sewer crud, and the third would have me vaporized upon coming in contact with the star.

    Come on! I like to think that people are smarter than this! Video games shouldn't cause people to lose their grips on reality, however tenuous those may be.

  • monkeyfist

    Posted Feb 6, 2010 11:22 pm PT

    This is so stupid. I can't believe how easily people can jump to the conclusion that video games are the cause of crimes like this. I can almost guarantee that if this had happened before video games existed, the only difference would be that the kid would've been torturing neighbourhood cats in his basement to pass time instead of playing Halo. These people are screwed up to begin with; it's no fault of the video game that he snapped and shot his parents. I'd say that that good ol' Master Chief is the least blameworthy in this situation. Also, there's a great deal of "violent" movies, TV shows, plays, books, songs, and other works that are held in high regard by the general public, not to mention getting more distribution and exposure than Halo 3. We should probs get to banning these first. In fact, why don't we start with one of the most violent, horrific books in the world, which is ironically the most widely distributed of all time: the Holy Bible. Take that, haters.

  • lucasbadong

    Posted Feb 6, 2010 3:09 pm PT

    OOOOHHHHH his parents were religious. that explains why their son is retarded.

  • LinkStormrage

    Posted Feb 5, 2010 4:13 am PT

    well the kid was half right ... after all his father ''repawned''
    the guy prob just got pissed when he parents tried to control his play time and then made he make a plan to play without interruptions... question is .. how he played for months and planned to kill they for weeks if at max he had 2 whole months with halo 3 ???
    prob this boy wanted to kill his parents for a long time and the ''addiction'' was part of his plan ... maybe i m going too deep
    but anyway ... now u ll see how hard life can be when prisoners rape ur ass maybe u should ask masterchief for help
    btw lol @ colt45mag

  • auron11022

    Posted Feb 4, 2010 7:05 pm PT

    At least the judge didn't rule not guilty based on the insanity defense...

  • AshieduNwadiei

    Posted Feb 4, 2010 10:55 am PT

    BS. They've been making these stupid arguments forever. Start blaming Hollywood too and the parents who don't think they need to interact with their kids. To negate some of what I said, thinking and dreaming is a very similar mental process to actually doing. That's what brain scans show. I'd blame his parents more for not raising him right. He can't know anymore than what he's taught.

  • SuperYeti22

    Posted Feb 1, 2010 6:19 am PT

    I think there's something wrong with the parents. How could the parents let him play video games for so many hours a day?

  • _distemper

    Posted Jan 31, 2010 7:39 pm PT

    I'm glad that this young man is being sentenced. Frankly, the Defense's arguments constitute another way for people to deny accountability for their actions. So, now, in the 2000's, we get to blame murder on Video Games instead of "Hippie Culture." They're all ploys to allow people to deny responsibility for what they do, and quite frankly, that's what disgusts me. Your actions are your own - and if the Defense did win, lawyers would find more opportunities to allow people to deflect blame from themselves. As for the elder Petric, I extend my deepest condolences, but I'd also like to ask him to open his eyes and see his son for who he is. Your son, sir, is not right in the head, as much as you would like to deny it, and blame something else. Admit it and move on. Do it for the sake of our Justice system. Do it for the sake of your wife.

  • usncahill

    Posted Jan 30, 2010 5:45 pm PT

    "I feel confident that if there were no such thing as violence, I wouldn't know any criminals."

  • Sr2okidD

    Posted Jan 29, 2010 12:19 pm PT

    Its Halo 3, the game wasn't that good to begin with, let alone using it as an excuse of why he killed his parents. Seriously, like my good friend Chris Rock once said...
    "Its the parents Fkn fault" How do you let someone who is incapacitated for months play Halo 3.

  • xXxLightningxXx

    Posted Jan 27, 2010 8:47 pm PT

    I really don't think people should blame a game for something like this.. It's the most pathetic excuse i've ever heard.
    We all play games with violence in them but we don't all go around shooting/hurting people because of it ..
    The same situation has happened with the game 'Manhunt' in the past and that game was banned for a time.

    I play Assassins Creed but i'm not gonna go and assassinate my parents because i find it fun to kill someone in a game, this sorta thing has nothing to do with games! Dx It's a mental issue.. (my opinion)

  • pigpen4483

    Posted Jan 26, 2010 5:15 am PT

    son of a b!tch deserves the death penalty. what kind of person kills the woman that gave birth to his sorry ass?

  • HiSaZuL

    Posted Jan 23, 2010 6:37 am PT

    lawyers job is to come up with any excuse no matter how ridiculous it is... and media will feed the ignorant anything as long as they chew it. if it wasn't a video game it would be a movie or a book or SOMETHING... wouldn't make for a good story if it was parents fault now would it?

  • solbadguyxx

    Posted Jan 22, 2010 7:31 pm PT

    Once again they put the blame on videogames.
    C'mon look at his face,he clearly has that kind of "psychopath look".
    If he plays videogame for 24 hours a day it's not the videogame's fault.
    I play videogame for at least 5-6 hours a day when i'm on vacation.
    It's obvious that he clearly passed the limits.
    Shooting his own mother??? I wish they give to him a death penalty.
    Motherf*****

  • emacdaddy08

    Posted Jan 22, 2010 10:22 am PT

    Clearly the kid had mental stability issues prior to Halo 3, it's unjustifiable to blame this all on a video game. I played it earlier today actually, and how many people have I killed? Zero, to be precise.

  • JigShaun

    Posted Jan 22, 2010 4:10 am PT

    There has been violent entertainment for as long as there has BEEN entertainment. And it has always had an effect on how people behaved. So should we ban ALL violent and negative movies, TV, and video games? I guess we should include books and plays as well. Have any of you read Titus Andronicus? At one point a woman's two sons are murdered and then cooked in a pie and fed to their mother, before she is killed as well. This play is 400 years old and considered by some to be a great work of art. But I guess it has to go as well. Or, instead, we can decide that there is probably more to the story. Like for example where were the parents when their kid was playing this game for 18 hours a day and actually getting addicted to it? Is that the developers fault? My kids are allowed 1 hour a day of video games. And they play in the family room where we can see them. I'm glad the father was there to support his son in court. But if he'd been there to support the kid when he was injured and playing X-box instead of eating, then he'd never have had to GO to court. We are all so quick to blame ANYBODY BUT OURSELVES when our kids do something wrong. No wonder they're spending all their time with electronic devices. Their parents have deserted them.

  • MooncalfReviews

    Posted Jan 21, 2010 2:05 pm PT

    It didn't even say why he wanted to shoot his parents. Talk about avoid the issue here.

    I only agree with one thing written here; video game addiction seriously needs to be studied further, because it's getting as damaging as drugs for some people's lives.

  • AislinnJ

    Posted Jan 18, 2010 5:26 pm PT

    I hate that last comment. Violent movies have the same friggin effect. If they were no such things as violent video games, some other nut from somewhere or other would have blasted his mom and blamed it on the movie he saw too.

  • I_am_a_PS3_FB

    Posted Jan 18, 2010 3:28 am PT

    This is definitely something else, maybe the family had problems and he was not performing well in studies or something to cure his depression he played halo and when his parents took it away, he murdered them. He should grow a spine and admit that he had done the worst crime in the world, he should be put in for life! Rot in jail Bastard!

    (Hopefull as a side effect halo will be banned or something )

  • mr3bdulla posted Jan 16, 2010 5:52 am PT (does not meet display criteria. sign in to show)

    mr3bdulla

    Posted Jan 16, 2010 5:52 am PT (hide)

    halo suck

  • solidsnake726

    Posted Jan 10, 2010 11:21 am PT

    So, people become violent ONLY over video games, huh? What about todays movies, tv shows, and music? Those dont have an influence?

  • alexjones555

    Posted Jan 7, 2010 7:10 am PT

    wow what a nutjob, i can understand his father defending him though, it is his son after all, some parents will defend their children no matter what happens. I'm not sure about the sentence, it's possible as he gets older he may grow to regret what he has done, however if that is the case then he should realise he deserves his fate. I also have to say how disgusted i am by some of the comments here, you should not joke about something like this, you people make me sick.

  • luft22

    Posted Jan 5, 2010 11:17 am PT

    do they allow video games in Jail? if not that really sucks for him. If they do... it will be like a cruise... but a gay cruise at that.

  • luft22

    Posted Jan 5, 2010 11:08 am PT

    This world is full of dead people then. Parents are getting shot every minute of every day and hell... I went out just last nigth and shot my neighbor because I thought he was Red

  • Jackmac36

    Posted Jan 5, 2010 8:41 am PT

    This is really just pathetic. All because an idiotic teen obsessed over a game, and due to his idiocy (and probably some kind of mental affliction) killed his parents over said game. If his parents were not able to play the part of a parent and thus not stop this behavior, then I could care less weather or not they died. I agree with mmntw27, if he thought that his parents status of death was not perminate, that they would in fact "re-spawn", then why arrange the crime scene to make it look like a murder/suicide? It just pisses me off that there are stupid events like this that feed the fire towards the ESRB locking down on "violent video games" even more.

  • middlefinger

    Posted Jan 4, 2010 7:13 pm PT

    I feel confident that if there was no such thing as religion, i wouldn't know Osama Bin Laden.

  • laduda

    Posted Jan 4, 2010 7:03 pm PT

    How sad.............
    Video Games can make you have a good time, but if you abuse of them.............................. look at this guy =(

  • Axe_336

    Posted Jan 4, 2010 2:18 pm PT

    "I feel confident that if there were no such thing as violent video games, I wouldn't know Daniel Petric," said the judge.

    Right, but you would know a lot of other bored/violent teenagers being picked up doing petty offenses because they don't have an outlet.

  • chadchu1

    Posted Jan 4, 2010 12:59 am PT

    If he thought they'd respawn, he wouldn't have killed them while they were asleep and unaware. He would've just taken the game and left. If he thought he was in the game, he wouldn't have known they took it. If he thought they'd respawn, he would've killed 'em a long time ago as a game. If he was that obsessed with the game, he would've pistol whipped them in the faces while they were asleep for more points instead of waking them up by saying "get ready for a surprise."

  • mmntw27

    Posted Jan 3, 2010 9:49 pm PT

    So because the kid said, ''Games made me do it,'' it's immediately assumed that the kid that shot his own parents is correct?

    Sorry if I got this wrong, but if he truly was as unstable as this news post says, he:

    a) Wouldn't have planned it for weeks.
    b) Would try to find some kind of alibi the court would follow (aka video games)
    c) Wouldn't have a setup suicide if he thought his parents would respawn in 10 seconds.

    It sounds like this kid just simply has the judicial system by the balls here. If you can find a plug, you're going to use it, eh?

  • boreddude62

    Posted Jan 3, 2010 8:33 pm PT

    Okay, lemme get this straight: he committed the murder in October. The game was released on September 26 in the US. He was addicted to the game for months, and planned the murders for weeks. Can someone explain this to me?

  • colt45mag

    Posted Jan 3, 2010 6:07 pm PT

    He should've stuck 'em with his plasma nades XD lol (I know I'm gonna get flamed for this)

  • solidsnake2050

    Posted Dec 9, 2009 6:07 pm PT

    This is the worst court decision I've seen in awhile. First degree murder; he planned it for WEEKS, and they blame it on mental instability? That doesn't work at all. Crimes due to mental issues are never planned ahead, let alone weeks ahead. As well, someone who just snapped and killed someone wouldn't have the self control needed to adjust the scene so it looks like a suicide.

    I am sick of people blaming things for crimes human beings commit. Its his fault through and through and the fact that he planned it and stuck to the plan after the fact shows that he was in a stable state of mind, even if it was a murderous one. This case is a perfect example of what is wrong with modern legal systems; if you blame something rather than someone, it is easier to attack it and therefore rush the case through.

  • deoxxys

    Posted Dec 9, 2009 4:07 pm PT

    OH snap this isnt good.

    I think they should keep him in there, because think about it. A humans most sexually active years are from 16-35. SO he will be so deprived of what his nature needed that when he finally comes out at age 40, there is the possiblity of him raping young women, because he missed out on that since he was in jail. Secondly, when you finally get out of jail youll be pissed for having so much of your life wasted, and you are going want revenge. who will he direct this at? HUH?

  • Tokyorukin

    Posted Dec 8, 2009 7:33 pm PT

    PS - I would never wish death on anyone! Nobody...Because I would rather have them suffer for there sins, compared to Resting In Peace.

    Sorry to sound cruel, but this is sick.

  • Tokyorukin

    Posted Dec 8, 2009 7:32 pm PT

    Wow. I could never hurt my mother, especially after the death of my dad. This is stupid, as I see everyone agree's, the video game didn't do this, the kid did. If he thought they would respawn, why did he try to make it look like a suicide? Halo + Typical Human = Gaming
    Halo + Insane Mental Human = Addictive Gaming & Murder...

  • eternal_blade3

    Posted Dec 5, 2009 1:53 pm PT

    As SuperYeti22 states the quote "Games don't kill, people do.", I totally agree..

    Also studies show that as the sales of rated-m games (sexual or violent) goes up, the youth crime rate goes down.

  • SuperYeti22

    Posted Dec 4, 2009 5:52 pm PT

    People go around spraying peoples brains out, and their alibi is "oh, GTA4 made me murder someone" How could the father support his son in court after he killed his mom over a game. @The3Sentinel, you are right. Why would he have altered the scene if it was made to look like a scuicide if he thought they were going to come back to life? "He thought his parents were going to come back to life." WTF?!?!? We learned that when people die, they don't come back, when we were freaking babies!!! Banning violent games wont do $#!%. People are still going to murder, but "Oh a violent game made me do it" won't be their alibi. This kid should be found guilty, and rot in jail. Games don't kill, people do.

  • B1ackEagle

    Posted Nov 29, 2009 8:54 pm PT

    This guy is such a dumbass. It makes me mad. Damn shooting your mom over a videogame, stupidass. I hope he gets life.

  • evilish

    Posted Nov 23, 2009 8:00 am PT

    Let him be considered guilty and die a horrible death from the shocker chair. No gamer, NO GAMER, that is that addicted deserves a second chance.

  • The3Sentinel

    Posted Nov 21, 2009 4:39 am PT

    "...and then altering the crime scene to make it look like a murder-suicide."

    Something seems a tad fishy here. If he really was addicted to video games, which is total bs, why would he of altered the crime scene. If in fact he thought that they would come back to life then he would of left the bodies where they were. While blaming video games seems to be the fad amongst teens and young adults who kill, it ruins the image of the rest of us somewhat sane gamers. To be totally serious though, this kid probably had other issues which led him to do this. Video games shouldn't be used in an attempt to escape responsibilities for one's actions

  • Unpure_Euphoria

    Posted Nov 21, 2009 12:51 am PT

    @matrixstream757 you hit the nail right on the head there buddy, that's exactly how I feel. All this crap about kids blaming stuff on videogames is nonsense. It will always be something to these morons, it can never be as simple as the kid was screwed up in his head and they caught him on a very, very bad day. It couldn't be the fact that REAL violence influenced him. No. Has to be the videogame. One part of the article made me laugh particularly loud: "he didn't think death was permanent." Oh my goodness that is the biggest load of bull crap I've ever heard, that is not caused by a game I'll tell you that much.

    And you know, on a personal note, I can say from personal experience that games don't influence you on that kind of scale. I have no friends, I honestly don't. I spend probably 14 to 18 hours a day playing videogames, on top of which I am a caffeine addict and an insomniac. I have previously been diagnosed with chronic depression, and have had lashes of violence in the past -- towards others, and myself. And to top it all of, I LOVE shooters -- XIII, Farcry, Ghost Recon, Call of Duty. But have *I* ever gone on a killing spree? No. Because I'm not bloody retarded.

  • matrixstream757

    Posted Nov 20, 2009 2:37 pm PT

    Actually, I can assure you that videogames were not the cause. Videogames in of themselves do not cause any real violence, it is as simple as that. There is ALWAYS something else behind it when it turns to violence. In my previous comment, I posted about why he might have gotten insane. I narrowed it down to the fact that he was probably mentally depressed, and chose Halo 3 to fill up the space. When people tried to take Halo 3 away from him, he refused to let them because he is only not sad when he playes it. It could have been vertually anything. TV, Music, Drugs, Videogames... It doesn't matter what he chose to fill up his empty space, if anyone tried to take it away from him he would do anything he could to keep it. There is no direct connection to Halo 3 at all.

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