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.

1567 Comments

  • SuperYeti22

    Posted Jul 8, 2010 7:20 am PT

    If he can't tell the real world from the video game, he shouldn't be playing it, because he must be out of his f***ing mind! I think the parents are at fault as well. I also have a bone to pick with the people who say that violent games make people do violent things. Imagine all of the lives that would've been saved if Jeffery Dahmer didn't play Fallout 3, or if Jack the Ripper didn't play GTA4, or if Hitler Osama Bin Laden, and Saddam Hussein didn't play Call of Duty, or if Gordon Northcott didn't play Heavy Rain. Not to mention there was a lot of violence BEFORE there were modern violent games that we know today. The theory that violent games make people do violent things is COMPLETE BULLS**T!!!

  • Deatonis

    Posted Mar 31, 2010 9:18 pm PT

    this whole forum reaps of troll and ignorant, obviously the kids a nutcase but we cause monsters then we shun them, the kid was a victim his father is obviously an overly religious nutcase and the kid had a condition which needed medication and they denied him it, why is it their business even at 17 to take the game from him, he wasnt far from being an adult legally, you ignorant fools dont see the underlying child abuse and the fact this 'kid' was mentally unstable they needed to put him in a mental facility not a jail and never let him out, its hilarios in american that parents are allowed legally to do what they want, then the invididual who 'acts out' because of what theyre forced to live in has this happen. lol okay. dont stick your hand in the cage then whine when the tiger bites you is all i got to say. they made a psycho and should of seen the warning signs way before now.

  • Tregster

    Posted Mar 17, 2010 8:19 pm PT

    Are the games at fault on their own? No. Are they yet another factor that affects disturbed young people? Yes.

  • BFKZ

    Posted Mar 17, 2010 9:56 am PT

    halo violent?....Puh-Lease...

  • hanslacher54

    Posted Mar 16, 2010 9:01 am PT

    BETRAYAL

  • kempofuryfist

    Posted Mar 13, 2010 5:26 pm PT

    How about looking into what it was like growing up in a house hold where your father is a priest. Some times people are subjected to things as kids when they have religion forced down there throat and religion in it self can be enough to make you crazy. I do think think it's needed to go find the articles of crazy people who have a faith based back ground.
    All you got to do is google religion and killing.
    If they can get away with blaming a video game for a killing,
    you can blame just about anything then.

  • Killer2401

    Posted Mar 11, 2010 3:19 pm PT

    Halo has sold millions of copies...and only a handful go crazy....methinks he was crazy to begin with.

  • roosteraxe1

    Posted Mar 10, 2010 7:56 pm PT

    I was always under then impression that an insanity plea and blatent premeditated murder kind of contradict each other. Seriously his parents probably should have stepped in the first time he played 18 hours straight. That is not healthy. Obviously. Look at the end result. Still, he should have got life. No parole. He killed his mom and nearly killed his dad because they wouldn't let him play halo for cryin out loud! Will part of his parole be that he can't play video games ever again? If he's gonna blame games it had better be.

  • Moose_4

    Posted Mar 9, 2010 8:58 am PT

    what the hell was he doing on it 18 hours a day. the game takes no more than 6 hours to complete.
    im suprised he managed to aim at his mum if hes that crap.

  • Corvan

    Posted Mar 8, 2010 9:19 am PT

    If you cant determine the real world from a video game then you shouldnt be playing it. Also understand..it is not real! If you can figure that out and your obsessed to that point..Dont play till you can manage that.

  • _mumbles_

    Posted Mar 7, 2010 10:46 am PT

    Shoulda bought a PS3.

  • godchild13

    Posted Mar 4, 2010 9:47 am PT

    i think he got off easy.he had predetermined intention and plans weeks prior and he only got 23years? wtf? beyond rediculous when theres inmates serving that long for selling weed! 23 years? please! he should be sentenced to death and have that lingering over him as he becomes a perminant proctology experiment every last day of his worthless life.tho i do feel for his father,but only for the loss of his wife not the gd riddens of a worthless excuse of a humanbeing! tho now we all have to pay for him to exist for up to 23years.to even jokingly blame any of it on a video game should result in a severe slap!

  • avoidbeingshot

    Posted Mar 4, 2010 9:13 am PT

    What I'm saying is that someone who killed their parents over a video game obviously has some issues and sending him to prison for 23 years probably won't do much other than deform him even more because of the people around him. Especially at a young age like 17, they're still quite impressionable. He's probably become so detached from reality that whoever tells him what the meaning of life is, he'd probably believe them.

  • Nafe

    Posted Mar 2, 2010 4:35 am PT

    ...and this is what people are dieing for in this country? I don't blame people in the military for giving up, if they are fighting for S--H I T like this.

  • HollowNinja

    Posted Mar 1, 2010 6:45 pm PT

    *sigh* Well, he deserved more than he got, but whatever.

  • Reiken37

    Posted Mar 1, 2010 3:16 pm PT

    Heh, this is a possibility, if he was smart, he wouldnt get caught killing his mother, whom he sees every day of his life. So it is possible there is a psychological aspect to this case. Too bad it's long gone, I would of liked to hear about the evidence.

  • BryanPS360

    Posted Mar 1, 2010 6:49 am PT

    BS.

  • Law84

    Posted Feb 25, 2010 3:23 pm PT

    He didn't kill because of a video game. He killed because he's a killer. To quote Scream 3, "You know why you kill? Because you CHOOSE to kill. Stop blaming other people and take some f'ing responsibility". I have no pity for this "kid". They should have tried him as an adult and given him a life sentence.

  • solidniko

    Posted Feb 24, 2010 11:16 am PT

    wow what a f'ed up kid RLY DO U NEED THAT MUCH HALO?

  • Blissmemberment

    Posted Feb 23, 2010 2:51 pm PT

    So much for playing halo reach, the online community will probably be dead by then.

  • powerfulone1987

    Posted Feb 22, 2010 12:27 pm PT

    I never heard about this. He looks like a Barbarian. It was probably the South in him.

  • ncc54848

    Posted Feb 20, 2010 6:44 pm PT

    When I was 20 (I am over 50 now) I was laid up for 6 months on the couch with a broken leg and got addicted to soap operas (now that is something that should be banned). I can see how someone could get addicted to games. Saying you killed your parent because of a game is outrageous. Maybe if you were 6 or 7 but not 17. I hope he never has kids. The gene pool is messed up enough.

  • MindlessTeef

    Posted Feb 19, 2010 12:47 am PT

    Always blaming video games for causing such violance just make me wanna shoot some one! I jest. These few back-wards people should stop looking for excuses where there are non to be found. A sick mind will always find an outlet... as well as insperation. Whether it be games, movies, music, books, etc... should we ban them all!? Burn the books? Like Hitler did....

  • shakensparco

    Posted Feb 17, 2010 1:12 am PT

    I hope nobody believes the lawyer when he said "The playing of the video games and the reality of shooting somebody in his case was blinded; it was merged". That kid knew his parents weren't going to respawn, that's why he shot them. He didn't want anyone keeping Halo from him. He was not insane, he was just really messed up.

  • hardace1708

    Posted Feb 16, 2010 11:30 am PT

    dude's a loser for killing someone and giving shame to the game industry.

  • Zaddack

    Posted Feb 16, 2010 11:05 am PT

    I know that "Game Addiction" can happen, BUT I believe that it is blamed for violent crimes more than it should be. It makes for an easy cop-out to blame something negative on gaming. As a Semi-Pro gamer myself I can honestly swear on a stack of bibles that I have NEVER been disillusioned by a mature ie: violent game. I know that it is just a game and that real life is much different. You cannot even draw parallels between fantasy and RL. The reason we have games is to escape reality for a moment but when you log out you log back into the real world. *Note* This OF COURSE just MY opinion & we all know the saying about those....lol!

  • player_leo

    Posted Feb 16, 2010 8:33 am PT

    It's sad that people allow video games to influence them so much.

  • Lincvattic

    Posted Feb 14, 2010 6:38 pm PT

    it wasn't video games that killed her, it was a boy, who had parents that allowed him to play for 18 hours straight.
    you wanna put blame on a whole division of the media?
    how about you put the blame on bad parenting, that allowed it to progress so far

  • cartridge-based

    Posted Feb 13, 2010 12:30 am PT

    wha du fvck?

  • iMaZx

    Posted Feb 12, 2010 4:06 pm PT

    @avoidbeingshot I guess if it was your loved ones then you wouldn't think of it as "harsh" even for 17 years old. He just got a touch of reality..and def got what he deserved. If you sympathize with him, I must say you must be out of your mind just like him. End of story!

  • Flash159

    Posted Feb 11, 2010 3:07 pm PT

    Weird world. In the Netherlands he would have gotten 12 -10 yrs in prison (with tv and internet access) or he would have gotten psychological therapy (most likely because of the age) and no prison time.

  • cadahnic1

    Posted Feb 11, 2010 7:21 am PT

    The psychological situations going on in this kid's head, are unimaginable for most. I do not agree that video games caused him to murder his mom and attempt to murder his dad. He suffers from addiction and mental weakness. Send him to jail, he'll get some counseling and a new boyfriend. Some people are just not meant to be apart of society...

  • Clatt2

    Posted Feb 11, 2010 5:59 am PT

    Wait this was a premeditated killing and he got off so lightly??? WTF!!!!

  • thebeast45

    Posted Feb 10, 2010 7:45 pm PT

    @avoidbeingshot

    You're kidding, right?

  • avoidbeingshot

    Posted Feb 10, 2010 2:11 pm PT

    23 years at age 17? Thats kinda harsh...even for killing someone.

  • 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.

  • 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.

advertisement

Hot Stories

Newsmakers

Featured Stories

Submit News

Got tips? Send them in!

Related Game

Halo 3 Boxshot
Halo 3
  • Downloadable Game

Game Stats

  • Rank:
    767 of 97,837
    (up by 9)
    X360 Rank:
    142 of 2,557
    Tracking:
    71,379 Track It»
    Wishlists:
    33,307 Wish It»
  • Users Now Playing:
    17,641
  • Number of Players:

    1-4, 16 Online | Offline Modes: Competitive, Cooperative, Team Oriented | Online Modes: Competitive, Cooperative, Team Oriented

  • Top 5 User Tags:
    1. halo 3
    2. halo
    3. bungie
    4. fps
    5. master chief
  • Mature Rating Description

    Titles rated M (Mature) have content that may be suitable for persons ages 17 and older. Titles in this category may contain intense violence, blood and gore, sexual content and/or strong language. Learn more

Full Game Details »Close

Related Games

Recent News

See All News »

Site Blogs