Reinvestigation After Relative's Tip Following Non-Detention Indictment
Police: "Dissatisfied Because VR Headset Was Not Bought"
VR Headset Purchased Using Mother's Shopping Mall Account
A teenager wearing a VR headset. The photo is not related to the specific content of the article. Photo by Pixabay
[Asia Economy Reporter Bang Je-il] A 10-year-old boy in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA, has been arrested on first-degree murder charges for shooting and killing his mother.
According to local Milwaukee media Journal Sentinel and the Associated Press on the 1st (local time), the boy is accused of shooting his mother to death in the basement laundry room of their home on the morning of the 21st of last month.
The boy initially told the police, "I found a gun in my mom's bedroom and went down to the basement laundry room where she was doing laundry," and "I was playing by spinning the gun on my finger when it slipped from my hand and the accident happened."
Based on this, the prosecution initially judged it as an accident without intent and filed charges of negligent homicide without detention. However, after reinvestigation, it was confirmed that the boy intentionally fired the gun, and he was charged with first-degree reckless murder, equivalent to an adult charge.
A day after the boy’s initial statement, a relative called the police to report. When asked about the situation at the time of the incident, the boy reportedly confessed, "I aimed the gun at my mom, and she told me to put the gun down."
Relatives said the boy showed no signs of mourning or remorse for his mother’s death. They also added that the boy had previously abused a dog when he was four years old, and six months before the incident, he set fire to balloons filled with flammable liquid, burning furniture and carpets in the house, indicating mental health issues.
During a subsequent reinvestigation and interrogation, the boy admitted to intentionally aiming at his mother, the police said.
The police explained, "The boy was dissatisfied because his mother did not buy him a virtual reality (VR) headset," and "On the morning of the incident at 6 a.m., he went to his mother’s bedroom, opened a locked safe, and took out the gun."
Relatives who reported the boy’s crime also said that immediately after the incident, the boy accessed his mother’s online shopping account and purchased an Oculus virtual reality headset.
The boy is currently awaiting trial in a juvenile detention facility.
Under Wisconsin state law, children aged 10 and older can be punished as adults if they commit certain serious crimes such as first-degree intentional murder, first-degree reckless murder, or first-degree attempted intentional murder.
However, the boy’s attorney described the case as a "family tragedy" and argued, "The adult system is not appropriate for a 10-year-old child. This should be handled in juvenile court."
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