Halo 3 murder

Daniel Petric (born August 24, 1991) is a convicted murderer from Wellington, Ohio. At the age of 16, Petric shot both of his parents over a disagreement about him playing the acclaimed mh:awesomegames:Halo 3. His mother was killed and his father was badly injured, but recovered.

In June 2009, he was sentenced to at least 23 years in prison.

Background
The controversy between Daniel and his parents began when they forbade Daniel from buying and playing the Xbox 360 game Halo 3, due to the adult content and rating. Petric was introduced to the Halo series while at the house of his friends, the Johnsons, leading him to wanting a copy himself.

His father, Mark Petric, was a minister at the New Life Assembly of God in Wellington. Both parents objected to the idea of their son playing a game with an M rating did not find it suitable for him. This didn't sit well with Daniel, specially because sometimes Daniel played the game for up to 18 hours at a time without taking a break.

His mother, Susan, eventually caught him playing the game and informed Mark, which lead him to confiscating the game from Daniel for going against his parents' wishes. Mark locked the game in a safe cabinet that also concealed his 9mm Taurus PT-92 handgun. Daniel believed his father would play the game by himself.

Shooting
About one week after the game was taken away from Daniel, on October 20, 2007, Daniel used his father’s key to unlock the safe and take back his copy. Daniel also took his father’s 9mm Taurus handgun along with the game.

Daniel came up behind his parents as they were relaxing on their couch in the living room and said “Would you close your eyes, I have a surprise for you.” Daniel then proceeded to shoot both of his parents.

Daniel shot his mother in the head, arms, and chest, killing her. His dad survived the gunshots. He was wounded in the nose. In court, Mark testified that after Daniel shot both of his parents, he tried to make the event look like a murder-suicide by placing the gun in his father's hand whilst saying to him "Hey Dad, here’s your gun. Take it."

Daniel made an escape attempt by driving off in the family’s van with his copy of Halo 3 in the passenger seat. He didn't get very far when his plan failed as the police caught up with him and forced him out of the van via road block. While police were handcuffing him, he yelled "My dad shot my mom!".

Trial
Daniel’s trial was held on December 15, 2008 at Lorain County Common Pleas in front of Judge James Burge. No jury was present at the trial. His defense attorney, James Kersey, claimed that because of the enormous amount of stress put on him due to his severe infection, Daniel was much more susceptible to being influenced by the game. He argued that Daniel was not in the right state of mind to understand the finality of shooting his parents. He had been playing the game so long that he did not comprehend the fact that death was real and permanent. The prosecuting attorney disagreed, and said that Daniel showed no remorse for his actions and that he had tried to set up the shootings as suicide by placing the gun in his father’s hand. Daniel was tried for murder.

Due to his age, Daniel could not have been sentenced to death. The judge sentenced him to life in prison with the possibility of parole after 23 years, which was the minimum sentence. The maximum sentence Daniel faced was life in prison without parole, which was what the prosecuting attorney recommended for him.

The case has been highlighted in papers and articles regarding video game addiction and video game violence. Halo 3 publishers Microsoft refused to comment on the case past a statement of "We are aware of the situation and it is a tragic case."