CRIME Wisconsin boy, 10, killed mom over VR headset

Charges: Wisconsin boy, 10, killed mom over VR headset

Associated Press
Nov. 30, 2022 3:32 PM PT

A 10-year-old Milwaukee boy intentionally aimed a gun at his mother, then shot and killed her, because she would not buy him a virtual reality headset, prosecutors said.

The boy initially told police that the Nov. 21 shooting was an accident, according to criminal charges obtained by the Journal Sentinel. But later he said he intentionally aimed at his mom before shooting her. The boy was charged as an adult last week with first-degree reckless homicide.

Wisconsin law requires children as young as 10 to be charged as adults for certain serious crimes, though the boy’s attorneys can seek to move the case to juvenile court. The boy, who family members said has mental health issues, is being held in juvenile detention.

“This is an absolute family tragedy,” said Angela Cunningham, one of the boy’s attorneys. “I don’t think anybody would deny or disagree with that ... The adult system is absolutely ill-equipped to address the needs of a 10-year-old child.”

The shooting occurred shortly before 7 a.m. on Nov. 21. According to the complaint, the boy initially told officers he got the gun from his mother’s bedroom and went to the basement where she was doing laundry. He said he was twirling the gun around his finger when it went off. The boy was allowed to stay with family, and an initial release from police says the shooting was caused by a child “playing” with a gun.

A day later, concerned relatives called police.

The boy’s aunt said that when she picked up the boy, he retrieved a set of house keys that contained a key to the gun’s lock box. When his aunt asked about the shooting, the boy said he pointed the gun at his mom, and that she told him to put it down.

The boy’s aunt and sister said he never cried or showed remorse. They also said he logged into his mother’s Amazon account and ordered an Oculus Virtual Reality Headset the morning after she died. That same morning, he physically attacked his 7-year-old cousin.

Relatives said the boy has a history of disturbing behavior. When he was 4, he swung the family’s puppy around by its tail, the complaint says. Six months ago, family told police, the boy filled a balloon with a flammable liquid and set it on fire, causing an explosion that burned furniture and the carpet. Relatives recalled that when asked about that, the boy said he hears five imaginary people talking to him.

After learning these new details, Milwaukee police interviewed the boy again. This time, he told detectives he aimed the gun at his mom with two hands while in a shooting stance. He said he tried shooting a wall to “scare her” when she walked in front of him and he shot her, the complaint says.

The boy told police he got the gun from the lock box that morning because his mother woke him up early — at 6 a.m. instead of 6:30 a.m. — and because she wouldn’t let him buy something on Amazon.

Kill it now.

Dennis Olson said:

Kill it now.

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Although a logical and sane conclusion, this will never happen in ZUSA 2022.

I doubt this kid will do anything but live his life out in a psych ward for the criminally insane. Or at least he will if society wants to prevent a serial killer from forming. He is already a cold-blooded killer of one.

OK once again,
Can a 10-year-old sign a contract, get married, join the military, drive a car, or even become an emancipated minor?

I totally agree this child is a "bad seed" they exist and needs to be locked up in a CHILDREN's home for the criminally insane.

To suggest that a ten-year-old child is somehow legally an adult is absurd and I would argue even immoral. Children's minds, even those without an obvious psychosis are NOT wired or fully developed as those of true adults. That is a basic (real) scientific fact or do you want a 5th grader driving beside you at 60 mph on the freeway?

I can make a good case for "adulthood" at 16 (many traditional societies and even the Amish still do). That eliminates the 16-year-old gang members who slaughter the innocent being tried as "minors."

But a ten-year-old being a child should be a no-brainer. Other Western countries such as the UK have passed laws to handle these situations that allow in extreme circumstances (this is one) for no automatic freedom card at 18, and instead the now adult can be reviewed, often with a court-ordered continuation of custody until 21. Under some circumstances that can be extended even further.

I'm tired of hearing "we have to try a 10-year-old as if they have a fully adult mind and understanding of right and wrong, or death and the consequences of murder because otherwise, they will "get out" at 18. Change the laws, not pretend reality isn't real. This child can't possibly really confer with lawyers and make adult decisions like a guilty or not-guilty plea or a plea bargain.

In any other situation, a court-appointed guardian would be doing that, or are we ready to let ten-year-olds defend themselves in court?

Kathy in FL said:

I doubt this kid will do anything but live his life out in a psych ward for the criminally insane. Or at least he will if society wants to prevent a serial killer from forming. He is already a cold-blooded killer of one.

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He'll be in a juvenile mental facility until he is 18. That day, he gets booted to the street until he does something to go into the adult system. Jmho, based on what goes on here in Ks.

Bones said:

He'll be in a juvenile mental facility until he is 18. That day, he gets booted to the street until he does something to go into the adult system. Jmho, based on what goes on here in Ks.

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And the laws need to be changed by the States, the same way there were in the UK to prevent this from happening and the absurdity of pretending a ten-year-old is a fully competent adult who is totally and legally responsible for their actions.

This, and so many other things in our so-called civil society, will always boil down to money. The Systems see green ink on paper and either black or red ink on the bottom line. Those colored ink will always predicate the boy's fate.

Obviously, I'm waxing cynical this early morning.

Melodi said:

And the laws need to be changed by the States, the same way there were in the UK to prevent this from happening and the absurdity of pretending a ten-year-old is a fully competent adult who is totally and legally responsible for their actions.

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They need to stop the coddling if young criminals. Moving it to regular court was found to be the only adequate solution for such bad offenses as the family court system only enables more bad behavior. The bad ones like this they try to bring back in to society but it always fails as the whole mental aproach know is flawed by design

Knoxville's Joker said:

They need to stop the coddling if young criminals. Moving it to regular court was found to be the only adequate solution for such bad offenses as the family court system only enables more bad behavior. The bad ones like this they try to bring back in to society but it always fails as the whole mental aproach know is flawed by design

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It is still morally, ethically, and totally violates common sense to pretend a ten-year-old child has the reasoning capabilities to be tried as a fully competent adult. The system is what needs to change (and other countries have done this in the face of very juvenile murderers) but simply saying, "we have to pretend this minor child is capable of defending themselves as an adult in court is absurd."

In any other situation, a child of ten would be considered too young to even make a final say on where they choose to live. That is decided by parents, guardians, or judges depending on the situation. You can make a 14-year-old and emancipated minor in some States, but never a ten-year-old.

At age 10, little humans in the US (and most Western Countries) are considered too young to legally do much of anything on their own; unless they commit a terrible crime than suddenly they are elevated to fully adult status because the States and Judicial system can't or won't do their jobs.

While I have very little issue with "nuking it from space, it's the only way to be sure!" I ALSO see Melodi's points. Which leaves me stuck on the pointy horns of a dilemma...

Melodi said:

OK once again,
Can a 10-year-old sign a contract, get married, join the military, drive a car, or even become an emancipated minor?

I totally agree this child is a "bad seed" they exist and needs to be locked up in a CHILDREN's home for the criminally insane.

To suggest that a ten-year-old child is somehow legally an adult is absurd and I would argue even immoral. Children's minds, even those without an obvious psychosis are NOT wired or fully developed as those of true adults. That is a basic (real) scientific fact or do you want a 5th grader driving beside you at 60 mph on the freeway?

I can make a good case for "adulthood" at 16 (many traditional societies and even the Amish still do). That eliminates the 16-year-old gang members who slaughter the innocent being tried as "minors."

But a ten-year-old being a child should be a no-brainer. Other Western countries such as the UK have passed laws to handle these situations that allow in extreme circumstances (this is one) for no automatic freedom card at 18, and instead the now adult can be reviewed, often with a court-ordered continuation of custody until 21. Under some circumstances that can be extended even further.

I'm tired of hearing "we have to try a 10-year-old as if they have a fully adult mind and understanding of right and wrong, or death and the consequences of murder because otherwise, they will "get out" at 18. Change the laws, not pretend reality isn't real. This child can't possibly really confer with lawyers and make adult decisions like a guilty or not-guilty plea or a plea bargain.

In any other situation, a court-appointed guardian would be doing that, or are we ready to let ten-year-olds defend themselves in court?

Click to expand...

Perhaps he can go live with you then?

Yeah, I'm thinking partly possessed by video gaming.

I would argue beside taking the games away and putting the kid into a really tough work camp, to also teach him-her to hunt, and eat what they kills.

I think all kids by the time they are 10 years old, kids should be well trained to track, trap, hunt and harvest a rabbit at least, then skin, gut and cook then eat his or hers kill.

It's mind set, for knowing one only kills to eat. Kids brains don't know this now days.

He's living in a virtual world that is run by satan I think.

JMHO

emiliozapata said:

Perhaps he can go live with you then?

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I am not medically qualified and I do not run a proper hospital for criminally insane children, they do however have such places in the United Kingdom where if a child ages out into adulthood and is still believed to be a danger to society a judge can (and they have) send them onto an adult institution.

My cats may be somewhat murderous and crazy, but that doesn't qualify me to work with children who kill fellow humans instead of just mice and birds.

I can see it having to go to people actually eating people before it starts going the other way.

We've forgotten the most basics of life.

It's all a virtual world now.....FAKE!

there are LOTS of kids that have been MADE into what they are by near complete absence of parnta attention. How many times have we seen SMALL kids placated by small screens and video games while mommy and daddy are similarly occupied?

99.99% of the time crappy kids are the result of crappy parenting - SPEND TIME WITH YOU KID - NOT YOUR PHONE

Unless I missed reading it in the thread, where
was the boy's father?

There was his mom, and his aunt, but no male family
member is indicated, and that is the reason,
for this boy becoming a hellion. Now he needs the
attention of the criminal justice system, and the book
needs to be thrown at him. He knew exactly what he
was doing, and he needs to pay, and pay dearly.

No fathers ,in the vast majority of ZUSA families, is why
the ZUSA is sitting at the gates of HELL,

Please be safe everyone.

Regards to all.

Nowski

West said:

Yeah, I'm thinking partly possessed by video gaming.

I would argue beside taking the games away and putting the kid into a really tough work camp, to also teach him-her to hunt, and eat what they kills.

I think all kids by the time they are 10 years old, kids should be well trained to track, trap, hunt and harvest a rabbit at least, then skin, gut and cook then eat his or hers kill.

It's mind set, for knowing one only kills to eat. Kids brains don't know this now days.

He's living in a virtual world that is run by satan I think.

JMHO

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That would be great until he uses his newly honed killing skilz to whack the other kids at camp, or the folks that run it, because they looked at him funny.

Cardinal said:

That would be great until he uses his newly honed killing skilz to whack the other kids at camp, or the folks that run it, because they looked at him funny.

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For this kid granted could be a possibility.

And even for a few kids if what I suggest was trained when young before they murder someone.

Thing is if every kid had what I suggested, his peers would take care of him. Maybe even feed his bones to a grinder to feed the hunting dogs. Waste not want not!

West said:

For this kid granted could be a possibility.

And even for a few kids if what I suggest was trained when young before they murder someone.

Thing is if every kid had what I suggested, his peers would take care of him. Maybe even feed his bones to a grinder to feed the hunting dogs. Waste not want not!

Click to expand...

Not necessarily. I believe this kid is psychotic (Schizophrenia? hears voices) or demonically possessed, if you want to go "old School" with this.
Not every other kid is.
Some just lack a daddy to warm their hide.
I once read that the Classical Greeks of history would execute a kid like this.

Raggedyman said:

there are LOTS of kids that have been MADE into what they are by near complete absence of parnta attention. How many times have we seen SMALL kids placated by small screens and video games while mommy and daddy are similarly occupied?

99.99% of the time crappy kids are the result of crappy parenting - SPEND TIME WITH YOU KID - NOT YOUR PHONE

Click to expand...

Actually, there is a small percentage of children (and so far this kid fits the bill) who just seem to be born "bad." Perhaps miswired might be a better term, I suspect psychiatry has a name for it, I'm just not sure what it is.

Kids with this issue tend to have a history of hurting or killing small animals (including pets) sometimes really torturing siblings or playmates and sometimes are in families with a number of children and the rest are just normal children. While you can get "mean" or "highly disturbed" children as the result of physical neglect or abuse; the kids I'm talking about often show a history of neither.

I even saw an episode of Dr. Phill where the family agreed to cameras in their home and the films of the tiny little girl were terrifying. You could see even Dr. Phill was extremely upset, worried, and concerned. He arranged for the family to have an immediate intervention with a full evaluation of the child, who I suspect may have ended up in an institution as she was a danger to her siblings as well as herself (you can rehome your pets but not your baby!)

So while I agree that there is a huge problem with bad parenting and a tendency to turn kids over to their phones to be their babysitters, given what little we know of this child's history I'm going to suspect that he's been a problem since he could walk.

Sociopaths. They walk among us. Don’t let the young age fool you. They will do whatever it takes to get what they want, and they have no love for anyone other than themselves. Master manipulators (note the comments he made to the police). No conscience. No remorse. Absolutely no empathy.

Torturing small animals is an early sign.

Can they be cured? Most psychologists think not.

night driver said:

While I have very little issue with "nuking it from space, it's the only way to be sure!" I ALSO see Melodi's points. Which leaves me stuck on the pointy horns of a dilemma...

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Agreed. No one wants criminals coddled, and the "nip it in the bud" plan does seem like the best one. But with the system what it is today, do we really want to hand it MORE tools to hurt us and our children? And it certainly doesn't help matters that Melodi's right about child brain development.

It's clear the kid had mental issues...

Relatives said the boy has a history of disturbing behavior. When he was 4, he swung the family’s puppy around by its tail, the complaint says. Six months ago, family told police, the boy filled a balloon with a flammable liquid and set it on fire, causing an explosion that burned furniture and the carpet. Relatives recalled that when asked about that, the boy said he hears five imaginary people talking to him.

Nowski said:

Unless I missed reading it in the thread, where
was the boy's father?

There was his mom, and his aunt, but no male family
member is indicated, and that is the reason,
for this boy becoming a hellion. Now he needs the
attention of the criminal justice system, and the book
needs to be thrown at him. He knew exactly what he
was doing, and he needs to pay, and pay dearly.

No fathers ,in the vast majority of ZUSA families, is why
the ZUSA is sitting at the gates of HELL,

Please be safe everyone.

Regards to all.

Nowski

Click to expand...

Bingo. Those were my first thoughts also.

gja360 said:

It's clear the kid had mental issues...

Relatives said the boy has a history of disturbing behavior. When he was 4, he swung the family’s puppy around by its tail, the complaint says. Six months ago, family told police, the boy filled a balloon with a flammable liquid and set it on fire, causing an explosion that burned furniture and the carpet. Relatives recalled that when asked about that, the boy said he hears five imaginary people talking to him.

Click to expand...

All the exact signs of certain forms of mental illness usually show up at a very young age and while it is true this particular person may need to be in a locked ward for life to protect themselves and others - they are still a child and not capable of adult decision making.

The kid is not an adult, but mentally deranged

Babs said:

Bingo. Those were my first thoughts also.

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If this child really is psychotic and hearing voices then a Dad might not matter all that much because there may be a physical/mental illness going on here. Szophernia and its relatives can hit the "best" of families, in the 1950s the new "science" of mental health practitioners was still heavily influenced by 1930s ideas about the environment and childhood traumas being the only causes of mental illness. So parents would get blamed for it, with all sorts of silly theories about distant (or too-loving) mothers and (distant or too-strict fathers).

Now we know that some mental illness is genetic and others are at least partly the result of physical issues in the brain or the chemical balances in the human body. If anything the field has gone way too far overboard in the direction of everything having a physical cause you can fix with "a pill" when in reality that extreme can only explain part of the puzzle. Personal choices, life events, and even bad parenting can cause a lot of problems,

That said bad parenting can "ruin" little children and it can be very hard to bring them back. It is like comparing this child to a "child soldier" who is forced into temporary insanity by being made to kill their parents and siblings at gunpoint around the same age. I have a friend with a Ph.D. in this topic who has won international awards. she has explained that if you get them soon enough some of these children can be brought back to sanity; largely because they were perfectly sane (and loved) before they were mentally and physically tortured into becoming killers by their adult tormentors.

Sounds like a more severe version of what my oldest was like as a child. He spent 18 months at an inpatient facility for emotionally disturbed children between the ages of 7 and 9. He tried to kill his little brother three times, because he felt he wasn't getting all the attention he wanted.

Melodi said:

Actually, there is a small percentage of children (and so far this kid fits the bill) who just seem to be born "bad." Perhaps miswired might be a better term, I suspect psychiatry has a name for it, I'm just not sure what it is.

Kids with this issue tend to have a history of hurting or killing small animals (including pets) sometimes really torturing siblings or playmates and sometimes are in families with a number of children and the rest are just normal children. While you can get "mean" or "highly disturbed" children as the result of physical neglect or abuse; the kids I'm talking about often show a history of neither.

I even saw an episode of Dr. Phill where the family agreed to cameras in their home and the films of the tiny little girl were terrifying. You could see even Dr. Phill was extremely upset, worried, and concerned. He arranged for the family to have an immediate intervention with a full evaluation of the child, who I suspect may have ended up in an institution as she was a danger to her siblings as well as herself (you can rehome your pets but not your baby!)

So while I agree that there is a huge problem with bad parenting and a tendency to turn kids over to their phones to be their babysitters, given what little we know of this child's history I'm going to suspect that he's been a problem since he could walk.

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IIRC, the little girl actually had a tumor in her brain, and after surgery and therapy, she became a normal, functional kid. I would have to read an update to be fully confident in that answer.

I’m with you, this is a CHILD. And while a very small portion of the population are born psychopaths, there’s an even smaller portion of those with psychopathy who A. Act on it, and B. Are beyond rehabilitation. There are MANY diagnosed psychopaths who live and work among us, but have learned coping mechanisms to blend vs those who act egregiously. And without knowing the situation, none of us are qualified to pass judgement on what his problem is or what he needs. This could be an abusive situation where the VR is taking the blame but was a straw that broke the camels back. It could be a medical issue, something neurological, a bad idea (who knew children sometimes make bad choices?) that became a horrible accident, we don’t even know how grounded in reality this child even is.

The number of people who think at TEN, this child is beyond hope or help and that he should be locked away in the system for the next 20, 50, 80 years is horrifying. And the reason why we leave these decisions to professionals instead of mob rule.

Melodi said:

And the laws need to be changed by the States, the same way there were in the UK to prevent this from happening and the absurdity of pretending a ten-year-old is a fully competent adult who is totally and legally responsible for their actions.

Click to expand...

Changed how?

What would have prevented this murder, and any and all subsequent evil, except to terminate it.

Don’t be over come by evil, but overcome evil with good…a good sedative and then he’s God’s to judge.

Dennis Olson said:

Sounds like a more sever version of what my oldest was like as a child. He spent 18 months at an inpatient facility for emotionally disturbed children between the ages of 7 and 9. He tried to kill his little brother three times, because he felt he wasn't getting all the attention he wanted.

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I don’t mean to pry, and you have every right to not want to discuss it.

But was he ever diagnosed with anything beyond ‘behavioral issues’? Or was it a grow out of it type situation? I watched a fascinating documentary about psychopathy and sociopathy, showing people who were diagnosed and how they managed it and were functioning well within moral boundaries and those who couldn’t, usually via childhood trauma. The overall idea being that children who receive early intervention and familial support basically learn to go against their nature and function as normal, whereas children who are raised without support and good modeling behavior become the serial killer types. Pretty interesting!

Melodi said:

And the laws need to be changed by the States, the same way there were in the UK to prevent this from happening and the absurdity of pretending a ten-year-old is a fully competent adult who is totally and legally responsible for their actions.

Click to expand...

Like the UK???? America made it clear in the constitution that citizens need to be armed because evil men (and now women) think they can rule over us like gods, as history has shown repeatedly. To prevent that, the power to enforce the rights and liberties of the people must remain with the people so that when in times of governmental oppression, the people can re-educate the governors about rights and wrongs. UK is almost as bad as Australia in giving up the rights and responsibilities of the people.

Personally, I would never want him anywhere near me.

And that is what spiritual possession looks like.

What a society we live in! No names or pictures of the perpetrator because it needs protection.... and yet our nation is run by sex-trafficking pedophiles, corrupt thieves, conspirators who have poisoned millions, abortion-promoting monsters and controlling devils that continue to acquire tracking, monitoring & licensing of all our lives' activities. And none of this is for our "protection".

LightEcho said:

What a society we live in! No names or pictures of the perpetrator because it needs protection.... and yet our nation is run by sex-trafficking pedophiles, corrupt thieves, conspirators who have poisoned millions, abortion-promoting monsters and controlling devils that continue to acquire tracking, monitoring & licensing of all our lives' activities. And none of this is for our "protection".

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So, you believe all that…and never once considered this child may be a victim of some pedophile, MK Ultra, mind poisoning conspiracy, OR is a victim of adult victims/perpetrators that warped him? No? We just jump straight to punishment instead of a deep dive investigation?

This is why I can’t take modern CTers seriously. They stopped valuing REAL research in favor of watching youtube channels that ‘told’ them the truth, or blogs who ‘summarize’ the truth, you know, for their own good to save them time and all…

KewPee said:

I don’t mean to pry, and you have every right to not want to discuss it.

But was he ever diagnosed with anything beyond ‘behavioral issues’? Or was it a grow out of it type situation? I watched a fascinating documentary about psychopathy and sociopathy, showing people who were diagnosed and how they managed it and were functioning well within moral boundaries and those who couldn’t, usually via childhood trauma. The overall idea being that children who receive early intervention and familial support basically learn to go against their nature and function as normal, whereas children who are raised without support and good modeling behavior become the serial killer types. Pretty interesting!

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Well, you DO mean to pry actually. You’ve only been here a year and I don’t know you. So I won’t volunteer additional information.

.....well at least she wont be spreading anymore demon seed. (posted for a friend. )

KewPee said:

So, you believe all that…and never once considered this child may be a victim of some pedophile, MK Ultra, mind poisoning conspiracy, OR is a victim of adult victims/perpetrators that warped him? No? We just jump straight to punishment instead of a deep dive investigation?

This is why I can’t take modern CTers seriously. They stopped valuing REAL research in favor of watching youtube channels that ‘told’ them the truth, or blogs who ‘summarize’ the truth, you know, for their own good to save them time and all…

Click to expand...

I am fairly certain the child is a victim in various ways. Our society is geared that way now. In case you didn't notice, I did try doing a little research. A little hard when you can't even find the names of the people involved. But I care not to spend hours digging this out... for what reason would I do that? I would expect a news report to give the pithy information, and not just emotional blather, uhh... kind of like you are doing now.