Asilee.com

ELYRIA — A northeast Ohio teen who shot and killed his mother and wounded his minister father has been sentenced to 23 years to life in prison.

Defendant Daniel Petric shook his head slightly, sniffled and held back tears during his sentencing Tuesday in Elyria. He did not address Lorain County Common Pleas Judge James Burge.

Petric was convicted of shooting his parents in October 2007 after they took the game “Halo 3” away from him.

The judge had said the 17-year-old was so obsessed over a video game that he may have believed that, like the characters in the game, death wasn’t real. The defense claims the teen’s age and addiction to the game made him less responsible.

“He was playing it for up to 18 hours a day or more,” said James Kersey, defense attorney. “He was without food. Very little sleep. And then he comes home and instead of going to sleep he starts searching the house and looks for the video game. Just like an addict would look for drugs.”

In the video game, players shoot alien monsters that have taken over the Earth.

Prosecutors believe Petric’s actions show he knew reality from fantasy.

“This is not the case of a drug fiend’s stash being taken away,” said Anthony Cillo, deputy prosecuting attorney. “They take away the video game before he’s had a chance to play it. You can’t be addicted to what you haven’t played yet.”

Burge tried Petric as an adult and found him guilty in January of aggravated murder, attempted aggravated murder and other charges.

During sentencing, Burge said that because tests show Petric is not mentally ill and without the anti-social behavior typical with other juvenile crime, the court is convinced that video game addiction played a part in Petric’s violent rage.

“He didn’t run away from home and he didn’t torture small animals,” Burge said. “He didn’t fight with his parents and wasn’t a bully. He wasn’t a predator at all until (his game was taken away) and then everything changed.”

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