10-year-old boy charged with murdering his mother because 'she didn’t buy him a VR headset'
Topics: Crime, Parenting, Virtual Reality, US News
Rachel Lang
Featured Image Credit: Matthew James Harrison / Alamy. ABC
Topics: Crime, Parenting, Virtual Reality, US News
A boy has been accused of murdering his mother after she declined to buy him a virtual reality (VR) headset.
The Wisconsin 10-year-old will front a judge next week and neither parent or child have been named to protect their identities.
According to the Daily Mail, the boy told his family and investigators that the lethal head wound was an accident and that he knew guns could kill.
He allegedly told officers he had aimed at a wall to scare her. The gun went off and his 44-year-old mother died from a gunshot wound.
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The boy, who hails from Milwaukee, then allegedly took his mother's credit card to purchase the set of Oculus VR goggles, as per the Journal Sentinel.
The headsets can cost as much as USD$500 (AUD$735, £900).
The day after the alleged murder, the child purchased the toy.
But his virtual reality hopes and dreams were not to be.
The boy's grandmother called the police after he asked when his Amazon purchase would arrive, according to the Sentinel.
Although he is only 10-years-old, the child will be tried as an adult.
The charge is rare but state legislation indicates the earliest a person can form criminal intent in Wisconsin is age 10.
The Sentinel reports the family said the 10-year-old has 'rage issues' and hears five different, imaginary people talking to him.
He claims the people are two sisters, one older woman, one man and another man.
Other family members revealed the child is cold, highly manipulative, violent, starts fires, and hurts animals on purpose, AP reports.
Police also were advised by the boy that he understands that guns are used to kill.
One of the lawyers acting for the child, Angela Cunningham, described the woman's death as a 'family tragedy'.
"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," she added, as per ABC.
Prosecutors have charged the boy with first-degree reckless homicide, as per Law + Crime.
If found guilty, he could spend up to 60 years in prison.