{{Short description|American murderer (born 1991)}} {{Use mdy dates |date=October 2021}}
{{Infobox criminal | name = Daniel Petrić | image = | image_upright = | image_size = | alt = | caption = | birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1991|08|24|mf=yes}}<ref name="DRC"/> | birth place = | occupation = Student | conviction_penalty = 23 years to life in prison | conviction_status = Incarcerated | parents = Mark and Susan Petrić | motive = Video game addiction; anger towards parents for confiscating video game | conviction = Aggravated murder<br>Attempted aggravated murder<br>Tampering with evidence | date = October 20, 2007 | country = United States | targets = Mark and Susan Petrić | locations = Brighton Township, Lorain County, Ohio | fatalities = Susan Petrić (his mother) | injuries = Mark Petrić (his father) | weapons = 9mm Taurus PT92 | apprehended = October 20, 2007 | imprisoned = Grafton Correctional Institution, Grafton, Ohio }}
'''Daniel Petrić''' ({{lang-sr-Cyrl| Данијел Петрић}}; born August 24, 1991) is an American convicted murderer from Wellington, Ohio. At age 16, he shot his parents after his father confiscated his copy of the then-recently released ''Halo 3'', a video game his parents forbade him from playing. His mother died, but his father recovered.<ref>{{cite journal|title=Games No Murder Defense |journal=PC World|date=March 2009|first=Matt|last=Peckham|volume=27|issue=3|pages=16|id= {{ProQuest|231527359}}}}</ref> He is incarcerated for life, with a chance for parole. Studies of video game addiction or the effects of violent video games on society, as well as gun control, often mention Petrić.
==Background== Petrić was born on August 24, 1991, to Mark Petrić, a Pentecostal minister, and Susan Petrić. He lived in Brighton Township with his parents and attended high school in nearby Wellington.<ref name="Caniglia2">{{Cite news |last=Caniglia |first=John |date=2007-10-23 |title=Pastor's son charged in mother's murder, father's shooting |url=https://www.cleveland.com/metro/2007/10/loving_child_called_a_killer.html |access-date=2021-10-06 |work=The Plain Dealer |via=cleveland.com}}</ref> Following a skiing injury, Petrić contracted a staphylococcus infection and was housebound for a year. During this time, he was introduced to the ''Halo'' video game series. Petrić quickly became addicted to the games, often playing for "seven or eight hours a day" at his friend Jonathan Johnson's house.<ref name="Turner">{{cite news |last=Turner |first=Karl |date=2008-12-16 |title=17-year-old accused of killing mother over Halo 3 video game may get verdict soon |url=https://www.cleveland.com/metro/2008/12/trial_of_boy_accused_of_killin.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180920083904/http://blog.cleveland.com/metro/2008/12/trial_of_boy_accused_of_killin.html |archive-date=September 20, 2018 |access-date=2021-10-03 |newspaper=The Plain Dealer |via=cleveland.com}}</ref>
When Petrić's father insisted that he leave home if he could not curtail his gaming, Petrić moved in with Johnson for a weekend, playing ''Halo'' for up to eighteen hours a day. Eventually, Petrić bought his own copy of the newly released ''Halo 3'' without his father's knowledge, but Mark soon caught him with the game and confiscated it, placing it in a safe that also contained a nine-millimeter (9mm) Taurus PT92 handgun.<ref name="Turner" />
==Shooting== [[File:TaurusPT92.jpg|thumb|left|A Taurus PT92, similar to the one used by Daniel Petric]]
On October 20, 2007, Petrić found the key to the safe, from which he then removed the game and the gun. Around 7 PM,<ref name="Kavanaugh"/> he came up behind his parents while they were sitting on a couch and shot them.<ref name="Turner" /> Susan Petrić died from wounds in the head, arms, and chest. Petrić then placed the gun in his father's hand to make the shooting look like a murder-suicide.<ref name="Caniglia">{{Cite news |last=Caniglia |first=John |date=2009-06-17 |title=Wellington teen Daniel Petric gets 23 years for killing mom, shooting dad |work=The Plain Dealer |url=https://www.cleveland.com/metro/2009/06/lorain_county_teen_who_killed.html |access-date=2021-10-03 |via=cleveland.com |archive-date=October 3, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211003094001/https://www.cleveland.com/metro/2009/06/lorain_county_teen_who_killed.html |url-status=live }}</ref> Shortly after, Petrić's sister, Heidi Archer, arrived at the house with her husband.<ref name="Kavanaugh" /> Petrić warned them not to enter, claiming that their parents were fighting, but the couple forced their way in after hearing groans from inside. Petrić fled in the family van, but police pursued and apprehended him.<ref name="Caniglia2" />
==Trial== Petrić's trial was held from December 15 to 17, 2008<ref name="Turner" /> at the Lorain County Court of Common Pleas in Elyria, Ohio;<ref name="CBS">{{Cite web |url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/game-over-for-teen-who-killed-mother-over-video-game/|title=Game Over For Teen Who Killed Mother Over Video Game|last=Martinez|first=Edecio|date=June 17, 2009|publisher=CBS |access-date=October 1, 2021}}</ref> Petric elected a bench trial.<ref name=Turner/>
At the trial, Petrić was seen crying. His father was supportive and said Petric deeply regretted what he had done.<ref name="CBS"/>
===Prosecution case===
The prosecutor, Anthony Cillo, portrayed Petrić as a heartless killer. He showed no remorse for his actions, so he claimed, and tried to set up the shooting as a suicide. He had planned his crime carefully, knowing that Heidi Archer and her husband planned to enter the house at 9 PM, but his plot was foiled when they arrived two hours early. In a psychological report ordered by the defense, Petrić had informed the psychologist that he had planned the murder of his parents for a week.<ref name="Kavanaugh">{{Cite news |url=https://www.cleveland.com/metro/2009/01/_lorain_lorain_county.html |last=Kavanaugh |first=Molly |newspaper=The Plain Dealer |access-date=October 7, 2021 |date=January 6, 2009 |title=Judge expected to deliver verdict Monday in trial of boy accused of killing his mother |archive-date=October 8, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211008003429/https://www.cleveland.com/metro/2009/01/_lorain_lorain_county.html |url-status=live }}</ref>
===Defense case===
James Kersey represented Petrić as the defense attorney. Neither Kersey nor Petrić attempted to dispute the facts of the crime;<ref name="Turner"/> instead, Kersey argued for the insanity defense, video game addiction being the underlying psychiatric condition.<ref name="AP">{{Cite news |title=Ohio teen convicted of killing mom over video game |url=http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090113/ap_on_re_us/pastor_s_wife_slain |last=Kropko |first=M.R. |date=January 13, 2009 |website=Yahoo News |agency=Associated Press |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090114023723/http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090113/ap_on_re_us/pastor_s_wife_slain |archive-date=January 14, 2009 |url-status=dead}}</ref> Because of the enormous amount of stress put on him due to his severe infection and resultant spinal injury, Petrić was much more susceptible to being influenced by the game, not to mention his youth. Petrić, he claimed, was not in the right state of mind to understand the finality of shooting his parents. In other words, he had been playing violent video games so long that he did not realize that real-life death is permanent. The levels of video games can be replayed over and over again; killed and injured characters, including the player himself, return to their original states at every reset. Petrić, he continued, must have expected that his mother would eventually return to a healthy and normal state, having been immersed in virtual violence so long.<ref name="Turner" />
Kersey disputed the prosecution's assertions about Petrić's personality, using the testimony of Petrić's family, friends, and acquaintances to contend that he was a typical teenager. The young Petrić's addiction was strong enough for him take along a video game of all things while fleeing. To Kersey, Petrić was not a plotting murderer, but someone who spontaneously killed without planning. The defense did not present psychologists for an expert opinion on the mental effects of violent video games.<ref name="Kavanaugh" />
===Conviction===
Petrić was convicted for aggravated murder, attempted aggravated murder, and tampering with evidence.<ref name="DRC" /> Due to his age, Petrić could not be 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 Petrić faced was life in prison without parole, recommended by the prosecuting attorney.<ref name="Caniglia" />
==Aftermath==
The case has been highlighted in papers and articles regarding video game addiction and video game violence. ''Halo 3'' publisher Microsoft commented briefly to the media, "We are aware of the situation and it is a tragic case."<ref>{{cite news|title=Teen killed mother in Halo 3 row|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/7826663.stm|access-date=November 9, 2014|work=BBC News|date=2009-01-13|archive-date=August 30, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170830050614/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/7826663.stm|url-status=live}}</ref> Petrić is currently serving his sentence at Grafton Correctional Institution and will be eligible for parole in 2030.<ref name="DRC">{{Cite web |title=Offender Details: Daniel Petric |url=https://appgateway.drc.ohio.gov/OffenderSearch/Search/Details/A570776 |access-date=October 1, 2021 |publisher=Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction |archive-date=October 5, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211005143626/https://appgateway.drc.ohio.gov/OffenderSearch/Search/Details/A570776 |url-status=live }}</ref>
==References== {{Reflist}}
==External links==
*[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R9JJQbLCsv4 Interview] with a 21-year-old imprisoned Daniel Petric and his father on the talk show ''Katie'' (3.5 minutes)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Petric, Daniel}} Category:Living people Category:1991 births Category:American male criminals Category:American people convicted of murder Category:American people of Serbian descent Category:American prisoners sentenced to life imprisonment Category:People convicted of murder by Ohio Category:Prisoners sentenced to life imprisonment by Ohio Category:People from Wellington, Ohio Category:Male juvenile murderers Category:Minors convicted of murder Category:Perpetrators of matricide Category:Violence against men in the United States Category:Violence against women in Ohio Category:2007 murders in the United States Category:Criminals from Ohio Category:21st-century American murderers