The tragic story of a son who killed his mother over having his video game taken away ended with blame being heaped on the content of Halo 3. A judge in Ohio found 17-year-old Daniel Petric guilty Monday of killing his mother and wounding his father in an October 2007 shooting. However, the defense in the case argued stongly that Daniel’s addiction to video games led to the killing, and the judge felt that this reasoning held significant merit.

Instead of finding Daniel innocent, Judge James Burge followed the law to the letter and found the teenager guilty of killing his mother. Daniel faces life in prison for the crimes of aggravated murder and attempted aggravated murder. In reading the verdict, however, Burge laid much blame for the killing on the shoulders of game developers Bungie, who he believed crafted a game world that encouraged real-life killing:

“It’s my firm belief as a human being, and not as a jurist, that Daniel does suffer from a serious defect of the mind. [In the game] you can shoot these aliens, and they’re there again the next day. You have to shoot them again, and I firmly believe that Daniel Petric had no idea, at the time he hatched this plot, that if he killed his parents they would be dead forever.” Burge told the courtroom.

The evidence presented by the prosecution in the case seems to suggest, however, that Daniel Petric knew exactly what he was doing when he murdered his mother and nearly killed his father. After shooting both of his parents with a gun he found in a family lock box, he attempted to stage the killing to look like his father had been the shooter, he later admitted to police.

Judge Burge’s comments highlight the growing chasm between the games industry and those who would seek to regulate electronic media. Burge stated that he thinks further study should be done to establish the connection between video games and violent crime.