ELYRIA — Daniel Petric shot his parents -- killing his mother -- because they wouldn't allow him to play the violent video game Halo 3, prosecutors told a judge at the boy's murder trial Monday.
The trial, on charges of murder and attempted murder, opened Monday for Petric, 17, of Brighton Township. He is being tried without a jury before Lorain County Common Pleas Judge James Burge.
Daniel Petric's friends describe him as an average, upbeat teenager who loves to clown around. Police, though, call him a killer who fired four shots into his parents with his dad's gun. His mother, Susan, is dead; his father, Mark, a pastor at New Life Assembly of God in Wellington, is in critical condition.
The shootings leave one central question: Why?
Daniel Petric was charged Monday with murder and attempted murder, and the Lorain County prosecutor plans to try him as an adult. Authorities said the Wellington teen admitted shooting his parents. Wounds to his mother's forearms indicate she was facing her son, defending herself as he fired the fatal shots.
Police and prosecutors refuse to discuss a motive in the Saturday night shooting, saying that they, too, are looking into the boy's background and statements he made. Was he a great kid who got into trouble for the first time in his life, or was he a troubled teen who continued along his wrecked course?
"There are conflicting stories," said Lorain County Sheriff's Capt. Richard Resendez.
Some family, friends and school officials offer clashing details. He was a boy who scoured his Bible. He loved shooting guns with his father. He was an average student, would keep to himself when he got mad, yet seemed to get along with his parents, who were his first teachers -- he was home-schooled for years.
"Both of his parents were so sweet," said Brittany Willbond, who would go to the Petrics' to worship, as she and Daniel Petric were in the church's youth group.
On Monday, his paternal grandfather, Michael Brockel, told a Lorain County Juvenile Court magistrate that his grandson has been forgiven by his family, church and God.
"Daniel has been a loving child all of his life," Brockel said at a court hearing. "He has never given anyone any trouble. If his mother and father were sitting here, they would forgive him, too."
Brockel, the father of Mark Petric, asked that the boy come home with him, saying the shootings were considered isolated incidents. The magistrate, citing the violence involved, declined. Daniel Petric's next hearing will be Nov. 9.
In court, Daniel looked pale. His brown, short-cropped hair stood out against his khaki jumpsuit, blue flip-flops and red handcuffs that were linked to shackles. He whispered his answers, appearing calm.
He appeared different from the funny high school junior who could pound away on a drum set.
Wellington High School sophomore Valerie Villaneuva said that when Daniel got mad, he would keep to himself, but mostly he was friendly and fun to be around. His friends called him Danny.
Church members said Daniel thrived as the best player on the church's Bible quiz team, being able to quote verbatim long passages of Scripture with ease and did well in regional and state competitions.
Authorities called the charges chilling.
Lorain County sheriff's deputies said Daniel used his father's 9 mm semiautomatic pistol to shoot his parents shortly before 7 p.m. Saturday. He shot his father, Mark, 45, once in the head and his mother, Susan, 43, three times, twice hitting her in both forearms before she was struck in the head, authorities said. Investigators said the wounds to her forearms appeared to be defensive.
The boy's sister, Heidi, and her husband went to the home minutes after the shooting, as they had planned to watch the Indians play the Red Sox with her parents. Her brother refused to let them in; he then raced out the door and headed for a friend's house in Litchfield, Resendez said. He never made it -- he was arrested on the way.
Daniel Petric's image began to emerge Monday. After being home-schooled, he enrolled at Wellington High School as a sophomore, Superintendent Victor Cardenzana said.
He was an average student, earning a 2.7 grade-point average that put him in the middle of his class. Daniel was not involved in sports or outside activities and had never been suspended, Cardenzana said.
"There's nothing that would profile him as a source of violence," Cardenzana said.
The boy's attorney, James Kersey, agreed. He said Daniel is nonviolent and should be released, promising that he would appear for future hearings.
"Just because what happened is horrible doesn't mean he has to be held," the attorney said, later adding: "The boy isn't going to go to Guatemala or Costa Rica. He's going to live with his grandfather."
Daniel's sister Heidi Archer serves as youth pastor with her husband, Andy, at New Life Assembly of God. Daniel has a second sister, Holly, a senior at Wellington High School.
The church was closed Monday. A bouquet of flowers had been left on the mailbox.
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