10-yr-old with 'rage issues' who killed mom over VR headset is 'upset about devices being taken away'
MILWAUKEE, WISCONSIN: The family of a 10-year-old boy accused of killing his mother after she refused to buy him a VR headset says he appears more interested in his electronics than the crime as he faces trial. In connection with the shooting death of Quiana Mann, 44, inside their house on November 21, the Milwaukee boy is accused of first-degree reckless homicide as an adult.
When his aunt Rhonda Reid spoke to the boy in custody, he swiftly changed the subject to one of his favorite things and said he doesn't remember the shooting, according to WTMJ-TV. "When he calls, he's just like, 'make sure all my tablets and laptop and everything of mine is properly packaged,''' Reid stated.
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Lueritha Mann, the boy's grandmother, told WTMJ-TV that she hopes to talk to the boy someday but not now. "I hope I do one day, but right now no. He took something very precious from me." "I can't believe he did it," the grandmother stated, adding he "needs to pay for what he's done." The boy's aunt Reid stated that her nephew had been receiving treatment for mood and behavior difficulties for more than a year and that a part of his treatment plan includes restricting the use of electronic devices. She claimed that the boy "was upset about these devices being taken away."
The accused allegedly shot his mother in the face after she refused to buy him a $500 Oculus VR headset, and then used her credit card to buy one online. Later, the youngster apparently apologized for killing his mother and asked his granny where his parcel was. The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel stated that earlier this month, the boy's lawyer, Angela Cunningham, requested a bond reduction from $50,000 to $100, the amount he had in his piggy bank. "We have spoken to him about his ability to post anything," Cunningham informed the court. "He told us about piggy banks with savings that he had from gifts, from birthday gifts. And scavenging through cushions in the couch that he's been able to save up." Judge Jane Carroll rejected the application and issued a travel restriction to the child, which will take effect after he posts bail.
The child, who family says has "rage issues" and hears imaginary people, has been charged with first-degree reckless homicide and will be tried as an adult. According to Wisconsin state law, minors as young as 10 can be charged as adults if they commit heinous crimes like murder. If found guilty, he may spend up to 60 years in prison. The boy has not been publicly named by police or prosecutors and is now being kept in juvenile jail.