An attorney for a 10-year-old Wisconsin boy accused of fatally shooting his mother because she wouldn’t allow him to order a virtual reality headset from Amazon asked for the child’s bail to be lowered from $50,000 to $100, court records show.
During a hearing Wednesday, the attorney, Angela Cunningham, asked for the lower bail amount because the child has no source of income, NBC affiliate WTMJ of Milwaukee reported.
“My team and I have spoken to him about his ability to post anything. 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,” Cunningham said in court, according to the news station.
A judge denied the request, keeping bail at $50,000. The court also set a travel restriction if bail is posted, requiring the boy to stay in Milwaukee County.
Attorneys for the child, who was charged as an adult with first-degree reckless homicide and first-degree intentional homicide, asked for the latter charge to be dropped, according to court records. A decision has not been made on that matter.
The boy’s attorneys did not immediately return requests for comment on Friday.
Dec. 1, 202202:02
The shooting unfolded at 6:50 a.m. Nov. 21 in the 7400 block of North 87th Street in Milwaukee.
Just a day later, the boy went on to buy an Oculus Virtual Reality Headset on his dead mother’s Amazon account and even asked his grandmother whether his package had arrived, according to the criminal complaint.
His 44-year-old mother, identified by WTMJ as Quiana Mann, was shot at close range. The bullet entered her right eye and exited the back of her head through her skull, the criminal complaint said.
The boy initially told investigators that the gun “accidentally went off” as he was twirling it around his finger, but later admitted he wasn’t twirling the gun when he allegedly shot his mom, according to the complaint.
After he killed his mother, he went to the second story bedroom to awaken his 26-year-old sister, who discovered their mother was dead and called 911, according to the complaint.
He admitted that “his mother would not allow him to have something from Amazon that he wanted to have,” it said. And he admitted that he retrieved the gun because he was mad at her for waking him up at 6 a.m. when he usually sleeps until 6:30 a.m. and admitted getting his mother’s keys to her gun lockbox the night before, according to the complaint.
The complaint said the boy “admitted to knowing that guns are dangerous and can kill people.”
His sister told police that the boy had “rage issues” all his life and “becomes very angry and acts out,” the complaint said. The boy told investigators that “he has 5 different imaginary people that talk to him.”
A therapist who had been meeting with the boy gave him a “concerning diagnosis,” the sister said per the complaint. No further details on the diagnosis were detailed.
If he is convicted, the child faces a maximum of 60 years in prison.
Helen Kwong and Marlene Lenthang contributed.
Source: | This article originally belongs to Nbcnews.com
