The family of the young boy who fatally shot his mother because she did not buy him a video game accessory is torn over the tragic killing.
The child’s grandmother is trying to cope with the circumstances around her daughter’s death. And as their attention turns to the young boy’s penalties, the family braces for a long journey ahead, saying there are “no winners in this situation.”
WTMJ-TV, a local Milwaukee news station, sat with the 10-year-old’s aunt ShaRhonda Reid and his grandmother Lueritha Mann to talk about the tragic morning of Nov. 21.
The story made national headlines days before Thanksgiving and was plastered all over social media.
The boy, diagnosed with mood and conduct disorder, asked his mother, Quiana Mann if she could buy him a virtual reality headset on Amazon the night before, according to police records. The 44-year-old said “no,” making the boy dangerously upset.
According to family members, his therapist asked those watching over the child to limit his access to electronics as a part of his treatment plan. This may have been why his mother didn’t get him the device.
Investigators said the child told them after she woke him up around 6 a.m., he was upset about her not letting him sleep longer and not buying him the headset. He went to where her gun was stored, retrieved it, and went to the basement and shot her.
Around 7 a.m., he went to the second-floor bedroom and told his sister Brianna Moore that something had happened to their mother.
“He told her to come, he thinks mama’s dead,” the grandmother said.
This is when the sister called 911 and then her grandmother.
Initially, police reports said he was playing with the gun and it accidentally went off. Later, he revealed why he did it.
The criminal complaint said, “He originally described twirling the gun around on his finger,and then it ‘accidentally went off.’ Due to age considerations, [the boy] was allowed to remain with family.”
“When [the boy’s] aunt looked at the set of keys, she noticed a small key on the key ring that was for [Quiana’s] gun lock box,” the criminal complaint continued. “When his aunt questioned [the boy] further, he altered the story that he had earlier told the police. [The boy] told his aunt that he was actually aiming the gun at his mother.”
He said he was in a “shooting stance” and his mother’s last words to him were, “Why do you have that? Put that down.”
When the mother walked towards the boy, he fired the weapon, police say. The child said he tried to scare her, thinking he would hit the wall, but “shot her in the face when she was approximately three feet away.”
Others brought up to officers that the boy had a history of talking recklessly and tossing out dangerous threats — so much so his mother placed cameras around the house to watch his every move.
Family members added the young boy had been in therapy, struggling with lapses in his mental health connected to his diagnosis.
Mann shared the child “always” said he heard voices.
“There’s two little girls inside his head telling him to do things,” the grandmother said. “And he has an imaginary friend that will tell him to do really bad things.”
Mann said the boy’s thoughts started racing “at 5 or 6 in the morning. Sometimes 4 o’clock,” making it difficult for him to focus in school.
“He tried to do the right thing, but he couldn’t do it right, and he was bullied a lot, really bad,” she recalled.
Even with the help they tried to offer the child, they never believed he was capable of hurting his mother.
Reid said she “absolutely” could not fathom the boy could harm her sister, much less plot and plan the murder the night before.
Mann explains what it was like the day the police came to the crime scene.
“I had to see my daughter being brought out … the way she was,” the grieving grandmother said. “and you come out the front door happy. It’s just not right.”
The police report said, “Upon arrival, when [the boy] saw his grandmother crying, he stated without any empathy or compassion: ‘I’m really sorry for what happened. I’m sorry for killing my mom.’ After apologizing for killing his mother, asked if his Amazon package arrived.”
The aunt said, “The most shocking thing was for me to just know that my nephew was upset enough to go to that measure.”
More stunning to Reid was that not only was he having a tantrum about “these (electronic) devices,” but later in the day, after he killed his mother, the boy went on and ordered the VR headset.
Still, the family loves the child, who will be tried as an adult for the death. Reid said the boy does not understand the severity of the charges or what could happen to him when convicted and has blocked out what he did to his mother.
“When he calls, he’s just like, ‘make sure all my tablets and laptop and everything of mine is packaged,'” Reid said.
Weeks ago, the boy told his relatives he was still on Santa’s list and expected to get presents during the holiday.
“He said Santa’s bringing him some things for Christmas,” his grandmother Mann told the Daily Beast. “He said yesterday, ‘Can we go to the house and decorate it for Christmas? Put up the Christmas tree and decorate the outside of the house?’ If he can’t come to help, he wants us to go and do it. We told him we would do that.”
During a bond hearing the boy’s attorney Angela Cunningham asked the judge to lower his bond from $50,000 to $100 because he could not afford it. All of his money was in his piggy bank at home.
While a judge denied the bond reduction, it was an example of how challenging his case will be. Particularly with his age and mental diagnosis, many asked how he could possibly stand to be charged, according to Wisconsin law, as an adult.
When asked about how the boy should be charged, Reid added, “That’s a difficult question. I do understand how they (prosecutors) were able to come up with that charge.” She also said the best place for him to be is behind bars. This way he does not harm himself or others.
While Reid believes he should be incarcerated, she is unsure if he will be cared for properly.
“No matter what happens with him, I’m not sure in this state that he would receive proper care anyway,” Reid said.
Mann didn’t comment on his charges but said, “He needs to pay for what he’s done.”
The grandmother said she still is not ready to talk to the boy yet, “I hope I do one day, but right now no. He took something very precious from me.”
Reid understands the weightiness of the person dealing with both the family and the child. She says, “There are no winners in this situation.”
The 10-year-old returns to court in January for a hearing.
