11 Year Old Who Shot His Mother In The Face, Killing Her, Because She Wouldn't By VR Headsets Will Stand Trail As An Adult

An 11-year-old Wisconsin boy who allegedly killed his mother by shooting her in the face after she refused to buy him a virtual reality headset on Amazon has been deemed competent to stand trial as an adult.

The child, whose identity is not being made public, underwent review by two psychologists before Milwaukee County Circuit Court Judge Jane Carroll rendered the decision to try him as an adult on Thursday. Notably, the Milwaukee Sentinel Journal reported that the psychologists differed on whether the boy was truly competent or understood the nature of the crime or the charges against him.

His defense attorney told Carroll she did not believe the boy would be able to assist in the defense. The judge nonetheless deemed him prepared to stand trial as an adult, saying that the boy—who was 10 years old at the time of the November shooting—had not received a “major mental diagnosis” and had demonstrated an ability to comprehend and learn what was happening around him.

Fox News reported on Thursday that Milwaukee County prosecutor Sara Waldschmidt told the judge the child “knew his case was in adult court, that he knew his case was a felony, he knew that there were two types of cases—felonies and misdemeanors and he knew it was serious.”