Video Game Responsible For Murder

[Memnoch]

Game blamed for hammer murder

Stefan was repeatedly battered and stabbed by his older friend
The parents of a boy who was murdered with a claw hammer by a friend have blamed a violent video game which the teenage killer was "obsessed" with.
Warren Leblanc, 17, repeatedly stabbed 14-year-old Stefan Pakeerah after luring him to a Leicester park to steal from him on 27 February.

He pleaded guilty to murder at Leicester Crown Court on Wednesday.

Stefan's mother described Leblanc, who confessed to police moments after the assault, as "inherently evil".


Video game 'obsession'

Stefan's mother, Giselle, a research nurse, had to leave court when the evidence in the case became too harrowing.

Following the hearing she said her son's killer had mimicked a game called Manhunt, developed by Edinburgh-based Rockstar North, in which the players score points for violent killings.


Leblanc armed himself with a claw hammer and a knife
Manhunt was banned six months ago in New Zealand by censorship officials.

Mrs Pakeerah said: "I heard some of Warren's friends say that he was obsessed by this game.

"To quote from the website that promotes it, it calls it a psychological experience, not a game, and it encourages brutal killing.

"If he was obsessed by it, it could well be that the boundaries for him became quite hazy."

Mrs Pakeerah, 36, called for violent video games to be banned.

Covered in blood

She said: "I can't believe that this sort of material is allowed in a society where anarchy is not that far removed.

"It should not be available and it should not be available to young people."


I don't play these games but if they are influencing kids to go out and kill people then you don't want them on the shelves

Patrick Pakeerah, victim's father

Leblanc, of Braunstone Frith, Leicester, persuaded his victim to go to nearby Stoke Woods Park, known locally as The Dumps - to meet two girls.

The court heard how he armed himself with a knife and claw hammer to carry out the attack.

He confessed to the killing moments later when he was found covered in blood by two police officers.

Outside court Stefan's father, Patrick, said: "They were playing a game called Manhunt.

"The way Warren committed the murder is how the game is set out - killing people using weapons like hammers and knives.

"There is some connection between the game and what he has done."

Game ban


Echoing his former partner, the civil servant said: "I don't play these games but if they are influencing kids to go out and kill people then you don't want them on the shelves."

When police discovered Stefan, they found he had sustained horrific and fatal injuries.


Giselle Pakeerah has called for a ban on violent video games

The boy had been hit so hard with the hammer he had suffered deep cuts to his head and neck. His head had been fractured in several places.

He had multiple stab wounds, with the knife being plunged so deep that it had caused serious injuries to his kidney and liver.

A spokesman for the Entertainment and Leisure Software Publishers' Association said: "We sympathise enormously with the family and parents of Stefan Pakeerah.


"However, we reject any suggestion or association between the tragic events and the sale of the video game Manhunt.

"The game in question is classified 18 by the British Board of Film Classification and therefore should not be in the possession of a juvenile.

"Simply being in someone's possession does not and should not lead to the conclusion that a game is responsible for these tragic events."

Judge Michael Stokes QC said Leblanc had carried out "a brutal, cold-blooded murder" and could expect a life sentence.

Sentencing was adjourned for reports.

So are video games evil? An age old discussion brought up again. What do you all think?

 

[spray]

people are evil

the truth is that people who have the ability within them will often have the evil bought out through films, music, literature and gaming.

the vast vast majority of people suffer no ill consequences after experiencing sensory excitement, unhinged people just can't handle it though.

 

[Dozer]

Pathetic, should we also stop any violence in films? Stop the news from being shown? Ban any sports that promote violence of any sort?

The kid is mentally ill. Either he is using the game as an excuse or it's his mental instability that caused him to loose the boundaries.

It's the kids mind that's the problem. Not games.

Edit:Also, games like this have an age rating for a reason. The woman is party for blame for letting her child at the game anyway imo. I know he's close to 18, but still, he can't be ready to handle a game like that obviously.

 

[finty]

The little fucking retard would have ended up flying off the handle any way, at some point in his life. People who do this after playing games are not right up there.

As for the victims mother, I feel sorry and all that, but come on, I play manhunt from time to time and I dont kill people with hammers. Some people are just twisted.

EDIT: Parents like this infuriate me, I mean come on, blameing bad parenting on games.

 

[Huxley]

Pardon the language, but what a crock of fucking shit balls.

I hope this story boosts the sales of Manhunt.

 

[finty]

I hope this story boosts the sales of Manhunt.

It most definitly will.

 

[Memnoch]

Pardon the language, but what a crock of fucking shit balls.

I hope this story boosts the sales of Manhunt.

It sure will. Especially as the chain that own Dixons, Curries and PC World have now predictably removed it from their shelves.

 

[Gruntfuggly]

I feel very sorry for the victims parents, but they can't have it both ways - either the murderer was "inherently evil" (ie, he was going to do it anyway) or it was the fault of the game...

Maybe they ought to also have a look at the kid's parents - they're responsible for developing a set of morals in their kid...

When will people stop trying to shift the blame onto things like TV, films and video games? The simple fact is that too many people grow up without decent guidance - and I'm not talking about religion - just common sense...

 

[Dante]

it is just bullshit and like they said it's rated 18 and shouldn't have been in his possesion in the first place and it was more than likely that his parents bought it for him, they have a rating on them for the purpose that young impressionable twats like him wouldn't go out and do stuff like that. violence belongs in video games, pitty some people don't see it like that, the world could be a much nicer place.

 

[Steve-O]

Manhunt Taken off the shelves today in the UK in these stores -

Dixons,
Currys,
Comet,
PCWorld

and another I think

Just heard it on Radio 1


Pisses me off when people blame Games... How can a Game make you kill someone... If a game can make you go out and kill someone then you should n't be allowed out onto the streets.

 

[Dante]

i agree i've been playing games violent and non-violent all my life and not one of them has influenced me in anyway, and it's people like that kid that ruin it for the rest of us.

 

[generalnmx]

Columbine kids were supposedly played a lot of Doom...guess what was initially targeted by parents and media as "the catalyst".

 

[finty]

Columbine kids were supposedly played a lot of Doom...guess what was initially targeted by parents and media as "the catalyst".

I remember when that happened I played doom like 5 hours a day, and my mum became worried about me, she used to sneak up on me and see what I was doing on the computer, and sit me down and talk to me about shit. It was funny.

 

[Mosch]

It's societies fault, most definitely. The poor kid probably was confused and his parents were most not nice to him. Maybe his life did not turn out the way he wanted it to be, he can not be blamed.

In case you couldn't tell, that was FREAKING SARCASM.

I say take him and put him in a cell, lock him up and forget him there, good riddance. And then tell the parents to fucking look after their next son. Man, what a charade. Manhunt is evil, holy shit. Manhunt is boring as hell and violent too, I give you that, but no sane, mentally healthy person thinks "Hey, I could beat someone to a bloody pulp with a baseball bat - maybe I'll get a five-star rating at the end of the day!".

 

[DemonStar55]

Guns dont kill ppl, ppl kill ppl

 

[finty]

Guns dont kill ppl, ppl kill ppl

STFU

 

[Boil'em'Mash'emStick]

I don't realy agree with games where you can kill people in realistic ways, like bludgeoning people to death with a hammer. Games like that are kinda disgusting, on the other hand games like Mortal Kombat, where you can kill people in wacky ways are ok in my opinion. For example its unlikely your ever going to rip someones head off with your tongue is it? IS IT?

 

[frolik]

is manhunt made by the same folks who did Postal 2?? man that game was sick, some of the evil shit you could do in it.... I think that's going over the top tbh....

 

[Ernest]

That is bullshit if people get affected by video games in that way then theyre fucked in the head in the first place and so what people have been killed in sickening ways before games were even invented. I mean Jack the ripper wasnt playing a slash em'up when he commited murders.

 

[thebluenewt]

I have to admit that Manhunt didn't appeal to me but obviously to be influenced by it you have to be a psychopath already...

And I'm pretty certain guns do kill people, pointing at someone and saying bang generally doesn't have the same effect.