Georgia - A group of friends are outside talking at a Georgia trailer park. Included in the group is Richard Louis Hall, Jr., his stepson, Brandon Betts, 14, his mother and a few friends. Hall and Brandon have had altercations in the past but on this occasion, Brandon ended any future altercations with his stepdad. At some point during the conversation, Hall reprimanded Brandon, saying that he was talking to some of the other adults in a disrespectful manner. Brandon then went into their trailer, retrieved a .22 caliber rifle, came outside and shot Hall in the chest, killing him.
“I think the motive really here was an issue of anger. And that was the motive. The issue is, what made him angry? Was it because he was disciplined? No. It was over time, a buildup over time,” said Glynn County Police Chief Matt Doering. Police say Betts is being charged as an adult with murder.
10:55 am on December 20th, 2007
You have to ask yourself what makes kids snap like this? I sure there is a lot more to this story. I know that my step mom was really really mean to my sisters and I, but nice as pie to her own kids.
11:01 am on December 20th, 2007
Damn. I guess he had had enough…
11:03 am on December 20th, 2007
Note to self: keep Red Rider Daisy BB Gun away from kid once he reaches puberty.
2:27 pm on December 20th, 2007
Gotta wonder about adults who leave guns easily accessible to children in their home. Good grief.
4:22 pm on December 20th, 2007
Oh, I don’t know, kw. Hundreds of thousands of homes across America keep guns easily accessible. Very few have a child shoot themselves or someone else. Depending on the state, give this kid 2 more years and he could have owned his own rifle.
5:37 pm on December 20th, 2007
You’re right, Athena. A tragedy like this is statistically improbable, but it happens often enough, and with severe enough consequences (another recent example is Morbid’s posting about the rapper who was accidently shot and killed by a 3-year old), that adults “should” be more careful. I have a child, and I have a gun, and I make sure the two are kept separated. But I’m preaching to the choir, I know. Dumbasses rule the world it seems.
6:51 pm on December 20th, 2007
“Dumbasses rule the world it seems.”
Indeed…but at the rate they keep offing themselves and their offspring, we may be saved, afterall.
10:29 pm on December 20th, 2007
Was there any history of abuse from the stepfather? Could the kid have been dealing with years of abuse? No, it’s not an excuse for what he did, but I’m trying to figure out, what the fuck possessed this kid to go off like that, so quickly.
Shitfire, I think about some of the other kids and the crap they do, and I guess my question is pretty damn dumb. Fucking people are just plain ass cruel.
Peace.
8:43 am on December 21st, 2007
gun locks are now given out free
be a responible gun owner
haha guns and trailer parks a very bad combo.
what gives them the right to speculate this comment?
No. It was over time, a buildup over time,†said Glynn County Police Chief Matt Doering.
8:54 am on December 21st, 2007
honestly i still don’t understand “charging as an adult”
kids are kids – 17 yr olds ok i buy that – but 14 is a child
They usually get released at 21 or 25 but are they kept with juvenilles or put in general population prisons with Men?
off topic I do remember my dad – (who didn’t even drink alcohol except hot tottys when he would occasionally get a cold.) wonder about legal age to purchase alcohol – he said you can vote and be drafted to war. He felt it was odd you could serve your country in the military but couldn’t consume alcohol.
To me its always been puzzling – Because I thought I clearly understood anyone under age 18 was a Child
1:54 pm on March 26th, 2009
update-
http://www.jacksonville.com/news/georgia/2009-03-23/story/brunswick_teen_takes_plea_in_stepfathers_slaying
A 15-year-old boy who was to have been tried for murder this week in his stepfather’s shooting death pleaded guilty Monday to involuntary manslaughter.
Under the plea agreement, Brandon Betts, who was 14 in December 2007 when he shot 37-year-old Louis Hall Jr. to death, will serve 10 years in prison and undergo mental health counseling.
He had been charged with malice murder, felony murder and aggravated assault and was to have been tried as an adult. Had he been convicted, he could have been sentenced to life in prison. His lawyer, John Thigpen, said the uncertainty of a jury finding left him unwilling to take a chance.
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