13 Yr Old Kills Dad

[polis]

A 13 year old boy called 911 saying his father was shot. After an autopsy and month-long investigation, his dad's death has been ruled homicide while he is being charged as an adult for his murder.

His father was found in a pool of blood in front of the couch, blanket still covering his arms, and the television on. There was no sign of struggle, and it appears that he was shot while he slept in front of television.

The boy is being charged as an adult rather than a child because of exactly when the father died, he wasn't killed after an altercation, or during a fight. The boy's story doesn't fit, discrepancies such as exactly around what time he returned home from school, and the time he reported the crime.

http://www.oneidadispatch.com/site/n...id=68844&rfi=6

[Unamused Cat]

Joseph Giacona III

It looks like he is going to get off pretty easy for killing his dad while he slept.

[thatsmallgrl]

Back in January of '08

Police are still examining forensic evidence and say no arrests have been made and no suspects were identified.

http://news10now.com/content/all_new...n/Default.aspx

It wasn't until September they finally arrested the kid.

Back in January, Joseph J. Giacona Jr. was murdered in his home in Vernon. Now, after an eight month long investigation, police have made an arrest and it is someone very close to home.

The investigation was turned over to an Oneida County grand jury earlier this month after nearly eight months of examination. Because there were no eyewitnesses, the information for the case is based off a collection of facts, which is why it took such a long time to process.

Giacona III had placed the 911 call the day of his father's death. He has now been indicted on murder in the second degree and he will be tried as an adult in Oneida County Court.

Giacona III did plead not guilty in Oneida County Court Thursday morning.

http://news10now.com/content/all_new...r/Default.aspx

"When he was first spoken to, he wasn't spoken to as a potential suspect. It was only later on when inconsistencies started to arise in terms of the time, the timeline, etc. that it changed," said Oneida County Assistant District Attorney Kurt Hameline.

According to court papers, in an interview with police investigators, at 5:30 p.m. the day of the incident, Giacona III stated, "I got home from school at about 2:35 p.m. and went into the house through the door into the shoe room."

After finding his father dead on the couch, Giacona stated, "I went upstairs to my bedroom to get my cell phone and called 911."


Inconsistencies lead to teenager arrest
It's been just one day since we learned that thirteen-year-old Joseph Giacona III was arrested for the murder of his father Joseph Giacona Jr. Our Jim Gibbons took a look at some of the police reports to see just how he became a primary suspect in the case.

"The only thing that I can say is, it appears that he was home for a significant amount of time before the 911 call was placed," said Hameline.


According to police reports, the 911 call wasn't made until 3:16 p.m., about 40 minutes after Giacona arrived home. When asked why there was such a delay, Giacona stated, "it {the cell phone} was dead, so I had to charge it for a little while before I could call."

Inconsistencies were also seen when asked about if Giacona had seen a weapon. Giacona said "No, I didn't see any gun." However, when police asked if he had used or handled any of the shotguns in the gun cabinet because they would be checked for fingerprints, Giacona replied, "I found the .410 shotgun on the floor on the other side of the dog gate by the gun cabinet. I picked it up and put it back inside where it belonged."

http://news10now.com/content/all_new...t/Default.aspx

As of last week:

The trial for a teen charged in his father's murder is still on hold. The attorney for Joseph Giacona III, 14, appeared in court without him Wednesday.

This is pretty close to home for me. Kid was only 13 when he killed his father, and I'm pretty sure no one knows why yet. It seems to be in cold blood so I'm inclined to say let the little fucker fry.

(Also I don't know how to move threads, but I'm pretty sure this belongs in reality bites)

[weavergroupie]

Kids got a neck made for hangin.

[thatsmallgrl]

http://www.cnycentral.com/uploadedfi...aDocuments.pdf

This is the statement the child made to police the day his father was killed, various other court documents. Very interesting reading.

[Unamused Cat]

A 14-year-old central New York boy has admitted shooting his father to death last year at their home near Utica.

As his weeping mother listened, Joseph Giacona III told an Oneida County judge that he came home from school and fired a shotgun at his 37-year-old father, who was awake and lying on a couch.

Joseph Giacona Jr. was found shot to death Jan. 24, 2008. His son, then 13, was arrested nine months later and charged with second-degree murder. He pleaded guilty Friday to first-degree manslaughter.

The boy originally said he found his father wounded when he returned to their Vernon home. But he didn't call 911 until roughly 45 minutes later.

The case will be transferred to Family Court, where the boy is set to appear Monday. He faces a mix of confinement and treatment.

http://www.syracuse.com/news/index.s..._iii_14_o.html

I'd still like to know why.

[Ninja0980]

http://www.uticaod.com/news/x2121666...na-faced-abuse

UTICA — With a halting cadence just above a whisper, Joseph Giacona III on Friday admitted that he came home from school on a January afternoon last year and killed his father with a single shotgun blast to his face.

Giacona III, who stands roughly 5 feet tall and weighs less than 90 pounds, pleaded guilty to first-degree manslaughter in Oneida County Court on Friday morning. He faces at least three years in a juvenile detention facility.

The teen saw his father, a man authorities say had emotionally and physically abused him. The son then grabbed a .410 shotgun that prosecutors say he’d been given as a Christmas gift to use during hunting trips with his father.

Seven feet from the couch, the teenager fired.

I suspected something like this from the start. Killings by juveniles this young of a parent mean one of two things. Either the kid is a bad seed... or they were abused and finally snapped. Does it excuse it 100% no and he should serve time in a juvenile facility, more to get him the help he needs as well as punishment.
In the same breath though, while we can't condone it or give them a free pass, I shed no tears when an abuser is killed. We see it all the time on the front page where parents beat and torture their kids and show no guilt over it. We see where other people knew and did NOTHING It's clear that Joe finally reached his breaking point. Sad to say, but dad got what he deserved.

[Rockin Ma]

Sad to say, but dad got what he deserved.

I didn't see exactly how the dad was abusive. I don't know that I would say the dad deserved it. When I was a little younger than that kid I remember honestly wanting my parents to die for the way they treated me. I really think it's possible that if my lazy ass has access to a quick easy way to kill them, I might have.

Looking back now of course they wouldn't have deserved to die for the way they treated me but I honestly thought at that time they did. Maybe it wasn't as bad as the kid felt it was.

Maybe I missed something. I can't find a detail of the abuse. However I noted even the prosecutors admit he was living with abuse.

[ScribbleMuse]

I'm going to wait for this one to give a little more info (or at least until I can go and read more info at the links provided--I'm at work so basing on what's been posted in the forums thus far).

If the dad was abusive, I can see this. However, I also know that abuse can take many forms, minor and major, and sometimes it's even subjective to the one interpreting whether it's abuse or not. I've heard of kids who kill their parents for "abuse" being that the parents want them to be home at a reasonable curfew or force them to do typical, reasonable chores.

One thing that really stands out is that the poster above stated the prosecutor admits there was abuse, which does make me much more inclined to believe that it may have been true abuse rather than forcing a kid to live by understandable rules. I would still rather wait and see what happens, not that my opinions really mean anything... lol Sometimes, a juvenile facility with mental health help is the best way to treat a kid in this situation, and sometimes it should honestly be jail, and sometimes even being let off with mandated psych help that would be required just based on the situation before, the fact of committing murder, and the understandable mental/emotional weight that this will carry on the boy.

I find these cases interesting and will watch for future updates.

[myra manes]

http://www.uticaod.com/news/x2121666...na-faced-abuse

UTICA — With a halting cadence just above a whisper, Joseph Giacona III on Friday admitted that he came home from school on a January afternoon last year and killed his father with a single shotgun blast to his face.

Giacona III, who stands roughly 5 feet tall and weighs less than 90 pounds, pleaded guilty to first-degree manslaughter in Oneida County Court on Friday morning. He faces at least three years in a juvenile detention facility.

The teen saw his father, a man authorities say had emotionally and physically abused him. The son then grabbed a .410 shotgun that prosecutors say he’d been given as a Christmas gift to use during hunting trips with his father.

Seven feet from the couch, the teenager fired.

I suspected something like this from the start. Killings by juveniles this young of a parent mean one of two things. Either the kid is a bad seed... or they were abused and finally snapped. Does it excuse it 100% no and he should serve time in a juvenile facility, more to get him the help he needs as well as punishment.
In the same breath though, while we can't condone it or give them a free pass, I shed no tears when an abuser is killed. We see it all the time on the front page where parents beat and torture their kids and show no guilt over it. We see where other people knew and did NOTHING It's clear that Joe finally reached his breaking point. Sad to say, but dad got what he deserved.

You have such a way with words ..
Thank you ..

I couldn't have said the same thing nearly as well ..

and good day, Ninja ..

[Ninja0980]

One thing that really stands out is that the poster above stated the prosecutor admits there was abuse, which does make me much more inclined to believe that it may have been true abuse rather than forcing a kid to live by understandable rules. I would still rather wait and see what happens, not that my opinions really mean anything...

IMO, it was actual physical and emotional abuse. This DA made a point out of waiving him to adult court for what he called the cold blooded murder of his father and was going to make an example of him. DA's like him don't usually backtrack a waiver down to juvenile court unless there's proof of abuse. And given that he did, I imagine it was a little bit more than expecting him to do chores and demanding he be respectful.
We always expect that abused children tell people but many abused children don't report it for the same reason many rape victims don't report their rapes. There's shame, embrassment and most important of all.. if you don't talk about your abuse with anyone... you can't pretend it isn't real.

[thebooblady]

I didn't see exactly how the dad was abusive. I don't know that I would say the dad deserved it. When I was a little younger than that kid I remember honestly wanting my parents to die for the way they treated me. I really think it's possible that if my lazy ass has access to a quick easy way to kill them, I might have.

Looking back now of course they wouldn't have deserved to die for the way they treated me but I honestly thought at that time they did. Maybe it wasn't as bad as the kid felt it was.

Maybe I missed something. I can't find a detail of the abuse. However I noted even the prosecutors admit he was living with abuse.

Yeah, I agree. I remember wishing my dad was dead. I thought life was so horrible because he yelled at me sometimes. It really was not that bad and as an adult I realize how immature my thoughts were.

Well..after reading this, that was clearly not what happened here.

For the first time, prosecutors offered answers to questions of how and why the killing occurred – issues that had remained elusive and mystified Vernon residents.

Giacona III lived with his father and his girlfriend amid a dark world of emotional and physical abuse, prosecutors said.

It was a “dysfunctional family setting,” Hameline said.

Giacona III suffered from “extreme emotional disturbance” at the time he shot his father, a conclusion drawn by two psychologists, one hired by each side, who examined Giacona.

Although psychiatric experts had recommended that the boy receive intensive counseling and psychotropic medication, his father had rejected that advice, Hameline said.

At one point, psychiatrists recommended Giacona III be hospitalized for mental illness, and his father ignored that, too.

“This kid was basically crying out for help, didn’t get it and this is what happens,” Hameline said after the hearing

[thebooblady]

Comment from the article:

Leopard88- Yes Joseph is sad and scared but he is not alone.I fought 3 judges in 2 court rooms, filed so many CPS reports as have many others that I've lost count all with no success in removing Joseph from that home.The system most definetely needs changes, I believe if I can make Josephs story heard, make enough people see it , it will at least open some eyes in our so called system that is designed to protect these children.I have told Joseph noone in that family will ever harm him again and that he can hold me too

[mysticviewer]

Wow...why in the hell would the dad even have a gun in the house or give the kid a gun? If I was going to be some abusive asshole...I think I would hide all the guns and knives so that I didnt end up shot or sliced up. Then add to the fact that he had mental issues that werent being treated. I think dad had suicidal tendencies or he was just a real stupid child abuser.