The 10-year-old boy accused of shooting his mother to death because she refused to buy him a $500 VR headset has asked for his bail to be reduced from $50,000 to $100.
Prosecutors said Quiana Mann, 44, was shot in the face by her son, who then used his credit card to buy an Oculus VR headset before telling his grandmother he was “sorry” for killing his mother and ask him where his package was.
The boy’s attorney, Angela Cunningham, argued in court Wednesday that his bond should be reduced to just $100, the amount he has in his piggy bank, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports.
“We have talked to him about his ability to publish anything,” Cunningham told the court. ‘He told us about piggy banks with savings that he had for gifts, birthday presents. And searching among the cushions of the sofa that he has been able to save.
Judge Jane Carroll denied the request and imposed a travel restriction on the minor that will take effect if he manages to post bail.
Quiana Mann, 44, was allegedly shot in the face and killed by her 10-year-old son, who was mad at her for refusing to buy him a $500 virtual reality headset.
The kid wanted an Oculus virtual reality headset, which ranges from $130 to nearly $500 on Amazon. He logged into his mother’s account the day after the shooting and bought the headphones and then allegedly, without remorse, told his grandmother that he was “sorry for killing my mother.”
The boy who, according to family members, has “anger issues” and listens to imaginary people, has been charged with first degree reckless homicide and will be tried as an adult.
Wisconsin state law dictates that children as young as 10 will be charged as adults with felonies, such as murder. He faces up to 60 years in prison if convicted.
The fact that the boy is being tried as an adult has created some headaches for Carroll, as he noted that all the usual factors in deciding bail conditions “don’t make a lot of sense when applied to a 10-year-old.”
She pointed out that the boy has no home of his own, no job, no real assets, no way to attend court on his own or a criminal record.
Because he is being charged as an adult, Carroll also denied prosecutors’ request that the boy be released to the custody of a relative if he posts bail.
The judge sided with the defense attorney, noting that such a condition would not be necessary for an adult.
The boy is currently in a juvenile detention center.
After shooting him in the Milwaukee home (pictured), he put the gun in the closet and told his 26-year-old sister that their mother was dead. The boy will be tried as an adult, under state law, and faces up to 60 years in prison if convicted.
The boy initially told police the shooting was an accident. She claimed that Mann had walked in front of him while she was pointing at a wall to “scare” her, and that she accidentally shot him in the head, according to criminal charges obtained by police. Journal Sentinel.
However, he later said in a second interview that he intentionally targeted his mother before shooting her at her home on 87th Street near Hemlock around 7 a.m. on November 21.
The boy is one of Mann’s four children: Brianna, TJ, Brandon and Noah. It is not clear which boy shot him.
After the shooting, he put the gun away in the closet and told his older sister, Brianna Moore, 26, that their mother, who worked in mental health, was dead, the complaint said. Moore then called 911.
The boy was allowed to stay with the family, and an initial police statement said the shooting was caused by a boy “playing” with a gun.
A day later, concerned relatives called the police.
The boy, whose name has not been released, fatally shot his mother Quiana Mann, 44, of Milwaukee (pictured), in the face inside her home on 87th Street near Hemlock around 7 a.m. am on November 21 because she refused to buy him a virtual reality headset
The boy’s aunt said that when she picked up the boy, he recovered a set of house keys that contained a key to the gun safe. When her aunt asked about the shooting, the boy said he pointed the gun at her mother and she told him to leave it.
The boy’s aunt and sister said he never cried or showed remorse and had also physically attacked his seven-year-old cousin on the same day.
The boy’s family said he has “troubling” mental health issues and has exhibited disruptive behavior in the past.
When he was four years old, the boy allegedly swung the family puppy by its tail, the complaint says. Six months ago, the family told police, the boy filled a balloon with a flammable liquid and set it on fire, causing an explosion that burned the furniture and carpet.
When asked why he did it, the boy said that “two sisters told him to do it.”
The boy told his family that he hears five imaginary people talking to him, which he said are two sisters, an old woman and two ‘bad’ men.
Brianna also said in the complaint that her brother has had “anger issues” his entire life and he becomes “very angry and acts out.”