Oh dear. When the game haters of the world hear about this one, there's going to be a field day to rival the Romans reveling over bloody crucifixions. Apparently on December 6th, 7 year old Zoe Garcia was being watched by her older sister Heather Trujillo, 16 and her boyfriend Lamar Roberts, 17. After some drinking, the two teens decided to act out the game Mortal Kombat and decided to get Zoe in on the action.
According to Heather, they were hitting and kicking Zoe while acting out the game and even dropped her on her side, breaking her wrist in the process. Roberts, who claimed to be a martial arts expert, says that Zoe asked him to stop hitting her but due to his state of intoxication he did not comply. He performed a back kick on the child, which she did not get up from. The teens tried to revive her several times and did not succeed. The cause of death was later named as "blunt force trauma" to her brain and central nervous system.
Digging into the family background is equally as upsetting as the incident itself, with many reports of previous abuse within the household. Zoe actually admitted to another babysitter that Lamar had hit her before when asked about bruises on her body. Neighbors also commented that Zoe played alone and was openly resistant to wanting to go home.
Heather and Lamar were arrested this past Tuesday on charges of child abuse resulting in death. They are currently in custody, each being held on a $100,000 bond.
I'm sure you're wondering why I haven't raved about setting these kids on fire, as I so love to do (set things on fire, not specifically kids.) I would, but our own Jonathan Holmes has a separate editorial on the subject following this news piece, so if you want to get your opinion in check it out and map out how you're feeling about this tragic turn of events.
[Via Denver Post]
Contest:
1:15 AM on 12.20.2007
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Alcohol? Check.
Shitty parents? Check.
Unsupervised teens running amuck on a regular basis? Check.
References to how Rock and Roll and movies are responsible? None! Good thing video games came along!
Each faces one count of child abuse resulting in death, a Class 2 felony. If convicted, the sentence can range from 16 to 48 years.
You’ve got to be kidding me. That’s it? That’s all they’re getting charged with, and that’s the worst possible consequence for them? Wow.
And if they so much as mention Mortal Kombat, a game released at roughly the time of their births, I will find and destroy both of them myself.
Like Iv said and will continue to say. Video games don't make people do this. The idea has to be in their heads to begin with. If a person wants to shoot up a school or something as sad as this... They will do it and it wont take a video game to push them that far. These people are sick.
Also what happened to the justice system?
This poor girl died for no reason and didn't seem to be having that great of a life in the short time she was here... sometimes this world just isn't fair.
The likeness is uncanny.
like niero said, blame the real fucking problem. this video game violence bullshit is a stupid cliche for neglectful parents, and the authorities, to hide behind. in the news story the neighbour said she'd reported the abuse and fuck all came of it. it's not Midway's fault the child servies are relentlessly hopeless at their jobs.
i might just go out and stab someone, hide the body, and say I got the idea from Bewitched. "i just wanted to make something disappear like they do on the show" I'll say. we'll see what the headline reads then...
Back in my day, drunk teen couples resorted to sex and getting unwanted pregnancies.
This is also one of those times I am glad I am not a cop...my gun would have "accidentally" gone off several times as these two were being handcuffed.
Where in Hades were the parent(s)? Mom or Dad or Grammie or whoever these two little morons live with will go crying to the media, holding hands with Jack-Off Thompson and blame everything under the sun...except for themselves.
Stop using video games as a crutch for being shitty parents.
lessthan12parsecs
there's violence too, but people don't tend to go around chanting "fatality!" after they pop you in the face.
yep... all video games...
I blame the parents. How about a rule like,, no, your 17 yr old BF cannot come over and get drunk while you savagely attack your sister.
As usual, I'm ready and willing to email my local news station if they overhype the video games part of the story.
Fatality? You bet your ass.
Best picture quote ever.
Need to take it out on a child on account of being no good fucking cowards.
Funny how Heather is shedding a tear in the pic. No doubt 100% due to being caught and 0% remorse.
Drunk kids- Check.
Abuse history- check.
Violent behavior- check.
Absence of parents (if you can call that parents)- check.
Are we suprised? They are going to blame videogames for political reassons, but deep inside the know that is just a fucked up world.
Fucking media bullshit. Unbelievable. I can't believe they're just going to gloss over the past abuse, the alcohol, and the lack of parental supervision. They'll just go straight for the gaming industry.
Fucking cowards. They're afraid to accept that some people are just not right in the head. Afraid to call out the shitty parents. Afraid to accept the reality of our world.
Oh, and the death penalty is too good for these two. That's the easy way out. There is no Hell waiting for them. They deserve to rot in prison for life. Not 16 to 48 years, LIFE. And hopefully get beaten/stabbed/raped regularly. THAT is the closest thing to Hell we've got, people.
There is no justice in the death sentence. Revenge is not justice.
They should've chosen Viva Pinata as the weapon of choice, at least it would've been a recent game. Plus the game encourages incest and the mindless beating of animals until they explode.
1) So what? Prison still sucks. And what, prisoners shouldn't be allowed to eat? Weak argument.
2) They can't "come out worse" if they get life and don't get out at all. That's what SHOULD happen in this case.
I really don't see how videogames play a role here. This is ridiculous.
Thats gross feeding his victims to his pigs?
dumb bastards
Achievement unlocked: Flawless Victory IRL.
Shitty parenting, alcohol, and fucked up kids are a combination for disaster. Dont blame this on a game, blame this on fucked up parenting