Boy kills mother over PlayStation

February 16, 2011 By Jeffrey Van Camp

In Philadelphia, a boy killed his mother with a claw hammer after she took away his PlayStation rights.

Limiting video game time has long been a powerful tool for parents. If the kids want to play games then they must do their homework; if they’re bad, then away goes the Nintendo. Well, it may not be a good idea if your kids are crazy. According to a report from The Inquirer, Rashida Anderson was murdered by her son after she took away his PlayStation privileges last November.

On the day after Thanksgiving, Anderson and her 16-year-old son Kendall got into an argument for about an hour and a half, after she took away his PlayStation. After that, he paced around his home for about three hours, finally entering his mother’s room and bludgeoning her 20 times with a claw hammer. After that did not kill her, the boy dragged her body downstairs and tried to “cremate her” in the kitchen oven. This effort also failed, at which point he beat her in the head with a chair leg and dragged her body outside. He hid it under debris in an alley behind the house.

The boy later confessed to Philadelphia police homicide Det. Thorsten Lucke, who read his statement to a Philadelphia Municipal Court judge the other day.

“I couldn’t stand the arguing,” the boy said in a statement. “If I could, I would not do it again. I really miss my mom…she was the only person who cared for me.”

His sentence has not been announced.

Sadly, this is not the first murder over video games. Years back, a boy killed his parents after they took Halo away from him.

Showing 21 comments

Pyce at 7:29am 15th March 2011 Too bad she didn't hammer some sense into him.
tanisha3 at 2:10am 17th February 2011 So sad.. now he doesn't have his game or his mother..
Cheri Harkins Ferrari at 10:50pm 16th February 2011 I believe, if a parent is actually parenting, this won't happen. If it does, there is something seriously wrong with the child and he's better off in managed care, maybe forever.
Jessica Trau at 8:48pm 16th February 2011 That's really messed up. That kid should have gotten some serious mental help. I also agree that The Media as idiotic as they are, will jump all over this. Anything that has a remote chance of controversy, The Media will tend to exagerate.
Nnaemeka K. Nwosu at 7:32pm 16th February 2011 Sad.
Chris Johnson at 6:40pm 16th February 2011 @Dan: I totally agree with you. Ever since the tragedy at Columbine, people find it easier to blame video games than actually look for a common factor for these violent acts. I’ve played (and I’m sure most everyone else in this thread) just about every violent video game to hit the market: from Wolfenstien 3d, to Diablo; Deus Ex to Grand Theft Auto et.al and everything in between and I’ve never shot anyone. I’m sure they’ll never bother to investigate why the boy did this to his mother (considering his method and wanting to stick her in the oven there’s another, serious issue) but instead jump to the conclusion: “over a video game system? The games must have caused it. Let’s ban all games, movies, CDs, pictures and books that depicts violence.”To quote Chris Rock, “What was in Hitler’s CD player?”
Dan Herzeleid at 6:30pm 16th February 2011 @ Chris Johnson; I know, right? The groups that are against gaming will take this and run with it, completely missing the point that there are messed up people out there that do this without ever playing a video game. It's funny that I never see someone lampooning fast food because someone ate a Big Mac or a Whopper, then proceeded to go on a killing spree. Same concept.
Rick W. Buie at 6:23pm 16th February 2011 " I told you I was playing Killzone 3! Dat's it! Take this!" Death by ps3 controller!
Trevor Whitlock at 10:10am 16th February 2011 This is sad, where does a child gain dominance over their guardian, if a parent cannot assert dominance and envoke fear into the child, this is bound to happen. (parents who strike their child 1, parents who do not 0) I do not condonce child abuse(repetetively beating not a good b*** slap when they get smart) but I do believe without control all youth is destined for failure(kids believe in monkey see monkey do). Schools and non physical methods are to no avail teaching this control.
1. Linda at 11:30am 21st February 2011 You are so right Trevoe...
2. shadow63 at 7:29am 7th March 2011 I will agree with what you wrote It sad for the both of them that this happen & sad too. It is sad that bad she didn't put some sense into him about playstation games & life. Now a youg man has to live for what he did to the one women that loved him.
Micah Watkins at 5:57pm 16th February 2011 That's very sad the boy killed his mother over a video game. I pray for their family.
Micah Watkins at 5:57pm 16th February 2011 That's very sad the boy killed his mother over a video game. I pray for their family.
Lee Maxwell at 5:48pm 16th February 2011 W-O-W!!
Albert Barton at 5:48pm 16th February 2011 Now that's a gamer lol
Sue Fedor at 5:44pm 16th February 2011 This has nothing to do with video games and everything to do with mental health. We do so very little as a society to help people with mental illness and the families who take care of them. If there were better treatment options available, we'd see less of this.
Chris Johnson at 5:38pm 16th February 2011 I'm just waiting for flood gates to open:"SUCH RAGE! SUCH ANGER! HAD BE NOT BEEN PLAYING (insert name of video game here) HE WOULDN'T HAVE COMITTED SUCH A CRIME!Well, he doesn't need to worry about who will care for him: the state penal system should do a good enough job, albeit, without a Playstation.
Dan Herzeleid at 5:38pm 16th February 2011 Well, they need to put that kid in prison so that they run a train on him.
Kendall310 at 9:13am 16th February 2011 Wow, that crazy. My names Kendall and I turn 16 later this year.
1. Jeffrey Van Camp at 9:16am 16th February 2011 Do you own a PlayStation?
  1. shadow63 at 7:23am 7th March 2011 Yes I own three play stations but it does not run my life.