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'It's been a cheerful day for video game crime news. First was the teenage father who sawed a former friend's neck down to the trachea over some Xbox Live name-calling. Now an Iowa boy says he killed and attempted to rape his mother after she took away Call of Duty.
'That's according to the 911 call 14-year-old Noah Crooks of Osage, Iowa placed on March 24, 2012, the night he shot his mother 20 times. Crooks shot her with the .22 rifle he was given as an 11-year-old. The 911 tape was played in court this week as his trial began. His mother, Gretchen Crooks, had confiscated his video game about three hours before she was shot to death, an act believed to spark the fit of rage that led to her killing. It was the first homicide reported in that town since 1898.
'The defense opened its case on Friday with testimony from Noah Crooks' friends, one of whom played Call of Duty with him online. The testimony is meant to establish some type of rapid change in Crooks' behavior. Despite constant references to an attention deficit disorder and the rambling 911 call in which he appears divorced from reality, he did say, "I feel crazy and I know I’m not."' -- Kotaku
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'When William Crooks got a text message in which his son confessed "I killed Mom," he thought it was a joke. "Ok," Crooks replied. "Just throw her in the grove. We’ll take care of her later." This according to testimony Crooks, 41, gave in Wright County District Court in Clarion, Iowa Friday night. The full message Noah sent the night of March 24 read "Dad this is Noah. I killed Mom accidentally. I regret it. Come home now please."
'William was away from the family’s rural home at the time. Mitchell County Deputy Jeff Huftalin later called the older Crooks and told him there had been an accident. There was no history of domestic abuse or criminal records associated with any Crooks family members. William said his wife was the disciplinarian of the family, which led to some fights between his wife and son. "They’d have their issues but then the next minute they’d play games together," he said. "Noah once told me he wanted to kill his mother, but I didn’t take it seriously. On a few occasions he said that he wished she was dead and in a ditch. I guess I didn’t take it as a threat at the time." He testified that Noah had been on medication for A.D.D. since he was 8 years old, and had occasional outbursts in class and on the school bus. His troubles became more physical in fifth grade. “He would pull all of the hair off his head, his eyebrows, his eyelashes, and he'd pull the hair off his legs,” William said. “His arms too. Anywhere that he had hair, he pulled it out.'" He said Noah became more violent in recent years, breaking windows and using a knife to stab the wooden pillars, couch cushions, and doors in the family’s home. He said the violent outbursts came out of the blue and were not planned, adding that often Noah could not remember why he had acted out, but always atoned for his actions.' -- Daily Mail
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'The defense in the Noah Crooks trial began Friday afternoon by calling to the stand three school friends of the 14-year-old Osage teen accused of shooting his mother to death in March 2012. A 14-year-old boy from Osage said he played the video game, Call of Duty, with Crooks over the Internet. He testified that in 2012 Crooks would become aggressive and violent, occasionally stabbing classmates with pencils. The boy said the incidents would happen once or twice every few weeks and then not happen again for days or even months. Crooks threatened to kill other students and his mother, he testified. A 14-year-old girl, also of Osage, said she and Crooks became friends in the seventh grade. She remembered her friend talking about suicide last year. In March 2012 his behavior changed, she said. “He got angry quicker,” she testified. “In P.E. he’d get mad at things he wouldn’t usually get mad about.”' -- WFCCourier
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'On May 3, 2013 the defense in the Noah Crooks murder trial began calling witnesses, and it doesn't look like things are off to a positive start for the young man. The tragic death of his mother was gruesome, but the details being shared by multiple sources paint a picture of a deeply troubled teen who may continue to be a danger to society. It seems as though the defense is painting the teen as someone who is too mentally ill to plan the rape and murder of his own mother. The state of Iowa is aiming to convict him of first degree murder, among other charges. The details that have come out in recent days are startling, such as the 911 call placed by the frantic teen:
'“Something came over me and I'm serious. I'm 13 years old and I killed my mom with my .22. I’m not joking at all. She’s dead. I’m scared. I killed my mom with my .22. I don’t know why I did it. I am so ashamed right now." [He repeated that several times in the course of the 10-minute conversation.] "OK. This is Noah. OK. I don’t want you to contact the news or do anything like that. I feel crazy and I know I’m not. I think I have some form of ADD. I tried to rape her. I tried to rape her but I couldn’t do it.” [He rambled on for several minutes as the dispatcher contacted deputies and dispatched an ambulance.] “Tell them my weapon is empty. I just wish it was a dream so I could wake up and I could kiss her and hug her. I need to get help. I don't know why I did it. I've never thought about doing it before. Something just got in my head and I don't know why.” [He said his mother made homemade doughnuts for him that night and he couldn’t believe he killed her after she did that for him. He continued talking about playing the video game, Call of Duty. He told the dispatcher his mother took away the game because he got some bad grades.] “Something just came over me. I’m going to have to move away. I’m never going to be able to get a good job now. I should have never played Call of Duty.” [He spent several more minutes talking about how he would never be able to marry his eighth-grade girlfriend or get into a good college.] “That goes down the drain now. I’m going to have to move. I am going to go to jail. I tried rape my own mom. Who tries to rape their own mom? My life is down the drain now.” [The dispatcher told him deputies were on the way.] “They’re not going to shoot me or (expletive deleted) me, are they?”'-- ksee24.com
'Demonic 13 yr old Red Headed Child Murders his Mom after an Attempted Rape!'
'Teen Kills Mom Over Call of Duty | The World Is Going Crazy'
'13-Year-Old Boy Shot His Mother Dead After Trying To Rape Her!'
'After more than 18 hours of deliberations, a Wright County jury found Noah Crooks guilty Monday afternoon of second-degree murder and not guilty of assault with intent to commit sexual abuse in the March 2012 shooting death of his mother, Gretchen. “Their deliberation shows they put a lot of time, a lot of effort into this. And it wasn’t an easy decision for them to reach. We thank them so much for the time they put into this because it couldn’t be easy,” Mitchell County Attorney Mark Walk said.
'“If I was speculating I would say it’s a compromise verdict. My best guess is that there were probably some people who wanted not guilty by reason of insanity, others who wanted first-degree. The compromise was probably, here again speculating which I shouldn’t do, we’ll come down to second-degree if you’ll come off not guilty by reason of insanity. I could be completely wrong but that’s my thought.”
'Crooks showed no emotion as the verdict was announced shortly before 2 p.m. Monday. He will remain in a juvenile facility at either Waterloo or Eldora until his 18th birthday. Then at 18, or shortly before that, he will come back before this same court. They will make a determination of whether he should be discharged at that time or whether he should be sentenced at that time; whether he should be supervised at that time. The problem is no one knows what’s going to happen when he turns 18.' -- wcfCourier.com
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p.s. Hey. The world premiere of 'The Pyre', the new theater piece made by Gisele Vienne, Stephen O'Malley, Peter Rehberg, Patrick Riou, and myself is tonight, so I'm a little nervous, and that may show in the p.s., sorry. Also, there's about a 90% chance that I lost my debit card yesterday, and given that my bank is in America and that I'm over here, and that I'm leaving for Japan soon with a bunch of stuff I need to buy re: the trip right now, I'm stressed about that, which may also impair the p.s., sorry. That said, ... ** Jeff, Hi, Jeff. Yeah, I actually ordered a Volodine book yesterday just before my debit card disappeared, so I'm excited to read him, and thank you again! It wasn't that Manuela Draeger book, but I've noted it, and maybe I'll get that one next. François Augiéras: no, I don't think I've read him. Man, you're really clueing me in, and I really appreciate it. I'll check out what I can check out about him today, if I have time. Yeah, cool, thank you, and you have the best day possible. ** _Black_Acrylic, Hi, Ben! You're here in my vicinity, and I don't know if you'll see this, but I think I'll see you tonight. I'll be stressed out, but I should be okay and more myself if/when we get to hang out tomorrow. ** Pilgarlic, Hi, man. You kind of know Paula Deen? I've never actually seen her show or whatever, but I think I know what her deal is. Interesting. ** Grant Scicluna, Thank you for the warm welcome back, G. That's all so incredibly cool about the Grimson adaptation, and if the blog helped you out relatively, that's so sweet and gratifying to know. Mm, around October 17th is probably around when I'll definitely be in LA, but there's still a while to go before then, and maybe my prediction re: my location circa then will be utterly wrong. Fingers crossed. ** S., Finally, a new stack that can be savored pre-self destruction. I'll hit and scour that hopefully before its bell tolls. Everyone, there's a new S.-built Emo stack, probably for a limited time only, so I wouldn't hesitate in clicking this if you're so inclined. Smurf Mountain, wow. I would hit that, or I will sit in its no doubt fancy/cutesy car probably one of these days at this rate. Beef, yeah, you know what I'm going to say about that, or, rather, didn't say but thought out predictably. Righteous. ** Tosh Berman, I wonder if Bourdain is famous in France. I'll ask around. No, like I said, that sounds awful: how the estate dealt with you. Your unforgivingness is both highly appropriate and their loss. But, yeah, I can only imagine how disappointing that must be. ** David Ehrenstein, Interesting. The Paul Bowles thing. I guess I should watch his show. I really don't think it's on TV here, although the French are really into cooking shows at the moment, so, hm. Thank you so much for referencing in your FaBlog post. It's a sweet honor. ** Paul Curran, Welcome to Japan! I'll get in touch and see you there so very soon! ** Sypha, Flannery O'Connor rocks. I guess Capote does too, although I never fell in love with his stuff. His biography is really fun. ** David Saä V. Estornell, Ditto, maestro. ** Steevee, Like I said, I've lived here for ages, and I still have a super romanticized image of France. It's a funny place that way. The protests and the suicide are/were important relative to here, just not in the way they're misinterpreted in the States. It's hard to explain. It's even hard to understand when you're here lengthily and American. Hunh, about your friend's feedback. Well, nothing like politics and their representation to rupture aesthetic communality or something. Can you ask him more questions as to why he feels that way, etc.? ** Flit, Flitster! What up with you? Really great to see your wordage and your avatar, buddy! ** Tender prey, Hi, Marc! Thanks about the premiere. It's a strange piece, and I feel kind of clueless about how it will go over, more than usual with the Gisele work, so tonight will be ... interesting. Dying to see the Fragments documentation, obviously. I'm glad that it's been so rewarding. Cool, cool. Love to you and to the Wolf too, my dear friend. ** Grant maierhofer, Hi, Grant! Good to see you! Your book arrived while I was in Scandinavia, so that's awesome, and I'll either get to read it before I leave for Japan, or it'll help get me through the torturously long flight there. Love, me. ** Ken Baumann, Ken! Or, rather, KEN! Yeah, Naoshima should be really something. I'm excited about that stint. I'm going to Japan for a combination of adventure/fun and for a project that's not Gisele-related. Things are good, and they will be great if by some miracle someone found my debit card yesterday. And if 'The Pyre' goes over well tonight. The thing we spoke about in email is perhaps unresolvable in the larger sense, but it is settled and good for the time being at least. Thank you for asking. Excited to see that Kickstarter thing. Let me know when it's up, or I'll keep my eye on your segment of my FB news feed for word. Curious. Oh, man, the New Orleans convergence sounds crazy great and monumental. Document the occasion in some way or other, if you feel like it, and please say hi to Blake and Mike and whoever else for me. You rule, buddy. ** Rigby, Reading over Missy's shoulder was super fun, man. ** Chris Dankland, Hi, Chris. My morning is going okay. It's a bit of a nerve-wracked day, as I mentioned, but, yeah, I think it's going okay contextually. Oh, great about your review of Tao's book. 100.0! Whoa! It's a fantastic novel, that's for absolutely sure. Everyone, you are hereby heavily encouraged to click this and end up on the swell iamaltlit site where you will be able to read the great Chris Dankland's review of 'Taipei', the superb new novel by the one and only Tao Lin. Go there, folks. Can't wait to read that! Have you met Tao before? I guess you will. I like the way he reads. Nice, nice. And how's your writing going du jour? ** Nemo, Hi, Joey. Yeah, it's probably the wrong time of year right now to get to Paris sans exorbitant cost. Fantastic that Jarrod is in that Oslo show. I was just there. Give him a congratulatory hug from me. I'm glad you're surrounded by love. You deserve it major time, my friend. ** That's that. I'm giving the blog over to Noah Crooks and to his actions and to his filtering by the media and court system today, as you have no doubt seen. See you tomorrow.