RIVERSIDE, Calif. (AP) — A 12-year-old California boy has gone on trial on charges of murdering his father, a neo-Nazi leader who was shot point-blank as he slept on his sofa.
A Riverside County prosecutor said in opening statements Tuesday that the then-10-year-old boy wanted to kill his father, 32-year-old Jeff Hall, because of a history of domestic violence.
Deputy District Attorney Michael Soccio also dismissed the notion that Hall's neo-Nazi beliefs contributed to the son's penchant for violence, as the defense maintains.
Defense attorney Matthew Hardy contended in his opening remarks that the boy grew up in an abusive and violent environment that led him to believe it was right to kill people who were a threat to one's safety.
The Associated Press is not identifying the boy because of his age.
