A 17-year-old has been convicted of shooting his parents in the head after they took away his video game.

Daniel Petric killed his mother and wounded his father when they banned him from playing "Halo 3" and took away his Xbox console. He now faces a possible life sentence.

Lorain County Judge James Burge convicted him of aggravated murder for the death of his mother, Susan, 43, and attempted aggravated murder for the attack on his father, Mark, 46.

The judge ruled that although Petric's obsession with the video game, in which players shoot aliens, may have warped his sense of reality, the boy knew what he was doing and had planned the shooting.

On the night of the shooting, Petric used his father's key to open a lockbox and remove a 9 mm handgun and the game.

Mark Petric testified that his son came into the room and asked: "Would you guys close your eyes? I have a surprise for you." He testified that he expected a pleasant surprise. Then his head went numb from the gunshot.

The teenager then put the gun in his father's hand in an attempt to make the shootings look like murder-suicide. When he fled the scene, he only took one item with him: the "Halo 3" game.

Judge Burge rejected the defence attorneys' argument that Petric, 17, of Wellington, Ohio, was not guilty by reason of insanity, saying that the teen's youth and addiction made him less responsible. Petric played the Halo games as much as 18 hours a day at friends' houses when he had the chance. Tried as an adult, Petric now faces a maximum possible penalty of life in prison without parole.

Judge Burge said there was ample evidence that the boy planned to kill his parents. But the judge said he believed playing the games long enough caused physical and psychological changes in the teenager's brain, similar to drug use. "When you stop, your brain won't stand for it, just as it wouldn't stand for it when you quit using heroin or crack cocaine," he said.

The popular Halo series involves destroying aliens. Once the game ends and a new game starts, the aliens return. Simply put, death in the game is only temporary, the judge said.

"I firmly believe that Daniel Petric had no idea at the time he hatched this plot that if he killed his parents they would be dead forever," he added.

Family members have said they have forgiven the teenager. Mark Petric, a pastor at New Life Assembly of God in Wellington, stood up as deputies led his son from court. The teenager turned and gave his father a wave goodbye. "We love you, Danny," the father yelled.

Bungie, once part of Microsoft, developed the Xbox 360-exclusive Halo 3, and Microsoft owns the game's intellectual property. Microsoft declined to comment beyond a statement: "We are aware of the situation and it is a tragic case."

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