"Manhunt" blamed for childs murder...

Taken from the UK newspaper the Sun...

Schoolboy Stefan Pakeerah was battered to death by a friend playing out scenes from an X-rated video game, the victim’s parents said yesterday.

The 14-year-old was beaten with a claw hammer and stabbed repeatedly by his pal Warren LeBlanc, 17, who was “obsessed” with console game Manhunt.

Stefan’s civil servant dad Patrick, 41, said LeBlanc’s playing of it on his PlayStation 2 led directly to his son’s death. He said: “You increase your score depending on how violent the killing is. “That explains why Stefan’s murder was as horrific as it was.”

The game has an 18 certificate and the literature boasts: “Manhunt explores the depths of human depravity in a vicious, sadistic tale of urban horror. You must run, hide and fight to survive.”

It emerged last night that it was banned by censors in New Zealand six months ago.

And US lawyer Jack Thompson said he had written to Manhunt’s makers warning there would be copycat attacks.

He said: “We’ve had dozens of killings in the US by children who had played these types of games. They are basically murder simulators.”

Manhunt is made by software firm Rockstar, whose previous Grand Theft Auto games have been slammed for their violence and lawlessness.

Leicester Crown Court heard how LeBlanc lured Stefan to his death after telling him they were to meet two girls in a park. Stefan’s mum Giselle, 36, a senior researcher, described how she had spoken to LeBlanc before her son’s death. She said: “I have had friendly conversations with him and that’s what makes it so difficult, that degree of deception and evil. “It just goes to show that he is inherently evil. “Stefan would not have detected any antipathy between them or he would not have gone to the park with him.” LeBlanc, of Leicester, admitted murder. He will be sentenced later and faces a life term.

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They were comparing it to the Columbine disaster on the news and how the game Doom was blamed for this...but I thought that they copied from the Matrix film...?

I just hope that this does not change anything in GTA-San Andreas...
 
I play manhunt with paintball guns, and if you get shot a certain ammount of times, you're dead, which means you have to sit out. My friends and I don't actually kill people for a stupid game. I can't believe someone actually would. That's taking in a bit too far... :thinking:
 
How stupid is that 17 year-old kid? I mean seriously, it must take a lot of mental deprivation to take a game so seriously like that. I love Rockstar games. Even if I were to play Manhunt, I wouldn't take my hammer and beat people with it. Yeesh, mental, mental, mental <_<
 
What happen today proves how serious this is...

I have bought PSM2 magazine every month for the last 3 years from WH Smith, (30-40 issues) this magazine contains a dvd with footage/trailers etc on it. Depending on the games on it, it is rated 15 or under...

And for the first time ever the "old" lady at the counter literally stared at my face for a good few seconds...so long that I thought she actually knew me...little did I know that she was figuring out how old I was...She gave me this speech about how she could not see the rating as the DVD/magazine was in a dark plastic covering, she gave me the benefit of the doubt and let me have it...

Buy the way the DVD had no rating and Im 18 in December...!
 
G$f3arl3ssG$ said:
How stupid is that 17 year-old kid? I mean seriously, it must take a lot of mental deprivation to take a game so seriously like that. I love Rockstar games. Even if I were to play Manhunt, I wouldn't take my hammer and beat people with it. Yeesh, mental, mental, mental <_<
Yeah. Totally.
 
Kids like that should be sterilised or killed ASAP, if you're too stupid to realise fantasy from reality then society should cut you off from reproducing idiotic offspring. Seriously!
 
It be silly. Are they so bored of blaming stuff on music, TV, film, etc, that they blame games? It be very silly. But they proper have in Safeway a sign saying that no-one under 18 can buy any videogame(I think that's what it said.). Apparantly, a copy of the game was found in Stefan Pakeerah's house. But that's just what CVG mag said, so may or may not be true.
Still, it's obvious that the game can't be the only factor; otherwise all the people who have played it would be killing! It be very, very, silly.
But yeah, shops should always check peoples ages...otherwise there is no point in them being in there. I bought a half-season of CSI from Music Zone the other day(£17.99...Barrrrr-gin!), which was an 18, and they said nothing. (I'm 15, btw.)

Jai
 
I know this is an old topic, but it turns out that the whole Manhunt point of blame was a copout designed by the parents our lawyers. It turns out the kid never played Manhunt or saw anyone play it for that matter.

A lot of the time, blaming video game companies is a safe and easy copout of being an irresponsible person and/or a terrible parent and a really simple way of cashing in on some easy cash.
 
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