13 year old autistic teen shoots and kills his father

[undeterred]

TOWN OF DELTON – A 13-year-old boy told authorities he shot his father in the back of the head Tuesday after his “balloon of anger” burst, according to court records. The boy, Michael A. Crisafulli, appeared frightened and began to weep Wednesday afternoon after he was led in handcuffs past a crowd of media and into the defendant’s chair in a Sauk County courtroom.

The Sauk County District Attorney’s Office has charged Crisafulli, of the town of Delton, as an adult with first-degree intentional homicide in the death of his father, 55-year-old Angelo D. Crisafulli.

The criminal complaint states the young Crisafulli told an officer he was expelled from school Tuesday and that his father was angry when he picked him up from school. The boy said his father took him to his uncle’s house, where he was made to work on a car axle.

Later that day, at his father’s rural home on Shady Lane Road in the Town of Delton, Crisafulli said he took an “older-type pistol” that had one bullet in it from a gun cabinet. The boy admitted that he used the gun to shoot his father who was laying in a recliner, according to the complaint. Michael stated that his ‘balloon of anger’ finally broke and he shot his father as a result,” stated Sauk County Sheriff’s Department Lt. Michael Stoddard.

http://www.wiscnews.com/bnr/news/469795

There was a custody fight over this child which apparently affected him a lot. He's being charged as an adult with first degree intentional homicide.

[MadHound]

1. A tragedy all around,

And an idiot father who kept a loaded weapon around the house. Sadly his son is going to suffer for his stupidity.

[jillan]

2. Exactly - how stupid is it to have a loaded gun around a child that may not know how dangerous it is

[proteus_lives]

15. He's 13. He knew how dangerous it was.

[jillan]

17. He is autistic - he may not have. I don't know if you have ever been around autistic children...

they have different levels of intelligence.

[proteus_lives]

19. Article quotes around 7-8. He still knew.

It's not about the gun. He psychoed-out and killed his father.

[Maru Kitteh]

29. Wow. It's so amazing that you're an expert and you know exactly what the kid knew.

Because your "knowledge" of the child isn't motivated by your desire for it not to be about the fathers obvious stupidity regarding the loaded firearm. No. That couldn't be it.

[proteus_lives]

40. The father was stupid but the kid knew what he was doing.

He knew what he was doing when he killed his father.

[Maru Kitteh]

50. Not only are you an expert on autism, you are an expert on THIS autistic child. Fascinating.

[proteus_lives]

55. So he is autistic?

Do you have another link? Because from I've read, it's up in the air.

And is he to a degree that he doesn't know what a gun is?

[Fleshdancer]

63. I'm trying to figure this out too

I'll be the first to admit I don't know nearly enough about autism, but I do think this story is strange.

We have a neighbor that describes the 13 yr old as acting more like a 7 yr old. The father of the boy told this neighbor that some people considered his son to be autistic, but the dad thought his son was "merely special". Who are "some people"? Are they school officials? Mental health experts? Family members? Why did the father dismiss these claims? Big red flag here.

The boy was expelled from school. Was this a public school? If so, did the district know "some people" considered him autistic? If so, I'm curious what the protocol is for expelling an autistic child because I honestly don't know.

Then there's his actions after the shooting. This is when it gets very strange IMO:

"The boy allegedly told authorities he tried to remove his father’s body by placing it in a small wagon and wheeling it toward the front door, but was unsuccessful. He then took about $800 from his father’s wallet and walked to the Lake Delton Walmart — almost 3 miles away as the crow flies — with his dog, according to court documents."

Is it too off the mark to say that one can be both autistic and also have psychopathic tendencies? Yes? No? :shrug:

[proteus_lives]

66. It's the crux of the issue.

He needs to tested by a state doctor.

His actions after the killing send up red flags to me. It sounds emotionally disturbed but not disabled.

[Canuckistanian]

69. Autistics perceive "danger" in different ways

You do not know the particular level of autism he has.

The most foolish thing you can say about an autistic is "he should have known" You CANNOT make that assumption.

And I, too have a 13 year old autistic son.

[TorchTheWitch]

71. we don't even know if he IS autistic

He needs to be evaluated, and he should have been years ago.

[Flaneur]

61. He apparently knew exactly what it was for.

[Fleshdancer]

3. others here will disagree with me, but I'm going to say it anyway:

I decided long ago that I could either have a gun in my home, or a kid. I chose the kid, therefore a gun has no place here.

As far as this case goes, everyone loses. I can't begin to comprehend the sheer hell that family is going through right now. If you haven't already, I highly recommend clicking the link to read the full story. It's beyond complicated and 100% horrifying.

[MadHound]

5. You made a good decision,

And I don't disagree with you at all. I would do the same thing.

[undeterred]

6. Lots of stories on this tragedy-

I wasn't sure which one to post. This child needed help and he didn't get it... I hope he doesn't get sent away to an adult prison.

[Fleshdancer]

10. This is the first I've read of this story. Thank you for posting it....

This article raises more questions than it answers so I'm bookmarking this thread in order to try to keep up with the case.

[undeterred]

12. Lots of stories locally, I haven't heard it nationally.

I put his name in a search on Google News after I heard about it (here in Wisconsin) and a lot of articles came up. I think a lot of child/autism advocates will be watching this one.

[proteus_lives]

18. I disagree. My siblings and I were raised in a house with guns.

My dad's a collector.

You can have firearms and kids in the same house. You are just required to be a better parent and teach them the safety/usage/ethics of firearms.

[LeftyMom]

23. I was too. But you know what?

So was a friend of mine, and he's dead now. Because kids have shitty judgment- little known fact.

[proteus_lives]

24. Sorry, that's called darwin.

People and kids with shitty judgment often check out early.

Doesn't change the fact that millions grow-up around guns with incidents.

[Fleshdancer]

35. Come the hell on now, let's be honest. From one parent to another....

You cannot seriously respond with "Sorry, that's called darwin." No kid makes perfect decisions 100%. You didn't, I didn't, and our kids won't either. Guns in the home or not.

[proteus_lives]

43. I'm not a parent but I am a gun owner.

My nieces and nephews visit sometimes and when they do, my guns go in the gun-safe.

You're right, no one makes the right decisions all the time. But education and safety cut down incidents considerably.

[LeftyMom]

54. He didn't shoot himself you insensitive asshat.

Another kid shot him while playing.

[proteus_lives]

57. With malice? Or was it an accident?

Either way, education is the key to reducing these situations.

If they were above the age of six and playing with real guns, I'd call that darwin at work or shitty parenting.

[undeterred]

27. They need to be under lock and key, with ammo in a different place.

Guns shouldn't be stored in a way that a child can do deadly harm with them.

[proteus_lives]

39. Not in all cases.

My father kept most of his guns in a vault, unloaded and on racks but he several guns in the house for self-defense that were kept loaded and in several places. They were hidden when my siblings and I were too young to understand.

But as soon as we were old enough, he taught us about firearms and how to use them. We didn't screw around them because he dissipated the "gun mystique" that culture, music, movies and such put around firearms. That's why there were never any incidents in my house.

The rules are different if you have a special-needs child and in other cases. But the average child only needs education about firearms.

That's why millions of children grow-up around firearms with no problems.

[Fleshdancer]

41. and now we get into the purpose of gun ownership....

Storing a gun under lock and key with the ammo in a different place makes perfect sense when you're a hunter, collector, or hobbyist. Utilizing a gun for self-defense makes things more difficult though when kids are in the home.

[depakid]

52. That's precisely why countries with responsible fireams regulation

don't allow the fear option of "self defense" as a legal reason to own a gun. This in addition to safe storage and other licesing requirements requirements.

[proteus_lives]

59. The sensible option actually.

Most of us prefer to be in control of our own lives.

If you chose to put your safety in someone's hands, it should be a choice. Not your only option.

That's what this is about, choice not fear.

Why does the concept people having choices scare you so much?

[Flaneur]

62. I haven't owned a gun in 20 years, yet somehow I still feel in control of my life.

Go figger.

[proteus_lives]

67. That's fine.

So why stop others from owning guns?

You made a choice, why prevent others from doing the same?

[Fleshdancer]

28. and then there are times when all of that fails....

I'm speaking as someone who comes from a huge family of hunters and gun collectors and I totally agree with you that gun ownership does require adults to be better/smarter parents on the subject (even though I'm not convinced the adults were smart in this particular case). Hell, I was raised in a house with guns myself so I know it can be done.

The reason I choose not own is because of what I experienced when I was 14. A dear classmate and friend took one of the guns from the locked cabinet, (wasn't difficult for him to find the key) he loaded it, then he shot himself in the head. From this, I learned 3 things:

1. The class clown joking about killing himself isn't always joking.
2. Suicide is hell on the people who love you.
3. There are times when the house is safer without guns due to the kids that occupy it.

My daughter is 9. She's sweet, she does her chores without complaint, everyone adores her, she never gets in trouble in school, and she's a happy child. But she's 9. The child I know now might not be the child I know years from now. This is my fear.

[proteus_lives]

48. It does sound like the father irresponsible with his guns.

And that not good.

Your sad is sad and frankly unavoidable. If a person wants to end it, they will. It doesn't matter what method they use. I see your point but you can't plan for these situations.

BTW, I use combo-locks. They're safer because of situations like these.

I understand your fear and I think from your post that's you're a good parent. If your daughter ever heads down a dark road, watch for it and be ready to help. I've seen family members self-destruct and it's hard to watch.

[Fleshdancer]

58. Thank you proteus_lives

I'll be the first to admit that my personal experience isn't normal and losing a friend at that age made me question everything - especially the actual act. It is what it is and you're right that it could have happened without a gun, but maybe I just prefer to believe on some level that it wouldn't have been as easy...that his parents or siblings could have intervened in time if it was a knife or a noose. On a logical level, I know that's bullshit, but my 14 yr old self still clings to that curiosity.

You sound very smart and pragmatic with your gun ownership. I wish like hell the family in the OP's article used a combo lock too.

[proteus_lives]

60. Thank you Fleshdancer

I love civil discourse about firearms. I'll admit it's subject that's easy to get heated up on.

Our hearts and brains can be on different pages sometimes. I got hit by a car while I was on a bike when I was kid and to this day bikes give me the heebie-jeebies. I've also watched family members destroy themselves with drugs and I know logically I did all I could to help them. But in my heart I feel like I failed them.

I wish the family had used combo-locks too. You sound smart and pragmatic about your choice not to own a gun. I would never challenge your right not to own one and all I ask you not challenge my right to own if I haven't abused that right. That's why I always debate gun rights on this site, I believe we should fight for and cherish the choice.

[Fleshdancer]

65. out of your cold dead hands my friend!

:P

All the stuff I said up thread about my gun owning/collecting family members are 100% true. The idea of challenging you makes as much sense to me as challenging my uncle who owns numerous gun shops in Ohio or my brother (and best friend) who's a father and gun collector.

Now since we're being all civil and stuff, where do you fall on semi-automatics?

[proteus_lives]

68. I feel the same as I do about revolvers and shotguns.

Nothing wrong with civilians owning semi-autos. What's your opinion?

There are reasonable restrictions on the types of firearms civilians can own but adding semi-autos is too much of a gray area and too much possibility of abuse.

[Common Sense Party]

26. I'll disagree. I have both--a gun and children

including a 16-year old autistic child.

I also have a gun safe.

Some of us can walk and chew gum at the same time.

[Maru Kitteh]

30. Wow. Madhound's post was polite and acknowledged differences of opinion

Your post was rude. Why treat rudely those who were nothing but polite to you?

[Common Sense Party]

34. Point out where I was rude.

I wasn't.

[Fleshdancer]

37. the walking and chewing gum thing....

it automatically insinuated that you were capable of being a parent and owning a gun when I wasn't since I choose not to.

[Common Sense Party]

46. Your post also implied that one cannot responsibly "choose" to have

both a child and a gun in the same house.

"I chose the kid, therefore a gun has no place here."

Perhaps that isn't what you meant to imply, but that's how it came across.

[Fleshdancer]

51. No. Please use my complete sentence...

The full sentence:
"I decided long ago that I could either have a gun in my home, or a kid. I chose the kid, therefore a gun has no place here."

I gave myself the ultimatum because that was what I felt was right for ME and MY family. I never said my decision was right for everyone.

[Fleshdancer]

31. umm, I'm also capable of walking and chewing gum at the same time

I fail to see how walking and chewing on anything can compare to gun ownership so feel free to educate me on that particular analogy.

Since I'm not a collector, the whole point of gun ownership would be for self-defense. Without a child, I would be ok with keeping one in the home unlocked and loaded. With a child, I would be forced to keep it locked and out of their reach. I don't see how I could successfully defend myself with a gun (using the home intruder scenario) if I had to run to the gun safe location, pull it down from whatever high place the kid can't reach, unlock it, load it, then use it in time to defend.

[Common Sense Party]

33. Self-defense is one point of gun ownership, but not the only one.

I enjoy target shooting. Some people like golf.

[Fleshdancer]

36. Then that's why we differ on this particular topic

Since I personally only see firearms as a tool of self defense, then my decision makes sense for me. Since you utilize firearms as a hobby, then your decision makes sense for you.

And for the record, I'm chewing gum while writing this post. ;)

[Common Sense Party]

44. Good on you! Now take a stroll.

But don't swallow the gum. (I think I still have like 5 years' worth of bubble gum inside from when I was a kid.) :-)

[proud2BlibKansan]

72. +1

[Odin2005]

4. OMG!

:cry:

[gratuitous]

7. Trying him as an adult?

If that ain't the cherry on the shit sundae. There's a lot of fucked-up things in this story, but I think my vote goes to the prosecuting attorney for the most fucked-up.

[Wickerman]

8. state law

from the article:

Sauk County District Attorney Patricia Barrett said the law requires that homicide charges against anyone over the age of 10 be initially filed in adult court.

The boy’s attorney has the right to request that the judge move the case to juvenile court, Barrett said.

--snip--

Michael VanHuss, who lives across the street from Crisafulli’s rural town of Delton home, said he does not think the boy has the mindset of a typical 13-year-old.

“I’ve raised four children,” VanHuss said. “I know what a kid should be like when he’s 13. This kid is like 7.”

VanHuss said Angelo told him that some people considered his son to be autistic, but that Angelo believed his son was merely “special.”

[gratuitous]

9. Okay, the PA's off the hook

So it's the state legislature that ceded its responsibility to the "tough on crime" yahoos.

[undeterred]

11. They probably never imagined the unimaginable.

Hopefully it goes to a juvenile court.

[gratuitous]

16. Not that tough to imagine

Trying 10-year-olds as adults? I don't much care what they're charged with, a 10-year-old shouldn't be tried as an adult.

[undeterred]

25. In Wisconsin 10 year olds can hunt if supervised.

If they kill someone its most likely going to be an accident. But I agree, they shouldn't be tried as an adult, certainly not at 10 or 13. They know about consequences but they don't really think it through.

[tonysam]

13. Why is somebody putting in a misleading headline?

The REAL one says: Boy, 13, accused of killing dad

Where is it in the article the boy IS really autistic?

VanHuss said Angelo told him that some people considered his son to be autistic, but that Angelo believed his son was merely “special.”

This is NOT the same as the kid actually being DIAGNOSED as autistic.

It would be great if people would be a little bit more honest in writing headlines for posts.

[undeterred]

21. If you look at all the stories on this incident

there are suggestions that the child may have been autistic, developmentally disabled, a victim of child abuse, at the center of a nasty child custody battle, and not getting the treatment he needed. There were restraining orders against other family members.

He may well have been an autistic kid in a very bad family situation where he was not getting the support he needed to deal with emotions like anger. A child growing into an adult body.

Please forgive the headline, I took liberties.

[Matariki]

14. His face looks pretty bruised.

[ieoeja]

78. It looks like someone or something smacked him really good on the left side of his face. (nt)

[Fire_Medic_Dave]

20. Very tragic. If the kid is autistic I hope he gets some help. If he's not he belongs in prison.

[proteus_lives]

22. Killed his father in cold blood.

Unless there are mitigating factors then he should be charged as an adult.

If he's diagnosed as autistic (by proper authorities) then send him to a mental hospital.

[Douglas Carpenter]

70. if you believe a 13 year-old should be tried as an adult - unless they are severely

disturbed with a condition such as autism - then do you believe a 13-year-old can reasonably choose to consent for sex with whomever they wish - unless they are severely disturbed with a condition such as autism?

The entire principle of a juvenile justice system is the same as the principle of age of consent laws, the belief that children or adolescents below a certain age lack the fully developed mental and emotional facilities to make adult level decisions - and are thus granted special legal protections - specifically because they are not deemed capable of fully understanding what they are doing and what are the entire consequences of their actions.

[depakid]

73. No only tried as an adult- but imprisoned for life

If scotus hadn't out a stop to it- there'd still be states executing juvenile offenders.

It'll be interesting to see whether or not they apply the same reasoning to life in prison without parole- which is currently under review.

[PA Democrat]

74. +1. Scientific research shows that the parts of the brain responsible

for impulse control, judgment, etc. do not fully mature for a NON-DISABLED person until sometime after the age of 21. For people with developmental disabilities the level of immaturity is much more pronounced.


http://teenagebrain.blogspot.com/


<snip>

We once thought that the brain was fully formed by the end of childhood, but research has shown that adolescence is a time of profound brain growth and change. We now know:

Between childhood and adulthood the brain’s “wiring diagram ” becomes more complex and more efficient, especially in the brain’s prefrontal cortex.

The greatest changes to the parts of the brain that are responsible for impulse-control, judgement, decision-making, planning, organization and involved in other functions like emotion, occur in adolescence. This area of the brain (prefrontal cortex) does not reach full maturity until around age 25!


http://www.prospect.org/cs/articles?article=adolescents_maturity_and_the_law

<snip>

The recent push to lower the age threshold for treating juvenile offenders as adults assumes that adolescents are no different from adults in the capacities that comprise maturity and hence culpability, and that they have adult-like competencies to understand and meaningfully participate in criminal proceedings.

But the new science reliably shows that adolescents think and behave differently from adults, and that the deficits of teenagers in judgment and reasoning are the result of biological immaturity in brain development. The adolescent brain is immature in precisely the areas that regulate the behaviors that typify adolescents who break the law. Studies of brain development show that the fluidity of development is probably greatest for teenagers at 16 and 17 years old, the age group most often targeted by laws promoting adult treatment.

Teens at these ages tend to be poor decision-makers when it comes to crime. They often lack the several elements of psychosocial development that characterize adults as mature, including the capacity for autonomous choice, self-management, risk perception, and the calculation of future consequences.

[Douglas Carpenter]

75. thanks, very interesting reports, Unfortunately increased knowledge about

how the human mind works and even increased knowledge about what actually works to decrease crime does not seem to be the primary driving force in public policy related to criminal justice. It appears that raw emotional passion is a far greater force in setting policy. Politicians know the risk of appearing "soft on crime" and running against raw emotional passion - Thus we up with idiotic and contradictory public policy which does absolutely nothing to reduce the threat of crime, but it does appeal to emotions which drives the political debate about the justice system far more than responsible research and serious thinking.

The entire rational basis of legally protecting someone that age from corruption and exploitation by adults, presumes that someone so young does not have all the faculties to handle adult decisions. It is just so obvious that if almost everyone agrees that a 13-year-old is too young to make rational decisions about drinking, driving, going to school, having sex or even just living on their own - how on earth can someone turn around and declare that a 13-year-old has all the faculties to be tried and punished as an adult? - as if the most desperate and out of control action they ever took in their entire life - was the one and only area in which they were capable of understanding what they were doing.

[Quantess]

32. This belongs in the gungeon.

[Fleshdancer]

38. Due to the autistic 13 yr old sentenced as an adult, I disagree

This story is twisted and tragic enough for just about every forum here with the exception of the lounge.

[Quantess]

42. Oh, I didn't see the part that he is being tried as an adult, until now.

That's just plain wrong.

[Fleshdancer]

45. The entire case is scary...and sad.

No one wins on this one. It's beyond sad. :(

[proud patriot]

47. Why do we even have a juvinal system ?

I work with Autistic Children .

This is shocking to me .. :cry:

[Fleshdancer]

49. I think it's life in prison....

not that life in prison makes more sense than the death penalty given that he's a 13 yr old with autism.

[Quantess]

53. Maybe some juveniles are already so hardened that they can't be rehabilitated?

I'm sure there are some cases like that. But that just speaks badly of the society they came from, their upbringing, their (probably) poor parenting, poverty, and maybe some other factors as well, such as mental illness or drugs.

In this case, someone has already dropped the ball by not advocating for this child.

[undeterred]

64. The picture of this kid and the story suggest that

he is experiencing a lot of emotion. I don't get the sense that he is a cold and hardened killer. Rather he seems like he couldn't control his anger.

Something went terribly wrong.

[aikoaiko]

56. I whole heartedly support securing firearms with children & better treatment for mental illness.

Both probably would have helped in this case.

[Douglas Carpenter]

76. an all around tragic story

[KamaAina]

77. The word "autistic" is not in the article headline

and, indeed, does not appear until almost the very end of the article.

So why put it in the thread title?

[fascisthunter]

79. damn