by Phlegm » Sun Dec 18, 2005 1:28 pm
Here's what in today local newspaper, the San Jose Mercury News:
Abuse alleged in case of teen accused of killing father
15-YEAR-OLD SNAPPED LAST WEEK, MOM SAYS
By Brandon Bailey
Mercury News
The mother of a Santa Clara youth who has been charged with murdering his father says the boy told her he finally snapped last week when he could no longer endure his father's bullying and verbal abuse.
``He said, `Mom, I just couldn't please him. I couldn't do enough. I couldn't do anything right,' '' said Leoni Watts in an interview Saturday. She was describing her first tearful conversation with 15-year-old Ryan Watts, after he was arrested for allegedly shooting 50-year-old John Bruner to death and setting a fire to cover up the crime.
Police have said Watts told them he shot his father last week because he feared Bruner's reaction to a bad report card. They said Watts set fire to the house where he lived with his father and then went for a meal at a Taco Bell.
Leoni Watts, who lived apart from her son and his father, said she believes her son is only beginning to grasp what he did. She said the youth, who is being given anti-anxiety medicine at Santa Clara County juvenile hall, cried when she visited him Thursday.
But he also seemed relieved that his father was no longer alive, she said.
Authorities have charged Watts in adult court and say he could face life in prison. The boy initially told neighbors and firefighters that he had come home and discovered the house on fire, with his father inside. He confessed after the coroner found Bruner had gunshot wounds and no smoke in his lungs -- indicating he died before the fire began.
Now, Leoni Watts said, she is dealing with her own guilt for not intervening or even realizing what had been going on in her son's life.
She referred to Bruner several times as a good man who loved his son, and said he was struggling with obesity and health problems. But she said he apparently vented his frustration by constantly criticizing her son, belittling him and overloading him with chores. She said the boy also said Bruner occasionally struck him with a bamboo stick.
Echoing those contradictions, his neighbors on Santa Clara's Bucher Street offered sharply differing impressions of the dead man.
`Guardian angel'
Mary Parson, who lived across the street, said Bruner was a ``guardian angel'' who kept an eye out for everyone on the block. She said Bruner helped people with computer and automotive repairs and seemed to have a warm relationship with his son. Just last Halloween, she said the boy and his father took delight in dressing up and putting on a scary display for trick-or-treaters.
But two other neighbors, who did not want to be named, said they were frequently disturbed to hear Bruner cursing angrily at his son, giving him orders and criticizing him for not performing chores correctly. Bruner ran a computer repair business from his home, although neighbors said he did not appear to be working full time.
All of the neighbors described Watts as polite and seemingly gentle; some said he appeared withdrawn and subdued.
Others who might know about the case were not available for comment Saturday: Police referred questions to a prosecutor who could not be reached. A housemate who lived with Bruner, and a sister of Bruner's who lives in San Jose, could not be located.
Leoni Watts, 51, spoke openly about her own troubled life, saying she has struggled with drug addiction and has two other children by different fathers. While she said she tried to play a role in her son's life, by calling him and having him visit her small Sunnyvale apartment, she acknowledged that she gave Bruner custody of the boy years ago when she was using drugs.
She said she agreed to let the boy live with his father even after she quit using drugs and completed a rehabilitation program because she was convinced Bruner was a good parent.
``I sound like such an out-of-touch mom, I know. But I didn't see that other side of John,'' Watts said. She added that her son had told her about going to concerts and on fishing trips with Bruner.
``He acted like he adored his father,'' Watts said, adding that the teenager often bragged that his father knew all about computers and cars.
`My dad's real sick'
But over the last year, she said, some things changed. Her son began telling her that Bruner didn't want him staying overnight at her apartment, and Bruner insisted that the boy wait for him outside on the corner whenever the father came to pick up his son. She also said: ``Ryan would tell me, `My dad's real sick, and he's not happy.' ''
Bruner weighed over 500 pounds, according to Leoni Watts and his neighbors. He was less able to get around and suffered from painful joints and other problems. One neighbor said he relentlessly ordered his son to do whatever he couldn't do for himself.
``Everybody feels for the kid. I think he really did have a fear of his father,'' said another neighbor.
Yet to Parson, Bruner was a good father who enjoyed sharing knowledge with his son. They worked together on restoring an old Mustang that sits in their driveway. She said Bruner talked to her about losing weight and improving his health so he would be there for his son as he grew older.
``It breaks my heart for John, the idea of his son killing him,'' Parson said. ``It breaks my heart for Ryan, whatever was going on in his head.''
The boy's mother said she, too, is heartbroken. She said there is no justification for killing Bruner, and she wants her son to understand that what he did can't be minimized. But she also said she told him during a visit Saturday that she wants to help him learn to live with what he did.
``He's very bright, but he didn't know that he had choices,'' she told a reporter. ``I can't convey to you the guilt I feel.''
. my mom was rather helpless to do anything about it even though it killed her to see it going on. i would hear them get into screaming matches after the fact, which is all she was really capable of doing.