Games blamed in British nurse's murder

News - Manunt mooted in Harling murder

The mother of an 18 year-old man convicted of stabbing to death nurse Cheryl Moss has blamed the influence of violent videogames upon her son - according to an interview published in The News of World.

"I knew he was playing the videogames but we didn't really know what went on in them, how brutal and graphic they were," Lorraine Harling told the tabloid newspaper. "Stuart was 11 or 12 when I bought him the PlayStation. For a long time I didn't even realise games had age limits on them. We'd just buy him the game that all the other kids had. I didn't really know what they were about. I think most parents are the same."

Stuart Harling received a life sentence for stabbing nurse Moss 72 times - the newspaper affirming that he carried out the killing having practiced on his bedroom PlayStation. "Every night he would retreat into his darkened bedroom at home in Rainham, Essex, and enter a grisly virtual world that revelled in sadism, ritual blood-letting and death. Just like millions of other youngsters," the article affirms.

Manhunt is mentioned by name in the piece, alongside a grisly list of the weapons included in the 18-rated title. Mrs Harling uses the article to call for a ban on violent games, if they can trigger such violent episodes as Stuart Harling's unprovoked attack.

More soon.