12-Year-Old Convicted for Murder of Neo-Nazi Dad

A California judge today found a 12-year-old boy guilty of second-degree murder in the killing of his father, who was a leader in the neo-Nazi movement. The boy, who isn't being named due to his age, shot his father, 32-year-old Jeff Hall, in the head when he was 10. He'll be sentenced on Feb. 15, and faces up to 11 years in juvenile detention, the Press-Enterprise reports. He was tried as a juvenile.

Prosecutors argued that the killing was cold and premeditated—the boy's sister testified that he told her he intended to kill Hall days before he did so. The defense initially entered a not guilty by reason of insanity plea, but later withdrew it, arguing that the boy had been abused, and raised in a violent home where killing was deemed acceptable. Both sides agreed his father's National Socialist Movement ties weren't a motivating factor. Instead, the boy said he was mad at Hall for spanking and kicking him, and worried he'd leave the family for another woman, separating him from his stepmother. (More Jeff Hall stories.)