2 Boys Die, Mimicking Saddam Hanging

(CBS/AP)  Police and family members said a 10-year-old boy who died by hanging himself from a bunk bed was apparently mimicking the execution of former Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein.

Sergio Pelico was found dead Sunday in his apartment bedroom in the Houston-area city of Webster, said Webster police Lt. Tom Claunch. Pelico's mother told police he had previously watched a news report on Saddam's death.

"It appears to be accidental," Claunch said. "Our gut reaction is that he was experimenting."

An autopsy of the fifth-grader's body was pending.

Julio Gustavo, Sergio's uncle, said the boy was a happy and curious child.

He said Sergio had watched TV news with another uncle on Saturday and asked the uncle about Saddam's death.

"His uncle told him it was because Saddam was real bad," Gustavo said. "He (Sergio) said, 'OK.' And that was it."

Sergio's mother, Sara Pelico DeLeon, was at work Sunday while Sergio and other children were under the care of an uncle, Gustavo said. One of the children found Sergio's body in his bedroom.

Police said the boy had tied a slipknot around his neck while on a bunk bed. Police investigators learned that Sergio had been upset about not getting a Christmas gift from his father, but they don't believe the boy intentionally killed himself.

A 9-year-old Pakistani boy also apparently hanged himself re-enacting Hussein's execution with the help of elder sister by tying a rope to a ceiling fan and his neck in his home, Agence France-Presse reported.

The boy's father said his children attempted to imitate the hanging while other family members thought they were playing in another room.

Clinical psychologist Edward Bischof, of California, said children Sergio's age mimic risky behaviors they see on TV — such as wrestling or extreme sports — without realizing the dangers. He said TV appeared to be the stimulant in Sergio's case.

"I would think maybe this kid is trying something that he thinks fun to act out without having the emotional and psychological maturity to think the thing through before he acts on it," Bischof said.

Family members held a memorial for the boy Wednesday in the apartment complex activity center. Gustavo said the family is trying to put together enough money to send Sergio's body to Guatemala for burial.

"I don't think he thought it was real," Gustavo said of Saddam's hanging. "They showed them putting the noose around his neck and everything. Why show that on TV?"

[shoopdawhoop]

"The problem with America is stupidity. I'm not saying there should be a capital punishment for stupidity, but why don't we just take the safety labels off of everything and let the problem solve itself?"

a nice quote that i thought of when seeing this.

[fie#]

Chica3597 - I have to agree with you that from the parents' point-of-view, they who have lost a child, it would in hindsight have been better not to have let the boy catch a glimpse of this ugly hanging. But when it is time to assign responsiblity, don't just shrug your shoulders and say "Tough luck." Unless you think that the FCC should not license and regulate television. It does, and the licenses are highly coveted. The stations which have them got their licenses by high level lobbying. They don't want to lose their precious licenses. But if they showed Janet Jackson's boob after being fined the first time, they'd lose. If they showed lapdancers during school children's tv hours, they'd be in trouble. Saddam's death served the State. That was okay.

[chica3597]

I am so troubled by this news story - on many levels. I have a 10 year old son, and I hope and pray he isn't that interested that he would try that. But kids today don't seem to be told right from wrong. It's so easy to blame the news stations for showing it - but in Philadelphia, I know that they warn you of extreme violence or content not suitable for certain ages - that's when it becomes the parents' responsibility to sheild their children. Regardless, this is a tragedy and I hope people can extend their prayers to this family. We're in a world covered with violence, brokenness, sadness, war, etc. We can either continue to teach our children that this is how it is - or we teach them happiness and finding solutions, not placing blame.

[fie#]

Notice how the psychologist absolves the tv station for the death. The FCC regulates time, place and manner of broadcast. It licenses stations to broadcast appropriate content at particular times of day. When Janet Jackson had a "wardrobe malfunction" the network was fined.

Now in this case, if there was a violation, it could be a lawsuit in which a plaintiff's attorney sues in a "tort" action against a corporation. You can see why a shill like the psychologist would want to forget that a "happy curious child" would have a bad moment or mood, and act irrationally. A real psychologist might say "Your dad didn't give you a Christmas present, that's gotta hurt." "You take your victim as you find him" means that if you commit negligence (the station airing Saddam's death when children are likely to be around, in violation of regs) that you could be sued for the resulting death. I personally think Bush should be a co-defendant here.

[fie#]

Notice how the psychologist absolves the tv station for the death. The FCC regulates time, place and manner of broadcast. It licenses stations to broadcast appropriate content at particular times of day. When Janet Jackson had a "wardrobe malfunction" the network was fined.

Now in this case, if there was a violation, it could be a lawsuit in which a plaintiff's attorney sues in a "tort" action against a corporation. You can see why a shill like the psychologist would want to forget that a "happy curious child" would have a bad moment or mood, and act irrationally. A real psychologist might say "Your dad didn't give you a Christmas present, that's gotta hurt." "You take your victim as you find him" means that if you commit negligence (the station airing Saddam's death when children are likely to be around, in violation of regs) that you could be sued for the resulting death. I personally think Bush should be a co-defendant here.

[fie#]

Notice how the psychologist absolves the tv station for the death. The FCC regulates time, place and manner of broadcast. It licenses stations to broadcast appropriate content at particular times of day. When Janet Jackson had a "wardrobe malfunction" the network was fined.

Now in this case, if there was a violation, it could be a lawsuit in which a plaintiff's attorney sues in a "tort" action against a corporation. You can see why a shill like the psychologist would want to forget that a "happy curious child" would have a bad moment or mood, and act irrationally. A real psychologist might say "Your dad didn't give you a Christmas present, that's gotta hurt." "You take your victim as you find him" means that if you commit negligence (the station airing Saddam's death when children are likely to be around, in violation of regs) that you could be sued for the resulting death. I personally think Bush should be a co-defendant here.

[sheek_looch]

No, I don't feel they've become de-sensitized but, I feel like incidents like these have always taken place. It's always been an issue. These children are at an age where they should have an understanding about death and putting things around their necks. I'm a parent too so the last thing that I want to do is point the fingers at other parents or have other parents point their fingers at me if something happened to my children. I just feel there was something a lot deeper. Deeper than the media. What it is, I'm unsure of. Unfortunately, it was left untold.

[bklynpatty]

Kids watch violent movies and play violent video games. Have they become de-sensitized?

[sheek_looch]

My heart goes out to the families of these children. My only question is why are these children this old doing stuff like this??? A 9 year old boy is helped by his older sister to hang himself. Are you serious. I don't feel that it so much to do with them mimicking saddam as it does the fact that this has been happening since the beginning of time. Its always been happening. Yeah, the one child talked to his uncle about what he'd seen on tv and was given an answer that couldn't have been put any simplier. The man on tv was hung because he was a bad man. If that child did not have plans of going out the same way, why would he do the same thing. I'm sure these same children seen something on cartoons where it is made to look more exciting and can be misinterpreted. It's just sad that the world will never know why these incidents took place. All that we can do is speculate.

[happydud1]

Has anyone considered this? (Forgive me, I haven't read all 14 pages of comments)

1) The parent gave the justification that Saddam was bad.
2) The child did not receive a Christmas gift from his father.
3) Children are told that if they are bad, they will not receive Christmas presents from Santa.

Therefore, in a child's state of mind, the child was somehow "bad," and since bad men are clearly hung, as he was told...


Just the first thing I thought about.