Boy accused of killing Nazi dad is mum

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RIVERSIDE, Calif., Jan. 9 (UPI) -- The defense has rested in the trial of a 12-year-old California boy being tried for allegedly killing his neo-Nazi father, without the child testifying.

Matt Hardy, the boy's attorney, said he and the child conferred and agreed the boy shouldn't speak on his own behalf. The boy is accused of shooting and killing his father, Jeff Hall, a neo-Nazi leader, as he slept on the couch in their home.

The Riverside Press-Enterprise said Wednesday Judge Jean P. Leonard will decide the case Monday. There is no jury because the defendant is being tried as a juvenile.

If convicted the boy could be sentenced to live in a juvenile detention facility until he turns 23.

Hardy had initially entered a plea of not guilty by reason of insanity but has since said he will withdraw it in favor of a standard not guilty plea.

The case doesn't hinge expressly on whether the boy shot his father -- he allegedly has confessed -- but whether he planned out the attack. Prosecutors called a psychologist Tuesday who said the child, who was 10 at the time, knew what he intended to do in May 2011 and then did it.

The psychologist said previous incidents of violence in the boy's life were not premeditated, but this one was. She said Hall's life as a neo-Nazi wasn't a contributing factor in the boy's actions.

Leonard said she's willing to consider lesser charges than murder, though the prosecution has yet to signal whether they will pursue that course.