16-Year-Old Girl And Boyfriend Make Video Bragging About Murdering Her Dad And Setting Him On Fire
The disturbing case has a familiar motive.
YouTube A teenage girl and her boyfriend who were charged with killing her father recorded themselves joking about the murder in a disturbing video.
Aaron Guerrero, 18, and Sierra Halseth, 16, are charged with the murder of Halseth's father, Daniel, whose body was discovered by authorities in Las Vegas on April 9.
The video will be used as evidence against the couple as they stand accused of violently murdering and dismembering the elder Halseth.
In the video, Guerro is seen saying, “Welcome back to our YouTube channel... Day 3 after murdering somebody.”
Halseth then brags how they “had sex a lot today,” to which her boyfriend replies that it was “payment for doing it.”
Aaron Guerrero and Sierra Halseth are charged with murdering Daniel Halseth.
The apparent admission was recorded just days after Daniel Halseth’s body was found stabbed to death and burned in a house fire.
In the days before the killing, the younger Halseth and Guerrero were caught on surveillance video buying a circular saw, bleach, lighter fluid, and disposable gloves.
The teenagers allegedly fled the scene in the father’s blue Nissan Altima before being caught in Salt Lake City less than a week later.
A blood-soaked rug was also found in the trunk of the getaway vehicle, reports say.
Halseth will be charged as an adult for the crime but will not face the death penalty, due to her age. Because Guerrero is 18, there is a possibility that he will receive the death penalty.
According to reports, the couple murdered Halseth’s father after being told they could no longer see each other.
Why do teenagers kill their parents?
The disturbing motive has cropped up in several high-profile cases of teenage couples murdering their parents.
The 2006 Richardson family murders saw a 12-year-old and her 23-year-old boyfriend murder three members of her family.
In 2011, Cynthia Alvarez and her boyfriend Giovanni Gallardo killed her parents in a revenge plot after being told to break up. Part of the reason Gypsy Rose Blanchard planned the murder of her mother in 2015 was to continue a forbidden relationship with her boyfriend Nicholas Godejohn.
We spoke to Dr. Tarra Bates-Duford, a psychologist with expertise in familial relationships, family trauma, and dysfunctions, to explain some of the psychology being these crimes.
“Teens that are forbidden from seeing a boyfriend/girlfriend by a parent(s) will perceive this action as a direct act to deny or interfere with the teen’s personal happiness,” Bates-Duford tells us.
She says that teens who kill their parents may report having emotionally unavailable parents. This often causes teens to seek out dysfunctional partners that encourage them to break rules.
“Parents that try to maintain and restore structure to the teen’s life are often seen as the enemy, an obstacle to the teen’s freedom and happiness. Seeing a parent as an obstacle will inadvertently lead a teen toward a downward spiral to remove that obstacle.”
Cases of children murdering their parents, or parricide, are incredibly rare, hence why some of the motives might be highly sensationalized by the media.
That said, of the data available, there are some patterns.
Sons account for almost 93 percent of all parricide cases. Of female perpetrators, most murdered their mothers, making Halseth’s case frighteningly rare.
Violent media may contribute to parricide.
Bates-Duford says that the media teenagers consume may partially explain why teenagers become so desensitized to their parent’s right to life.
“It may come as no surprise, but television, gaming and other media have become increasingly violent over time,” she says. “Being bombarded with violent messages and visuals can lead to teens becoming desensitized.”
Tropes about star-crossed lovers that are so often pushed on teens may also romanticize the idea of forbidden love.
“Many of the movies depict teen lovers as heroes fighting for the right to love whomever they want by any means necessary,” Bates-Duford says. “This message carries with it a lot of interpretations, especially for young people that have not fully formed or utilized consequential thinking nor understand the long-term effects of impulsive actions.”
Alice Kelly is a writer living in Brooklyn, New York. Catch her covering all things social justice, news, and entertainment. Keep up with her Twitter for more.