| Minn. School Slayings Suspect Was Teased By STEVE KARNOWSKI, Associated Press Writer Tue Jul 5,11:13 PM ET A teen charged with killing two high school students was angry about being teased about his acne and told investigators he had targeted one victim "to hurt him like he hurt me," a prosecutor argued Tuesday. In opening statements at the teen's murder trial, Assistant Attorney General William Klumpp Jr. argued that John J. McLaughlin, then 15, took one of his father's guns to school on Sept. 24, 2003, intending to kill his alleged tormenter. McLaughlin shot Seth Bartell "execution style" from inches away, Klumpp said. "I was just trying to hurt him like he hurt me," McLaughlin told a Bureau of Criminal Apprehension investigator shortly after the shootings, the prosecutor said. Defense attorney Dan Eller questioned whether Bartell's death was a "premeditated and intentional homicide." Eller plans to argue McLaughlin was mentally ill. Klumpp said McLaughlin told the investigator he'd had disputes with Bartell dating to sixth grade — and was angry about kids teasing him about his acne when he decided to act, according to the transcript of the interview. Klumpp said McLaughlin fired three shots, the first hitting Bartell but causing only a minor wound. A second bullet struck senior Aaron Rollins, who was some distance away, in the neck. McLaughlin then followed Bartell to the school gymnasium. "With the muzzle just inches away from Seth Bartell's forehead, he fired the third shot, execution style, into Seth's head," Klumpp said. During the interview with the investigator, McLaughlin expressed surprise when he was told he had shot two people. Asked if he knew he had killed Rollins, McLaughlin replied, "I never even heard of him." An important element of a mental illness defense is whether a defendant knew what he was doing was wrong; the BCA interviewer raised that issue. "OK, do you think you did something wrong today?" the investigator asked. "Yeah," McLaughlin replied. Rollins died later that day; Bartell died in a hospital 16 days later. McLaughlin was charged as an adult with one count of first-degree murder, three counts of second-degree murder, assault and possessing a weapon on school property. He has pleaded not guilty and could face life in prison without chance of parole. During the non-jury trial, Eller plans to argue McLaughlin was suffering from paranoid schizophrenia, and to ask the court to send McLaughlin to a mental hospital instead of a state prison. The courtroom was packed with family and friends of the victims and McLaughlin, who showed little emotion during the proceedings. He wore a red plaid shirt and khaki pants and was not handcuffed. Victims' family members turned their heads away when autopsy pictures were shown. Outside court, Seth Bartell's mother, Kim, said she did not believe her son had teased McLaughlin. "The Seth I knew would never have bullied anyone," she said. Also outside the courthouse, Eller told reporters that McLaughlin's intentions will become clearer when the court sees the full videotape of his interview with investigators. He said the tape will show McLaughlin meant to commit assault, not murder. Also outside the courthouse, Eller told reporters that the full videotape of McLaughlin's interview with investigators will show he meant to commit assault, not murder. http://news.yahoo.com/news? tmpl=story&u=/ap/20050706/ap_on_re_us/school_shootings_trial_2 |