Wisconsin murder case: 15-year-old says Menendez Brothers’ Netflix documentary inspired crime
Reed Gelinskey, 15, will be tried as an adult for the alleged March 4 murder of his mother Suzanne Gelinskey at their Caledonia, Wisc., home, according to a criminal complaint.
A 15-year-old teenager, identified as Reed Gelinskey, accused of murdering his mother in Wisconsin by stabbing, claimed that his action was influenced by the Menéndez brothers, after watching the Netflix documentary about the murders. The latter were sentenced for the killing of their parents in 1989 at their Beverly Hills residence.
On Thursday, the Racine County District Attorney's Office charged the teen with first-degree intentional homicide, according to Wisconsin state court documents. According to a criminal complaint, officers arrived at the home in Caledonia around 10:30 p.m. on Tuesday, where they saw Gelinskey drop a knife before admitting to the murder of his mother.
Gelinskey was inspired by the Menendez brothers' Netflix documentary
According to the complaint, Reed Gelinskey confessed to having searched his house for a hammer with the intention of murdering his father when he came home from work. However, when he could not find one big enough, he abandoned the idea. Instead, he waited until after dinner, when his mother was on the couch using her computer, and he started watching a movie.
The young man started playing a Netflix documentary about Lyle and Erik Menendez. As he watched, he devised a plan to murder his father, inspired by a “shotgun scene” that recreated the crime of José and Mary Louise “Kitty” Menendez, according to court records.
Furthermore, before the alleged homicide, Gelinskey reported that he had taken his brother's anxiety medications for approximately a month, as they gave him a feeling of intoxication that he enjoyed. That same night, he swallowed nine pills, according to the complaint.
Gelinskey's “pain” and mental state
Before expiring, the teenager's mother managed to ask him: “Why?” To which he replied: “Pain.” After the attack, the young man contacted a friend via Snapchat and asked her to call the police, according to the court document. He sat on the ground until he heard the sirens, and when they stopped, he went outside to meet the officers.
“She's dead,” Gelinskey told officers, according to the complaint. “She's dead because of what I did.” The police arrested him, although before being detained, the young man asked the agents to kill him. During the interrogation with detectives, the teenager reported that, upon returning from school, he felt depressed and had the desire to murder his parents.
On Thursday, the young man appeared in court, where his bail was set at $1 million, according to court records. A preliminary hearing has been set for March 12. Reed Gelinskey is currently represented by an attorney from the Wisconsin State Public Defender's Office.