Boy, 13, charged with killing father

Posted: Thursday, January 21, 2010 6:15 am BARRY ADAMS

BARABOO — After getting in trouble at school and with a “balloon of anger” welling up, a 13-year-old boy killed his father with a gunshot to the back of the head Tuesday night, authorities said.

Seventh-grader Michael Crisafulli admitted shooting his father, Angelo D. Crisafulli, 55, with the man’s pistol as he sat in a recliner at their town of Delton home, according to a criminal complaint filed Wednesday in Sauk County Circuit Court.

“It’s a terrible tragedy,” Chuck Crisafulli, the brother of the victim, said in a brief interview. “His son was everything to him. He was his whole world.”

Michael sobbed throughout his initial court appearance Wednesday, with a cuffed hand clutching a white tissue. He wore jeans, a tan T-shirt and hiking boots. He nodded in agreement when Judge Guy Reynolds asked if he understood the seriousness of the charge, first-degree intentional homicide.

Reynolds set bail at $500,000. Deb O’Rourke and Catherine Ankenbrandt, lawyers appointed to represent the boy, asked for a competency evaluation, which Reynolds granted.

The boy was being held in a juvenile detention facility.

The complaint said Michael told police that Angelo Crisafulli was angry with him upon learning about the trouble at school. Michael told police the disturbance at school led to his expulsion, according to the complaint, but that action could not be verified Wednesday.

Court records show Angelo Crisafulli had a large gun collection, including handguns.

Sauk County District Attorney Pat Barrett said at a news conference Wednesday the shooting took place between 5 and 9 p.m., and the Sauk County Sheriff’s Office said Angelo Crisafulli died Tuesday night.

Case could shift to juvenile court

Under Wisconsin law, anyone 10 or older who is charged with first-degree intentional homicide is automatically charged as an adult. After a preliminary hearing to determine probable cause, a defendant younger than 17 can ask that the case be moved to juvenile court.

It was unclear Wednesday if O’Rourke and Ankenbrandt would seek that change.

Assistant District Attorney Kevin Calkins said it’s “premature” to say whether the county would oppose a transfer request. Michael’s mental health history and age are among the considerations “that have to be explored.”

The grandmother of the boy, Alice Farber of Reedsburg, said the boy is autistic, but she declined to comment further. People with autism fall into a range of functionality — from children who might not even know what a gun is used for to those with above-average intelligence — said Wendy Machalicek, an assistant professor at UW-Madison who studies autism.

Michael is a seventh-grade student at Webb Middle School, said Tom Benson, superintendent for the Reedsburg School District. Benson said he could not comment on disciplinary actions and couldn’t confirm whether Michael was expelled.

The boy and his father lived in a home in a grove of pine and oak trees a few miles west of Highway 12 on Shady Lane Road near Mirror Lake State Park. Neighbors said Crisafulli owned the property for more than 20 years.

Crisafulli and his ex-wife, Kristine A. Crisafulli of Reedsburg, were married in 1983 in Iowa, but she filed for divorce in 2002. They had seven children, and Michael is the youngest.

A restraining order sought against Angelo Crisafulli in 2007 by his ex-wife was dismissed in Sauk County Circuit Court. She could not be reached for comment.

Dad obtained custody in October

Michael Van Huss, who lives across the road from Angelo Crisafulli’s home, said he thought the boy needed extra attention.

He “doesn’t have the capacity to take care of himself,” Van Huss said of Michael. “I thought he had the mentality of a 7- to 9-year-old.”

Court records show Crisafulli obtained primary custody of the boy in October “due to several incidents” in which Michael ran away from his mother’s home. Sauk County Chief Deputy Chip Meister said his office had numerous contacts with the Crisafullis, mostly related to custody issues.

James Miller, who knew Angelo Crisafulli and Michael, said Michael was prone to temper tantrums, but his father was a caring dad.

Details contained in complaint

According to the criminal complaint:

Michael obtained the gun from his father’s gun cabinet after a day in which he had problems at school and his father punished him by having him help fix a vehicle at his uncle’s home. Michael, according to the complaint, said his “balloon of anger” finally broke, and he shot his father. Then Michael put the body in a small wagon and pulled it toward the front door. The body fell out of the wagon, and when the boy couldn’t lift it, he left it lying on the floor.

Michael then took $800 from his father’s wallet and walked with his dog about five miles to the Walmart in Lake Delton.

A company spokeswoman said Angelo Crisafulli worked at the store for about the past 18 months. He also was a substitute school bus driver, Benson said, and a 2003 court document shows he worked 30 years with Capitol UPS before losing his job.

Meister said Wednesday that the boy acted suspiciously in the Walmart, and employees called authorities shortly after 9 p.m. Tuesday. Michael later admitted to a Sauk County Sheriff’s detective he shot his father, according to the complaint.

From: http://host.madison.com/wsj/news/local/crime_and_courts/article_e6a0cf7c-05e1-11df-b8b7-001cc4c002e0.html