Teen accused of murder confessed “I shot my dad. It was an accident.“

By Nate Morabito | Reporter / WJHL

Published: May 12, 2010
Updated: May 12, 2010

The case of a high school student charged with killing his father is now in the hands of a Greene County Grand Jury. During a preliminary hearing Wednesday, Judge James Nidiffer ruled there was enough evidence in the case of Ethan Self to warrant a charge of first-degree murder.

According to Self’s confession, which was read during the hearing, in the hours, days, and weeks leading up to his dad’s death, his father was verbally and physically abusive. According to Self’s statement to police, the breaking point came after his dad yelled at him for not doing the laundry and failing to wake him up on time. The teen originally planned to use his dad’s gun to scare him and show him “who the bigger man was,“ according to the confession.

“I stood there and was going to wake him up,“ TBI Agent Shannon Morton said as he read the confession aloud. “I had my finger on the trigger and thought the safety was on. Dad was snoring and he got quiet. I thought he was awake and knew I was there. He snored again and startled me. That’s when the gun went off. I was just going to wake him up and say, ‘Do you think it’s cool to beat me and yell at me?‘“

According to Morton, after the gun went off, Self - who previously denied any involvement in the shooting - ransacked the house.

“I panicked because I didnt’ mean for this to happen,“ Morton read from Self’s statement. “I almost got sick. I was trying to think what to do and I decided to try to make it look like a break-in. I tossed a bunch of stuff around.“

Morton also testified Self failed a lie detector test before his ultimate confession. The teen admitted to attaching a brick to the murder weapon to make sure it would sink and to then throwing the gun into a pond, Morton said.

“He made the statement, ‘I have ruined my life, I shot my dad, it was an accident, I didn’t mean to do it,“ Morton said.

Self remains in the Greene County jail.

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An 18-year-old accused of killing his Greeneville police officer father is due in court today. Ethan Self is scheduled for his preliminary hearing today at 1:30 p.m.

The Greene County Sheriff’s Office charged Self with first-degree murder. Investigators said Self admitted to shooting his father, Sgt. Roger Self, while he slept on a couch in their home in March. Investigators have not yet said if they know a motive in the shooting.

From: http://www2.tricities.com/tri/news/local/article/teen_accused_of_killing_father_will_appear_in_court/46063/