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Background

Daniel Bartlam seemed like a normal kid, but when he was 9 years old, his little brother was born, and his parents got divorced.

The change in family structure, along with his growing obsession with fictional violence and gore, began to negatively impact his behavior.

By the time he was 12, his mother, Jacqueline, had a new man in her life. Jealous, angry, and feeling left out, Daniel started to do whatever he could to get attention.

He wrote violent stories and had his mother and her boyfriend read them. He would defecate and hide feces in his bedroom. He would also fight and argue with his mother.

His life became isolated and reclusive as he spent most of his free time in his room watching horror movies and playing violent video games.

People were concerned about his behavior, and in March 2011, he underwent a mental health exam.

He was found to have no mental health issues and was not considered a risk to himself or others.

This turned out to be an incorrect diagnosis.

Crime

Six weeks later, on April 24th, 2011, the 14-year-old beat his 47-year-old mother to death with a claw hammer while she was sleeping. He tried to make the scene look like a burglary, and then he set the house on fire.

He helped his little brother and the family dog escape the home.

When cops arrived, Daniel tried to say an intruder did it, but the evidence told a different story. The claw hammer was found in his bedroom. They found searches on his computer about how to get away with murder. They also found a fictional story he wrote in which the main character killed his mother the same way Jacqueline was killed.

Daniel was soon arrested and charged with murder. Hoping for a manslaughter conviction, he claimed the incident wasn’t planned, and he was provoked by an argument the two had. But a jury didn’t buy it.

He was convicted of murder and sentenced to life in prison. He must serve at least 16 years before he is eligible for parole.