Case Studies

Columbine Killings

Name: Eric Harris (18)
            Dylan Klebold (17)
Date: April 20, 1999
Crime: Killed 13 people and wounded more than 20 others in a school before turning their guns on themselves and committing suicide.

• There was speculation that the two committed the killings because they had been bullied, were members of a group of social outcasts that was fascinated by Goth culture, or had been influenced by violent video games and music; however none of these theories were ever proven.

Jamie Bulger

Name: John Veneaballs (10)
           Robert Thompson (10)
Date: February 12, 1993
Crime: Abducted and murdered 2 year old Jamie Bulger, beating him with bricks and iron bars and leaving his body on a railway line. Jamie's body was found 2 days after he went missing.

• Both children were brought up with a lack of love and care. They watched 'Chuckie' the violent film before the murder which is said to be part of the blame for why they did it.

Daniel Bartlam

Name: Daniel Bartlam (14)
Date: April 25, 2011
Crime: Bartlam beat his mother to death with a hammer and burned her body in a "chilling" murder.

• Nottingham Crown Court heard the teenager had been inspired by a plot in 'Coronation Street' in which one of the characters, John Stape, killed a woman with a hammer.

James Holmes

Name: James Holmes
Date: July 20, 2012
Crime: The accused perpetrator of a mass shooting that killed 12 people at a century movie theatre in Aurora, Colorado.

• Many say that Holmes was trying to attempt the image of a character in the 'Batman' film and then committed the crime. However, this has not been proven.

These case studies show how the media can have such a strong effect on the audience and how people can easily copy what they see. This is one of many examples expressing why media should be classified and censored as it can be dangerous to show such media to anyone at any age.