Son shoots father
Oct. 15-16, 1957
Los Angeles
We can add the story of Elvin Harry DeWitt Jr. to the list of
youngsters who intervened in their parents' quarrels, answering
violence with violence.
Bethel Lee DeWitt, 52, and Elvin Harry DeWitt Sr., 60, were fighting in their home at 12730 Matteson Ave., Mar Vista. The elder DeWitt, a house moving contractor, came home "in a quarrelsome mood," The Times said. He and his wife began a fight that culminated in him throwing an ashtray through the TV screen.
At that point, Elvin Jr., 15, got his .22-caliber pistol and shot his father twice in the hip.
The Times reported that police were questioning the youth and that his mother filed a battery complaint against his father, who was recovering from surgery to remove the bullets.
According to California death records, Bethel Lee DeWitt died April 5, 1981, at the age of 75. Elvin H. DeWitt died Nov. 5, 1961, at the age of 71. (Another man named Elvin Harry DeWitt, born Dec. 27, 1913, died April 20, 1985).
Previously:
Linda Louise Narez, 8, kills her uncle with a deer rifle to stop a fight. His last words: "Go ahead, shoot me."
Lester Johnson, 15, fatally beats his father with a club.
