Boy who hanged self may have copied Saddam

Police say Texas child had seen video execution and asked about it

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updated 3:36 p.m. ET Jan. 4, 2007

HOUSTON - A 10-year-old U.S. boy who hanged himself may have been inspired to do it by television coverage of Saddam Hussein’s execution, police said Thursday.

Relatives told police in Webster, Texas, that Sergio Pelico had seen the video of the former Iraqi leader’s hanging and asked about it before the incident Sunday.

“We’re theorizing he tried to experiment or mimic the behavior and it got out of control,” Webster Police Capt. Thomas Claunch said.

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Police said the boy apparently went to his room, attached a piece of clothing to a bunk bed and tied it around his neck. Adults and other children were in the house at the time.

“There was nothing to indicate any criminal wrongdoing,” Claunch said. “It appears to be a tragic accident.”