excellent post from 3rdof5! allow me to go a step further:
i watch a LOT of court-tv and ended up seeing quite a bit of evidence, photos, etc. mostly everytime they showed a pic of ethan, the poor kid looked like he needed a hot shower with plenty of soap. i'm not trying to be mean, i know teenage boys are not the neatest animal of the world, but somewhere along the way, it's the parents job to guide the boy into routine hygiene. my point is: people with mental issues let personal care go, among other factors. you can tell by the kid's appearance the parents were lacking in those duties, and leads me to believe they were seriously negligent in other areas as well. this may explain why instead of dealing with their son, they bought him a gun. why? what positive acts did they think would be accomplished? did mom think they could bond over a shooting gallery? idk--thoughts??