Is it a tragic accident or just plain murder?

I have been venting some feelings I have concerning the tragic events in the life of a friend and her family.  Her eighteen year old son had suffered a brain injury after being choked by a man whose car he and his friend had broken into early one morning.  The lack of oxygen had left him in a vegetative state and his health had been slowly deteriorating after he contracted an infection.  It is with a sad and heavy heart that I must report his passing; he has gone home to be with the Lord.  Amid the grief and sadness, there is still some joy, although things will never be the same for his parents and the brothers he leaves behind, there is great joy in the end of his suffering and his new life with his Father in Heaven!

So what happens now?  Now that the boy is dead, is a new chapter in this nightmare about to unfold?  Should the man responsible now be charged with murder or because he started out as the victim in this scenario is he to receive absolution?  We can all agree that had the boys not ventured off the straight and narrow path, none of this would have happened, but does that make him any less guilty in the boy’s death? 

I can understand how things might be justified, if say, the boys had broken into this man’s home instead of his car and then under the law he would have the right to defend his home by any means. If one has the right to defend oneself by any means, should that include hunting someone down and punishing them by your own hand?  What really took place we will never fully know; only one side of the story will ever be heard now that the boy is dead. How can we be sure that the boy was not just trying to defend himself?  This man changed in an instant from victim to aggressor when he chased after the boys, knocking one out and then proceeding to choke the other until he was unconscious and near death, I think that is a bit extreme! That doesn’t sound like defense to me; it seems more like aggressive revenge! 

If he had called the police first and was just simply trying to detain them, why continue choking the one boy?  Wouldn’t it have been enough to keep an eye on the boy knocked down while waiting for the police and let them sort it out, knowing they had at least one suspect apprehended and he would lead them to the other?  Even if the man was trying to defend himself against the boy’s attack, he should have stopped choking him once the boy stopped struggling; this whole scene seems like overkill! 

The question now is, is this man guilty of murder or was this just a horrible accident? Should charges of some kind be brought against him, perhaps something like negligent homicide or involuntary manslaughter? I personally believe that he should be held accountable and take responsibility for his actions. I think he should be charged with something and that he should stand trial, a jury or at the very least a judge should decide if he was within his legal rights and not just some out of control psycho!