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You got that right. I've noticed the same thing myself. Some kids are a handful and you do your best with them. Their peer group has a lot of influence on them once they are into middle school. As others have said, I believe parents are a strong influence on their children, but ultimately the child makes decisions for themselves. Plenty of good parents never knew half of what their kids did growing up. If the boy was adopted recently, it does change a lot of the possibilities.

The whole thing is so bizarre. At 15 years old, the kid was in that phase where they will do bizarre things. They are not thinking of consequences. It's also a time when mental illness can develop. His intentions we may never know. I wonder if he did not recognize the man confronting him in the dark was his father. If no words were spoken? I am praying for the family. The poor dad will probably ask himself a million "what if" questions for the rest of his life and the aunt too. If the toxicology comes back with something, that would explain it somewhat at least. I wonder if the tox screen is conclusive, though? I was just reading this week that synthetic drugs are finding increasing popularity among teens now because they are changed so often they do not show up on tests. Unfortunately, they are also more difficult to predict behavior effects or lethal doses.