Stepfather sentenced to life after shooting dead son, 16, for playing video games too loudly

A 48-year-old Georgia man who shot dead his teenage stepson because he was being noisy has been jailed for life.

It took the jury less than half an hour to reach a verdict on Eric Brandon, who was accused of killing 16-year-old Alex Koser in February last year.

Brandon fired three shots at the teenager, hitting him twice in the chest and once in the body, after complaining that his video games were too loud.

Alex and a friend had been playing video games at the family's house in Alpharetta on a Sunday afteoon.

District Attoey's spokeswoman Yvette Jones said Brandon killed Alex after asking the teenager, who to be quiet.

Prosecutors said that when the noise continued, and while the teenager was making a snack, Brandon shot him.

The former soldier called 911 and admitted to operators that he had killed his stepson.

According to the Atlanta Joual-Constitution, when he was put in a police car Brandon said he hoped the boy was dead.

Before the shooting, Brandon had no convictions and there had been no reports of fights at the house.

At his sentencing on Thursday, Brandon was jailed for life plus five years for murder, felony murder, aggravated assault and possession of a firearm.

According to reports from 11alive.com at the time of the shooting, when police arrived Brandon, whose wife Patricia was out at the time, surrendered without any struggle. 

Alex's friend said the teenager and his stepfather had been arguing after Mrs Brandon went out to buy groceries.

Brandon, who served in the U.S. Army and spent six months in Egypt's Sinai Desert as a peace keeper, had been working for UPS since leaving the forces.

Troubled: Brandon, a U.S. Army veteran, was reportedly suffering from cancer and poured out his worries on Facebook

On edge: A late night post from 46-year-old Eric Brandon, the day before his stepson was shot dead

Family life: Eric Brandon lived with his wife Patricia and her sons in Georgia

According to posts on the stepfather's Facebook page, seen at the time of the shooting, he appeared to be undergoing chemotherapy for cancer.

On February 9, just days before the February 12 shooting, he posted: 'Dealing with cancer, unruly teens, a homeless teen....and bills out the whazoo! So many nights I never sleep...I just lay there...all I can do...but I just keep trying. I'm a man with a broken heart...and almost no spriit [sic] left.'

And, at 11.22pm on the night before the shooting a post on his Facebook page read: 'Flipping out! Our oldest pulled another stupid move. I'm really losing my patience!!!!'