The shooting happened in a Perry County home on the boy’s 11th birthday.
NEW BLOOMFIELD, PA — An 11-year-old boy accused of fatally shooting his father in their central Pennsylvania home after an argument over a Nintendo Switch appeared at a courthouse Thursday, where he waived a preliminary hearing while facing a criminal homicide case in adult court.
The case has drawn attention because of the child’s age and the decision to charge him as an adult in the death of 42-year-old Douglas Dietz. Investigators say the boy found a key, opened a gun safe while searching for the game system, and used a revolver to shoot his father as he slept. The hearing marks the latest step in a case that will move through Pennsylvania’s court system, with attorneys expected to fight over whether it belongs in adult or juvenile court.
The boy, Clayton Dietz, arrived at the Perry County Courthouse in New Bloomfield around midday Thursday, handcuffed and surrounded by probation officers, according to people who saw him enter the building. His case was listed for a 1:30 p.m. preliminary hearing, which he waived, a move that typically sends the matter forward without testimony at that stage. After the proceeding, his attorney said he planned to seek a return of the case to juvenile court, describing that as the goal as the prosecution continues.
Authorities say the shooting happened early Jan. 13 at the family’s home in Duncannon Borough. Police were called shortly after 3 a.m. to a residence on the first block of South Market Street for a report of an unresponsive man. Inside a bedroom, they found Douglas Dietz lying on his back in bed with an apparent gunshot wound to the head. Investigators say the boy told troopers he fired the gun and that he had been angry and did not think through what would happen.
According to court records, the night began with a family birthday moment just after midnight. The boy’s mother, Jillian Dietz, told investigators she went to bed shortly after she and her husband sang “happy birthday” to the child. She said Douglas Dietz came to bed a short time later. Sometime after that, she was awakened by a loud noise and tried to rouse her husband. When he did not respond, she turned on a light and saw blood, then heard what sounded like dripping. In the chaos, she shouted that the father was dead, and the boy ran downstairs yelling that his dad was dead, records say.
Investigators say the dispute centered on a Nintendo Switch that had been taken from the child. Court documents say the boy told authorities he was searching for the device and believed it might be inside a gun safe. He said he found the keys to the safe while looking for the console and unlocked it. Instead of the game system, police say, he found a revolver and took it from the safe. Records say he loaded the weapon, pulled back the hammer, and fired once, striking his father while he slept.
Troopers wrote that the boy made statements that amounted to a confession both in front of his mother and during law enforcement interviews. While investigators spoke with the boy and his mother in the kitchen, a trooper reported hearing the child say, “I killed Daddy.” Jillian Dietz told authorities her son later said, “I killed my dad. I hate myself.” Police also documented injuries on the child’s face, including a large bruise above his left eye and a small cut on his lower lip, though records made public did not explain how he got them.
Prosecutors charged the child with criminal homicide, and court paperwork lists the case in adult court despite his age. He was taken into custody and denied bail, and officials have not publicly detailed where he is being housed beyond saying he remains in custody. The adult filing sets up a legal fight that is common in rare cases involving very young defendants: whether the prosecution should stay in adult court or be moved to juvenile court, where the focus and possible outcomes differ and proceedings are often less public.
Duncannon is a small river town north of Harrisburg, and residents have described the case as jarring for a close-knit area where many people know one another. School communities and local agencies have offered counseling supports in the weeks since the shooting, and neighbors have struggled to reconcile the allegations with the image of a family they recognized. In court, the child’s small stature and the sight of him in handcuffs underscored the unusual nature of the case, even as lawyers and judges handled it through routine criminal procedure.
The investigation is expected to continue as prosecutors prepare evidence for later hearings and possible trial proceedings. Key questions that remain include the full timeline inside the home before the gunshot, how the child located the key to the safe, and what records may show about firearm storage and access. It also remains unclear what additional witnesses, if any, will be called beyond law enforcement and family members, and whether defense attorneys will challenge parts of the affidavit describing the child’s statements.
As of Thursday, the case was moving forward after the waived preliminary hearing in Perry County, with the defense signaling an effort to shift the prosecution into juvenile court. The next court dates were not announced in open court in the hearing’s brief public window, but filings are expected to set the schedule for future proceedings in the coming weeks.
Author note: Last updated February 19, 2026.