Murder, Mafia-Style

Life imitates art in a bizarre murder involving two brothers in
Riverside, California. Jason Bautista, 20, and his 15-year-old half
brother (name undisclosed because of age (CK)) confessed to strangling
their mother, Jane Bautista, then chopping off her hands and head. The
brothers mimicked an episode of "The Sopranos," hoping to elude
authorities. The two were arrested on January 24. Many are now asking why
this murder happened, and if "The Sopranos" should be blamed for the
crime.

"['The Sopranos'] might have acted like a road map, but it is not
the cause," says Harvey Schlossberg, Ph.D., a forensic psychologist based
in New York. "To avoid guilt, they [may] say that the TV talked them into
it." Schlossberg is certain that even if the brothers did not watch "the
Sopranos"; they would have still killed their mother.

The focus on TV violence should not be confused with the violence
of the act itself. In the case of the Bautista brothers, a preliminary
autopsy found that Jane Bautista was strangled. "Strangling indicates
intense anger," says Schlossberg. "It's a very direct personal act. You
put your hands on and you have to watch the person die." Money may have
also been a motive. "My guess is it has to do with money in some way,"
says Schlossberg. "That they acted in concert says there was a plot with
money involved."