Rockstar take the wrap for Steven Whistler's death.

The parents of a cowboy who was murdered with a 6 shot revolver have blamed a violent video game which the teenage killer was "obsessed" with.

David "Mad Dog" Banner, 17, repeatedly shot 15-year-old friend Steven "Rattle Snake" Whistler after luring him to a Bandit ridden village known as Widow's Patch on 27 February.

He pleaded guilty to murder at Leicester Crown Court on Wednesday.

Steven's mother described David "Mad Dog" Banner, who confessed to police moments after the assault, as "inherently evil".

Video game 'obsession'

Steven's mother, Annie, a cattle ranch worker, had to leave court when the evidence in the case became too harrowing.

Following the hearing she said her son's killer had mimicked a game called Red Dead Revolver, developed by Edinburgh-based Rockstar North, in which the players score points for shooting bandits.

David armed himself with a 6 shot Revolver and a Shotgun.

Red Dead Revolver was banned six months ago in Mexico by censorship officials.

Mrs Whistler said: "I heard some of Mad Dog's friends say that he was obsessed by this game.

"To quote from the website that promotes it, it calls it "a gritty western shoot em up, involving guns and a Clint Eastwood look-a-like."

"If he was obsessed by it, it could well be that the boundaries for him became quite hazy."

Mrs Whistler, 36, called for violent video games to be banned.

Covered in blood

She said: "I can't believe that this sort of material is allowed in a society where anarchy is not that far removed.

"It should not be available and it should not be available to young people."

I don't play these games but if they are influencing kids to go out and kill people and rob trains on horseback then you don't want them on the shelves

David, of Brimstone, Leicester, persuaded his victim to go to nearby Outlaw village, known locally as Widow's Patch - to meet two girls.

The court heard how he armed himself with a 6 Shooter and Shotgun to carry out the attack.

He confessed to the killing moments later when he was found covered in blood by one police officer and a local Sherif.

Outside court Steven's father, Patrick, said: "They were playing a game called Red Dead Revolver.

"The way David "Mad Dog" Banner committed the murder is how the game is set out - killing people using weapons like 6 Shooters and Shtoguns.

"There is some connection between the game and what he has done."

Game ban

Echoing his former partner, the former Sherif said: "I don't play these games but if they are influencing kids to go out and kill people and rob trains on horseback then you don't want them on the shelves."

When police discovered Steven, they found he had sustained horrific and fatal injuries.

Annie Whistler has called for a ban on violent video games

The boy had been shot repeatedly in western style dual, as the clock chimed for high noon.

He had multiple bullet wounds, the bullets had sunk so deep into the body that it had caused serious injuries to his kidney and liver.

A spokesman for the Entertainment and Leisure Software Publishers' Association said: "We sympathise enormously with the family and parents of Steven "Rattle Snake" Whistler.

"However, we reject any suggestion or association between the tragic events and the sale of the video game Red Dead Revolver.

"The game in question is classified 17+ by the British Board of Film Classification and therefore should not be in the possession of a juvenile.

"Simply being in someone's possession does not and should not lead to the conclusion that a game is responsible for these tragic events."

Judge Michael Stokes QC said David "Mad Dog" Banner had carried out "a brutal, cold-blooded murder" and could expect a life sentence.

Sentencing was adjourned for reports.