Eric Brandon jailed for life after shooting teenage stepson Alex Koser dead during row over the volume of his computer games

48-year-old, from Georgia in the USA, was jailed after calling 911 and confessing to the crime

Eric Brandon has been jailed for life after shooting his teenage stepson Alex Koser dead during a row over the volume of his computer games (Police handout)

A 48-year-old US man has been jailed for life after he confessed to shooting dead his teenage stepson dead during a row over the volume of his computer games.

A jury in the state of Georgia took just 25 minutes to convict former soldier Eric Brandon on charges of murder, felony murder, aggravated assault and possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony.

The charges relate to the death of Brandon’s 16-year-old stepson Alex Koser, who was murdered at his family home in Alpharetta, a northern suburb of the state capital Atlanta, on Sunday February 12, 2012.

Alex was said to have been playing computer games with a friend when his stepfather burst into the room and told them to be quiet. Shortly afterwards, Alex entered the kitchen to make a snack and his stepfather shot him three times – twice in the chest and once in the body.

Brandon immediately called the emergency services to report the shooting, offered no resistance while being arrested and, according to the Atlanta Journal Constitution, later told officers that he hoped the boy died from his injuries.

In the days leading up to the murder, Brandon had repeatedly taken to Facebook to post updates about stress caused by the cancer treatment he was undergoing, and to complain about the behaviour of his children.

In one post Brandon said: “Dealing with cancer, unruly teens, a homeless teen....and bills out the wazoo! So many nights I never sleep...I just lay there... but I just keep trying. I'm a man with a broken heart...and almost no spriit [sic] left.”

And at 11:22pm on Saturday 11 February 2012 - just hours before Alex’s murder - Brandon posted: “Flipping out! Our oldest pulled another stupid move. I'm really losing my patience!!!!”