Mum bought weapons for bullied son

A WOMAN has been found guilty of buying an arsenal for her bullied 14-year-old son, who was planning a Columbine-style massacre at a school.

Michele Cossey, 46, of Plymouth, Pennsylvania, admitted she helped her troubled son Dillon build a cache of weapons by buying a rifle and gunpowder but investigators still do not know whether she was aware her son was planning a deadly school attack.

Dillon, who left school at 12 after being bullied over his weight, planned to use them in a massacre in Plymouth Township, Pennsylvania.
He was caught when a schoolfriend he wanted to help with the attack told the police.

Dillon was sentenced to seven years in a juvenile detention centre earlier this year after pleading guilty to planning the attack, The Sun reported.

Michele Cossey pleaded guilty in Montgomery County Court on Tuesday to one count of child endangerment.

The court was told she bought Dillon an assault rifle fitted with a sniper’s scope, a 9mm handgun, a .22 rifle and gunpowder to make grenades.

Prosecutors said she had created a "me-and-mum-against-the-world" attitude in her only child.

Dillon Cossey had such a passion for the Columbine High School shooters that he decided to attack Plymouth Whitemarsh High School last year, according to the eNews.2.0 news website.
Dillon had been home-schooled since he left public school because of bullying.
His defence lawyer said internet violence woke the boy’s fantasies and he wished for a school attack.

Dillon had also been in touch with a Finnish teenager who carried out a massacre at his school last November, The Sunsaid.

Pekka-Eric Auvinen, 18, shot dead six pupils, a nurse and the head teacher before killing himself.
On Tuesday another Finn, Matti Juhani Saari, 22, massacred ten pupils at his college.

Michelle Cossey will be sentenced once psychiatric reports are completed.

Montgomery County Assistant District Attorney Christopher Parisi said she had tried to boost her son's self-esteem "and in some way help the child, as misplaced as those thoughts may have been".
She could get three to seven years in jail, Mr Parisi said.