"I think there is a part of him that is saying that because he believes it," said Mark. "But a large part of him that's saying it as another attempt to manipulate his mother. Because there are instances before that where he's clearly trying to manipulate and lie to his parents, to varying degrees of success. He's not even very good at it, he's still a 12-year-old and he's sort of clumsy about it. But I think at that point he is trying to get into her good graces and get her sympathy and it doesn't work."

Source: Los Angeles Times May 27, 2019 16:30 UTC