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(Los Angeles) A teen who killed a gay classmate should be convicted of murder because he rode a tidal wave of hatred and sought revenge after the victim disrespected him by simply saying, "What's up baby?," a prosecutor said Thursday. Maeve Fox, a Ventura County deputy district attorney, implored jurors to find Brandon McInerney, 17, guilty of first-degree murder, the severest penalty he faces for the "cold-blooded execution" of 15-year-old Larry King. Using McInerney's own words via an interview with a psychologist, Fox said during closing arguments that the teen became enraged after Larry passed him in the hallway in February 2008 and made the offending comment. McInerney, then 14, made a conscious decision to kill Larry the next day, telling a friend he planned to shoot his classmate, she said. He hid a gun in his backpack and brought it to E.O. Green Junior High School in Oxnard, the prosecutor said. "He intentionally got that gun; he told people what he was going to do," Fox said. "He shot and killed an innocent person." The case has drawn widespread attention because of factors such as violence against gays, a shooting at a junior high school, the ages of both teens and the specter of white supremacy that prosecutors contend motivated McInerney to kill Larry. The trial was moved from Ventura County to neighboring Los Angeles because of pretrial publicity. McInerney has pleaded not guilty to one count each of murder and a hate crime. If convicted, he faces more than 50 years in prison. Jurors also can consider a conviction of voluntary manslaughter, which carries a maximum 21-year term. Defense attorneys do not deny McInerney killed Larry, but they contend their client came from a violent upbringing. They say he snapped when he heard moments before the shooting that Larry wanted to change his first name to Latisha. Fox asked jurors to remember the awkwardness of middle school. She noted the cliques, the bullies and the odd classmates. She said Larry was part of the latter group but he began to transform in the weeks before he was killed. He wore high heels, makeup and colorful scarves. The teen even told some students he was gay. Fox said Larry began standing up for himself and began "to give some of it back" to those who taunted him for the way he dressed or behaved. But McInerney, Fox said, was so offended by Larry, he did what no ordinary person would do: Shoot him twice in the back of the head. "He took it to an entirely unprecedented level - of murder," she said. "The defendant hated Larry King for who he was," Fox said later. She also said numerous Nazi-inspired drawings were found at his house. Fox said jurors should focus on the testimony of fellow students who saw the interaction between the two boys. McInerney's lawyers have said Larry was being sexually aggressive toward other teens, but Fox pointed out many students who took the stand never saw Larry chase other boys. In her arguments that the slaying was premeditated, Fox said one student testified she overheard McInerney say he was going to shoot Larry four days before it occurred. She said McInerney believed most of the school didn't like Larry and killing him would make him a hero. "He thought he was doing everyone a favor," she said. Fox also pointed out McInerney's actions in the hours and minutes leading up to the shooting: Nearly forgetting to grab the .22-caliber handgun from his house, hiding it in his backpack and then contemplating not shooting Larry. She said all of those factors, told to the psychologist, show McInerney did not kill Larry in the heat of passion, which is required for a voluntary manslaughter conviction. "It's stunning in its clarity," she said. "He's completely aware of what he did."