A high profile case of parental and child rights came suddenly to an end in Massachusetts when a man agreed to let his teenage son divorce him.

Patrick Holland, 14, says he's wanted nothing to do with his father, Daniel, ever since the man was convicted of killing his mother in October 1998.

"If he wanted to have a relationship with me, he should have thought of that before he killed her," Patrick said in a recent report.

Recently, Daniel Holland had started seeking access to his son's report cards and counselling records. That led Patrick to launch the divorce action in court with a hearing that was supposed to begin this week. Instead, Daniel Holland, agreed to a settlement, waiving any right to be part of his teenage son's life.

Patrick was just eight when he found the body of his mother -- shot and bludgeoned to death in their home in Quincy, Mass., just south of Boston. Liz Holland, a 32-year-old nurse, was in the middle of an ugly divorce from her husband. There was also a history of domestic abuse and a court had granted her a protection order.

Daniel Holland was arrested, tried, and sent to jail for life with no chance of parole.

Ever since, Patrick has been raised in New Hampshire by his mother's best friends. He's worked hard via the Internet to keep her memory alive -- and her struggle against abuse. The goal of the "Liz Holland Memorial Page" is to remind others that domestic violence is a pressing social problem that often goes unreported.

"Liz's death was the classic case of people turning the other way, turning a deaf ear, thinking, 'This is not my problem,' " Ron Lazisky, Patrick's foster father, told ABC News. "People heard the beating, the screams and the gunshots and no one called police."