Empty Eyes

For reference, all of my material for this piece of writing has been derived from a video by the Youtube channel That Chapter by the same name as the subtitle of the piece. He's one of the best True Crime channels on the platform and I highly recommend you check him out here.

This was an incredibly gruesome crime, a family slaying of no less than six people including two children, motivated by resentment over a request for the daughter of the family to pay rent for the trailer she was living in with her boyfriend on the property. This woman and her boyfriend, whom I don't wish to name (for more details you should check out the video I linked), planned for two weeks this slaying on christmas eve - when the whole family would be gathered - and that is just one among the many bizarre details about this crime. The thing, however, that has always struck me about this case is the haunting piece of testimony featured in the video I mentioned from the boyfriend who participated in the murders. It seems that he was not entirely well and the defense argued that he was manipulated into participating in the crimes, however it is clear as day in the footage that what he did has scarred him for life. During his testiomy, he recounts the details of the crime, mentioning how he had to put a paper bag over the face of one of the victims so that he wouldn't be able to 'see the emptiness where she should be' (check 13:45-14:25 in the video), something he has a lot of trouble even articulating and after which he has something of an episode, a little breakdown where the trauma he has suffered psychologically during his involvement in this absolutely horrific crime is incredibly clear to see on the screen. Now, the woman in question claimed that her brother Scott, one of the victims of the crime, owed her $40,000 and refused to pay her back, which was a wound which was only exacerbated in her depraved mind when her parents asked her to begin paying rent for the trailer they were living in on the parents land after TWO YEARS (how dare they, amirite?).

In the footage shown in other segments of the video, also of his testimony during his trial, he can be visibly seen to tick constantly and is even, at one point, accused by the defense attorney of faking the tick in order to support his defense of not guilty by reason of insanity. He defends himself fairly well I think, and comes across as authentic. For my part, I think he probably was tricked and manipulated into the crime, and there is a psychologist who testifies that he was a victim of folie a duex (madness of two). One of the most baffling elements of the crime is the sense of disproportionality between the perceived slights on the part of the offenders and the absolute magnitude of their reaction - I mean, six people dead, including two children? It's just beyond imagining. Both of these individuals received life sentences, but the question of whether this will ever be enough remains unasked yet everpresent.

I hope you enjoyed this piece, True Crime is actually a huge passion of mine - I find abnormal psychology really interest - and I will often listen to various true crime channels on youtube when I have a bit of time spare or when I'm heading off to sleep (something my partner thinks probably isn't good for me, but I've never noticed any issues XD). I really love learning about these crazy stories and the unbelievably fucked up things people will do in trying to get away with them, I don't know what it is about them but it just transfixes my attention and enchants my imagination. If you guys enjoy this piece, drop a heart below and share it with your friends, or the video above (which is a more complete exposition of the crime by a brilliant creator on youtube); if this piece gets enough likes I will publish another piece detailing my favourite true crime sources (youtubers and podcasts) because I have a great many favourites and a lot of them are underappreciated on the whole (not That Chapter though, he's got like 1.5 million subs and counting - maybe you're one of the next ones!).

Have a great day, and thanks for your time :)