EP. 207: CALIFORNIA - The Incest Family Murder Cult

In today's disturbing episode, we examine the story of mass murderer and child rapist Marcus Wesson, who led a campaign of terror and abuse against his own family members for decades, while at the same time preaching that he was a "vampire jesus". Listener discretion is advised. Listen to our new show, "THE CONSPIRACY FILES"!: -Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/5IY9nWD2MYDzlSYP48nRPl -Apple Podcasts - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-conspiracy-files/id1752719844 -Amazon/Audible - https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/ab1ade99-740c-46ae-8028-b2cf41eabf58/the-conspiracy-files -Pandora - https://www.pandora.com/podcast/the-conspiracy-files/PC:1001089101 -iHeart - https://iheart.com/podcast/186907423/ -PocketCast - https://pca.st/dpdyrcca -CastBox - https://castbox.fm/channel/id6193084?country=us - Stay Connected: Join the Murder in America fam in our free Facebook Community for a behind-the-scenes look, more insights and current events in the true crime world: https://www.facebook.com/groups/4365229996855701 If you want even more Murder in America bonus content, including ad-free episodes, come join us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/murderinamerica Instagram: http://instagram.com/murderinamerica/ Facebook:https://www.facebook.com/people/Murder-in-America-Podcast/100086268848682/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/MurderInAmerica TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@theparanormalfiles and https://www.tiktok.com/@courtneybrowen Feeling spooky? Follow Colin as he travels state to state (and even country to country!) investigating claims of extreme paranormal activity and visiting famous haunted locations on The Paranormal Files Official Channel: https://www.youtube.com/c/TheParanormalFilesOfficialChannel - (c) BLOOD IN THE SINK PRODUCTIONS 2025 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Speaker names marked ? are inferred from speaking time and the show’s known hosts — they are not voice-verified.

• 0:00Colin Brown?

  Warning: The following podcast is not suitable for all audiences. We go into great detail with every case that we cover and do our best to bring viewers even deeper into the stories by utilizing disturbing audio and sound effects.

• 0:11Courtney Brown?

  Trigger warnings from the stories we cover may include violence, rape, murder, and offenses against children.

• 0:18Colin Brown?

  This podcast is not for everyone. You have been warned.

• 0:22Courtney Brown?

  There are certain people in the world that have a hunger for control, a need to oversee every detail in people's lives. And today's story is about just that. In the early 2000s, a man named Marcus Wesson was taking complete control over his family. He controlled their finances, their diets, who they spoke to, where they went, their religious beliefs, and their bodily autonomy. Marcus convinced his family that he was Jesus Christ himself. And whatever he said, they followed. If you were to have taken a peek inside the Wesson home, you'd see coffins scattering the floor. It was overcrowded, cramped, and filthy.

• 1:04Courtney Brown?

  The blinds were always kept closed because they didn't want the outside world to see what they were doing. Not only did Marcus have a number of wives that all lived in the home, but some of those wives were his own daughters, daughters that bore his children. The Wesson home was filled with incest, abuse, and a cult-like reign of terror. But eventually, some members of the Wesson family decided that enough was enough. And they stood up to him. Marcus Wesson was losing control, the very thing he craved more than anything. And in the end, in his final act of control, nine of his family members would be found dead in their Fresno home. So, this is their story.

• 1:49Courtney Brown?

  I'm Courtney Brown.

• 1:50Colin Brown?

  And I'm Colin Brown.

• 1:52Courtney Brown?

  And you're listening to Murder in America.

• 2:59Courtney Brown?

  Marcus Wesson was born on August 22nd, 1946, in Kansas City, Missouri. He was Ben and Carrie Wesson's first child. But after Marcus came Cheryl, Dietrich, and Michael. The family of six moved around a lot. Marcus's father, Ben, had been injured during his time with the US Army in World War II, and he spent most of his pension buying alcohol. He never really had a steady job, and his children described him as a mean alcoholic. He was also known to be inappropriate with his kids. His daughter Cheryl would later say that Ben never molested his children, but he was often a bit too touchy with them. She said, quote, "He was a super mean alcoholic.

• 3:44Courtney Brown?

  He would just hug and kiss all the time. You'd have to kind of run up the stairs or something," end quote. Now Marcus never reported any sexual abuse from his father growing up, but a family acquaintance named Gregory would later say that when he was a teenager, Ben Wesson paid him $50 to perform oral sex on him. On another occasion while Gregory spent the night, he woke up to Ben standing over him, trying to take off his pants. And as you'll later see, the apple must not fall far from the tree.

• 4:18Colin Brown?

  By all accounts, Ben was an absent father. He spent every penny he earned on alcohol. Because of this, their family struggled to make ends meet, and they were often forced to move after getting evicted. Ben would often drunkenly roam around the streets of Kansas City, and the more he drank, the more violent he became. On one occasion, Marcus and his sister Cheryl were sitting at home when all of a sudden Ben came through the door covered in blood and close to death. A stranger had found him in the street with his throat slit and helped bring him home. Apparently, he had gotten into a drunken fight, and someone had slashed his neck open. So, as you can see, their childhood was less than ideal.

• 4:57Courtney Brown?

  Marcus's mother, Carrie Wesson, was a religious woman who worked as a nurse. With an alcoholic husband and four children, she ran a strict home. Carrie was the disciplinarian of the house and used severe beatings to punish her children. She was known to hit them with a belt, extension cord, or a switch. She would also force them to study the Bible multiple times a week, specifically the Book of Revelation. Carrie would sit down with her children, and she would talk about the end times and the second coming of Christ. Now, their denomination was Seventh-day Adventists, and they were devout. Their family never missed church. They read their Bibles weekly, and they prayed every night before bed.

• 5:42Courtney Brown?

  Religion was such a big part of their childhood. Marcus and his siblings would often play preacher. Marcus would stand in front of his siblings and preach for them to turn from evil and turn to God. And these were the happy memories from their childhood. Cheryl admitted that Marcus was a good brother. He would always play with her, and he was very thoughtful. She said, quote, "I'm kind of ashamed to say, but Marcus would make sure I had the doll with the pink dress, because I liked pink," end quote. She also said that he loved animals and would often take care of the strays that they found in their neighborhood.

• 6:20Colin Brown?

  When Marcus was about 10 years old, his family relocated to California. And during his time at Fremont Middle School, he was picked on. Apparently, he was forced to wear a button-up shirt and tie while the rest of his peers wore normal clothes. He also had a bad stutter that made him a target for the school bullies. But over the years, Marcus matured. He overcame his speech impediment and excelled in track and field. It was said that he had a few friends, but mostly kept to himself. When it came time for high school graduation, Marcus never received his diploma. But it's also around this time when something really strange happened. While his family was living in San Jose, some relatives of theirs came to visit.

• 7:02Colin Brown?

  So during their short stay, Marcus's father, Ben, developed a sexual relationship with Marcus's cousin, so his own nephew. And believe it or not, Ben actually left his family and moved into a house with his nephew. Over the next 10 years, Ben had no contact, zero contact, with his wife and kids. And shockingly, Carrie did not divorce him. She just went on with life as if nothing happened.

• 7:29Courtney Brown?

  This was a difficult time for Marcus and his siblings. But it was around this time when Marcus really leaned into his faith. At 19 years old, he was an active member at his church. He sang in the choir and served as a singer in the male quartet. But throughout his religious journey, he really started leaning into the idea of polygamy. He frequently told his childhood friend George that he wanted a big family with a lot of wives and children. But first, he had to establish a career for himself. On June 22, 1966, Marcus enlisted in the US Army. During the Vietnam War, he drove an ambulance around in Europe.

• 8:12Courtney Brown?

  In 1968, at 22 years old, he was honorably discharged and returned to San Jose. And it's here, where he would cross paths with a woman named Rosemary Solario. Now, Rosemary was 13 years older than Marcus, and she was a single mother with eight children. But soon after meeting, Marcus and Rosemary decided to move in together. At the time, Marcus didn't have a job, so he and Rosemary used their welfare money to move into a small house. And soon enough, in 1971, they would bring another child into the picture. Rosemary and Marcus had a son of their own named Adair. But life was not very happy for the family of 11.

• 8:56Courtney Brown?

  Much like his father, Marcus was aggressive with the children. He ruled their home with an iron fist. Rosemary's son Jesse would later claim that Marcus brutally punished them. If they acted out, he would beat them with belts, electrical cords, or anything he could grab his hands on, leaving deep welts all over their bodies. He also controlled what the family ate. For instance, he made everyone follow a strict vegetarian diet, while he ate meat for nearly every meal.

• 9:27Colin Brown?

  Marcus was also very strict about having family Bible studies. At night, he would make all the children sit down for hours reading their Bible, but he always had his own little twists on the stories. But as much as he focused on the Bible, Marcus was not the best role model. The children would later claim that they would all go to the grocery store together, and Marcus would make them keep watch while he stuffed groceries in his clothing. And if they didn't obey, they would be beaten. Rosemary's son Jesse said that after a few years, Marcus's abuse got worse. At one point, he even hit Jesse in the face with a belt, and then chased him down the street when he tried to get away. So, from there, Jesse started spending more time with his biological father.

• 10:09Colin Brown?

  But Jesse wasn't the only one who experienced Marcus's abuse.

• 10:14Courtney Brown?

  Horrifically, he had even been sexually assaulting Rosemary's daughters. One in particular was named Elizabeth, and Marcus started molesting her at just eight years old. The abuse went on for years. By the time Elizabeth was 14, Marcus decided that he wanted to marry her. Now, one would think that Rosemary would be opposed to this. But she wasn't. In fact, she gave them her blessing to get married. So one day, the family all got together in the backyard and they held a fake marriage ceremony for the two. Both Marcus and Elizabeth placed their hands on a Bible and exchanged vows.

• 10:54Courtney Brown?

  And although it wasn't a real wedding, Marcus told her that in the eyes of God, she was now his wife, a fourteen-year-old girl. Marcus promised Elizabeth that once she was of age, they could have a real wedding ceremony. Now, eventually, Elizabeth's brother Jesse found out about the fake wedding, and as you can imagine, he was angry. But when he confronted his stepfather, he was met with yet another beating. Marcus wasn't going to let anyone get in the way of his relationship with Elizabeth, not even law enforcement. Eventually, someone called the police on Marcus about the sexual abuse of Elizabeth, and in 1974, the two decided to run away together. At the time, Elizabeth was fifteen years old,

• 11:39Courtney Brown?

  and Marcus was twenty-seven. And apparently, Elizabeth's mom Rosemary was okay with it.

• 11:46Colin Brown?

  After leaving their family behind to start a new life together, Elizabeth and Marcus settled down in San Jose. And over the next four years, they would have five children together: Dorian, Adrian, Kiani, Sabrina, and Stefan, who ultimately died after birth. Now, Elizabeth did try to complete her high school education, but apparently, Marcus wanted her to drop out. He would accuse her of cheating on him with the boys at her school, and then give her the silent treatment for days. So, after months of this manipulation and abuse, on top of juggling school, raising children, and maintaining a household, Elizabeth felt it was best to drop out. At the time, Marcus was working as a bank teller at a Wells

• 12:27Colin Brown?

  Fargo. His coworkers described him as professional and well-groomed. But he had a hard time taking orders, so eventually he quit, vowing to never work again. And from there, his radical beliefs intensified. In Marcus's view, men were the kings of the house, and if anyone questioned his authority, they were quickly dealt with. One of his neighbors in the late 1970s, Judy Harden, later said,

• 12:52Colin Brown?

  Marcus was a very strict person. Those children never cried. They were like little robots. They were programmed and manipulated, end quote. His friend, George Hudnall, said that it was around this time when Marcus began to refuse to let his wife and kids socialize with anyone. In fact, he even stopped letting them go outside. George said that it was obvious Marcus had gone off the deep end, and he tried to confront him about this strange behavior, but Marcus got angry and told him to mind his own business.

• 13:22Courtney Brown?

  This abuse and manipulation went on for years. By the late 80s, Elizabeth and Marcus had 11 children together, though two passed away. Stefan in 1979, and Donovan in 1981. But much like with Rosemary's children, Marcus was incredibly abusive, even more so since these were his own children. Now Marcus didn't want his kids socializing with the outside world, so they homeschooled. However, the kids were not getting a proper education. In fact, many of their kids didn't even know how to read or write, even in their older years. Marcus seemed more focused on teaching his kids his version of the Word of God. Except,

• 14:07Courtney Brown?

  it wasn't at all what the Bible even preaches. As they read through their scriptures, Marcus told the kids that he was God, and that they were to refer to him as master, and horrifically, he even started sexually abusing his own daughters when they were as young as eight years old. Now, we will get into this more a little later on, but his kids were also forced to have Bible studies three times per day. Marcus told his kids that men were supposed to have many wives. He was planting a seed of what was to come. Now sometime in 1986, Elizabeth's sister came to San Jose to drop off her seven children. Apparently, she had been struggling with substance abuse, and Elizabeth offered to take the men.

• 14:51Courtney Brown?

  Now, keep in mind, Elizabeth already had nine children of her own, and now her seven nieces and nephews were living with them as well. So there were sixteen kids under their roof. And almost immediately, Marcus started sexually abusing his nieces. Two of them were named Ruby and Safina. The girls would later say that Marcus coined a term for the sexual abuse. He called it "loving", and the girls said that the abuse was gradual. It started off with cuddling, then he started touching them outside of their clothing, and then from there, he took it all the way. This next part is a direct quote from Safina, but trigger warning, it is disturbing. Safina said that at just twelve years old,

• 15:35Courtney Brown?

  quote, "He would put my hand on his penis, and he was like, 'Okay, just rub it.' He goes, 'Pinch it, rub it.' And then once I was doing it, he would go, 'Yeah, like that, like that.'" In addition to this, Marcus would force his nieces to perform oral sex on him, and he would force them to have sex with each other while he watched. Safina said that the sexual abuse occurred three times per week, and he always told them that he was preparing the girls for their future husbands. Disturbingly, he would later be their future husband. When Marcus would sexually abuse his own daughters, he convinced them that this is just how fathers express their love.

• 16:19Courtney Brown?

  Marcus's daughter Rosa would later say, quote, "He did it so we would be better women," end quote. And Ruby actually said this later on in her life, which just goes to show how manipulative Marcus was. He started abusing her when she was eight years old. Marcus told Ruby that if she didn't have sex with him, then she would grow up to be a whore, and that whores went to hell. The abuse got so bad, Marcus wouldn't even let his daughters hang out with their brothers. He would keep them separated out of fear that they would start having sex with each other. So as you can see, Marcus had full control over his family. On the rare occasion that they did go out in public, the girls had to wear headscarves and long skirts.

• 17:04Courtney Brown?

  Marcus made them walk behind him. And they were never to talk to anyone. They were also banned from drinking soda, eating sugar, and they couldn't watch TV. As they grew older, the girls weren't allowed to step outside of their house because Marcus feared the neighborhood boys would develop sexual feelings for them.

• 17:23Colin Brown?

  So in addition to physical, emotional, and sexual abuse, he also controlled them using the Bible. When he would teach them about Jesus, he often referred to him as a vampire, since he rose from the grave and his followers drank his blood. But like we mentioned, Marcus thought he was Jesus. Eventually, he even got his children to start calling him by his vampire name, Jevam Mark Suspire, which was just a shortened version of the words Jesus, vampire, and Marcus mashed into one. According to his niece Sophia, Marcus claimed to be the head vampire, and the girls were concubines.

• 18:00Courtney Brown?

  Now, after a few years of abusing the children under his roof, Marcus decided that he was going to marry several of his own daughters and nieces. And Elizabeth, his wife at the time, was okay with it. She had been victimized by Marcus since she was eight years old. So for years, he conditioned her to believe that having multiple wives was okay, even if those wives were his own flesh and blood. So like with Elizabeth, Marcus had several unofficial wedding ceremonies with his daughters and nieces. The girls were forced to place their hands on a Bible with Marcus, and in exchange, he gave them gold

• 18:39Courtney Brown?

  wedding bands and necklaces. Then, following the ceremonies, he would consummate the marriages with the teenage girls. Now by then, he had already been sexually abusing them for years. And since that's all they ever knew, none of them realized just how disturbing their family dynamic was. However, other people in the community began to catch on. With more eyes on their family, Marcus decided that he was going to move somewhere isolated. And he ended up settling down in a remote area of the Santa Cruz Mountains. However, soon after moving there, he realized that it was really expensive, and shortly after,

• 19:19Courtney Brown?

  they were evicted. From there, he and his large family moved around a bit. At one point, they were even living on a 26-foot boat that was anchored off the Santa Cruz Harbor.

• 19:31Colin Brown?

  There were many people around this area that noticed this strange family living on their boat. These residents would later say that Marcus had the habit of dressing up in a long cloak, and one neighbor even described him as "Black Jesus." They said that the children would dig through dumpsters for food and bathe themselves at the sinks of public restrooms. When one resident believed that the children weren't attending school, a call to CPS was made. However, Marcus was always one step ahead. Before CPS could intervene, he had already moved his family out to a campsite in the Santa Cruz Mountains. They were all cramped into a large army tent with no running water or proper bathroom. Inside, there were three separate sections separated by flaps that could zip.

• 20:14Colin Brown?

  The boys had one side, the girls the other, and in the middle was where Marcus slept. But with the Wesson family being so isolated, they were able to carry on with their incestuous life without anyone judging them. But according to some members of the family, things were very toxic. Marcus loved for his teenage daughters and nieces to compete for his affection. Sometimes he would spend more time with one of his wives, making the other one jealous, and Marcus loved it. The competition between the girls made it to where his needs were constantly being met, as they were always trying to outdo one another. And by 1995, three of the girls were pregnant, which was Marcus's goal from the very beginning. One of his nieces would later say that he always told them, "God's people are becoming extinct.

• 20:58Colin Brown?

  We need to preserve God's children. We need to have more children for the Lord." Now, by this point, Marcus was pretty much over his first wife Elizabeth. Even though she was 13 years younger than him, he was more interested in his own teenage daughters and nieces. So Elizabeth still stuck around, but she was no longer the center of his attention. On September 16, 1996, Marcus's daughter Kiani gave birth to Ilabelle Wesson. In March 1996, his niece Sofina gave birth to his son Jonathan Wesson. Then, three months later, another niece Ruby gave birth to his daughter Aviv. Now, each time that these girls went to the hospital to give birth, Marcus forced the girls to tell the hospital staff that they didn't know who the father was.

• 21:42Colin Brown?

  He knew that if the staff found out that the baby's father was also their grandfather, he would immediately go to jail. So with each birth certificate, under the father portion, the girls wrote unknown. His niece Ruby would later say, "We all agreed that when we have the children, that on the children's birth certificate, we would just put unknown. That was our plan, because a lot of teenagers have kids and they don't know who the father is. That was just our game plan." Marcus also told the girls that if any of their family members asked about the father, they were to tell them that they had been artificially inseminated.

• 22:16Courtney Brown?

  Now every once in a while, there would be children under their roof that were lucky enough to get away. Marcus's niece Brandy said that Marcus sexually abused her for years. It started when she was just a little girl, and he would do it in front of everyone. These sexual assaults weren't happening behind closed doors, and because he was doing it to all of the girls, they all just thought it was normal. But his niece Brandy would later say that she started seeing her sisters and older cousins becoming pregnant with Marcus's children, and she knew that it was wrong. She didn't want to follow in their footsteps. So eventually, she ran away and went back to live with her mother.

• 22:58Courtney Brown?

  Now, we have talked a lot about the girls and Marcus's family, but there were a lot of boys too. And although they were not sexually abused by Marcus, they too were living in their own personal hell.

• 23:11Colin Brown?

  Anytime Marcus became angry with the male children, he would brutally beat them. Sometimes he used his fist, other times it was a baseball bat. He even had this stick that he covered in duct tape that he would use to hit them whenever he wanted. And it didn't matter how old the children were either. His niece Sofina would later say that just a few weeks after she had his son Jonathan, Marcus started getting angry because he wouldn't stop crying. So, in response, Marcus whipped the infant with a stick. Jonathan's mother Sofina stated, "He was just hitting him. I wasn't counting. He was just hitting him to stop crying. He just kept on doing it." Luckily, the infant child would survive. But this is what life was like in the Wesson household. During another incident, one of his sons snuck an extra spoonful of peanut

• 23:56Colin Brown?

  butter from the jar, and when Marcus found out, he ripped an electrical socket out from the wall and beat him mercilessly.

• 24:04Courtney Brown?

  Marcus's punishments were psychological as well. For instance, if one of the children disobeyed him, he would give them what he called thirty-day punishments. Every morning, he would call that child over. "Ready for your morning punishment?" he would ask. Then he would whip them seven times. Later that afternoon, he'd call them over again. "Time for your afternoon beating." Then he'd whip them another seven times. Then during the evening, another seven. And he would do this every single day for thirty days straight, just because the child did one thing that upset him. Now, throughout these thirty-day punishments, sometimes Marcus would forget to whip the children. He'd get distracted.

• 24:48Courtney Brown?

  But later that night, Marcus would remember. And because the children didn't remind him to whip them that afternoon, they would get beat even harder. So from then on, he made the children remind him when it was time for their beating. On another occasion, his oldest son Dorian drew a picture for Marcus. He brought it over to his dad, thinking he would be excited. But instead, he saw a look of anger fall over his father's face. As it turns out, Dorian drew this picture on a Saturday. And Saturdays are considered the holy day for Seventh-day Adventists, a day where you're only supposed to rest and worship. So because he colored a picture on their holy day, Marcus beat him.

• 25:33Colin Brown?

  Through his strict religious education, Marcus constantly preached that they were in the end times. And he liked to hold some of these Bible studies late at night to test his children. If they started to fall asleep, they would be punished. If they dared to cough or yawn, Marcus would give them a thirty-day punishment. He even had a designated punishment room where he would take the children to be beaten. It was awful, but the children believed that Marcus was God and he was preparing them for the end of the world. He taught them to fear the police and the government. Marcus would sit his family down and speak to the older girls, who he called strong soldiers. And he told them that if anyone like CPS came to stop them, the girls were to help him

• 26:14Colin Brown?

  carry out their suicide pact. Marcus told them, "Shoot the youngest children first. The quickest way to kill them is by shooting them in the eye. Then, once all the children are dead, you are to kill yourselves by putting the gun in your mouths and shooting upwards." He also said that it was important that one family member survive, and that one person was himself, given he was the chosen one. Now, in 1993, when David Koresh, the leader of the Branch Davidians, led a 51-day standoff with federal authorities in Waco, Marcus and his family were following the story closely. He told his children, "This is how the world is attacking God's people. This man is just like me. He is making children for the Lord. That's what we should be doing, making children for the Lord."

• 26:59Colin Brown?

  Hey, everybody. Courtney and I have a favor to ask of you. If you love Murder in America, you love our show, please leave us a five-star review wherever you listen to your podcasts, whether that's Apple Podcasts, Spotify. If you love our show and you want to help us grow, definitely consider leaving us a five-star review. Also, it helps the show so much when people share out links to our program. So, if you're listening and you're loving what we're doing here, share us on your Instagram story, shout us out on X, post one of our shows on your Facebook, and let the world, your friends, your family, know that you're listening to Murder in America. It seriously helps us so much, helps us grow the show. We couldn't do this without all of you listening at home. Seriously, thank y'all. But let's get back to the story.

• 27:44Courtney Brown?

  Now, eventually Marcus realized that they needed money. They also needed a home. Living in a tent was just too much for them. So, in 1997, he moved his family into a duplex in Fresno, California. And to pay for this duplex, Marcus didn't get a job himself. He made his children work while he sat at home. The two older boys, Dorian and Adrian, were old enough to be on their own, and they had moved out by then. But Marcus forced them to send money every month. In addition, he also made the girls, Ruby, Sofina, Kiani, and Sabrina, work at McDonald's. He only did this so they could afford the home they

• 28:25Courtney Brown?

  were living in. But Marcus was anxious about his wives going off to work. He told them that they were not to tell anyone about what was going on at their home. He also drove them to and from work every day, and he collected all of their paychecks to keep for himself. But again, these girls had been brainwashed since they were young children. In their minds, Marcus was not only their husband, but the chosen one. So whatever he said, they followed. Now Marcus also told the girls not to make any friends at work. But after a while, Ruby befriended her manager named Emma. And for the first time in her life, she finally got a taste of the outside world.

• 29:09Courtney Brown?

  It wouldn't take her long to realize that her life was far from normal. So one day, she decided that she was going to run away. Her manager even helped her, but soon enough Marcus would track her down. After bringing her back home, she told him that she didn't want to be his wife anymore. But in response, Marcus beat her. He reminded her that the beating was for her own good, and that he would never allow the outside world to destroy her. Ruby was trapped. Marcus also threatened that if she ever tried to leave again, he would make sure she would never see her daughter Aviv. So she stayed, but life only got worse from there.

• 29:50Colin Brown?

  Following Ruby's attempted escape, Marcus grew paranoid that his wives were trying to leave him. He grew suspicious of all of them, accusing them of having sex with their male coworkers. Ruby would later say, "He would tell me stuff like, 'I know that you're talking to men. I don't know why you want to keep talking to them.'" And he would say things like, "You're not even that pretty. Just because you have a pretty face, that doesn't mean that any man is going to want to live with you and love you." And anytime Marcus even got the feeling that his wives were talking to men at work, he would make them lift their skirts so that he could administer 21 blows to their legs with a small wooden bat. But with Marcus feeling like he was losing control of his wives, he decided to move them again.

• 30:32Colin Brown?

  In 1998, they all moved on to a small tugboat off the coast of Marshall, California, something he referred to as "The Sudan." And like before, he made his children find work. This time, they worked at the dining facility at a conference center. And every day, Marcus would row their small boat to shore and walk them inside. But before getting these jobs, he warned the girls. They were told to stay away from all boys. And if one of the girls spoke to a man at work, they were encouraged to snitch on each other. When one of the girls reported that another had been too friendly with a male at the conference, they were taken to a room inside the tugboat and beaten. Ruby would later say, "There was one incident where he had all of us girls in the back room.

• 31:15Colin Brown?

  He was talking to all of us about that he feels that some of us are hanging around men. And he asked Kiani if she had noticed if I had been talking to men. And she told him that she did see someone talking to me. He like backslapped me, like with the back of his hand across my face. I just started crying. And then that day, I remember just thinking that I was going to leave."

• 31:35Courtney Brown?

  Anytime the girls were given a beating, Marcus made sure that their bruises were covered. But he got a sick enjoyment out of beating them, asserting his dominance. Sofina said, quote, "Hitting the girls in a playful manner in front of the entire family. He would slap you or pull your hair. And the more you resisted, the more he would do it." End quote. On some occasions, he would do this so much, the girls would cry. And in response, he would call them over and ask for a kiss. They were never allowed to say no. Life on this boat was horrible. Not only were they being abused and incredibly cramped, but there was also no running water.

• 32:17Courtney Brown?

  The girls would have to run into town and bring jugs of water back so they could shower and cook with it. Marcus also used the small amount of money they had to buy himself different kinds of meat while the wives and children mostly ate beans. So Marcus did nothing for his family. He didn't work, he didn't watch the children, he didn't cook or clean. He just sat back and let them do all of the work for him. On the rare occasion that the girls had some free time, Marcus would force them to wash his hair, clean his body, and strangely, he really liked for them to scratch his armpits. But deep down, Marcus knew that what he was doing was wrong. And that's why he was so paranoid.

• 33:01Courtney Brown?

  As the years progressed, he believed that the government was watching him. He told his family over and over again that the government was evil, and that one day, they would come in and try to break up their family. Marcus was constantly looking over his shoulder, even though at the time, the government was not on to him. He would even have his sons check their boat for surveillance cameras and wires.

• 33:27Colin Brown?

  At the turn of the 21st century, Marcus began telling his family that the world was soon ending. He believed that the year 2000 was when the second coming of Christ would happen, and that they only had a few more months to live. None of his children questioned him. They believed Marcus wholeheartedly. Marcus was so sure of this, he even started purchasing coffins for his entire family. It's also around this time when he started writing his book titled, "In the Night of the Light for the Dark." In Marcus's mind, this was the new Bible. All the stories he wrote about often combined Christianity with stories of vampires, but they were stories of his own family. In it, he was the head vampire, or master. The women were concubines, and his boat, the Sudan, was his vampire lair.

• 34:12Colin Brown?

  In the first volume, he wrote, "I, vampire of the dark, will not fail. My spiritual bite must deceive all. My pretense of love must convince all of right. I must live love itself and be loved to perpetuate my evil among man. I will triumph in my quest, for it is my essence." In his writings, Marcus also justified his polygamy and incest. For polygamy, he wrote, "The master's first wives had to be daughters to purely reproduce himself in an evil generation. They came from his body and spirit." In a section of the book he titled, "The Premium of Incest", Marcus stated, "Thus in incest, one produces the seed of perfection of oneself, though the resulting appearance or deformity must be shared.

• 34:56Colin Brown?

  One must wait for the manifestations of seeds or perfection to appear within down the bloodline." Now, of course, the year 2000 would come and go with no second coming of Christ. The world did not end like he promised it would. So, like many cult leaders, Marcus began shifting his message. He told his wives and children, "The Lord will come, but no one knows the time."

• 35:18Courtney Brown?

  Now eventually, the Wesson family would be forced to leave their small tugboat. Apparently Marcus was playing music really loud one night, someone filed a noise complaint, and when the police showed up, they saw that the home was not fit for children, so they were forced to leave. But while they lived on the boat, their neighbors witnessed just how strange their family was. One man named Chris said that Marcus always rowed at the front of the rowboat while he forced the girls to paddle behind them. He said, quote, "Those girls were like slaves, he was like the king," end quote. Now, when the police forced them to leave their boat, Marcus was more paranoid than ever.

• 36:02Courtney Brown?

  He thought it was only a matter of time until CPS came to tear his family apart. He actually referred to CPS as child protective abductions. Marcus would later write about having to leave the boat, saying that he, quote, "held the steering wheel and shook his head. Having children is dangerous these days. This is the reason for our fear. We cannot last another year," end quote. It seemed as if he already had a plan for his family's fate, and it's around this time when he started talking more about their suicide pact. He would say things like, "We're all going to heaven soon."

• 36:41Colin Brown?

  Now, after leaving the boat, Marcus and his family moved into a Radisson Hotel. While there, Marcus's niece Sofina got a job at the hotel working as a banquet server, but soon enough, she would develop a romantic relationship with one of her coworkers named Milton, and she told him everything. Eventually, Sofina even became pregnant with Milton's child, and from there, she told Marcus she was leaving. And surprisingly, Marcus told her she could go, but there was a catch. Sofina was to send Marcus money every single month, and once she walked out that door, he told her that she would no longer have contact with her son Jonathan. Marcus likely told her this because he didn't think she would actually leave.

• 37:21Colin Brown?

  And as hard as it was for Sofina, she knew that if she didn't leave now, she never would. So with that, she walked out, leaving her life behind, but she knew that one day, she would come back for her son.

• 37:33Courtney Brown?

  During this time, Sofina's sister Ruby was also looking for a way out. Like we mentioned earlier, she had run away before, but she eventually came back. And the punishment she faced for running away was brutal. Nearly every day after that, Marcus would beat her, sometimes with a bat, leaving extensive bruises all over her body. Over the years, Ruby dreamed about what life would be like outside of the Weston home, but she was too afraid of what would happen if she ever tried. However, after watching her sister Sofina leave, Ruby was inspired to get away from her toxic family once and for all.

• 38:14Courtney Brown?

  Now, like her sister, Ruby had also developed a secret relationship with a man at work. So one day, without telling Marcus, Ruby left, leaving her young daughter Aviv behind. She too vowed to one day come back and get her, but as for now, finally, she was free. Later that night, Marcus called Ruby, screaming at her. He told her that she was his wife and she had a duty to fulfill. But for the first time in her life, Ruby yelled back at Marcus. She told him, "I am not your wife. I am your niece. I don't want to be with you anymore."

• 38:53Courtney Brown?

  And with that, finally, both Ruby and Sofina were free after decades of abuse.

• 39:01Colin Brown?

  By the end of 2003, the Weston family had moved into another home. This one was located at 761 West Hammond Avenue in Fresno. And like all the others, the home was less than ideal. It needed thousands of dollars' worth of repairs, and of course, Marcus made the women do everything while he sat back, watched, and barked orders. But by the time they moved in, another one of Weston's girls had run away. Her name was Gypsy, and although she did not have children with Marcus, she too had been subjected to cruel sexual and physical abuse since she was a little girl. Throughout her life, she knew that her home was dysfunctional and more than anything, she wanted to escape. So she did. Marcus was slowly losing control of his family,

• 39:46Colin Brown?

  but a number of his wives were still very loyal to him, including his own daughter Kiani, who had two children with him, Ilabelle, eight years old, and Jeva, only five years old. Kiani missed her sisters, and she often wrote letters to them in her journal. On December 14th, 2003, she wrote, "Gypsy, my sweet sister, it's time for you to come home. I miss you so much. Christ wants you back home, Lou. Don't let the world use you. You are much loved in your home. Gypsy, the time is near." She also wrote a letter to Ruby that said, "Ruby, my love forever, you know the time is here for you to return. Come home now. God has a mission for us. Ruby, I know you feel it too. I love you. We will be together as a family soon."

• 40:31Courtney Brown?

  As you can tell by Keanu's writings, the Wesson family was still focused on their mission, which many believe was their suicide pact. And with Marcus losing all control, it seemed as if they were getting closer and closer to that day. Shortly after the move to Fresno, Marcus even purchased more large wooden coffins from an antique shop. The owner of the shop would later say that the entire ordeal was strange. He said, "The girls carried the coffins." He didn't lift a finger. Apparently, Marcus came to pick up the coffins in a large, yellow school bus he had bought. Then from there, the girls unloaded the coffins into various rooms around their home. Disturbingly,

• 41:15Courtney Brown?

  they even used the coffins as beds for the seven young children. There was Jeva, five months old, Sedona, one years old, Marshy, also one years old, Ethan, four years old, Aviv, seven years old, Jonathan, seven years old, and Ilabelle, eight years old. But their childhoods were far from ideal. They were living like vampires, sleeping in coffins in their dark home, and never leaving the house.

• 41:45Colin Brown?

  It's around this time when people close to the family began to grow concerned. Marcus's father, Ben, even wrote to his first wife, Elizabeth, and said, "Please come here and let us put those children in school. When the authorities find out how old they are, and the fact is they have never been to school, the fact is Marcus does not realize it, but they will see his picture in yours and the children in every newspaper. I will help him to put them in a private school for a year or two, Adventist, until that can get a bearing. I don't want the problem to get any bigger. Please consider. Love, Ben." And eventually, Marcus would make the decision to move closer to his parents. In March of 2004, after another eviction notice, his wives began to pack up their home and move it on to the school bus in the front yard.

• 42:30Colin Brown?

  Neighbors witnessed the women working all hours of the night, moving coffins out of the home, while dressed in long black skirts and bonnets. By Friday, March 12th, they were still in the process of moving everything. Their plan was to be moved out to Washington State by the end of that week, but that's not all that would end up happening.

• 42:48Courtney Brown?

  The day started out like any other. Elizabeth woke up early and walked to a nearby Circle K for coffee. When she returned around 7:30 a.m., Marcus and the children were awake. Marcus's 17-year-old daughter, Lise, was busy planning homeschool activities for the younger kids, and the older women were making breakfast while Marcus watched the news. Things were relatively calm despite their upcoming move, but across town, the two sisters, Sofina and Ruby, were anxious. After finally escaping the house of horrors, they vowed to get their children back someday. But when the girls got word that the Wesson family was moving out of state, they feared

• 43:31Courtney Brown?

  that if they didn't get their children now, they might not ever. Now, they knew this wouldn't be easy. Marcus would never allow them to just come inside and take their children, so they started coming up with a plan to catch Marcus off guard. They gathered a bunch of their family members: brothers, uncles, cousins. They decided that they were going to show up to the house and demand that he release the children. If he refused, the male family members would step in, while the girls rushed inside and grabbed the kids. So that afternoon, they went to the Wesson house to do just that. When they pulled up to the home, Sofina approached first.

• 44:12Courtney Brown?

  Over the past few months, she had been sending Marcus money, so she pretended that she had some items for the children. Once inside the home, Sofina immediately spotted her son, Jonathan, in the living room, so she walked over and grabbed him by the hand. However, one of the women named Rosa demanded to know what was going on. Sofina calmly stated that she was taking her son. But immediately, the women of the house ran over to stop her. Now, while this was happening, Ruby and a few other family members were outside talking to Marcus. Remember, they were going to distract him while Sofina grabbed the children. But now, there was a huge commotion going on inside.

• 44:56Courtney Brown?

  Their cover was blown.

• 44:58Colin Brown?

  One of the men outside pulled out a tape recorder. That way, if anything happened, they would have evidence. But Marcus remained calm. He approached Ruby outside, his wife, who had finally escaped his grasp after years of abuse. Marcus told her that if anything escalated, the police would be called and his entire kingdom would come crashing down. Around this time, his other wife Sabrina shouted that they were never going to take any of the children. Ruby, who was now angry, yelled at Marcus that they weren't leaving until they had their kids, Jonathan and Aviv. And on the tape recorder, Marcus said, "Not under kidnapping conditions, you can't kidnap her." Things were escalating quickly. Sabrina yelled at Sofina, "You get the fuck out of our house, you fat bitch."

• 45:42Colin Brown?

  Family members at the scene would later say that Sabrina sounded possessed.

• 45:47Courtney Brown?

  As the fight escalated, Ruby shouted that the police were on their way. Sabrina then yelled out that Ruby was a whore and an adulterer. Then in unison, Marcus's wives started shouting that Sofina and Ruby were Judas, the one who betrayed Jesus in the Bible. Sabrina continued to shout that the women didn't know God and that they had betrayed the entire family. She also told the women to bow down to their master. Now, while this was all happening, the women in the home... Rosa, Sabrina, Kiani, and Lise gathered all of the kids and took them to a back room. Fearing for their safety, Sofina forced her way back into the house and rushed towards

• 46:31Courtney Brown?

  that room where the children were located. But just as she got to the door, Lise and Sabrina quickly pushed back. Using all of her force, Sofina was able to get her body in between the door frame and look inside the room. All seven children were sitting inside and, shockingly, they appeared to be calm. There were no words, no crying, no frantic looks. But just as she was able to look at them, the women shut the door and locked it. From here, both Sofina and Ruby grew frantic. They knew that Marcus and his wives had a gun. And based on their own experience being in the family, they knew that they wouldn't be afraid to use it.

• 47:14Colin Brown?

  Meanwhile, outside in the driveway, two women named Mary and Valerie dialed 911. It was 2:13 PM when the first 911 call was placed. Mary would end up dialing 911 three times and Valerie would call twice. On the last call, Valerie stated, "This is domestic violence. Someone has a gun. We've called several times and no one's here. When I called 911, they transferred me to...I don't know." During Valerie's 911 calls, she was transferred to the Fresno Police Department. But during that transfer, the CHP operator laughed and told the other dispatcher, "Every time we transfer calls, they get more embellished. Now someone has a gun. I'm not sure. I'll let you tell, but I think it's embellished."

• 47:56Colin Brown?

  Clearly, the dispatchers didn't understand the severity of the situation.

• 48:00Courtney Brown?

  While they waited for the police to arrive, Marcus tried to keep Sofina and Ruby calm outside the house. He wanted to have a conversation with them, find out why they wanted to take their children. But Sofina was angry. She told Marcus that she refused to let her child grow up in an abusive environment like she was raised in. She told Marcus that he was an abuser and that he didn't even make sure the children were fed or educated. But Marcus was still trying to negotiate. He told them that the children were happy, that they didn't want to be separated from their brothers and sisters. He even said that if the girls left peacefully, he would arrange a visitation schedule.

• 48:44Courtney Brown?

  But that wasn't good enough for them. Sofina and Ruby repeated over and over again that they weren't going to leave until they had Jonathan and Aviv. The dispute in the front yard continued to escalate, and it would take the police 22 minutes to finally arrive. Fresno police officer Frank Nelson was the first on scene. As he walked towards the house, he was met by Sofina and Ruby. The sisters quickly told him the situation, and luckily for them, they came prepared. After running to their car, they pulled out the children's birth certificates. As we mentioned earlier, since both Jonathan and Aviv were children of incest, Marcus made

• 49:26Courtney Brown?

  them list their children's father as unknown. So since Marcus wasn't listed on the birth certificate, he had no official custody of the kids, meaning he had no right to keep them at his house.

• 49:40Colin Brown?

  After looking at the birth certificates, Officer Nelson confirmed that Marcus had no other choice but to hand over Jonathan and Aviv. Even though Marcus was their father, there was no proof of that. But as you can imagine, Marcus was angry. By then, more officers had shown up to the scene, and he was arguing with all of them. Eventually, Sergeant Patrick Jackson told Marcus that if he did not hand over the children, he would have to place a phone call to Child Protective Services. And once they got involved, Marcus's other children could be taken away. But Marcus continued arguing. Around 2:50 PM, Sergeant Jackson placed a phone call to the Fresno City Attorney to find out if the officers could legally enter the home and retrieve the children.

• 50:22Colin Brown?

  Unfortunately, he told them that they could not legally enter. So at 3:03 PM, CPS was called. They also threatened to take Marcus to the Fresno County Jail if he continued to be uncooperative, but he wasn't budging. His five foot nine, 300 pound body stood in the threshold of his home, and he continued yelling that the officers were not going to take the children. With all the commotion going on in the front yard, the officers turned their heads for just a second, but at that moment, Marcus Wesson slipped back into his home and locked the door.

• 50:54Courtney Brown?

  Upon seeing this, Sofina and Ruby began to scream because they knew exactly what that meant. This was the moment that Marcus had been warning his family about for decades. The day that the government would come in and tear apart his family, he had talked about what they were to do in this situation. And there in the front yard, Ruby and Sofina began screaming, "He's going to murder the children." Officer Nelson would later say, quote, "And just, everything kind of got out of hand at that point." End quote. Ruby quickly rushed to the front of the house and peered through an open window. There, she saw the back bedroom door shut.

• 51:35Courtney Brown?

  She then watched as Kiani placed a table in front of the door. Outside, family members screamed and panicked over the situation, and 10 officers had the house surrounded. But to their surprise, they suddenly saw two people emerge from the house. It was Elizabeth, Marcus's first wife, and his 19-year-old son, Seraphino. Once outside, Elizabeth immediately collapsed in the front yard screaming, "They're all gone." Then, Sofina heard the sound of two gunshots.

• 52:08Colin Brown?

  Surprisingly, throughout the entire ordeal, not one responding police officer heard a single gunshot. They knew that there was a 22 caliber pistol inside the house, but none of them had heard a gunshot, so to them, this was a barricaded shooter situation with potential hostages. But they didn't want to go inside without backup. So while they waited, they called for SWAT. By this point, several neighbors were outside watching everything unfold. Sofina and Ruby were inconsolable. At 3:47 PM, the mobile command unit arrived, and they tried calling out to Marcus, telling him to come out and talk to the police, but there was no response, no movement. For 80 long minutes, police officers and family members waited outside for answers.

• 52:54Colin Brown?

  At 4:47 PM, Officer Mooney noticed movement from the back bedroom. Once again, he called out for Marcus to show himself and come out to talk to the police. And to their surprise, a few minutes later, Marcus Weston opened the front door. He was calm and emotionless, finally ready to surrender. But upon seeing them, their hearts sank. Covering the front of Marcus's shirt was fresh crimson red blood. Officer Jimmy Ray Passmore approached Marcus and told him to turn around and put his hands on the side of the house. He patted him down for weapons and found only an empty knife sheath. He was then placed in handcuffs. Because of his large size, they had to put three sets of cuffs on his wrists.

• 53:36Colin Brown?

  They then escorted him to a nearby police cruiser, but his giant frame made it impossible to fit. They had to wait for a large transport vehicle. But now from here, the officers were finally able to make their way into the home.

• 53:50Courtney Brown?

  Officer Escorino was the first to enter the home. Not only was he a seasoned police officer, but he also worked as a hospital nurse and army medic. He had seen a lot throughout his career, but nothing would compare to this. As he and another officer made their way down the dark hallway to the back bedroom, he didn't know what to expect. But the silence on the other end of that door made him feel uneasy. As they approached the threshold, they saw that the door was slightly ajar. Bracing themselves, they pushed it open. He quickly passed his flashlight over the room. In the corner, there were three wooden coffins neatly stacked against the wall.

• 54:32Courtney Brown?

  But then his light landed on an image that he would never be able to forget. Involuntarily, Officer Escorino screamed out, "Oh my God!" In the corner of the bedroom, there were bodies stacked on top of one another. Most were young children and babies. They were completely covered in each other's blood, and they were all eerily still. The image of the children stacked so gruesomely on top of one another was so horrific, Officer Escorino didn't even notice the two older women on top of the stack. But immediately, he began checking for signs of life. Underneath the two women, Officer Escorino went through the tangled, bloody pile of children.

• 55:15Courtney Brown?

  But sadly, none of them were alive. And from there, all he could do was break down in tears. The scene was horrific. The nine bodies were stacked on top of one another, with the oldest being at the top of the pile, and the youngest at the bottom. There was 25-year-old Sabrina, 17-year-old Lise, 8-year-old Yabel, 7-year-old Aviv, 7-year-old Jonathan, 8-year-old Ethan, and then at the bottom of the pile were three 1-year-olds: Marcy, Jiva, and Sedona. All of the children had been shot point-blank through the eye. But there was one body that was different from the others.

• 55:57Courtney Brown?

  25-year-old Sabrina was found face down on the top of the stack, with a 22-caliber pistol tucked under her arm. But while a group of investigators began to work the scene, other officers had to deliver the devastating news to Sofina and Ruby, who were still waiting outside. Upon hearing the news, they let out a scream that only a grieving mother could let out. Marcus's other wives, Elizabeth, Rosa, and Kiani, were also waiting outside. But Kiani sat completely emotionless. She even turned to her grieving sisters and told them that this was all their fault.

• 56:39Colin Brown?

  Back inside, crime scene investigators were taking photographs and assisting in the investigation. Interestingly, they would later find out that Sabrina's DNA was found on the gun, but she tested negative for gunshot residue. Marcus Wesson's hands were also tested, but they too were negative. Now, right below Sabrina was 17-year-old Lise Wesson. She had two gunshot wounds to her right eye. One had been fired at close range, and the second from farther away. Just beneath her arm, investigators discovered a hunting knife. Interestingly, the knife fit perfectly into the sheath discovered on Marcus when he was padded down for weapons. As investigators moved down the pile, they determined that 18-month-old

• 57:21Colin Brown?

  Marshy Wesson was the only victim that had been shot through the left eye. Everyone else had been shot through the right eye. He had been wearing a white shirt and a diaper. Four-year-old Ethan had been shot through the right eye, and there was a second gunshot wound to the right side of his abdomen. Seven-year-old Aviv and seven-year-old Jonathan were determined to be the first victims shot. Forensic expert Dr. Venu Gopal performed liver temperature tests on all the victims, and they also discovered that Sabrina and Lise were the last two to die.

• 57:52Courtney Brown?

  Outside of the home that night, news crews filled the streets interviewing neighbors. But surprisingly, many of them had no idea that children even lived inside the home. And that's because Marcus hardly ever let them leave. One neighbor named Barbara said that she often smelled weird things at night. She admitted, quote, "It would kill you to smell it. It would gag me. Whatever he was cooking, it was not food," end quote. Rumors would spread that the Wesson family murdered and ate stray cats. There was also talk about odd demonic rituals. Here is some audio of those neighbors.

• 58:32Speaker 02

  Hey, these people are strange. Nobody's ever talked to them. When the father would come out there, he was like supervising. He was standing with his arms like this, or he'd be sitting down.

• 58:41Speaker 03

  Something terrible. Sad.

• 58:46Courtney Brown?

  One by one, the bodies of the nine victims were removed from the home in white body bags. It was now 10:30 PM, and it would take over three hours for each body to be removed. Investigators also confiscated 10 mahogany coffins from the home. But by early the next morning, on March 13, 2004, balloons, flowers, candles, and teddy bears flooded the front driveway, as people in their community came to pay their respects. Local news trucks remained at the scene and were quick to jump out and interview Marcus's 19-year-old son, Seraphina. Shockingly, he said, quote,

• 59:26Courtney Brown?

  He's the best dad anyone could ever have. He looks really dangerous, but he's such a gentle guy. I can't believe he did it. End quote. Meanwhile, Marcus Wesson had been taken into custody and was held on a $9 million bond.

• 59:42Colin Brown?

  One of the officers who worked the scene, Officer Passmore, was completely drained from the previous night's events. While at home, he picked up his morning copy of The Fresno Bee and read, "Nine Dead in Fresno Home. Bodies of seven children age eight and younger are discovered after Marcus Wesson, 57, surrenders and is arrested after two-hour standoff." There was a picture of Elizabeth Wesson right below the headline as she was comforted by her sons after learning what had happened. The news made national headlines, and the media frenzy surrounding the crimes casted doubt on how the police had handled the situation. No one understood how they could just stand by and allow something like this to happen. But every single officer on scene reported that they did not hear a gunshot.

• 1:00:26Colin Brown?

  Officer Passmore would later say of the people criticizing them, "They weren't there, but you have all these people coming in and giving opinions about what was going on in there, and you have no way of countering their opinion. I listen to talk shows and I listen to my TV, and you just sit around and you listen to other people's opinions, and you take it personal." The scene on West Hammond Avenue was one of the worst first responders had ever seen. After discovering the bodies, most of the police officers would never be the same. Many had to have extensive counseling afterwards. Some had to take a leave of absence. Police Chief Jerry Dyer stated that the crime was Fresno's worst mass murder.

• 1:01:03Courtney Brown?

  Meanwhile, Marcus Wesson remained in isolation at the Fresno County Jail. While there, one of his family members called the police because they were worried that Marcus would try to convince his surviving family to end their lives as well. After all, they did have a suicide pact. So from there, Marcus was prohibited from making any phone calls or having visitors. But over the course of the next two days, he did speak with detectives. They described him as quote cooperative, intelligent, very articulate, and very well spoken. However, it was during these interviews where Marcus denied shooting any of his family members.

• 1:01:45Courtney Brown?

  He said, "It wasn't him, it was his daughter Sabrina." Now, the detectives weren't sure if Marcus was telling the truth. But the more they dug into the Wesson family, the more they doubted his version of events. Soon enough, Marcus's past of polygamy, incest, and the occult were revealed. When that part of the story hit the media, there was even more of a frenzy than before. The Seventh Day Adventist Church quickly released a statement saying that they were not associated with Marcus Wesson. It read, quote, "We cannot find any record of Mr. Wesson being a member of the Seventh Day Adventist Church."

• 1:02:26Courtney Brown?

  However, they did say that Marcus's parents were members, but their membership over the years was described as sporadic. Now, as for some of his children, the church admitted that they had been members at a branch in Fresno. While Marcus waited on his trial to start, he continued working on his book titled, "In the Night of the Light for the Dark," a very interesting name. He also wrote country western songs about his dead children. People inside the jail stated that he masturbated all the time and that he would smear his semen on his dreadlocks. But as they were gearing up for trial, the prosecution realized that this was not a cut and dry case.

• 1:03:11Courtney Brown?

  Marcus denied killing any of his family members, saying it was his daughter Sabrina. So the physical evidence would be very important here. Firstly, through DNA testing, they discovered that Marcus had fathered children with his own daughters and nieces. He and his first wife Elizabeth were the parents of Sabrina and Leece. They then found out that Marcus had a child with his daughter Sabrina, who was their son named Marshy. He also had two children with his daughter Kiani and another two children with his niece Rosa. He also had a son with his niece Ruby who escaped. And a daughter with his niece Sofina, who also escaped. So even if Marcus was innocent of killing his family,

• 1:03:56Courtney Brown?

  the DNA proved that he did participate in incest with nearly all of the girls in his family. So ultimately, they charged him with an additional 14 counts of sexual abuse. Once again, he pleaded not guilty to the charges.

• 1:04:13Colin Brown?

  On March 3rd, 2005, Marcus Wesson went on trial for the mass murder of nine of his family members. The jury consisted of seven women and five men. He arrived at court that morning in an orange jumpsuit. It was clear that he had lost a lot of weight and had cut his dreadlocks. Prosecutor Lisa Gomoyen began her opening statement by emphasizing Marcus's history of physical and sexual abuse, how he molested his daughters and nieces and impregnated them for years. She compared him to a cult leader. She told the jury all about how Marcus had brainwashed his family for years, convincing them that the only way out was through a suicide pact. And he gave very specific instructions on how that would be carried out, by a gunshot wound to the eye.

• 1:04:57Colin Brown?

  She spoke about how each victim had been shot through the eye in an upward motion, all except 25-year-old Sabrina. The wound to Sabrina's eye was pointed down. Prosecutor Lisa Gomoyen claimed that this proved Marcus was the one who killed her. The angle of that shot to Sabrina's eye would have been impossible to do herself. But the defense argued against that. They said that Sabrina Wesson pulled the trigger on each victim before turning the gun on herself. They also pointed to the fact that Sabrina's DNA was found on the gun, and that Marcus had no gunshot residue on his hands. The one thing that the defense did say was that Marcus Wesson was in fact a sexual deviant, but there was no cult and no murder-suicide pact.

• 1:05:40Colin Brown?

  If you love murder in America, you love mysteries, you love true crime, you love murder stories and the unknown, then I have a new show for you. It's called The Conspiracy Files, and it's hosted by me, Colin Brown, from Murder in America and the Paranormal Files. On The Conspiracy Files, we explore everything from bizarre deaths to freak paranormal events, pedophile rings, government corruption, ritual sacrifice. No topic is untouched on this show. Everything that we talk about on The Conspiracy Files is backed up with fact. I release reference sheets with every single episode that we do, so you guys know everything we're talking about

• 1:06:20Colin Brown?

  is confirmed to have happened and be real. It's a completely different type of show than anything else you've ever seen about conspiracy theories. Instead of a bunch of conjecture and theories, we're presenting you people with facts, telling you the story, walking you through the story just as detailed as we do with Murder in America, and then letting the listener decide what they think. Anyways, you should definitely give it a listen. It's called The Conspiracy Files. The links are in the description of this show, and you can find it on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts. And now, let's get back to our story.

• 1:06:59Courtney Brown?

  Throughout the trial, several of Marcus's children and nieces and nephews took the witness stand. Some described him as an incestuous predator and abuser, including Sofina, Ruby, and Gypsy, the ones who were fortunate enough to escape. But Kiani maintained that her father was a good man, and that there was never a murder-suicide pact. As for the sexual abuse, she stated that she was perfectly fine with it and had agreed to it. She told the prosecutor, quote, "I can tell you this much. Nothing was ever forced upon anybody. We always had choices. We had meetings. We talked about everything, and we were the boss of what we wanted to do."

• 1:07:41Courtney Brown?

  Now, Kiani even wrote a letter to Marcus and read it aloud in court. It read, quote, "I love you very much with all my heart. You are a very special person in my life. You are my one true love. I love you, my daddy. Always know that. I am deeply in love with you. The words I say are not to impress. I will never leave you. You mean too much to me to walk away. I will always be with you no matter what happens. I love you too much. My sugar daddy, I love." End quote. There's a lot to unpack there, but all I'm gonna say is that it's so sad to read that because even though she bore two of her father's children, she's still defending

• 1:08:25Courtney Brown?

  him. Marcus manipulated and abused her so much that the effects of it were still present, even at his murder trial, which was the case for other family members as well. His niece Rosa also claimed that Marcus had been a good father and that all of the sexual activity between them was consensual. Now, as for the murder-suicide pact, Rosa claimed that they had talked about it, but it was all just a joke that Marcus created while living on the boat. Now, another witness brought to the stand was Marcus's first wife, Elizabeth, and she claimed that she had no idea Marcus was sexually abusing the children, but that

• 1:09:07Courtney Brown?

  wasn't true. Several of the girls testified that Elizabeth was well aware of what was going on. Sofina even testified that at one point, Elizabeth had walked in on her while she was performing oral sex on Marcus. At the time, she was just a small child and Elizabeth did nothing, so she definitely knew what was going on. But keep in mind, Elizabeth had also been a victim of Marcus. If you remember, Marcus was originally dating Elizabeth's mom, Rosemary, and while they were all living together, Marcus started sexually assaulting her when she was just a little girl. Then, when Elizabeth was 14 years old, they had

• 1:09:48Courtney Brown?

  that fake wedding. So she had been groomed ever since she was a small child. Now, Marcus and Elizabeth would go on to have 11 children together, and sadly, the history of abuse continued with their own children.

• 1:10:02Colin Brown?

  Elizabeth's son, Dorian, would later say, "Obviously, she had to know about it." "I mean, that's one dumb person." "A mother was like a shadow." "She was always very quiet, very submissive." At trial, it was clear that Elizabeth was still under Marcus's control. After the prosecutor would ask her a question, she would glance over at Marcus, almost like she was asking for permission to answer the question. Elizabeth was very distraught throughout her testimony and had to take several breaks. At one point, she even called the prosecutor "a bitch."

• 1:10:33Courtney Brown?

  Throughout the trial, one thing became very clear: That Marcus Wesson was an abusive, incestuous, and manipulative person who destroyed lives. And on June 17th, the jury, who had spent 10 days deliberating the case of Marcus Wesson, finally reached a unanimous verdict. They found him guilty of nine counts of first-degree murder and guilty of 14 counts of sexual abuse. Now, interestingly, the jury did not believe that Marcus fired the gun that killed his family, but they did believe that he had brainwashed his children into committing the murder-suicide. It was something they had talked about for years.

• 1:11:15Courtney Brown?

  And when the police showed up that day, and Marcus slipped into his home, he gave them the orders to follow through with it. So even if he didn't pull the trigger on that fateful day, he was the reason his family was dead.

• 1:11:29Colin Brown?

  For many people in the courtroom, they felt like justice was finally served. But some of the surviving members of his family were devastated. Outside the courtroom, his wife Elizabeth collapsed. Her son, Almy, carried her to the car, and as reporters swarmed around, he yelled out, "Justice was not carried out." Before Marcus's sentencing on June 27th, Sofina asked to address the court and her Uncle Marcus. She stood at the podium and read from a piece of paper, and said the following:

• 1:12:00Courtney Brown?

  I have something very simple to say. I just wanted Marcus to know that you claim to be Jesus Christ. You claim to be God. Look at you now. You're nothing. You're the lowest of low. But I want you to know something. Since I have departed from you, your presence, I found my true God. And one thing I have learned is that he don't go against himself. And one of his commandments states, thou shall not kill. And you have done that. So I want you to know that nothing or anybody is going to prevent me from going to heaven to see my children and my sisters. I love them and they know it. And I just want you to know that you have been forgiven in my heart. Likewise, I have forgiven my sisters and my Aunt

• 1:12:43Courtney Brown?

  Lisa and my mother. So like I said before, nothing is going to prevent me from going to heaven. And I just hope you know, through God's mercy, that as you sit there in yourself, that you think about what you have done to my family, my brothers, my sisters, my child Jonathan, little Aviv, Ethan, Sedona, Marshy, these are children that belong not to you. That was not for you to make that decision, to take them away from this world. But they're gone now. Who knows why? They're in a better place. I believe that in my heart. So my life now is to continue to live that I may see them one day. That's basically all I have to say to you.

• 1:13:27Colin Brown?

  Sofina's brother Marco Garcia also addressed the court and said, you led God's children to the slaughter. So I know he will put much suffering and pain upon you, Marcus. There's nothing I want to enjoy more than to watch you slip into death. Nothing. Your soul will never rest. Elizabeth Wesson also gave a statement. She approached the microphone and told Marcus that she didn't blame him for what he had done and that she still loved him. Instead, she admitted that she blamed Sofina, Ruby, and other family members for what happened on that spring afternoon. Keanu Wesson stated that she was proud of Marcus and her family and believed he raised good children.

• 1:14:06Courtney Brown?

  From there, the jury left to decide Marcus's fate. And after only nine hours, they sentenced Marcus to death for the nine murders, and 102 years for the sexual abuse crimes. From there, Marcus Wesson was taken to the San Quentin State Prison's death row, where he would sit for the following years. But in 2019, California signed an executive order that suspended the death penalty in the state. So, instead of being executed, Marcus will serve out his sentence until his dying day. As of now, he is 78 years old.

• 1:14:44Colin Brown?

  Police Chief Dyer stated Marcus Wesson was an evil person. He is somebody, as I said then to the national media, he deserved the death penalty then, and he deserves the death penalty today. Unfortunately, that doesn't look like it's going to be the case.

• 1:14:59Courtney Brown?

  As we were researching this story, my heart went out to his surviving family members. The things they faced throughout most of their early lives were incredibly traumatic. Then they were manipulated into thinking that the trauma was normal. Once Marcus was arrested and the trial was put behind them, they could finally start healing. They could start deconstructing everything they knew to be true. Many had to go through extensive therapy, opening their eyes to the true extent of the abuse they endured, including Marcus's wife Elizabeth, who supported him throughout the trial. In the years after the crime, she finally realized that what she went through was abuse.

• 1:15:42Courtney Brown?

  And through that healing, she filed for divorce from the man that had been abusing her since she was eight years old. The tragedy of the Wesson family had a ripple effect. It left a mark on the community of Fresno. The house at 761 West Hammond Avenue, the site of the horrific massacre, has since been demolished, leaving behind a vacant piece of land. The tugboat that the family lived on sank to the bottom of the bay after a storm in 2005. But even though the house and the boat are gone, the pain of Marcus Wesson's actions still linger for the surviving family, and they still have a long journey ahead of them. But we can only hope that they continue to heal.

• 1:16:26Courtney Brown?

  Because after all the heartbreak and abuse, the decades they spent under Marcus's control, they all deserve to live the rest of their lives in peace.

• 1:16:36Colin Brown?

  For today's episode, we will be making a donation to an organization called RAINN. That's R-A-I-N-N. It stands for Rape, Abuse, and Incest National Network. It is a nonprofit that empowers survivors of abuse, advocates for justice, and offers confidential support. We would also like to thank author Monte Francis for his research on this story. His book titled By Their Father's Hand: The True Story of the Wesson Family Massacre was the main source for this episode.

• 1:17:10Colin Brown?

  Hey, everybody. Thank you so much for listening to this week's episode of Murder in America. It's just crazy. And I mean, time and time again, we read these stories and to me, things that always seem to stick out are, you know, failure of police to act and how things could have ended up differently if people had, you know, stepped up. And this story is just horrific. We encourage you guys to go donate to that organization. Look into what they do. RAINN is what it's called, if you want to help prevent stuff like this from happening in the future. But if you love today's show and you want to get access to early ad-free versions of all these episodes, consider joining the Murder in America family on Patreon.

• 1:17:53Colin Brown?

  On Patreon, you can get access to early ad-free versions of all episodes posted on our main feed, and you can also get access to bonus episodes of the show. So these are full-length bonus episodes of Murder in America, featuring both Courtney and I, full stories that we're telling. The one that we're releasing next is incredibly long. It's actually longer than this episode was this week. And yeah, if you love the show, if you love what we do, and you want to help support the work that we do here at Murder in America, please consider joining us there. Also, follow us on social media, @MurderinAmerica on Instagram to see photos from every case that we cover here on the show. And don't forget to leave us a five-star review, whether you're listening to Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you're

• 1:18:36Colin Brown?

  listening to podcasts. Anyways, guys, I just want to thank every one of you for listening. Thank you for making this show what it has become. Courtney and I appreciate you all so much. And I'll catch you on the next one.