The Mom Who Became A Mass Killer | Documentary

get down [Music] yeah nice in the back [Music] knife behind her stick them in the car [Music] Ed by a tumultuous past a mother of three goes on an unthinkably brutal Rampage not even she can comprehend the sheer evil Unleashed upon those who she claimed to have loved the most my girlfriend just caught me and said that uh it's too late it's already done my three kids are dead I don't know what happened they really know I can't believe I can do that tonight but as the Twisted details of a family's buried secrets begin to surface a shocking motive derived from jealousy and betrayal is brought to light while the community is left Shattered by the utter Devastation residing in the highly populated city of Palm Bay Florida was a family of five consisting of 33 year old Jessica McCarty her children from a previous relationship seven-year-old Lacey McCarty six-year-old Philip McCarty Jessica's boyfriend Christopher Swiss and their shared five-month-old son also named Christopher the couple began dating a little over two years prior after Jessica and her husband Philip McCarty separated in 2012. Chris Jessica and the children had only been living in the Kenmore Street neighborhood a short eight months where they enjoyed the friendly Community as reported by their neighbors Jessica could always be seen about the area taking walks with her children and Lacey and Phillip would occasionally play in the front yard Chris also took over as a coach to the children's little league baseball team where it seemed they became even closer Jessica was a recent stay-at-home mom following the birth of Christopher after previously working in the medical field Chris worked as a quality assurance manager at my safe home inspection following his military service he struggled with post-traumatic stress disorder leaving him unable to drive but Jessica was more than willing to take over the responsibility the family was happy or so it seemed but no one really knew of the Twisted reality lurking behind the scenes it was another typical Friday morning that March 20th of 2015 when the family awoke around 6 40. Lacey and Philip were ecstatic as they had reached their last day of school before spring break and had plans of a Beach vacation with their grandparents Jessica had endured another sleepless night with the infant but made sure that everyone was ready and out the door by 7 45. first she drove Lacey and Philip to Discovery Elementary School then took Christopher to his workplace later her mother Patrician Noll came over to her house there baby Christopher and his grandmother spent time together while Jessica completed a certificate for food stamps online a couple of hours later her mother would leave and Jessica would perform her usual chores however there was one thing on her to-do list that no one could have seen coming something that cast a dark cloud over the once Sunny community and it all started with a phone call to Christopher from none other than Jessica the time was 5 53 p.m Chris his brother Matthew Swift and their mother Cheryl Swiss had just arrived at fired up pizza to have dinner the outing was only recently planned by Matthew who picked Chris up from work and the two met Cheryl at The Establishment but the dining experience was cut short by the disturbing phone call Chris answered Jessica's call but what she said was no typical conversation starter in a haunting voice she told him the kids are dead Chris quite literally didn't believe a single word and told her that she had to have been lying before proceeding to hang up but two minutes later Chris was convinced that something absolutely terrible had taken place at 5 55 PM Jessica messaged him a picture of their kitchen floor stained with blood little did he know that this was only a sliver of the inconceivable horror that had taken place within the home location emergency my location is okay what's going on my girlfriend just called me and said that uh having some people in the house maybe huh do you know and she just hung up on you yeah she didn't she didn't sound good and then I lost her and I figured I haven't called her back um are your children now mother frantically drives the two toward his home around 6 PM Jessica also makes a call to 9-1-1 indicating that she's in possession of a firearm stating that she isn't afraid to use it chillingly she tells the dispatcher it's too late it's already done my three kids are dead upon Chris's arrival he immediately rushes inside where he finds a bloody Jessica in the living room holding a butcher's knife he quickly disarms the blade and demands to know where the children are before she can answer he is overcome with a wave of Terror as he sees Philip's body laying between the love seat and the couch covered by a blanket Chris makes his way throughout the house in search of his own child who he finds to be in the same horrendous condition laying on the left side of the master bed is five-month-old Christopher also with a blanket draped over his body in addition there's a pink charging cord wrapped around his neck beside him a seven-year-old Lacey who has also been covered it appears that her entire body has just been submerged in water her blue lips and pale skin indicate that she may have been drowned despite their unconsciousness the children are barely holding on to life in a panic State Chris unwraps the cord from his infant's neck and rushes him outside where he attempts to perform CPR he dials 9-1-1 once again informing the dispatcher of the heartbreaking situation it isn't long before police arrive and a distraught Jessica is the first to encounter them in the back already knife behind her not only does Jessica have a kitchen knife in hand but a second one hidden in her waistband using a beanbag shotgun the police are able to subdue her and seize the knives sprinting through the front door an officer makes their way to Philip where it's discovered that he also has a charging cord wrapped around his neck the officer removes the cord and begins CPR however the child is not responding additional officers discover Lacey in the master bedroom where they attempt to resuscitate the young girl but she is also unresponsive in the front yard authorities attempt to revive Chris's infant's son and soon all three children are rushed to the hospital Jessica is an immediate need of medical attention if you want to go out with me since I got gloves take that roll her to her side roll on your left side roll to your side authorities are desperately trying to bandage the wounds to Jessica's wrists and neck before they can transport her to the hospital as police began to search the house they find what can only be described as something straight out of a horror movie blood stains coat the entirety of the living room while the main menu for the movie Marley and Me plays eerily on the TV Frozen in Time the once happy place for a family to gather has now been transformed into a terrifying nightmare police find the kitchen in the same shocking State this is where Jessica had taken an alarming picture of the floor sending it to her boyfriend to convince him of The Unbelievable Truth in addition authorities locate Blood on the kitchen table as well as the cabinets and dishwasher and into various drawers along with the Butcher's Block while the first bathroom of the house appears untouched the next is catastrophically different the shower's enclosure frame looks as though it's been slammed to the ground while shards of glass are scoured throughout the scene although what prompts the most concern is the bathtub filled with water while the faucet continues to run next the officer searched Christopher's room where they notice a trail of blood leading directly to the crib however as authorities make their way outside they uncover something unbelievable a shocking piece of evidence is located on the dashboard of Jessica's vehicle a chilling note indicating that she had every intention of committing the Monstrous Deeds you'll soon hear the disturbing Secrets lurking behind every word that could only have come from a truly deranged mind all the while Jessica along with her children were being rushed to the hospital both Lacey and her mother were transported to Holmes Regional Medical Center where the child's life would come to a tragic end at 7 05 pm Philip and Christopher were taken to Palm Bay Community Hospital however it was soon determined that the two boys would be transferred to Florida Hospital for Children while enroute Phillips suddenly went into cardiac arrest and was immediately driven to wusthof hospital where he passed away at 11 22 PM baby Christopher was the only child left fighting therefore they doing them alive I feel so bad I have to put it down weights I think it's impossible even afraid that God would please take me please an autopsy would later reveal that seven-year-old Lacey sustained bruises to her feet and the left side of her abdomen along with lacerations to her knees feet and right eye in addition three scratches on both sides of her neck indicated that she was desperately trying to resist something from being placed around her Lacey's causes of death were determined to be drowning and manual strangulation six-year-old Phillip had visible ligature marks around his neck with no other signs of injury the conclusive manner of death would ultimately be ligature strangulation Christopher remained in critical condition the sheer Devastation brought about one burning question how could a parent take the lives of their own children according to family and friends Jessica was a very devoted mother however there had been a darker side that no one was able to see until it was too late we'll hear it now firsthand from the mouth of a killer as detectives try to make sense of the tragedy you feel better than what you was feeling downstairs no no are you in pain I'm in pain and I'm unbelievably destroyed and upset the detective proceeds to read Jessica Her Miranda rights and she agrees to speak with them has there been any problems in your in your relationship with uh Christopher recently yeah okay tell me about that when did that start um it's better than ongoing for months for years in the Marines I do a whole bunch of stuff and has BTSD man kind of things that I sit in the house and sleep all day and don't do anything that's awesome you know those comments because everything has to hurt me apparently the pair had been having relationship troubles for quite some time and it will soon be revealed just how turbulent these issues were for now Jessica briefly explains the timeline of events that occurred from the night before and into Friday she states that the family returned home in the evening from Lacey and Phillips Little League baseball game and the children were fast asleep by 8 45. however this wouldn't be the end of the night for Jessica and Chris seeing as a fight had suddenly emerged between the two as the investigation unfolds we'll discover the truth behind the lover's quarrel I'm sorry that this is coming back to me in different pieces because I cannot stop thinking about my kids okay last night he told me he didn't want to be with me anymore Christopher told you that last night yeah so you so did you guys have an argument before going to bed it wasn't really an argument it was Obsession and I just wanted to know why why do you tell why we've been together so long and day after day you tell me you love me and how much part of your world and you love what we have but you don't see us having a future was there anything that led up to him telling you he didn't want to see you no more I mean he blames the wall on me so is this an argument that's been is this uh I guess an argument that's been going on for days longer than that longer than that so has he told you before in the past that he didn't want to be with you anymore okay Jessica wanted so desperately for the relationship to work but Chris was apprehensive and for good reason so it seems that you still care from you still was in love with him love him more than anything in the world I can't believe she does not feel the same we learn more as she continues with the interview she goes on to discuss their most recent dispute that occurred earlier Friday afternoon on the phone where Chris informed her that he made plans to play baseball that night however Jessica wasn't pleased with the IDM she had plans with a friend and needed Chris to watch the kids following the call further words were exchanged via text message indicating that the disagreement was far from over Chris wrote why were you yelling when you hung up the phone to which Jessica responded maybe because I'm destroyed my heart is broken in a million pieces and the person I'm in love with hates me he's saying he wants to go out yeah okay oh and then he said well you know what you can leave the baby I'll come home you can leave the baby and the kids can't stay here you mean the two older ones that's not his how did that make you feel the pair continued to text and Chris stated I really do desperately need a break from everything I'm good hanging at the house with Christopher tonight Jessica responded with whatever you say Chris then attempted to Defuse The Situation let's just try to have a fun weekend and see what happens however Jessica told him that she canceled her plans for the night and the argument intensified you go out with Matt and play baseball and everything that's fine by me I wanted to do one thing I have no friends Jessica stated to which Chris responded any other night go out where did you get money from to go drinking after all that's been said did you really expect me to hand you sixty dollars and babysit your jids the next time that Chris and Jessica spoke was her chilling phone call and let me just make it very clear what happened today and how I did what I did to her I didn't do it because of anything he said I don't know what happened to me I don't even remember doing it I'm still in shock so tell me what you did to the kids that you remember and let's start with I don't remember okay I I don't remember do you recall seeing them hurt inside the house let's go there I remember PJ laying on the floor and which one is PJ is going to be Phillip Phillips okay so Philip was laying on the floor and then I remember when Chris got there I saw him carried the baby out of the house where did uh Chris carry the baby from the bedroom my bedroom okay I may not have even seen the two Lucy and the baby when I called Chris I may have just seen PJ on before and that's when I pulled up and he's like yeah right and hung up on me okay and I said the pictures okay and when you saw PJ on the floor why is it that it appeared to you that he was dead okay did you touch him did you try to wake him yeah okay well tell me about tell me about that what did you do I moved him I didn't do anything Jessica states that she didn't attempt to perform CPR on Philip so after you called Christopher and told him the kids are dead that's when you discover the other two in the room I just knew just knew I didn't want to see it okay well did you go into the room though to see them if they was in there I know they were in there I put them in there okay when did you put them in there before were they alive when they when you put them in there obviously they were the babies okay what did you do to them before putting them into the bed it's a baby let's start with the baby what did you do to the baby I don't even know do you remember seeing a telephone um charger cord did you use that on the baby do you remember Mom oh okay do you remember hurting the baby I love him so much I could never imagine that he's the happiest baby in the whole wide world okay I don't know how this happened okay I don't I don't even know how Okay do you remember something like that why do you think you did it I don't know say Do you believe do you believe that you're the one that injured the kids I don't know I mean it was nobody else in the house right yes okay I mean I guess so I mean I can't I can't and I know it's probably because I'm trying not to okay do you remember at some point do you know if you drowned any of the kids I don't think so did you put any of them under water no okay do you know if you strangled any of the kids I don't know okay do you think you stabbed any of the kids with the knife he was holding no I don't think so as it turned out Jessica was fighting her own demons conjured up by a rocky past according to police documents she had previously struggled with a substance problem and had a history of run-ins with the law Jessica's mother Patricia provides detectives with specifics first of all is she diagnosed with anything mentally that you know of you know I know she's seen different psychiatrists but um I don't an official diagnosis I don't know she got diagnosed bipolar I think it said they they suspected bipolar I don't know if they ever confirmed it though we don't know if Jessica was formally diagnosed with either of these disorders individuals with borderline personality disorder are often mistakenly diagnosed with bipolar disorder but the two are very different in bipolar disorder the affected person experiences episodes of mania and sometimes depression however in between episodes they can typically function well or at least demonstrate an improvement in mood and behaviors people with borderline personality disorder don't have episodes of illness the emotions and behaviors they display are more continuous because the issues are a part of the individual's personality I never thought she was bipolar myself and she like she didn't act the typical bipolar it wasn't manic depressive she was sometimes she'd be fine then all of a sudden she'd be like yeah it's just sad yeah this indicates that Jessica never displayed manic episodes and her unstable mood could be a result of borderline personality disorder do you know what would trigger those emotions not really I guess when things weren't going right in her life if she had a fight with someone at work or nothing in particular what about drug use did she ever have a history of drug use okay tell me about that um she was incarcerated for like three months how long ago Xanax for a while and then oxycodone was the so you worked for a doctor's office This was um a year ago Decemberists when she got out she was in for three months in December a year ago December and the kids lived with us at that time while she was away for three months okay but she's stealing scripts and stuff that's what she gets um convicted of stealing she did steal a scripted from the doctor's office that she worked in yeah and filled them illegally okay and was taking them and selling them I guess I don't know for sure okay Jessica's history of substance use and the resulting legal issues can be typical of individuals with borderline personality disorder due to the impulsivity that is characteristic of the disorder and not only that but according to Philip Jessica's estranged husband she had also stolen a credit card from a fellow employee during their marriage using it to make fraudulent purchases at a Target she was eventually caught by law enforcement and banned from the establishment after after she had the kids she died um after this last baby she's having a postpartum depression did ever get worse at just after they having a baby or with the other two she was fine she never had any problems after the baby with this baby there was a complications with the birth and she still has it she's not healed yet it's five months and the incision that was made she had a C-section the incision that was made when she was leaving the hospital that day the whole incision opened up entire resolution opened up and they told her that there was nothing they could do her doctor was out of town and they sent her home with that and it got all infected and she was in the hospital footage over the next three months probably 21 days I cannot Hospital seven infection and she was so depressed because she couldn't take care of the baby she was always exhausted and it all started with that C-section but as far as postpartum it wasn't because of the baby I feel it was because of the complications yeah she loved that baby so much she was a wonderful mother she really was but this wouldn't be the only sign of someone who was in desperate need of help Jessica was eventually sent to Circle of Care a mental health agency but as the investigation continues authorities will learn that Jessica may have had sickening thoughts of wanting to hurt others for a very long time okay I just left and I'm very impulsive like that those with borderline personality disorder are well known for their impulsive actions poor anger control and frantic efforts to avoid real or imagined abandonment although individuals with this disorder can become suddenly angry and act on impulse the disorder is not typically associated with committing acts of serious violence or murder I've been in and out of circles of hair and move stuff and different therapy are you diagnosed mentally with anything yeah bipolar I'm sure I post your extract disorder my PTSD I was why I mean I can't even tell you do you take medication for that no sometimes yes if you did hurt the kids today what led to that what was what happened today that led to that was it was it was it a conversation that you're having with with Christopher what he's saying he doesn't want your kids at the house tonight what was it was the kids yelling and screaming in the house where they were they were they misbehaving they were being the kids were being good they're always good do you believe that you're the one that hurt the kids but think about it because things that you're telling us can there's also information you can you can relate to the doctors which can probably help them if we know what happened to them right okay so I'm trying to find out what did you do to them because we need something we need to tell the doctors so they know how to care for them the detective pleads with Jessica to recall every last detail of the distressing events but she simply cannot or so she claims did you still have the knife in your hand when the police showed up yeah okay did they tell you to drop the knife yes did you drop the knife no why not because I want them to shoot me just try to relax and I want you to try to help try to remember as much as you can about what happened to the kids I will not that's gonna be something I'm gonna erase my memory forever I can't my daughter is dead well I'm actually this well I'm actually this is Jessica do you think they infant did it Christopher the little Christopher sure you think Christopher you're talking to me what a reason why I'm trying to talk to you I'm trying to weed out the possibilities and I'm trying to help you remember by saying things like this because the only people that was in the house yeah Remember by talking to condescending listen to me the only people that was in the house was was you and the kids obviously I did it and I don't know how I did it and you don't know why and I don't I have no reason why I love my children they are my life I wake up for them I take care of them all day long and I put them to bed I sleep with them at night once a week I don't think you can find one person in this world you could say I'm a bad mom you had the world on your shoulders you had your husband that basically left you with the two kids you had a new baby the baby's dad is blaming you for you know not working even though the baby's five months old it really I mean that's a job itself you had complications from a C-section I mean you had no support in listen having been there done that I'm not saying it's an excuse but I can see where somebody would snap and just Buckle under all that weight I I can see it it's a little rural they can be the best kids but you know what kids are still kids they still cry all night they may be wrong I know and I feel amazing she was such a good girl Jessica states that she never previously injured any of her children and wouldn't even think about it although future Revelations will prove this to be horribly untrue you're swearing everything you're telling me is the truth as far as I can remember okay but I mean I'm doing way best to remember okay do you think after you have some rest you might be able to remember more I hope I don't know can I come back tomorrow you can come back but I don't want to remember it's common among individuals with borderline personality disorder to disconnect from reality or block painful memories and feelings from their minds one of the primary symptoms of the disorder is severe dissociative symptoms dissociating is often how they learn to cope with thoughts and feelings that are difficult or painful you talk about her a lot do you remember doing something specifically to her so it's lazy do you remember anything specifically you could have done her I remember talking to her on my bed and she was scared but I don't know anything else how do you know she was scared I saw the wolf on her face okay were you holding the knife at that time no according to Jessica throughout the ordeal Lacey persistently told her mother of how much she loved her do you think if Christopher never told you made that comment about your kids about the two older kids that he didn't want them at the house do you think this never would have happened absolutely because that I wouldn't have been home because what I wouldn't have been home excuse but that's not why I said it it's not I would never take that out on that so why do you think you did it I don't know you said you decided to college and tell them why why was your first decision to call this person tell him no did you want to hurt Chris make him upset no why send him the picture of the blood because you didn't believe me he's like yeah okay he hung up what type of reaction were you expecting from him I mean what was it like oh my God are you serious I'll be right there no yeah okay I'll talk to you later I'm drinking sorry am I this crazy right now like did I actually do this did I do this did I try to kill all my kids not what I tried to do the detective concludes the interview by stating that Jessica should rest they return to speak further the following day March 21st yesterday when we came here because she was in custody I read your rights did you need me to read them to you again or do you still know your rights I know we're right okay do you want to talk to us without a lawyer no you don't want to talk to us I do but I just can't why can't you I mean can you just clarify what you mean by that you want to talk but you can't you can't Oh you mean you can't recall or you can't talk there's nothing more I can tell you today that I didn't tell you yesterday Jessica agrees to proceed without a lawyer the detective is eager to ask a critical question regarding the note found in her car do you remember when your mom came over yes and she brought the kids over after school right yes okay uh how long did she stay when she came up not long oh okay were you um do you remember like like writing something in a journal while she was there and she asked me what she was writing to remember that no okay do you remember writing no it was typical of Patricia to pick the kids up from school once or twice a week if she had on Friday March 20th however when she arrived with the children she quickly noticed that things weren't as usual and would you rather Jessica house was anybody there he just was she there by herself did you go inside the house okay uh tell me what happened when you arrived um well the door was locked and she came and unlocked it and then she was actually sitting on the recliner and she was ready in a notebook would it look like it was just like I don't know what color the Potter was because she had it open okay just like a little Journal thing it was like a regular yeah and she was writing in there and she was just looking up at the TV and writing and the kids were just sitting there watching TV I suggested would be writing when she said I'm just writing some stuff down so it looks like you're writing a letter you're writing a letter and she said yeah kind of I said well can we write a letter to sitting on in particular was it gonna read it and she said no you can't read it and she kind of left sadly the note that Jessica had been writing would turn out to be the same one that police found on the dashboard of her car and Not only would the heartbreaking content send authorities down a spiraling staircase of questions but it would also serve as a background to a possible motive besides her writing in a notebook if you notice any uh behaviors with her that looked like she was getting stressed out I'm not stressed out she was she seemed like sad but not like you know no I would just suggest you know do you want me to take the kids home Etc you want me to take them home and then you can get done what you got to do she said no I said well if Chris is not coming home why don't you let me take the kids and you just have the baby you can finish your laundry whatever and she said well to tell you the truth I'd rather you left the kids here because they'll keep me company the timing of Jessica writing this note indicates that there was planning involved this allowed her to imagine the atrocity of killing her three children suggesting that her actions may not have been impulsive after all Okay so you leave um when is the next time you hear from uh Jessica I just answered the phone and she said mom I've just wanted to tell you I'm very sorry you got something sorry for she said because of what I did I said she's the devil should I kill the children it's in my regions she said I did I said you did not I screamed but I did not and she said I did I did but all three of them I killed and I started screaming for my husband it was in my bed I know it's the thing she would have done this because no one would have thought she would have done that of course not yeah if I thought she was given anything like that I know more about this children yeah and she wasn't like she was very calm she wasn't distraught she wasn't screaming yelling you know she was just there and she just said Mom I don't really feel like talking so I'll call you later and I just get some Divine and although Patricia can recall the course of events for that day Jessica is unable to do the same down inside out beautifully if I can do something like that and we're just trying to get everybody to understand why why it happened thank you for my life they were awesome like that honest they don't have any friends they were the only ones who okay do you remember telling your mom that you felt like taking your kid's life no a couple weeks ago yeah what I did say was I understand how certain parents do that do taking their kids lives yes okay I never said I would do it because I never ever in Elaine use would have imagined that happening now you said you understand why some parents would do that explain to me why do you how do you understand that I you know I I'm done answering questions it's okay you hear any questions for us more questions about my family that's all I talked to Philip yesterday not well he was very upset thinking that I saw that mining lifestyle I understand it's Horrible's when he was a kid but if you don't come around and you don't see your kids and you don't support your kids it shouldn't have been as hard on him otherwise for everybody else but then he feels a lot of guilt for not seeing him oh you should Jessica is unable to provide any other useful information in the interview quickly ends however the next day on Sunday March 22nd five-month-old Christopher is pronounced dead at 7 12 p.m due to ligature strangulation on March 23rd Jessica has provided a warrant for her DNA as the authorities are hoping to distinguish her blood from anyone else's within the home Jessica remains in a distorted State as she still cannot believe that her three children are dead she begins to break down and cry before proceeding with the cheek swab however the gut-wrenching case is far from over as the Palm Bay Community Mourns and searches for answers there are still two individuals who we have yet to hear from Jessica is estranged husband Phillip along with her boyfriend Chris just four days after the harrowing ordeal both are given a chance to sit down with authorities a mountain of Secrets will soon be revealed shedding a whole new light on the investigation we begin with Phillip well my job here is just to find the facts all right now I'm not here to crucify her or anything like that we just want the facts you know what we want mainly when we want to do justice for the children yes you know that that's that's the only thing right here and yes how long has she exhibited like some mental issues or she knows I would say before the kids were born I think she took sleeping pills or something but I do remember when the kids that are about I'd say I don't want to be kind of correct and make sure uh I don't know maybe four and three maybe three two somewhere around there I do I remember one time telling me because we were going through these times and then I'm trying to tell her that everything's gonna be okay and and her going no I'm having these weird thoughts these thoughts that shouldn't be on my mind say what do you mean weird thoughts because I think thought about it killing the kids and these kinds of thoughts indicate that Jessica may have been suffering from postpartum depression and since she was suffering from serious mental health issues and then experienced the impact of childbirth multiple times she may have been suffering with it for years postpartum depression as a complex and not well understood diagnosis those symptoms are most commonly seen in the first few weeks after birth they can occur any time within the first year emotional behavioral and cognitive changes may be caused but it can also be accompanied by psychosis and other symptoms including the diminished ability to think clearly delusions or strange beliefs feeling very irritated paranoia and suspiciousness and rapid mood swings and what I was like you've got to be kidding me right I was like how how could you guys are still together then those years ago you know that was after our kids so why would you even say this says the love of your lives I mean I mean they're for all our love or our life I mean we did everything for our kids and her family you know her family was like my family it seems that Jessica was having these disturbing thoughts well before she actually acted on them only two weeks before that tragic day Jim Noll Jessica's younger brother had made his way to her home he planned to confront her about unrelated issues that had supposedly caused a rift in the family supposedly six-year-old Philip was in the room for the entire dispute however Jim claims that he and his sister ended the argument by having a heart-to-heart conversation and the dust seemed to have settled unfortunately it appears that Jessica's dark thoughts were getting the best of Herm besides that you know she's all love and caring mom you know she's always worried about the kids you know what you know hopefully the system happens because she said Lacey here lately it has been you know getting reports from home from school saying that she was you know acting out in class or whatever or not doing it I'd like to see space in there so she was saying that she thought Lacey was it looked like some that she went through when she was younger I think she was or something uh Jessica was the last time you saw our doctor I talked to her that day 12 through 12 15 12 30 that okay Friday yeah human or that afternoon yes during the day yeah what'd you all talk about talked about uh she said that uh do you got my child support I said no so I probably have two of us Saturday or Sunday and she goes well I don't wanna I ain't asking gonna help me now my water is about to be shut off and I needed the money now and I was like well I can't do nothing now following her separation from Philip in 2012 Jessica had apparently developed a substance problem leading to a drug conviction this ultimately left her struggling to provide for her kids she took a job as a fry cook at a Palm Bay bowling alley in 2013 she apparently listed her income as four hundred and fifty dollars a month according to Philip he would try and give Jessica 100 to 200 a week to help with expenses it wouldn't be long before she found herself in a new relationship with Chris and then she started going like to use this calling me if he's you know crap his mother was my dad my kid was dead how much she say about something being dead yeah my baby while you have a new baby I have a new baby also saying she said she wishes yeah supposedly Jessica would make these comments on a regular basis according to the mother Philip would see the kids every so often but was reportedly never in their lives as much as Jessica wished however these claims have never been confirmed through friends or family she would always manipulate everybody because I think they believe that because I'd call on I know she did it on purpose she wouldn't answer it's likely that Jessica is a good liar hearing from Philip is making the detectives question everything Jessica told them including how she supposedly doesn't remember murdering the children I was I did season I hear something like that she said she have kids she said that told me she's just just told her how lucky she was to have these three beautiful kids and then here you know get a call from Patton six or sorry or whatever time it was and tell me when Lacey was dead and I thought did um did Jesse ever talk about Chris about what they were going through nothing no I didn't know any other problems anything like that it's never told me nothing nothing but Chris and Jessica did in fact have problems of their own problems that some would say caused a Monumental divide between the two they seemed to have it all a picture-perfect family and a new beginning yet there was a dark presence lurking in the shadows doing your two-year relationship with her did you ever see any type of behaviors that made you think that she is that she does have a mental illness or anything like that no it's not okay how was she with the kids unbelievably amazing there's a lot of things you could say about her but as far as being a mother she was realistically the top three I've ever seen only including her mom and my mom unreal how good she was with those children okay there was nothing of any sort nothing that she would not have done always there they wanted for nothing it really so she was a good provider it's the reason I was with her and I knew her children prior knowing her through you know the aunt and uncle all right the kid's aunt and uncle his parents sorry I knew them and I fell in love with Lacey when she was about two and a half and I met smash at the Super Bowl when the Giants won you met who I'm sorry is that PJ the one I call PJ okay well we've always called him Smash and like all relationships the couple wasn't perfect and would occasionally argue over various topics however only a year prior a tragic incident occurred making Chris more than suspicious of his girlfriend according to Cheryl Chris's mother Jessica had been posting about their family dog on Facebook stating things along the lines of does anybody want a dog according to Jessica she couldn't stand the animal it didn't seem likely that it was all just a coincidence when the dog's mysterious death occurred shortly thereafter apparently the dog was perfectly fine prior to its death leading friends and family to suspect that Jessica may have had something to do with it if this is true it's a significant red flag that Jessica was capable of being violent and abusive toward those who were most vulnerable and not only this but there was another cause of friction between the two as the mother's postpartum depression following the birth of Christopher was weighing down on her every day in a text message sent to Chris on March 10 2015 she wrote that the children were showing her no respect to which she threatened to snap the kids necks if they made another sound and things would only get worse when she discovered that another woman may have caught the attention of the baby's father Chris had always been known to be friendly however Jessica thought that he was a little too friendly with one of his co-workers Brandy Buckley a couple months prior to the incident Jessica had supposedly discovered flirtatious messages between the two while scouring through her boyfriend's phone although Brandy asserts that it was nothing but harmless flirting the father reportedly confided in his co-worker allegedly stating that he wished to leave Jessica but remained in the relationship for the children's sake Furious Jessica apparently created fake numbers using multiple cellular applications to send threatening texts to Brandy even allegedly stating at one point that she had enough evidence to show Brandy's husband Chris apparently didn't believe that the messages were sent from Jessica when his co-worker notified him of the bizarre texts The Continuous threats forced Brandy to change her number Jessica's anger towards the woman raged on recovered messages between Heather reimiller Chris's supervisor and Jessica convey a snippet of Jessica's disdain on February 25th she wrote hey pretty lady listen between me and you please not a word to Chris or anyone but if you decide to fire anyone or they leave not sure if it's a possibility but it would be amazing if you kept me in mind she stated that she was eager to get back in the workforce but she added one condition and honestly it would be so awesome if Brandy wasn't there politely informed her that she would be on the lookout for an opening although in an interview with detectives she stated that she would never have hired Jessica as an employee seeing as Chris already worked for the company less than a month later Jessica texted her once again but this time it was not about a job at 307 pm on Thursday March 19th only one day before the heartbreaking ordeal Jessica wrote to Heather would you be able to call me when you get a chance Chris cannot know that I'm texting wanting to talk to you but I can't hold it in anymore it must be kept in strict confidence please if he finds out I'm sure he'll leave me but I don't like what's going on Heather understandably concerned responded hey sorry I'm busy I won't say anything to him I feel a little uncomfortable because I don't know what to say Jessica stated that she had information to give however Heather was apprehensive as she wrote are you okay because this is really weird and I can guess that it's about Chris because I'm not supposed to say anything but you should probably talk to him she ended the message with but this is a little strange Heather went on to ask if it was in regard to her company and Jessica answered kind of yes eventually the two hopped on a phone call where Jessica informed Heather of the supposed Facebook messages found on Chris's phone between him and Brandy the two had allegedly called Heather an inappropriate name while discussing their problems with the supervisor Heather wasn't thrilled to hear of the news however it seemed that Jessica wanted more than anything for the pair to be reprimanded in addition Heather told authorities that she could hear an argument between the couple that Friday morning as Jessica was dropping Chris off for work although she didn't specify what they were arguing about the night prior to the incident a heated conflict had emerged between Jessica and Chris over Brandy seeing as the couple's washer and dryer had recently broken Brandy was kind enough to temporarily lend them her own although Jessica was unhappy with the arrangement according to Cheryl Chris's mother Jessica had even gone so far as to send out a Facebook post claiming that the ones given to them by the co-worker had been inoperable Furious a Chris Jessica demanded that they buy a new set the dispute supposedly escalated into a full-blown discussion regarding their relationship where Chris asserts that they mutually brought up the idea of Calling it Quits they agreed to re-evaluate the topic at the end of the weekend according to Chris however as Jessica went to bed that night she may have known that moment would never come so you didn't think she was being you didn't think she was being honest when she said the kids are all day you thought when she called me I didn't think she was being honest I didn't think there was a chance in the world right um when she sent me the picture it was enough to concern me because I thought worst case scenario she lost her mind and killed one of my dogs never in my wildest imagination on my way there did I think the kids had actually been touched I was expecting that the kids really went all three were at the grandmother's and she was just fine with me so when you when you went to the door was the door locked it wasn't locked it was closed it was close I had to turn the knob so it was unlocked it was unlocked and where was she standing immediately to my left how many feet in the house closer to me to you three three four approximately three feet from the front door was she was she holding anything butcher knife which hand was it in if you remember it was in her right because thinking about it I reached with my left in case I had a fox in case I had to sit her down did you disarm the knife yeah I grabbed and I threw it across the floor and what did and what did you do after that I said where are the kids where are them being kids Chris briefly explains the horror he encountered upon arrival at the home so I'm carrying my body and talking to him I'm going outside I go just one right past her and go out the front door and wow no she said to me she goes don't go out the front door you're right I don't want my mom to see this my mom doesn't mean so then I backtracked and ran back and as she said that you know I'm thinking okay well there's obviously somebody else there's somebody in the laundry room there's somebody in the garage is going to stab me in the neck so I switch over I have Christopher my left arm and I run through and there's nobody there so you go through the garage yeah the garage door was open when I came to the house which is strange so the garage door was open so then I ran through and I drove uh to the passenger side of my truck my truck was back in I go to the uh right side of it blocking the view of my mom and I started just pushing on them to just hoping for the death do you think you're Jessica's suffering from a mental illness yes absolutely do you think the act that she did was because of the mental illness yes you think it's malicious yes it's something that I couldn't figure out at the time but I hope that I don't know if there's that technology that those phone calls that I received are recordable I hope they are she was not hurt if you listen to her voice in real life and the voice that she had on that phone it was not her when I walked in that front door and I stared her in the eyes it was not her and at the same time Jessica couldn't even recognize herself however in a most shocking and heartbreaking letter left behind by the mother she writes directly to the ones she loves most stating to my family I'm so sorry for what I had to do I love you all more than life itself I'm fully aware that this is much more painful for everyone I left behind I had no other choice thank you for being the most amazing family we are truly the luckiest in the world Jessica goes on to write a portion of the letter specifically for Chris Dear Chris as I've said in the past I love you more than life itself I could never picture my life without you you were a good dad to Christopher please keep his beautiful memory alive I'm sorry I couldn't be like Brandy I can't stand your infatuation with her but maybe you too can have a happy life together she continues on with the chilling words I finally believe you when you say I'm not good enough you hate Lacey so I know you won't miss her please remember all the horrible and disrespectful things you said when you go for the jugular those words never leave me in the final Pages Jessica cannot contain her feelings writing well you're right I am worthless just like you tell me all the time I can't live without my children I also can't live with my whole family falling apart guess that's it for now hope to see you in the afterlife if I get there I know the kids will good luck thanks for destroying our family in December of 2015 Jessica pleaded guilty to three counts of first-degree murder ultimately avoiding the death penalty and will spend the rest of her life Behind Bars to this day however no one can say for certain what led the mother to commit one of the most horrific crimes that the nation has ever seen

Channel: EWU Crime Storytime

Views: 4,121,185

Keywords: documentary, true crime documentary, analysis, psychology, educational

Id: KGtoOgUtGR0

Length: 57min 7sec (3427 seconds)

Published: Tue Jul 11 2023