A Case Almost Too Terrifying To Mention: Cassie Jo Stoddart

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- There should be no law against killing people. You restrict somebody from it, they're gonna want it more. - [Brian] Dude, I just killed Cassie. (anxious music) - [Narrator] On September 22nd, 2006, Cassie Jo Stoddart was house sitting for her aunt and uncle who were out of town. To help pass the time, she decided to invite over her boyfriend, Matt as well as their two male friends, Brian and Torey. The group sat down to watch "Kill Bill". However, before the movie was over Brian and Torey departed saying that they wanted to catch a movie at the cinema instead. Cassie bid the pair farewell and settled back into the movie with her boyfriend blissfully unaware that tonight was the night a long planned sinister plot was to take place and that each second, that ticked by as she sat inside the house, brought her closer to her doom. Cassie's night was about to become a real life horror film and a chilling lesson to the world to be careful who you trust. Be warned. The topics and footage shown in today's video are extremely disturbing. Let's get into it. Brian Lee Draper and Torey Michael Adamcik were best friends. Both born in 1990, only a few months apart. They met and became buddies when Brian moved from Utah to small town, Idaho where the two teens would spend their days together as juniors at Pocatello High School. Both boys were somewhat of misfits and though they largely kept to themselves, they bonded over their love of film and were for the most part one another's only close friends, except that is for Cassie and Matt. Born in December, 1989, 16 year old Cassie Jo Stoddart was a classmate of both Brian and Torey. And although by all accounts she seemed to be the polar opposite of the reclusive boys, a vibrant and outgoing young lady with a passion for music and drawing, she became a good friend to the pair. Adored by family and teachers alike and preparing to go to college with hopes to study law. It's no wonder that Cassie's younger brother said she was his role model. Born and raised in Pocatello, Cassie was a typical teenager who worked hard in her classes and enjoyed spending time with her boyfriend, Matthew Beckham. Matt knew Tory since the previous school year and he'd met Brian all the way back in seventh grade. Some sources say that Brian and Tory made friends with Cassie while joking around in class. Many thought that Brian had a crush on the girl and was jealous of her relationship with Matt. What nobody knew though, is that Cassie's trusted friends were brewing a deadly plan and she was their target. You see Brian and Torey both harbored a dark fascination with serial killers. They loved watching imaginary onscreen murderers and Torey was especially obsessed with the "Scream" movies. Their tastes also transcended to real life as they admired notorious figures, such as Ted Bundy, The Hillside Strangler and the Zodiac Killer. Both boys wanted their own taste of the spotlight that infamous killers had received. With their uncanny dark interests aligning Brian and Torey only strengthened and encouraged one another's desires for violence. And soon enough, they made a concrete plan for their first kill. On August 31st, 2006, Torey asked an 18 year old friend to purchase a few knives for him, pretending that he wanted to start a collection. Brian and Torey drove their friend to a pawn shop where Torey carefully selected one knife and Brian chose three. Here's where things get even weirder. The friend's hunger for glory and fame was a top priority and thus, they began filming videos of themselves planning their crimes. Some of the boys ensuing videotapes aren't available to the public to watch but their transcripts can be found online. One from September 21st was filmed around 8:00 p.m. by Bryan in the passenger seat while Torey drove. They seemed to be discussing an unknown perspective female victim. Brian brags, "We're going for a high death count. "We're going to make history. "We're gonna make history." Torey chimes in while laughing, "For all you FBI agents "watching this, you weren't quick enough." Brian again, "You weren't quick enough "and you weren't smart enough "and we're going over to redacted's house. "We're going to snoop around over there "and try to see if she's home alone or not. "And if she's home alone, splat, she's dead." This clip was taken around the same time. - There should be law against killing people. I know it's a wrong thing but hell, you restrict somebody from it, they're gonna want it more. - [Narrator] They move on to discuss Cassie and Matt saying that they planned to drive to their house, lure Matt outside and kill him. 15 minutes later, this video was recorded. - [Brian] We found our victim and sad as it may be she's our friend but you know what? We all have to make sacrifices. Our first victim is going to be Cassie Stoddart, she's gonna be alone in a big dark house out in the middle of nowhere (laughs). How perfect can you get? I mean, like holy (beeps). - [Torey] I'm horny just thinking about it. - [Brian] Hell yeah. - [Narrator] Directly after the video transcription shows the boys talking about another unnamed female. They say she's home alone so they might go kill her and then drive to Cassie's house to quote, kill them one by (beeps) one. Torey says, "One by one? "Why can't it be a slaughterhouse?" Brian responds, "Two by two and three by three. "'Cause we've gotta keep it classy." Later adding, "So yeah, it's going to be extra fun." And then he says, "We are sick psychopaths "who get their pleasure off killing other people." Torey replies, "That sounds good, baby." The tape ends with Brian saying, "Murder is power. "Murder is freedom. "Goodbye." But it wouldn't be until the next day that the partners in crime would actually enact their horrible plan. In the morning at school they caught Cassie on tape at her locker. - Cassie. Hey, girlfriend. - Hello, Cassie. I'm getting you on tape, okay? Say hi, please. - Hi. - Yeah, see ya. - [Narrator] Later at around noon they skipped class to film this chilling video. - September 22nd, 2006, we're skipping our fourth hour. We're writing our plan right now. - I'm making our death list right now. - I'm sorry Cassie's family but she had to be the one. We have to stick with the plan. And she's perfect, so. She's gonna die (laughs). - [Narrator] Again, parts of this tape are only available through transcripts. They apparently pause for a while, uttering, "She's watching us." Paranoid that a teacher is listening in, Brian loudly asks, "Number two is what?" Likely trying to feign a study session. Later Brian says, "Yeah, if you're watching this, "we're probably deceased. "Hopefully this will go smoothly "and we can get our first kill done "and then keep going." The boys yearly wish good luck to future serial killers watching the tape and lament that they've tried to strike 10 times already but their targets weren't home alone. But now Brian says their patients is about to pay off. Later that night, Friday, September 22nd, Cassie got ready to fulfill the first night of her weekend-long house sitting duty at the abandoned residence on Whispering Cliffs Drive in Bannock County. She didn't have much to do besides care for the families three cats and two dogs. So she was grateful to have some company when Matt arrived. Later they were joined by Brian and Torey. Before the group sat down to enjoy a film Cassie gave her guests the grand tour of the home, showing them around all the rooms and even the basement. What Cassie didn't know was that Brian and Torey's eventual excuse of leaving to hit up the local movie theater was a complete lie. As the boys exited the home they deliberately unlocked the basement door so that they could be able to reenter undetected. The boys departed briefly, but not for long. They drove back to the neighborhood and parked down the street. In a videotape Brian explained, "We're here in his car. "Unfortunately we have the grueling task "of killing our two friends. "Yep. "We're really nervous right now but you know, we're ready." This clip is from the same videotape. - [Brian] Is 9:50, September 22nd, 2006. We know there's lots of doors there. There's lots of places to hide. I unlocked the back doors. That's all unlocked. Now we just gotta wait. - [Narrator] They talk about listening to Pink Floyd calling them the greatest rock band ever and say they've waited for this a long time. The boys dawn specific costumes for their exploit consisting of dark clothes, gloves and white masks seemingly inspired by the "Scream" movies. Just as planned, they slinked back into the basement through the unlocked door. But they didn't attack right away. First, they wanted to gain some sick satisfaction out of scaring the couple. Cassie and Matt were still watching TV when they started hearing loud noises. These noises were made by Brian and Torey in a bid to lure their friends downstairs. They reportedly broke two ashtrays on the stairs leading down to the basement. But when this didn't work the insidious intruders took it a step further, locating a circuit breaker and turning off the home's power. Still, although they were growing increasingly unnerved, Cassie and Matt did not venture downstairs to check out the strange occurrences. One of Cassie's uncle's dogs was freaking out, pacing back and forth and staring intently down towards the basement, barking and growling. But Cassie and her boyfriend never suspected that what the dog was sensing was their own trusted friends. As the couple didn't seem to be reacting, the boys restored some of the lights in the house. Despite their efforts to shake off their creeping feeling gnawing at them, Cassie and Matt just couldn't relax after all the bizarre signs. Matt wanted to be there for Cassie and he phoned his mother to ask for permission to spend the night at the house with his frightened girlfriend. His mom said she wouldn't allow it but she kindly offered that Cassie could come home with them and spend the night assuring that she would drop her back off in the morning to continue her house sitting. Cassie likely wished she could take her up on this offer and ride away to spend the night safe and sound at her boyfriend's home, but responsible as ever she reluctantly had to decline. Cassie felt it was important to follow through on her promise to watch over her uncle's property and pets. And so Matt's mother came on schedule to pick up her son at around 10:30 p.m. And as the lights of the vehicle faded into the distance, Cassie knew she had to overcome her fear and face the night alone. At some point, Matt called Torey to check up on where he and Brian were but he noticed something odd when Torey picked up. He was whispering and Matt could barely make out what he was saying. Matt shrugged it off, assuming the boys were simply at the movie theater as they had said. Knowing that Matt was gone, Brian and Torey once again turned out the lights in a last effort to make Cassie come to them so they could surprise their unsuspecting victim. But when she didn't show up, their patients quickly ran dry. They made their way upstairs. Brian held a dagger while Torey was equipped with a hunting knife. After ascending the staircase, Brian sadistically opened and slammed a nearby closet door in order to startle Cassie who was lying down on the living room couch. As she approached to see what was going on, Cassie allegedly spoke, "Who is that? "I'll kick your ass." Then the boys descended upon the helpless girl, stabbing her approximately 30 times with 12 of the wounds being potentially fatal. Brian and Torey quickly fled the gruesome scene and began driving to a rural area to hide the evidence. One might think that the teenage boys would sit in solemn shock as the reality that they'd just murdered their friend hit them. But this video they filmed during the drive shows how they truly felt. - [Brian] I just killed Cassie. We've just left her house. This is not a (beeps) joke. - I'm shaking. - I stabbed her in the throat and saw her lifeless body just disappear. Dude, I'm just killed Cassie. Oh, oh (beeps). That felt like it wasn't even real. I mean, it went by so fast. - Shut the (beeps). We gotta get our act straight. - Okay. - [Narrator] Reportedly the boys then went to buy movie tickets that they hoped would serve as their alibi. And then after driving out to a remote area the boys placed their weapons and clothing in a bag and set it on fire. Matt had told Cassie he'd call her when he got home. But when he tried to reach her phone at 12:15 a.m. he didn't receive a response. With a sinking feeling, he ended up calling her another 15 times that Saturday morning. Cassie's mother was also attempting to reach her through calls and texts. But Cassie never replied. In an eerie twist, Matt hung out with Torey and his family on Saturday evening. Not once having any inkling that less than 24 hours before his good friends had viciously plunged a knife into his girlfriend's body. Perhaps Matt figured that Cassie was simply busy with her house sitting job, but the more time that passed the more nervous he got. Even asking Torey to give him a ride back to the Whispering Cliffs house. Torey declined stating that he didn't have enough gas for the trip. So Matt accepted his excuse and spent the night at Torey's house. Sunday was the last day Cassie was supposed to house sit. And at about 1:15 p.m., her aunt and uncle returned from their trip to relieve her. They were surprised to find the doors all open and broken glass at the bottom of the stairs. But nothing could have prepared them for the grizzly sight awaiting them upstairs. Horrifyingly, it was none other than the family's 13 year old daughter, who first stumbled upon the corpse of her cousin, Cassie. Almost immediately after Cassie's uncles screamed, "Call 9-1-1. "Somebody is dead on our floor." Cassie's body was on the floor in front of the TV, blood behind her head and the left leg. Her left pinkie almost cut completely off. As her aunt frantically checked her lifeless body and spoke to the 9-1-1 operator, Cassie's mother and stepdad pulled up outside. Her uncle solemnly informed them that their beloved daughter was dead. The small town community was shaken by such a terrifying crime and investigators scrambled to catch Cassie's killers as soon as possible. Initially suspecting the two boys' involvement due to the fact that they were among the last people to see Cassie alive, detectives went to Torey's home on September 24th to speak with him about the matter. Torey innocently claimed that he and Brian had simply left the house that Friday night after realizing that there wouldn't be a party as they had expected. But when asked about the movie the two boys supposedly went to see at the theater he couldn't recall any details. The next day the detectives went to visit Brian. Whether out of genuine sadness or just a big show of faint emotion, he apparently started crying before basically corroborating the story Torey had told. However he specifically named the movie "Pulse" as the film the boys had gone to see. So authorities found it very odd when he was also completely unable to describe anything that happened in the movie. On the following day, Brian was interviewed further at the Pocatello Police Department. But he once again could not describe the movie plot whatsoever. And detectives told him upfront that they did not believe he actually went to the theater. Brian cracked and admitted that they were right but maintained that he and Torey had actually been stealing from cars during that time. Brian's parents soon gave permission for his room to be searched by law enforcement. They found a knife sheath under his bed. Brian said it belonged to a friend. Finally, in a third interview, Brian came clean. Well, almost clean. He revealed almost everything but said that after they slammed the upstairs door to scare Cassie and Torey walked forward and stabbed her, he thought they must be playing a joke on him until he saw her real wounds. He assured officers that he only stood watching quote "And wondered what Adamcik was doing "because it was supposed to be a joke." He denied stabbing or even touching Cassie. Although when later asked by a detective if he had stabbed Cassie in order to keep Torey from turning on him, Brian quickly jumped on this excuse and argued with this statement, alleging that Torey kept repeating, "You need to stab her, you need to stab her." And that's when Brian stabbed her in the leg. He claims Torey said, "It's not gonna work, "she has to die." Brian eventually led investigators to Black Rock Canyon where he and Torey had rid themselves of the evidence. Among the items was a Sony videotape which would later be repaired to render it playable. And this would be the crucial piece of evidence that gave law enforcement everything they needed. On September 27th, Torey was brought to the police department for a second interview. And though he tried to stick to his flimsy story, detectives were quick to cut to the chase letting the teen know that they already knew what had happened. Tory's father hesitantly asked his son if what they were saying was true. The boy nodded, yes. Brian Draper and Torey Adamcik were arrested on September 27th, 2006, just five days after Cassie was slain. The charges, first degree murder and conspiracy to commit first degree murder. At trial, the videotapes Brian and Torey had smugly recorded were shown as a demonstration of their meticulous planning and giddy excitement at the prospect of getting blood on their hands. The prosecution also emphasized the boy's disturbing fascination with the Columbine shooters and the "Scream" horror franchise. The case itself was dubbed the scream murder case due to the boy's fascination with the movies. On April 17th, 2007, Brian was found guilty. Torey was convicted on June 8th. Then on August 21st, almost a full year since their crime they each received a mandatory sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole for the first degree murder and an additional 30 years to life as they were convicted of conspiracy to commit murder. In the car on the way to prison the pals chose to sit together and chat, telling each other they had held no animosity towards one another despite having turned against each other during interrogations to shift blame. The lieutenant driving them said, "They asked me a couple of times if I could let them go. "'We're just stupid kids, can't you let us go?'" But despite once gloating so freely about the dark deeds they'd committed, Brian and Torey have allegedly attempted to appeal their sentences in favor of more lenient ones. In 2010 and 2011, the boy's attorneys filed separate appeals at the state supreme court for their clients. Brian was apparently hoping his conviction would be vacated or that he could be given a limited life sentence which would allow for his release on parole after just 30 years. At one point, Torey also reportedly claimed that his sentence was cruel and unusual punishment. The first appeal was denied. However, Brian's conviction on conspiracy to commit first degree murder was apparently vacated on the grounds that the jury were given erroneous instructions concerning that charge. But Brian's first degree murder conviction and the life sentence without parole that came with it remained. Years later in 2015 Torey gained a hearing for post-conviction relief at which he allegedly claimed that his former attorney had neglected to call upon character witnesses that Torey's parents had pushed for. The testimonies of whom they and Torey believed could've changed the outcome of the initial sentencing. The judge denied this request as well. And although Torey, once again appealed this decision in 2017, the Idaho Supreme Court similarly rejected his attempts. Torey was still persistent and in 2018 filed federal writ of habeas corpus and allegedly further argued that he should be entitled to a new sentencing hearing because of a 2012 U.S. Supreme Court ruling, which determined that mandatory sentences of life without the possibility of parole are unconstitutional for juvenile offenders, even in cases of murder. In 2016, another similar decision ruled that this doctrine had to be applied retroactively to past cases and that a review of all such cases should be conducted. As many as 1,500 cases nationwide will be given a second look due to this decision, including that of Brian and Torey under the presumption that youths with developing brains are capable of change. Looking forward, it is entirely possible that Brian and Torey's cases will receive updates as they are given a second look. Still, regardless of the boys ages, Bannock County Sheriff Lorin Nielsen has mused, "This would rate, if not the top, "real close to the top of all the incidents "we have had to deal with. "Senseless, premeditated killing for the thrill of killing. "All of those things that scare you the most, "this was one of them" Nielsen also stated, "I still don't quite understand "what led both of them to do this. "I know the mother doesn't think her child "did anything wrong, but I can guarantee you "that they were both involved. "This was planned. "They had a list of others. "This was evil. "Just pure evil." Although the laws of such a beautiful soul is of course the most devastating tragedy caused by Brian and Torey's demented actions, the scars still left on Cassie's loved ones to this day also can not be ignored. Shortly after the murder was discovered, Cassie's brother Andrew recalls being surrounded by crying neighbors as one of them told his stepdad that he had to tell the boy what was going on. After his stepdad got out the truth through his sobs, Andrew dropped his phone and fell to the ground. "I didn't even know how to process it," he said. "I thought, is this really going on right now? "I just broke down." After that, he didn't return to school for weeks and later said that it took the family years before they could even talk about the whole ordeal. As for Cassie's aunt and uncle they had reportedly moved their family into the now notorious Whispering Cliff's residents just a year before the murder and they had been ecstatic to make memories in their dream home despite the new carpet and fresh paint adorning the once cozy home, the couple says they never wanted to go back there. Cassie's uncle, Frank Contreras has lamented that the overbearing sadness this incident left their family with never truly healed. His wife reportedly lost her job and fell into depression. Frank explained, "I had to pick up a second job. "Medication alone was $300 a month. "The first two years were the worst. "It was our dream home and it turned into a nightmare." Frank's stepdaughter later attempted to end her own life after having a breakdown related to the trauma of stumbling upon Cassie's remains. The family desperately wants to leave the home behind and start fresh but although they have put the house on the market every single year, no offers have been made as of a 2014 report. According to the Idaho state journal quote, "Each member of the family claimed "to have had an unexplained encounter in the home. "It is unclear how the broken family is fairing these days." Some who knew Brian and Torey assert that they never would have imagined that the normal teenage boys could be capable of such deplorable crimes. Cassie's case is a chilling one. And it really makes you wonder what dark secrets those you think you know could be hiding just under the surface.
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Channel: EXPLORE WITH US
Views: 1,419,725
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Length: 29min 12sec (1752 seconds)
Published: Fri Apr 16 2021
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