(suspenseful music) - Hi, everybody! I'm Mr. Anime. And boy, do I have a
show for you. Let's go. This is just an update
video to let you guys know that I'm gonna reward myself with probably a two or three week break coming up here from YouTube videos, anime reviews in particular. I might do some blog stuff. I want to thank you guys
a lot for sticking with me and watching the channel. I got more subscribers than ever. I have more views than ever, and everything is going really good. And I'll see you with some blog videos. Thanks for watching my channel. - [Narrator] In the early days of YouTube, before terms like influencer
or content creator were in wide usage,
there was a more homemade and free form feel to the platform. Scripted videos were generally
amateur comedic skits, shot in a lo-fi style on home cameras with lighthearted content. But sometimes the content
took a darker turn and sometimes the creators themselves went down shady and sinister paths. What is up, EWU Crew? Today, we're looking at the
rise and fall of Mr. Anime, a.k.a. Trey Eric Sesler. Trey was an early YouTuber who enjoyed a wide following
across the platform, creating anime reviews and comedic skits. As Trey's popularity across YouTube grew, his videos took on a darker edge in tone. However, no one could have predicted what was actually going
on inside his head, or the horror that would take place on the morning of March 20th, 2012. Now let's get into it. Trey Eric Sesler was
born on August 3rd, 1989 to Rhonda and Lawton Sesler. His older brother, Mark, was born four years earlier in 1985. They were a typical family with an average American home life with Lawton working as a local
elementary school teacher and Rhonda working at the local
newspaper, The Waller Times. The family lived together in
a one-story ranch style home in Waller, Texas. However, trouble within the family home reportedly started after
Trey dropped out of college and was unable to find employment. Trey described himself as a NEET, which is an often derogatory term, meaning not in employment,
education or training. Allegedly, he often clashed with his dad over the fact that he did not have a job. Tara Sandoval, who knew
Trey since sixth grade, described him by saying that
at school and in college he wasn't in the most popular crowd. He had a small tight-knit
circle of friends who were also interested in
anime and films, just as he was. Tara said, "He wasn't a social butterfly, but if you approached
him, he was so nice." Yet Trey's aunt, Weda Frierson, later described Trey as "peculiar" when she was interviewed
by the Houston Chronicle. She said, "I'll have to
admit, he was quite strange. "But naturally, I wasn't
going to tell Trey's parents that he acts peculiar. His father was a very private person and never really discussed
him with me at all." She also reported that she believed he was on some kind of medication
for a health condition, but didn't know what it was exactly. On September 14th, 2006, Trey Eric Sesler registered his LensCapProductions
account on YouTube, and his persona, Mr. Anime, was born. YouTube was Trey's
outlet from the pressures of the real world and his real life, where he could talk
about his love for anime and interact with like-minded
people across the internet. Online, compared to the
odd and eccentric way Trey was perceived by some of
those around him in real life, Mr. Anime was known for
having a down to earth, straightforward, and
relatable personality. This contrasted with many
popular YouTube personalities at the time who would often
have exaggerated characters as their channel hook. Trey's straightforward way
of talking to the camera while eating a snack
and chatting about anime is recognizable in 2021 as something we might see
from a streamer on Twitch, but it was uncommon in 2006 and gave Mr. Anime his
popularity among the community. - There it is, "Evangelion". And right off the bat, I gotta say that I really
love the box that comes in. I mean, look at this. (knocks) It's hard tin, individual DVDs. I mean, this is probably
one of the best box covers I've ever seen. - [Narrator] With 323 videos and his popular Mr. Anime reviews series, Mr. Anime commanded a small
but dedicated audience, with over a million views
across all his videos. He is acknowledged with
kick-starting an interest in anime across the platform with many in the early
anime YouTube community crediting him with giving them the confidence and inspiration they needed to create their own videos
about the anime they enjoyed. Mr. Anime was widely
known across the internet, and even users who did
not watch his videos, still knew of the Mr. Anime
reviews character in series. - Now, some of you may say
something like, you know, "Mr. Anime, please, give
(indistinct) a break," you know. But no. And it gotten me a break a
hundred goddamn episodes ago, it wouldn't be a problem. But the show keep going, it's obnoxious, it gets annoying. (indistinct) never dies,
in the movie he never dies. In the manga he's still not dead. What else is there to say? - [Narrator] Trey would
often write and star in his YouTube skits
with his brother, Mark, who he was incredibly close with and described as his best friend. Trey also made videos where he
spoke with a camera, frankly about his opinions, including
one where he shared his fears around the rise in mass
shootings across America. - Hey, everybody, season two here, and today I'm running on
something a little bit, right? Yes. I'm ranting on something
a little bit anime unrelated. I'm ranting on all the shootings
that have been happening. I'm a firearms owner myself, but it is a little bit disturbing to know that you could be a victim
in something like this at these times, all the
people that were victims, you think, it won't happen
to me, but sometimes it does. But seriously, everyday
I open Yahoo, I'm like, well, time to see what today shooting is and hey, there's another one. So I don't know when it's gonna stop. I think it's, why, why..? - [Narrator] In that video,
he said it was unnerving to believe someone could be the victim of a violent shooting at any moment. As Trey continued his
videos throughout the years, they slowly began to become
darker in tone and content. - Show his feet. He fell in mud. That's funny. And there was a little girl
who was trying to follow us, and she almost fell and broke her neck. And I would've filmed it
and (indistinct) yelled. But then I would have
helped, unlike most cameraman where they keep filming
accidents and they don't help. But yeah, that's the reason I can't bring you all a review this week. But when we come back, we'll be doing Inuyasha's movie three and four. And they are, I think,
better than one and two. See you around. - [Narrator] Trey changed his regular YouTube video introduction
into a stylized edit of him shooting himself in the stomach. In 2011, his viewers noticed
the most prominent changes in Trey's behavior. One thing his followers noted
was that he started describing how different family
pets were going missing, sharing on his Facebook page that they were looking
for the family pet rabbit. What his followers couldn't
have known at the time was that all of these
strange changes in Trey were hints about what was to come. - You are out of here. You are gone. Leave my place. - [Narrator] Internet
messages began circulating about Trey's conduct offline with people commenting they
had heard alleged rumors in the area local to Mr. Anime about him running around
the town at night with a gun shooting empty buildings
and killing animals. Some users even reported that they had him at night
themselves committing these acts. - Hmm. Whatever. Ready to go home? Yeah, you're going home. - [Narrator] His alleged alcohol misuse was also rumored throughout this time. Trey uploaded a video on
December 11th, 2011 titled "Very Bad News, Please
Watch," in which he shared that he had been diagnosed
with pneumothorax. Pneumothorax is a medical
term for a collapsed lung caused when a hole in
the lung is leaking air out into the chest cavity. It is unknown what caused
Trey's lung to collapse or how collapsed his lung was. However pneumothorax is normally caused by trauma to the chest. Trey explained to his viewers
that he was short of breath, in pain and not sleeping much at all, asking any of his religious viewers to pray for him to get better. Soon after in early March,
2012, when Trey was 22, he uploaded his third to last video, arguably the most famous
video from this case and ominously entitled, "Mr.
Anime is Planning Something." In the video, Trey shares that he has some big plans coming up and he will be unable to commit to his usual upload schedule. - Well, hi, everybody. It's Mr. Anime here and I'm recording on my MacBook's web camera, and my MacBook's from like four years ago, so the web, camera's not that great, so you'll have to bear with me. This is just an update
video to let you guys know that I'm gonna reward
myself with probably a two or three week break coming
up here from YouTube videos, anime reviews in particular. I might do some blog stuff. I want to thank you guys
a lot for sticking with me and watching the channel. I got more subscribers than ever, I have more views than ever, and everything is going really good. So I'll probably be putting
out some blog videos, like I said, and I hope you
enjoy those blog videos. I hope you definitely enjoy those. And I'll see you with some blog videos. Thanks for watching my channel. - [Narrator] Trey uploaded a further video shortly after this, describing
that he had found himself his dream job in the film industry. And he was very happy and
looking forward to his future. He did not share any further information about which company or
what his job role would be. And there has been no evidence that he had actually obtained
a job in the film industry. This fact has led many to believe that the job did not exist. A week later, on the night
of the 19th of March, 2012 Trey was reportedly binge drinking throughout the night into the morning. At some point in the early hours, he called his mother into their garage. There, he shot her at point blank range four times in the chest. Rhonda died instantly. Trey later stated in a police interview that this was a defining moment for him. In his confession he
stated, "I couldn't just go and tell my brother and dad and tell them I've just killed mom." He was now fully committed to his plan, seeing no way to go back or
stop what he had just started. His brother Mark upon
hearing the noise of gunshots in the garage called out
to Trey to investigate. Trey went inside the house where he shot his brother in the head. Hearing all the noise
Lawton, Trey's father, sat up in bed, confused and
asked what was going on. Trey stepped away from his brother who was lying on the floor
in a pool of his own blood and into his parents' bedroom. There, he shot his
father in the head twice. In his confession, Trey explained that after shooting his
father dead in the bedroom, he then retraced his
footsteps through the house to ensure that nobody else
was still, quote "in pain." Mark, who had miraculously survived the one gunshot wound to
his head was still alive. He had managed to crawl into the bathroom and lock the door behind himself while Trey was in the bedroom,
murdering their father. Realizing his brother was still alive Trey broke down the
bathroom door, finding Mark, who he had once described
as his best friend curled up in the fetal
position on the floor. Trey shot him again in the head. This time ensuring his death. Trey then retraced his
steps back to his mother, shooting her in the head also. Later, in Trey's confession, he stated, "The thing about my family is I would protect them with my life, but if anyone were going to
hurt them, it would be me." Following the murder of his entire family, Trey proceeded to trash
and destroy the house. He flew into a rage and
wrecked the contents of his family home and killed
all their remaining pets, scrawling confessions
and admissions of guilt on the walls, doors and cabinets, such as "I will never
forgive my state of mind," and, "I love my family." Trey then fled the house in
his 2010 black Ford Mustang, taking his rifle with him. The police were called
by worried neighbors who had heard the gunfire
coming from the house, as well as concerned relatives who could not get in
contact with the family. As police arrived to the
Sesler home at 1:00 PM on March 20th, 2012, they found a message
written on the front door. It read, "I will never forgive myself. I don't know why I did this. God, forgive me." Police at the scene described the house as, "It looked like a war zone, a tremendous amount of damage inside." A manhunt than ensued for Trey Sesler, which ended when he was
located at a friend's house less than 24 hours later. he was arrested and
charged with three counts of capital murder. Investigators began interrogating Trey, trying to understand why a
seemingly normal 22 year old would murder his family in such a way. Trey immediately he
confessed to the killings. The police described just
demeanor in the interrogation as 'constantly changing and shifting." He appeared to go back
and forth between stoic and matter of fact
about what had happened, bluntly and unemotionally
telling the police in detail what he had done, before he would shift to become frantically
over emotional and upset, seemingly unable to process that he had murdered his whole family. What wasn't clear, however, was Trey's motive for the killings. Through interrogation
the disturbing details of his full plan emerged. As Trey fled his family
home, he drove and parked at the car park of his old
school, Waller Junior High. He confessed he planned
to commit a mass shooting with the highest body count for the time, basing his intentions around the Columbine
school shooting massacre. His twisted aspiration was to become the biggest mass shooter murdering at least 70 people and gaining infamy throughout the country. His plan involved waiting for the Waller Junior High homecoming game where he would shoot into the stands. The ensuing panic and chaos would mean Trey could then shoot and kill
as many people as possible before he himself was
shot or caught by police. Trey had even been practicing
for the execution of his plan. He explained to the police that he had been going out at night around the town of Waller, starting small fires and
shooting empty buildings. Trey had been killing his
pets and other animals he caught at night in
order to prepare himself to take human lives. The internet rumors about
his offline behavior were not just rumors. This mass shooting that Trey had likely
been planning in his mind for several years, was the motive for the murder of his family. He explained to the police he could not bear the shame
and guilt they would feel from knowing that he was a mass murderer. He claimed he killed them in mercy to spare them the knowledge
of the school shooting he was about to commit. When asked why Trey abandoned
the school shooting plan and went to his friend's house instead, Trey explained that the
murder of his family had made everything too real. Now that he had taken human
life, especially the lives of the people he loved
the most in the world, he realized the weight of his actions and he could no longer
continue with his sick plan. This was no longer a delusion or a fantasy that he was acting out. The full weight of the situation hit him as he sat in his black Ford Mustang in the car park of Waller Junior High. And he knew that he would
never see his family again. This moment of clarity likely
stopped a much larger tragedy from occurring in Waller, Texas. It was later reported that
Trey had a morbid fascination with the deaths of his family, asking interrogators for
details about autopsy reports and asking which shot
delivered the fatal blows to his family members. He also confessed to police that he couldn't go two or three days without thinking about
committing violent acts. Further evidence of Trey's mental decline leading up to the murder of
his family was soon uncovered. Two weeks before the murders,
Trey had called the police stating that bullets were
whizzing past his head and that he had guns and
he, quote, "was ready." As well a high school friend
who had become a police officer stated that Trey had
called him and quizzed him about the legality of
body armor for civilians in the week prior. When police searched the Sesler house and Trey's computers and notebooks, they found that Trey was
obsessed with serial killers to the point of grading their
work and giving them ratings. Eerily similar to the ratings
he gave in his anime reviews. The police felt this serial killer ranking was to help Trey formulate his
own plan for a mass shooting, studying which approach would give him the highest kill count. They noticed that he had
a particular obsession with the videos of the
Columbine school shooting, and Eric and Dylan who
committed the massacre that killed 13 people in October, 1999. He had also been studying
aerial photographs to help him plan his massacre
on Waller Junior High School. Trey pled guilty to the murders and was sentenced in August, 2012. He was given life without parole and has not appealed or
contested this ruling. It is reported that he believes
he belongs behind bars. In the years, since this case occurred, there have been many rumors
circulating around the internet that Trey had at some point
taken his own life or died. However, these are unfounded, as he is currently incarcerated under the Texas Department
of Criminal Justice at the Jester IV the fourth facility. This facility houses 550 of the Texas Department
of Criminal Justice's most mentally ill and violent offenders. It is often used as a
short-term holding facility when prisoners are experiencing a violent mental health break. However, some prisoners are
reportedly held for much longer. It is unknown exactly how long
Trey has been at Jester IV, but he is still currently
held there as of March, 2021. And internet comments in April, 2020 also report him as
being held at Jester IV. From this, we may assume he could be one of the long-term
residents at Jester IV. Trey's lens cap
productions YouTube account was not terminated by
YouTube until September, 2020 with his eerie videos left up for more than eight
years after the murders. Of course, like everything
online, these videos still exist and will likely continue to be re-uploaded across different platforms.
