Israel’s Son /// Part 2 /// 664 | Forensic Files

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doing thanks for listening I'm your host Nick and with me as always is a guy who
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see you thanks for listening thanks for telling a friend [Music] today we are still sipping on some magic
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subscribe to the podcast and ladies and gentlemen that's enough of the business all right everybody gather around grab a
chair grab a beer let's talk some true crime [Music] on Friday August 11 1995 around 12 30
a.m 16 year old Brian Michael Bessette in his 17-year-old friend Nikolaus James McDonald broke into Brian's home and
murdered Brian's parents this is Wendy and Michael and Brian's five-year-old brother Austin some say this was revenge
for kicking Brian out of the house others say that it was so that the two could steal money a vehicle and
belongings and run off to California yeah and a lot of people believed that it was probably both that inspired the
events of that night that fateful night in August of 1995. the two perpetrators hid the
bodies taking two of the bodies to a Logging Road about three miles from the home and then concealing the other body
in a pump house that was outside of the house adjoining the house Brian's parents van was stolen and the two were
in route to the state of California when Nicholas McDonald decides to walk into a police station
and tell them just what went down hours prior to his confession so of course when you have murders like these when
you have crimes like these everybody wants to know why and especially we want to know why when it's committed by
perpetrators of such a young age 16 and 17. and so anytime we do a case that involves a youth committing murder I
always refer back to an old book this one's called kids who kill by Charles Patrick Ewing and they have a lot of
Statistics in there now keep in mind this book was published in 1990. the case that we're talking about comes from
1995 so some of these statistics while they're still meaningful today they come from yesteryear and I want to read a
couple of portions a couple paragraphs from this book if you will allow me there Captain nope
do it on your own all right skipping that but in kids who kill Charles Patrick Ewing says every year at least 1
000 and often more than 1500 American youngsters under the age of 18 intentionally take the lives of others
and are arrested for murder or manslaughter some of these killings are crimes of premeditated violence
motivated by greed lust or a desire for Revenge others are crimes of passion impulsive over responses to provocation
by the victim or to some explosive Drive within the killer still other cases seem
utterly senseless who are these kids who kill to begin with kids who kill are really a rare breed while homicides
committed by children and adolescents Fascinate the public and generate a great deal of media attention these
killings are actually quite infrequent people younger than 18 constitute roughly one quarter of the total
resident population of the United States yet annually the past decade or so again
this would be from 1990 and prior consistently fewer than 11 percent of all individuals arrested in the United
States for murder or intentional manslaughter have been under the age of 18. in 1988 for example there were 16
326 murder and intentional manslaughter arrest in the United States only 1765 again roughly 11 percent of those
arrested were under 18 years of age to put it another way fewer than five juveniles in every 100
000 are arrested for intentionally killing someone approximately half the adult arrest rate for the same crimes
one you said those are statistics from 1990. that was from 1988. yeah I wonder where that sits today with the amount of
mass shootings we have in schools yeah and you have certainly you have that increased over the years as well as
crime Trends especially in larger cities right now are showing an uptick in youth
crime and youth violent crime as well so that could be a little bit higher now what's
intriguing as far as this case goes to is around the same time in 1995 we talked about
this in our episodes titled trail of blood with the concern the growing concern of
what what many officials were calling the youth super Predator right and uh a strong effort by many to
increase the penalty and the consequences for violent crime committed by this nation's Youth and in
the the consequences got much more strict and severe in the 90s at the same time
this is 1995 when this case that we're talking about this week takes place now at trial the state of Washington
introduced Brian bessette's statement that he made to police that he and McDonald had tried to kill
bessette's parents twice before the actual crimes took place but those attempts were foiled for one reason or
another I'm wondering if he simply wasn't able to gain access to the house in those attempts yeah or access to the
gun McDonald at trial testified and admitted after Brian Bessette had already shot Michael Brian's father that
quote I felt he was suffering and so he testified that he shot him again to end Michael's suffering
he said that he went into the house with Brian and found the parents already having been shot by Brian and Brian was
quote yelling and screaming at his parents and kicking at their bodies end quote well and like I said on
yesterday's show you use the term hate and I would I would say that's the most fitting term in in this case to explain
Brian McDonald's McDonald's involvement is very strange to me but I yeah because
he confesses to this hours after yeah and it sounds to me from everything we're being told from McDonald and Brian
and and all parties that have examined this case is that McDonald knew going to the house
that night what they were going to attempt to do right as as Brian said at trial that they had attempted to kill
the parents twice before right McDonald denied that he shot Wendy the set at trial and despite his earlier
statements to the Grants Pass police he also denied having drowned Austin McDonald claimed that his earlier
confession which the details were slightly different uh confessing to Austin's murder
was simply because he was trying to conform to a story that McDonald and Bessette
had come up with together he referred to it to it as a concoction that me and Brian had come to and now
he's on the stand and he's claiming that he entered the bathroom only to find that Brian had already drowned Austin in
the bathtub yeah it's very strange because like like I said the first confession initially it sounds like he's
trying to distance himself from the crime and and being the perpetrator of the crime but then when he admits to
Drowning the the child you go well this this guy's a admitting to being a monster
right and so you want to believe him and then you get on the you get in the trial
and now you now you're stepping away well and the thing too that I have to keep reminding myself because I you know
you hear about these crimes and it's it's very easy to lash out an anger and a knee-jerk reaction and go you know
what go ahead and go ahead and string them both up right and I don't care what what McDonald's says I don't care how it
varies from Brian's version of the events string them both up but then I have to remind myself at the end of
the day as bad and horrible as what McDonald witnessed and participated in he still walked into the police station
hours later and told them what happened I mean these guys could have been on the
Run they could have Brian could have killed other people who knows how how much much more
violence could have could have taken place with these two being on the run and and I said yesterday that I didn't
think this was a very good plan because even had he not confessed you know it's there's a reason and people will go oh
you guys tell these stories and it's cheesy you bring up the the police asked family members and and Friends of the
the decedent who would want to hurt who would want to harm the person that was killed well yes it's it's a cheesy
question from police but nine times out of ten in the cases that are solved the reason why they're asking that
question and will do so Forever Until the End of Time is because nine times out of ten the person that that is
mentioned by name two police is often the person who committed the murder and so in this case while they're trying
to conceal their crimes hide the bodies again Wendy's body is still on the property it sounds like they did
they took efforts to clean up the crime scene there's been a lot of reporting out there that says that you could walk
in that house and tell that there was a violent struggle that that likely a murder took place in the home and you'd
only have to ask one person right we gave plenty of statements from people that knew Brian and knew the family in
yesterday's episode you'd only have to ask one or two people to find out that oh
well did you find their son Brian because he's he's violent they were scared of him right the mother was
sleeping with a baseball bat again like you said it could be a crime can be premeditated but that doesn't mean that
the perpetrators thought thought out the crime thoroughly McDonald at court admitted to driving
off alone with the bodies of Austin and Michael and hiding them along a Logging Road he also conceded that he helped
Brian hide Wendy's body in the bessette's pump house and that he cleaned the bassettes home after the
murders in order to conceal evidence of the killings a forensic pathologist testified for the
state his testimony revealed that Michael Bessette had been shot five times and that either of the two gunshot
wounds to Michael's head including the one that McDonald admitted to would have been fatal so regardless
of of the stories we have the Pathologists telling us that both of the suspects both of the persons
being charged where the wound takes place and the nature of the wound indicates that the intention was to kill
this man according to the pathologist the order in which the injuries occurred to
the father could not be determined so what we're seeing here is you're going to have two individuals that were both
involved in committing triple homicides yet they're both going to be charged with with different charges right which
will ultimately mean that they're facing different consequences yeah and like it
like I said that's normally how this works when you have one guy come forward those detectives are going to try to
protect that individual a little bit from the prosecution the Grays Harbor County Sheriff this is Dennis morsett
said a case this heinous should prompt State lawmakers to consider allowing the death penalty for teens as young as 16.
again I already referenced the youth or teenage super predator if you want to go back and review that
case that's true crime garage trail of Blood episodes 416 and 417 and that's the story of the 1995 again 1995. yeah
the 1995 murder of Janet Downing age 42 who the state says was committed by Eddie O'Brien just 15 years old of
Somerville Massachusetts who lived across the street any crime committed against a child there's that knee jerk
reaction especially from me where I just go like you said just hang hang them up
hang them up in the middle of town square to let them know let everybody know this is what happens when you want
to harm a child well that goes to intent or the the premeditation of these crimes
to begin with I mean the the truly sad thing sad part of the story is they could have stolen money
a vehicle belongings of value from anyone from anywhere they could have even stole
these things from Brian's parents they didn't have to commit any murders to run off to California for whatever reason
that they were planning to to go to California now we talk about intent here well that's what the defense was going
to want to talk about as well too because we have two people it's not a question of if
they did this right it's they did this who's responsible for what and why did this happen so I'm gonna read a an
Associated Press article because they put it together better than I could have typed it up myself but the article
headline is defense blames rock song attorney asked to play song at teens triple murder trial again this is from
the Associated Press the article reads the attorney for one of two teenagers charged in a triple murder wants to play
a rock song as part of his opening statement at the trial he contends the lyrics are a key to the boy's Behavior
Gray's Harbor County Superior Court Judge Mark McCauley said he will decide the matter before opening statements get
underway at a pre-trial hearing Tom Copeland attorney for 18 year old Nicholas McDonald also said he plans to
call McDonald to testify at length about how the song affected him quote this is
almost a script it's relevant to everything the legal issues the mental issues why this happened the way it
happened Copeland said of the song Israel's Son by the Australian alternative rock group silver today mate
McDonald and Brian Bessette 16 are charged with three counts of aggravated first degree murder in the deaths of
bessette's parents and five-year-old brother at the family home in McCleary goes on to say that jury selection for
McDonald's trial begin will begin soon and it says that after the killings Brian Bessette danced around the room
kicking the corpses of his parents to the strains of the rapid fire heavy guitar song according to the attorney
and they quote some of the lyrics here in the article saying quote hate is what I feel for you I want you to know that I
want you dead I hate you and your apathy you can leave you can leave I don't want
you here hate and execution put your hands in the air put your hands in the air prosecutors dispute the contention
that the song was a factor in the brutal slangs saying what does this prove that's a quote from the prosecutor Jerry
Fuller and he goes on to say does this prove that Bessette hated his parents does it prove that he had motive to kill
his parents no all it proves is it was a song that he played says the prosecute [Music]
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cheers to you Colonel cheers to you captain again that song Israel's son is off of
Silver chairs 1995 album frog stop which were just teenagers themselves when they
put out that record yeah yeah and there was reaction right Daniel Johns is the the singer for the
band Silver Chair singer and guitar player he says in an interview with request magazine this interview took
place in November of 1995. that song was about an execution I saw on telly I got
this video of an execution and I just saw it and I was watching it one night and I had a dream about it and I woke up
and thought Oh yeah that's pretty cool and I wrote a song about it but of course when asked the band's manager
gave a statement to the regard of hate McDonald's lawyer and besets lawyers they want to play
this song They're blaming this song for their actions for for their involvement in in planning and carrying out
a triple homicide John Watson the band's manager was quoted as stating on behalf
of the band Silver Chair Silver Chair do not have not and never would condone violence of any sort the band is
appalled by this horrific crime and they hope that justice will prevail in Prosecuting whoever is responsible for
it the ban extends its sincere sympathies to the families and friends of the victims in this case Silverchair
absolutely rejects any allegation that their song is in any way responsible for the actions of the alleged murders well
it seems like such a cowardly defense but what else do you expect from these coward murderers
you know we're going to sneak into my house we're gonna attack my parents catch them off guard
the statement goes on to say it is a matter of public record that the song in question Israel's song was inspired by a
television documentary about wartime atrocities Israel's son was never intended to provoke violence and cannot
be interpreted by any reasonable person as doing so in fact the song seeks to criticize violence and War by portraying
them in all their horror yeah I just think it's a cowardly defense and I I don't
understand what they're trying to prove blame this song blame this artist blame this other teenager
for putting thoughts out into the universe that this individual didn't understand
yeah or these these individuals don't understand I mean we've seen this before where people have blamed other rock
stars and other rock songs it's one of those situations that unfortunately and we we talked about this when we reviewed
the John Wayne Gacy case his attorney and rightfully so said look when you are representing somebody like
John Wayne Gacy when when a serial killer who they have a mountain of evidence against they find the bodies in his home
when that guy is your client your only job as the as his attorney is to attempt to save his life attempt to get him
right get him anything other than the death penalty and in this case the two perpetrators were not facing the
death penalty in this case but they are facing life in prison without the possibility of parole and so these
attorneys are then it's not a question of guilt it's a question of why is there anybody else to blame and what
kind of sentence is appropriate for a 17 and 16 year old that commit these types
of crimes so you're trying to throw everything at the wall hoping that someone on the jury will sympathize with
your client and maybe your client does not get life in prison without the possibility of parole
yeah like a little silly monkey throwing his feces against the wall to see what sticks and I think it's also it's this
idea that if there's other factors that are to blame that this individual wouldn't be like
that and that there's hope for this individual and that he can be rehabilitated and he can live a
productive life into society later on well and prosecutors would agree with you here Captain and the belief that the
defense was silly and there were other things that were brought up by the defense obviously in both of these
trials But ultimately the prosecution was able to convince the jury that the murders were committed in order to steal
money belongings the vehicle and run off to California so both are found guilty but they each were facing different
charges and so they perceived different sentences the jury acquitted McDonald of
the murder of Wendy Bessette remember according to his story that already occurred before he even entered the home
so they found him guilty of second-degree murder uh two counts of second-degree murder this would be the
murders of Austin and Michael Bessette Brian Bessette was found guilty of all three homicides all in the first degree
so what did they sentence them to so this is from a February article from 1996 McDonald was found guilty of
second-degree murders of Michael and Austin acquitted for Wendy sentenced to 65 years in prison not long enough judge
Mark McCauley imposed a 50-year sentence for the drowning death of Austin and he to prove a point
he had the courtroom silenced for three minutes yeah which would be the amount of time it would have taken Austin to
drown in a cold tub of water that's absolutely horrific Stephanie remember this is Brian's sister who was not home
the night of the murders in court she said quote he deserves to wake up every morning wishing he was not alive he
deserves to be locked up for the rest of our lives McDonald apologized in court saying the only thing I can do is
apologize for the loss of their loved ones Brian was convicted of three counts of aggravated first-degree murder and
the trial court sentenced beset to three consecutive terms of life without the possibility of parole well like we said
about Brian he had three other siblings I wonder if they had any fear that if he
did get out that he would go after them well that is part of what we're looking at here now because unfortunately the
three consecutive terms of life without the possibility of parole that sentence doesn't hold up here's a good news clip
to sum up where the case has moved to in the current day a man who killed his parents and his brother in 1995 will be
re-sentenced in Grays Harbor County this morning Brian Bassett was just 16 years
old when he killed his family members King 5's Angelique here this morning in the studio with more on what the court
hearing is about today Angela his surviving sister trying to keep him locked up this is a very complicated
case right yeah that's exactly right Jake and Bassett was originally sentenced to life in prison but the
Washington state supreme court threw out those sentences back in 2019 ruling life
sentences for teenagers was unconstitutional since then he's had two sentence hearings now the first hearing
re-sentenced him to 60 years but an appeals court overturned that ruling deeming it excessive the last was
earlier this month bassett's attorney argued prison Rehabilitation has worked and called for his release Bassett
himself also took the stand asking for forgiveness the state however is still calling for 40 years a move backed by
his sister Stephanie Bassett as the only surviving family member she is set to testify during today's sentencing that
she fears she would have been killed too and she had been home at the time of the
murders every day that he's Behind Bars I can breathe I can feel safe and I can live
because I don't have a doubt that the target is on my back now the court hearing will begin at 9 00
a.m we'll have the latest on King 5 News at noon for now in the studio Angelica so what we're faced with here captain in
As Told To Us by that news story there in 2015 Brian Bessette argues that due process in the appearance of fairness
entitle him to a new judge when facing a re-sentencing hearing basically what they're saying is that it's
unconstitutional to sentence a child a youth offender to the max of life in prison without the
possibility of parole in his efforts in his efforts in court to get a re-sentencing we have Dr Jeffrey Hansen
who says he counseled Brian Bessette in 1995. he testified at the re-sentencing hearing once once one was granted around
1995 Brian Bessette ran away from home sometimes to hurt his mother he was still trying to establish his identity
had average cognitive ability had suffered a self-induced alcohol overdose at the age of 15 had ongoing relational
issues with his parents and felt hopeless and had an adjustment disorder resulting in poor
emotional behavioral responses to stress Dr Hansen further testified that Bessette faced the stressors of
homelessness joblessness and possibly having had an unwanted sexual relationship with McDonald it's here's
the thing you you sit here and you listen to a doctor try to defend this person who killed three people killed a
boy killed a little boy and it's hard it's it's hard to feel anything other than stabbing him and in the butt
with a hot poker hate towards him right right it's it's it's it's incredibly difficult to try to sympathize
with or for this person that you know did such horrible things and and I'm sorry I sit
here and I go okay doc Gooch weed Cry Me a River here man Bessette was facing the
stressors of homelessness well he wouldn't be homeless if he would just get along with Mom and Dad yeah if he
wasn't acting like a jackass and I don't know the relationship between him and McDonald but for a doctor to sit there
on the stand and say uh and the stressor of possibly having an unwanted sexual relationship with
flaky flicky with this friend okay well then quit hanging out with the friend yeah no more flaky flicky there are very
simple actions that this 16 year old was old enough to recognize and understand that he could have done yet he chose not
to do these things and instead he chose to climb up a ladder and pull a gun on Mom and Dad and gun them down inside
their home well don't you think there's some evidence that if anybody was manipulating anybody in this
relationship it was Brian that was manipulating yes it's it's very hard to say because we don't know what
was going on between McDonald and Bessette yeah it's not hard to say their plan was to kill Brian's parents not the
other way around yeah it seems like it seems at least to me from where I sit then sit on a throne of lies that it's
not a situation where McDonald had his hands on the steering wheel and was directing everything it it looks to me
that if if McDonald did have a hand on the steering wheel well Brian had both of his hands on the steering wheel as
well now they go on to state that Brian stated that when he entered prison as a juvenile he first thought of how much
trouble he would be in when his parents learned that he was in prison because the reality of his crimes quote didn't
click three weeks after the murders Brian had written quote I wish I hadn't done anything because now I think of all
of the good times that my dad and me had before I was just thinking of all of the
things they did to piss me off Bessette expressed remorse at the re-sentencing and explained the challenges that he
faced as a homeless youth at 16. again homeless they're painting him as a victim while I I believe that he
homelessness was an option for him an option that he chose someone is also hanging out in that shed and I think
that it's easy to lose track of the justice that needs to be held up here for this this killer
when you sit there 20 years after these people were killed the victims almost start to fade away
and you start to lose touch with the victims it's important to make this man this boy face the most severe of
consequences when these crimes are fresh when you're still hurting when the community's still in pain right but then
20 years later you've had the opportunity to heal a bit and you you start to forget just how cruel
his actions were you know who doesn't forget the people that you brought up earlier the surviving family members of
the perpetrator and the victims and imagine Their Fear how the hell can they go on and live
their a normal life right we're all told that we are afforded the right to life liberty in the pursuit of happiness I'll
you know you say it's unconstitutional to convict this kid and keep him in prison for the rest of his existence
I say it's unconstitutional to let him out so his sisters and their children and their husbands and their extended
family they cannot experience life liberty in the pursuit of happiness with this guy out I get it it's it's
difficult you don't know what is the proper thing the proper punishment for a 16 year old I find no problem
questioning that but the thing that I can't get over is how good do I feel about letting a guy out who committed
three murders cold-blooded murders of people that he was supposed to love and care
about right and and here's the here's the other scary thing in this case in this in this exact case
you know not to date myself here but but you're old as [ __ ] well good Brian Bessette and I are roughly the same age
I'm not I'm not an elderly man I'm not somebody that is incapable of physical violence prove it put your hands up I
have the physical ability to do that tough guy I don't have the mind set or the or the heart to do that or the balls
but what I'm trying to point out here is if you let this guy out I believe he will always be a danger to somebody
he hasn't aged out of this physically at least no and I think the other issue too
is it's not just one murder victim it's three murder victims right I mean and so to say that it's unconstitutional
to give him life without the possibility to approach I get I guess that argument would make
more sense or I guess easier to swallow if there's one victim but there's three victims and one of those victims being a
child and here's what I'm hoping and praying that somebody is reminding the people that are reviewing this case and
reviewing the sentencing for Brian Bessette I hope and pray that somebody informed
that panel that do you know had he not climbed that ladder and gone into that house that
night and murdered three members of his family do you know that Austin would only be 33 years old today right only 33
years old today and you're telling me that this guy has served enough of a of a sentence that we should think about
letting him out so as of February 2017 19 States and the District of Columbia have banned all juvenile life without
parole sentences in 2019 the state of Washington which is the state where he was sentenced the Washington State
Supreme Court ruled life sentences for teenagers were cruel and thus unconstitutional since then 2019 Brian
Bessette has had two sentence hearings his attorneys making the case for his release argue and say look this guy
served 65 of his life sentence now it is common especially here in Ohio that one would typically serve between
60 and 80 percent of their sentence before being up for release in August of 2022 this is from the
harbor news it says Brian Bessette has been in and out of Gray's Harbor County courtroom since 2019 pleading for his
release from prison it says Bessette was re-sentenced to one more year in prison
this was from 2022. his sister Stephanie Bessette who my heart goes out to in the biggest form
is she says quote I ask the court for myself for my family especially for my children or my parents or Austin that
every day that he's behind bars I can breathe I can feel safe and I can live because I don't have a doubt that a
Target is on my back end quote again we live in a very strange world where we go oh we we don't want to be
too cruel to the individual that took three people's lives and then instead of accepting some
responsibility initially or later on in life blamed a rock song blamed everybody under the sun
I mean it's I I I don't understand I don't understand this world sometimes where we want to be
sympathetic or apathetic to or think that we are growing as a society because we can now forgive him
and let him out well and look okay so he takes one life so you give him life sentence without the possibility of
parole he took another life so give him another life sentence without the possibility of parole he took another
life so give him another life sentence without the possibility of parole and then he can serve those sentences you
know so he could serve 60 of the one sentence and then serve 60 of the next one and he'll never get out of jail and
that would be fine with me and that would make the most sense so a judge AMA Milo I hope that I'm saying that name
correctly a-m-a-m-i-l-o shared her opinion on the matter saying quote the Bessette family
McCleary which is the city that he was from and the Grays Harbor County community at large need to know that Mr
Bessette is not likely to be a threat to anyone when released if and when he gains release Brian Bessette will have a
mandated anti-harassment and lifetime no contact order against his sister okay this guy does not strike me as somebody
that likes to play by the rules so we're gonna we're gonna put these little Tiki
tacky rules on him oh you can't go over and talk to your sister you can't have any contact with her we we're supposed
to believe for a moment that a that a guy that climbs into a home breaks into a home and guns down people that he's
going to care for an anti-harassment lifetime no contact order the most recent news unfortunately comes
from May of 2022 this from the harbor news again that states that Brian's release is dependent on a number of
factors including tight controls related to substance use he must participate in
the champion program's recommended Aftercare to include sober support groups he will be expected to
participate in electronic monitoring for the first 90 days of his release oh great well what about day 91 or day 92
in addition McDonald's should be supervised at the highest level for the first year in the community documents
state that McDonald has demonstrated positive prison behavior for approximately the past five years well
congratulations right uh I won't be handing out any awards to people that have demonstrated positive prison
behavior for the past five years and it goes on to say with no serious infractions since his last Board hearing
which was approximately five years ago the parole document noted that he quote does not appear to experience any acute
distress or psychiatric dysfunction that increases his risk for violence end quote so unfortunately the decision to
allow for his release was unanimous by the board as of May 12th of 2022 he still housed at Airway Heights
Correctional Facility pending release I don't believe that he's been released because it would be newsworthy it would
be something that we have found but what it sounds like to me Captain from everything that that I could find is
that it's not a question of if he will be released more of a question of when and unfortunately the articles that I
read made it sound like that could be this year and that's that's when you go okay I understand what you're saying
here I understand what's going on I understand that you are evaluating this individual as such and you the panel you
the board have decided that he is okay to be released back into society back into the communities yeah look I
don't want to sound like the the old grumpy man shaking his hand shaking his fist in a black cloud but it's like okay
cool you say he's not a threat you say he's not a danger let him live in your backyard
let him live next door to you and next door to your kids yeah let him live in your shed and and You better lock those
windows because he's going to be crawling in this case is a case that I've heard of
since the 90s on a case that I've always wanted to dive into more and last year I was watching a documentary called
future never about Daniel Johns and they ask him about Brian blaming their song for the murders
and how he feels about it all these years later so if you've been asked this before but in 1995 there were two
American teenagers who uh killed one of the boys parents and his five-year-old brother and they
blamed it on your song Israel's son you were just 16 years old when this was all
happening and uh how did you feel when when this was going on did you take it did you internalize this at all
um yeah I didn't realize at the time but but I did at the time I was still [Music]
um I guess a it affected me but I had to act like it didn't and I had to also I couldn't acknowledge it I guess that
was part of the patterns like if I acknowledge that that could interrupt talk about having blondes on I was like
that is [ __ ] up and that's gonna [ __ ] me in the future but for now I've got this to do
I didn't realize that that would continue to happen for a really long time and I'd just pushed everything away
and just focus on the music yeah that's that's it's pretty devastating to write a song when you're a teenager and
then like have someone's lives taken because apparently it's influenced the people to murder someone
that's that's too much I don't like that people look to me for guidance in my songs I don't like it
thank you [Music] oh I would have loved to interview Daniel Johns I would ask him
do you eat kangaroos for breakfast mate well and thank everybody for joining us here in the garage each and every week
make sure you tell a friend tell your mother tell your mother about this show Colonel do we have any
recommended reading for the beautiful listeners this week we are recommending the Supreme gentleman Killer by Brian
Whitney this is a story a true crime story about a man named Elliot Roger Eliot Roger
considered himself to be intelligent refined handsome fashionable and Charming in fact he thought of himself
as the Supreme gentleman but women paid no attention to him so Roger decided to get revenge and he spent months planning
what he called his day of Retribution read and learn how and why this young man became a spree killer check out the
Supreme gentleman killer the true story of an in-cell mass murderer by Brian Whitney we have featured several of
Brian's books in this segment over the years this is just another great one go to True Crime garage.com to find great
titles like the Supreme gentleman killer and many more recommendations including
books podcast and documentaries yeah and while you're there sign up on the mailing list because we like to send out
promo codes to you and ones coming at you pretty soon so make sure you sign up on the mailing list until next week be
good be kind and don't litter [Music] thank you [Music] let's talk fashion whether you're
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Israel’s Son /// Part 2 /// 664

Part 2 of 2

www.TrueCrimeGarage.com (http://www.truecrimegarage.com/)

On August 11th, 1995 a young man walked into the Grants Pass Police Station. He had a horrific story to tell to detectives. The man implicated himself and his best friend in three homicides. The police were instantly tasked with three missions. One, verify this young man’s story. Two, locate the other murderer. Three, find the bodies. Join us in the Garage for this strange tale about an evil young man.

Beer of the Week - Magic Hobo Monkey JuJu Juicy IPA by Meadowlark Brewing

Garage Grade - 4 and a half bottle caps out of 5

Brief Summary

Teenagers Brian Bessette and Nikolaus McDonald committed a triple murder in 1995, leading to complex legal battles over juvenile sentencing.

Key points

The Murder of Brian Bessette. In 1995, 16-year-old Brian Bessette and his friend murdered his parents and brother.
Confession at the Police Station. Nicholas McDonald confessed to the murders hours after they occurred.
The Role of Music in the Trial. The defense claims a rock song influenced the behavior of one of the teens.
Brian Bessette's Sentencing Hearing. Brian Bessette, who killed his family at 16, faces re-sentencing as his sister fears for her safety.
Brian's Release Decision. The board unanimously decided on Brian's release, raising community safety concerns.
Daniel Johns Reflects on Influence. Daniel Johns discusses the impact of his song on a tragic crime.

Episode highlights

Episode quotes

It's good to be seen and good to see you.

Host's greeting to the audience

1:39WatchApr 20, 2023

Tension

75/ 100High tension

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