- 8 hours ago
Evil Lives Here - Season 19 - Episode 08: I Still Hear Their Screams
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00:06I hate him, the sight of him makes me sick, and that he's still alive and breathing.
00:17And you still can just see the evil person coming out.
00:21If you look at this picture, you just see he's just evil and angry.
00:28I wish that I could tie him up and set him on fire.
00:36I wish that he could burn and suffer.
00:39I want him to feel the pain that he's inflicted.
00:43I wish he could be tortured the way he tortured me, and it's still torturing me.
00:51He's a monster, a faker, a lie.
01:04I wish I could, this was his ashes.
01:19Wesley Coonrod is my ex-husband.
01:22Wesley came at a dark point in my life and was like this hero.
01:25I think Wesley saw I was young and desperate.
01:31And, you know, girls, when they're desperate, they do whatever they can to provide for their children.
01:35He was someone I trusted, and he destroyed my life.
01:40Wesley didn't just destroy me.
01:42He destroyed my kids.
01:44He destroyed his family.
01:47This is a tragedy, and it lives in you forever.
01:53So, I'll live with it for the rest of my life.
01:59Wesley was a knight in shining armor that turned into a monster.
02:02He had only been persecuted.
02:08We extend into a magic box.
02:15To The Thru.
02:16To The Thru.
02:18To The Thru.
02:22To The Thru.
02:32To The objective.
02:46Before I met Wesley, I became a mom at 14.
02:50By the time I was 20, I already had three kids.
02:53But their father was on pills and stuff, so I was leaving him.
02:58I had nowhere to go. I had no way to turn to.
03:01I was staying with a friend, and Wesley was her brother.
03:06And me and my kids had nowhere to go, so Wesley said,
03:10you can come live with me if you help take care of my son,
03:13and I'll take care of you guys financially, give you a place to live.
03:17So we started staying there.
03:23Okay, hold your horses. Hey.
03:25Wesley had a good sense of humor. He had pretty eyes.
03:28I mean, he's not the greatest-looking man, but...
03:32At that time, to be honest, he was 17 years older than me,
03:36and I just felt like he was someone that was going to take care of me,
03:40and I needed that.
03:41I was concerned about moving in with him, but my back was against the wall.
03:45So I was either go live with this man that I don't know or be homeless.
03:51Wesley seemed like he was going to be a good father figure for my children.
03:58I felt like my kids enjoyed hanging out with him when he was there.
04:03And then once we were living together, things just happened.
04:11I had only been living in his house probably like two months when I got pregnant.
04:15So everything happened extremely fast.
04:22I thought I was in love, but he had me right where he wanted me.
04:43At one point, he told me that I think we should get married.
04:48Will you marry me?
04:48I'm like, yeah.
04:50I was thinking about keeping a roof over my kids' head and having security,
04:54and everything else didn't matter.
04:58Wesley told me he loved me,
04:59and I don't even know if I know what love is at that point in my life, honestly.
05:04We got married on July 4, 2005.
05:08It was a disaster.
05:13Everybody's out there trying to help get this together,
05:15and Wesley's, I don't know where Wesley was.
05:20I was mad.
05:22Like, where is he?
05:23I kept looking at the driveway.
05:25He still wasn't pulling in.
05:28I couldn't figure out where he was.
05:30I think I tried to call him.
05:32I don't know how many times.
05:33Probably 10, 20.
05:34But he wasn't answering, and I didn't know what to do.
05:45After a while, Wesley got there.
05:48He was bullies or drunk.
05:54Couldn't hardly walk.
05:57Couldn't hardly stand.
06:05So I'm so embarrassed, because here's this man.
06:07We're supposed to be getting married.
06:13I felt uncomfortable, because...
06:18I don't know.
06:18It's just not how I was right.
06:20You know, I don't be drunk in front of a preacher.
06:23Up until that day, I hadn't seen Wesley drunk like that.
06:28I mean, he didn't care about how anybody felt at that point.
06:31It just seemed like Wesley only cared about himself.
06:33It wasn't about nobody else.
06:34Like, Wesley got drunk, because Wesley wanted to get drunk,
06:37and he didn't care how anybody else felt about it.
06:41I was so humiliated.
06:44I don't even know if I looked in Wesley's eyes when we got married.
06:48I was so mad and irritated, embarrassed.
06:51I just wanted to get it over with.
06:56And that was, you know, sign number one.
06:58Like, he's not even here to help set this thing up.
07:01Like, he wants to get married, you know?
07:06I didn't think about, oh, this is a warning sign.
07:09Like, don't marry this guy.
07:25I was trying to have a good night.
07:27You know, we was relaxing on the bed, and then kissing,
07:31and, you know, he wanted to have sex.
07:34But Wesley wanted to have sex in other ways,
07:39and I didn't agree with it.
07:42So that's the first time he actually blashed out at me.
07:49You know, there was just a look that he had.
07:56Like, he just looked evil.
08:00I've never seen him like this.
08:03And he starts yelling at me,
08:05you're my wife, you're supposed to do what I want.
08:09But I was afraid of Wesley in that moment.
08:12I don't really remember what else he says,
08:14because he was screaming, and I was crying,
08:16and it was just a whole chaotic scene.
08:20Back then, they had the little disposable cameras.
08:23I had been taking pictures all day,
08:25and the camera was on the table beside the bed,
08:28and he just grabbed it and threw it.
08:38He's destroying my memories of my wedding day.
08:45He destroyed it in 30 seconds.
08:49Wesley had never acted violent towards me until that night.
08:54Who knows?
08:55You know, he done busted the camera.
08:57What is he going to throw next?
09:02I regretted marrying Wesley at that point,
09:04and cried myself to sleep, thinking, what'd I do?
09:10I felt like that night, I seen his true colors,
09:14like who he really was, come out, and it was scary.
09:25I think Wesley definitely hid who he was
09:27and suppressed it until we were married,
09:30because I don't think he wanted me to know.
09:34After we got married is when everything started changing.
09:38Now, he was who he truly was.
09:43Yelling, hollering, arguing.
09:47He liked to yell a lot.
09:49You see it in his eyes, the way he talks,
09:52his hand movements, like you just see it.
09:54Like, it's a whole, you know, I'm like a split personality.
10:08You are only making it worse.
10:11I remember one day, I don't even remember what his son did,
10:14but him and Wesley's arguing.
10:16Wesley jerked his belt off,
10:18and I just started, you know, swinging it wherever it landed.
10:25I got between them, pushed Wesley back,
10:28and he grabbed me and pushed me.
10:31Like, just get out of this.
10:33My kid, he's not going to act like this.
10:35He's not your kid.
10:37Like, you can't tell me what to do with my son.
10:39I was afraid of Wesley in that moment,
10:43because Wesley has, like, this switch that flips,
10:46and, like, his eyes change,
10:48his whole demeanor changes,
10:50and it's kind of scary.
10:56When I seen this, I was like,
10:58man, he's never going to want my kids.
11:00Like, they're not his kids.
11:01I'm not going to have it.
11:04But in the back of my mind, I'm like,
11:06man, what am I going to do if he does
11:09try to correct my kids like that?
11:14I've seen him act out on my wedding night,
11:15and then now this.
11:17But I had a dysfunctional family, too,
11:20so I think it was just always easy just to ignore it.
11:37Wesley dropped me off at his sister's one day
11:39while he went to work.
11:41Wesley comes home from work to his sister's.
11:44I'm there.
11:45We're all outside.
11:48And he's screaming and yelling and cussing
11:50and calling me a whore.
11:53My kid ain't mine.
11:56And I'm, like, five or six months pregnant.
11:59He grabs my arm.
12:00I know it's about to get violent when he grabs me,
12:03and I just see it in his face.
12:05So I try to walk away from him.
12:09And, of course, my back's turned.
12:11I'm walking towards the house.
12:15But I hear the car start coming towards me,
12:18so I take off running.
12:24I trip over these rocks.
12:25He's, like, right behind me in the car.
12:29And his sister grabbed me as I'm falling
12:33and picked me up, and I'm crying.
12:36I'm terrified.
12:37And I'm pregnant with his child.
12:39He could have just killed us both.
12:48So she starts screaming for him to leave,
12:51and he left.
12:53We sat there for a little bit,
12:54and then we end up just not talking about it no more.
12:58That's, like, it became normal not to talk about it.
13:01And I believe if Wesley's sister wasn't there that day,
13:05he would have ran me over.
13:07It was terrifying,
13:09and you get that shame that comes over you
13:16and guilt because you're now in this relationship,
13:20and you don't know how to get out,
13:23and you don't know what to do.
13:26And everything that's going on is your fault
13:28because you chose this relationship.
13:30That's kind of how I felt.
13:33But I didn't know what to do.
13:51Wesley was excited when Thomas was born.
13:54Like, he didn't want to do nothing but hold him
13:56and spend time with him.
14:01And Wesley quit drinking,
14:02and I got that little bit of hope in me
14:05that, okay, well, things can change,
14:08and we can have our family,
14:10and I don't have to leave, you know?
14:12Because that's all I ever wanted.
14:15That's...
14:15I just wanted to have a family.
14:19He stepped up a lot.
14:21He helped with dishes.
14:23He cooked.
14:24He watched the kids while I showered.
14:28I thought maybe this kid is changing him.
14:32That was just my hopeful, you know, wishful thinking.
14:49I was like 23 weeks pregnant,
14:53or 24 weeks pregnant,
14:54and my water ruptured,
14:56and so I had to go to the hospital.
14:59When I was in the hospital room,
15:01he was calling, want me to leave.
15:03He couldn't deal with the kids.
15:05Wanted me to leave the hospital.
15:07There wasn't nothing wrong with me.
15:08I didn't need to be there.
15:08I needed to be home with the kids,
15:10taking care of the house.
15:13And the baby's heart rate kept dropping
15:15because he was getting me so upset.
15:17It got to the point he was just calling so much,
15:20and we were arguing so much,
15:22and he was screaming,
15:23and the nurse at one point was like,
15:26I'm turning this phone off.
15:28And they quit putting his calls through.
15:30And I could have lost my child,
15:33but he didn't care about none of that.
15:35It was all about him.
15:38And then I finally got released
15:40for four or five days.
15:43As soon as I get out of the car,
15:45I see Wesley standing in the door.
15:51I know he was mad,
15:52and when I got inside,
15:54we instantly started arguing.
15:56I'm sick!
15:58He was just like, you know,
15:59this is all your fault.
16:00You had this plot to get you out of here
16:03for a couple days.
16:05You left me here with these kids.
16:09So at this point,
16:10I'm standing in the living room.
16:12We're arguing.
16:13I walk towards the end of the couch
16:15where the kids are,
16:15and that's when
16:17Wesley picked the TV up
16:18and threw it at me.
16:22He missed my sound like by like one inch.
16:26I honestly don't know
16:29that I felt
16:31or how I felt in that moment.
16:33I was kind of in shock
16:36because I was,
16:37at this point,
16:38I was terrified of Wesley.
16:48After Wesley threw the TV
16:50and had missed my son by a hair,
16:55I definitely knew
16:56he was capable of harming my kids, too,
16:58in his fits of rage.
17:01Wesley had no consequences
17:03because I never called the cops,
17:05which I should have.
17:06I didn't want the cops to come
17:07because I was scared.
17:09I was scared of Wesley,
17:11and I was also scared
17:12that I would lose my kid
17:13to Children's Services.
17:15I was scared of what the outcome would be
17:16if I called the police
17:17because Junior's just going to make things worse.
17:20The abuse is going to be worse.
17:23Looking back,
17:24if I would have left Wesley,
17:26here I am pregnant with another child.
17:28I have no money,
17:29no job,
17:29no car.
17:31You know,
17:31I've been dependent on him
17:32to take care of us.
17:36I would be on the streets
17:38with the kids
17:39and a baby on the way,
17:40so I don't think
17:43leaving with him
17:44was a possibility,
17:44you know.
17:48I have no other choices
17:51but to stay.
18:03I feel like
18:04every day got worse.
18:07One day,
18:08we were arguing about
18:09I don't remember what.
18:13We got in each other's face.
18:15It was heated.
18:15He grabbed me by my hair,
18:17pulled me around the kitchen,
18:19and then at one point,
18:20he ran my head
18:22into the stove
18:23and I fell on the floor.
18:29All of the kids were crying
18:30and I can't do nothing
18:32but lay there
18:34because I couldn't get up
18:35out of the floor.
18:39Mom?
18:41It was probably like
18:42three hours or so
18:43before I could get
18:44the feeling back in my legs
18:46and I was able to get up.
18:48Wesley was still gone,
18:50so I just got up
18:52and took the kids
18:53and went in my room
18:55and we laid down
18:57and went to sleep.
18:59I woke up the next morning
19:01and I just remember thinking like,
19:12he's going to end up killing me
19:16if I don't get out of here.
19:36Wesley and his ex-wife was arguing on the phone
19:42and I just heard something
19:46about him beating her.
19:48I don't think Wesley knew I could hear,
19:51but they argued a lot
19:53when they would get on the phone.
19:54So I waited until Wesley went to work
19:57and then I decided to look up his criminal record
20:01just because I was curious
20:03what she was talking about.
20:05I didn't have a computer,
20:06so I used my cell phone.
20:08I remember standing there.
20:09We had this little window
20:10so you could see if anybody pulled up.
20:13I was afraid maybe he forgot something
20:15or would come back,
20:16but once I started looking at it,
20:19I just sat in the chair
20:20like scrolling through it.
20:22I quit paying attention to if he was coming back
20:25because there was just so much.
20:27I found domestic violence and assault cases.
20:33I knew it would never stop with me
20:35and I also knew like he was either going to kill me
20:39or if I left, it would be the next person.
20:45After I looked up Wesley's record
20:47is when I tried to start to form a plan.
20:50I contacted Mika Wade
20:52and I filled out an application
20:55and they were going to help me file for the divorce.
20:58I hadn't told him
20:59that I'd started the process for a divorce
21:02because I knew once he got served divorce papers,
21:06it would probably get real bad.
21:25Me and the kids were all outside.
21:28We had a swing set in the backyard.
21:31We had like a patio,
21:33so I was on the patio while they were playing.
21:35We had been out there for hours
21:37and Wesley's drinking inside
21:41and here he comes.
21:45He had this little pocket knife
21:46that he kept on his side
21:48and he's just standing over me
21:51not even saying anything.
21:57He's just dropping this knife
22:00and it would stick in the deck
22:04and he'd pull it back out
22:05and he'd do it again.
22:07He was laughing, you know,
22:09like smiling the whole time he was doing it
22:11and I just remember thinking like,
22:14you're just so evil.
22:16This is the first time he ever used like a knife
22:19or anything to torture me with
22:23or taunt me with.
22:29But my oldest son,
22:31he was yelling at him.
22:33Like, can you just stop?
22:34Leave my mom alone.
22:36Hey!
22:37Knock it off!
22:40He said something like,
22:42you little bastard.
22:45And when he takes this can,
22:47a full can of beer,
22:48it wasn't even open
22:49and wings it.
22:56It hit my son.
22:57I'm pretty sure it was right in the chest.
23:01And I just start crying.
23:03Like, you just hit my kid, you know?
23:04Like, I can't do this.
23:09I, it just, something clicked.
23:14I knew I needed to leave for a long time.
23:16I just didn't know how.
23:19So I tell the other ones to come on
23:21and he's like,
23:23you're not taking my kids.
23:25But I knew I had to get out of there.
23:30So he walked 20 miles.
23:33I just knew I needed to get away from this man.
23:36I had to leave him.
23:38I was terrified.
23:41But it was worth getting my kids out of there.
23:46Like, no matter what I had to do
23:48or I wanted my kids away from him,
23:52I was able to breathe.
23:56I was away from this man that abused me.
23:59I thought that was going to be it.
24:01I'll get my divorce
24:02and we'll get this custody thing under control.
24:06And I was happy
24:08because I knew that they wasn't
24:10going through no more of this
24:13brainwashing and mental abuse
24:15and emotional abuse.
24:17And I was just excited
24:19that it was finally over.
24:37And then I got the phone call.
24:40And at this point in my life,
24:42I didn't realize how bad of a turn
24:44that my life was about to take.
24:47It was just like another blow.
24:51You just shattered my world all over again.
24:58Oh.
24:59You know, my soul hurt.
25:02My...
25:04I felt so worthless.
25:06And I felt like I was nothing.
25:12I wish I could have stopped
25:14what was about to happen.
25:40I just always want my kids to know
25:42how much I love them.
25:50And I'm sorry
25:52that I couldn't protect them from him.
25:55I think I did my best to protect them,
25:58the best that I could,
26:00the best that was in my ability.
26:03But I still feel like I failed.
26:07I don't think the feeling of failure or guilt
26:10will ever go away.
26:22Wesley told me all the time he wasn't assigned for a divorce.
26:26If I...
26:27He couldn't have me,
26:28nobody was going to have me.
26:31We were back and forth in court
26:32fighting for my divorce.
26:34He wouldn't give it to me,
26:35but Wesley was made the residential custodial parent
26:40because he had the house.
26:43So, Wesley got the boys.
26:47I had no choice but to leave Thomas and Stephen with Wesley
26:51because it was court-ordered.
26:54Wesley didn't want the kids,
26:56but Wesley didn't want me to have the kids
26:57because that was his way of hurting me.
27:02I happened to give him my kids
27:03after knowing all that we had been through
27:09and all that he was capable of
27:11was the worst feeling.
27:14Everything I had done was for nothing.
27:30I was on the phone on hold
27:32with the police department
27:35and I was like,
27:36he's done something.
27:37He's done something to my kids.
27:39I just knew in my gut,
27:41I just knew something bad happened
27:43and it was his fault.
27:46I, like, 30 seconds later,
27:52they told me that
27:55my kids died in a fire.
28:02I kept telling my mom it wasn't real
28:04and that we were going up there
28:06for Thomas' birthday.
28:08I had his cake with me.
28:27I just thought there was no way
28:30that my kids were gone.
28:51That's the apartment that
28:53my kids died in.
28:59The window on the right
29:00would have been their bedroom.
29:04The neighbor in the apartment
29:06next to Wesley
29:08went into his apartment
29:09and tried to get through the wall.
29:11At one point,
29:12he's also the one that
29:13put his arm through the window
29:15and had to get stitches.
29:19But somewhere in all this,
29:21Wesley was standing
29:21in the front yard,
29:25which isn't very big,
29:26so he had to be right there.
29:32He had to hear his kids
29:33crying for help.
29:38Makes me nauseous.
29:53Wesley wouldn't tell anybody
29:55where the kids were in the house.
29:57These people were all
29:58just trying to get in.
29:59They hear my kids.
30:01They hear my kids crying.
30:03By the time the fire department
30:05got there,
30:07the fire was so hot
30:09that the floor
30:10was disappearing
30:11from under them.
30:12We got the fire department,
30:14people begging him,
30:16like, please tell us
30:17where your kids are,
30:18you know,
30:19because everybody in the town
30:20knew there was kids
30:20in that house.
30:23Wesley was outside
30:24the front yard
30:24asking for a cigarette.
30:30Why he hears his kids
30:31crying for help.
30:35I would never leave that house.
30:37I would have died
30:38right in that fire
30:39trying to save my children.
30:42But he's in the front yard
30:45asking for a cigarette.
30:50If you're in a house fire,
30:52you're going to have soot
30:53on you somewhere.
30:54Wesley didn't have none of that.
30:56There was no evidence
30:58of Wesley being in that house
31:00with that fire.
31:02None.
31:04except for the burn
31:05on his hand.
31:06That was all there was.
31:09And the front door
31:11was locked
31:12as if you would lock it
31:13like you locked
31:13the bottom of the lock
31:14and you walk out
31:14and shut the door
31:15behind you.
31:16It was all locked down
31:17like that.
31:19The most damning evidence
31:20for me is that Wesley,
31:22he wasn't trying
31:23to save the kids.
31:35This is the closet
31:37they were in.
31:38Their feet and handprints
31:42were on the wall
31:44where they were trying
31:45to get out.
31:55So they were
31:58in this closet
32:01trying to claw their way out
32:04from this
32:05heat and smoke.
32:09Thomas and Stephen's
32:10cause of death
32:10was smoke inhalation.
32:14I think Wesley
32:15put them in the closet
32:16before he got
32:17the house on fire
32:17and walked out
32:19and left them there.
32:26I don't know.
32:27I don't know how they felt
32:29but I think about it
32:30all the time.
32:34What they were feeling
32:35when they were
32:36taking their last breaths,
32:38you know?
32:40I see
32:42my two little boys
32:44in this room
32:44terrified
32:48with no way
32:49out of this house
32:51getting no one
32:52there to help them.
32:54And I'd see them
32:56probably holding
32:56on to each other
32:57crying, you know?
33:02But probably thinking
33:03like where's
33:04mommy or daddy,
33:04you know?
33:21I was glad
33:22he had been arrested
33:23but
33:26I wish he wouldn't have
33:27because I wanted
33:28to kill him myself.
33:30I don't think
33:31it was fair
33:32that he was
33:33breathing
33:34and they're not.
33:40Stephen Connor
33:41Coonrod,
33:43he was three
33:43when he died.
33:45And Thomas Austin
33:46Coonrod,
33:47it was actually
33:48his fourth birthday
33:49the day that they died.
33:53I didn't get to see
33:55him in the hospital.
33:57They had already
33:58been taken
33:58to the coroner's office.
34:00I never got to
34:02really say goodbye
34:04or until the funeral.
34:08We had one casket
34:10with them both
34:12side by side
34:13and they had their
34:14arms interlinking
34:15because they were
34:16like little Irish twins.
34:18They were 11 months
34:19apart.
34:21It was just
34:25the worst day
34:27of my life
34:29and
34:30I didn't know
34:32how
34:34to cope
34:36and I began
34:37to slowly
34:37lose my mind
34:38and
34:40unravel.
34:45I started using
34:46the day of the funeral.
34:49I started using
34:50nerve pills
34:52and then it kind of
34:53just escalated
34:55from there.
34:55I became
34:57a drug addict.
34:58Hard as a parent
35:01not to blame
35:02yourself.
35:04I pushed
35:05my other kids away.
35:07I didn't know
35:07how to be a mom
35:08anymore.
35:12I didn't know
35:13how to
35:16take care of my kids
35:17knowing that I lost
35:19and like
35:20I just didn't know
35:21how to do it.
35:24So
35:27Leslie was still
35:28destroying my life.
35:32I chose this man
35:33to be my husband
35:34and I
35:35chose to have
35:36kids with him.
35:37It's hard to get
35:38past that guilt
35:39of everything
35:40that's happened
35:43because
35:44that was
35:44my choice.
35:47They didn't ask
35:48to be in that house.
35:49They didn't ask
35:50for him to be
35:51their dad,
35:52you know.
35:53And
35:54yeah,
35:55that's
35:55a hard
35:56um
35:58hard pill
35:59to swallow.
36:00It took me
36:01a long time
36:02to work on
36:03forgiving myself.
36:20We tried the
36:21first trial
36:21of October
36:22of 2010.
36:24The jurors
36:26openly
36:28sided with
36:29each other
36:29except for
36:29one person.
36:30She,
36:31after they
36:32started deliberating,
36:33said that she
36:33would not vote
36:34for anything
36:34that would
36:35cause him
36:36to get the
36:37death penalty.
36:38Jury finally
36:39came out
36:40with a verdict.
36:41They hung
36:41on all the
36:42counts
36:42except for
36:43endangering
36:43children.
36:44They found
36:44him guilty
36:45of two
36:45counts of
36:46that.
36:47And
36:49at that
36:49point,
36:50the other
36:50charges
36:51can be
36:52retried.
37:00Our approach
37:00at the
37:01first trial
37:01was to
37:02prove that
37:02the fire
37:03was an
37:03arson
37:03and to
37:04prove that
37:05Wesley
37:05had set
37:06the fire.
37:07We still
37:08intended to
37:09prove exactly
37:10that.
37:11So in the
37:12second trial,
37:13the defense's
37:13evidence changed
37:14hugely, though.
37:16They had
37:16focused on the
37:17boys being the
37:18fire setters
37:19somewhat in the
37:20first trial,
37:21but in the
37:21second trial,
37:22they really
37:22hammered on it.
37:25Ironically,
37:25the lighter that
37:26set the fire
37:26was childproof,
37:28which makes
37:29one wonder how
37:30those boys
37:30set the fire.
37:31But I don't
37:32believe that
37:33a three-year-old
37:33and a four-year-old
37:34did that.
37:34I believe he
37:35did that.
37:37As a parent,
37:40I cannot even
37:41imagine my kids
37:42going through
37:43something like
37:44that.
37:44I mean,
37:46what a terrible
37:47way.
37:48And they knew
37:48that something
37:49was wrong.
37:50I mean,
37:50they were
37:50screaming.
37:51The neighbors
37:52all testified.
37:53You could hear
37:53those kids
37:54screaming out
37:55in the road.
37:56The defense
37:57asked for the
37:58lesser-included
37:59offense of
38:00involuntary
38:01manslaughter,
38:01and the jury
38:03found him
38:03guilty of two
38:04counts of that.
38:05And basically,
38:06that, you know,
38:07says that he
38:09caused the death
38:10of another
38:12in the commission
38:13of another felony,
38:14and the felony
38:15that they relied
38:16upon was shot
38:16endangering.
38:17But the bottom
38:18line is it doesn't
38:19matter why
38:20the fire started,
38:21how it started.
38:22You as their
38:23parent had a
38:23duty to save
38:25or prevent
38:26havoc.
38:26You are
38:27responsible.
38:28You failed
38:29in your duty
38:29to protect.
39:01it pisses me
39:02off that he
39:03got involuntary
39:05manslaughter
39:05instead of
39:06arson and murder
39:06because he's
39:08about to walk
39:08out of prison
39:08in seven years
39:10and some odd
39:10months.
39:12In 20 years,
39:14the 20 years
39:15Wesley got sentenced
39:15to in prison,
39:17my kids would
39:17have just been
39:20starting to become
39:20men,
39:22going to college
39:23and getting
39:25girlfriends
39:26and beginning
39:28to live their
39:29life.
39:29Your life
39:31is over.
39:32They didn't
39:33get to live
39:33theirs,
39:33you know?
39:35And it's not
39:36fair.
39:37You got three
39:38meals and a bed,
39:39a roof over your
39:40head, electric
39:41water, and my
39:42kids are gone
39:42forever.
39:43I feel like he
39:44should die in
39:45prison.
39:45He should die in
39:46prison looking at
39:47the picture of
39:48my kids.
39:50You never
39:51think you
39:54should ever
39:54have to bury
39:55a child as
39:56a mother.
39:58It's hard.
39:59It's holidays,
40:02birthdays,
40:03songs,
40:05toys,
40:07places.
40:09It's all
40:10hard.
40:18I don't
40:19know how I
40:19get up
40:19every day
40:20and still
40:20go.
40:22Sometimes I
40:23don't want
40:25to get up.
40:25Sometimes I'm
40:26mad that I'm
40:27still waking
40:27up, you
40:29know, that
40:31I'm even
40:31still here.
40:34I guess it's
40:35by the grace
40:35of God because
40:37I try to
40:38kill myself
40:39with drugs
40:39and
40:40tenant work.
40:42So I'm
40:43here for a
40:43reason.
40:46I'm
40:46in the
40:47middle of
40:47getting my
40:48bachelor's
40:48degree in
40:49behavioral
40:49health with
40:50emphasis on
40:51substance abuse.
40:54I'm still
40:55clean.
40:55I go to
40:56counseling.
40:57I'm still
40:57pushing to
40:59do more,
41:00to get
41:01further,
41:01to get my
41:02life back
41:03and make
41:05my kids
41:05proud
41:08and do
41:09the best
41:09I can.
41:18it's
41:19hard to
41:19in the
41:19picture.
41:20It's hard
41:20to see the
41:21evil that
41:22he had in
41:22him.
41:25Get out of
41:26the way!
41:27We're here
41:28now.
41:28We're here,
41:29okay?
41:30I'm happy
41:30you're talking.
41:33I cheated
41:34death,
41:35you know?
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