Marcus Wesson

Marcus Delon Wesson

Background information
Born	August 22, 1946 (1946-08-22) (age 65) Kansas[1]
Penalty	Death
Parents	Benjamin[2] and Carrie Wesson[1]
Killings
Date	12 March 2004
Target(s)	Family
Location(s)	Fresno, CA
Killed	Sebhrenah April Wesson (age 25) Elizabeth Breahi Kina Wesson(17) Illabelle Carrie Wesson(8) Aviv Dominique Wesson(7) Sedonia Solorio Wesson(2) Marshey St Christopher Wesson(2) Johnathon St Charles Wesson Ethen St Laurent Wesson(4) Jeva St Vladensvspry Wesson(1)
Weapon(s)	.22 caliber handgun,

Marcus Delon Wesson (born August 22, 1946) is a man convicted of nine counts of first-degree murder and 14 sex crimes, including the rape and molestation of his underage daughters. His victims were his own children, fathered by incestuous relationships with his daughters and nieces, as well as the children by his wife.^[1][3] He has been described as Fresno's worst mass murderer.^[4]

Early Life

Marcus Wesson was born in Kansas to Benjamin and Cassie Wesson and raised as a member of the [Seventh-day Adventist] Church. By the early 1960s, the family had moved to San Bernardino, California. After dropping out of high school, Wesson joined the Army and was stationed in Europe. Shortly after returning to the US and leaving the military, he became involved with Rosemary Solorio, a married women living in San Jose. Soon Solorio broke up with her husband, and Wesson moved in with her and her children.

In 1971, Solorio gave birth to Wesson's son. At the same time, Wesson was cultivating a relationship with one of Solorio's daughter Elizabeth, telling her that God had chosen her to be his bride. He began sexually abusing her at age 12. In 1974, at the age of 8, Elizabeth Solorio married 27-year old Marcus Wesson in a homemade wedding ceremony. At age 14, they married legally when she became pregnant, and four months later, she gave birth to her first child. Eventually the couple had 10 children together, though one died as an infant. One of Elizabeth's younger sisters left her own seven children with them, claiming to be unable to care for them.

Wesson was abusive towards his wife and children. He forbade Elizabeth from taking part in the children's upbringings. He homeschooled the children and taught them from his own hand-written Bible that focused on Jesus Christ being a vampire. He told the children that he was God and had them refer to him as "Master" or "Lord". He taught the children to be prepared for Armaggeden and that the girls were destined to become Wesson's future wives. He separated the boys from the girls, fearing they would develop sexual feelings for each other. He had the boys stay in a shack in a heavily wooded area and the girls on a run-down boat for several months. Wesson sexually abused the girls when they were young and married them in homemade wedding ceremonies when they were around 7 or 9 years old. He "married" two daughters and three nieces, all of whom bore him children through the incestuous unions.

Murders

Prior to March 12, 2004, Wesson had declared his intention to relocate his daughters and their children to Washington state, where Wesson's parents lived.^[5] On March 12, 2004, several members of Wesson's extended family, along with two nieces who rebelled against Wesson, converged on his family compound demanding the release of their children by Wesson.^[5] Fresno police were summoned to what was described as a child custody issue, and a standoff ensued.^[4] During the course of the standoff, Wesson, who at first appeared cooperative to the police, was permitted to step away and go back into his house.^[4] Fresno police testified they did not hear gunshots being fired shortly after, though other witnesses present at the standoff testified they did hear gunshots fired at that time.^[6] In the aftermath, nine bodies of Wesson's daughters and their children were discovered in a bedroom filled with antique coffins.^[5][6] Each victim had been shot through the eye. Authorities, relatives and public records suggest he has fathered up to 18 children with seven women.^[1] Wesson's other children, who were not present inside the house, survived the incident.^[6]

Trial

At his trial, Wesson, represented by public defenders Peter Jones and Ralph Torres, presented the defense that his 25-year-old daughter Sebhrenah, whose 18-month-old son Marshey (Wesson's own son and grandson) was killed as well, had herself committed the murders, and then subsequently committed suicide.^[7] The murder weapon, a .22 caliber handgun, was found with her body, and Sebhrenah's DNA was found on the gun, which lent credence to Wesson's claim.^[6] The jury declined to find that Wesson fired the fatal shots, but convicted him of murder anyway, presumably finding that he had persuaded his children to enter into a suicide pact.^[7]

Conviction and sentence

Wesson was convicted of nine counts of first-degree murder on June 17, 2005, and also found guilty on 14 counts of forcible sexual assault and the sexual molestation of seven of his daughters and nieces. Wesson was sentenced to death on June 27, 2005.^[8]

Notes

1. ^ ^{a b c d} Fontana, Cyndee; Anderson, Barbara and Coleman, Donald E. (18 April 2004). "The Many Portraits of Marcus Wesson". The Fresno Bee (Fresno, CA). 
2. ^ Marcus Wesson orders the death date of 9 of his children
3. ^ "Marcus Wesson's Family Tree", Court TV, May 10, 2005
4. ^ ^{a b c} Marshall, Carolyn (16 March 2004). "Fresno Victims Were Shot, Police Report". The New York Times (Fresno, CA). http://www.nytimes.com/2004/03/16/us/fresno-victims-were-shot-police-report.html?pagewanted=1Fresno. Retrieved 11 January 2010. 
5. ^ ^{a b c} Francis, Monte (29 May 2007). By Their Father's Hand: The True Story of the Wesson Family Massacre. New York: Harper Collins. pp. 10. ISBN 978-0060878245. http://www.amazon.com/dp/006087824X. 
6. ^ ^{a b c d} Child brides and vampire names: Bizarre the norm in mass murder trial By Harriet Ryan, Court TV via CNN.com, Thursday, May 19, 2005
7. ^ ^{a b} Barbassa, Juliana (2 June 2005). "Prosecution says Marcus Wesson carried out murder-suicide pact". Associated Press (Fresno, CA). http://legacy.signonsandiego.com/news/state/20050601-1754-ca-fresnomurders.html. Retrieved 19 October 2010. 
8. ^ Barbassa, Juliana (17 June 2005). "Marcus Wesson guilty in murders of nine of his children". Associated Press (Fresno, CA). http://www.nctimes.com/news/state-and-regional/article_56211e32-4220-5599-8ac5-ca69aa648a91.html. Retrieved 19 October 2010. 

References

• Fresno police chief: 'Horrific' scene at home at CNN.com
• 12 March: This Date in History - Deaths which occurred on a 12 March. Retrieved on 2007-11-16.
• Scheeres, Julia. Marcus Wesson orders the death of 9 of his children all spawned of incest. Crime Library. Retrieved on 2007-11-16.

Persondata
Name	Wesson, Marcus
Alternative names
Short description	Mass murderer
Date of birth	August 22, 1946
Place of birth	Kansas
Date of death
Place of death