WEBVTT 1 00:00:35.600 --> 00:00:39.719 Alright, so I'm making this video because if anybody finds this, 2 00:00:40.920 --> 00:00:42.240 I really don't know what I'm trying to say, and 3 00:00:42.479 --> 00:00:45.079 I'm breathtaking at what I've done. 4 00:00:59.399 --> 00:01:02.159 That's it. In the heart of central Virginia, Formville has 5 00:01:02.200 --> 00:01:04.840 been a quiet center of trade and education since its 6 00:01:04.879 --> 00:01:08.680 founding in seventeen ninety eight. This small town, which is 7 00:01:08.719 --> 00:01:12.719 situated between Richmond and Lynchburg, carries the weight of American 8 00:01:12.840 --> 00:01:16.239 history in its streets, from Civil War battles to the 9 00:01:16.239 --> 00:01:20.959 birthplace of the modern civil rights movement. First Avenue Cut Street, 10 00:01:20.959 --> 00:01:25.040 one of Formville's most established residential neighborhoods, a street where 11 00:01:25.079 --> 00:01:28.760 mature oak trees tore over modest colonial homes and well 12 00:01:28.840 --> 00:01:32.959 kept cape CODs. The houses along here tell stories of 13 00:01:33.000 --> 00:01:37.400 generations families who have watched their children grow up playing 14 00:01:37.439 --> 00:01:41.480 in yards bordered by white picket fences. It is the 15 00:01:41.519 --> 00:01:45.640 epitome of small town America, where front porches still serve 16 00:01:45.680 --> 00:01:49.439 their intended purpose. A neighbors wave as they pass by. 17 00:01:50.760 --> 00:01:52.920 The white colonial at the end of the block fit 18 00:01:53.040 --> 00:01:57.840 perfectly with its traditional clap board siding and rust red 19 00:01:57.920 --> 00:02:01.319 shutters framing each window. It really could have been lifted 20 00:02:01.319 --> 00:02:05.879 from a postcard. The mature tree surrounding the property provided 21 00:02:06.000 --> 00:02:10.319 natural privacy. Multiple editions over the years had given the 22 00:02:10.360 --> 00:02:14.400 house character, each section telling the story of a family 23 00:02:14.879 --> 00:02:18.919 that had grown and adopted within its walls. But one 24 00:02:18.960 --> 00:02:23.080 September afternoon in two thousand and nine, it became apparent 25 00:02:23.159 --> 00:02:26.599 that something was wrong. A woman had been trying to 26 00:02:26.599 --> 00:02:29.560 reach her daughter, who had been staying over at the house. 27 00:02:30.840 --> 00:02:33.800 She eventually called police and asked them to do a 28 00:02:33.840 --> 00:02:34.680 welfare check. 29 00:02:35.639 --> 00:02:38.840 I don't know who I need to talk to or 30 00:02:41.719 --> 00:02:47.080 my daughter is one of the family in Farmville, Virginia, 31 00:02:47.120 --> 00:02:52.800 and he's he's been basically living for the two and 32 00:02:52.840 --> 00:02:55.800 a half days. I can get ahold of burn himself 33 00:02:55.800 --> 00:02:58.319 and turned off with work. As the girl that she 34 00:02:58.479 --> 00:03:02.039 was staying with, nobody knows where she is. Herself has 35 00:03:02.080 --> 00:03:05.840 turned off. This daughter's boyfriend has came there, and I've 36 00:03:05.960 --> 00:03:09.039 talked him several times today and I've gotten different stories 37 00:03:09.080 --> 00:03:11.680 and different stories. But my husband went down He was 38 00:03:11.719 --> 00:03:15.120 the husband looked at my daughter yesterday and he went 39 00:03:15.159 --> 00:03:17.520 down there. He arrived about eleven o'clock in the morning. 40 00:03:17.960 --> 00:03:20.360 He factored for eight hours up fid the house and 41 00:03:20.439 --> 00:03:25.000 nobody showed up nobody is a bore. I mean, what 42 00:03:25.080 --> 00:03:28.800 about four hours lay here and and but I don't know. 43 00:03:28.759 --> 00:03:29.360 What else to do. 44 00:03:45.280 --> 00:03:48.199 The home at five oh five First Avenue in Farmville, 45 00:03:48.280 --> 00:03:53.479 Virginia belonged to Deborah Kelly. Inside its walls, Daborah shared 46 00:03:53.520 --> 00:03:57.360 her life with her sixteen year old daughter, Emma. The 47 00:03:57.400 --> 00:04:01.400 hoist reflected a kind of quiet normalcy, a family that, 48 00:04:01.639 --> 00:04:06.560 despite change, still worked hard to remain connected. Deborah and 49 00:04:06.599 --> 00:04:11.759 Emma's father, Mark Allan Niederbrock, had divorced years earlier, but 50 00:04:11.840 --> 00:04:15.280 theirs hadn't been a bitter split. Instead, it was the 51 00:04:15.360 --> 00:04:18.319 rare kind of divorce that people speak of in admiration. 52 00:04:19.439 --> 00:04:23.279 They remained friends, often still gathering together for outings and 53 00:04:23.319 --> 00:04:26.839 family time with Emma. Mark was still a fixture in 54 00:04:26.879 --> 00:04:31.040 the house, still part of Deborah's life in meaningful ways. 55 00:04:31.800 --> 00:04:34.120 By two thousand and nine, Mark had been serving for 56 00:04:34.199 --> 00:04:38.240 six years as pastor at Walker's Presbyterian Church in Hicksburg, 57 00:04:39.000 --> 00:04:42.600 a small, tight knit congregation where bonds between church and 58 00:04:42.600 --> 00:04:46.759 community ran deep. He was beloved not just as a pastor, 59 00:04:47.040 --> 00:04:51.439 but as a friend. Reverend Jason Winnaker, who knew him well, 60 00:04:51.519 --> 00:04:55.639 later said he was a very genuine servant of God. 61 00:04:56.240 --> 00:04:59.920 He genuinely loved his Savior, and he genuinely loved his church. 62 00:05:01.319 --> 00:05:04.360 Mark's story was one of faith, but also of reinventation. 63 00:05:05.360 --> 00:05:07.959 Born in Illinois, he had once pursued a different path, 64 00:05:08.639 --> 00:05:12.279 working as a graphic designer before answering the call to ministry. 65 00:05:13.399 --> 00:05:15.759 His decision to ender the ministry was completely out of 66 00:05:15.759 --> 00:05:19.120 the blue. An Eagle Scout and a graduate of the 67 00:05:19.199 --> 00:05:22.800 University of Illinois, Mark's life had been built on service 68 00:05:22.800 --> 00:05:26.839 and creativity, and those who knew him admired his sincerity. 69 00:05:27.839 --> 00:05:31.399 He loved his daughter. A member of the church, Barbara Dickerson, 70 00:05:31.480 --> 00:05:35.920 said her daddy would have done anything for her. Debor 71 00:05:36.000 --> 00:05:39.759 two had carved out her own impressive path. At fifty 72 00:05:39.759 --> 00:05:42.800 three years old, she was an associate professor of sociology 73 00:05:42.800 --> 00:05:47.199 and criminal justice studies at Longward University, where she had 74 00:05:47.240 --> 00:05:51.600 worked since nineteen ninety four after earning her doctorate from Illinois. 75 00:05:52.240 --> 00:05:55.199 She was respected by her colleagues and beloved by her students, 76 00:05:55.839 --> 00:05:59.279 no not only for her expertise, but also her warmth 77 00:05:59.360 --> 00:06:03.800 and willingness to listen. Their daughter, Emma, was a teenager 78 00:06:03.839 --> 00:06:08.720 straddling two worlds, one shaped by the expectations of her parents, 79 00:06:09.399 --> 00:06:13.920 the other by the subculture she had discovered online. After 80 00:06:13.959 --> 00:06:19.160 being bullied, Emma was homeskilled by her mother. She was curious, artistic. 81 00:06:19.720 --> 00:06:23.120 Unlike many teenagers, she found herself drawn into music as 82 00:06:23.120 --> 00:06:27.519 a form of identity. Her chosen genre was horror core rap, 83 00:06:28.160 --> 00:06:31.920 a niche often controversial subculture of hip hop with lyrics 84 00:06:31.920 --> 00:06:37.040 steeped in violence, death, and macabs storytelling. To outsiders, it 85 00:06:37.120 --> 00:06:41.240 was troubling, even dangerous, but to Emma it was a community, 86 00:06:41.800 --> 00:06:46.639 a place where she felt understood. Through forms and social media, 87 00:06:46.800 --> 00:06:50.399 she found others who shared her passion. Among them was 88 00:06:50.439 --> 00:06:54.360 eighteen year old Melanie Wells. The two bonded quickly over 89 00:06:54.399 --> 00:06:59.959 the music, their friendship blossoming across state lines. Melanie's life 90 00:07:00.000 --> 00:07:03.439 had taken its own winding course. She was originally from 91 00:07:03.480 --> 00:07:07.199 Louisville and Kentucky, but her family had relocated to West 92 00:07:07.240 --> 00:07:10.319 Virginia just as she was about to start high school. 93 00:07:11.759 --> 00:07:15.879 Melanie struggled to that, eventually dropping out and working towards 94 00:07:15.879 --> 00:07:20.240 her equivalency diploma, but those who knew Melanie described her 95 00:07:20.279 --> 00:07:25.040 as kind and unassuming. One friend, Laura, remembered her fondly. 96 00:07:25.879 --> 00:07:27.279 She was one of the few who talked to me 97 00:07:27.319 --> 00:07:30.680 because I was a freshman. For Deborah and Mark, Emma's 98 00:07:30.720 --> 00:07:36.600 fascination with Horrorcore raised concern. The violent lyrics, the fixation 99 00:07:36.759 --> 00:07:39.600 on death. It all seemed so far away from the 100 00:07:39.600 --> 00:07:42.759 world that they had built around her, But they were 101 00:07:42.839 --> 00:07:46.480 also careful not to dismiss it outright. They wanted to 102 00:07:46.519 --> 00:07:49.600 protect their daughter, but they also wanted to support her. 103 00:07:50.639 --> 00:07:54.959 Their compromise was simple. Emma could go to concerts, but 104 00:07:55.040 --> 00:07:57.839 only if they went with her. It was a condition 105 00:07:57.920 --> 00:08:01.639 that Emma accepted and won. Deborah summed up bess when 106 00:08:01.680 --> 00:08:04.879 she confided to a friend, She's either going to go 107 00:08:04.959 --> 00:08:06.879 on her own or I go with her and make 108 00:08:06.920 --> 00:08:11.160 sure she's okay. It was a balance between freedom and safety, 109 00:08:11.600 --> 00:08:16.240 rebellion and protection, a balance thought for the Kellys seemed 110 00:08:16.240 --> 00:08:19.759 to keep the family steady, But beneath it all was 111 00:08:19.759 --> 00:08:23.720 a quiet unease, the kind that lingers when parents sense 112 00:08:23.759 --> 00:08:28.000 their child is stepping into a world they don't fully understand. 113 00:08:39.679 --> 00:08:42.679 Like many teenagers of that era, Emma built an online 114 00:08:42.720 --> 00:08:47.840 identity through MySpace under the nickname Ragdoll. She shared pieces 115 00:08:47.879 --> 00:08:50.799 of herself with the growing online community of friends who 116 00:08:50.919 --> 00:08:55.759 like her felt most understood through music. Melanie Wells had 117 00:08:55.759 --> 00:08:59.639 her own profile as well, where she described herself and 118 00:08:59.720 --> 00:09:04.240 even listed her religion as Levene's Satanist. It was a 119 00:09:04.240 --> 00:09:07.879 detail that seemed rebellious on the surface, but also spoke 120 00:09:07.919 --> 00:09:10.720 to the way that teenagers often used the Internet to 121 00:09:10.799 --> 00:09:14.559 experiment with who they were. It was on my Space 122 00:09:14.639 --> 00:09:16.960 that Emma and Melanie struck up a friendship with a 123 00:09:17.000 --> 00:09:22.080 young man named Richard Samuel Alden Maccrofsky the Third. Richard 124 00:09:22.120 --> 00:09:24.960 was twenty years old and lived across the country in 125 00:09:25.039 --> 00:09:29.960 Castro Valley, California. Online, though he went by two different 126 00:09:30.000 --> 00:09:35.480 personas Lil dem Ondog his personal page and Psycho Sam, 127 00:09:36.039 --> 00:09:38.840 the name under which he promoted his horror core music. 128 00:09:39.919 --> 00:09:42.320 His my Space read like a manifesto of a young 129 00:09:42.360 --> 00:09:46.440 man drank to both impress and reassure. Under fun facts, 130 00:09:46.480 --> 00:09:49.480 he wrote, I am the Sam a web designer, a 131 00:09:49.519 --> 00:09:53.600 graphic designer, a musician, a photographer, a gamer, a promoter, 132 00:09:53.799 --> 00:09:57.600 a juggaloo. I'm not a creeper, a stalker, a rapist, 133 00:09:57.960 --> 00:10:01.799 a serial killer, a zombie. He described himself as a 134 00:10:01.879 --> 00:10:07.120 nerd somebody whose life revolved around music. On his music page, 135 00:10:07.159 --> 00:10:11.480 he was more direct about his ambitions writing. Psycho Sam 136 00:10:11.600 --> 00:10:14.360 is a new musician in the underground and only been 137 00:10:14.480 --> 00:10:18.159 rapping for a few months now. His songs bore titles 138 00:10:18.159 --> 00:10:22.799 such as Murderous Rage and Sick Minds Think Alike, dark, 139 00:10:22.919 --> 00:10:26.039 violent themes that mirrored the genre that Emma and Melanie 140 00:10:26.039 --> 00:10:38.759 had gravitated towards. Here's some samples of his songs. 141 00:10:34.480 --> 00:10:52.200 Night Now, I Got Existed, Nice, held me through, I 142 00:10:52.240 --> 00:10:56.320 love you you fine as I get your mouth and did. 143 00:11:01.039 --> 00:11:04.000 Over time, the online friendship between Emma and Richard turned 144 00:11:04.000 --> 00:11:08.279 into something more. They swapped phone numbers, talking almost every 145 00:11:08.320 --> 00:11:12.120 single day, sometimes for ours. For Emma, it was the 146 00:11:12.200 --> 00:11:17.639 rush of first love, exciting, private and all consuming. It 147 00:11:17.720 --> 00:11:20.679 was a time before video calls, so they sent each 148 00:11:20.720 --> 00:11:22.440 other recorded videos. 149 00:11:24.159 --> 00:11:27.879 All right, so you wanted a video and you made 150 00:11:27.879 --> 00:11:32.559 me videos so and he said, please, So I'll make 151 00:11:32.600 --> 00:11:34.600 you this video even though I'm not gonna like do 152 00:11:34.720 --> 00:11:41.399 anything because my room's kind of dirty, and yeah, I 153 00:11:41.440 --> 00:11:43.320 don't want to show you my dirty room. 154 00:11:44.480 --> 00:11:46.879 But this video is for Emma. 155 00:11:46.720 --> 00:11:49.559 Because you just told me to say your name, So 156 00:11:52.240 --> 00:11:58.159 I don't know. I'll make you another video once clean promise, 157 00:11:58.960 --> 00:12:01.600 unless you just want to see my wall because that's 158 00:12:01.600 --> 00:12:07.000 not dirty, but behind me is dirty, so that's not good. 159 00:12:12.440 --> 00:12:17.759 All right, This video is for you, Emma, the rag doll, amazing, 160 00:12:18.600 --> 00:12:22.279 amazing rag doll. And I really don't know what to 161 00:12:22.320 --> 00:12:25.159 do for you on video, so I guess I'll like 162 00:12:25.200 --> 00:12:26.919 show you my room a little bit if that's what you. 163 00:12:26.879 --> 00:12:27.480 Want to see. 164 00:12:27.720 --> 00:12:32.360 First off, we got my door, and then we got 165 00:12:32.360 --> 00:12:36.559 my addiction for energy drinks. And then we got my 166 00:12:37.120 --> 00:12:39.840 small underground CD collection going on right here. 167 00:12:40.480 --> 00:12:43.840 And then I've got my wall of awesomeness that I 168 00:12:43.919 --> 00:12:47.679 call it. Lots of posters and flyers and I had 169 00:12:47.759 --> 00:12:51.120 you man shot them and random stuff. 170 00:12:51.399 --> 00:12:51.840 I hat you. 171 00:12:53.279 --> 00:12:54.840 Oh now the battery is dye. 172 00:12:55.799 --> 00:12:58.399 My September of two thousand to nine, They're long distance 173 00:12:58.480 --> 00:13:02.559 relationship is all to take a major step. On the 174 00:13:02.600 --> 00:13:05.360 morning of the seventh, Emma posted a message on Richard's 175 00:13:05.399 --> 00:13:10.480 MySpace page. Her excitement spilled across the screen. Oh baby, 176 00:13:10.519 --> 00:13:12.840 the next time you check your MySpace, you'll be at 177 00:13:12.840 --> 00:13:16.279 my house. I love you so so much, baby, forever 178 00:13:16.399 --> 00:13:20.200 and for always. She explained that she'd been awake since 179 00:13:20.200 --> 00:13:24.200 four a m. Too restless to sleep. It was the 180 00:13:24.279 --> 00:13:26.840 day that they were finally going to meet in person. 181 00:13:27.960 --> 00:13:31.240 The plan was simple. Emma, Richard, and Melanie would travel 182 00:13:31.240 --> 00:13:34.519 together to Southgate and Michigan for a horror core music 183 00:13:34.600 --> 00:13:39.519 festival called Strictly for the Wicked. Scheduled for the twelfth 184 00:13:39.519 --> 00:13:42.120 of September. The all day event promised a lineup of 185 00:13:42.240 --> 00:13:47.120 underground ox such as mantle Ward Scum and Dismembered Fetus. 186 00:13:48.120 --> 00:13:50.360 To Emma and her friends, this wasn't just a concert, 187 00:13:50.799 --> 00:13:54.799 it was a pilgrimage. Richard flew in from California, and 188 00:13:54.840 --> 00:13:57.399 Emma arrived at the airport with her parents to meet him. 189 00:13:58.679 --> 00:14:01.559 She would later say that she knew noticed his shyness instantly, 190 00:14:02.279 --> 00:14:06.960 but his first thought was how pretty her smile was. Mark, ever, 191 00:14:07.000 --> 00:14:09.320 the steady presence, thought that Richard seemed like a nice 192 00:14:09.399 --> 00:14:13.279 enough young man. Deborah extended the kind of hospitality that 193 00:14:13.360 --> 00:14:16.559 came naturally to her. She allowed Richard to stay at 194 00:14:16.600 --> 00:14:20.000 the family home for the weekend, welcoming him as her 195 00:14:20.080 --> 00:14:24.399 daughter Emma's guest. Melanie's parents also agreed to let her 196 00:14:24.440 --> 00:14:27.039 spend the weekend at the Kelly's house so that she 197 00:14:27.080 --> 00:14:30.639 could attend the festival as well. When the weekend arrived, 198 00:14:30.639 --> 00:14:33.960 Debora volunteered to drive the group to Michigan, with Mark 199 00:14:34.000 --> 00:14:38.080 deciding to tag along. Emma wasn't thrilled about her father 200 00:14:38.200 --> 00:14:42.240 shop ruining the trip, venting online talk about a long 201 00:14:42.240 --> 00:14:45.519 ass drive sharing the car with a fucking preacher. It's 202 00:14:45.559 --> 00:14:49.080 gonna suck, but no doubt is it worth it. The 203 00:14:49.080 --> 00:14:52.440 group booked rooms at a motel near the venue Deborah, 204 00:14:52.480 --> 00:14:55.399 with Emma and Melanie in one, Mark in another, and 205 00:14:55.519 --> 00:14:58.840 Richard in his own. On the night before the festival, 206 00:14:58.840 --> 00:15:01.279 they met up with friends from in the horrorcore community, 207 00:15:01.879 --> 00:15:05.600 including a rapper known as Sectanic and his girlfriend, Mizkiel. 208 00:15:06.679 --> 00:15:11.399 The teenagers hung out, laughing and trading stories. Mesicel even 209 00:15:11.440 --> 00:15:15.519 braided Melanie's hair. The next day, the festival grounds filled 210 00:15:15.519 --> 00:15:20.000 with roughly two hundred and fifty people. The group watched performances, 211 00:15:20.080 --> 00:15:23.799 met friends, and immersed themselves in the aggressive theatrical energy 212 00:15:23.840 --> 00:15:29.080 of horror core. It was loud, chaotic, but alive. By 213 00:15:29.080 --> 00:15:31.399 the time the festival ended, the group was buzzing with 214 00:15:31.440 --> 00:15:35.559 the shared high of the music. Melanie logged onto hermize 215 00:15:35.639 --> 00:15:40.480 space to update her friends, sft W was fucking amazing 216 00:15:41.080 --> 00:15:44.600 back in Virginia. Now be back in West Virginia on Wednesday. 217 00:15:45.039 --> 00:15:49.159 I miss everyone, But Melanie never made it back to 218 00:15:49.200 --> 00:15:54.320 West Virginia and Richard never made it back to California. 219 00:15:55.600 --> 00:15:59.440 The next day, Richard placed a phone call. His voice 220 00:15:59.480 --> 00:16:02.759 was quiet, almost tentative, as he left a message for 221 00:16:02.919 --> 00:16:06.399 his family. I just wanted to make sure that everyone 222 00:16:06.519 --> 00:16:22.320 was okay. I love you guys. On the afternoon of 223 00:16:22.360 --> 00:16:26.440 the eighteenth of September, Melanie's father, Thomas Wells, was preparing 224 00:16:26.440 --> 00:16:30.360 to drive from West Virginia to Formville. He'd arranged to 225 00:16:30.360 --> 00:16:32.440 pick up his daughter from Emma's house and bring her 226 00:16:32.480 --> 00:16:36.000 home and or Before setting off, he called Melanie to 227 00:16:36.080 --> 00:16:38.679 let her know that he was on the way, but 228 00:16:38.759 --> 00:16:42.399 his call went unanswered. When Thomas arrived at five o 229 00:16:42.559 --> 00:16:46.080 five First Avenue, he walked up to the door and knocked. 230 00:16:47.120 --> 00:16:50.840 Nobody came. He tried Melanie's cell phone again and again, 231 00:16:50.919 --> 00:16:55.000 but it only rang. He waited outside for seven hours, 232 00:16:55.440 --> 00:16:58.399 clinging to the hope that his daughter would appear or 233 00:16:58.440 --> 00:17:02.000 at least call back, But as daylight slipped away, he 234 00:17:02.039 --> 00:17:06.079 eventually got into his car and returned home, empty handled 235 00:17:06.400 --> 00:17:11.400 and unsettled. Back in West Virginia, Melanie's mother, Kathleen became 236 00:17:11.480 --> 00:17:16.440 more anxious. She reached out to Emma's father, Mark. Something 237 00:17:16.519 --> 00:17:20.720 was wrong, she explained, Melanie wasn't answering, and neither was 238 00:17:20.759 --> 00:17:25.039 anybody else inside the Kelly home. Mark reassured her that 239 00:17:25.079 --> 00:17:28.680 he would go over and check, but ours ticked past 240 00:17:29.359 --> 00:17:33.720 and he never called back. When Kathleen tried calling him directly, 241 00:17:34.559 --> 00:17:39.319 he too wasn't answering. With dread mounting, Melanie's parents finally 242 00:17:39.359 --> 00:17:43.039 called the Farmfield Police Department and requested a welfare check. 243 00:17:44.160 --> 00:17:47.559 When officers arrived at the Kelley home, everything appeared ordinary. 244 00:17:48.519 --> 00:17:51.720 The lawn was neatly trimmed, the house well kept, and 245 00:17:51.799 --> 00:17:56.160 the lights glowing softly. Inside. They knocked on the front 246 00:17:56.160 --> 00:18:00.200 door and was surprised when it opened. Standing before more 247 00:18:00.200 --> 00:18:04.519 than was a young man. It was Richard mccrofsky. Calm 248 00:18:04.559 --> 00:18:07.240 and on assuming, he explained that Amma and Melanie had 249 00:18:07.279 --> 00:18:10.759 gone to the movies. He added that he'd already spoken 250 00:18:10.799 --> 00:18:14.640 with Melanie's mother and told her the same thing. The 251 00:18:14.680 --> 00:18:18.559 officers had no reason to doubt him. They left, noting 252 00:18:18.599 --> 00:18:20.640 nothing out of the ordinary as. 253 00:18:20.519 --> 00:18:26.319 Well, Yeah, this is a Carmel police department. Okay, did 254 00:18:26.359 --> 00:18:28.279 you just speak with somebody at the residence. 255 00:18:29.079 --> 00:18:32.640 Ah, yes, I just spoke with I guess the daughter's boyfriend. 256 00:18:33.400 --> 00:18:36.920 Okay, well, I don't know. As my sergeant went over 257 00:18:36.960 --> 00:18:39.480 there and he said that it was a young kid boy. 258 00:18:40.799 --> 00:18:43.359 And then Melanie and the girl she's staying with her 259 00:18:43.359 --> 00:18:47.720 at the movies. Now, yesterday they went to Richmond. Vehicles 260 00:18:47.880 --> 00:18:50.279 had broken down and his cell phone dead and that 261 00:18:50.880 --> 00:18:53.640 kind of thing. So is that when he talked to 262 00:18:53.680 --> 00:18:55.559 you about somebody. 263 00:18:55.319 --> 00:18:57.519 Told me yeah, And like I said, I but I 264 00:18:57.519 --> 00:18:59.519 don't know where the mother is. I don't know where. 265 00:18:59.599 --> 00:19:03.079 I mean usually that I give she drives them around, 266 00:19:03.079 --> 00:19:07.000 and she's here. I haven't spoken to her at all. 267 00:19:07.359 --> 00:19:09.920 The father I talked to you earlier on today, right, 268 00:19:09.960 --> 00:19:12.599 he said that he was wanting he was gone to 269 00:19:12.680 --> 00:19:14.559 play even knew. A matter of fact, he was on 270 00:19:14.599 --> 00:19:17.640 the red line talk. He's going through farmability because she 271 00:19:17.720 --> 00:19:21.480 prop at the house. I haven't heard from resern Okay, 272 00:19:22.799 --> 00:19:25.359 like I said, I've just turned this be idle. Now 273 00:19:25.559 --> 00:19:28.640 I'm not on the thing at all. 274 00:19:28.839 --> 00:19:31.920 But by the next morning, Kathleen's fear had only sharpened. 275 00:19:32.799 --> 00:19:36.200 She still hadn't heard from her daughter. Melanie had never 276 00:19:36.240 --> 00:19:40.319 gone this long without calling, and now the silence felt suffocating. 277 00:19:41.319 --> 00:19:44.160 She called police again and begged them to check once more. 278 00:19:45.400 --> 00:19:47.920 When officers pulled up to the house for a second time, 279 00:19:48.680 --> 00:19:52.400 things felt different. As they approached the front door, a 280 00:19:52.519 --> 00:19:56.359 foul odor hung in the air. The closer they got, 281 00:19:56.640 --> 00:20:01.519 the strong grip became. It was the unmistakable stench of decomposition. 282 00:20:02.599 --> 00:20:04.480 This time, nobody came. 283 00:20:04.319 --> 00:20:04.799 To the door. 284 00:20:05.960 --> 00:20:09.039 Officers forced it open and were immediately hit with the 285 00:20:09.119 --> 00:20:12.640 overwhelming smell, so strong it seemed to cling to their 286 00:20:12.680 --> 00:20:16.759 clothing and their skin. They followed the odor through the house, 287 00:20:17.720 --> 00:20:20.359 their boots echoing in the silence, until it led them 288 00:20:20.400 --> 00:20:25.720 to a downstairs bedroom. The door creaked open, and inside 289 00:20:25.799 --> 00:20:29.160 was the scene that would stay with them forever. Three 290 00:20:29.200 --> 00:20:32.279 bodies lay in the room, one sprawled on the bed, 291 00:20:32.799 --> 00:20:36.599 two more crumpled on the floor. They had been bludgeoned 292 00:20:36.599 --> 00:20:41.119 so savagely that their faces were destroyed their skulls shattered. 293 00:20:42.359 --> 00:20:45.279 The victims were later identified as sixteen year old Emma, 294 00:20:45.960 --> 00:20:50.559 her best friend Melanie, and her father More. But the 295 00:20:50.599 --> 00:20:55.559 horror didn't end there. Upstairs, in the master bedroom, officers 296 00:20:55.599 --> 00:20:59.359 found Debra Kelly. Like the others, she too had been 297 00:20:59.400 --> 00:21:02.920 beaten to death. All of them had been bludgeoned with 298 00:21:02.960 --> 00:21:06.640 them all. It left injuries so catastrophic that none of 299 00:21:06.680 --> 00:21:11.480 the victims could be identified visually. Dental records would be 300 00:21:11.519 --> 00:21:24.519 required to confirm their identities. After the gresome discovery inside 301 00:21:24.559 --> 00:21:27.680 the Kelly home, detectives already had a suspect in mind, 302 00:21:28.440 --> 00:21:33.039 twenty year old Richard Samuel Alden mccrosskey. The condition of 303 00:21:33.079 --> 00:21:37.359 the three bodies revealed something chilling. They had been dead 304 00:21:37.400 --> 00:21:41.960 for days, decomposing in the very house where mccrotskey had 305 00:21:41.960 --> 00:21:44.799 calmly answered the door to police and told them that 306 00:21:44.839 --> 00:21:48.759 Emma and Melanie had gone to the movies. But Mark 307 00:21:48.880 --> 00:21:53.119 wasn't as decomposed as the others. Detectives theorized he was 308 00:21:53.200 --> 00:21:57.039 killed when he went to check on the others. Investigators 309 00:21:57.079 --> 00:22:01.160 quickly noticed something else. Mark's car was missing from the driveway. 310 00:22:02.200 --> 00:22:04.880 It didn't take them long to track it down. In 311 00:22:04.920 --> 00:22:08.480 the early morning hours before the bodies were discovered, Prince 312 00:22:08.599 --> 00:22:11.720 Edward deputies had already received the call about a suspicious 313 00:22:11.799 --> 00:22:16.480 vehicle on poor House Road. When a deputy responded, he 314 00:22:16.519 --> 00:22:19.240 found a car stuck in the ditch after somebody had 315 00:22:19.279 --> 00:22:22.680 tried to back out of a driveway behind the wheel 316 00:22:22.759 --> 00:22:26.279 was mccrosskey. He didn't have a driver's license, so the 317 00:22:26.319 --> 00:22:29.680 officer ticketed him and arranged for the car to be toted. 318 00:22:30.799 --> 00:22:33.640 At the time, nobody realized the vehicle belonged to Mark, 319 00:22:34.319 --> 00:22:36.960 or that the young man driving it had just left 320 00:22:37.000 --> 00:22:41.839 behind a crime scene of unspeakable violence. In a college 321 00:22:41.880 --> 00:22:44.920 town like Farmville, it wasn't unusual for somebody to borrow 322 00:22:44.960 --> 00:22:47.720 a car. There was nothing at the time to raise 323 00:22:47.759 --> 00:22:53.000 any suspicion. Tow truck driver Elton Napier later recalled giving 324 00:22:53.079 --> 00:22:57.279 mccrosskey a ride into town. He recalled, I just asked 325 00:22:57.319 --> 00:22:59.319 him where he was from, and all he would say 326 00:22:59.519 --> 00:23:02.359 was he was from California. I said, what in the 327 00:23:02.400 --> 00:23:05.240 world are you doing down here? He said, my girlfriend 328 00:23:05.279 --> 00:23:08.759 lives down here. Elton noticed that there were red marks 329 00:23:08.759 --> 00:23:13.640 across mc crotskey's neck. They were hickeys, and Elton teased, 330 00:23:14.160 --> 00:23:17.319 she was about to eat you up, wasn't she. McCroskey 331 00:23:17.400 --> 00:23:21.279 grinned and said they were from his girlfriend. To Elton, 332 00:23:21.319 --> 00:23:25.160 he didn't seem strange, just quiet, but there was one 333 00:23:25.160 --> 00:23:29.720 thing he couldn't forget. He later said, he stunk like 334 00:23:29.759 --> 00:23:32.920 the devil. I'm going to tell you the truth that 335 00:23:33.119 --> 00:23:37.279 boy was stinking. The smell clinging to mc crotskey wasn't 336 00:23:37.319 --> 00:23:42.640 sweat or travel It was the stench of decomposition. He'd 337 00:23:42.640 --> 00:23:46.039 been living inside the Kelly home for days, surrounded by 338 00:23:46.039 --> 00:23:49.640 the bodies of the people he had killed. After being 339 00:23:49.680 --> 00:23:53.720 dropped off, McCroskey wandered into a Sheet's convenience store. A 340 00:23:53.799 --> 00:23:56.119 clerk remembered him saying he was waiting on a ride 341 00:23:56.119 --> 00:24:01.319 to the airport. That detail proved invaluable. Detectives rushed to 342 00:24:01.400 --> 00:24:05.680 Richmond International Airport, searching for any sign of him. They 343 00:24:05.680 --> 00:24:08.319 found him in a boggage claim area, stretched out on 344 00:24:08.359 --> 00:24:13.640 a bench, fast asleep. When officers surrounded him, Crosskey didn't resist. 345 00:24:14.680 --> 00:24:19.279 The rast was quiet, almost anti climatic. Troy Bell, and 346 00:24:19.359 --> 00:24:23.759 airport spokesman later described the moment. He was sitting there, real, calmly, 347 00:24:24.160 --> 00:24:28.200 almost nonchalant. In his pocket. Police find a ticket to 348 00:24:28.240 --> 00:24:30.920 California around the right. 349 00:24:31.799 --> 00:24:32.119 He said. 350 00:24:32.160 --> 00:24:36.640 You are stead, he writes, and you signed a form. 351 00:24:35.519 --> 00:24:37.759 Saying you will and talk to us, and you still 352 00:24:37.799 --> 00:24:39.039 will and talk to us. 353 00:24:40.680 --> 00:24:44.599 Yes, but I would like to taste too, lacloye. 354 00:24:47.119 --> 00:24:49.160 Okay, that that is your option. 355 00:24:49.559 --> 00:24:51.920 So are you in looking your right to remain sound. 356 00:24:52.599 --> 00:24:56.279 Yes, the news of the quadruple murder spread through the 357 00:24:56.319 --> 00:24:59.880 tight knit community like wildfire, but it didn't stop there 358 00:25:00.720 --> 00:25:04.599 within ours. The story had exploded across the Internet, particularly 359 00:25:04.759 --> 00:25:08.160 in the niche corners where McCroskey and Emma were known 360 00:25:08.240 --> 00:25:12.279 figures in the horror core community. Despite the violent nature 361 00:25:12.319 --> 00:25:14.720 of the music they listened to, people who knew them 362 00:25:14.720 --> 00:25:19.519 were genuinely stunned. Andrew Schrum, who owned serial Killing Records, 363 00:25:19.559 --> 00:25:22.720 captured the shock felt by many when he said, this 364 00:25:22.880 --> 00:25:25.359 is not something from the p SSAM. I knew, this 365 00:25:25.400 --> 00:25:27.599 is not something that I would ever, ever in a 366 00:25:27.640 --> 00:25:32.720 million years envision him doing. Almost immediately, the media latched 367 00:25:32.720 --> 00:25:38.039 onto the horrorcore angle. Local newscasts ran segments on murder music. 368 00:25:38.960 --> 00:25:42.839 Headlines splashed across front pages tied the brutal killings to 369 00:25:42.880 --> 00:25:46.960 the dark, violent lyrics of the genre. Reporters stood outside 370 00:25:46.960 --> 00:25:50.640 the crimescene, warning of the dangerous influence of songs the 371 00:25:50.680 --> 00:25:56.240 glorified murder Online. McCroskey's favorite tracks were dissected line by line, 372 00:25:56.720 --> 00:26:01.920 with chilling meaning retroactively imposed on the coverage followed a 373 00:26:01.920 --> 00:26:06.480 familiar pattern, one that often emerges whenever tragedy collides with 374 00:26:06.559 --> 00:26:11.519 controversial art forms. Heavy metal was blamed for teen suicides 375 00:26:11.559 --> 00:26:15.519 in the nineteen eighties. Violent video games became scapegoats after 376 00:26:15.559 --> 00:26:20.400 school shootings. Now horror core was under the microscope, but 377 00:26:20.480 --> 00:26:25.359 this narrative, while compelling for news cycles, fundamentally misunderstood the 378 00:26:25.400 --> 00:26:31.160 relationship between music and behavior. Millions of people consume aggressive, 379 00:26:31.240 --> 00:26:35.319 violent music across all genres without ever harming another person. 380 00:26:36.359 --> 00:26:40.720 The horrorcore community itself, citing it and passionate, was horrified 381 00:26:40.759 --> 00:26:46.160 precisely because they understood the distinction between performance and reality. 382 00:26:46.480 --> 00:26:50.960 For most listeners, horrorcore was catharsis, not a call to arms. 383 00:26:52.000 --> 00:26:54.799 While the public debate rage, detectives were still focused on 384 00:26:54.839 --> 00:27:00.319 something more pressing motive. Mccrotsky's sister, Sarah told the tective 385 00:27:00.440 --> 00:27:03.119 that she had heard from friends that he and Emma 386 00:27:03.200 --> 00:27:05.880 had some kind of falling out at the music festival. 387 00:27:06.880 --> 00:27:11.160 She didn't know the details. Then, detectives spoke with Curtis Gibson, 388 00:27:11.599 --> 00:27:14.079 a taxi driver who had given mccrosskey a ride to 389 00:27:14.119 --> 00:27:19.559 the airport. Gibson recalled a chilling conversation. McCroskey had told 390 00:27:19.599 --> 00:27:22.240 him that he found a text message on Emma's phone 391 00:27:22.799 --> 00:27:25.799 from a man she had met at the festival, saying 392 00:27:25.839 --> 00:27:29.039 he loved her and wanted to be with her. When 393 00:27:29.079 --> 00:27:33.279 McCroskey confronted Emma, she became angry and accused him of 394 00:27:33.319 --> 00:27:37.599 invading her privacy. According to Gibbson, McCroskey said he hadn't 395 00:27:37.599 --> 00:27:40.839 wanted to argue. He said he waited for her to 396 00:27:40.880 --> 00:27:45.319 fall asleep, and then he left the house. He just 397 00:27:45.319 --> 00:27:48.680 didn't tell Gibbson it was after he slaughtered the entire family. 398 00:27:50.119 --> 00:27:53.279 On the twenty third of September, McCroskey was formally charged 399 00:27:53.519 --> 00:27:57.319 with four counts of murder. The next day, Mark was 400 00:27:57.400 --> 00:28:01.279 led to rest. Friends filled them modest White Church, where 401 00:28:01.279 --> 00:28:05.279