AL - Teen Kills Five Family Members, Limestone County, 3 Sept 2019 *mistrial, retrial 2023*

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JerseyGirl said:
whnt.com

Three North Alabama capital murder cases set to head to trial in 2023

The News 19 team has followed a number of cases from the crime scene to the courtroom and sometimes beyond. A handful of the most severe of those cases are heading to trial in the new year.
whnt.com whnt.com

Sisk is due to be retried in February after a judge declared a mistrial in his first trial in September. The mistrial order came after prosecutors informed the court that FBI computer experts – after three years – had finally unlocked Sisk’s mother’s phone. But the trial was already underway and the court ruled the defense needed access to the phone’s information.

The retrial is currently set for February 13, 2023. A suppression hearing is set to be continued on January 13, 2023 regarding Sisk’s confession and any evidence gathered as a result of the confession.
Click to expand...
3 years. Wow.
 
www.waff.com

Mason Sisk trial moved to April

The trial date for an Elkmont teen accused of murdering five of his family members in 2019 has been pushed from February to April.
www.waff.com www.waff.com

Following the mistrial, a new trial was scheduled for Feb. 13 but now, the trial date has been pushed to April 10.
 
Mason Sisk is asking the court to bar any talk of “drugs” in the Sisk home as the case is set for trial Monday.

Sisk is charged with capital murder in connection with the fatal shooting of five of his family members in Elkmont in September 2019. Sisk, who was 14 at the time of the killings, is set to go on trial on April 17. His first trial ended in a mistrial after prosecutors informed the court that a crime lab had cracked open the password to Sisk’s mother’s cell phone during the trial, prompting Limestone County Circuit Judge Chad Wise to declare a mistrial.

A motion in the case, filed on Tuesday, asks the court “to prevent Mason Sisk (“the Defendant”) from discussing the issue of “drugs” at or being removed from the Sisk house in voir dire, opening statement, questioning of witnesses, closing argument, and argument by counsel to the Court on objections.”

The motion says that during Sisk’s previous trial, the defense obtained testimony from a witness saying Mary Sisk, Mason Sisk’s mother and one of the victims in the case, told them that she had called the police and had drugs removed from the Sisk home prior to the killings. The prosecution said the defense also mentions testimony from another witness who said that Mason’s father John Sisk, who was also killed, had a quantity of drugs in his possession.
whnt.com

Prosecution moves to bar talk of drugs in upcoming Mason Sisk murder trial

The prosecution in the criminal case against Mason Sisk is asking the court to bar any talk of “drugs” in the Sisk home as the case prepares to head to trial for the second time.
whnt.com whnt.com
 
Just found this thread and it reminded me so much of the Nehemiah Griego case in New Mexico. Nehemiah perpetrated a familicide as a 15-year-old in the South Valley area of Albuquerque. He was sentenced to 30 years in prison as an adult.

His father was a past gang member who "found Christ" and the entire family was heavily involved in Calvary Church. Father was also a prison chaplain and volunteered at a homeless shelter.

The kid was a musician and wrestler and had friends

Nehemiah killed his sleeping mother, then his siblings (9 year-old brother, than 5-year-old sister, then a 2-year-old). He then sat in ambush, waiting for his father to return home from a night-time stint volunteering at a homeless and killed him in the hallway.
He was reportedly "frustrated" with his mother.

Nehemiah spent the following day at the church campus and then told the head of security at Albuquerque Calvary that "someone" had murdered his family. That person called police STAT.

Nehemiah had plans to go to a WalMart to commit a mass murder (he had an AR-15), but instead went to the church campus and harmed no one else.

A few links:
From "Wild About Trials" Nehemiah Griego "New Mexico Family Killings"
WIKI 2013 South Valley Homicides
 
IMHO This will make me sick if MS gets acquitted after confessing to killing his family. I don't mean to sound flip or that I'm down playing this horrible crime but what ever happened to the days when your parents and/or siblings p*^$%# you off and you slammed your bedroom door and ate the whole box of Oreos meant for you little brother? That was considered evil!
I doubt (if every one is honest) that there is not one of us who has some element of dysfunction in our family.
JMO but this is not your average young male. It appears he has been troubled (for whatever wrongs he perceives) for some time. MS =
A. Trouble at home and school
b. Animal cruelty
c. Anger issues
d. Family dynamics good? Bad? Dysfunctional?
e. All of the above

e = tragic death of family

Unfortunately, there are times where an individual is simply encased in a deep darkness that can lead to a catastrophic event . I hope justice prevails in this case.
 
Mason was found guilty this afternoon on all five counts of capital murder. Sentencing will be in the end of July.

Please keep the Prater family in your thoughts and prayers, especially Mary Prater Sisk’s dad - in the past five years, he’s lived through prostate cancer; lost his daughter & 3 grandkids at the hands of someone he 100% considered his grandson and loved from day one; another one of his kids had a still birth around the time of the first trial; and he lost he his wife of over 40 years to a heart attack a few months ago. Please remember him and Mary’s siblings.

The Prater family loved Mason and considered him their own. Even after the murders, Mary’s mother (a third generation educator) was fighting for Mason to be able to access schooling during Covid. Even though she knew he’d killed her daughter and grandkids, she still wanted the boy she had loved to at least get an education in jail (she did believe he belonged in jail, don’t get me wrong). They’re good people and they were horrified at some of the stuff they learned was going on at home (mostly with respect to Dub). Not only one but two trials has been so much for them but at least we now have some justice for Mary & her family.
 
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enelram said:
Just curious about you're thoughts so far as to
what you think caused this.
I really admire your posts in the past cases.
Click to expand...

I figure this kid thought his life sucked and would never get better, and it was all the family's fault. Also possible onset of a major mental illness, such as Major Depression or Schizophrenia (prodromal signs come on at around that age; the mistreatment of animals is a clue).

IME, almost no one who murders thinks their life is going to be "better" afterward, although a teenager might actually think that being incarcerated for "a few years" is worth it, to get rid of the irritating family presence. As the oldest, he was probably expected to "act mature," but likely was developmentally on par with a much younger kid.

I have interviewed at youth prisons and aside from the "I don't know why I did it" group (very large, type of crime doesn't really matter) there are the "my whole life sucked and someone had to pay" crowd.

No children in the house should have had access to guns, obviously. To an angry angsty teenager, those guns are just asking to be used!

IME.
(And your words are very kind).
 

Alabama boy is convicted of capital murders of dad, stepmom and three siblings he carried out when he was just 14: Gunned them down after discovering stepmom wasn't his biological mother​

  • Mason Sisk, now 17, of Elkmont, was convicted on Thursday after the jury took less than two hours to hand down the guilty verdict for the 2019 murders
  • Although a clear motive has not been determined, the teen was said to be upset after discovering his stepmom was not his biological mother
Mason Sisk, now 17, of Elkmont, was convicted on Thursday after the jury took less than two hours to hand down the guilty verdict for the 2019 murders.

He will be sentenced on July 25 and faces life in prison for the brutal act.

During the trial, jurors were shown a video on Wednesday of Sisk admitting to the murders and saying he was 'fed up of all the fighting,' according to AL.com.

Golden said Sisk and his team are planning to appeal the verdict and that it 'just feels like this inevitably will have to be tried again' for a third time. His first trial was determined to be a mistrial and the retrial began on April 17.

www.dailymail.co.uk

AL boy convicted of capital murders of dad, stepmom and three siblings

Mason Sisk, now 17, of Elkmont, was convicted on Thursday after the jury took less than two hours to hand down the guilty verdict for the 2019 murder of his family.
www.dailymail.co.uk www.dailymail.co.uk
 
"The attorney also revealed that his client was emotional over the decision.

'I know that [Mason’s] disappointed. It’s difficult, he emotes in his way, [and] he doesn’t have anyone really to help him with that,' the lawyer said, according to WAFF."

True, he doesn't have anyone anymore to help him with that. :rolleyes:

www.dailymail.co.uk

AL boy convicted of capital murders of dad, stepmom and three siblings

Mason Sisk, now 17, of Elkmont, was convicted on Thursday after the jury took less than two hours to hand down the guilty verdict for the 2019 murder of his family.
www.dailymail.co.uk www.dailymail.co.uk
 
JennieM said:

Alabama boy is convicted of capital murders of dad, stepmom and three siblings he carried out when he was just 14: Gunned them down after discovering stepmom wasn't his biological mother​

  • Mason Sisk, now 17, of Elkmont, was convicted on Thursday after the jury took less than two hours to hand down the guilty verdict for the 2019 murders
  • Although a clear motive has not been determined, the teen was said to be upset after discovering his stepmom was not his biological mother
Mason Sisk, now 17, of Elkmont, was convicted on Thursday after the jury took less than two hours to hand down the guilty verdict for the 2019 murders.

He will be sentenced on July 25 and faces life in prison for the brutal act.

During the trial, jurors were shown a video on Wednesday of Sisk admitting to the murders and saying he was 'fed up of all the fighting,' according to AL.com.

Golden said Sisk and his team are planning to appeal the verdict and that it 'just feels like this inevitably will have to be tried again' for a third time. His first trial was determined to be a mistrial and the retrial began on April 17.

www.dailymail.co.uk

AL boy convicted of capital murders of dad, stepmom and three siblings

Mason Sisk, now 17, of Elkmont, was convicted on Thursday after the jury took less than two hours to hand down the guilty verdict for the 2019 murder of his family.
www.dailymail.co.uk www.dailymail.co.uk
Click to expand...
"He didn't know any different of who his mom was. And they just recently told him, and I think that's really what triggered the little boy, to be honest with you,' she said.

Sisk also had been acting out in the months preceding the murders by burning live animals and breaking into his school, she said."

Before he murdered his parents and an infant and two toddlers, in their sleep, he was setting live animals on fire?

Why are his attorneys trying sir hard to set him free, for the 3rd time?
 
katydid23 said:
"He didn't know any different of who his mom was. And they just recently told him, and I think that's really what triggered the little boy, to be honest with you,' she said.

Sisk also had been acting out in the months preceding the murders by burning live animals and breaking into his school, she said."

Before he murdered his parents and an infant and two toddlers, in their sleep, he was setting live animals on fire?

Why are his attorneys trying sir hard to set him free, for the 3rd time?
Click to expand...
If I said what I think of these attorneys I would get in trouble
 
He was sentenced to life without parole.

I just came across an article of this case.

people.com

Alabama Teen Sentenced to Life for Killing 5 Family Members Because He Was 'Fed Up' with Them (David)

Mason Sisk was sentenced to life in prison without parole on Thursday following his April conviction for the murder of his mother, father and three siblings
people.com people.com

Like some here, I also don't see why it needs to be tried again. Justice was served.

It's not acceptable that he had access to a gun. People have a right to know their biological history, at least in an age appropriate way. Why was the complete truth hidden from him? It's absolutely not a reason to become violent. But these are examples of dysfunction around him. IMO/JMO. But he chose evil instead of any other way of expressing himself.

Were his psychological evaluations mentioned during his trial?
 
ktgirl said:
Mason was found guilty this afternoon on all five counts of capital murder. Sentencing will be in the end of July.

Please keep the Prater family in your thoughts and prayers, especially Mary Prater Sisk’s dad - in the past five years, he’s lived through prostate cancer; lost his daughter & 3 grandkids at the hands of someone he 100% considered his grandson and loved from day one; another one of his kids had a still birth around the time of the first trial; and he lost he his wife of over 40 years to a heart attack a few months ago. Please remember him and Mary’s siblings.

The Prater family loved Mason and considered him their own. Even after the murders, Mary’s mother (a third generation educator) was fighting for Mason to be able to access schooling during Covid. Even though she knew he’d killed her daughter and grandkids, she still wanted the boy she had loved to at least get an education in jail (she did believe he belonged in jail, don’t get me wrong). They’re good people and they were horrified at some of the stuff they learned was going on at home (mostly with respect to Dub). Not only one but two trials has been so much for them but at least we now have some justice for Mary & her family.
Click to expand...
Red bolding mine.
Could you link or elaborate (paraphrase) the bolded ?
Thanks in advance.
I have followed this horrifying case somewhat and I thought I'd read that Mason had spent time with his bio mom in his earlier years; or at least that he knew Mary was his step mom ?
Will try to catch up reading here.

whnt.com

‘Cannot be rehabilitated’: Impact statements read at Mason Sisk hearing

Mason Sisk, now 18, was found guilty in April of four counts of capital murder, one count for killing two or more people, one course of conduct in the 2019 deaths of his five family members. He was…
whnt.com whnt.com
The defense continued by calling Lola Holladay, Mason’s girlfriend at the time of the murders, to the stand. She recounted what Mason had told her about his birth mother. “He told me that his birth mother used to lock him in bathrooms and leave. Then his dad got remarried.”
Green bolding mine.
It sounds from this link that Mason knew he had a stepmother from early on ?
So, he didn't just 'snap' upon finding out Mary was not his bio mom.
More excuses.

I believe the jury got it right.
I do not think Mason should ever walk freely amongst us.
What possible anger could he have held against the two small kids and a baby, fgs ?
No matter what was going on with the parents, he could have asked to be placed in foster care if he wanted out so badly.
Or to be moved to a relatives' house ?

katydid23 said:
"He didn't know any different of who his mom was. And they just recently told him, and I think that's really what triggered the little boy, to be honest with you,' she said.

Sisk also had been acting out in the months preceding the murders by burning live animals and breaking into his school, she said."

Before he murdered his parents and an infant and two toddlers, in their sleep, he was setting live animals on fire?

Why are his attorneys trying sir hard to set him free, for the 3rd time?
Click to expand...
Bolding mine.
The dismissive words of his defense lawyers irks me mightily !!
"... and that's really what triggered the little boy..."

As if the victims were to blame.
:mad:

Rest in eternal peace to the five victims !
Omo.
 
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