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

[enelram]

Absolutely. There are many studies. In a case like this, one suspects the severe trauma happened inside the family.

Yes which may be why many of these cases with
young people as offenders, they get sent to some
form of rehab facility instead of prison.
I can understand that but I question if the offender can really undo 14 years of indoctrination from his surroundings.

 

[Lillymac]

My sense is that very little was done in this situation and, instead, a gun was left available to the member of the family who was doing the acting out. Opposite of "doing something."

This is like cases I've seen where a kid is suicidal and a parent says, "I hope you DO kill yourself! You should never have been born!" and then leaves a knife or access to pills lying around.

I think it's hard for those of us with normal or relatively normal families to realize how terrible some families are. In this case, it's possible that one or both adults in the home were also drug addicts (just a hunch). I did fieldwork in the 90's involving meth and crime in a low income area, when one of my students invited me to "come live with her to see what it's like." Eye-opening. Scary. I spent several months visiting that home off and on, often staying overnight (which is when it's really obvious who is a crazy meth-head in the household, and the neighborhood).

There are also genes involved in antisocial behavior and the father, in this case, looks as if he may be involved in antisocial behaviors through his biker affiliations. Bikers were the scariest of the bunch (and the main meth suppliers), which is the main reason this study remains unpublished. Enough time has passed now that some of the participants are dead and others are in jail, and being on WS is making me think that I should probably go ahead and write it up. However, the biker club in question would probably have to be left out, even now (or I'd have to say it was based somewhere that it's not, as I still live in SoCal and the club is still a major criminal gang).

Did John Sisk belong to the gang you are referring to?

 

[LadyL]

I'm sure there will be many who will disagree with me, but I have to say this post infuriates me. There's always someone who comes forward After the fact with all kinds of information and opinion. And blame!!
My question is...why didn't She do something? Why did she just watch from the sideline? Maybe she didn't want to get involved, maybe she felt it was not her business. Okay, very well. Then she should not be involved now. Not one bit of remorse for the loss of 5 of her family, only blame for the parents. 3 innocent children murdered by their brother. How much worse can it get....pure evil. I like others I've seen posted here have to step away. There is nothing that can justify this for me.

well I think the source is young herself - based on this from the article - 'Daisy McCarty is the teen’s first cousin and John Sisk’s biological niece.' - so perhaps we could cut her some slack ...

Relative: Teen showed warning signs before Alabama family killings

 

[Lillymac]

well I think the source is young herself - based on this from the article - 'Daisy McCarty is the teen’s first cousin and John Sisk’s biological niece.' - so perhaps we could cut her some slack ...

Relative: Teen showed warning signs before Alabama family killings

She could be young. Even more reason for her to shut up. I'm not cutting anyone any slack as it pertains to this slaughter. jmo

 

[enelram]

here it says John S. (father) said his son's mother had a drug and alcohol problem and
would go missing for months and at one point had not seen her son, MS (the offender) for over 2 years. these were his formative years and an unstable family environment is what led to his problems.

New details released in Elkmont family massacre

 

[enelram]

well I think the source is young herself - based on this from the article - 'Daisy McCarty is the teen’s first cousin and John Sisk’s biological niece.' - so perhaps we could cut her some slack ...

Relative: Teen showed warning signs before Alabama family killings

And what's to say if she did say something that BIG, HULKING motorcycle gang dad wouldn't tell her to STFU and MYOB.
Wonder how much the grandmother saw that lived in their basement in the past?
Wonder if she ever intervened.
I've seen some situations that now that I'm older and wiser I look back and say the same.
Why didn't someone step in and intervene?
Because human nature says don't interfere
in another person's family and how they raise
(or don't raise) their children.
It's a cycle of dysfunction in many areas.
And not easy to stop.

 

[Breezie]

His cousin thinks finding out his stepmother wasn't his bio mother triggered this?? But, I read he was 6 yrs old when bio mother died. Certainly old enough to remember who his mother was. The report I read was curious in that it said his mother died suddenly and that there had also been the loss of a child. Has anyone any information on that?

Court documents reveal dynamics in slain Limestone County household

In the court documents, John Sisk is explaining why he's the better parent fit to raise his child. He says the suspect's mother struggled with drugs and alcohol and hadn't seen her son in some two years. On three separate times, Sisk said in the documents that the police returned the child to him because of the mother's 'condition.' Sisk said he had been the primary caregiver of the child.

Sisk was awarded custody in 2011 because of the mother's death.

His mom passed away when he was 6 but it sounds like he had not seen her for 2 years before that so he might have grown up thinking that Mary was his mom.

 

[Breezie]

Family and friends respond to Elkmont murders

There is a different view of him in this article.

A close friend says he knew Mason as humble and the type of person to do whatever he was told.

"Never showed any signs of violence. He was never really into guns. He was never really into hunting or anything involving guns for that matter," said Mason's friend, Sam Compton.

 

[Breezie]

Family identifies 14-year-old suspect in Elkmont murders

Sisk's uncle tells WAAY 31, "He's always struggled. Ever since he was a little guy".

Lance Sisk talked about his bond with the suspect and how nothing seemed off, "He would come over and spend the weekend we would go out and ride around and looking at things, checking stuff out. It was cool."

The family tells us his stepmother, Mary, was the best thing to ever happen to him.

 

[enelram]

^^^^ Young children including babies who do not have stable, adequate nurturing and parenting during certain periods of their life
often have "attachment" issues which continue to plague them the rest of their lives.
There are developmental 'windows' where these
stages of attachment w/ caregiver or parent is
crucial for normal emotional development.
I believe I've read it's prior to age 5 which is the
crucial time period. So if the primary parent/caregiver was unavailable or zoned out
w/ drugs or alcohol, the child is left to fend for themselves. Like the older latch key kids.
Too many kids raising themselves= too many
future problems.

 

[Breezie]

'They were always just so kind:' Former babysitter remembers family killed in Elkmont

The former babysitter said she spent a lot of time with the 14-year-old boy, and was extremely shocked to learn authorities say he confessed to shooting his family. She said he was always gentle and protective of his younger siblings, and loved his parents.

Interestingly, there are people presenting a different view of him, than the view of him that one of his his cousins gave to the media.

 

[claudianunes]

Seems like people outside of the family who spent time with this kid have a whole different view on him. I'm not saying that it's not possible that he was a good boy around his babysitter and a nightmare at home, but it's hard to understand. Also, the friend saying that he never even had any interest in guns is very telling, teen boys talk about the stuff they like with each other.

 

[enelram]

Here's one type of Attachment disorder caused
by not having an available nurturer or stable
caretaker in a child's life.
https://www.helpguide.org/articles/...-issues-and-reactive-attachment-disorders.htm

 

[Breezie]

Seems like people outside of the family who spent time with this kid have a whole different view on him. I'm not saying that it's not possible that he was a good boy around his babysitter and a nightmare at home, but it's hard to understand. Also, the friend saying that he never even had any interest in guns is very telling, teen boys talk about the stuff they like with each other.

John & Mary Sisk Family: 5 Fast Facts You Need to Know | Heavy.com

Sisk had an arrest history. In February 2019, a local newspaper ran this arrest report for him: “John Wayne Sisk, 38, of 25019 Ridge Road, Elkmont, first-degree burglary.” He also has a criminal history in Indiana that resulted in a conviction in a felony case. Felons are prohibited from possessing firearms.

In the recent case, journalist Breken Terry reported on WAAY-TV that John Sisk was “charged with armed burglary” and court documents say Sisk was accused of going to a man’s home “with the intent to rob him then used a pistol to assault the victim and caused harm to him.” The case was still “playing out in the court system.”


The father had been charged with armed burglary. Was the armed burglary related to drugs? He could have been facing years in prison. His wife, being a school teacher, might have been considering divorce. If there had not been the article, with information from the cousin, one might have to consider the possibility that the dad had done this. In that unlikely scenario, the teen discarded the weapon, trying to make it look like his father did not do this, because he loved his parents. He confessed but he would not be the only teen to ever feel pressured to do so in an investigation.

 

[claudianunes]

John & Mary Sisk Family: 5 Fast Facts You Need to Know | Heavy.com

Sisk had an arrest history. In February 2019, a local newspaper ran this arrest report for him: “John Wayne Sisk, 38, of 25019 Ridge Road, Elkmont, first-degree burglary.” He also has a criminal history in Indiana that resulted in a conviction in a felony case. Felons are prohibited from possessing firearms.

In the recent case, journalist Breken Terry reported on WAAY-TV that John Sisk was “charged with armed burglary” and court documents say Sisk was accused of going to a man’s home “with the intent to rob him then used a pistol to assault the victim and caused harm to him.” The case was still “playing out in the court system.”


The father had been charged with armed burglary. Was the armed burglary related to drugs? He could have been facing years in prison. His wife, being a school teacher, might have been considering divorce. If there had not been the article, with information from the cousin, one might have to consider the possibility that the dad had done this. In that unlikely scenario, the teen discarded the weapon, trying to make it look like his father did not do this, because he loved his parents. He confessed but he would not be the only teen to ever feel pressured to do so in an investigation.

I would like to know what his first version was, too.

 

[enelram]

I'd be interested in learning how the bio mother's other child died?

Also if the bio mother had drug and alcohol problems maybe this boy had neurological
problems at birth due to drugs and/or alcohol.

What did the man mean when he said mS struggled his whole life? Poor little guy?
Like he knew he had something wrong since birth to a drug addicted mother or fetal alcohol syndrome.
The Parkland Fl. school shooter had problems
his whole life and was born to a drug addicted mother. Could this be a similar situation?

 

[enelram]

I would like to know what his first version was, too.

He originally told LE he was in the basement and heard shots upstairs. But LE found inaccuracies in his story and when pressed, he confessed.
He also led LE to an area when he threw the gun used in the murders.

 

[Breezie]

And what's to say if she did say something that BIG, HULKING motorcycle gang dad wouldn't tell her to STFU and MYOB.
Wonder how much the grandmother saw that lived in their basement in the past?
Wonder if she ever intervened.
I've seen some situations that now that I'm older and wiser I look back and say the same.
Why didn't someone step in and intervene?
Because human nature says don't interfere
in another person's family and how they raise
(or don't raise) their children.
It's a cycle of dysfunction in many areas.
And not easy to stop.

John & Mary Sisk Family: 5 Fast Facts You Need to Know | Heavy.com

The Heavy article says that Mary had a Masters in special education and was a middle school special education teacher. It is hard to imagine that if everything the cousin said is true, especially the part about the animals, she would not have tried to get help for him.

Relative: Teen showed warning signs before Alabama family killings

Daisy McCarty is the teen’s first cousin and John Sisk’s biological niece. McCarty says there were warning signs that something was wrong, and that he had been acting out this past year.

She says his parents told her the teen started acting out a little less than a year ago. She said he would burn animals alive and broke into and vandalized his school.

McCarty says she knows there had been problems at home and is confused why his parents didn’t get him help.

It sounds like the information came from John, her biological uncle, who had plenty of his own issues, like the possibility of long term incarceration. It doesn’t seem possible that the mom would have done nothing, given her education and her career. She also has a baby and young children in the home, surely, she would have tried to get help for him.

 

[Curious Guy]

Family identifies 14-year-old suspect in Elkmont murders

Sisk's uncle tells WAAY 31, "He's always struggled. Ever since he was a little guy".

Lance Sisk talked about his bond with the suspect and how nothing seemed off, "He would come over and spend the weekend we would go out and ride around and looking at things, checking stuff out. It was cool."

The family tells us his stepmother, Mary, was the best thing to ever happen to him.

That last statement certainly contradicts the current narrative here

 

[Breezie]

Elkmont teen accused of murdering family remains in juvenile custody

WAAY 31 seems to have the most coverage. This article includes links to their previous articles and news videos.