GUILTY CA - Sebhrenah Wesson, 25, & 8 children murdered, Fresno, 12 March 2004

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This guy is a true creep and pervert. I hope he is locked away without the possibility of sex for the rest of his life. Oh yeah, somewhere where they will shave his head too!
 
http://www.fresnobee.com/updates/metro/story/9982747p-10816569c.html

More potential jurors released



The Fresno Bee

(Updated Thursday, February 17, 2005, 1:13 PM)

Ten more prospective jurors were excused this morning from the Marcus Wesson mass murder trial as one stage of jury selection begins to wind down.

Lawyers and Judge R.L. Putnam are almost done with their individual questioning of potential jurors about their views on the death penalty and life imprisonment, the two punishments Wesson, 58, will face if he's convicted of killing nine of his children on March 12.

Prospective jurors also are being asked about their knowledge of the case. During their examinations in a Fresno County courtroom, prosecutor Lisa Gamoian and defense attorney Peter Jones are trying to expose any biases and determine who can give Wesson a fair trial.

About 135 people remain in the jury pool. On Jan. 25, the first day of jury selection, 540 people reported for duty.

Putnam has said he expects to be left with about 115 prospective jurors who will be questioned again Feb. 28 during general voir dire (roughly translated: to tell the truth). A back-up panel will be summoned Tuesday and asked to fill out a 21-page questionnaire.
 
By The Associated Press
(03/03/05 - FRESNO, CA) — A man charged with slaughtering nine of his children and stacking their bodies in his home went on trial Thursday, with prosecutors portraying him as a controlling figure who had sex with some of his daughters and beat the youngsters with baseball bats.

Marcus Wesson, 57, also demanded his children study the Bible for hours a day and forced his daughters to wear dresses and cover their heads at all times, prosecutor Lisa Gamoian said in her opening statement.

Wesson could get the death penalty if convicted of murdering the children, ages 1 to 25. Gamoian said all but one were shot through the right eye with a .22-caliber handgun. The 1-year-old was shot in the left eye.

Full story here

There are several threads on the Wesson case, perhaps they can be merged?
http://websleuths.com/forums/showthread.php?t=18766

http://websleuths.com/forums/showthread.php?t=12661

http://websleuths.com/forums/showthread.php?t=7777

http://websleuths.com/forums/showthread.php?t=6666

http://websleuths.com/forums/showthread.php?t=5773

Praying for justice, Lanie
 
WB, I messed up. Will you repost your update on the trial starting as a new thread? Please. I can only combine 2 threads. Name yours Wesson Trial Starts or something and I will try to fix what I messed up LOL -TY
 
Trial begins for man accused in deaths of nine of his children


FRESNO, Calif. (AP) — A man charged with slaughtering nine of his children and stacking their bodies in his home went on trial Thursday, with prosecutors portraying him as a controlling figure who had sex with some of his daughters and beat the youngsters with baseball bats.

* * *

Wesson could get the death penalty if convicted of murdering the children, ages 1 to 25. Gamoian said all but one were shot through the right eye with a .22-caliber handgun. The 1-year-old was shot in the left eye.

Wesson's attorney, Pete Jones, has argued in court papers that his client's daughter Sebhrenah shot the victims, then killed herself. He noted that Wesson did not have gunshot residue on his hands when he was arrested.

Wesson was the only one to emerge alive last March from the back bedroom of the modest one-story house after a tense, hours-long standoff with police. Officers discovered the nine bodies in a bloody tangle and 10 white coffins stacked against the living room walls.

On the day of the killings, several family members had tried to retrieve their children from the Wesson household, Gamoian said. The conflict escalated, and they called the police for help, crying hysterically and saying that Wesson was dangerous.

One of the women, 28-year-old Sofina Solorio, was able to see her child briefly before she was shoved aside and Wesson retreated into the home.

"That's the last time she saw her son alive," Gamoian said.

www.courttv.com
 
Jeana, interested in hearing your opinion of the defense strategy.

Defense is claiming that the daughter Sebhrenah killed everyone before killing herself. Today's Fresno Bee (no link cause you gotta subscribe) said that there was no GSR on Wesson or Sebhrenah and no fingerprints on the gun, but Sebhrenah's DNA was on the gun. Everyone was shot in the eye at close range.

Personally I think this strategy is stupid and in no way removed culpability from Wesson.

Who do you blame, Jim Jones or the people who served the Kool-Aid?

Charles Manson wasn't even at the murder scene of Sharon Tate or the LaBiancas, yet he was convicted of 1st degree, and will never see the outside of bars.

This Wesson argument seems as best very lame to me. If not for him and his influence on the family members, those children would still be alive.
 
Pepper said:
Jeana, interested in hearing your opinion of the defense strategy.

Defense is claiming that the daughter Sebhrenah killed everyone before killing herself. Today's Fresno Bee (no link cause you gotta subscribe) said that there was no GSR on Wesson or Sebhrenah and no fingerprints on the gun, but Sebhrenah's DNA was on the gun. Everyone was shot in the eye at close range.
Click to expand...


If you find a link that requires a subscription - go to www.bugmenot.com and it will give you a user name and password to use!!

The mere fact that she was shot in the eye explains why her DNA is on the gun. If neither of them had gun powder residue on her hands and only one is left alive, its pretty easy to answer the question of "who had a better chance of washing away evidence of firing a gun." LOL I think it would be pretty easy for the prosecutor to explain that HE did have time to wipe down the gun and wash his hands during the standoff with police. Its a pretty flimsy defense, but when you've got a house full of dead bodies and a defendant whose got the history of this one, there's not a hell of a lot to work with. I see a fairly straight forward forensic case and win for the prosecution.
 
Thanks Jeana.........I'll have to try out that password link place. I just hate registering allthe time for news as I already get way too much spam........

Anyway, back to Wesson. I agree with the DNA being on the gun because she was the last to die. But frankly, it doesn't matter to me if he was the shooter or not. He was the REASON there were 9 dead bodies in the house. He was the Pied Piper of the clan.

Fry the *advertiser censored*!!
 
I hadn't heard before that all the victims were shot in the eye. You don't think he made them look at him first do you? Have they gotten to the sucide pact yet? This man makes me think of the devil himself. It is a prime example of how a fanatic can take religion and pervert it to suit himself.
 
Sofina Solorio testified Monday in Fresno that she wanted Marcus Wesson to return custody of her son, Jonathan, but knew Wesson would not give up the child easily.


So she, relatives and friends formed a plan, in which she would go into the Wesson home near Fresno's Roeding Park and retrieve her son and Aviv, the daughter of Ruby Sanchez

http://www.fresnobee.com/special/2004/wesson/story/10082968p-10909779c.html
 
Each of the supporting family members had a task - some would distract Wesson, while others took the children from his home, Sofina Solorio said. "Just to let you girls know, Marcus told me he'll do anything to protect his children," Sofina Solorio's brother told her, according to her testimony.

The sisters' plan fell apart as family members confronted others inside the house and failed to pull away their children - Sofina Solorio's son Jonathon, 9, and Ruby Sanchez's daughter Aviv, 7.

http://www.fresnobee.com/state_wire/story/10083380p-10910143c.html
 
Niece describes abuse in house of man charged with nine murders
Wednesday, March 9, 2005 Posted: 11:30 AM EST (1630 GMT)

FRESNO, California (AP) -- In graphic testimony that made some jurors recoil, the niece of a man charged with killing nine of his children described the sexual abuse she endured while living in his household.

Sofina Solorio testified Tuesday that the abuse by Marcus Wesson escalated from touching to oral sex to intercourse.

Wesson forced his nieces and daughters to perform sexual acts on him and on each other as he watched, according to testimony.

* * *

Solorio and others who grew up in the Wesson home said the family patriarch told his children over the years that it was better to die -- to kill themselves and others -- than to allow a government agency to break up the family. The prosecution may seek to show that Wesson brainwashed the victims to the point where they were ready to commit suicide on command.

Solorio testified that Wesson began sexually abusing her when she was 12. He called the acts he performed with his nieces and daughters "loving" and told them he was preparing them for marriage.
As the girls grew up, he started asking them if they wanted to "have children for the Lord," Solorio said. One by one, the girls agreed.

* * *


http://www.cnn.com/2005/LAW/03/09/wesson.trial.ap/index.html
 
OK we know that Wesson had children with his wife, his mother-in-law, his daughters and his nieces. Why haven't we heard anything from the parents of the nieces? They placed their girls in his household with him. Were they mesmerized with him also? What is their position now? Apparently the nieces other family members are rallying around the girls, but where are their parents?
 
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