# California couple charged with torture after police rescue 13 children. **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [January 16, 2018, 1:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/california-couple-charged-with-torture-after-police-rescue-13-children/806724 "2018-01-16T01:08:48Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2018, 1:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/california-couple-charged-with-torture-after-police-rescue-13-children/806724/81 "2018-01-21T01:49:02Z")
When the neighbors said that they sometimes saw the kids lined up, oldest to youngest, it reminded me of this. People who lived in this city said he was quite well-known for doing the same thing whenever they went out in public. > **[Marcus Wesson](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marcus_Wesson)** > > Marcus Delon Wesson (born August 22, 1946) is an American mass murderer and child rapist, 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 children, fathered through incestuous sexual abuse of his daughters and nieces, as well as his wife's children. He has been described as the worst mass murderer of Fresno, California. > Marcus Wesson was born in Kansas, the eldest of four children of Benjamin ... Warning: graphic content. ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2018, 2:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/california-couple-charged-with-torture-after-police-rescue-13-children/806724/82 "2018-01-21T02:57:07Z")
> [@Beckdawrek](#): > > I think they would accept food stamps and aid as a way to stick it to the man. Those weird Mormons under that Warren Jeffs got food stamps and wic, and probably EBT. They call it “bleeding the beast.” ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2018, 3:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/california-couple-charged-with-torture-after-police-rescue-13-children/806724/83 "2018-01-21T03:55:03Z")
> [@Spice\_Weasel](#): > > I’m officially against capital punishment and all, but some people just need to be lit on fire. I disagree. There hasn’t been a good drawing and quartering in ages. More time to sell ads. ---
**Author:** ![Jennshark](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Jennshark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jennshark)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2018, 2:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/california-couple-charged-with-torture-after-police-rescue-13-children/806724/84 "2018-01-21T14:43:34Z")
> [@Annie-Xmas](#): > > [Meet the Duggar family](http://www.duggarfamily.com/about): Joshua, Jana, John-David, Jill, Jessa, Jinger, Joseph, Josiah, Joy-Anna, Jedidiah, Jeremiah, Jason, James, Justin, Jackson, Johannah, Jennifer, Jordyn-Grace and Josie. My parents and us six kids all have “J” names . . . ---
**Author:** ![Bad\_News\_Baboon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/5fc32e/32.png) [@Bad\_News\_Baboon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bad_News_Baboon)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2018, 3:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/california-couple-charged-with-torture-after-police-rescue-13-children/806724/85 "2018-01-22T03:51:51Z")
> [@ivylass](#): > > [Pictures of their house in Fort Worth.](https://nypost.com/2018/01/17/inside-the-california-couples-eerie-original-horror-house/) > > I imagine there will be investigation at that location too. When this story first broke, I kept thinking the mom looked familiar. I’m in Ft. Worth and I’m wondering if I saw her. At one point…? ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2018, 4:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/california-couple-charged-with-torture-after-police-rescue-13-children/806724/86 "2018-01-22T04:23:17Z")
I saw something about police considering bringing dogs in to look for bodies. ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2018, 4:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/california-couple-charged-with-torture-after-police-rescue-13-children/806724/87 "2018-01-22T04:46:49Z")
> [@Jennshark](#): > > My parents and us six kids all have “J” names . . . But did they isolate you from people who didn’t follow their exact same religious beliefs, and go on reality TV to pay the bills? ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2018, 4:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/california-couple-charged-with-torture-after-police-rescue-13-children/806724/88 "2018-01-22T04:53:44Z")
My 3 sisters all have ‘C’ names. I have a ‘B’ name. I am officially on the b-team. I think maybe they didn’t tell me all the cult stuff the other kids got. I feel left out, for some insane reason. ---
**Author:** ![kambuckta](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/53a042/32.png) [@kambuckta](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kambuckta)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2018, 7:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/california-couple-charged-with-torture-after-police-rescue-13-children/806724/89 "2018-01-22T07:36:52Z")
> [@nearwildheaven](#): > > Someone on another board posted a British link to unaltered pictures of the kids, which included their names and approximate ages, and included a little bit about the mother’s background. According to this story, her father was a freelance “minister” who beat and raped her mother in front of the kids, and he looked scarier than any of the people in THIS story. > > I won’t post that link because it had references to psyops and some other really wonky stuff. I don’t get your reluctance to post the link. We’re grown-ups here, and have seen lots of wonky stuff in our lives. ?? ---
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2018, 8:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/california-couple-charged-with-torture-after-police-rescue-13-children/806724/90 "2018-01-22T08:09:56Z")
> [@Johnny\_L.A](#): > > I saw something about police considering bringing dogs in to look for bodies. Sequential thread titles! (Really!) This thread and: [Human bones found in back yard](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=845848) ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2018, 2:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/california-couple-charged-with-torture-after-police-rescue-13-children/806724/91 "2018-01-22T14:56:39Z")
I’d really like to know what went so horribly wrong in that home. How the parents progressed from being secretive and loners to starving the kids and physically chaining some of them. That’s such a twisted journey into a rabbit hole and insanity. I guess finances were part of the problem. Refusing to let them bathe may have been an attempt to keep the water bill low. Restricting them to one meal a day may have been another cost savings. The measures the parents took are unbelievably extreme and evil. Tight finances are certainly no excuse for such appalling neglect. There are social programs that can provide aid. The mother and older children could take jobs to help bring money into the household. A family of 15 needs multiple incomes. ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2018, 3:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/california-couple-charged-with-torture-after-police-rescue-13-children/806724/92 "2018-01-22T15:07:58Z")
Also, bath water can be reused. Saving substantially on the water bill. Imagine what 15 showers a day would cost. 😉 That was very, very common in rural households when water was hauled to the house in buckets and heated on a wood store. Wood you had to chop and split. Several family members used that tub of hot bath water because they had too. It took a lot of work to prepare that tub of water. I remember older relatives reminiscing about Sat night baths and the work required. ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2018, 3:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/california-couple-charged-with-torture-after-police-rescue-13-children/806724/93 "2018-01-22T15:22:03Z")
> [@Beckdawrek](#): > > My 3 sisters all have ‘C’ names. I have a ‘B’ name. So you are a b-word and all three of your sisters are a c-word? ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2018, 3:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/california-couple-charged-with-torture-after-police-rescue-13-children/806724/94 "2018-01-22T15:30:14Z")
> [@Darren\_Garrison](#): > > So you are a b-word and all three of your sisters are a c-word? That’s pretty much the size of it! Another sad outcome of my name, my initials were ‘B.M.’ when I married my initials are’ now ‘B.S.’ It’s the story of my shitty life! ---
**Author:** ![you\_with\_the\_face](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/ecccb3/32.png) [@you\_with\_the\_face](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/you_with_the_face)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2018, 3:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/california-couple-charged-with-torture-after-police-rescue-13-children/806724/95 "2018-01-22T15:50:34Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > I guess finances were part of the problem. Refusing to let them bathe may have been an attempt to keep the water bill low. Restricting them to one meal a day may have been another cost savings. The measures the parents took are unbelievably extreme and evil. You’re joking, right? Attributing any part of this to tight finances is ridiculous. There wouldn’t be any need for them to worry about an expensive water bill if they’d simply allowed their adult children to grow up and get jobs. ---
**Author:** ![Machine\_Elf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/82dd89/32.png) [@Machine\_Elf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Machine_Elf)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2018, 3:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/california-couple-charged-with-torture-after-police-rescue-13-children/806724/96 "2018-01-22T15:54:25Z")
> [@you\_with\_the\_face](#): > > You’re joking, right? Attributing any part of this to tight finances is ridiculous. There wouldn’t be any need for them to worry about an expensive water bill if they’d simply allowed their adult children to grow up and get jobs. It’s not much of an explanation for the ropes and chains, either. Or the midnight marching. Or the psychological torture, e.g. putting a pie on the counter and teasing them about not being allowed to eat it. ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2018, 4:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/california-couple-charged-with-torture-after-police-rescue-13-children/806724/97 "2018-01-22T16:12:18Z")
Did you bother to actually read my post? I mentioned the wife and older children getting jobs as an option in the next paragraph. I’m trying to understand how in the hell things went so horribly wrong. A childhood friend in Texas played with these kids until 2010. The family was weird and secretive. But the kids were allowed outside to play. Things got much worse after they left Texas. A bankruptcy has been reported. Obviously they were in financial trouble. What made them take such insane measures. Why in the hell didn’t they find jobs for the wife and older kids? Starving them is certainly not a solution. People have reasons for their actions. No matter how sick or twisted. People don’t just wake up abd say, hey lets chain the kids to the bed and starve them. It takes a sequence of events to get to that level of depravity. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2018, 4:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/california-couple-charged-with-torture-after-police-rescue-13-children/806724/98 "2018-01-22T16:22:50Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > Several family members used that tub of hot bath water… [Five-second clip](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LsWGlXGx5PQ). Not in the clip: **RICK:** Do you want that bath water or not? You haven’t got much of a choice, actually, because there’s no more hot water. **NEIL:** Well, it’s a bit cloudy, Rick. [We see a shot of a disgustingly dirty tub, filled with horrible, thick black sludge] **RICK:** Well, don’t look at me Neil. Vyvyan had the bath before me and Mike had it before him, and anyway Neil, the whole thing is left over from the bath you had last Tuesday. So stop being so bloody picky; that’s _your_ filth! ([Full episode, ‘Nasty’](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3zPCkgUSchI), in case anyone is interested. Not sure why it doesn’t start from the beginning on preview.) ---
**Author:** ![you\_with\_the\_face](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/ecccb3/32.png) [@you\_with\_the\_face](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/you_with_the_face)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2018, 5:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/california-couple-charged-with-torture-after-police-rescue-13-children/806724/99 "2018-01-22T17:04:36Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > People have reasons for their actions. No matter how sick or twisted. People don’t just wake up abd say, hey lets chain the kids to the bed and starve them. It takes a sequence of events to get to that level of depravity. Look, I sympathize with your attempt to make rational sense of this. But nothing about this is rational. If there is a reason behind this, it’s not a reason that is accessible to non-pathological people. We could speculate that they were more concerned about keeping a water bill low than having their home not smell like a death camp, but there’s as much evidence for that as them believing their children were demon-spawn deserving of punishment. I actually think the latter idea is more plausible. I’m a fairly imaginative person and yet I lack the capacity to imagine what life must’ve been like in that household. And I’m really relieved about that. ---
**Author:** ![Jeff\_Lichtman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jeff_lichtman/32/1531_2.png) [@Jeff\_Lichtman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jeff_Lichtman)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2018, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/california-couple-charged-with-torture-after-police-rescue-13-children/806724/100 "2018-01-22T17:11:46Z")
Remember that the parents are irrational. A normal couple might have applied for an EBT card (i.e. food stamps), but these people aren’t normal. Who knows what their thought processes were? A neighbor said he saw the kids one night laying new sod in the front yard. I hope the police use cadaver dogs to do a full search of the property. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/california-couple-charged-with-torture-after-police-rescue-13-children/806724.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/california-couple-charged-with-torture-after-police-rescue-13-children/806724.md?page=6)