William One Sac
03-09-2005, 07:00 PM
This is a real horror story, its really unbelievable what was going on. So I am going to recount the whole article here in case it gets taken off line.
<QUOTE><B>Niece tells of Wesson's vampire fascination
Sofina Solorio describes family dynamics, isolation and a murder-suicide pact.
</B>
Marcus Wesson believes he's Jesus Christ and has a fascination with vampires, his niece testified Wednesday in Fresno County Superior Court.
"Just as Jesus Christ died and rose from the dead, that's what vampires do," Wesson preached, according to Sofina Solorio.
Wesson referred to himself as Je Vam Marc Sus Pire, which uses part of his first name and the words Jesus and vampire, Solorio testified in Judge R.L. Putnam's courtroom.
Wesson had a lair of vampire brides and concubines, comprised of his daughters and nieces, who gave birth to his children, Solorio testified.
Wesson gave each bride a vampire name. Solorio's name was Tahla. The girls' mission was to "protect Marcus from the world," Solorio said, which would allow him to remain anonymous. On his behalf, the girls worked, gave him money and cut business deals for him.
For the third straight day, Solorio, 29, testified about her life with her uncle, Marcus Wesson, his interpretation of the Bible, and his incestuous relationships with his daughters and nieces.
Wesson's lawyers, Ralph Torres and Peter Jones, will cross-examine Solorio today.
Wesson, 58, is charged with killing nine of his children inside his Fresno home near Roeding Park on March 12, 2004. He also faces 14 counts of sexually abusing his daughters and nieces.
Wesson's lawyers say Wesson's 25-year-old daughter, Sebhrenah, shot and killed the children, then fatally shot herself.
Wesson has pleaded not guilty to the charges.
In addition to the nine bodies stacked in a back bedroom of the Wesson home, police discovered several coffins. The relevance of the coffins has not yet been disclosed to jurors.
Solorio's testimony is crucial to prosecutor Lisa Gamoian's bid to convict Wesson under the legal doctrine of aiding and abetting, which generally says a defendant is guilty of murder if he instigates, encourages or promotes the killings. If convicted, Wesson could get the death penalty or life in prison without parole.
Among the dead was Jonathan, the 7-year-old son of Solorio and Wesson.
Since age 12, Solorio had been raised by Wesson, and in turn, she allowed him to raise their son.
Solorio testified earlier this week that Wesson controlled her and the girls by having sex with them, turning them against each other and beating them with a stick wrapped in duct tape.
Solorio also said she exchanged marriage vows with Wesson when she turned 21, even though he was married to Elizabeth Wesson. She said she finally left Wesson in August 2001, after he turned the family against her for being unfaithful to him.
Jurors on edge
Solorio spent part of Wednesday describing Wesson as a strict disciplinarian who routinely beat his children who crossed him or violated his rules.
One rule had jurors on edge: Babies who cried for no reason were beaten.
Solorio testified that Wesson demanded that she used a branch or stick to beat Jonathan when he cried. Because she couldn't do it, Wesson did.
The beatings started when Jonathan was a month old, Solorio said.
Solorio said she tried to reason with Wesson's wife, but Elizabeth told her: "You have to do it or he will do it. He did it to our children, too."
Solorio said she remained with Wesson because she loved him and cared about his family. She said he is a charismatic man who continually preached about being ready to die because the Lord would soon come.
Because outsiders would view him as a polygamist, a child abuser and a cult leader, Wesson made plans for the day when a government agency such as Child Protective Services would split up the family, Solorio said.
The plan was for his older children to kill the young children he fathered with his daughters and nieces, Solorio said. The older children would then commit suicide.
Because not everyone agreed with the plan, Solorio testified, Wesson needed "strong soldiers," who would help him track down the family members who had left the family before they could be saved.
"He didn't want them to lose the Lord and not go to heaven," Solorio testified.
Suicide pact described
Solorio identified the soldiers: Wesson's daughters, Kiani and Sebhrenah, and Solorio's sister, Rosa Solorio.
The three young women had "married" Wesson, given birth to his children and were ordered to kill family members who betrayed Wesson before killing themselves, Sofina Solorio testified.
Wesson would not be killed, Solorio said, "because the world would want to know [what happened] and why. He would stay alive and explain it."
Solorio testified that she and the other older women agreed to carry out the murder-suicide pact.
Wesson didn't like "the outside world," Solorio said, because it corrupted his children who had left the family without permission. Wesson viewed his runaway children as sinful people who drank too much and had sex with multiple partners.
To Wesson, "the outside world had lost eternal life. It was nothing but distractions," Solorio testified.
But Solorio said she began having second thoughts about Wesson raising their son, Jonathan, after she learned Wesson was still having babies with his relatives.
According to Solorio, she and the other girls had agreed to have only one child with Wesson because they feared their children would be deformed or retarded. Elizabeth Wesson could no longer have children.
"We were surrogate mothers," she said, explaining the agreement was for the children to be raised in Wesson's household after Wesson promised not to have more children.
Wesson broke the agreement when Kiani and Rosa Solorio each gave birth to two of his children.
Diaries, photos shown
To bolster the case against Wesson, Gamoian showed jurors photographs of the girls wearing gold wedding bands and necklaces that Wesson had given to them. Gamoian also introduced into evidence several diaries that the girls had written while they lived with Wesson.
In one entry, Solorio wrote, "I want to leave this world and I have even asked the Lord to put me to sleep."
In another, she wrote, "I'm ashamed about how much I have drifted from him. The feeling is just as bad as drifting away from God."
She wrote that she was constantly depressed because Wesson had turned his family against her.
"They hate me," she testified, wiping tears from her eyes.
She then testified that she loved Wesson, and would have done anything for him, even die and kill for him.
In a rare show of emotion, Wesson wiped tears from his eyes.
The reporter can be reached at plopez@fresnobee.com or (559) 441-6434.
</QUOTE>
http://www.fresnobee.com/local/story/10100106p-10925749c.html
<QUOTE><B>Niece tells of Wesson's vampire fascination
Sofina Solorio describes family dynamics, isolation and a murder-suicide pact.
</B>
Marcus Wesson believes he's Jesus Christ and has a fascination with vampires, his niece testified Wednesday in Fresno County Superior Court.
"Just as Jesus Christ died and rose from the dead, that's what vampires do," Wesson preached, according to Sofina Solorio.
Wesson referred to himself as Je Vam Marc Sus Pire, which uses part of his first name and the words Jesus and vampire, Solorio testified in Judge R.L. Putnam's courtroom.
Wesson had a lair of vampire brides and concubines, comprised of his daughters and nieces, who gave birth to his children, Solorio testified.
Wesson gave each bride a vampire name. Solorio's name was Tahla. The girls' mission was to "protect Marcus from the world," Solorio said, which would allow him to remain anonymous. On his behalf, the girls worked, gave him money and cut business deals for him.
For the third straight day, Solorio, 29, testified about her life with her uncle, Marcus Wesson, his interpretation of the Bible, and his incestuous relationships with his daughters and nieces.
Wesson's lawyers, Ralph Torres and Peter Jones, will cross-examine Solorio today.
Wesson, 58, is charged with killing nine of his children inside his Fresno home near Roeding Park on March 12, 2004. He also faces 14 counts of sexually abusing his daughters and nieces.
Wesson's lawyers say Wesson's 25-year-old daughter, Sebhrenah, shot and killed the children, then fatally shot herself.
Wesson has pleaded not guilty to the charges.
In addition to the nine bodies stacked in a back bedroom of the Wesson home, police discovered several coffins. The relevance of the coffins has not yet been disclosed to jurors.
Solorio's testimony is crucial to prosecutor Lisa Gamoian's bid to convict Wesson under the legal doctrine of aiding and abetting, which generally says a defendant is guilty of murder if he instigates, encourages or promotes the killings. If convicted, Wesson could get the death penalty or life in prison without parole.
Among the dead was Jonathan, the 7-year-old son of Solorio and Wesson.
Since age 12, Solorio had been raised by Wesson, and in turn, she allowed him to raise their son.
Solorio testified earlier this week that Wesson controlled her and the girls by having sex with them, turning them against each other and beating them with a stick wrapped in duct tape.
Solorio also said she exchanged marriage vows with Wesson when she turned 21, even though he was married to Elizabeth Wesson. She said she finally left Wesson in August 2001, after he turned the family against her for being unfaithful to him.
Jurors on edge
Solorio spent part of Wednesday describing Wesson as a strict disciplinarian who routinely beat his children who crossed him or violated his rules.
One rule had jurors on edge: Babies who cried for no reason were beaten.
Solorio testified that Wesson demanded that she used a branch or stick to beat Jonathan when he cried. Because she couldn't do it, Wesson did.
The beatings started when Jonathan was a month old, Solorio said.
Solorio said she tried to reason with Wesson's wife, but Elizabeth told her: "You have to do it or he will do it. He did it to our children, too."
Solorio said she remained with Wesson because she loved him and cared about his family. She said he is a charismatic man who continually preached about being ready to die because the Lord would soon come.
Because outsiders would view him as a polygamist, a child abuser and a cult leader, Wesson made plans for the day when a government agency such as Child Protective Services would split up the family, Solorio said.
The plan was for his older children to kill the young children he fathered with his daughters and nieces, Solorio said. The older children would then commit suicide.
Because not everyone agreed with the plan, Solorio testified, Wesson needed "strong soldiers," who would help him track down the family members who had left the family before they could be saved.
"He didn't want them to lose the Lord and not go to heaven," Solorio testified.
Suicide pact described
Solorio identified the soldiers: Wesson's daughters, Kiani and Sebhrenah, and Solorio's sister, Rosa Solorio.
The three young women had "married" Wesson, given birth to his children and were ordered to kill family members who betrayed Wesson before killing themselves, Sofina Solorio testified.
Wesson would not be killed, Solorio said, "because the world would want to know [what happened] and why. He would stay alive and explain it."
Solorio testified that she and the other older women agreed to carry out the murder-suicide pact.
Wesson didn't like "the outside world," Solorio said, because it corrupted his children who had left the family without permission. Wesson viewed his runaway children as sinful people who drank too much and had sex with multiple partners.
To Wesson, "the outside world had lost eternal life. It was nothing but distractions," Solorio testified.
But Solorio said she began having second thoughts about Wesson raising their son, Jonathan, after she learned Wesson was still having babies with his relatives.
According to Solorio, she and the other girls had agreed to have only one child with Wesson because they feared their children would be deformed or retarded. Elizabeth Wesson could no longer have children.
"We were surrogate mothers," she said, explaining the agreement was for the children to be raised in Wesson's household after Wesson promised not to have more children.
Wesson broke the agreement when Kiani and Rosa Solorio each gave birth to two of his children.
Diaries, photos shown
To bolster the case against Wesson, Gamoian showed jurors photographs of the girls wearing gold wedding bands and necklaces that Wesson had given to them. Gamoian also introduced into evidence several diaries that the girls had written while they lived with Wesson.
In one entry, Solorio wrote, "I want to leave this world and I have even asked the Lord to put me to sleep."
In another, she wrote, "I'm ashamed about how much I have drifted from him. The feeling is just as bad as drifting away from God."
She wrote that she was constantly depressed because Wesson had turned his family against her.
"They hate me," she testified, wiping tears from her eyes.
She then testified that she loved Wesson, and would have done anything for him, even die and kill for him.
In a rare show of emotion, Wesson wiped tears from his eyes.
The reporter can be reached at plopez@fresnobee.com or (559) 441-6434.
</QUOTE>
http://www.fresnobee.com/local/story/10100106p-10925749c.html