What A 15 Year Old Mass Killer Looks Like

The following footage revealing a 15-year-old Mass killer has never been seen before we discovered his dad on the couch face was really pale you were a stone cold killer four people have been murdered tonight they're dead you cannot lie to me I will drag you down with this what happened you won't go to jail for the rest of your life I'm look in the eyes of stun cold killer There's No Remorse when Nick Browning and three of His friends arrived at his home they immediately knew something was very wrong at first glance the house appeared

to have been burglarized but when they discovered Nick's entire family murdered no one could have ever expected the chilling and twisted truth behind their deaths the four 15-year-olds were Ryan fingles Taylor tuxbury Alexander Smith and Nicholas Nick Browning the boys spent time at the mall on the Saturday afternoon of February 2nd 2008 before They were dropped off at Nick's house in an affluent Baltimore suburb of cockyville Maryland immediately the boys noticed that a door to the brownings house house had been left unlocked and it looked as though there may have been a robbery when they

entered the home the boys found Nick's Father John Browning a well-respected attorney shot to death where he had been asleep on the sofa they soon discovered that Nick's mother Tamara and his two younger brothers 13-year-old Gregory and 11-year-old Benjamin had all been shot as they were sleeping in their bedrooms after the police were called the four traumatized boys were brought into the police station to give their statements about the haunting Discovery they were separated into different interrog ation rooms while they wait for a detective to come and question them Nick's three friends are important witnesses

as they were there when the brownie family was Found dead and we're also with Nick for most of the evening and the majority of the following day the following never-before-seen footage has been analized by a qualified team including a licensed attorney and former criminal prosecutor a licensed clinical psychologist and an individual with a master of science and Clinical Psychology my name's Dave what's your name Ryan the interrogator enters the room and Introduces himself to Ryan fingles as Dave instead of Officer or detective this is done to put Ryan at ease and make the detective seem

less intimidating or authoritative yes all right good thanks for coming down here with us it's kind of been a long day um just need some basic information from you to Ryan right yes which M name Ryan M name yes Andrew what name fingles f i ns the detective is gathering basic Background information from Ryan and is getting him comfortable talking Ryan is in 10th Grade which makes him a minor so the detective will have to be careful to make sure he understands his rights another detective uses a similar approach when he enters the room of

15-year-old Taylor tuxbury in comparison Taylor seems very nervous which is to be expected when being interrogated I'm a homicide some bad stuff has happened tonight I Need you to be 100% honest with me okay right I want you to tell me what's been going on and explain who are you with all day I was with uh off Ryan Alex and Nick MH we were at Brian's house in the morning cuz we slept over there last night what time what time did you guys get over there last night I went over there right after school you

got there after school about what time well I went home first and then my mom be over there around like 250 maybe 215 or 2 250 250 yeah he's giving a lot of details about the evening and comes across as truthful Taylor is also facing the detective suggesting that he is engaged in the interview okay what you guys do that last night mostly we play in the cross out front and then we played uh video games basically watched the movie what movie you watch we were watching oh what's it called I remember we're watching we're

watching Robin big at first and then we're looking through the movies oh accepted we're watching accepted around we started that around like 10:15 or something 10:5 last night yeah I know I fell asleep like halfway through it so and then where were you guys at part of the house were you guys in like the living room the main room family room I guess you want to call it where his parents out yes the detective Begins the interview with Alexander Smith by being very upfront and lets him know he isn't in trouble what's your last name

Smith Sor I just talk to Dad your Dad's here when you guys leave I think he's going to take care of the boys get to where they got to go okay you any other nickname other than Alex yeah street name or anything like that no you play lacrosse for Del Yes again he gets basic information from him and build some rapport with Alex by asking about things That are non-threatening meanwhile Nick Browning eventually puts his head down and appears to fall asleep hey ni I'm sorry takes so long the detective enters and immediately apologizes to

Nick for the long wait he does this to come across as friendly and to start building Rapport he also wants to let Nick know they are actively investigating and speaking to other people so he might be less inclined to lie No offense to you everybody comes in here I got to read their rights too so I got to read your rights the detective is trying to put Nick at ease by saying that he has to read the Miranda rights to everyone by making this seem like a very ordinary thing he's less likely to start off

being defensive the detective reads Nick as Miranda writes and has him read them back to him to make sure he is literate and is listening because Nick has no priors and is a minor the Detective needs to take Extra Care in making sure he understands his rights before he begins interrogating him can we talk a little bit can you sign that here for me I'll get oveross the detective intentionally speaks very casually and then immediately jumps into the interrogation he does this so Nick doesn't have an opportunity to hesitate and request an attorney the detective

also makes the conversation seem casual So he isn't aware of the seriousness of speaking to the police without legal representation notice how close the detective sits to Nick versus how he was seated with the other boys he's intentionally invading his personal space to make him focus on him it's more difficult to lie to someone who's inches from your face looking directly at you um I'm talk so tell me what's happened the last day and a half what was going on And last night I guess you can start tomorrow yesterday afternoon um came up from school

245 then F back on to the basketball game but then end Delany or Del back thought about going there okay then we decided to skip that um for bunch of reasons Ryan F's house okay and we're just hanging out there went outside for a little bit you know you Ryan's house yeah Ry what were we doing there the police officer begins a very basic line of questioning allowing him To describe the events of the past two days on his own getting Nick to tell his own version of what happened will help the police attempt to

poke holes in his story oh um played some Xbox a little bit I I don't know I know the add where does Ryan live do you know Springdale yeah I know where the pool and stuff is right it's in that neighborhood in neighbor okay while one detective is handling next questioning another is simultaneously questioning Ryan we pick Up where they're discussing the boys activities the previous night when they all stayed over at Ryan's house and start to discuss where exactly Nick was during that night you guys spent the entire evening together yesterday yes your you

leave the house about last night um just walk around the neighborhood okay how far do you live from where he lives um uh half a mile half a mile did you guys go over there no did he yes what time Did he go over there um like 12:30 last night yes what are you going on for um truthfully we were going to just take his car out I'm sorry what was his name Nick Browning just take his car out for a little Drive okay did you guys do that no all of you were there yes

Nick said that he was there and his he's that when he got there the lights were still on okay and so he just was in the car um and the just and he said he fell asleep it seems Nick planned to Sneak home to get the car before driving back to take the boys for a ride but this never happened although it isn't known for sure it can be assumed that Nick would have to sneak home to get the car due to his age at only 15 years old he would be unable to get his

driver's license Nick's story that he fell asleep in the car doesn't sound sound very feasible if he went home to get his car which he wasn't allowed to do adrenaline would have likely kept him up it's also Suspicious that the lights in the house allegedly were on that late at night if there had been an intruder they likely wouldn't have turned lights on as well Nick probably would have seen or heard something if his family was killed around the same time he was sitting in the driveway his story isn't logical and like hours later or

how many hours later he Alex called him and see where he was he's like oh sleep in the car and then he came back to my House after Ryan explains that Nick temporarily left the sleepover for a few hours we returned to Taylor's interrogation room the detective is getting Taylor's account of the previous night's events so basically after that when I woke up started watching this TV you fell asleep yeah I woke back up around like like 1200 and went to bed went to like a actual bed I was like on the couch okay I

mean on chair woke up around midnight yeah what bed did you go To I went into his brother Joe's his brother's room and then was Joe there Joe no he was not there where was he he was at a friend's house okay so he went in Jaz room yeah and then the fingles or the parents had friends over and they they were they weren't going to sleep there then they did the friends oh the fingles did yeah they're friends so they um came in Joe's room to sleep so I had to get up went down

to the basement and slept on the Futon what time was that about remember I don't know what time it was it's probably like 1 1:30 maybe when you woke up to go to Joe's room where were all the other boys sleeping on the couch next to me and up in his room okay uh was Nick there yes you sure it's important no I don't think he was okay actually yeah know he wasn't there he went out I think The detective can tell Taylor is hesitant about speaking so he reminds him that he needs to tell

the truth I I tell you now yes this is a murder case yes you're 15 years old yes you cannot lie to me all right because you will go to jail for the rest of your life saying that he'll go to jail for the rest of his life is rather aggressive as Taylor is only 15 and it's also not actually true the detective needs him to be truthful but he oversteps a little here Police are allowed to lie to suspects but this seemed unnecessary at this point given Taylor's age Nick was not in there no

do you know that he left what do you know that he left I mean yeah I guess cuz I didn't see him there I didn't know he was leaving okay to tell the truth I really don't know the exact times okay that's fine I mean I didn't have like a clock I was looking at Taylor is displaying some behaviors that indicate he's feeling anxious such as Holding his hands in front of his torso and frequently touching his face however given his young age and the fact that his friends family was just found murdered it would

be understandable that he's feeling anxious although some dismiss body language analysis as pseudoscience it's used by the FBI and CIA during interrogations when the CIA is interrogating an individual they look for clusters of three or more indicators that occur in either quick succession or All at once these indicators can be signs of discomfort or uncertainty in what the individual is stating rather than indicators of deception it's extremely important to note that you can not detect deception through body language analysis alone we pick up where the detective is explaining to Alex the utter magnitude of the

horrific crimes you haven't figured out by now something really serious is happening to the the Browning Family you're 15 years old I need you to be 100% honest the other boys have been honest with me you can't take up and line gu by telling him that the other boys have been honest with me the detective is trying to ensure that Alex is tell the truth if he thinks that the other boys told the detective everything he'll feel pressured to do the same if he denies something but the other boys say it happened he might be

afraid he'll get in trouble with the police I'm ask You to take me through the last 28 29 hours what's been going on so you guys from what I know um Paul spent the night over at right fence right yes what do you guys do from there Alex begins to give his account of the previous night which seems to be consistent with Taylor's account um well we s every and in the morning sking overl okay what I want you to take it slow and not skip out stuff okay all right so last night you guys

went there Yeah what did you guys do while you were there we ordered food from Georgia and watched Smoking Aces and accepted and ran around outside a little bit mhm and we basically just all went to sleep okay what where were you guys watching TV and stuff what room of the house in the living room were uh Ryan's parents room yes was there other people there too yes Ryan's parents friends who else is in the living room with you Nick who else did Ryan go up to His room yeah Ryan went up to his room

and T went up to Ryan's brother's room and then move downstairs okay why did Taylor have to go downstairs because Ryan parents friends were back in Taylor's interrogation room it seems he's wrestling with himself it's as if he has something he wants to get off his chest the detective is expressing just how crucial it is that he disclosed the full story of what Happened through the previous night and into the morning where everything took a terrible turn for the worst are you sure you've been 100% off there something you should be telling me cuz I'm

not telling you how me how important this is right now uh there's something you actually he did he told me that he was going to go out but he didn't tell me where he really was going I appreciate this on Miss he said he said he was going to go out I mean I Don't know I was kind of said he's going to go out and then what do you tell you about that as he talks Taylor picks up the water bottle picking up the water bottle suddenly has to have some meaning because this happened

precisely when he was telling the detective about Nick having gone out Ryan does the same thing when he seemed uncomfortable based on behavioral observations Taylor and Ryan appear to know something or have strong suspicions that Nick was up to no good When he left the house he was going out to do what he told you something I know he said he said he was going to go and oh Taylor is looking down and avoiding eye contact showing that he's clearly nervous revealing what Nick told him he was going to do he said he was going

to since he got notice that the detective leans in very close to him when he starts stuttering and hesitating the detective Is mirroring the boy's body language which is a non-verbal Rapport building technique used to make them feel more comfortable and friendly with a detective typically mirroring behavior is something you can observe between people who were close and comfortable with each other although we can't know for sure and he can be displaying this Behavior subconsciously as the majority of people do the detective seems to be using this technique quite intentionally Throughout the interrogations in an

attempt to make the group feel more at ease friendly and willing to share any information they may have point out any mirroring Behavior you catch throughout the interrogations with timestamps in the comments he said he might go and take the car but end take his parents car this car Taylor continues speaking but becomes more obviously uncomfortable he stutters slightly and starts to cover his face with his hands while speaking He fidgets and frequently touches his face which is a self- soothing Behavior he's likely feeling very anxious possibly still feeling torn about whether to be loyal

to his friend or be honest with the detective again this is another pretty strong indication that Taylor may not be telling the whole truth the question is why would he risk himself just to try and protect Nick given that the crime here is something so serious he just told me he's going He's might might take the car he went he say we was going to go with the car no he did not he said he's going to and then next thing I I knew it I mean woke up mhm and he said fell asleep or

whatever that's what he said fell asleep in his car and he came then he W walked back I guess or biked I I don't know which one he did okay and that's okay I'm going let you think for a little bit I'm going to come back in and talk to you okay all right you anything think No once alone Taylor looks rather uneasy and is likely rattled by the this situation we now hear firsthand what Nick claims to have occurred the previous night and then at around 130 stupid me I went back to my house

to try to get the car Nick says stupid me to make it clear that he knew it was a bad idea and to appear to the officer like he's a good kid and they you know the keys were um or my parants were the lights were on in The house notice how Nick Taps the table while talking in an attempt to emphasize his points however these Taps appear mistimed rather than aligned with his statements and they you know the keys were um where my parents were the lights were on in the house typically these sort

of illustrators will line up with a person's statements when they're being truthful but Nicks are all off and at times he isn't even hitting the table this is also known as in congruent body Language or when someone's words and Body Language don't match according to the body language panel these are known as misplaced or mistimed illustrators and can be a cue of deception and so I didn't want to take the car out so because lights were on you know I was s worried and so I went in the car and start know they'll go to

they'll go to bed in a half hour and the lights to be off so I sitting there then I fall asleep then I get a call from Alex around I think 5:00 in the morning okay and then I wake it wakes me up and then go St in the car and the lights are still in the house okay and it it doesn't make sense now but yeah so what did you do that I walk back home ass it's 5 in the morning okay so did you ever get inside get the keys at all or no

I was own that car but never inside the house okay okay his casual demeanor is somewhat unusual given he's just found his entire family murdered however It's possible that he's currently experiencing feelings of denial and hasn't fully let the truth sink in which could somewhat explain why he appears to be acting normally Mick speaks in a much more mature manner compared to his three friends who definitely sound more like kids did did you walk back to R far it's a it's probably 20 walks into Alex now gives his account of the sleeping situation at Ryan's

house which is a bit different than what the other Boys had to say watch his story begin to evolve as he fills in some of the missing pieces of the puzzle so you in Nick SLE in the living room yes you're 100% sure you to be perfectly honest with me that Nick was in there with you yes I night yes Alex denies the Nick left the house that night the detective already knows this is untrue Alex may feel like he has to protect his friend by saying that Nick was sleeping in the living room the

whole night at that age One's peer relationships may be the most important thing friends opinions and thoughts are often held in higher esteem than that of one's own family okay I'm having two people tell me he left the house this is a murder investigation four people have been murdered tonight you don't want to start lying to me right now I will drag you down with this if you start lying with me you need to tell me 100% truth I already know he's left the house I Already know why he left the house yes he left

he immediately changes his story and appears to now tell the truth the boys may have decided together to lie about Nick leaving the house prior to being brought into the station to protect their friend saying that he left the house would obviously make him look guilty tell me what happened well Nick was leaving the house too cuz he was going to take his car out so when did he tell you that he was going to over there He said he was going to leave at 12:45 what were you guys going to Dove yeah just drive

around do you have anybody to go visit girls or anything like that no they were just going to drive around okay what happened after that well I fell asleep around 1 okay and then you stay you stay in that little yes and then I woke up around 5: and I called Nick to see where he was cuz he didn't he said he was going to come back and Wake me up when he head the car but okay he never called so I called him he said he was walking back to Ryan's and he was lost

and I told him how to get him and he said he was going to go in the house and get the keys then he fell asleep in the car understand he said for about 3 hours I guess it's hard to tell if any of these boys suspected something or maybe even knew more Alex's Behavior here is similar to tailers except that he seems To lie more overtly about the living room situation back in Ryan interrogation room the detective receives the same story provided by Taylor and Alex that what happened all right went upstairs we just

we ate breakfast or lunch lunch and then let's see oh Nick went upstairs took a shower and then what happened oh when Mr pack came um see Alex drove us back to Nick's house cuz we're going to go there for the night and he went inside I don't know like when we were waiting he was worried because Nick because he said he was like he was calling him like all morning he started calling him at like 11:00 and um he was like worried he kept on calling like all the fs leaving messages and no one

picked up he's like getting worried and uh Taylor reaches down as he's speaking and grabs his water bottle Which is a sign of his nervousness he also repeats a few times about how Nick was getting worried he seems to want to emphasize Nick's concern about his parents cuz he said he said that his mom was going to take him up at like 9: to like clean the house 9:00 in the morning and she never did I guess and he was C and I don't know guess he assume they're out somewhere and then we got him

and in the course of this I've been calling my parents all day and they had Pied up so from the cell phone so originally from Ryan's house phone and then my phone a bunch of times okay okay there is 's a very specific reason why the officer asks about Nick placing calls to his parents and brothers to compare his statements regarding his calls with phone records if the police get these records and they're inconsistent with his story they can do two things one convince a jury that he's not telling the truth and to convince Nick

to confess because his story doesn't make sense any idea what happened um the detective wants Ryan to explain exactly what occurred earlier that afternoon leading up to the horrendous discovery of Nick's slain family me Taylor Nick and Alex were at the mall we came home um Mr Pat drove us to Nick's house cuz we're going to be there tonight cuz they were all at my house last night okay And when we got there um Nick was already worried cuz his Nick's parents always like call him and stuff to check in and they haven't since he

hasn't talked to him since like 6 yesterday okay and he's getting all worried so like when we got back there he was just all sketched out about stuff he's holding his hands in front of his body as he describes what happened which could be a self- soothing position this is likely the first time he's been in a Police interview room so it's understandable that he may be feeling anxious they begin to discuss the four boys arrival at Nick's house earlier that afternoon after their trip to the local mall um so you guys get to back

home what happened then then I opened the garage door I walk inside how did you open the garage door how did you do that the code oh okay out outdoor code the keep garage door opens or something okay and so I walked inside um and then The door was unlocked which was weird cuz one of my parents locked the door which door the the door in the door into the garage the kitchen from the garage K that was locked so I figured it would be locked but it wasn't so I walked in and I saw

my father on the couch and that's sort of un what did you see about that I know St what did you see I saw he was on the couch and there was um but com his face it's notable that Nick doesn't seem the least bit upset or emotional while Discussing finding his entire family murdered or when he saw blood on his father's face this would have been an extremely traumatic event for him so it's surprising that he doesn't appear to show any signs of trauma he hasn't cried expressed shock or even been at a loss

for words he does lower his voice and Mumble a little but this change in volume and speech may be out of fear and not wanting to discuss the crime it's possible that he's keeping his emotions Inside or putting on a brave face we don't know his typical Behavior so keeping his emotions inside may be normal for him okay what did you do after that um then we talked to Mr Smith and he came in the house okay he called 911 and I went upstairs the rest of my mother and my two brothers I saw we

don't know Nick's diagnosis but this lack of emotion despite talking about his entire entire family being dead is typical of individuals with Antisocial personality disorder please note that the people involved in this case have not been formally diagnosed with any mental illness and the psychological analysis is not based upon a formal assessment we discovered his dad on the couch like bloody his face was really pale and then we got Mr Pat who's about to drive away he came in and then he pushed us away from like the dad so Nick went upstairs found his mom

in the master bedroom and The his two brothers in their bedroom like all bloody and I was I I was up there too with him and Alex was down the hall and I just took Nick and just brought him outside okay Alex gives his take on the disturbing discovery of Nick's deceased father I just stayed right by the stairs when you walk in I didn't want to I didn't want to see anything and Nick just said he saw blood on him and then right as my dad was pulling off I stopped him did you see

His dad or anything yeah I saw him on the couch so I ran outside and got Mr Smith okay and uh he came in he's like yelling he's like John John John you okay and um so I gave Mr pet the home phone M and called 911 and Nick went upstairs and looked in his brother's and P Mom's room and they were had like blood on them he said Nick ran upstairs is that Nick went upstairs Nick went yeah he wanted to see where everyone Else was so then we all we all went outside Mr

P was on the phone when you went outside where did you go we stood behind Mr P truck did you guys go to the back of the house at all yes we went we all ran around back what you do back there we were going to see if there's anything any signs down there so he opened the door and he saw the Xbox and his Nick okay he saw the Xbox and the Wii like on top of each other on the pool table the Xbox being left behind Makes a robbery much less likely as that's

something a burglar would likely take especially if it was sitting out so visibly burglars also rarely kill their victims and will more often than not leave if they discover the house is occupied Alex clears up details about Nick's outing in the very early morning hours that day his account is about to further incriminate his friend Nick as far as you know did Nick ever did he tell you he had driven around at all Last night no he said he didn't at all but then today at the mall he said he couldn't get the keys and

he pulls the car keys out of his jacket and he said they they just he said they were just in there he didn't even know in his pocket yeah in his jacket pocket okay nied alleged that he never got the keys or entered the house which is now contradicted by Alex um is there anybody else in your family yeah that's okay how about grandfather or grandmother Grandfather lives deep you live there or you just there for the weekend he live there fulltime and my grandmother lives in El um how old is he your grand 73

cuz I want him to come if I ask him to come here for you would you do that would you well they come down and just take about three hour understand understand but come down Nick is laughing with the detective and seems almost lighthearted most people would Certainly lack the ability to laugh so easily however people can process trauma differently and it's impossible ble to know how Nick is truly feeling inside as many individuals are very good at hiding their emotions all right let me work on that real quick and I'll come back talk a

little bit okay you need anything else before leaving the room the officer asked Nick if he needs anything this may not seem particularly important but the officer is trying to build rapport with Him by getting him to believe that the officer is on his side he will be more open when talking to him some food would be nice food is it um check our restaurant here it's all we eat junk food here is that okay it's fine how about I'm a drink uh so it would be great his request for food is surprising as most

people would lack an appetite after seeing what he witnessed hours before given the situation this could indicate that he's emotionally Disconnected Nick is likely feeling more comfortable now the detective has been friendly and joking with him there's been no suggestion or hint that he may be a suspect he may even feel that he can let his guard down as it's becoming more clear that Nick is likely the prime suspect Taylor shed some light on Nick's home life from the outside it appears Nick has everything going for him however we learned things might not be as

great as they seem and Nick has been Getting into trouble did he say anything to you about anything has he had any issues with his parents lately not not no I mean I think he got in trouble like couple once or twice because of drinking this is the first suggestion that there may have been some issues between Nick and parents still it's pretty common for teenagers to clash with their parents however this could be seen as a red flag as teen drinking could be a sign of behavioral problems And issues in the household at 15

years old Nick is still in his early adolescent years so drinking at this age could definitely be more of an indication of Behavioral or mental health issues in other words it could be considered more concerning when a younger teen starts drinking as it could also be an indication of conduct disorder which is often a precursor to antisocial personal disorder conduct disorder is a behavioral and emotional Disorder that can occur in children and teens and usually includes a pattern of lying rule breaking aggression and destructive Behavior did you see a gun with Nick at all last

night did you have a gun no are you sure not that I saw I not see did you say or talk about a gun last night no are you 100% positive yes okay did not talk about a um have you touched a gun in the last 24 hours I touched an airsoft gun no no a real No all right um has Nick ever said anything about his parents um abusing and mistreating him or anything like that NOP Taylor appears confident in his response when asked if Nick ever mentioned being abused by his parents out got

some time the detective comes back and acts very friendly asking questions unrelated to the crime to rebuild rapport with Nick he wants him to get able talking with them because once a suspect begins talking it's much Easier for them to continue it will also help him to let his guard down how you like it there good good high school yeah good student or yeah good student like what kind of good student how's the golf team good good we won counties and then lost regionals but you know good team you can see Nick smiling his demeanor

is extremely troubling and unusual for someone in his position Nick is frequently touching his face which can be a self- soothing Behavior even though He appears to be chatting normally with the detective it's apparent that he's not truly comfortable with the interview process talk about your dad what do he do for lawyer what lawyer or R TS the detective asks him about his father in a very casual manner to see how he responds and to gauge his feelings towards him he's trying to see if Nick's response aligns with what his friends will say what they

do kind of um he's Business Lear mom um St she had a property management sort of side business more of a St in Mom okay that's cool cool you get along with them okay yeah great try to get know it seems like he wants to avoid discussing any issues he had with his father to remove a motive for him being the killer um got have any enemies or anything enemies or problems or no I think so the officer isn't asking these questions because he Actually thinks enemies or problems at work caus the murders rather the

officer is once again trying to get Nick to let his guard down by making him believe that he isn't a suspect um he talk about anything that's uh going on at work that me yeah not in a bad sense when we talked about work you know but nothing did he have to travel at all or is he pretty much here I mean last time he traveled was actually probably with me down in South Carolina which was a family matter he just not really traveling business much okay so he wasn't having to go to other businesses

around okay pretty much all local okay mom was there all the time how about your brothers um went to co they both went to [ __ ] Middle School how old how old are they 8th and sixth grade so 13 11 okay is there anything else he's not going to put you in anything is he is he going to say that you had involvement in anything no he's not Going to say he told you he not tell me the detective knows Alex already lied to him once so he needs to apply a little more pressure

like he did with Taylor it's noteworthy that the detective basically takes an identical approach with all the boys I are you 100% sure I don't want this to come back and bite you I'm 100% sure do you know anything else you should be telling me right now no I'm going to let you think about it for long Make sure all right cuz it's could come back on you hard yes the detective leaves Alex alone to let him digest the entire situation and to consider the seeds the detective planted about about how serious this situation is

Alex appears to have taken what the detective said very seriously because he immediately offers up some important information when the detective returns after about 10 minutes alone but I do remember one thing to tell you Nick told His little brother to keep the D Lo for him to come in last night he may be worried about whether he could get into trouble especially if he gets caught in another lie it appears that he's now being honest and Cooperative I remember Nick told his little brothers how he's going to get into keep the but B unlocked

that's how he was going to get in did he call his R yeah he called and that's how he's going get in the house the basement door yeah the slider like Where the pool table is that yeah that's I should remember that that's cool thank you the detective returns to confront Taylor with one of his lies to further impart on him the fact that he needs to be totally truthful do you remember at one point Nick calling his uh little brother yeah he called his brother what'd he tell him what you ask him didn't back

up how about before that did he get home his brother and said leave the back door open yes okay he did all Right that's the stuff man I can't you can't keep doing that to me you got to be 100% sure with me all right yes okay I don't think after okay at any point I'm going let you think about it this is a murder four people have been murdered yes two little boys a mom and dad yes nothing more serious than this right now okay think about back talking a little bit don't want you

lie to me you don't want that to happen to you I thought I thought you were talking about Okay I understand sorry I'm sorry Taylor's claim that he misunderstood the questions may have been true but either way he appears to be even more nervous now again the detective leaves him alone when you got home with Mr Smith right you went upstairs and you guys went outside apparently right went outside where did you go went out to the back and then that door was unlocked was unlocked was unlock the basement sign Door is that characteristically locked

also or they always 75 that's that's not cuz that's sort of more the kids you know basement so that's probably okay it's more L it's not locked as often okay okay man if you had to make a guess how someone got in the house how would you that basement basement when did you see your parents last or talk to your parents when did you see your your parents L I should ask they Dro me off at ran F's house so just Greg was in the parents in the car with the parents dropped you off was

in the car B and stay at the house okay he got dropped over at Ry house it's shocking how casually Nick is talking about his parents and brothers given that he just found them dead okay did you talk to him by phone at all that night the plan was they were going to pick me up at I think 9:00 the next morning okay what was that you guys have something to do or just uh clean the house actually okay did you Talk to your brothers at all no over okay um what time did you start

calling the house first call I think we called just CU kids were to come over tonight and we little get together called it about 10:00 in the morning oh this morning this morning's house fan and I called their cell where I called all the numbers Greg sell my mom sell dad sell work even our Deep Creek house wh it doesn't really make sense that he was Apparently so worried about his family that he called multiple phone numbers to try to get a hold of them even the home phone of one of their other houses but

he didn't just go down the road to see if they were at home his friend's house was close to his own home so he could have easily walked there to check on his family much earlier in the day did they tried to call you at all last night nothing nothing you missed her or messaged her is there text on yours any Text any text from them or whatever okay okay so what time do you think you left Ryan's house to go back to the house to get the car you had to guess 1:30 the clock

1:30 how long takes you to go there um not exactly sure I got lost getting there I probably guess around three Nick claims he left Ryan's house at 1:30 which is about an hour later than what the other boys told the detective he also states that he didn't Get to his house until 3:00 a.m. he may be intentionally giving an erroneous timeline so it doesn't line up with him being at the house when his family was killed um I notic there's the being told there's a Gun Locker in the house in the basement basement what

kind of guns your dad have two pistol a 40 caliber 9 mm a little do you know what kind they were I mean do know guns at all yeah Smith and Two both Smith and we one was a gift from our uncle who the pistol they use on the bo 747 things okay so one of those and then 30 out6 rifle couple shotguns you guys find it all or just he hunts I found it a couple times more clay pigeons we shoot those up to T Creek okay so pistol wasse 9 mm 40 caliber 38

Special is a revolver I mean different it revolver it's a probably like a 2-in barrel and there's this World War II old old pistol okay with this question and his answer the police officer is establishing that at the very least he had enough knowledge of the gun un Locker that he could potentially use the guns inside it this adds to the likelihood of him being the shooter not sure what that takes I was told there's two lockers is that true there yes there's the rifle case and then there's the ammo SL uh pistol case thing

okay so it's two different cabinets I Take it okay okay and I asked before do we know where the keys are to the but you don't have an extra set you can get to us to um if I if I to get maybe his dressers next to his um bed I but you don't have anything that I know okay in his room alone Taylor is showing signs of both stress and impatience by pacing and tapping his fingers on the Table any else we need to talk about yeah I think I remember like the times more

okay you talking about like like he told me his dad say like I don't know when he got CAU Dr whatever was like say something like failure or something degrading to him stuff yeah how how did Nick do in school I think he does pretty well he takes some like AP classes mostly GT I think okay Nick was likely smart and a good student if he had AP classes drinking is a behavior That doesn't typically align with the profile of a good student but often times High achieving students can put excess pressure on themselves to

perform and thus seek out ways to cope with the emotional stress that results from that excess pressure sometimes these types of students have parents who set excessively high expectations for their academic achievement has he talked about anything about with his parents no he does say Anything he talk about having issues with his dad or anything no he said his dad's like really like hard on him though Alex also hints at a troubled relationship between Nick and his dad however this may be true in a number of families with te teenagers what kind of guy is

Nick he's a nice guy is he obsessed with guns or anything does he like guns yeah he has a lot of Airsoft guns how about real guns you know if you ever go shooting up his Dad or anything no I don't think he has I don't know have did he talk about a gun last night at all no a real gun no you know have you ever seen him carrying a real gun no he said you had a good relationship with your dad was he hard on you at all or anything like that like my

you know we've had our issues but your friends R ratted you said you got caught drinking Yeah by saying that his friends ratted Him out the detective may be trying to do two things here first show Nick that it's okay to admit mistakes he's made in the past in the hopes that he may admit to other mistakes he's made in the past and second implicitly indicate to him that his friends have information about his past mistakes that they are willing to share with the police what happened there um there's actually twice one time I got

caught at a friend's house and then there was a Ski trip this is actually about a month ago ski trip up to evermont and I stupidly brought some stuff and you they found it and you know your parents want to ski trip with you no they found it in my bag before we left okay he reveals that he had been in trouble recently but acts as though the relationship with his parents is pretty good still this indicates that Nick seems to have a pattern of disobeying the rules it's possible that he may have had addictive

Tendencies if he's bringing alcohol to take with on a trip but of course to an extent teen drinking can be considered somewhat typical of the age since adolescence do experiment with alcohol often well before they're of legal drinking age Brian or someone told me that you called home and talked to Greg at one point last night called him around I think I called him walk around Spring Lake or Springdale did you talk to your brothers at all no n okay 9 10 Okay what' you tell them told them don't leave the back door unlock why'd

you tell them do that I was going to go into the house and grab the keys okay I'm not trying to H on you for driving a car it's just at this point the officer has yet to become accusatory towards Nick and continues attempting to convince him that he isn't a suspect leaving the back door open could possibly prove premeditation the detective should have Got more clarity as to why he made this request of his brother still can't think anybody want to do this to your parents how about away from work any issues neighbors or

um there there's a Bobby something in the front of it not this is just really shot in the dark there's been some he's at some cops from the house before he's sort of the neighborhood goof yeah I guess you call him me that's what kind Why are the police come to the house I really don't know myself I mean I've heard drugs but you know good rumor starts he knows on power Avenue it's sort of the most decrepit looking house Nick may be trying to point the detectives in another Direction by mentioning the neighbor who

has apparently been in trouble with the police before he may be feeling somewhat concerned since the detective was questioning him more closely so he Wanted to put suspicion on someone else instead additionally naming someone else could indicate that Nick truly doesn't believe he's a suspect at this point all right I'm the end here okay the detective returns and asks a broad open-ended question to see what Alex may have remembered while sitting alone for an hour anything else you're thinking you to tell me I don't know he always says his like brothers are annoying and stuff

and he Says his mom drinks a lot does she it can be a red flag when there's a parent in the home that might be abusing alcohol there's an impact on the whole family system when there's a parent who abuses alcohol including the other parent Nick's father who may feel he has to compensate for the mother's absence if this is true and it's not been confirmed to be this could create stress on the family as a whole okay how about the father I don't he just says he's Really hard on him okay and just I

guess he calls him Hitler I don't C Hitler yes cuz he's really hard on him okay and you sure he didn't let on and what was going on last night no he said nothing I want to do that okay all right anything El you got to tell me if we go here because this is it I don't we're going to start talking to Nick now like I told you before I don't want him to come back and say I told them this or I told them that or cuz that that puts Things in different up

to now you've been perfectly honest with me I just don't want something coming back on you guys when you've been trying to think it's about it's all I have there okay all right then we're going to get you out of here then okay get your ride your Taylor and your dad and uh Ryan too get you going Alex Ryan and Taylor are all allowed to leave the police station and go home while Nick remains alone to continue Answering questions get ready because this is where the case really goes off the rails all right let me

check see if for's some food here for you where are my friends by the way do they go home parents we parents come get them that you're it from Nick's perspective he likely doesn't think that the police would provide a meal to a murder suspect and this puts him further at ease however This is actually a common tactic when interrogating someone people are more likely to open up when they're at ease and people are more at ease when they're fed thank you problem better okay thank you anything else to head or anything the detective leaves

him alone to eat the food he requested after everything that's happened to his parents and brothers Nick is able to eat A burger and fries after he's done eating Nick moves to a different chair and lays down with his feet up this shows he feels at ease and relaxed which is abnormal it also shows a disrespect for Authority most 15-year-olds would be afraid to put their feet up and Lounge back like that in a police station he's acting like this as his living room this could be an indication that he completely does not care about

the serious events unfolding all around him This could also be an indication of a sense of entitlement again this shows a complete lack of concern for what has happened to his family hours ago Nick has been left alone in the room for over 25 minutes he just part nice meet the officer re-enters the room and introduces his partner another police officer I've been a cop a long time I'm in homicide been here a While stuff's just not adding up for me right now with you okay okay this is the first time that the officer has

become accusatory towards Nick and his intricately woven story is just about to fall to pieces tell me why your dad was so pissed at you yesterday was M all your friends are saying that your father was unar characteristically just just lived with you yesterday the detective may be lying to him about his friend saying his dad Was mad at him yesterday as that was not mentioned in any of the three interrogations the detective likely wants Nick to believe that his friends turned on him so that he will feel he has no choice but to admit

the truth I mean I see what he want see the par me but what now he when he driv F's house he went to the door and made sure the parents were him okay but everybody's saying that he was just he was ticked off what was he mad about Wasn't is there a reason they would say that what is there a reason that they would say something like that um he's not he's never nice I don't think not they said that was uncharacteristic for him that usually when he does see them he's always Pleasant that's

why this particular moment stood out to them well I mean they they didn't see there was one person fingles fingles saw them so I'm not sure what they're Bas in their experience I'm just tell you what They're saying they they didn't say for okay so you're saying he wasn't upset no And even if he was they wouldn't have seen him it all would have come through me what they so all but Nick things aren aren heading up here I don't understand some things that happened to here tonight um I think you had something to do

with what happened Tonight if he were innocent you might expect him to immediately and strongly deny killing his family but he's silent his mind is likely racing as he may have thought he got away with it since the detective was so personable and the interview was very non-threatening in the beginning I think that you killed your family and the thing is the more you lie the deeper it gets the implication is that if he were to Come clean he could receive lesser punishment and that if he lies his punishment will be worse Nick has already

waved his right to remain silent and hasn't since invoked that right there's got to be a reason why you did this the officers say we need to know why but legally speaking they actually don't although a motive may help a grieving family receive closure proving a motive isn't actually legally required to prove murder you just have to prove That the suspect killed a person and had the intent to kill that person while it's true that judges can't use a criminal's honesty in determining an appropriate punishment punishment for first-degree murder can only be so lenient so

the officer's statement isn't entirely accurate even then it's actually not illegal for a police officer to lie about the effects of confessing so long as the suspect has Waved his rids this your family we need to know what happened here look at this they are happier times the other detective holds up what is assumed to be a family picture likely trying to appeal to Nick's emotions nobody broke into the house last night it had to be you nobody else did this you know where we found the keys for the gun lockers where you tell them

me you know where they are we search the house Yeah you do they're under your mattress in your room the police may not even have this evidence at all it's a common tactic for police officers to tell a suspect that they have some sort of Smoking Gun evidence even when they don't to get the suspect to believe the confessing is their only way out of this situation on the right side of the bed nobody there nobody broke into this house you went into that house you Called and had your brother leave the door open the

officers recall that Nick called Greg and had him leave the door open because the first officer allowed him to tell his own version of events earlier he now has something to convince him that lying is of no use there's no other explanation yes you did you did and the more you lie the deeper it's going to get for you you're 15 years old you Really do still have a life ahead of you but the more you lie the deeper it gets for you I mean do you want people to look at you as a cold

bloody killer or somebody that just made a mistake the Second Officer utilizes a classic technique of the Reed method of interrogation asking Nick if he is a coldblooded killer with this technique an officer suggests two alternative reasons why the suspect committed the crime with one of the Responses being somewhat more socially acceptable even if he admits to the more socially acceptable option he would nonetheless be confessing nobody else did it I tell me how the keys got under your mattress the already broke into your house killed your family the only gun missing is a 9mm

why was it your father didn't kill him you did you killed your family His denials are in a soft whisper for the first time he looks like the child that he really is throughout the interrogation Nick is presented as a young man with a level of maturity that is Way Beyond his years but here he looks like a scared child why did you call your father adol Hitler that's our his he his Str I mean that's that's just a joke my mom's called him H for how else could this happen other than You it was

and saying no it wasn't isn't going to make it go away right now you're a man you got to mess up to this I couldn't do you did do it as we speak we're developing more and more evidence that you did this there's no other explanation for what there's no other explanation for what we're finding other than that you did it what evidence is that I did it you'll See you'll see yes you did you lied to us you lied to us about contacting your brother you lied to us about the keys I li about

contact my brother I told you that he only told me after I pointed it out to you that you did it I and the keys the keys to the Gun Locker or in your bed or under your bed there's no other explanation nobody broke into this House it was you you left your friends what happened why explain to us why this would have happened there's reason k i they provide me with everything I want but they restrict the detectives mention a possible motive that Nick's parents were strict which he brought up himself throughout the interrogation

the detective is using this information to see if he will downplay the issues he has with his father to avoid appearing Like he has a motive Nick is more mature for his age so it's likely that being controlled by his parents was a significant source of stress for him plus if he does have antisocial personality disorder then there's even more reason for him to have an intense resentment towards his parents for being strict and controlling him people with APD are extremely self-centered and self-serving they typically like to manipulate and control other people they Certainly don't

respond kindly to anyone who tries to control them so much so that people with APD don't even respect people in Authority positions like police officers or judges they see themselves as Superior to everyone because of their grandiosity and inflated self-image so they restra that's not a reason to kill somebody we talk to people every day who love their wives love their children love their babies love their Friends and they sit right where you're sitting they love them too but things happen we're human beings things upset people and they this is one of the ways that

they act out the Second Officer is once again attempting to use the read technique by saying things happen we're human beings the officer is trying to empathize with him and maybe trying to normalize the killings by making murder sound so normal and that other people do The same thing it makes it easier for Nick to confess and it was probably something that just it happened just like that it happens that fast help us explain it and somebody help us be able to explain to the family what happened here convince me you didn't do it what

if if I did it why would I leave the you know if I just if I was if I plan you know if I killed my family why I leave The keys underneath my mattress cuz that's where you put them I never thought we'd find them if you you didn't know we were going to go we we're turning your house upside down we're finding things cell phones all kinds of stuff it's not the end of the world but if you're going to sit here and lie it's it's it's going to be a problems listen again

people sit in that chair every day and say the same things that you're saying and believe me when they're done They feel much better we wouldn't be sitting here talking to you like we are if we didn't think you did it I know your friends didn't do it I know nobody broke into that house last night need the back door is open still it's breaking in nobody did that your parents were supposed to come get you at 9:00 this morning you don't bother going home to check on them all day you knew you were Supposed

to go home and clean the house instead said you go to the mall you knew you didn't have to have to what go home I didn't want I mean I didn't want to go home I want to go to the mall know I to clean the house so I didn't want to do that so called them left messages and they couldn't be mad at me why didn't you just woke up them didn't want to clean the house doesn't make sense why not what Cuz your parents are strict right you know what you know what you

were supposed to do and my but I still make mistakes me that's not a mistake no no not the the I mean they're strict but they're not they're not that for for example so uh three weekends ago the alcohol that I told told you about I wasn't grounded for that obviously I wasn't I was at a friend's house two weekends later I mean they can be strict but they're not you Know then why did it happen I do you did and we know you did how do you know I did we've been doing this a

long time pal what and the police are still at your house everything points to you everything what what points to you the only thing you descri is the keys and I don't know how they got there I didn't put them there listen if if I if somebody breaks into a house okay they're not going to go in the bedroom and throw keys under the Mattress no I'm not saying that my the got the pistol was out it clean you put the key there where was gun where was the gun there it was in the work

work room it was might able to clean the gun where's the G where's the gun now that's another issue there's a gun out there someone else could get hurt by this gun and it's going to fall on you there's got to be a reason why you did this there's no reason doesn't make Sense it does it look at that family at one point there was good times there's still I love them they're dead he mentions a few times that he loves his family it's possible if Nick does have antisocial personality disorder that he made this

decision based purely on his desire to satisfy his own immediate needs maybe he wanted freedom and wanted to be an independent adult so badly that he decided he would eliminate what was in His way if Nick has antisocial personality disorder then he would not react to this interference from his parents like a normal teen would a typical teen would argue Rebel sneak out maybe defy their parents but eventually they would succumb to their parents' demands however if he has APD this means he's impulsive and vindictive rather than arguing rebelling or defying his parents he would

find a way to retaliate your brothers didn't do it a burglar Didn't do it how can you say that I can tell buddy this is what I do for a living I've been doing it for 22 years you know how many burglaries I've been to you know how many homicides I've been to I sit here every day talking to people just like you I didn't do it I didn't do it I didn't do it and this just goes on and on and on and you did do it if you didn't do it you wouldn't be

sitting here I'm telling you right now nobody broke into that House how can you be so sure I'm positive I'm 100% positive that nobody broke into that house I've been to plenty of burglaries I know what a burglar looks like when you walking go home and the house has been burglarized your house wasn't burglarized this was no burglar nobody broke in nobody went in there and killed your family you did it you had a reason to do it yeah he did what would my reason be your father was Pissed at you last night maybe he

didn't like your lifestyle I don't know how could I not like my lifestyle I go to my summer summer house for two weekends I get whatever I want I get it I mean people do it every day why do people walk into schools and shoot all their friends because they're picked on they don't you know they don't enjoy I enjoy my life a lot okay it's again I know people that love Their children they kill their children people love their babies but they kill their babies people kill out other human beings this isn't a norm

robbery this wasn't a Burberry by your whole family being dead you make out the most I'm sure your father was Welling insured your mom was well insured now everything's yours so you coldly killed your parents and there's there's got to be Another reason why you did this other than insurance money that's the way you're going to be looked at the seven 15-year-old killed K killed his family for money there I didn't kill my family no you didn't I we going to do this all night man it wasn't anybody else but you and you didn't I'm

telling you you didn't everything about it the way you act you're acting as if you're a guilty Man we've interviewed hundreds of people in these room hundreds of people they all fit your mold what is that m the more you lie deeper it gets the fact about the keys I mean you really want me to believe that someone broke into your house found the keys to the Gun Locker which you said you didn't know where they were open the Gun Locker they didn't I Know they didn't let me finish sorry let me finish Nick carefully

tries to refute the detective's claim that he had the keys to the gun safe under his mattress he's not challenging the detectives in any way and he even says I'm sorry when he barely interrupted one of the detectives again his mature demeanor is gone or took your dad's gun off his workbench and methodically went through the house and killed everybody in the house then walked into your bedroom and Stuck the keys under your mattress there's multiple sets of keys what are they doing under your mattress do you want I mean do you want me to

believe that somebody did that do you really do you believe that under mattress that makes no sense they're there there's multiple sets of keys the keys are under your mattress there's one set of keys the keys are under your mattress do you want me to believe that someone walked into that House kills your entire family and then just puts happens to put the keys under your MTR was out I I don't need the keys okay I'm telling you you want me to believe that but it wouldn't make any sense for me to even touch the

keys do you want me to believe that but that's not but that's not even the keys aren't for for this to happen or whatever wasn't even this for me but the keys are under your mattress if your parents didn't want you To have the keys would they hide them under your mattress I don't think so do you want to believe that someone broke in kills your entire family shoots two small children and then decid they're going to put the keys under your mattress doesn't make sense does it it does do you want me to believe

that someone would break into a house and not take anything doesn't make sense doesn't there's a reason that you break into a house that's to take valuables And it's fairly obvious from where your father found your mother and your two brothers nobody confronted the burger and said get out of my house and they got shot for that reason your family members were executed and you did it yes you did no doubt in my mind there won't be a doubt in the jurors mind either the only question is why that's the only question they're Going to

have it's up to you to explain there's a reason for everything I mean something triggered this we've heard a lot of stuff and that's understandable and and people understand that when you make an explanation and as I told you earlier people do this every day again they love their babies they love their children they love their wives husbands But sometimes people snap it happens something happened it wasn't the burglar help us understand nothing made me snap I my done I'll be back the detectives return about 10 minutes later [Music] why are you telling us this

big story about going to the Keys when the keys are in the pocket of your jacket what the car keys yes you're having the whole Time that in the mall as my my friends didn't tell you that again an untruth why did you do this you keep saying that it who did it who what kind of person would do this I don't know what part of what we're saying don't you you understand is there I don't see how one set of keys to why are they under your bed my parents if they want me to

you know to get this is a burglar get Keys that's M you're going to have to do better than that so if so what's what's the the threat here if you take this trial I'm going to go to jail based on a set of keys it's interesting that he says so I'm going to go to jail based on a set of keys this is a smart statement given that Nick is only 15 it seems that he knows that the detectives need to have more evidence than just the set of keys in order to convict him

no not just a set of keys there's a lot more than That what I'm not going to sit here and tell you we don't do that I think I didn't do it there can't be other evidence you did do it I didn't do it nobody else did this how can you be so sure cuz I've been a cop for 22 years and my intuition is pretty good I've been to plenty of homicide scenes I've been to plenty of burglaries this wasn't a burglary you being given a chance to explain things it happened for a Reason

no reason you just didn't yeah you did you did no doubt in my mind you did this who else was doing I don't know drug murderers don't shoot children they'll break into a house shoot another drug dealer but they won't shoot the kid if Nick committed this crime he may have felt that if his parents and brothers were dead there would be Nothing standing in his way and he could do whatever he wanted he may have chosen to kill his brother so he wouldn't have to share any money belonging to their parents another possible motivation

for killing his brothers may have been to eliminate any potential witnesses to the murders of their parents Nick likely believed his plan was very well thought thought out and smart he appears to believe that he could fo the police into believing that a stranger broke into the Home killed everyone but took nothing of value he displaced several narcissistic Tendencies seeming to believe he's very smart and Superior even questioning how the police could be so sure it was him only family will do that only another person in family would do that we know that from experience

do that what reason around to heal my brothers that's what we're trying to find out if I had some beef with my father Why why why do the rest of the family doesn't make any sense it doesn't there no reason to no reason to then why did you do it explain it to us the detective grows more confrontational and raises his voice when challenging Nick people are going to be searching for a reason why this happened look at your family yes I love them and you put a gun to their head and you killed Them

there is no other explanation nobody broke into that house how how do you know nobody broke into that house how how can you be certain we're 100% certain that nobody broke into that house because we know we know I'm just we're sitting here not God you don't have cameras here my house I know that nobody broke into that house last night Nobody there's an explanation to what happened there's got to be other than this you're a stone cold killer that killed his family it's also noteworthy to mention here that people with antisocial personality disorder and

other personality disorders often dissociate meaning that they disconnect from thoughts memories and feelings this is often how these individuals are able to carry out horrific acts of violence they Have a way of emotionally detaching when committing the act as well as afterwards I get a sense that in the beginning of the interrogation Nick is almost trying to convince himself that he didn't do it or he would like to believe he didn't there's something about the way he denies that seems like he just wants to make it all go away you're just fine you're digging yourself

deeper into a hole you're 15 years Old you will spend the rest of your life in jail do yeah you did and if and if I tell you a reason that'll that'll someh change my jail sentence no it gives us it gives us something to tell your neighbors your family but I didn't do it because everybody's looking for a reason I didn't do it well the burglar didn't do it you you've done nothing but lot of your friends I couldn't find the car Keys I couldn't get in the house all the lights were on you

got the car keys in your jacket you have no idea where the keys to the Gun Locker are yet they're found under your mattress you leave your friend's house yeah I'm going to go get the car you don't come back until 6:00 in the morning it was 30° outside last night you didn't sleep in your car you didn't know what to do that's the problem that's why you were gone for So long you spent those hours talking some silly story The jur is going to see right through not story oh maybe you didn't do that

but she didn't know what to do I mean you're claiming that you wake up and all the lights are on you know that something's wrong why didn't you go in you knew the back door was open so the lights were on the lights in my parents bedroom you Said earlier that all the lights were on you fell asleep you woke up all of the lights were still on I said my parents bedroom was Li WR you said all the bites they did they and I was the keys were um where my parents were the lights

were on in the house the lights were on in the house this is the problem you can't you can't keep track of what you're saying you keep track of what you're saying can't keep track of It I I you asked me where my parents bedroom was you haven't shed one tier for your family you were totally unemotional about this you walk into a house your whole family is murdered and you're I didn't do it why would I do it so crying would make you crying would make you believe I think you're trying to convince yourself

you're doing a terrible job of Convincing me I have to convince you yeah you do believe it or not you do you you've already M your mind I couldn't you did this there's no doubt in my mind no doubt in my mind afraid it is okay you know what you're under arrest okay first year murder sit down sit down the detectives have tried several different tactics to get Nick to confess first they suggested that his friends Had turned on him and told police his dad had been mad at him then they appealed to his emotions

by showing him a family photo repeatedly they pointed out all the lies he's already told they also tried to see if he cared about his image prompting him to give a reason for the killing so he wouldn't be labeled as a cold-hearted killer however none of this worked being arrested and handcuffed will likely scare Nick and make him realize the seriousness of his Situation leaving him alone right after is strategic as isolation may increase his stress and put the pressure on him to finally confess while left alone handcuffed to the wall and table Nick once

again falls asleep he's alone for around 40 minutes the sound of the door wakes him up from sleeping his ability to sleep in this situation is is disturbing the first detective returns to the room alone likely posing as the good cop as he removes the handcuffs Nick may be more likely to be honest with him because he may feel that he's on his side Nick I'm just trying to help you out I'm trying to figure out what happened here I mean there's never this is a horrible tragedy you know that [Music] we know that all

the lights off were in the house all the lights were off there Are no lights on in the house when you went there the detective immediately confronts him with his lie about the lights being on in the house he sits very close to him invading his personal space to make him uncomfortable and his tone is now a lot more aggressive than before this is an interrogation technique from the read method which is called positive confrontation the detective confronts The Suspect with evidence or contradictions from what They said earlier with a definitive tone and and aggressively

explaining that they know based on evidence that the suspect lied but I mean see see all these little lies all these untruth all right maybe I I talked wrong but I mean I know that like was on forget what I said what you know okay I mean that I know that was on what do you want me what do you want me to say say I want to know why I want To know why if if there's a reason I still I still to jail Nick's responds that even if there's a reason I still go

to jail is very revealing as an innocent person would not make such a statement if there was any doubt in him being guilty this statement certainly confirms that he did it I mean but there you understand there are mitigating factors in the world there's a cold blooded killer and there's a reason why people do things and there are differences There's differences in the way things are perceived the way people hear things yeah inevitably it could determine the way you live out your life yeah you can live it out as a coldblood killer who just killed

four members of family first murder or maybe there was a reason however whatever it might be there may be a reason he's still going to jail here the detective uses the read technique of mitigating circumstances or Alternatives He begins explaining that people do things for reasons and sometimes those reasons impact the outcome for the suspect this is said to try to make it easier for the suspect to confess and feel less judged it will also make the suspect believe that maybe what they did is Justified or at least somewhat understandable even if the suspects lie

about why they did what they did the police still have a confession to the crime on Record but why you know if there's an explanation people want to hear this people don't want to shut off a 15-year-old kid they want to know why father was beating him or or or Abus not maybe not physically abusing him degrading him we know he was he was overly hard on you we already know that the detective now uses the alternative step of the read technique More in depth he's presenting two possibilities one being that he's a coldblooded killer

and the other that there is a reason he did it he's hoping that Nick will latch on to the less morally reprehensible alternative as it's less threatening for him to confess to the detective will build up the contrast of the two until he agrees to the less evil alternative which is an admission of guilt either way but you did and that's just it the Jury's going to hear I didn't do it though I didn't do it though you know I'm not a hard I'm just trying find out what happened here and that you're giving me

the option of oh well you know you can feel better about yourself still go to jail or from I mean I didn't do it so far as what you told me I really honestly think you have the key the key means nothing oh it means a lot to to an experienced Um officer maybe but the jury so you're playing you're playing out your mind right now how am I going to beat this jury I've got the jury beat not in Baltimore County you don't you've given me the option of going to jail feeling good to

myself 100% or how long are you going to go to jail for what Nick questions why an explanation would make a difference in jail time it's unlikely that a truly Innocent person would ask this he's likely trying to feel out if whether it'd be better for him to continue to deny or whether to confess but to try and give a convincing reason for why he did it the rest of your life or is there a mitigating Factor what happened here there's not then why did you do it I didn't do it but regardless there's no

mitigating factor it's clear that Nick is only concerned about himself and feels no Moral responsibility in admitting what he did the detective will need to play into that and make him see a benefit for himself in confessing this self-serving mentality is very common among criminals see that's that's the horrible thing about this then all they're left with is you shooting four people I can't go over I can't I can't go over a piece of evidence you'll see that in Discovery months maybe a year Down the line after you've been sitting in bcdc for that whole

time to detention center and if I give reason I'd still be sitting that same Detention Center I don't know is there a mental issue is there something going on here so then I commit myself to mental hospital for rest of my life right I don't know I don't know that's what just it I don't know I don't know the reason I can't guess I can't fathom why this Happened but I'm sure there's a reason because I can't imagine in my world that someone would kill their mother father and their two little brothers but maybe there

is a reason it's not up to me to tell the jury the reason I present the evidence as I have it and it's in the jury's hand and you're playing that and I can see it in your head you're trying to Play it out in the jury a I get this bottom I get this bot I don't know I wish you could help me I wish you it's not saying that I didn't do it it's saying that yes there was one set of keys underneath the bed that I didn't even need the keys to see

you're you're harping on one thing that's just one thing that we're telling you Nick is arguing with the detective while still being careful and respectful he's speaking hypothetically here Because he's still sticking to his story that he didn't do it his more mature demeanor has come back now he's talking more his tone of voice is a bit louder maybe because he feels more comfortable with this detective than the other one it's interesting how Nick has maintained his composure all along he's is not emotional or angry but simply trying to present arguments implying that the keys

being under his mattress is not an indication that he killed his family Given that he's only 15 years old this type of thinking shows his intelligence and maturity try to convince me then try to convince me you didn't do it then what what like you said there's no reason I don't understand there's there's every reason to try to convince me no I'm sorry not too much there's there's no reason for me to kill my [Music] family there I mean there's they don't Be yes they're strict on me so so what they don't they don't ground

me when they find me with alcohol taking up to a trip two week two weekends later one guest last weekend I took my friend up to Deep Creek and we ski the entire weekend this weekend I at a friend's house you know yes they're harsh but they're not that harsh really and they let me they let me do what I want there's there's no you know for no reason this wasn't a burglary this Wasn't someone breaking in the house how do you know I know we know these things I've been in this job for 19

years over 19 years now there's no reason for why would I why would I jeopardize you know you put money into it I have a very large or had have whatever inheritance coming to me regardless if there's insurance money well they're not not how Insurance might I have that you know that that is coming to me he has real estate on the side I Am set pretty you know I can go my life without that there's no money reason they're great to me I love my family we do you know he doesn't sound convincing at

all when he states he loved his family it appears the father could have been the motivating factor for the killing and the other three family members may have just been killed because they were home and potential Witnesses to the crime my vacations planned I love it What turn anything in the world for but nobody broke into the house nobody came in they did someone did obviously why do you think that they're dead his response is very telling his entire family was killed yet he's trying to convince the detective that it was a burglary a true

victim would simply try to assist and be cooperative to help find the Killer why else do you think that I came into the house I saw my mom Her jewelry whatever thing was tampered with I mean I've been I was in the house for all 10 minutes I couldn't tell you what was missing what was still there my Xbox and my Wii were moved around I mean I still don't even know then why didn't the people take that the person that broke in the house killed your family why didn't they take anything they got they

killed them and they freaked out there's a they were dead why wouldn't you take all this apparently They had time to set it all up I don't know I'm not dead this is where we're getting at that's not a burglar that's a staged event we all knew that it's all staged to make it look that way when the detective reveals he knows the house was staged as if a burglary occurred Nick is silent and appears stunned he looks unsure of what to say next you did it was all stage that's why we know Every one

of us has seen a real burglary how do you know some was staged how didn't even know if stuff was missing or not I don't even know if was missing or not you said that the Wii and the Xbox on the table mhm why were they removed they're big they're not they're not easy to carry okay how about the jewelry there's tons of Jewelry in your mom say mhm I know do you know I don't know what she has personally but you Know she has definitely valuable I don't know if that's missing how about the

cash on your mom's dresser so don't look full cash obvious I think you know you probably get pretty freak out what you killed somebody it's not how it works it just doesn't work that way number one Burgers don't kill their victims I a feeling that the the gun the 9mm could be the one that missing from the house the only gun missing from the House going to be that gun was it on the workshop bench there's no gun on the workshop bench I'm telling you that is missing why would your dad leave a gun on

the workshop bench cuz he was CLE he's not going to leave a gun on the workshop bench is he do do you know my father I think I know him probably better than you do how can you say how you don't know him He would leave a gun out with kids in the house kids with that know that we use guns we know to respect them and we're not going to touch them where's this gun that we found I don't know it's for you guys to find I like that what that is I don't believe

you I'm looking the eyes a stone cold killer There's No Remorse the detective now confronts him with his lack of remorse and his Behavior which shows his guilt the detective is trying to keep Mick's confidence low and to add more evidence to show him that they know he's guilty only people that can lay here asleep are the [Music] guilty you haven't shed a tear that's why I think there maybe not have been a reason maybe you are just a stone cold killer I didn't cry they show no emotion so don't show Emotion that that condemns

me something goes a long way emotions people people play up their emotions they play them down you know it's some things are uncontrollable it's inconceivable that anyone would be able to hold back emotions or act in this situation unless they were a psychopath and unable to feel normal human emotions the people who have set stories in their head Act like this people that have maybe almost convinced themselves they didn't do this the detective comes across as extremely confident when he says that guilty people act exactly like Nick is acting he's trying to make him doubt

himself so that he will give in and confess I know you don't believe it but we see this every single day I know the Guilty By the way they act not even talking about the evence I'm just the the way you're acting tonight Won't the sure will the will see this you don't there's no there's no lesser punishment you're off from it you're saying come with the reason and maybe you're insane you get to go to the mental hospital I you I'm saying that there are explanations out there that can mitigate your life what's going

to happen to you I I don't know what your explanation is there are reasons why people do Things there are Heat of the Moment they passion and so what if what if was pass is still the same outcome Nick shows his extreme narcissism when he focuses on the fact that he hasn't been offered a lesser sentence if he agrees to come up with a reason which is why he hasn't done so it doesn't even occur to him that confessing is the right thing to do out of remorse or guilt it may not be I can't

promise you anything right so What'll draw me is if if I if I admit to it I say I did it and I say oh but you know but why but I'm looking for I don't I don't want you to say I did I want to know why there there's no why I didn't do it but there they don't they don't hit me they don't do [Music] anything and that makes it worse for us because there's no explanation you're getting charged with this tonight there's no there's no doubts about this But I'm hoping that there's

a reason a reason that we can explain to the court to the state's attorney here's why he said he did it the detective goes back to the theme of justification and tells him once again they have enough to convict him already so he will see a benefit in giving a reason of why he did it you know there lesser charges right you know there's manslaughter you're a smart kid you know there's second degree murder do you know all this But I don't know why things happen the only thing I have right now is four dead

people mon only recourse right now is first degree murder if there's a mitigating factor I would love to know this maybe that can affect the outcome in the rest of your life repeatedly nicas stated there is no mitigating Factor this statement will ultimately make his defense more difficult if he goes to trial His defense team will want to put forth a reason for him killing his family and his statements will make that reason that much harder for a jury to believe I'm not here to [ __ ] you you may think that that's fine think

you're trying to Bull me I just I it doesn't seem which the to pull to say say some reason doesn't seem to be very compelling because I'm still going to jail regardless but if I take it to court and what if I win then That's a heck of a gamble isn't it the rest of your life is a heck of a gamble the rest but as opposed to what it's not to a lesser amount of time lesser amount of time but if it's still 30 years that's my life but what if it's not what if

it's a mitigating Factor strong enough there's no medicating Factor though see there is so you're trying to play in your head I know you I know what you're doing here I know maybe not know you but I know the type of person Because I've seen the person here in the same exact seat before there's no Factor you want someone to come here and promise you well because I was mentally abused that's why I did this I'm only going to give you five years that's what you want right that's what you want but I can't give

it to you right now I can't say that but I can certainly take what you tell me and give it to the right People this is it after this there's no more me there's no more m peace for you right now this ends when I leave Nick is likely feeling very uncomfortable at this point as the interrogation increases in intensity as evidenced by him frequently rubbing his hand through his hair which is a self- soothing Behavior I could you're a good kid I'm I'm I'm reaching this I'm I'm trying to Get there um he's smiling

and States he's trying to get there meaning he's getting ready to confess it's disturbing that he's smiling while he's considering confessing and this shows a complete lack of remorse empathy or conscience Nick may have psychopathy or some other serious personality disorder to display such inappropriate emotions I can tell you care that's just it I can tell you care I can tell you Feel what you did the detective now tells Nick he's a good kid and can tell he cares this is not what he's actually been conveying at all but the detective wants to make him

feel comfortable confessing to him you see this is the first time the first genuine emotion I've seen all night is coming now what happened Nick what Happened a confession may be coming soon as Nick has started nodding his head in agreement with the detective seeing this the detective immediately scoots his chair in closer to put more pressure on him it's part of the read technique to move closer to the suspect when they're about to confess maintain eye contact and act like they are an ally or Confidant how can tell you didn't play this is it

because you're a father yeah it was the that was the Um the St yeah um but why the detective s his voice and encourages him to explain what happened in a sympathetic tone he's sitting only inches away to keep him talking was it physical no more sort of like a last um probably so I mean it wasn't was it was it was there were physical [Music] um um I'm I'm in a Bo Scout right Excuse me oh it's okay man so there's this um I'm almost Eagle I'm almost done right life count and then there's

this leadership weekend camp out whatever thing and was this uh browny somewhere up I for anyways I didn't want to go you know I'm almost done he need a leadership can't so my attitude wasn't great on the trip he got pissed so he got pissed and coming home he hits Me here we're getting a glimpse of Nick's father's authoritative and seemingly abusive parenting this in no way justifies Nick's actions but it does show that there may have been dysfunction in the home if this is true the physical and emotional abuse likely made Nick feel very

powerless and could have made him so angry that he wanted to kill his father however it's unclear at this point why he would have also killed his mother and brothers we don't have Any information about whether the allegations of abuse were ever found to be true or not typically the presence of antisocial personality disorder is what explains how a teen can engage in such a horrific act against their family members an important point about APD is that according to the diagnostic criteria the individual must be 18 years old to be given this diagnosis if the

remaining criteria are met this means that at 15 Nick could not begin given This diagnosis was he beaten on you too mentally or it was mentally and was like he got me times and that sort that was the you're at life scale you know you're at life scale for God's sakes and so that was the be like the beginning of it and it's just how long ago was that that was on this fall okay and then kept it up there the detective interjects with comments that show support and appear to take Nick's side As he

tells him the things his father allegedly said and did to him this is to encourage him to keep talking and makes him feel like the detective understands him despite knowing that nothing his father said or did justifies his actions it just it kept going and the little thing just seem it always reverted back to that one thing and then you know the alcohol thing happened then they called me take out the car oh you got call before I got call Before he thre to keep it away from you right and um the whole time your

grades are good grades grades were good and last year last refman year I got a d one quarter but then I got an A the next quarter so I got so that har on the D right on the D and then heit and you know he occasionally wouldn't CAU huge physical beating but I think still unall for the emotional I Think the the hit the um when he hit he didn't bother it was the constant did he do it in front of your friends too um never the hitting but the the yelling and the you

know embarrassing yeah and uh then for my birthday which is um couple days couple days away we were supposed to take friends up to Deep Creek and uh this last weekend he was uptight as usual and uh did he drink or anything or no it was ALC it was just he overstressed I think okay he know works and he gets up at 5: in the morning come home at 6:30 mhm so then he sort of had just fell being nice and always climbs and he gets home takes out you know dinner not almost but most

is he doing it the same to your brothers maybe but I it didn't seem like that to me but to your mother at all yeah a little Bit but the bul seem be regenerated towards me mhm and then on Friday night he was he was just mad I don't even know why he was mad and then I was giving direction Hing around F's house mhm and he just he mocked it CL something didn't hit me he just gets really angry andan didn't even get lost I just he R 2 ft past the turn and just

had to make a tight turn come back and then you Have to put the car in Reverse just he got really angry and then I went back to get the car and I saw him sitting on the couch the TV was on and I knew the gun was out on the workshop bench Nick covers his face almost the entire time he retells what he did as though he's trying to hide from what he's revealing what happened I wed up I sat There for a half hour you sleeping yeah standing over him and then I I

went between putting it g up to his head and pulling it back down and up do you have a pillow up too or yeah gun the gun was not sure if I meant to pull the trigger if it just the way he explains the story it doesn't sound as if he had planned to kill his father that night but when he saw the gun sitting out and His father asleep he saw an opportunity and took it this may be the truth or he may have gone over with the intention of killing them even if he

decided while at the house he could still be charged with first-degree murder premeditation doesn't have to mean pre-planning even a few minutes of thought prior to an action or a break in the attack after which the perpetrator continues attacking can be enough for the premeditation element of first-degree Murder his claim that he doesn't know if he meant to pull the trigger could be Nick's way of trying to distance himself from fully taking responsibility for what he did it's also possible that he was partially telling the truth he may have been wavering in his decision on

whether or not to shoot him the longer he held the gun in his hand the more his confidence may have built up until he finally pulled the trigger and then once that happened Freaked out but and I thought you all come down but I don't even know if they woke up or whatever but so sat on the couch and they and I just in many ways it's a greater indication of a total lack of empathy and poor moral conscience when a person has an opportunity to reconsider their actions but they go through with the murder

anyway even if Nick was out of it as he said or overcome with emotions in the moment he still had moments in those 30 Minutes where he must have realized the significance of his actions couldn't I couldn't just walk away from that and then I shot my mom and she's still sleeping yeah I waited for a little bit I think she went back to sleep I shut her his confession about shooting his mother while she was sleeping removes any kind Of justification for the killing is she wasn't even a witness to the father being killed

both parents murders were totally unprovoked as they were sleeping when they were shot shooting someone allows the killer to not only be physically further from the victim but also more emotionally detached from The Killing why the brothers man I was I didn't I thought it no one was there to um say anything that my story would go because it was the Only one just got scared Nick's Revelation that he killed his brother solely for self-serving purposes shows how truly cold-blooded he is and how he is solely concerned about himself he may have been angry with

his father or frustrated with the rules or boundaries his parents set so he thought if he eliminated them his problems would go away he may have believed that his life would be better on his own but he Likely didn't think about the long-term consequences of his actions he could have been afraid that if his brothers were alive they might point fingers at him or recall fights Nick had with his dad which would give away his guilt so he felt he had to kill everyone what just happened it's the only true emotion you're showing right now

just got to feel at least a little better I need to know where the gun is though we can't have that out there it's on sh Road explain on the map or whatever it's you may have to take us there sure it's fine is it it's right it's maybe it's in bushes you can point out to where it is yeah defin the detective asks Nick to take him to where he ditched the murder weapon which is the final step of the read technique it's vitally important to back up the truthfulness of the confession with independent

Corroborating EV evidence such as disclosing key facts of the crime which would only be known to the perpetrator turning over critical evidence like the murder weapon is extremely helpful in sealing a conviction this what I mean there's a reason there's always a reason you don't want the world to think that did it for did your brothers ever wake up were they awake I think So do you remember where you shot your dad I wasn't in there on his body and the head the head Y how about your mom the head your brother's two then the

why' you do that I figured it'd be quicker you just be instant your friends didn't know about it yeah is there anything else you can add you think is there anything you need no I Want about I mean about you I mean obviously you're sorry about this right I can see this the only time that I've seen the motion I wasn't trying to treat you bad no I hope you can respect I have a job to do no it's all me all right you need something to drink I'm just going to your handcuffs off you

be okay just hit the door right there right outside if you need me [Music] it's hard to tell but it looks like Nick breathes a sigh of relief once the detective walked out the detective returns to clarify Nick's story with him while other officers are checking the location where he said he left the murder weapon just so I got it right he's been harping on you pretty hard starting did it start prior to the the Scout stuff or oh I mean I mean has He always been tougher on you than the other boys or I

think so maybe that's bias I mean it's always he's always definitely been St since I mean remember back first grade you know going to friend's house is always a pain right but uh I guess there as I got closer to getting out of the house or something I don't know go to college he he tried to you more heart right something Nick appears to be expressing genuine emotion Al though it's unclear if his tears are for himself or for his family at this point it appears that he's being truthful and Cooperative with the detective he's

confessed to the shootings and he also provided the location of the gun and uh and you said you you kind of stood there for a little bit before it all happened at least a half hour I was just sitting there sitting there sleeping looking at raising the gun andun back down raising The gun and this raised one more time I don't know if I pulled I must have pulled the trigger but I don't if it was subconscious I meant to do it or but then the thing went off and it's loud ringing and just I

sat down on the couch and waited for all to come crashing down wait for your mom and the brothers to come down no I never did and then I S remember walking up [Music] Stairs she's sleeping s did you lead on the bed or what what I just I walked up shot twice shot twice and then you walked to your brother's room and then shot Craig and then TR to B when you come in there is it I shot the left straight straight ahead sh him shot him and then turned him down and I think

I think I shot him twice I'm not sure was once or twice what' you do after that um what happened with the jewelry And the Xbox I just I open up the jewelry case threw some on the ground and move the Xbox to the pool table and then how' you leave to the back door the back door I just G inside the road did you notice how many neighbors were turn lights on or was anybody outside was I was so out of it I really I would have noticed someone standing there looking at there might

have been somebody But you'll see stuff that stuff will come out later you'll see things so what happens now well we need to contact a grandfather so we're just waiting soon as they know um what do you want us to tell your grandfather or your aunt I don't even know what to what I would say okay we have to take care of some of that stuff all right bathroom I'm going be out for a couple minutes bathroom Water candy cookies some soda something be nice Coke Pepsi whatever Coke great thank you the detective brings a

Nick a jumpsuit to change into and collects his clothing the detective has continued to treat Nick kindly and with respect despite the fact that he admitted to killing his entire family now that Nick has changed into a jumpsuit it's likely that it's really sinking in what's about to happen after The interview ended with Nick's confession he was charged with four counts of first-degree murder what may come as a surprise to you is that soon after his trial began Nick's family members including his grandparents aunts and uncles All Began writing letters to the court asking for

him to be given leniency his maternal grandfather even backed up Nick's Al ations that he was mentally and physically abused for most of his life regardless of whether or not These claims of abuse were true as they've never been substantiated Nick took a plea agreement in January 2009 he pleaded guilty to all four counts of first-degree murder and was sentenced to four life terms in prison to this day it's still under debate if Nick committed the murders in the spur of the moment as he claimed or if he'd been planning them for a long time

as authorities believe either way two of Nick's life terms will be served serve Consecutively which means that he will become eligible for parole in 2031 after serving 23 years however Nick's chances of receiving parole may be slim because in Maryland parole for a life sentence must be approved by the governor and that hasn't happened since 1994