Marcus Delon Wesson (born August 22, 1946) is an American mass murderer and child rapist, convicted of nine counts of first-degree murder and 14 sex crimes, including the rape and molestation of his underage daughters. His victims were his children, fathered through incestuous sexual abuse of his daughters and nieces, as well as his wife's children.

Early life and education

Marcus Wesson was born in Kansas City, Missouri, the eldest of four children of Benjamin and Carrie Wesson. His mother raised him in the Seventh-day Adventist Church. Wesson claimed that his mother was a religious fanatic. His father was an alcoholic child abuser who abandoned his family when Wesson was a child.

After dropping out of high school, Wesson joined the U.S. Army, serving from 1966 to 1968 as an ambulance driver, which included a deployment in the Vietnam War.

Abuse

Shortly after leaving the military, Wesson moved in with an older woman, Rosemary Solorio, and her eight children in San Jose, California. Wesson married Elizabeth when she was 14 and he was 34.

One of Elizabeth's younger sisters left her own seven children with them, claiming that her drug problem made her unable to care for them. Wesson never held a steady job; he lived off welfare and forced his working adult children to give him all their earnings. In 1989, Wesson was convicted of welfare fraud and perjury. The family often lived in run-down shacks, boats, and vacant houses. On March 12, 2004, several members of Wesson's extended family, along with two nieces who rebelled against him, converged on his family compound demanding the release of their children. Fresno police were summoned to what was described as a child custody issue, and a standoff ensued. Wesson told the police to wait at the door and disappeared into the home. When he came back to the door, his clothes were bloodied. In the aftermath, police discovered nine bodies, including two of Wesson's daughters and a total of seven of their children, in a bedroom filled with antique coffins.

  • Elizabeth Breahi Kina Wesson (age 17): daughter
  • Aviv Dominique Wesson (age 7): daughter/grand-niece The murder weapon, a .22 caliber handgun, was found with her body, and Sebhrenah's DNA was found on the gun, which lent credence to Wesson's claim. The jury declined to find that Wesson fired the fatal shots but convicted him of murder anyway, presumably finding that he had pressured his children into entering a suicide pact.

The house that the murders took place in was later demolished.

See also

  • List of homicides in California
  • List of long-term false imprisonment cases
  • Li Hao (murderer)
  • 2019 South Wales paternal sex abuse case

References

  • Fresno police chief: 'Horrific' scene at home at CNN.com
  • Scheeres, Julia. Marcus Wesson orders the death of 9 of his children all spawned of incest. Crime Library. Retrieved on 2007-11-16.