Cultic Studies Review, Vol. 4, No. 2, 2005, Page 60
Marcus Wesson, on trial for allegedly murdering nine members of his extended family,
exerted control over the girls in his home in a number of ways. Once, he ordered a son to
fight a daughter—Jesse Solorio testified that he kicked Rosemary in the stomach, and the
fight was over.
When Jesse asked his father how two of his daughters (Jesse‘s sisters) got pregnant,
Wesson said the girls had been artificially inseminated. ―Do you think I‘m as stupid as you
are to believe that,‖ Jesse reports saying to his mother.
A witness told how Wesson bought 12 caskets from an antique store and had his daughters
and nieces carry the boxes out of the shop and load them into the family bus. (Pablo Lopez,
Fresno Bee, Internet, 5/14/04)
Prosecution Says He Brainwashed His Children in “Family Cult”
While the prosecution argues for the guilt of Marcus Wesson, accused of murdering nine of
his children, it acknowledges the possibility that he so conditioned his 25-year-old gun-
obsessed daughter — during the course of a bizarre, abusive, incestuous upbringing — that
he was able to get her actually to pull the trigger.
Prosecutors say Wesson created a ―family cult‖ in which his wife and children, slavishly
meeting his demands, did not know right from wrong. Some family members still support
Wesson, and say he‘s not guilty. In response to the prosecution claim that the incestuous
relationship with her father had broken the Sixth Commandment, Kiani Wesson said that it
was only important to ―love Jesus and believe he died for you.‖ An attorney observing the
trial compared the women still supporting Wesson to battered spouses who don‘t want to
testify against their abusers. The defense is expected to contend that Wesson‘s daughters
and nieces had permission to move out, as long as they left their minor children with him.
(Harriet Ryan, Court TV, Internet, 5/10/05)
Daughter Minimizes His Involvement in Murders
Marcus Wesson’s daughter Kiani, 27, mother of two of his children, has joined his wife
and niece in minimizing Wesson‘s involvement in the killings of nine of his offspring last
year, a crime for which he is now being tried in Fresno, CA. Kiani said Wesson did, indeed,
talk of a murder-suicide pact to be carried out if authorities came to split up the family, but
that his preaching was just ―a figure of speech.‖
Testifying about her sexual relationship with her father, which began at age eight, she said
it eventually included sexual intercourse because she wanted to be a surrogate for her
mother, Elizabeth Wesson, who could no longer have children. Kiani‘s diary relates that
Wesson‘s daughters and nieces frequently scratched his head and armpits, washed his
dreadlocks, and read the Bible with him. She also told how her father ordered her to marry
her cousin, Ruby Ortiz, who ran from the family in 2000. (Pablo Lopez, Fresno Bee,
Internet, 4/18,19/05)
Guilty of Murdering His Family
Marcus Wesson, who created his family through incest and controlled their daily lives and
thoughts completely, has been found guilty of murdering nine of his children during a
confrontation with police investigating conditions at his home last year. The jury decided
against Wesson even though the prosecution did not prove that he fired the gun. His
influence on the person or persons who pulled the trigger would have been enough to
condemn him, prosecutors argued.
Some of the surviving children supported Wesson in court — an indication of his conditioned
control over them, the prosecution maintained. A daughter, mother of one of the murdered
Marcus Wesson, on trial for allegedly murdering nine members of his extended family,
exerted control over the girls in his home in a number of ways. Once, he ordered a son to
fight a daughter—Jesse Solorio testified that he kicked Rosemary in the stomach, and the
fight was over.
When Jesse asked his father how two of his daughters (Jesse‘s sisters) got pregnant,
Wesson said the girls had been artificially inseminated. ―Do you think I‘m as stupid as you
are to believe that,‖ Jesse reports saying to his mother.
A witness told how Wesson bought 12 caskets from an antique store and had his daughters
and nieces carry the boxes out of the shop and load them into the family bus. (Pablo Lopez,
Fresno Bee, Internet, 5/14/04)
Prosecution Says He Brainwashed His Children in “Family Cult”
While the prosecution argues for the guilt of Marcus Wesson, accused of murdering nine of
his children, it acknowledges the possibility that he so conditioned his 25-year-old gun-
obsessed daughter — during the course of a bizarre, abusive, incestuous upbringing — that
he was able to get her actually to pull the trigger.
Prosecutors say Wesson created a ―family cult‖ in which his wife and children, slavishly
meeting his demands, did not know right from wrong. Some family members still support
Wesson, and say he‘s not guilty. In response to the prosecution claim that the incestuous
relationship with her father had broken the Sixth Commandment, Kiani Wesson said that it
was only important to ―love Jesus and believe he died for you.‖ An attorney observing the
trial compared the women still supporting Wesson to battered spouses who don‘t want to
testify against their abusers. The defense is expected to contend that Wesson‘s daughters
and nieces had permission to move out, as long as they left their minor children with him.
(Harriet Ryan, Court TV, Internet, 5/10/05)
Daughter Minimizes His Involvement in Murders
Marcus Wesson’s daughter Kiani, 27, mother of two of his children, has joined his wife
and niece in minimizing Wesson‘s involvement in the killings of nine of his offspring last
year, a crime for which he is now being tried in Fresno, CA. Kiani said Wesson did, indeed,
talk of a murder-suicide pact to be carried out if authorities came to split up the family, but
that his preaching was just ―a figure of speech.‖
Testifying about her sexual relationship with her father, which began at age eight, she said
it eventually included sexual intercourse because she wanted to be a surrogate for her
mother, Elizabeth Wesson, who could no longer have children. Kiani‘s diary relates that
Wesson‘s daughters and nieces frequently scratched his head and armpits, washed his
dreadlocks, and read the Bible with him. She also told how her father ordered her to marry
her cousin, Ruby Ortiz, who ran from the family in 2000. (Pablo Lopez, Fresno Bee,
Internet, 4/18,19/05)
Guilty of Murdering His Family
Marcus Wesson, who created his family through incest and controlled their daily lives and
thoughts completely, has been found guilty of murdering nine of his children during a
confrontation with police investigating conditions at his home last year. The jury decided
against Wesson even though the prosecution did not prove that he fired the gun. His
influence on the person or persons who pulled the trigger would have been enough to
condemn him, prosecutors argued.
Some of the surviving children supported Wesson in court — an indication of his conditioned
control over them, the prosecution maintained. A daughter, mother of one of the murdered
