February 3, 2006 – It was the evidence used to convict Marcus Wesson of murdering nine of his children. Now, newly released family diaries are giving new insight into the convicted killer.
Last year, Marcus Wesson was sent to death row for the murder of nine of his family members. Now, the damaging court evidence used against him has been unsealed.
The newly released evidence offers a window on everyday life at the Wesson household, but defense attorney Ernest Kinney says the boxes of evidence are actually more helpful for the defense team appealing Marcus Wesson’s guilty verdicts and death sentence.
“I don’t think it has any great weight and didn’t do any great things to help the prosecution,” said Kinney.
The evidence includes a large number of diaries written by the Wesson and Solorio girls.
One of Kiani Wesson’s diary entries mentions that the family had a plan in case things got out of hand at their home. Prosecutors say the plan was a suicide plot to kill the children, and two family members testified to that. But the diaries don’t mention murder at all.
“You would think that something that dramatic, somebody would’ve put that in the diary. If not there, I think that’s evidence for the defense,” said Kinney.
There’s also Marcus Wesson’s manuscript for a book resembling a bible. It includes a defense of incest and polygamy.
“I don’t think anybody’s denying there was incest,” said Kinney. “So, the incest is there. It’s gonna stand up. Even he didn’t deny it.”
The recently released evidence also includes pictures used in court but never publicly seen before now, like the gun used to kill the Wesson children and the coffins that lined the family’s living room.
But Kinney says Wesson’s appeal won’t depend on this evidence. He says it will rest on the testimony of Sofina Solorio and Ruby Ortiz, the girls who, according to Sebhrenah Wesson’s diary entries, divided her family.
Wesson will get an automatic appeal because he received the death penalty, but as of now, he has no defense attorney and no court date.