01x04 - k*ller Content

[bunniefuu]

Hello, everyone,
I'm Mr. Anime

and boy,
do I have a show for you?

You could say that
he was one of the first
influencers.

I've hit 1,000 subscribers.

[screams]

Becoming a filmmaker,
it's a big idea
for a small town.

This is just one of those
little one minute videos
that will make you smile.

YouTube begin, and now
you could share your opinions
with complete strangers.

But there was so much darker
lurking below the surface.

We had no idea
what we were walking into.

[suspenseful music playing]

You think,
it won't happen to me,
but sometimes it does.

[siren blaring]

[Rehak] There was
a sense in the air
that something was wrong.

Majorly wrong.

I was the chief of police
in Waller, Texas.

We received a call
to do a welfare check.

[suspenseful music playing]

I put on my bulletproof vest,
and looked around the house.

That's when I saw
a person inside on the floor
covered with blood,

and I knew
we had a real problem.

The sleepy little community
of Waller, Texas,

had woken up and realized
that something
horrible had happened.

[guitar music playing]

[Mathis] Everybody knew
the Sesler family.

They were members
of the local church in Waller

and loved by a lot of people.

There was Lawton,
the father,

Rhonda, the mother,

Mark, the older brother,

and Trey,
the baby brother.

They were very close.

Lawton was a teacher
in the community

and seemed to be very loved,

not only by the students
but the students' families.

Rhonda Sesler worked
at The Waller Times,

she was out meeting people,
delivering papers,

and just interacting
with her community every day.

Rhonda and Lawton did feel
it was very important
for their sons

to have a good career
and a good life.

Rhonda was
valedictorian herself,

during her time at school,
and I believe that

that really motivated Mark
to have a great education.

[Rehak] Mark was progressing
nicely on the path

that most people want
to see their kids go down.

Education, career,

about to go out
into the world.

Trey had dreams
and aspirations

that were maybe more unique.

He wanted to make movies.

[piano music playing]

[Batey] Trey was unusual in
that he, like, had a camera

and was already
sh**ting things before people
really had these things.

[knocking at door]

I began teaching video
technology back in 2005.

He started hanging out
in my class

and, and making films
and working with me.

I don't know what kind
of rumors you've heard.

I even acted in
some of his films.

The town didn't really like
people of my, of my kind.

Your kind?

That's actually
how I met Trey's mother
and I think his brother.

Please enjoy your stay

however, the rooms
are pretty messy.

Oh, don't worry about that.
I just need a place
for the night.

[Rehak]
She was supporting him.

Actually helping him
with the films.

This is just one of those
little one minute videos
that will make you smile.

Trey was into
making funny videos,

slapstick stuff...

[screams]

...and horror films.

I told him pay more attention
to the story
than special effects.

Of course,
the high school kid,

he wants to do
the special effects.

[indistinct shouting]

[Ernst] I never saw Trey
more excited

than when he had an idea
of something to film.

It's all this
element of fantasy
and kind of just living

in this other reality
for a moment.

Fools! How dare
you say my name.

[indistinct shouting]

[Ernst] A lot of people
in our friend group

were probably
what you'd call like more
on the nerdy side of things.

A lot of people
like the anime thing,
the magic cards,

Dungeons and Dragons.

Making his little
films and skits

was just a great form
of entertainment

that didn't
get you in trouble.

Prepare to die.

[indistinct shouting]

Filming became
Trey's main thing.

It was a good way for him
to kind of come out
of his shell

with that camera,
it's like, now you have
a reason to speak to somebody.

[Mertes] In junior high,
I met Trey at a dance

towards the end
of the school year.

[indistinct chatter]

I actually asked him to dance.

I hadn't danced a lot
at many prior dances,

and we were kind
of awkward together.

And towards the end
of the night, he said,

"Does this mean
we're boyfriend
and girlfriend?"

And I thought,
"Well, okay, sure."

So we sort of made it
official that night

that we were going to be
boyfriend and girlfriend.

In junior high,

Trey was very charming
and humorous.

He was light.

He gave me a Valentine's gift.

It was this heart
he had made with lights.

It's so nice and unexpected.

I thought that
he was a very sweet guy.

Once I got to high school,
I started going over
to his house.

I met his family.

He was a little, I guess,

spoiled by his parents,
but very loved,

and they just wanted
the best for him.

Trey did seem to look up
to his older brother, Mark.

He seemed
more serious than Trey.

But still,
he had a sense of humor,

and they acted
more like best friends.

Mark was an influence
for Trey to become

interested in anime
and film projects.

They were often
working on films together.

[Ernst] Trey wanted people
to see his films.

Where'd they go?

[Ernst]
But becoming a filmmaker,
I can only imagine

would come across
as extremely challenging

and almost like,
it might seem impossible.

It's a big idea
for a small town.

[Trinidad]
YouTube began in 2005.

Social media was just starting
to become a part of our lives.

We were sort of, uh...

the first ones
to really get exposed

to this brand new technology.

I figure the best way
to enjoy this movie
from my-- from a fans...

I created my YouTube channel,

and my username
was called Aikoarisaka420.

Even though I didn't know
what 420 meant at the time.

Oh, hi, everybody.

My name is Trey Sesler.

I founded LensCapProductions
in 2004.

I didn't know much about
YouTube at all.

But I didn't know at the time
that he was on YouTube.

The main purpose of this video
is basically an introduction

to the LensCapProduction
channel.

[Batey] Everybody can do it
and get yourself out there
and get seen,

and that's why YouTube,
it worked for him.

So I also do special effects
tests that could help you
in your homemade movies.

[Trinidad] You could share it
with like-minded people

from different parts
of the world,

and that was what
made it very... exciting.

I guess I'll see you
on Episode two

of special effects
with Trey Sesler.

[clicking]

Initially, Trey's channel
had a fairly slow start,

but over time,
it was building up.

And gradually he was getting
more and more views.

But some of Trey's
earlier videos,

some of his skits,
some of his attempts at comedy

were actually getting
quite a lot
of negative comments.

Being the target
of hateful comments would be
upsetting for anybody.

Are you tired
of always being depressed?

Always letting
the enemy get you down.

But I think arguably
even more so for a teenager

because they're still
developing
their self-confidence

and their self-esteem.

[Trinidad] Because we were all
new to this,

some of us handled it
better than others.

Some people
did not take it very well.

I'm sure there were
some trolling comments
that may have gotten to him.

So I'm just gonna hold
this lamp over my head.

And maybe that will
help things a little bit.

But Trey
didn't allow this negativity

to prevent him to continue
making more and more content.

[Mertes]
I was about 15 years old

when I started doing projects

after school with him
and I was in his room

and he would be
editing videos.

This would have been
the first time
that we were alone together.

I didn't know he had started
a YouTube channel.

But he would mention scenes
he was going to do

that involved prop swords
or prop g*ns.

[g*n clicking]

When I would watch them,

I noticed sometimes
they were darker
and more violent.

One time I was watching
Trey edit a video

and he said,
"I want to try this out."

He got out ropes...

[suspenseful music playing]

I thought were
for maybe scenes,

and he was testing them
out on me.

But he just said,

"You know, we're going
to try this...

and see how bad
it hurts you."

[Mertes] I was tied up.

Just like my hands
behind my back.

It wasn't common
for him to test...

anything out with me.

[suspenseful music playing]

I wasn't into it

and I did kind of notice,

it was,
it was a little odd.

But he said it was completely
normal and it was fine.

My first impression I ever had
of him was like,
he was generous in giving

and kind and I wanted to think
that he was still a nice guy.

[suspenseful music playing]

Hello, everyone,

I'm Mr. Anime and boy,
do I have a show for you.

Over time, Trey's channel
became focused
on anime reviews.

There you go.

[Das] He developed
a character called Mr. Anime.

Today we're going
to be reviewing a show

that had a very large impact
on audiences
all around the world.

Trey was one
of the very first people
to review anime in the US.

Today's review
is Cyber Team in Akihabara.

He was silly,
he was funny,
but it didn't seem forced.

It seemed like
he was seeing the real him.

Hi, everybody,
I'm Mr. Anime.

And I'm Mark Sesler.

[Das] Trey clearly
had a passion for anime,

and whether he intended to
or not at the beginning,

eventually, he found
this untapped community
on the internet.

And today I'm going
to be talking
about some of the best

and most influential faces
and anime reviewers
on YouTube.

Next on the list,
Akiosaka420.

I don't think anyone
does anime like him.

[Trinidad] I do remember him
saying that about me.

The guy cheers me up
and makes me laugh
with each anime review.

His style of reviewing

was actually kind
of similar to my own.

We were both very analytical.

[Trey] I got to say
this show
was beautifully directed.

It was written
kind of confusing,

but if you were able
to follow it,
then it was pretty good.

[Trinidad] Aside
from contacting each other

through YouTube's
messaging system,

the other way
that I got in contact
with Trey was through Skype.

Most of the time,
it was group chats.

We would just get
into all sorts of fun
little group discussions.

Trey was one of us.

He was a geek like us.

He was into
the same things as us.

The anime community
was very supportive.

He had more
of a presence than I did.

His videos were definitely
of better quality.

He uploaded more frequently.

Consistency and quality
are what help you grow
in YouTube.

[Trey] This is pretty much
a landmark
for LensCapProductions.

I've hit 1,000 subscribers.

[Trinidad] He definitely had
quite a following.

His popularity
and his reach was growing.

I'm very, very happy.

Yeah!

Trey was starting to thrive
in terms
of his YouTube channel.

But offline
and behind closed doors,

his behavior was becoming
more troubling.

Whoa!

[Mertes] During
the several years
that I dated Trey,

he did a lot of, um,

really... things that I should
have taken as a red flag.

I made excuses in my head
for all of those things.

There was a point
when I was 16

that he'd asked me to do
things that...

were sexual.

He would say, "You know,
people play all kinds

of weird games and things
behind closed doors
and experiment."

One time I do remember
being on the floor.

My hands were above my head,
duct taped together and...

he had duct tape
over my mouth.

Then he had his body over me,

where, you know,
I didn't feel like
I could move.

His eyes were darker,
and he wasn't smiling
or anything,

this was not just a game.

That was the first time
I even considered

he might do something
violent to me.

That was the point that,
you know, I felt that...

we couldn't
really be together.

And when Trey and I separated,

he never said
anything about that.

I don't think that he really
questioned it verbally to me.

I did fall into a depression.

Looking back,
that was the motivator
to switch schools.

I remember that specifically
being the complete cutoff,

um, with Trey and me.

[Ernst] I lost touch with Trey
after high school.

The group did naturally kind

of just disperse,
and you know,

everybody kind
of went their own ways
for the most part.

[Batey] Trey really
didn't have any jobs.

He worked
for the grocery store
a little while.

And I understand that he went
to Blinn College,

which is a small
like community college.

But he dropped
out of Blinn college.

I think that was a source
of some contention
in the family.

Them having
a more traditional plan

and outlook for his future
than maybe he had for himself.

Being a YouTube personality
or an influencer

hadn't become part
of the mainstream yet.

And so probably,
if I had been a parent
at that time,

I would have been like
"He's just wasting his time."

[Batey] He needed to get
a community of people,

and he found this online.

And he found it
a thousand times over,

'cause he had like thousands
of people listening to him.

Little did I know.
I knew nothing
about this at the time.

You've reached
2,000 subscribers.

Two thousand subscribers?

That's incredible.

[Trinidad] He had quite
a reach
in the anime community.

[Trey] I want to thank you
for staying with me
through all these years.

I love your support.

And it's actually opened up
the ability for Google
to monetize my videos.

[Trinidad] He's definitely one
of the only ones that spoke of

YouTube monetization
at the time.

He seemed happy
with where he was going,

because being approved
was definitely a huge thing.

You made money based on
how many views you got.

Now, I can make money
so I can get
a high definition camera.

Today, he absolutely would
be considered an influencer.

And LensCapProduction
has many more in store for you
for this great year.

[Batey] He wasn't going
anywhere in his real life.

He was going somewhere
on the Internet.

With most of his friends
moving on and leaving town,

and him being stuck behind

in this small town
in his family home,

the tone of Trey's videos
has shifted.

Today I'm ranting on something
a little bit anime unrelated.

I'm ranting
on all the shootings
that have been happening.

It is a little bit
disturbing to know

that you could be a victim
in something like this

at these times,
all the people
that were victims,

you think,
it won't happen to me,

but sometimes it does.

[Das] This concern,
this anxiety he has
about g*n violence.

I think it is quite natural to
to be worried about it

and to want to talk about it.

But just two months later,
the tone has changed again.

Personally,

if an army invades
and starts walking
down the city,

blowing people up,

-I... ga-ga...
will be firing at them.
-[g*n c*ck]

and I imagine
that everyone else
with a g*n would be too.

One of the most glaring
contradictions
is that in the first video,

he is very much
against g*n violence,

whereas in the second video
he's holding a huge g*n

and he's almost advocating
ownership of g*ns.

I didn't really
think much of it because
he was living in Texas.

But I did wonder

why he was saying
these sorts of things.

Countries that ban citizens
from having g*ns...

[Das] In a relatively
short space of time,

we're seeing
paranoia creep in.

...being able
to protect themselves
from invading countries.

Countries that allow
their citizens to have g*ns...

boom, sh**t each other.

[Mathis] I think
the rest of the family,

they didn't know
about his YouTube channel.

Maybe he wasn't able
to share with them

because they might
criticize it.

Trey Sesler signing out.

[Mathis] But I think that was
when he decided,

"I'm gonna be real Trey now."

[Trey] My grandmother
passed away a while ago.

And now, uh,
I moved in.

[Das] When Trey was 21,
his grandmother
had passed away,

so he moved
into her empty house
in a neighboring town.

This would be the first time
that Trey had independence,
autonomy.

The first time that he was
living away from home.

This is it behind me.

The house is actually
featured in my new film.

And while I think it might
actually be haunted...

[Mathis] That's where he had
a darker turn in his life.

Whatever supervision he was
having in Waller

with his family,

it did help him to some degree
to stay on the right path.

Now that was gone.

[Das] At that point,

one of Trey's brother
Mark's friends needed
a place to stay

for a short period of time,
and Trey kindly
offered up his home.

To me, I wonder whether
some sort of mental illness
is developing.

Something like depression
or bipolar.

[Das] The very fact
that he's freaking out
his friends,

people that
know him really well,
is a huge red flag.

And things start
getting even darker.

Oh, how you doing, everyone?
It's Mr. Anime.

Or you can call me Trey.

You can call me
the guy who does
the video game reviews

or you can call me
the guy that does
all the g*n stuff now.

[g*nshots]

Uh, what I have here today
to show you is a Hi-Point.

Now, for those of you
who are familiar
with Hi-Point,

you might have
a very low opinion of them,

or you might have
a high opinion of them.

I have a very classic--

He's drunk.

It shoots
nine millimeter rounds.

Ten-round magazine
comes standard with it.

-And you--
-Was he reviewing the g*n?

Was he, like, uh--

Like, was he doing this
to test the pros and cons
or like that?

No, it was just him
sh**ting stuff

while under the influence.

[Das] As Trey is posting more
and more videos about g*ns,

as he's appearing inebriated,

you can see a level of concern
from his fans

in the comments sections
of his videos.

People would
definitely be asking

"What is going on?"

Like, "Are you okay?"

And not just that.

"Why do you have a g*n
while you're drunk?"

I wouldn't want to be sitting
on that couch right now.

But despite this,
he is still growing
in popularity on YouTube.

People didn't seem
to want to look away.

[clicks tongue]
Ah, five out of ten.

Living by himself,
without parental supervision,

his alcohol and drug use
slowly starts to rise.

There seems to be both meth
and cannabis use.

Different substances
have different effects
on the human psyche.

But both cannabis
and methamphetamine

are renowned for increasing
agitation and paranoia.

My favorite part of the day,

comparing my ratings
to other anime reviewers.

Cracks are starting to appear.
People are starting to notice.

[Trinidad] As time went on,

we did see
less videos from him.

But, you know, we were more
concerned about your health.

You know,
take care of yourself first.

Worry about the videos later.

[Das] It's quite tragic
to see somebody

decline like this
right in front
of our very eyes.

This is somebody that's
at a pretty high risk
of harming themselves.

Plus, he's got
access to g*ns.

After living by himself
for over a year,

all these social issues,
all these difficulties

that Trey is facing build up.

He's had enough.
He calls his parents sobbing.

He begged them
to come around and help him.

I don't think they had
a real knowledge of YouTube.

They had no clue
Trey was putting
this kind of thing online.

His parents are clearly
concerned about him,

given that he's alone,

he's got g*ns
all over the house.

That was the turning point
for when Rhonda and Lawton

agreed for Trey to come back
and live in the family home.

For them to bring him
back into their home
could show many things.

There's a vicious monster
over there in the woods.

-Could you take care of it?
-Of course.

[Mathis] Maybe as long
as they could keep him
in the home,

keep him under wraps,
things wouldn't get worse.

They were trying to love him
the only way they knew how.

So once again,
you had the four members
of the family

under the same roof.

Mark was working.
He finished his education.

But he was still
living at home for a while.

We know that around this time,
seeing a psychiatrist.

He's being
prescribed medication.

This helped him to a degree

because his father
eased off him.

There was less pressure
for him to try and find a job
as Trey was recovering.

But that's not
how Trey saw things.

He felt that his father
had almost given up on him.

The first thing I see
is probably intoxicated.

And secondly, Trey was
really letting his viewers
in on the fact

that whether or not he felt
that way about himself,

he realized that society
felt that way about him.

He probably had a bit
of an inferiority complex

because he was
struggling in life

and his friends
and his brother
were moving on.

He was taking
a c*ck of drugs.

He was isolated,
he was marginalized.

So all of these things
would have massively
increased

the risk of deliberate
self-harm or suicide
as well as violence.

[Mertes] 2011, I decided
to reach out to Trey
on Facebook.

And I personally
believed that,

you know, I would ask Trey
about our prior relationship.

I did, sort of, want
to talk about that myself.

I'm not sure
if he wanted to.

[Mertes]
We actually made plans

and exchanged numbers.

There's definitely
a part of me

that didn't know
what to expect.

So I felt a little anxious
about meeting Trey.

Right before we were
about to meet, Trey called.

He just sort of said,
"By the way, I'm sorry
for being a monster to you.

And I'm sorry.

I don't know if any of that
was consensual."

It just, sort of,
surprised me

because it was a question
that, kind of, popped up
out of nowhere.

I don't think
I had any doubts

that it was sincere
at the time.

He did seem remorseful.

It did seem different,

uh, surprisingly different,
uh, from the previous Trey.

But then he said
he's not good for people
and we can't meet.

Then we didn't really
talk after that.

Well, hi, everybody.
It's Mr. Anime here.

I got more subscribers
than ever.

I have more views than ever.

Trey had 4,000 subscribers
on YouTube.

Pretty big numbers
for that time.

But we all know
that in the background,

there's a lot going on
with Trey.

This is just an update video
to let you guys know that, uh,

I'm gonna
reward myself with probably
a two or three-week break.

"Mr. Anime
is planning something."

Planning what, exactly?

It's very vague.

So you'll have
to bear with me.

[Trinidad]
It was very telling.

Looking back at it now,

something big
was going to happen,

and none of us
were prepared for it.

Thanks for watching
my channel.

Shortly after lunch,
two members of the
Sesler family

came by the
Waller Police Department

and informed
one of my, uh, officers

that they were
unable to make contact
with the Sesler family.

For the second day now,

there's no answer
on any of the cell phones.

I had requested
that one of the officers

that knew the family
come to the house.

As soon as I stepped out
of my vehicle,

there was a sense in the air
that something was wrong.

Majorly wrong.

You couldn't see in the house
because all the blinds
were drawn.

In the back of the house,
there was a small window,

and the blinds
on that particular window
were slightly open.

I crawled up on a bench
and looked in,

and that's when I saw
a person inside on the floor
covered with blood.

And I knew we had a...
a real problem.

The first thought that I had
was that maybe we were
dealing with a suicide here.

We just knew we had a body.

And there was a lot of blood.
A lot of blood.

It was shocking what we found
when we made the entry
into the house.

We had no idea
what we were walking into.

The house looked like
a b*mb had gone off in it,

and it was
just totally destroyed.

As we went down the hall,
and we found the bathroom

where I had seen the body
through the window,

the officer
was able to identify

who that person was
on the floor.

He said, "This is Mark.
This is, uh, Mark Sesler."

It became pretty apparent
pretty quick

that there was
some type of struggle
that had ensued here

because there's
b*llet holes everywhere.

We went from possible suicide

to now we may
actually encounter a k*ller.

That's a totally different
frame of mind.

And then as we made our way
through the house,

we discovered
a man's body on the bed.

The officer
was able to specifically say
that that was Lawton Sesler.

We went out
in the garage and...

there was, kind of,
a blue plastic tarp.

And I lifted it up,
and it was, uh...

turned out to be Rhonda.

Shot multiple times.

We went back in the house.

That's when
we started realizing that

the knives stuck
in the cabinet.

Or the countertop
with the apple.

And all the different things
written on the cabinet doors.

That's when we realize
we're not just looking
for a k*ller.

We're dealing
with something evil here.

By the writings
we were starting to read

that were etched into walls,

we're building
a pretty strong case

that Trey would be
a definite person of interest.

The final thing
that led me to firmly believe

that he needed to be located
as soon as possible

was the inquiry
about the body armor.

My officer
at that time had said

he had received
a phone call from Trey

a few weeks prior to that
that was inquiring about

whether a civilian
could buy body armor.

If you add that
to what we see
in front of us,

and it would be an indicator
that he had other plans,

and that it was going
to meet with resistance.

There was
a very strong possibility
for further violence.

It was an urgency
in locating Trey.

[Mathis] When news broke
that the Seslers
had been m*rder*d,

everybody was scared,
everybody was talking
about it.

Where is Trey?

Is he lurking somewhere?

Is there going to be
worse things that happen?

All hands were on deck
to find Trey

and make sure
that the community was safe.

[Rehak]
We located Trey's car,

which was not
in Waller County,

but in the county,
uh, next to it.

The local Sheriff's Department
sent out their tactical team.

We don't know
what we're dealing with.

He may possibly
be armed and dangerous.

We arrive on location
and surround the house.

When Trey stepped out
on the front porch,

he had his GL*CK
in his hand.

[sirens blaring]

[Rehak] He had
his GL*CK in his hand.

He just threw the p*stol
on the ground and surrendered.

Why don't you sit right here,
okay, Trey?

Um...

He leveled
with the investigators,
with the Rangers

and told them
what he had done.

[Mathis]
It's very disturbing,
the lack of remorse,

as you're recounting
how you've just m*rder*d

the woman
that gave birth to you,

your father
and your big brother.

[Rehak] While Trey
was in custody,

there were so many things
that we were discovering
at the crime scene.

Handwritten notes,

some journals
that he had made.

We found this a*mo
in the trunk of the car.

Rounds and rounds
of different caliber
ammunition.

Now there was
the realization

that he had
a much bigger plan.

[Ranger speaking]

The curtains
were ripped back,

and you could have
a better glimpse into
the mind of Trey Sesler.

It was truly terrifying.

He explained
how he was going to use these
different caliber weapons,

should he ever commit
a mass sh**ting like this.

His intention was to do
the biggest mass sh**ting
at a school

that had occurred
thus far in history.

We prevented a horrific act.

We arrested him that night,
and he couldn't do it
the next day.

That's fact.

These are the notes I made
the very first time I watched
Trey's confession.

I wrote down two words
and I put them in quotes,

"Desires attention."

That was realization
that he had quite a...

a life that we didn't know
anything about.

He made a specific point
to let the Rangers know

they could see his videos
all over YouTube.

[Ranger speaking]

Most people who commit
horrific offenses

can be pigeonholed
in some ways.

Either they have a clear
psychiatric diagnosis
or they fit a profile,

or they have
understandable motivations.

But to me,
Trey is extremely unusual

because it's just really hard
to fit him into any box.

But I do think
that there were
numerous risk factors.

He was young, he was male.

He was clearly
quite paranoid.

He probably had
a relative degree
of mental illness.

He's got
an obsession with g*ns.

He's taken
a c*ck of drugs,

he's already
quite marginalized
and socially isolated.

Dig deep with me today
into the recessions

and crevices
of the dark human mind.

So all of these things
would increase the risk factor

of somebody
acting out violently.

[reporter] He is charged
with gunning down
his school teacher father,

his mother
and his older brother.

[man] I'm reading on here
saying that he--

That not only did he--

I-- I can't even
say this stuff.

[Trinidad] Nobody wants
to believe that the people
they're friends with,

the people they know,
the people they love

could ever turn out
to be a monster.

To hear that someone
who inspired me to be
where I am now did this,

it just leaves me
with a really bad feeling.

No matter how much
you know someone online,

you only see
a certain part of them.

[Ernst] I remember
just being shocked,

just completely shocked
that it was him.

And knowing that
it could have been
so much worse, too.

And, and, you know,
it's such a small town

that we're all
well familiar with.

I mean, it was...

I think it was...
I think it hit hard.

[Mertes] I think
everybody believed at school

that the violent side
that Trey portrayed in films
was just a character.

He had
a lot of people fooled.

I try to think of all
the events that occurred

and was there ever any...

anything that
we could have done

to prevent this
and protect them.

Because I felt
a real responsibility

as the chief of police
of that town

to protect the people
who live there.

Of course,
there's no answers.

I live with it.

I live with it.
I've got the questions
that can't be answered.

[Mathis] I just wish
somebody would have brought
Trey's YouTube channel

to our attention
and said, "Hey.

He's here.
He's among you.

Watch out."

If we're going
to live in an online world,

then the world
is gonna have to take on
greater responsibility

tor the things
that they see online.

[Batey] Trey is responsible
for what he did.

But I became a teacher
to make a difference.

I was talking with my...

[Batey] I am gratified
and feel blessed

by the opportunity
to help the kids
I was able to help.

I feel bad about this one
going the way this went.

Thank you. Thank you.

I'll see you around.

[Batey] I couldn't help him.

♪♪

Hey guys, welcome to my channel.

Steph was a special effects
make-up artist.

Like, comment and subscribe.

[ding]

With so many predators
out there...

[man]
Nobody has heard from her.

...days became weeks,
weeks became months.

Stephanie Parze had become
a ghost.