The fact that a known "offender" lived right next door to the Lunsford home, and that police lost track of him is infuriating. However, the fact that he managed to keep little Jessie captive in his closet even after the police dropped by, and THEN buried her ALIVE just mere yards from the police command center is something straight out of a horror film. I'll never be able to wrap my head around just how badly the police botched the rescue mission and subsequent investigation into Jessie's disappearances and subsequent death. Hug your loved ones tight. Have a safe week. 💚Drewby + Yergy Discord: discord.gg/kCCzjZM
It's absolutely horrific. I just can't begin to think about how her family survived her with such horror going around and around inside them. And I can't even go to what poor Jessie went through. I never used to believe in the death penalty,the thought that an innocent person could be wrongly convicted is so wrong. But when I hear stories like this, when the crime is so horrific and the evidence so very clear I can't think what else should be the conclusion. Her poor family living with such horrible horrible images in their minds. And I don't believe that the other people in that trailor didn't know that she was there.
You often speak of Amber Alerts in your videos , have you thought of making a video about Amber Haggermans disappearance? I lived in Arlington Tx in the apartments behind which her body was found . Even though her killer was never found , her legacy has helped save many children .
Mark is still DEVASTATED over Jesse's murder she was such a precious little girl imagine the amazing woman she would have become rest in peace Jesse lost but never forgotten
Letting a pedo out of jail for “good behavior” is idiotic for many reasons but MAINLY because there are no children in jail. No shit he’s gonna behave! I can’t believe the sheer amount of idiots involved in this case.
A lot of them are "good people": respectful, well mannered, helpful, kind, generous, friendly, etc... except for this oooooonnnneeee thing nobody knows about......
Yeah. Its like letting ahyena out of its cage cause it didnt eat anyone while it was in there. These things are instinct driven and should be locked away forever (not talking about hyenas anymore).
You tell these poor children's stories WHEN NOBODY ELSE WILL. Thank you for giving these children a voice when other channels refuse to even when families are begging for coverage. You two are the most empathetic people in all of true crime.
Always watch you. I would be good with a video every day... They are difficult to hear but they deserve for their story to be told. Thank you guys ❤@@TheMiseryMachine
@@TheMiseryMachine unbelievable that there are so many more. You've all have given so so many of these unknown stories and unnamed children a name a platform. And to think as you stated there are so many many more. Makes me wonder who do I live next to? How close am I to one of these sick predators that are unknown, unnamed? And.... How can I help that one escape that may be right next to me and I just don't know?
Can almost guarantee that this little girl's dad has saved more children than any other individual American. He's a real champion. I'm going to be pushing for Jessie's Law to be brought to Canada.
As an ER nurse I've become more diligent in keeping an eye out for signs of abuse in children that I see because of this channel. These poor babies stories need to be told Drewby and Yergy do it with grace and compassion ❤
Thank you ❤ there is a big difference between kids being kids and getting hurt and actual abuse. There is a lot of fear from well meaning parents who are afraid to be reported for accidents. No one wants a children family services case.
Drew and Yergys work is no doubt important ( For all victims/families AND all of us fans) but having concerned and caring professionals on the frontline is the first defense to stop the sickening cycle of CA/SA. As we’ve seen time and again on this channel, most victims are unable to say or articulate what is going on behind closed doors and the watchful eye of medical and social workers may be their only way out (However, we have all also seen time and again that DCF (or whatever the organization is called in your area continuously drop the ball… medical professionals should be consulted more thoroughly and their recommendations taken very seriously in these cases too) Anyhow, thank you Jessie, as a Mother and compassionate citizen/member of my community I very much appreciate the comfort I take in the fact that there are good ones - such as yourself - out there to protect the most innocent and precious of our population.
i work with kids and do the same, even tho i’m not a legal mandated reporter, any child that comes across my path or is in my care will always be looked out for.
I met Mark Lunsford in 2007 in a CVS pharmacy in my hometown of Green Cove Springs, Fl. He was behind me in line for the register. I turned to him and asked, "Are you Jessie's daddy"? He said, "Yes" and I told him how very sorry I was for what happened to his baby. He thanked me and my heart broke at the pain on this sweet man's face. Mark Lunsford is an angel. He was and is determined to save our children. Thank you Mark, for letting your pain and deep love of your daughter help all children. I love you ❤🙏
I remember this story. I live in hillsborough county. I clearly recall seeing Mark champion justice for his daughter. I can tell he is a good dude. I hope he's OK today. ❤😊
Sorry if I misunderstood, but didn’t Mark have CSA materials on his computer? I get that he’s been through hell and no one deserves to lose a child, especially like this. But let’s not forget he was perfectly fine victimizing other children and only cared once it happened to someone he loved.
When I was molested at 8 by a neighbor, the police did nothing. I remember the forensic interviews. The place was also named after a little girl. I understand how these people feel because I couldn't heal completely until that man was dead. I can't describe what it felt like reading his obituary, learning about his life, all of the "he was a great man" and how much he will be "missed." He wasn't a great man, he was a monster...
I recall asking my self made father, who’d only been schooled to the eighteenth century grade, ‘how’d you get so smart Dad?’ He replied with, ‘life’s the best teacher you’ll ever have.’👍
@@audnbob1 I always admired my dad - even though he came from a good, upper middle-class family and both his older sisters went to college… he made his own way, quit school after 9th grade to work on fishing boats. Now for the last 25 years he’s got his own commercial fishing vessel and has used it to work as both a commercial fisherman and a sport fishing charter boat captain…he is living his dream and has/is making a very good living off it
This case always breaks my heart. Jesse was in that closet alive for two or three days. They knocked but didn’t search. He was a known sex offender . Didn’t they have to keep track where these pedos are?? Poor baby girl. I can’t imagine the fear and torture this little girl went through.
They said that the parole officer lost track of him unfortunately. So it's a mess up on the p.o. and also when they knocked the sister lied to police initial so they didn't know he lived there
It's so annoying when they work so hard to accuse the parents and search all over outside, but don't really bang on doors that much. Still, they can't really just rampage through people's houses either. It's too bad Jessie wasn't able to yell and scream while in the closet.
@@TinyStar-oz3bo They can enter people houses to specifically search for somebody if it's under exigent circumstances, and I would argue that the circumstances were absolutely exigent in this case. The police were suspicious of the people in that house anyway. They were inside the trailer while she was still in the closet *_alive_* FFS! All they had to do was check every door in the trailer. Also, they didn't have a problem violating the perps rights, and nearly trashing the entire case. So I don't think they cared too much about the rights of others in general.
No such thing. Also stop victim blaming. Poor guy asked for help. All he ever knew was abuse. Guaranteed his parents SAd him. No kid his age is interested in it unless it was done to them prior. He wanted help but people failed him. People like you who are quick to cast stones instead of being helpful and empathetic
I was a cadaver dog handler on this search. LE didn’t allow the dogs at incident command and the incident command trailer was in front of John Couey’s residence. They were sure the person of interest was her father. They sent the dogs off on wild goose chases.
Did anyone say anything? Even to say ‘I think you need to look here’ or whatever? This is madness. Those dogs may of saved that babies life 😭 Thank you for doing what you did tho ♥️ just so freaking tragic x
I read this at first as “I was a cadaver dog on this search.” I was like, oh. Ok. Luckily, reread it so I could take it seriously. Those cops really failed that girl. Poor baby.
I've always wondered if poor sweet Jessie heard the police officers outside and thought "This is it! I'm finally going to get rescued and see my daddy!" Only to be grievously disappointed when they left without her 😢 This is the most gut-wrenching thing i think a child could go through 💔 Bless you, Drewby and Yergy, for pouring your heart and soul into these videos ❤ We love and appreciate you!
The audacity of the community to question why he would sue the police! They walked right past her, and she was buried basically AT their HQ during an active investigation. If that’s “by the book,” it needed to be rewritten. The police and community should have wanted them to do better.
from what i remember at the time as a 13 year old is that basically Sherriff Dawsey was a golden boy. he won every sheriff election he ran until he maxed out his terms. the current sheriff here is the first one to come after him. and yeah dawsey botched it. hard.
That poor little girl, she suffered because the system of probation officers repeatedly did not do their job. In addition this monster was twice jailed for ten years but let out after only two, during this time he continued his abuse of young children yet the parents did not report this to the probation officers. Shame upon shame on the authorities for letting this little girl suffer
you people continue to miss the point. The system failed her when the system and his parents/family failed him when he was a child. Abuse is a vicious cycle. I'm not sure how anyone with his history could've grown up to be normal. Not everyone with his history abuses others but that's simply because severe abuse impacts everyone differently.
@edj2045 there is absolutely no excuse for this monsters heinous acts on an innocent little girl. This case makes me physically ill thinking about how scared that little girl must have been. I’m sorry for his child self being abused but he became a monster that needed to be taken out of society permanently. Truly disgusting and beyond EVIL.
@@jennifercusnier339 It's not an excuse, it's the reason why. Had he not been failed, this would not have happened and nothing you say changes that. Bye.
@@edj2045nothing made him sexual abuse that child. That’s the damn excuse. There’s plenty of ppl that go through hell but don’t commit crimes on other ppl. He’s just a disgusting foul human
Unbelievable that a man with 23 arrests for SA children isn’t the fist place they’d check and when they did check they didn’t thoroughly investigate the home. DISGUSTING 🤬🤬🤬🤬🤬
Mark was so prescient in his remarks as to those who still have to live after what's been done to you as a child. He's been a string proponent of Jessica's LAW! GOD BLESS HIM!!
Why DO child offenders get let off so much, and get such lenient sentences? Are there people in the justice system, in government, in police forces that are also offenders? Is that why??? 😐 So annoying.
That reporter really milked every bit he could from the interview trying to get some sort of reaction. Absolute respect for that man keeping calm and saying exactly what he thought with no filter
This is 1000000% on law enforcement. First they allow him out after MULTIPLE violations and then they searched the house and didn’t find her????! WTF???! 🤬
How can someone get “good behavior” credit in prison when the object of their deviant desires is not there for them to be tempted by? There is room to lessen sentences for non-violent offenders, if only to make sure there’s room for these creatures to be able to stay in prison for the duration of their sentences.
Mark is doing the work of a saint. Anyone who works with child advocate groups or in child advocacy centers has my respect. The people who were trying to sue him for rightfully calling out the horrendously botched job the police did during their investigation were entirely in the wrong for doing so. Had the police actually followed their protocols, there is no doubt in my mind that Jessie would have been found alive and the sick piece of garbage that took her could have been prosecuted and sentenced sooner.
@Bonkpunktexe you do have a fair point. The material being found on his computer does taint the work he has done and his association with child advocacy centers. However, that doesn't devalue the legitimacy of his criticism of how the police handled the investigation.
@@f1rebreather123 True and if they were against him but still didn't prosecute, then it is worth noting that CSAM can include news stories. It's designed to highlight people with interests in news stories like this. I've had my computer examined when my brother was done for fraud and used my machine. It was very humiliating to be treated like a freak because of stories like this. Just because we're looking for news about these people should in no way me we're anything like them. This is why I now use NordVPN 🙂
@@Bonkpunktexe Do we even know if that's true? Don't you think he would have been thrown in jail immediately? What's more plausible - police found that, yet did absolutely nothing OR the police just said that as a way to jam him up hoping that he would just confess to doing something to his daughter? Incompetence vs frame-job? Pick your poison.
So it only took being arrested 23 times for molesting children and THEN murdering a child via burying them alive to get this man in prison with a proper sentence? What a wonderful justice system!! They did a faaaaaannntastic job 😒 What bs, he should have been away from the world after the first kid…
As an adult woman, I can't imagine being kidnapped and raped, but I KNOW it can happen. When I think about all these young children; girls and boys, being treated like this, it makes my heart hurt and my stomach sick. These poor young victims ! Our laws need to be much more strict with these crimes!
I lived in Homosassa when this happened. I was a senior in high-school. People were wearing shirts, searching and spreading awareness. Even the students. When the news broke that she was found dead, I remember seeing people crying at school the next day. It was devastating.
The whole county was shook. I was about 10 when this happened. My dad knew her father, such a tragedy 😔💜 heard that after he was arrested he had to be isolated, everyone in the lecanto jail was ready to have a piece of him
The police and prison really dropped the ball here. He should have never been allowed out for "good behavior". And they didnt prosecute someone who had CP!? Wtf! The parole officer was completely useless as well.
I'm pretty sure the CSAM on Mark's computer was either faked, hacked, or the content was lied about by the police trying to get a confession out of Mark since the idiot police didn't bother to look outside of the family.
Releasing an offender for "good behavior," makes no sense because there are NO children to molest in prison, so obviously, these predators will behave. Duh 😬🥺
Both parole officers need to be charged and bared from ever getting a job in law enforcement same for the lying police officers wasting time and putting all their efforts in one place!
I met Mark Lunsford in 2007 in NYC. He was telling Jessie's story on the Montell Willams show. It was incredibly painful and the show was impactful because Mark is such a strong father. Well years later in 2013 i reached out to Mark on facebook because the show we both were apart of ( Montell) never aired. I asked him if he kbew why and he said he didn't. I told him i think of jessie all the time and he thanked me for keeping her memory alive. I couldn't believe he was thanking me. I have nothing but admiration for Mark and I'm still sorry to this day that his story wasn't aired. Just seems so cruel to invite guests for such a painful topic, to then just have it become lost media.
Released for good behavior? He can hardly do what he was arrested for whilst in prison! How stupid and irresponsible! I couldnt bear to look at that creature, had to turn my head away! RIP beautiful Jessie, so sad you were let down by the courts and law enforcement.😢
I was abused severely as a child in many ways by 4 different people and it only made me fiercely protective of those who don't have a voice. I take in foster kids that have been abused and neglected. I foster dogs and when I see things like this it makes me cry. The system is broken and we need more advocacy but still so many people just don't want to be involved. 😢
2 ppl thought he SHOUldnt get the death penalty??? Wonder what they are up to in their spare time ..?? No one who does this is safe to ever be loose … it’s not worth the risk .. no matter their trauma .
Even if he had gotten the death penalty it wouldn't guarantee he would get that. I watch parole board channels and you would be shocked at how many people I've seen UP FOR PAROLE who were originally given a life sentence without parole and/or death sentence.
Mark is such a good man.Someone who should be awarded for services to children. A real noble soul and a fantastic dad. We need people like this to change a flawed system. So sorry what you went through Mark.
Monsters like John don't come from nowhere. The community totally failed here. Early neglect, constant abuse, possible brain damage, and SA? That alone can easily create a monster, even before you factor drugs into the mix. Then the fact that people failed to act to prevent or punish his behavior when he started to hurt people? Seriously? If anyone in the community did their freaking jobs, if parents cared, if community services acted, and if the justice system functioned, that girl would likely still be alive. It's a disgrace.
Its sad what John went through over his childhood is despicable, I do not understand why so many failed him. Of course, this does not negate what he did to Jessica. Its really sad all around.
Do not blame society for it, This was on his parents if society can't set the standard for rather or not people can have kids than society isn't to blame ..
@@kaliblueblame for the parents is there but at a certain point their failure does become a community burden. At a certain point he isn't in their hands anymore. During the time he was out of prison, he was in the hands of the parole officer who failed to report 2 incidents of SA.
She would still be alive today if the police would have checked that closet😢Her dad seems like a really good father I wish i would have had such a caring dad....
John Couey was one of my relatives. We have a book with just about 20 copies, my mom is adding to it, as a sort of family heirloom/tradition. My family is filled with violence and awful nature. I'm happy someone's spoken about this man and what he did.
You didn’t talk about how much they focused their COMPLETE investigation on dad and granddad, which is why they didn’t find her NEXT DOOR. They tortured them.
As a child that survived, there are still days that I wonder if it wouldn't have been kinder to have died. It started when I was 6, ended when I was 11, when I was placed with the statistical anomaly of a loving foster family. I'll be 42 in a couple months, and I'm still trying to unpack all the repressed memories. I know the feelings of despair will pass, but I can't help but wonder if they will ever go away. For the kids that ended up not surviving, that are playing with Jessie, I wish them peace. For the kids that ended up like me, that lived, I wish them healing. I wish them a voice, to share their stories, and to tell their truths. I wish them safety. I wish them love. And yes, I also wish them peace.
I'm so sorry you went through that 😔. My son was sexually abused by his bio dad during some visits with him. He didn't tell me till 3 years later and I've gotten him into counseling. He has refused to talk much at all about any of it so they stopped counseling until he's ready to talk. I can see different ways it affects his day to day life and as a mother that hurts so bad.
Didnt he have CSA material on his computer? How can he be such a good person who cares about children if hes fine with victimizing other children? That doesnt exactly deserve respect and praise to me
@@Bonkpunktexewhy wasn’t he charged with it if it were true? The cops probably lied about it trying to get a confession from him since they were so hyper focused on him being the perpetrator.
@@shannontimoney5901 sex crimes are pretty rarely even taken to court, even when it's a pedophile they are not as likely to get charged as for example someone who beats up someone or kills someone, or even people who go get charged with non-violent crimes
The dads giggle when he said “he didn’t come to me, he came to God”. Man that was such a powerful statement and move. Bless this father. I hope he is well
You guys are doing good work. So few people outside of those who have either experienced similar things or have witnessed it first hand (police, social workers, EMS, etc.) understand the horrors that occur in this world & I think even though it might make you sad or uncomfortable, it is really important to bring things like this to the attention of the public.
I blame the inadequate cops who searched his home the first time while Little Jessica was still slive in the closet When looking for a child, closets, under beds, under yhe kitchen sink., etc should be searched Anywhere z small child could be hidden They could have saved her life
Police and parole officers behaviour was utterly dreadful and full of incompetence. The initial revelations of da and indifference to john as a baby and through childhood was heartbreaking but he became an utter monster with no real excuse for his vile behaviour. Monsters live among us.
Nothing but tragedy. His background does not excuse his behavior, but monsters can sometimes come from monsters. In another time maybe he could have at least been locked up and gotten treatment. But he kept getting set free and violated and harmed innocents. Awful, horrible.
What's upsetting is if that sick man was given any sort of help, both in youth and after his first arrest this might have not happened. The system failed this girl far before they didn't look in that closet, the parole officer failed by letting this man off the hook twice, the justice system failed by not pushing for this man to get psychiatric help while detained, and everyone associated with that man during his youth failed. This is by no means to alleviate blame from the dude, what he did was wicked, evil, and sick. Though my disdain for him can't help but boil over and towards those who surrounded and allowed him to continue the way he had
I don’t feel bad for adult John at all but for the child version of him my heart breaks. Just hearing anything like that done to a child hurts me but the fact that he grew up to be a monster to is awful. I don’t believe people are born evil but he definitely became evil.
he didn't grow up to be a monster, he grew up to be severely mentally disturbed and did to others what was done to him his entire childhood. That actually makes sense! This is why it's so important to not abuse children and to raise them properly. Any child growing up like that will have issues. Not all will grow up to harm others, but that's only because abuse impacts everyone differently.
@@edj2045He couodnt have been that mentally disabled given the steps he took to prevent detection, to carry out the abduction and then the evasion of authorities. Do not feel sorry for this monster.
@@dawnatkinson7704 They said they believed his head being smashed as a child gave him a brain injury and affected his impulse control. That is indeed a thing. So yes you can process oh hell i just did an evil thing and want to cover it up it doesnt stop you from doing the evil thing. He also told police locking him up would do nothing and he needed help and they ignored him so yes mentally disabled is indeed what he became
The perpetrator may have had an IQ measured at only 79+/-. But his family and the investigators gave us a demonstration of what that level of functioning looks like. 😡
I dont care that he had an abusive childhood and low IQ he should NEVER have been let out over and over after assaulting children ... The system that kept releasing him are responsible for this young girls death ..this could have been prevented .(
@@Suz4155 those 600,000 are just the tip of the iceberg. That's 600,000 REGISTERED therefore CONVICTED offenders!! We know that most victims do not report their abuser ( most of the abuse is a close male relative). So most of the offenders never even get investigated. Of those minority who are reported- again, most will not be prosecuted for various reasons. The victim may refuse to testify,or be too young or vulnerable, prosecutors feel there's not enough evidence etc,so another layer of the onion falls away. The even smaller number who actually go to trial have no certainty of gaining a conviction. Maybe the defence gets them off on a technicality,or people perjure themselves to give an alibi. So the 600,000 who are unlucky enough to be in the minority who are reported....then investigated....then taken to trial...and THEN found guilty are really not representing the true numbers. It's something that makes me wild about the criminal record checks! People don't understand, it's the same thing! All you know is whether someone was found guilty! A record check does NOT tell you that someone is SAFE!!!! You still have to use your common sense with people. You still have to have those difficult conversations with your children about what's private, and what to do if someone wants to look at your private parts or wants to show you theirs! Believe me. I used to work with sex offenders with probation. There are so very very many more than are registered.
Those are the convicted cases--more than 80% of offenders get nothing but probation for their first 10-20 assaults, so there's at least 4-5x that many cases of actual reported abuse. THEN you have to calculate how much abuse goes entirely unreported or reported to adults who cover it up. That 600,000 figure is literally the TIP of the sexual abuse iceberg--the other 90% is unseen below the surface.
Wow so it took 3 (known) child assaults for him to finally get 2 years in state. I don't understand how the people who make these decisions even live with themselves
everyone who lived in that house at that time need to be charged as strongly as him. you can not tell me they didnt know. the fact they lied about him being there and helped him escaped. i call bs on that especially in a trailer.
Every trailer of the vintage I saw in this video, you could hear a rat piss on cotton! As you said, there’s no way they didn’t hear something coming from John’s room that made them suspicious. And they should be charged with aiding and abetting, in allowing someone they knew had failed to register was staying there. And they couldn’t help but see the resemblance between Jessie and John’s preferred victims.
I used to live in a trailer like that and bet your ass at one end you can hear what happens at the other in detail threw multiple closed doors and his room was in the middle near another room so no way in hell they didn't hear that baby screaming and crying during the assault or her 3 flipping days held and abused there
I grew up living in a trailer. And you could hear everything, there was NO privacy. So John’s family had to have heard that poor baby being assaulted, and known she was there…..
I did not grow up in a trailer, but I baby-sat a sweet girl at the times this happened, and she and her mother lived in a trailer. I worked for them for six years, and you could hear everything that went on in that trailer no matter what room you were in. I was that little girl's main caretaker from the time she was two till she was almost eight and a half and I remember that trailer like it was yesterday. There were times when my Uncle would drop me off at four or five am sometimes before the mother went to work. I could always hear that woman getting ready for work down to every detail without watching her. You *CANNOT* tell me that somebody didn't know what was going on. Then helping that monster try to flee and escape? The math ain't mathing. It is disgusting that our justice system does not have harsher punishments in place for offenders like this. The fact that he was paroled twice and was given the chance to do this to Jessie tells me that those in power do not care about children or their safety and only give the pretense that they do. We need to change things and do better like Jessie's dad has been trying to accomplish, but more so. I recently watched a video essay about Coraline and childhood trauma. The video called children a marginalized group. It was something I had never thought of before, but watching this channel's videos, it's becoming obvious to me that this is very much the truth and when you look at why they would be considered marginalized, you quickly realize how frightening it must be to be a child when many times, those that you are told are in power and will protect you, likely will do no such thing. It's horrifically dystopian.
Have seen this so often. I grew up partly in a country where the vast majority are catholic, and saw so often where priests abused children and were simply moved on to another parish if they were caught. Those higher up in the church never handed them over to police, never had them defrocked or excommunicated, never had them face any punishments at all. Often, the moving of offender priests was done more to save the offender from the justified fury of the families of children they abused than any attempt to get the offender away from potential victims... every parish has children. I've lived in many countries over my life, countries where a variety of religions were practiced. Saw the same things everywhere, in every religion, though it was especially, evilly entrenched in the catholic church. It is one reason of many that I have zero belief in the gods of any religion. If there are gods, and they do not intervene in cases like this, where the worst of evils is being done to the completely innocent, then these gods are a) impotent, unable, too weak to make any difference at all, b) indifferent, uncaring towards the prayers of the faithful and the suffering of the innocent - which in my mind makes them just as evil and repulsive as the perpetrators of these assaults and totally unworthy of worship, or c) unaware of these horrific events being done to the most innocent, never being aware of the prayers of those who still believe, which also makes them unworthy of worship. Why pray to something that cannot hear you, help you in any way, and isn't even aware that you exist at all?
If he's a 'faithful priesthood holder' that's all that matters to the church--appearance is everything, so as long as you can keep it quiet, you're free to do what you like to your mormon children.
Everytime I see things like this it makes me realize just how lucky I am. When I was in kindergarten my sis, who is 3yes older then I am, were walking home from school. We were a block away from home when a man grabbed my arm n started pulling me towards his car. My sis heard me scream, as she was waking in front of me, and came running pulling on my other arm, he almost dragged me to his car when our screaming n fighting him got other ppls attention n he let go n took off. They never caught him. A few more ths later because of what happened we walked home a diff way home from school. We cut thru a corner edge of a corn field. A chain link fence met the end corner and the road met there. I seen a black garbage bag at the end of the fence that wasnt there on our way to school. As a curious kid usually does I went to go see what it was. I had my hand on it n my sis grabbed my arm pulling me towards home. About 45 min after we got home we heard a 🚁 , and seen swat, town cops n state cops. A little girl that had been missing was in that garbage bag. I'm so glad my sis pulled me home before I seen her in that bag. Her mom n bf let drug dealers take her until they finished paying them off. They didn't n the dealers offs the little girl. The mom was very suspicious on the TV when they were talking about it. Wearing new clothes n had her hair n make up done n not crying when talking of her daughter missing. She said she was kidnapped. (but the cops found out the truth.) The day they found her the mom was on the news grilling steaks. Idk what the mom got but the bf got 10 yrs. He now works at a family mechanic shop a few blocks from my home. I live a few blocks from where all of this happened. I live in a nice house that is unbelievably cheap for these times so I can't move. Unfortunately everytime I go to the store I go by where this happened. I always have flash backs of it. Little has changed. The only things diff is when I got out of the man's hands we hid behind a big🌲 in front of a church. We knew about the little hideout behind it for while so that's where we ran. We could see our home from there. Those trees aren't there now but otherwise it's all the same. I'm so lucky I got free from that man. Last yr a man was trying to kidnap girls in the exact same spot. Idk if it was the same guy who tries to kidnap me 30 yrs ago. I don't even want to think about what I escaped that day. I thank my sister often. If she wasn't there I'm sure he'd got me to his car.
If I could hug you, I would. No child should ever have to go through what you went through. Disgusting that the mother and the boyfriend were involved with that little girl's death and only got ten years. That is a miscarriage of justice.
What really pisses me off is the courts have no problem throwing a low level drug dealer, or even someone with a possession charge, in jail for decades yet the absolute worst crime committed can be sentenced to 3yrs in prison!! Drug addicts can be sent to treatment and become productive members of society, but there’s no rehabilitation for disgusting predators who want to harm our children! Tell me how this makes any sense 😤
I remember this case well, and it haunted me for a long time. Thinking of that poor little girl and what she went through is truly tragic. I guess the pervert got his karma when he died in prison from ass cancer. RIP Jessica 🙏
My biological mother rejected me and that along with other traumas had a massive impact in my life The bit I don’t get is when you’ve gone through trauma/abuse and know how it hurts why would you knowingly choose to do that to innocent children?! I feel like the police messed up knowing he was a offender and had served time for SA on children many times.. Poor Jessie could of been saved 😢 Why would his sister knowingly let her pedo brother around his niece?! 🤬🤬
As a victim of infant SA i find myself wondering what happened to my abuser. All my mother tells me even now at 41 is that he went to jail. I remember (visually not audibly) at least one meeting with child services playing with the "Dolls". Since this happened in the 80s i know he did not get as strict of a punishment. Yes i survived it but came out with an STD thankfully it was curable but that was what got him caught. The questions i still have about it will probably never get answered and while i know his name i have no idea where he is. I know i was one of the "lucky" ones who wasn't killed either by the act or after to cover it up. But the few memories i have of the time after and the one memory i have of an actual incident has left me more than traumatized. I hope he got the jail house justice he deserved but i will never know, i wont know if i was the first, if he did it again after jail nothing. I never felt safe as i grew up and i wonder if something like Jessies Law would have changed that.
What an amazing legacy that the father has carried on for his daughter! His determination to seek justice not only for his daughter but for the rest of society as well! I wish him peace for the remainder of his days! Thanks to the misery team for bringing us this heartfelt crime!❤
Her father Mark is truly an amazing man... But Poor Jessie... So awful what happened to her. It makes me so sad things like this happen to innocent little ones. 😢
This was the first missing persons case to really shake me as a kid. Jessica & I are/were about the same age, & seeing her case in the news made me deeply question my own safety as a child & what level of trust to place in other people. Rest in peace, Jessica. 💐
how do you know he had money to get himself help? medicaid wasn't even expanded at this time. Do you know how expensive mental health services are? Free clinics don't have skilled providers, and many providers refuse to work with people like him.
They have free outreach programs all types of help you sound worse than the people who enabled and made excuses for his sorry ass. The same thing was done to both my offenders. There’s no excuse….
@@sheriathompson162 I literally stated free outreach programs absolutely do not have people equipped or skilled enough to deal with his issues. They are understaffed and filled with interns. I also stated many providers don't serve his populations. These are not excuses. These are the explanations behind his actions. Nothing you say will change that. I was abused too severely. I have major issues because of the abuse and I'm smart enough to know that abuse impacts all brains differently.
@@sheriathompson162he said at some point when he was in prison that prison wouldnt help him, and that he needed help, but that was entirely ignored by law enforcement and he was just put in prison and then relessed early. Prison doesnt exactly help people get better in a majority of cases
Mark is a legend. The way he spoke with the reporter at the end. Would you like to sit in a room and talk with him?.... i can think of other things to do to him, but the system wouldnt allow that to happen. I punched the air when he said that😂 Id imagine this how any father would feel.
I’ll never understand the justice system when it comes to these types of crimes! There is NO CURE for these people and the safest thing to do is to keep them locked up! The recidivism rate for CSO is extremely high & only gets higher every time they’re caught! The sheriff department should be ashamed of how they handled this case! I’ve seen Mark’s Documentary and I highly recommend it. My ❤& 🙏🏽 go out to Mark & Jesse’s family. Rest In Peace Sweet Girl💖
This guy was abused as a child, probably had a brain injury, had a QI of 70 +/-, shunted around as a child... So the police lied to Archie... Jessie was in the closet, John and his sister hid her - police didn't search...😞Of course his sister knew! This is heartbreaking - Jessie put in 2 trash bags, buried alive... died within 2 minutes...HORRIFIC! TRAGIC...Raped...before. BRAVO Mark for Jessie's law and fighting for it. My heart bleeds for him.
The fact that a known "offender" lived right next door to the Lunsford home, and that police lost track of him is infuriating. However, the fact that he managed to keep little Jessie captive in his closet even after the police dropped by, and THEN buried her ALIVE just mere yards from the police command center is something straight out of a horror film. I'll never be able to wrap my head around just how badly the police botched the rescue mission and subsequent investigation into Jessie's disappearances and subsequent death.
Hug your loved ones tight. Have a safe week.
💚Drewby + Yergy
Discord: discord.gg/kCCzjZM
It's absolutely horrific. I just can't begin to think about how her family survived her with such horror going around and around inside them. And I can't even go to what poor Jessie went through. I never used to believe in the death penalty,the thought that an innocent person could be wrongly convicted is so wrong. But when I hear stories like this, when the crime is so horrific and the evidence so very clear I can't think what else should be the conclusion. Her poor family living with such horrible horrible images in their minds. And I don't believe that the other people in that trailor didn't know that she was there.
You often speak of Amber Alerts in your videos , have you thought of making a video about Amber Haggermans disappearance?
I lived in Arlington Tx in the apartments behind which her body was found . Even though her killer was never found , her legacy has helped save many children .
How about fighting to get the laws changed?
Mark is still DEVASTATED over Jesse's murder she was such a precious little girl imagine the amazing woman she would have become rest in peace Jesse lost but never forgotten
@@LuciThomasHardylover-qx6tsit's still a nightmare for us friends of Jessie I can't imagine how it haunts Mark daily she was tortured
Letting a pedo out of jail for “good behavior” is idiotic for many reasons but MAINLY because there are no children in jail. No shit he’s gonna behave! I can’t believe the sheer amount of idiots involved in this case.
EXACTLY 💯 they're on good behavior because their target isn't in there.
A lot of them are "good people": respectful, well mannered, helpful, kind, generous, friendly, etc... except for this oooooonnnneeee thing nobody knows about......
Yeah. Its like letting ahyena out of its cage cause it didnt eat anyone while it was in there. These things are instinct driven and should be locked away forever (not talking about hyenas anymore).
This 👏 👏
Yes! But they are Also cowards, they know what inmates will do to them, so they lay low stay near the guards, but they never change, ever.
You tell these poor children's stories WHEN NOBODY ELSE WILL. Thank you for giving these children a voice when other channels refuse to even when families are begging for coverage. You two are the most empathetic people in all of true crime.
Thank you. ❤️ If only people knew how many requests from families are in our inbox...
So true. I watch these shows on behalf of parents who will always grieve. As a mom, these children NEED to be remembered, and laws need to be changed.
Always watch you. I would be good with a video every day... They are difficult to hear but they deserve for their story to be told. Thank you guys ❤@@TheMiseryMachine
@@TheMiseryMachine unbelievable that there are so many more. You've all have given so so many of these unknown stories and unnamed children a name a platform. And to think as you stated there are so many many more. Makes me wonder who do I live next to? How close am I to one of these sick predators that are unknown, unnamed? And.... How can I help that one escape that may be right next to me and I just don't know?
And seems like Misery Machine is not after money like some other channels. They keep the ads to minimum.
Can almost guarantee that this little girl's dad has saved more children than any other individual American. He's a real champion. I'm going to be pushing for Jessie's Law to be brought to Canada.
As an ER nurse I've become more diligent in keeping an eye out for signs of abuse in children that I see because of this channel. These poor babies stories need to be told Drewby and Yergy do it with grace and compassion ❤
❤
Thank you ❤ there is a big difference between kids being kids and getting hurt and actual abuse. There is a lot of fear from well meaning parents who are afraid to be reported for accidents. No one wants a children family services case.
You have a damned difficult but important job. (HUG)
Drew and Yergys work is no doubt important ( For all victims/families AND all of us fans)
but having concerned and caring professionals on the frontline is the first defense to stop the sickening cycle of CA/SA.
As we’ve seen time and again on this channel, most victims are unable to say or articulate what is going on behind closed doors and the watchful eye of medical and social workers may be their only way out (However, we have all also seen time and again that DCF (or whatever the organization is called in your area continuously drop the ball… medical professionals should be consulted more thoroughly and their recommendations taken very seriously in these cases too)
Anyhow, thank you Jessie, as a Mother and compassionate citizen/member of my community I very much appreciate the comfort I take in the fact that there are good ones - such as yourself - out there to protect the most innocent and precious of our population.
i work with kids and do the same, even tho i’m not a legal mandated reporter, any child that comes across my path or is in my care will always be looked out for.
I met Mark Lunsford in 2007 in a CVS pharmacy in my hometown of Green Cove Springs, Fl. He was behind me in line for the register. I turned to him and asked, "Are you Jessie's daddy"? He said, "Yes" and I told him how very sorry I was for what happened to his baby. He thanked me and my heart broke at the pain on this sweet man's face. Mark Lunsford is an angel. He was and is determined to save our children. Thank you Mark, for letting your pain and deep love of your daughter help all children. I love you ❤🙏
Thank you for those kind words to him Iv known the family for years we're all still DEVASTATED I can't imagine how bad his heart breaks every day
I remember this story. I live in hillsborough county. I clearly recall seeing Mark champion justice for his daughter. I can tell he is a good dude. I hope he's OK today. ❤😊
Didn't he have sexual images of children on his computer?
@@timfoolwhat u talking about
@@timfool We're going to overlook that bit, because I guarantee 99% of these comments will.🤥
Her father is amazing. He made meaningful changes in the world as a result of her assault and death that has helped others.
He loves his daughter, whether she's here or not. Good dad.
Mark's an amazing man he's been through hell
Sorry if I misunderstood, but didn’t Mark have CSA materials on his computer?
I get that he’s been through hell and no one deserves to lose a child, especially like this. But let’s not forget he was perfectly fine victimizing other children and only cared once it happened to someone he loved.
@@HallelujahBKthat's what I'm wondering! I'm so confused about it..
@@HallelujahBKthat he was never even charged for... Almost like the police were lying because they were so convinced Mark was the perp.
When I was molested at 8 by a neighbor, the police did nothing. I remember the forensic interviews. The place was also named after a little girl. I understand how these people feel because I couldn't heal completely until that man was dead. I can't describe what it felt like reading his obituary, learning about his life, all of the "he was a great man" and how much he will be "missed." He wasn't a great man, he was a monster...
❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤
So sorry this happened to you
Stay strong
Very sorry 💔
Thank you ❤️🩹
That’s so sad! Why do ppl dismiss things like this. I hope you’re doing better mentally ❤
Mark Lunsford is the smartest "uneducated" man I've had the privilege of learning about. Compassionate. Motivated. Amazing. God bless him. ❤
Sometimes self education/life experiences overshadow formal education
He's so focused on making a change for the better! I believe he has made some big changes and its beautiful!!
I recall asking my self made father, who’d only been schooled to the eighteenth century grade, ‘how’d you get so smart Dad?’ He replied with, ‘life’s the best teacher you’ll ever have.’👍
@@audnbob1 I always admired my dad - even though he came from a good, upper middle-class family and both his older sisters went to college… he made his own way, quit school after 9th grade to work on fishing boats.
Now for the last 25 years he’s got his own commercial fishing vessel and has used it to work as both a commercial fisherman and a sport fishing charter boat captain…he is living his dream and has/is making a very good living off it
He had CP on his computer great guy
This case always breaks my heart. Jesse was in that closet alive for two or three days. They knocked but didn’t search. He was a known sex offender . Didn’t they have to keep track where these pedos are?? Poor baby girl. I can’t imagine the fear and torture this little girl went through.
I suppose if the vile person doesn't inform them he's moved, then they will have a problem finding him. He should have been in jail anyhow!
They said that the parole officer lost track of him unfortunately. So it's a mess up on the p.o. and also when they knocked the sister lied to police initial so they didn't know he lived there
This broke my heart 😢
It's so annoying when they work so hard to accuse the parents and search all over outside, but don't really bang on doors that much. Still, they can't really just rampage through people's houses either. It's too bad Jessie wasn't able to yell and scream while in the closet.
@@TinyStar-oz3bo They can enter people houses to specifically search for somebody if it's under exigent circumstances, and I would argue that the circumstances were absolutely exigent in this case.
The police were suspicious of the people in that house anyway.
They were inside the trailer while she was still in the closet *_alive_* FFS!
All they had to do was check every door in the trailer.
Also, they didn't have a problem violating the perps rights, and nearly trashing the entire case. So I don't think they cared too much about the rights of others in general.
This case will always haunt me. The knowledge that she was so close. Then the image of her clutching her stuffed dolphin. Hope he rots in hell...
I agree.
😡🤬‼️😡🤬
It made me tear up. Horrific way to die, a small girl like her never deserved that
I know. That’s what never gets out of my head every time I think about her. It makes me so angry.
Hell doesn’t exist
No such thing. Also stop victim blaming. Poor guy asked for help. All he ever knew was abuse. Guaranteed his parents SAd him. No kid his age is interested in it unless it was done to them prior. He wanted help but people failed him. People like you who are quick to cast stones instead of being helpful and empathetic
We had the same exact birthday, she should be 29 this year... that's so horrible alone
Mine too, but quite a few years before 😊
I was a cadaver dog handler on this search. LE didn’t allow the dogs at incident command and the incident command trailer was in front of John Couey’s residence. They were sure the person of interest was her father. They sent the dogs off on wild goose chases.
When you make quick assumptions, and then allow those erroneous, unfounded, ideas guide all of your further actions: this is what you get.
@@brandyjean7015 You're absolutely correct.
Did anyone say anything? Even to say ‘I think you need to look here’ or whatever? This is madness. Those dogs may of saved that babies life 😭
Thank you for doing what you did tho ♥️ just so freaking tragic x
I read this at first as “I was a cadaver dog on this search.” I was like, oh. Ok. Luckily, reread it so I could take it seriously. Those cops really failed that girl. Poor baby.
These days, you really could run into someone who iDeNtiFiEs as a cadaver dog 😂
I've always wondered if poor sweet Jessie heard the police officers outside and thought "This is it! I'm finally going to get rescued and see my daddy!" Only to be grievously disappointed when they left without her 😢 This is the most gut-wrenching thing i think a child could go through 💔 Bless you, Drewby and Yergy, for pouring your heart and soul into these videos ❤ We love and appreciate you!
The audacity of the community to question why he would sue the police! They walked right past her, and she was buried basically AT their HQ during an active investigation. If that’s “by the book,” it needed to be rewritten. The police and community should have wanted them to do better.
from what i remember at the time as a 13 year old is that basically Sherriff Dawsey was a golden boy. he won every sheriff election he ran until he maxed out his terms. the current sheriff here is the first one to come after him. and yeah dawsey botched it. hard.
That poor little girl, she suffered because the system of probation officers repeatedly did not do their job. In addition this monster was twice jailed for ten years but let out after only two, during this time he continued his abuse of young children yet the parents did not report this to the probation officers. Shame upon shame on the authorities for letting this little girl suffer
you people continue to miss the point. The system failed her when the system and his parents/family failed him when he was a child. Abuse is a vicious cycle. I'm not sure how anyone with his history could've grown up to be normal. Not everyone with his history abuses others but that's simply because severe abuse impacts everyone differently.
@@edj2045That's 100% not the point wtf is wrong with you weirdo. Child murderer apologist... You definitely diddle kids
@edj2045 there is absolutely no excuse for this monsters heinous acts on an innocent little girl. This case makes me physically ill thinking about how scared that little girl must have been. I’m sorry for his child self being abused but he became a monster that needed to be taken out of society permanently. Truly disgusting and beyond EVIL.
@@jennifercusnier339 It's not an excuse, it's the reason why. Had he not been failed, this would not have happened and nothing you say changes that. Bye.
@@edj2045nothing made him sexual abuse that child. That’s the damn excuse. There’s plenty of ppl that go through hell but don’t commit crimes on other ppl. He’s just a disgusting foul human
5he fact that she was in that closet SO close is heartbreaking. I got your tee as well guys, thank you!
I'm glad you got it!!
Never been grateful for cancer before this story.
We should call it Karmic Cancer…
@@TheLashOne that part!
I know right.
Unbelievable that a man with 23 arrests for SA children isn’t the fist place they’d check and when they did check they didn’t thoroughly investigate the home. DISGUSTING 🤬🤬🤬🤬🤬
It sure is however, they loss contact with him he was running and hiding.
Mark was so prescient in his remarks as to those who still have to live after what's been done to you as a child.
He's been a string proponent of Jessica's LAW! GOD BLESS HIM!!
Why DO child offenders get let off so much, and get such lenient sentences? Are there people in the justice system, in government, in police forces that are also offenders? Is that why??? 😐 So annoying.
Yep!!!!!
🎯🎯🎯
Yes.
That reporter really milked every bit he could from the interview trying to get some sort of reaction. Absolute respect for that man keeping calm and saying exactly what he thought with no filter
What an amazing father and awesome man! THIS is a daddy! THIS is a MAN! THIS is the father all children deserve.
Why is someone who has proven to be a repeat sex offender can be released over and over again. This is so heart breaking 😢
Man was arrested 23 times for molesting children and they kept paroling him? Absolutely insane and dangerous to every young child in the area.
This is 1000000% on law enforcement. First they allow him out after MULTIPLE violations and then they searched the house and didn’t find her????! WTF???! 🤬
It's called yt privilege!
Parole board
LEOs don’t release people, courts do.
How can someone get “good behavior” credit in prison when the object of their deviant desires is not there for them to be tempted by? There is room to lessen sentences for non-violent offenders, if only to make sure there’s room for these creatures to be able to stay in prison for the duration of their sentences.
Just goes to show how backwards some folks are!
I see why the justice statue has a blindfold on. What a backwards system!!!!
Good point. Easy to not steal from the cookie jar when you're an ocean away from a cookie .
Mark is doing the work of a saint. Anyone who works with child advocate groups or in child advocacy centers has my respect. The people who were trying to sue him for rightfully calling out the horrendously botched job the police did during their investigation were entirely in the wrong for doing so. Had the police actually followed their protocols, there is no doubt in my mind that Jessie would have been found alive and the sick piece of garbage that took her could have been prosecuted and sentenced sooner.
Yet csam was found on HIS computer? Sure he has done a lot to help kids but he also seems fine victimizing children too
@Bonkpunktexe you do have a fair point. The material being found on his computer does taint the work he has done and his association with child advocacy centers. However, that doesn't devalue the legitimacy of his criticism of how the police handled the investigation.
@Bonkpunktexe we don't know what it was though. The police were also out to get him
@@f1rebreather123 True and if they were against him but still didn't prosecute, then it is worth noting that CSAM can include news stories. It's designed to highlight people with interests in news stories like this. I've had my computer examined when my brother was done for fraud and used my machine. It was very humiliating to be treated like a freak because of stories like this. Just because we're looking for news about these people should in no way me we're anything like them. This is why I now use NordVPN 🙂
@@Bonkpunktexe Do we even know if that's true? Don't you think he would have been thrown in jail immediately? What's more plausible - police found that, yet did absolutely nothing OR the police just said that as a way to jam him up hoping that he would just confess to doing something to his daughter? Incompetence vs frame-job? Pick your poison.
So it only took being arrested 23 times for molesting children and THEN murdering a child via burying them alive to get this man in prison with a proper sentence? What a wonderful justice system!! They did a faaaaaannntastic job 😒 What bs, he should have been away from the world after the first kid…
His family should be charged too! There is no way they didn’t hear her.
Right!
It breaks my heart just knowing how close this beautiful angel was to being saved if only the police opened that closet 😢
As an adult woman, I can't imagine being kidnapped and raped, but I KNOW it can happen. When I think about all these young children; girls and boys, being treated like this, it makes my heart hurt and my stomach sick. These poor young victims ! Our laws need to be much more strict with these crimes!
I lived in Homosassa when this happened. I was a senior in high-school. People were wearing shirts, searching and spreading awareness. Even the students. When the news broke that she was found dead, I remember seeing people crying at school the next day. It was devastating.
The whole county was shook. I was about 10 when this happened. My dad knew her father, such a tragedy 😔💜 heard that after he was arrested he had to be isolated, everyone in the lecanto jail was ready to have a piece of him
i was 1 street away and 13. my parents didnt let me out of the house except for school until that monster was arrested
It's always so frustrating to hear how easily these kids could have been saved
The police and prison really dropped the ball here. He should have never been allowed out for "good behavior". And they didnt prosecute someone who had CP!? Wtf! The parole officer was completely useless as well.
I'm pretty sure the CSAM on Mark's computer was either faked, hacked, or the content was lied about by the police trying to get a confession out of Mark since the idiot police didn't bother to look outside of the family.
"good behavior" shouldn't be a thing in cases like these. Of course they will act "good". Theirs no kids to hurt in prison. 😡
Releasing an offender for "good behavior," makes no sense because there are NO children to molest in prison, so obviously, these predators will behave. Duh 😬🥺
Both parole officers need to be charged and bared from ever getting a job in law enforcement same for the lying police officers wasting time and putting all their efforts in one place!
Its a damn shame how much consideration is given to the perpetrators.
I met Mark Lunsford in 2007 in NYC. He was telling Jessie's story on the Montell Willams show. It was incredibly painful and the show was impactful because Mark is such a strong father. Well years later in 2013 i reached out to Mark on facebook because the show we both were apart of ( Montell) never aired. I asked him if he kbew why and he said he didn't. I told him i think of jessie all the time and he thanked me for keeping her memory alive. I couldn't believe he was thanking me. I have nothing but admiration for Mark and I'm still sorry to this day that his story wasn't aired. Just seems so cruel to invite guests for such a painful topic, to then just have it become lost media.
The fact that she had _no_ other injuries at all means that all of the blood on the mattress was from her assault...
Oh my god, That poor baby..
Released for good behavior? He can hardly do what he was arrested for whilst in prison! How stupid and irresponsible! I couldnt bear to look at that creature, had to turn my head away! RIP beautiful Jessie, so sad you were let down by the courts and law enforcement.😢
A million of kids were abused as a child, sadly, but didnt grow up to be a horrific murderer. Always its used as an excuse for a killer
I was abused severely as a child in many ways by 4 different people and it only made me fiercely protective of those who don't have a voice. I take in foster kids that have been abused and neglected. I foster dogs and when I see things like this it makes me cry. The system is broken and we need more advocacy but still so many people just don't want to be involved. 😢
2 ppl thought he SHOUldnt get the death penalty??? Wonder what they are up to in their spare time ..?? No one who does this is safe to ever be loose … it’s not worth the risk .. no matter their trauma .
Even if he had gotten the death penalty it wouldn't guarantee he would get that. I watch parole board channels and you would be shocked at how many people I've seen UP FOR PAROLE who were originally given a life sentence without parole and/or death sentence.
Mark is such a good man.Someone who should be awarded for services to children. A real noble soul and a fantastic dad. We need people like this to change a flawed system. So sorry what you went through Mark.
Monsters like John don't come from nowhere. The community totally failed here. Early neglect, constant abuse, possible brain damage, and SA? That alone can easily create a monster, even before you factor drugs into the mix. Then the fact that people failed to act to prevent or punish his behavior when he started to hurt people? Seriously? If anyone in the community did their freaking jobs, if parents cared, if community services acted, and if the justice system functioned, that girl would likely still be alive. It's a disgrace.
Its sad what John went through over his childhood is despicable, I do not understand why so many failed him. Of course, this does not negate what he did to Jessica. Its really sad all around.
Do not blame society for it, This was on his parents if society can't set the standard for rather or not people can have kids than society isn't to blame ..
I was thinking the same thing.
@@kaliblueblame for the parents is there but at a certain point their failure does become a community burden. At a certain point he isn't in their hands anymore. During the time he was out of prison, he was in the hands of the parole officer who failed to report 2 incidents of SA.
And he even asked for help and said he'd do it again. Like what more do you need in order to commit someone to a mental facility?
Another case of the system failing children
My God! They miserably failed this beautiful young girl. My head is screaming in frustration. The system allowed this demon to do his evil acts
She would still be alive today if the police would have checked that closet😢Her dad seems like a really good father I wish i would have had such a caring dad....
I don't get why the police wouldn't think to check the closet.
That poor baby girl. She had been hurt so much, yet was still so trusting
John Couey was one of my relatives. We have a book with just about 20 copies, my mom is adding to it, as a sort of family heirloom/tradition. My family is filled with violence and awful nature. I'm happy someone's spoken about this man and what he did.
As soon as John's name was mentioned, I realized the man being spoken about was a member of my family.
You couldn’t waterboard this out of me.
You didn’t talk about how much they focused their COMPLETE investigation on dad and granddad, which is why they didn’t find her NEXT DOOR. They tortured them.
How the hell does a cop not look in the closet?!! The first place id check for a missing child is the basement, closet, attic, trunk, backyard.
Mind control walk right past it cause they couldn't see it
As a child that survived, there are still days that I wonder if it wouldn't have been kinder to have died. It started when I was 6, ended when I was 11, when I was placed with the statistical anomaly of a loving foster family. I'll be 42 in a couple months, and I'm still trying to unpack all the repressed memories. I know the feelings of despair will pass, but I can't help but wonder if they will ever go away. For the kids that ended up not surviving, that are playing with Jessie, I wish them peace. For the kids that ended up like me, that lived, I wish them healing. I wish them a voice, to share their stories, and to tell their truths. I wish them safety. I wish them love.
And yes, I also wish them peace.
We who were abused as children live under that shadow of that abuse for our entire lives.
I agree. Even if we don’t remember, our body does. I hope you all heal and continue to grow in your life 💖 send you love
I'm so sorry you went through that 😔. My son was sexually abused by his bio dad during some visits with him. He didn't tell me till 3 years later and I've gotten him into counseling. He has refused to talk much at all about any of it so they stopped counseling until he's ready to talk. I can see different ways it affects his day to day life and as a mother that hurts so bad.
Me as well. It never goes away.
This story broke my heart. Thank you for sharing.
Thank you for being here early! 🏆
Justice system failed again , condolences Mark RIP Jessica
Jessica's dad deserves so much respect & praise for the work he's put in to see changes made.
Didnt he have CSA material on his computer? How can he be such a good person who cares about children if hes fine with victimizing other children? That doesnt exactly deserve respect and praise to me
@@Bonkpunktexewhy wasn’t he charged with it if it were true? The cops probably lied about it trying to get a confession from him since they were so hyper focused on him being the perpetrator.
@@shannontimoney5901 sex crimes are pretty rarely even taken to court, even when it's a pedophile they are not as likely to get charged as for example someone who beats up someone or kills someone, or even people who go get charged with non-violent crimes
Love this father and grandmother. The scrapbooks are amazing. This father is just an amazing man trying to get justice everyday and everywhere he can.
This is horrifying
The dads giggle when he said “he didn’t come to me, he came to God”. Man that was such a powerful statement and move. Bless this father. I hope he is well
So many children could have been saved if they kept him in prison. Of course he had good behavior there because there were no kids 🙄
You guys are doing good work. So few people outside of those who have either experienced similar things or have witnessed it first hand (police, social workers, EMS, etc.) understand the horrors that occur in this world & I think even though it might make you sad or uncomfortable, it is really important to bring things like this to the attention of the public.
This monster should have never been released in the first place. What he did before the murder should have gotten this pos life in prison.
I blame the inadequate cops who searched his home the first time while Little Jessica was still slive in the closet
When looking for a child, closets, under beds, under yhe kitchen sink., etc should be searched
Anywhere z small child could be hidden
They could have saved her life
Couldn't or didnt want, to control his impulses. And how impulsive were his actions: if he spent days studying this little girl?
Police and parole officers behaviour was utterly dreadful and full of incompetence. The initial revelations of da and indifference to john as a baby and through childhood was heartbreaking but he became an utter monster with no real excuse for his vile behaviour. Monsters live among us.
Those scrapbooks are haunting. I’m floored by how deeply that grandmother loves her granddaughter.
Nothing but tragedy. His background does not excuse his behavior, but monsters can sometimes come from monsters. In another time maybe he could have at least been locked up and gotten treatment. But he kept getting set free and violated and harmed innocents. Awful, horrible.
What's upsetting is if that sick man was given any sort of help, both in youth and after his first arrest this might have not happened. The system failed this girl far before they didn't look in that closet, the parole officer failed by letting this man off the hook twice, the justice system failed by not pushing for this man to get psychiatric help while detained, and everyone associated with that man during his youth failed. This is by no means to alleviate blame from the dude, what he did was wicked, evil, and sick. Though my disdain for him can't help but boil over and towards those who surrounded and allowed him to continue the way he had
I don’t feel bad for adult John at all but for the child version of him my heart breaks. Just hearing anything like that done to a child hurts me but the fact that he grew up to be a monster to is awful. I don’t believe people are born evil but he definitely became evil.
he didn't grow up to be a monster, he grew up to be severely mentally disturbed and did to others what was done to him his entire childhood. That actually makes sense! This is why it's so important to not abuse children and to raise them properly. Any child growing up like that will have issues. Not all will grow up to harm others, but that's only because abuse impacts everyone differently.
@@edj2045He couodnt have been that mentally disabled given the steps he took to prevent detection, to carry out the abduction and then the evasion of authorities. Do not feel sorry for this monster.
@@dawnatkinson7704 They said they believed his head being smashed as a child gave him a brain injury and affected his impulse control. That is indeed a thing. So yes you can process oh hell i just did an evil thing and want to cover it up it doesnt stop you from doing the evil thing. He also told police locking him up would do nothing and he needed help and they ignored him so yes mentally disabled is indeed what he became
@@dawnatkinson7704 umm yeah, I do feel sorry for him, and he's not a monster.
@@dawnatkinson7704they said he was mentally disturbed, not mentally disabled. Your reading comprehension is piss poor.
The perpetrator may have had an IQ measured at only 79+/-. But his family and the investigators gave us a demonstration of what that level of functioning looks like. 😡
I dont care that he had an abusive childhood and low IQ he should NEVER have been let out over and over after assaulting children ... The system that kept releasing him are responsible for this young girls death ..this could have been prevented .(
The sister shoulda been charged for hindering AT THE VERY LEAST,and or giving false information
600,000? Holy sheet! No wonder why we have so many victims in this Country 😢😢😢
@@Suz4155 those 600,000 are just the tip of the iceberg. That's 600,000 REGISTERED therefore CONVICTED offenders!! We know that most victims do not report their abuser ( most of the abuse is a close male relative). So most of the offenders never even get investigated. Of those minority who are reported- again, most will not be prosecuted for various reasons. The victim may refuse to testify,or be too young or vulnerable, prosecutors feel there's not enough evidence etc,so another layer of the onion falls away. The even smaller number who actually go to trial have no certainty of gaining a conviction. Maybe the defence gets them off on a technicality,or people perjure themselves to give an alibi. So the 600,000 who are unlucky enough to be in the minority who are reported....then investigated....then taken to trial...and THEN found guilty are really not representing the true numbers. It's something that makes me wild about the criminal record checks! People don't understand, it's the same thing! All you know is whether someone was found guilty! A record check does NOT tell you that someone is SAFE!!!! You still have to use your common sense with people. You still have to have those difficult conversations with your children about what's private, and what to do if someone wants to look at your private parts or wants to show you theirs! Believe me. I used to work with sex offenders with probation. There are so very very many more than are registered.
Those are the convicted cases--more than 80% of offenders get nothing but probation for their first 10-20 assaults, so there's at least 4-5x that many cases of actual reported abuse. THEN you have to calculate how much abuse goes entirely unreported or reported to adults who cover it up. That 600,000 figure is literally the TIP of the sexual abuse iceberg--the other 90% is unseen below the surface.
Wow so it took 3 (known) child assaults for him to finally get 2 years in state. I don't understand how the people who make these decisions even live with themselves
Jessie paid for adults mistakes with her life. This should never have been a possibility. Shame on this broken system.
I absolutely love her fathers response and testimony! Now thats a DAD!!! He fought hard for his baby girl ❤i pray he finds peace 🙏
everyone who lived in that house at that time need to be charged as strongly as him. you can not tell me they didnt know. the fact they lied about him being there and helped him escaped. i call bs on that especially in a trailer.
Every trailer of the vintage I saw in this video, you could hear a rat piss on cotton! As you said, there’s no way they didn’t hear something coming from John’s room that made them suspicious. And they should be charged with aiding and abetting, in allowing someone they knew had failed to register was staying there. And they couldn’t help but see the resemblance between Jessie and John’s preferred victims.
I used to live in a trailer like that and bet your ass at one end you can hear what happens at the other in detail threw multiple closed doors and his room was in the middle near another room so no way in hell they didn't hear that baby screaming and crying during the assault or her 3 flipping days held and abused there
I grew up living in a trailer. And you could hear everything, there was NO privacy. So John’s family had to have heard that poor baby being assaulted, and known she was there…..
I did not grow up in a trailer, but I baby-sat a sweet girl at the times this happened, and she and her mother lived in a trailer. I worked for them for six years, and you could hear everything that went on in that trailer no matter what room you were in. I was that little girl's main caretaker from the time she was two till she was almost eight and a half and I remember that trailer like it was yesterday. There were times when my Uncle would drop me off at four or five am sometimes before the mother went to work. I could always hear that woman getting ready for work down to every detail without watching her. You *CANNOT* tell me that somebody didn't know what was going on. Then helping that monster try to flee and escape? The math ain't mathing.
It is disgusting that our justice system does not have harsher punishments in place for offenders like this. The fact that he was paroled twice and was given the chance to do this to Jessie tells me that those in power do not care about children or their safety and only give the pretense that they do. We need to change things and do better like Jessie's dad has been trying to accomplish, but more so.
I recently watched a video essay about Coraline and childhood trauma. The video called children a marginalized group. It was something I had never thought of before, but watching this channel's videos, it's becoming obvious to me that this is very much the truth and when you look at why they would be considered marginalized, you quickly realize how frightening it must be to be a child when many times, those that you are told are in power and will protect you, likely will do no such thing. It's horrifically dystopian.
When he cut the screen in the L shape, that proves he was smart enough to be prosecuted.
In Utah, if the criminal is a "good church member," it can result in time served.
Absolutely disgusting.. doesn't take a lot to put on a bright smile and a cheery attitude to be a good church member!
Have seen this so often. I grew up partly in a country where the vast majority are catholic, and saw so often where priests abused children and were simply moved on to another parish if they were caught. Those higher up in the church never handed them over to police, never had them defrocked or excommunicated, never had them face any punishments at all. Often, the moving of offender priests was done more to save the offender from the justified fury of the families of children they abused than any attempt to get the offender away from potential victims... every parish has children.
I've lived in many countries over my life, countries where a variety of religions were practiced. Saw the same things everywhere, in every religion, though it was especially, evilly entrenched in the catholic church. It is one reason of many that I have zero belief in the gods of any religion.
If there are gods, and they do not intervene in cases like this, where the worst of evils is being done to the completely innocent, then these gods are a) impotent, unable, too weak to make any difference at all, b) indifferent, uncaring towards the prayers of the faithful and the suffering of the innocent - which in my mind makes them just as evil and repulsive as the perpetrators of these assaults and totally unworthy of worship, or c) unaware of these horrific events being done to the most innocent, never being aware of the prayers of those who still believe, which also makes them unworthy of worship. Why pray to something that cannot hear you, help you in any way, and isn't even aware that you exist at all?
If he's a 'faithful priesthood holder' that's all that matters to the church--appearance is everything, so as long as you can keep it quiet, you're free to do what you like to your mormon children.
Im so sad for this story. Thank you Mark for continuing to make change….
Everytime I see things like this it makes me realize just how lucky I am. When I was in kindergarten my sis, who is 3yes older then I am, were walking home from school. We were a block away from home when a man grabbed my arm n started pulling me towards his car. My sis heard me scream, as she was waking in front of me, and came running pulling on my other arm, he almost dragged me to his car when our screaming n fighting him got other ppls attention n he let go n took off. They never caught him. A few more ths later because of what happened we walked home a diff way home from school. We cut thru a corner edge of a corn field. A chain link fence met the end corner and the road met there. I seen a black garbage bag at the end of the fence that wasnt there on our way to school. As a curious kid usually does I went to go see what it was. I had my hand on it n my sis grabbed my arm pulling me towards home. About 45 min after we got home we heard a 🚁 , and seen swat, town cops n state cops. A little girl that had been missing was in that garbage bag. I'm so glad my sis pulled me home before I seen her in that bag. Her mom n bf let drug dealers take her until they finished paying them off. They didn't n the dealers offs the little girl. The mom was very suspicious on the TV when they were talking about it. Wearing new clothes n had her hair n make up done n not crying when talking of her daughter missing. She said she was kidnapped. (but the cops found out the truth.) The day they found her the mom was on the news grilling steaks. Idk what the mom got but the bf got 10 yrs. He now works at a family mechanic shop a few blocks from my home. I live a few blocks from where all of this happened. I live in a nice house that is unbelievably cheap for these times so I can't move. Unfortunately everytime I go to the store I go by where this happened. I always have flash backs of it. Little has changed. The only things diff is when I got out of the man's hands we hid behind a big🌲 in front of a church. We knew about the little hideout behind it for while so that's where we ran. We could see our home from there. Those trees aren't there now but otherwise it's all the same. I'm so lucky I got free from that man. Last yr a man was trying to kidnap girls in the exact same spot. Idk if it was the same guy who tries to kidnap me 30 yrs ago. I don't even want to think about what I escaped that day. I thank my sister often. If she wasn't there I'm sure he'd got me to his car.
I’m sorry that happened to you. Thanks to your protective sister. What was the little girl’s name that you almost found?
@@alexiscorona8849It's really good for kids to walk in groups.
If I could hug you, I would. No child should ever have to go through what you went through.
Disgusting that the mother and the boyfriend were involved with that little girl's death and only got ten years. That is a miscarriage of justice.
What really pisses me off is the courts have no problem throwing a low level drug dealer, or even someone with a possession charge, in jail for decades yet the absolute worst crime committed can be sentenced to 3yrs in prison!! Drug addicts can be sent to treatment and become productive members of society, but there’s no rehabilitation for disgusting predators who want to harm our children! Tell me how this makes any sense 😤
I remember this case well, and it haunted me for a long time. Thinking of that poor little girl and what she went through is truly tragic. I guess the pervert got his karma when he died in prison from ass cancer. RIP Jessica 🙏
I will never disconnect from my child
I remember this case I couldn't believe it I was just thinking about her and her family. Thank you for sharing her story
My biological mother rejected me and that along with other traumas had a massive impact in my life
The bit I don’t get is when you’ve gone through trauma/abuse and know how it hurts why would you knowingly choose to do that to innocent children?!
I feel like the police messed up knowing he was a offender and had served time for SA on children many times..
Poor Jessie could of been saved 😢
Why would his sister knowingly let her pedo brother around his niece?! 🤬🤬
As a victim of infant SA i find myself wondering what happened to my abuser. All my mother tells me even now at 41 is that he went to jail. I remember (visually not audibly) at least one meeting with child services playing with the "Dolls". Since this happened in the 80s i know he did not get as strict of a punishment. Yes i survived it but came out with an STD thankfully it was curable but that was what got him caught. The questions i still have about it will probably never get answered and while i know his name i have no idea where he is. I know i was one of the "lucky" ones who wasn't killed either by the act or after to cover it up. But the few memories i have of the time after and the one memory i have of an actual incident has left me more than traumatized. I hope he got the jail house justice he deserved but i will never know, i wont know if i was the first, if he did it again after jail nothing. I never felt safe as i grew up and i wonder if something like Jessies Law would have changed that.
What an amazing legacy that the father has carried on for his daughter! His determination to seek justice not only for his daughter but for the rest of society as well! I wish him peace for the remainder of his days! Thanks to the misery team for bringing us this heartfelt crime!❤
Her father Mark is truly an amazing man... But Poor Jessie... So awful what happened to her. It makes me so sad things like this happen to innocent little ones. 😢
Soo many people had let this child down.
This was the first missing persons case to really shake me as a kid. Jessica & I are/were about the same age, & seeing her case in the news made me deeply question my own safety as a child & what level of trust to place in other people. Rest in peace, Jessica. 💐
How does the parole board just “lose track” of a repeat offender?!
Although he was a victim of ca he could have gotten himself help but chooses to do the unthinkable to poor little Jessie rip 🙏.
how do you know he had money to get himself help? medicaid wasn't even expanded at this time. Do you know how expensive mental health services are? Free clinics don't have skilled providers, and many providers refuse to work with people like him.
They have free outreach programs all types of help you sound worse than the people who enabled and made excuses for his sorry ass. The same thing was done to both my offenders. There’s no excuse….
@@sheriathompson162 I literally stated free outreach programs absolutely do not have people equipped or skilled enough to deal with his issues. They are understaffed and filled with interns. I also stated many providers don't serve his populations. These are not excuses. These are the explanations behind his actions. Nothing you say will change that. I was abused too severely. I have major issues because of the abuse and I'm smart enough to know that abuse impacts all brains differently.
@@sheriathompson162he said at some point when he was in prison that prison wouldnt help him, and that he needed help, but that was entirely ignored by law enforcement and he was just put in prison and then relessed early. Prison doesnt exactly help people get better in a majority of cases
I remember when this happened heartbreaking! Glad you guys are covering this.
The system let Jesse down, and it cost her her life. It's disgusting how they let John down as a child!! It all makes me sick!
Mark is a legend. The way he spoke with the reporter at the end. Would you like to sit in a room and talk with him?.... i can think of other things to do to him, but the system wouldnt allow that to happen. I punched the air when he said that😂 Id imagine this how any father would feel.
Insight and inspiration....
Born of extreme tragedy and loss..
RIP Jessica....❤
His probation officer was really bad too.
I’ll never understand the justice system when it comes to these types of crimes!
There is NO CURE for these people and the safest thing to do is to keep them locked up! The recidivism rate for CSO is extremely high & only gets higher every time they’re caught! The sheriff department should be ashamed of how they handled this case! I’ve seen Mark’s Documentary and I highly recommend it.
My ❤& 🙏🏽 go out to Mark & Jesse’s family.
Rest In Peace Sweet Girl💖
The motorcycle thing is such a badass way to honor her! I love that.
This guy was abused as a child, probably had a brain injury, had a QI of 70 +/-, shunted around as a child...
So the police lied to Archie...
Jessie was in the closet, John and his sister hid her - police didn't search...😞Of course his sister knew!
This is heartbreaking - Jessie put in 2 trash bags, buried alive... died within 2 minutes...HORRIFIC! TRAGIC...Raped...before.
BRAVO Mark for Jessie's law and fighting for it. My heart bleeds for him.
Every single judge that let him go needs to be held accountable!!!