299: Cody Posey

Sam Donaldson returned to his Hondo, New Mexico, ranch after a Fourth of July weekend away with his wife, expecting the usual buzz of ranch life. Instead, an unsettling silence greeted him. As he neared the ranch house, a foul, metallic stench hung heavy in the air—a smell he instantly recognized as blood.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:34):
I was overwhelmed, the last control of emotion. I didn't
know what I was feeling, what I was thinking. I
wasn't thinking.

Speaker 2 (00:51):
Nestled within the valleys of southeastern New Mexico, Hondo is
a quiet, an unassuming community where the real Hondo weave
three canyons and meadows. It was founded in the eighteen
hundreds as a way point for ranchers and settlers. Amidst
the idyllic setting lies Chavez Canyon Ranch, a sprawling property
nestled deep within the rugged hills. With its weathered barn's,

(01:13):
expansive pastures and rolling hills, the ranch painted a picture
of pastoral simplicity. But on a warm summer evening in
two thousand and four, the serenity of Chavez Canyon Ranch
was shattered. The owner, Sam Donaldson, had just returned from
a weekend away with his wife and found the ranch
eily silent. His ranch hand was noticeably absent, and so

(01:34):
was his family. As Sam approach to their ranch house,
the pungent, metallic scent of blood filled the air. What
had transpired at Chavez Canyon Ranch over the weekend would
raise complex questions about self defense, unchecked cycles of child abuse,
and the breaking point of human spirit. Cody Posey's life

(02:07):
was one marked by hardship from the very beginning. Born
on the ninth of October nineteen eighty nine in New
Mexico to Carla Brust and Paul Posey, Cody's early years
were anything but stable. The marriage between Carla and Paul
was tumultuous and short lived. By the time Cody was
just eleven months old, his mother had left the relationship,

(02:27):
taking her infants on with her to live with her sister,
Corliss Claise. By nineteen ninety two, carl and Paul's divorce
was finalized. For a time, they shared custody of Cody,
but their arrangement unfolded against a backdrop of further family turmoil.
In nineteen ninety five, Cody's grandparents, Jay and Lynda pose
were found dead on their ranch southwest of Roswell. The

(02:50):
cause was devastating, a murder suicide that shan't shockwaves through
the family, leaving a lingering cloud of sorrow over Cody's
or very unstable childhood. Three years later, in nineteen ninety eight,
Paul remarried. He became part of a shifting family dynamic
that included his new wife, Tyrone, and her daughter from
her previous marriage, marri Leah. During this time, Carla continued

(03:13):
to be Cody's primary caregiver. In April of two thousand,
she was granted so custody of her son, Paul by
agreement relinquished his parental rights with a new family to
focus on. This arrangement suited Paul, who was now free
from child support obligations. The tragedy, which was a constant
shadow in Cody's life, loomed once more just three months

(03:36):
after Carla gained full coustody. Disaster struck in July of
two thousand. Carla was killed in a car accident when
her new husband, Russell Brust, fell asleep at the wheel,
the pickup truck flipped, ejecting Carla from the vehicle. Ten
year old Cody, who survived the crash, was forced to
witness the horrifying aftermath. He watched helplessly as his mother

(03:58):
lay dying on the side of the an image that
would haunt him for years to come. Racked with guilt,
he blamed himself for his mother's death, confiding later to
his aunt Corliss, I killed my mum. I wanted to
sit in front with my new dad, and that's why
she's dead. The fallout from Carla's death added another layer
of grief and upheaval to Cody's life. Despite having relinquished

(04:21):
custody years earlier, Paul showed up at Carla's memorial service
flanked by police officers demanding custody of his son, and
he hoped that Cody might have had of remaining connected
to his mother's side of the family was quickly extinguished.
Paul forbade all contact between his son and his extended family.
Letters sent to Cody by relatives were intercepted and returned,

(04:42):
severing what few ties he had left to his mother's memory.
For his aunt Corlis, the loss of contact with Cody
was unbearable. She remembered Paul's actions with the bitterness born
from love and helplessness. She stated it was about control.
He referred to him as his property. He said, I
own him, He's mine. Cody Posey moved in with his

(05:10):
father Paul, his stepmother Tyrone, and his stepsister mari Lea
after the sudden loss of his mother. Their situation shifted
in October of two thousand and one, when Paul was
hired by NBC newsman Sam Donaldson to manage operations at
his expansive ranch in Hondo, New Mexico. The seven thousand
acre Chavez Canyon Ranch for all a cross rolling pasture land,

(05:32):
a remote yet picturesque setting roughly one hundred and twenty
miles northeast of La Cruise's. The family settled into life
on the ranch, and Cody helped his father each day
with ranching tasks. Then came the fourth of July weekend
in two thousand and four. Sam Donaldson and his wife
left for Santa Fe to celebrate her birthday, leaving the

(05:53):
Posey family alone at the ranch. By all appearances, it
was a routine weekend, a quiet reprise in the middle
of summer. When the Donaldsons returned on Monday evening, nothing
seemed to miss. It was laid and the darkness cloaked
any immediate signs of trouble. By Tuesday morning, however, unease
began to creep in. Sam expected to see Paul or

(06:16):
one of the family members tending to their daily chores,
but by the end of the day he hadn't crossed
paths with anyone Concerned, he wondered if they had left
on an impromptu trip that evening, curiosity turned to apprehension.
Sam walked over to the family's ranch house to check
on them. As he stepped onto the porch, something unusual

(06:37):
caught his eye. Under the dim light, A dark, congaled
substance lay on the ground, a substance that became unmistakable
as he drew closer. It was blood. Beside it lay
a cap and a pair of eyeglasses. With growing dread,
Sam reached the front door and found it unlocked. He hesitated,

(06:58):
then slowly pushed it open and for the family, silence
greeted him. Venturing inside, He moved cautiously through the house
until he reached the kitchen, where the unsettling discovery deepened.
A puddle of cojail blood marred the floor, streaked with
drag marks leading out of the room. Overcome with fear

(07:19):
and unsure of danger lurk nearby, Sam retraded from the
home and called nine one one. The dectives arrived shortly
after four thirty pm, their flashlights cutting through the dimness
as they approached the home. Inside, they found a scene
that spoke of violence, but it yielded no bodies. Upstairs, however,

(07:39):
then covered a chilling clw in Cody's bedroom, a handwritten
note scrawled with the words sorry coppers, I needed the
kid to do the dirty work. The message raised more
questions than answers, where was the Posey family and more urgently,
where was Cody? As forensic experts processed the same un

(08:00):
detective noticed something suspicious outside. Blood was smeared in the
bucket of a back hoe park nearby. The vehicle appeared
recently driven, its tracks leading away from the home. Following them,
the detective arrived at a remote area of the ranch
near the bluffs. The trail stopped at a disturbed patch

(08:20):
of earth beneath a buzzing manure pile. Detective Tom Sullivan
illuminated the area with this flashlight. Using a stick, he
sifted through the dirt and manure. Then came the grim
discovery a human body partially buried. As more of the
pile was excavated, two additional bodies were discovered. Paul Tyrone

(08:44):
and thirteen year old mari Lea had been shot to death,
their remains concealed beneath the manure. The scene was horrifying,
yet one question loomed over the detectives where was fourteen
year old Cody as the gruesome crime scene unfolded at

(09:09):
the ranch. Cody was about fifteen miles away playing basketball
with his friends Leo and Gilbert Salcato. He had arrived
at their home two days earlier, asking to stay for
a couple of days. Cody explained that his parents had
been arguing and he needed some space. Initially quiet and reserved,
Cody's demeanor shifted dramatically over those two days. Fristino, Leo

(09:33):
and Gilbert's father, later remarked on the transformation he observed.
Before he was real quiet and drawn away. He talked
to you, but he wouldn't carry on a conversation. Monday,
you couldn't keep him quiet. He told me these were
the happiest two days he'd had in his life. He
thanked me for letting him stay. The timing of Cody's
sudden cheerfulness raised red flags for detectives, but they were

(09:56):
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On the seventh of July, detectives arrived at the Salcado home,
arresting Cody on three kinds of murder and four coints
of tampering with evidence. In a press conference, District Attorney
Scott Keay announced that Coody would be charged as a juvenile,

(12:05):
but noted that an adult penalty could still be pursued
if he were convicted. He admitted the rarity of such
a case, stating we've never seen a triple murder, and
the circumstances of a juvenile committing a crime against family
members hasn't been experienced here. The murder sent shockwaves through
the community, and beyond. News coverage delved into the lives

(12:26):
of the Posey family, trying to piece together how such
a tragedy could unfold. Sam Donaldson described the Posies as
an all American ranch family during an interview with Good
Morning America. However, his comments about Paul Posey struck some
as unsettling. Paul was a little hard on his son,
but that's the way you raise a young man. I

(12:48):
never saw Paul raise his voice or his hand in
anger to his son. He clearly expected the law of him,
he said. As the investigation progressed, it became evident that
life inside the Posy household was far from my dillck.
When detectives apprehended Cody, he was taken to the police
station for questioning to adults. Fastino and his brother Eli

(13:09):
accompanied him, determined to protect the boy they believed could
not possibly involved in such a horrific crime. The men
quickly grew uneasy about the interrogation, insisting that Cody should
have a lawyer present. Detectives dismissed their concerns with a
curt response, He's not being interrogated. Cody initially appeared calm,

(13:30):
but as he sat before the detectives, his composure cracked.
Tears welled up in his eyes, and he made a cryptic,
chilling statement, I know what I did was wrong, but
the world is better without my father. Moments later, Cody
confessed the note discovered at the ranch house. He revealed
was his attempt to mislead detectives. In his own words,

(13:54):
I didn't want to go to jail for life. Cody
then began to share the dark truth about life in
the Poesy household, painting a picture of a home that
was ruled by strict discipline and unchecked abuse. He described
his father, Paul, as a perfectionist whose strictness often turned cruelty.
Cody said that the abuse was relentless, both physical and emotional.

(14:18):
He stated, we fought every single day, adding that his
father struck him in about one out of every three arguments.
The blows weren't mine or either. They left Bruis's split
lips and black eyes. He said of his father, he
was hard going sometimes Maine rough rail up, real strict,

(14:38):
real old fashioned tyrone, he said, was no better. He
alleged that she often joined in on the abuse, berating
and punishing him for feeling to meet their impossibly high standards.
Detectives listened intently as Cody requouinted the final breaking point,
the culmination of years of violence and despair that led
him to commit the unthinkable. Cody's account of the horrific

(15:01):
events leading up to the murders painted a chilling picture
of abuse and desperation. According to him, the breaking point
came the night before the murders. He recalled being summoned
to the master bedroom by his father, Paul. Inside, Tyrone
was sitting on the bed naked. What Paul demanded next
shattered any semblance of normalcy Cody had hoped to cling to.

(15:25):
He ordered Cody to have sex with his wife, Tyrone.
When Cody refused, Tyrone attempted to coerce him, saying, well,
we're not related, we're not blood, Come do it. Cody
could only shake his head in disbelief. He later recounted,
my dad and her wouldn't have sex or something like that,
and they were trying to do something to me. Paul's

(15:47):
refusal to accept his son's to fiance turned violent. Enraged,
he grabbed a piece of metal. He did it with
the booty in torch and pressed it against Cody's shoulder,
burning him. Terrified. In impaying, Cody fled the bedroom, trying
to push the incident from his mind, but when dawn broke,
the nightmare only continued. The next morning, Paul erupted into

(16:08):
another fit of rage. This time he berated Cody for
not cleaning the horse stalls quickly enough. Their argument escalated rapidly.
Paul struck Cody several times before snarling, if it wasn't illegal,
I'd knock your head off. Cody said. This moment crystallized
his decision. Years of abuse had worn him down, and

(16:30):
not he had reached his limit. This wasn't the first
instance of violence that weekend, Cody said Paul had already
hid him with a shovel and tried to strangle him
in a separate incident. The compounded horrors finally drove Cody
to act. Fueled by a mixture of anger, fear, and despair,
he went into the barn, where he found Marrileu's saddlebag.

(16:53):
Inside was a thirty eight caliber revolver she used for
shooting snakes. Cody emptied the weapon of its snake shot
and reloaded it with more lethal bullets. Determined a numb
Cody entered the ranch house. Tyrone was in the living room,
engrossed in a book. Without hesitation. Cody raised the revolver

(17:13):
and fired twice, dragging his stepmother in the head. The
sound of gunfire echoed through the house, drawing Paul from outside.
As he rushed in, Cody turned the gun on him
and fired once, hitting him in the head. Mari Leah,
hearing the commotion, followed close behind. Cody said he knew
that she would call police and in his friend's he'd state.

(17:36):
He decided she had to die as well. He aimed
and fired at her head. The first shot didn't kill her.
Marri Leah fell still moving, so Cody fired again, this
time insuring her death. With all three family members dead,
Cody turned his attention into hiding their bodies. He retrieved

(17:56):
the ranch's backo loaded the corpses into its bucket. He
drove to a remote part of the property near the bluffs.
He said that the ground was too hard to bury them,
so he hastily concealed them beneath them innure pile. Returning
to his bedroom, Coldy stripped off his bloody clothing and
left the ranch. He made his way to Leo and
Gilbert's home, where he spent the next two days. Towards

(18:20):
the end of the confession, Coldy expressed regret a glimmer
of the boy beneath the burden of his actions. He said,
I regret it. It was the wrong thing to do.
I miss him, even though they were mean. As the

(18:43):
grizzly details of the Posy family murders dominated headlines, a
wave of voices emerged in Cody's defense. Family members, friends,
and members of the community painted a chilling portrait of
a boy pushed to his breaking point by years of
unchecked abuse. His aunt Corliss spoke about the suffering her
nephew and Jared something caused Cody to snap because that's

(19:05):
not who he is. You can only take abuse for
so long, she said. Courtless revealed that Cody had confided
in her on multiple occasions about the physical and verbal
abuse he suffered at his father's hands. The records backed rup.
New Mexico's Children, Youth and Family's Division had long been
aware of Paul Posey's violent tendencies. In nineteen ninety seven,

(19:28):
he had been ordered to take anger management and prenting classes.
One particularly horrifying incident from Cody's infancy was well documented.
Paul had whipped his son with the belt across the
face and head because Cody, who was still a toddler,
hadn't moved out of his way fast enough. This was
the final straw for Cody's mother, Carla, who left Paul

(19:50):
at that stage and moved in with her sister. But
even after leaving Paul, Cody couldn't escape his father's wrath.
Back in ninety ninety four, while Carla was serving in
the Navy, Cody, who was then just four years old,
was temporarily sent to live with Paul and to second
wife Sandy. Sandy later described the nightmare of trying to

(20:10):
shield Cody from Paul's rage. She recollected he would yanked
him out of the bed, the bunk bed on the top,
yanked him off onto the floor. One evening, Sandy came
home to her particularly horrifying scene Paul beating seven year
old Cody with the board. Sandy tried to intervene, but
the damage had already been done. When Carla returned from leave,

(20:34):
she was horrified to see the bruises covering her son.
She called the police, leading to an investigation by Child
Protective Services. However, instead of removing Cody from harm, authorities
ordered Paul to attend anger management classes in parenting workshops.
There were measures that proved grossly inadequate. Even after Carla's

(20:56):
death in two thousand, when Paul claimed custody of Cody
at her memorial, the signs of abuse were evident. Cody
had pleaded with the police officer, begging not to be
taken by his father, who he accused of beating, mistrading,
and belittling him. I don't want to go with him,
Cody said, but his pleas fell on deaf ears. Paul

(21:17):
was allowed to take Cody home, leaving Cordless and the
rest of the family powerless. Cordless lamented, I hollered and hollered,
and it just fell on deaf ears. They just didn't
want to believe it because Paul was a good old boy.
In the years that followed, Cody's cries for helps continued
to be ignored. Cordless and other relatives lost all contact

(21:39):
with him. Meanwhile, Paul ensured that any letters from family
members were returned unopened. It wasn't just family who saw
the signs of abuse either. Cody's friends Leo and Gilbert,
told detectives that Cody often came to school with black
eyes and bruises. At first, he would lie, blaming the
injuries on accidents like miss perhaps at softball. Eventually he

(22:03):
admitted the truth his father hit him. The boy's father, Fustino,
later expressed regret for not stepping in sooner. It just
hurts to know that this kid went through what he did.
I just wished he'd ask me for help, he said.
Even workers on the ranch noticed Paul's mistreatment of his son.
Slim Britton, one of the ranch hands, describes seeing Paul screaming,

(22:26):
abating Cody on multiple occasions, and one particularly cruel day,
Paul rode up behind Cody on horseback and whipped him
across the back with a rope. Slim somberly added, I
never saw a hand laid on him in love. Other
ranch workers and community members shared similar observations. Alvier Alerma,

(22:48):
whose husband worked for Paul, said she often noticed cigarette
burns on Cody's arms. She also remembered telling her husband,
I feel like something's going to happen to that family.
Either Cody's going to kill Paul or Paul's going to
kill Cody. Just three months later, Alvira's grim prediction came true. Paul,
Tyrone and mari Leah were dead and Cody was behind bars.

(23:13):
The tragedy that unfolded was no longer a mystery, but
its roots ran deep into a system that it failed
to protect a vulnerable child. As Cody sat in custody,
many couldn't help. But wonder was he a murderer or
was he a boy who had just simply been failed
one too many times. As the Pody family tragedy continued

(23:45):
to unfold in the public eye, Cody made his first
court appearance, where he faced three kinds of murder and
four kinds of evidence tampering his defense. Attorney Gary Mitchell
entered a not guilty play on his behalf, emphasizing the
profound trauma that led to the tragic of events. Outside
the courtroom, Mitchell stated, We're going to spend an awful

(24:05):
lot of time finding out what happened and figuring out
what caused all of this. I suspect there's going to
be a lot of questions as to why people ignored
the signs that should have told them, we had a
young man desperately fighting for his sanity and help. Cody's
family rallied behind him, with his aunt Corlis spearheading efforts
to bring attention to the case and the broader issue

(24:25):
of child abuse. She announced plans for a rally to
raise awareness, staring, this isn't just about a young man
who killed three of his family members. This is about
an extremely abused young man. This is about child abuse
and where it can lead. Perhaps one of the most
surprising voices to support Cody was Jake Schmeat, the biological

(24:47):
father of mari Leah. Despite the immense loss of his daughter,
Jake placed blame squarely on Paul and Tyrone. He remarked,
Cody doesn't need to be punished for this. He didn't
do it. Pollan t Irone did this. They created Cody
and made him the weapon that caused their deaths and
my daughters. While Cody remained in custody, the Posey family

(25:09):
members were led to rest. Poland Irone shared a funeral
service at the First Baptist Church, while Marrilea's service took
place the next day. During her eulogy, Jake described mari
Leah as a kind and compassionate soul with a deep
love for animals. He shared her dream of becoming a veterinarian,
stating she had a feeling for the animals. She was

(25:32):
a great person. She was going to be somebody, I'm
sure of it. Marrileah was led to rest beside her
grandfather's plot in the Hondo Valley. Then, on the thirty
first of July, a rally for Cody took place in Roswell.
Survivors of child abuse, including Scott Drum, spoke passionately about
the lasting impact of violence. In a chilling demonstration, Drum

(25:57):
slammed a shovel onto a brick wrapped in a pillow
case and bluntly asked, imagine what that would do to
a child. Corlis also addressed the crowd, speaking to the
complexity of Cody's actions when she said, this wasn't a
cold blooded act, and it wasn't out of malice. It
was for survival. I don't condone it, but I don't

(26:17):
condemn it. Attendees were encouraged to sign a petition advocating
for Cody to be tried in juvenile court, citing the
mitigating circumstances of his extensive abuse. For those who attended
the rally wasn't just about Cody. It was a call
to action to address systemic failures and prevent future tragedies.

(26:45):
In October of two thousand and five, District Attorney Scott
Key made a pivotal announcement Cody Posey would be tried
as a juvenile rather than as an adult. This decision
significantly altered the potential sentencing Cody could face if convicted
him from life imprisonment. Public developments in the case remained
sparse up until nearly a year later, in September of

(27:07):
two thousand and six, when prosecutors filed the motion to
move the trial venue, citing unprecedented media coverage and widespread
accounts of Cody's alleged abuse. They argued that finding an
impartial jury in Lincoln County would be impossible. It was
an unusual move, as defense attorneys are typically the ones
seeking a change of venue in cases with significant pre

(27:27):
trap publicity. Cody's defense attorney, Gary Mitchell criticized the motion,
suggesting that prosecutors sought to distance the case from the
community familiar with the Posey family dynamic and sympathetic to
Cody's circumstances. The state seeks a change of venue so
they will not have to try this case before people
that understand what Cody had to go through. But I

(27:49):
honestly believe it's not going to matter where we go.
They don't think they can get a conviction in Lincoln County.
That's nothing fancy, that's just the way it is. Despite
Mitchell's objection, the motion was granted and the trial was
relocated to Otero County. Mitchell voiced his frustration, stating the
state tried to do the politically correct thing by saying

(28:10):
they were really concerned whether Cody could get a fair trial,
which is what I term prosecutorial bullshit. The jury was
scheduled to begin in January of two thousand and six,
with jury selection kicking off in early January. By January fourteenth,
a jury of sixteen members, six men and ten women,
including four alternatives, was seated and the trial was ready

(28:33):
to commence. As the trial began, two central themes emerged,
Cody Posey as a victim and Cody Posey as a planner.
The defense sought to demonstrate that Cody was a traumatized
teenager who snapped after enduring years of severe abuse at
the hands of his father and stepmother. They aimed to
paint a picture of a boy pushed to the brink

(28:53):
by circumstances beyond his control. The prosecution, on the other hand,
aimed to argue that the murders were pre humditated, pointing
to Cody's actions after the killings, his concealment of the
bodies and attempts to mislead investigators as evidence of calculated intent.
With both sides prepared to present their cases, the stage

(29:14):
was set for a trial that would deeply examine the
devastating impact of abuse and the fine line between impulse
and intention. On the eighteenth of January two thousand and six,
Cody Posey was escorted into the courtroom and took its

(29:35):
place alongside his defense team. During opening statemens, prosecutor Sandra
Grisham asserted that Cody had acted deliberately when he made
the unbelievably vicious, selfish decision to kill Paul Tyrone and
mari Lea. She emphasized that his actions were calculated, pointing
out that he tried to mislead investigators by hiding the

(29:56):
bodies in the murder weapon. Furthermore, she argued that Cody
had staged a break in by breaking a window with
a shovel and leaving behind a handwritten note purported to
be from the killer. Grisham bluntly stated their world became
a pile of manure in which he buried them. The
prosecution also revealed that a sixteen year old witness claimed

(30:17):
that Cody had expressed hatred for Paul and Tyrone and
had spoken about wanting to kill them in the past.
In contrast, the defense did not dispute that Cody had
killed his family, but argued that he had acted in
self defense. Defense attorney Gary Mitchell explained that this was
not a typical self defense case, but one where Cody
had erupted and what the defense described as a spasm

(30:40):
of violence triggered by years of verbal, physical, emotional, and
sexual abuse. Mitchell reserved his full opening statement for the
start of the defense's case, but he told the media
during a break finally he came to a breaking point
in an extremely emotional time for the child. He reacted
it was in self defense. He didn't know how to

(31:02):
solve the problem, and at the time he knew the
abuse was not only escalating but would continue to escalate.
The prosecution's first witness with Sam Donaldson, who recounted the
discovery of the gruesome scene of the family's ranch house.
On the nine one one call, which was played for
the jury, he told the operator, I cannot find my

(31:24):
ranch manager, but I found a great deal of congealed blood.
The jury then watched the one hundred minute video of
Cody's confession. As the recording played, Cody rested his head
on his left hand and stared at the defense table. Next,
the prosecution called Brian Basham, Tyrone's brother, who testified about
an April two thousand and four visit to the ranch,

(31:46):
during which Cody mentioned visiting crime websites and researching the
Menendez brother's case. The prosecution implied that Cody might have
drawn inspiration to fabricate his claims of abuse from this case.
Despite numerous g roberating accounts from people who witnessed the
abuse that Cody injured. The prosecution's case was brief, as

(32:06):
it was undisputed that Cody had committed the killings. After
they rested, Defense attorney Gary Mitchell opened the defense's case
by presenting evidence that painted a harrowing picture of Cody's life.
An analysis of Paul's computer revealed searches for incest on
pornographic websites, which the prosecution had unsuccessfully tried to exclude

(32:27):
from evidence. The defense also presented photographs of three burns
on Cody's arms, which they claimed were inflicted by Paul
using a hot iron on the night of fourth of
July in an effort to coerce Cody into having sex
with his stepmother. Mitchell passionately addressed the jury, stating, in
the end, ladies and gentlemen, we ask how much do

(32:50):
we ask of a child? How much do we demand
he tolerate? And do we alloy him to fight back?
He went on to reveal that Cody had suffered from
depression and post traumatic stress disorder as a result of
his traumatic upbringing, and that he had been prescribed antidepressants.
The courtroom fell to a hushed silence as Cody Posey

(33:11):
took the stand to testify in his own defense. In
a quiet voice, he began by sharing a heartbreaking longing
for a normal family life. He said, I wanted a family.
I've seen families on TV. I wanted to be the
kid that my dad said, look, that's my kid. I
wanted to be appreciated. I wanted to be liked and loved.

(33:35):
That's all I was wanting. Instead, he recounted a childhood
marred by abuse at the hands of his father and stepmother.
Couldy described a horrifying catalog of physical, emotional, and sexual
abuse that included being choked by his father to the
point of near unconsciousness, shocked with an electric cattle prod
while he slept, and hitting the face with the fly swatter.

(33:58):
He also recalled having hay bales thrown at him and
being forced by his father to shoot a puppy given
to him by a friend. Cody shared other instances of abuse,
such as being dragged by a rope behind a horse
for twenty feet after making a mistake during ranch work,
and having his dinner poured over his head because he
didn't finish it. He told the jury, I've lost kind

(34:20):
of getting punched, slapped, kicked. That was a normal thing
around my household. I can remember getting hit in practically
every part of my body. He revealed that his father
would frequently belittle him, once saying I should have tied
you up in a sack of rocks and thrown you
in a river, like you do with puppies. Cody described
the isolation he endured while the family lived in Weed,

(34:42):
where he was forbidden from socializing and forced to spend
all of his time alone in his bedroom. Speaking of
his father, he said, I wanted to love him, and
I wanted him to love me back, but it was
hard to please him. There was really no pleasing him.
The focus then shifted to the events surrounding the murders.
Cody described feeling overwhelmed and losing control.

Speaker 1 (35:05):
And I was overwhelmed, the last control of emotion. I
didn't know what I was feeling, what I was thinking.
I wasn't thinking.

Speaker 2 (35:14):
He recounted the horrifying incident the night before the murders,
when Paul and Tyrone attempted to force him to have
sex with his stepmother. Paul ordered his son to strip naked,
and when he refused, he was burned on the shoulder
with the heated metal from a booty and torch. Tyrone,
who was naked on the bed, pulled Cody's head to
her chest and in a desperate attempt to escape. Cody

(35:37):
said that he bit her. In retaliation, Paul burned him
a second time Cody fled to his bedroom and cowered
in a corner. I felt disgusting, dirty. I just felt
like I was lying and rolling in dirt, he said.
The next morning, Paul punched him for not completing a
chore to his satisfaction, triggering what Cody described as complete

(36:00):
mental break. I more or less lost my mind, he said.
After his testimony, Cody stepped down and the defense called
witnesses who corroborated the abuse that he had endured. Isabel
Fasquez testified that she had witnessed Paul hitting Cody with
a pipe in the stomach and shoulder, striking his hand
with a metal hay hook, and even hitting him with

(36:21):
a rock and horse reins for not performing tasks to
his satisfaction. Clint Skein, a former classmate who worked at
the ranch, described Paul's constant screaming and insults, saying, when
Cody was round me, he was happy, and when Paul
entered the picture, he was like a whip dog. He
put his head down and didn't know how to act.

(36:42):
Another worker, Slim Britain, testified that Cody was often forced
to work outside without any food or water. Jerry Gensler
recounted an emotional moment at Cody's mother's funeral when he
begged a police officer, don't let him take me. He
beats me. Emily not a Sunday Skilled teacher contrasted how
Paul and Tyrone showed merrily with affection while treating Cody

(37:05):
with disdain. She testified they were always so loving on her,
touching her, hugging her, telling her how smart she was,
how beautiful. They never said anything kind to him or
that he was doing well. In total, the defense presented
testimony from seventeen eye witnesses who described Paul's abusive behavior
towards Cody. Additionally, two of Marrilee's skill friends testified that

(37:29):
she would spy on Cody at school and report back
to pauland Tyrone. It would then punish him for perceived infractions.
The jury then heard chilling testimony from Joe Burchett, a
computer programmer who had analyzed the computer from the master
bedroom of the Posy home. His findings were disturbing. Brichet

(37:50):
revealed that somebody in the household had visited thousands of
pornographic web sites, many of which focused on incest. The
search terms he recovered painted a deeply unsettling picture father
daughter incest, free incest stories, free rape galleries, and even
mother and very young son incest. Burchette testified that all

(38:12):
of these searches occurred during times when Cody was confirmed
abates school, definitively ruling him out as the person responsible.
He had recovered a staggering list of approximately four thousand
websites visited from the computer, with nearly half being of
pornographic nature. Almost of the data had been erased before
his analysis. Birchette was able to recover one hundred and

(38:35):
eighty seven pages of incest related material, leaving the court
woman a stunned silence. The prosecution's narrative continued to unravel
as the defense called psychologist, doctor Christine Johnson did the stand.
Doctor Johnson explained that Cody had been diagnosed with several
psychological disorders, all of which could be traced back to

(38:56):
the abusive environment he had endured. Dicb Cody as an
intelligent but emotionally fragile boy desperate for his father's approval.
She told the jury, I believe that his emotional condition
at the time would have impaired or gotten in the
way of his ability to reason. I believe that his
control over his behavior was reduced, was impaired. The sentiment

(39:19):
was echoed by another psychologist, doctor Susan Kaiev, who testified
that Cody's actions on the day of the murders stemmed
from a combination of anger, fear, and emotional overload. She
diagnosed Cody with chronic depression and post traumatic stress disorder,
both rooted in the years of abuse he suffered. She testified,

(39:40):
I think he was overwhelmed by emotion and felt like
he was in imminent danger, Which doesn't mean it would
happen in the next sixty seconds, but it could happen
at any time. When the defense rested, the prosecution sought
to counter with their own rebuttal witnesses. They called several
of Paul's relatives and former colleagues to the stand, all
of whom denied ever witnessing abuse. Their testimony conflicted with

(40:03):
the accounts of seventeen defense witnesses who had corroborated Cody's claims.
Doctor Waid Meyers, as psychologist for the prosecution, testified the
Cody scored unusually high on a test for psychopathic behavior.
He described traits such as impulsivity for anger, control, lying,
and disturbed interpersonal sexual behaviors. However, under cross examination, the

(40:27):
defense exposed a potential bias when doctor Myers admitted he
had been paid fourteen thousand dollars by the prosecution for
his evaluation. They also criticized his findings.

Speaker 3 (40:40):
Were the elevated scores that you had on the hair
Psychopathy Youth.

Speaker 2 (40:45):
Version, right, and doctor Johnson's were elevated also?

Speaker 3 (40:51):
Now, doctor, as it relates to that particular examination and
the utilization which it's being talked about here in his
court room today, are you familiar with the recommendations for
clinical use of the Hair Psychopathy Checklist Youth.

Speaker 1 (41:08):
Version, Yes, I am.

Speaker 3 (41:11):
Then you're aware, are you not of the warning.

Speaker 1 (41:16):
That is given.

Speaker 3 (41:21):
Are the concerns that are raised about the consequences of
providing a major of psychopathy for use in clinical forensic practice?

Speaker 1 (41:29):
Yes?

Speaker 3 (41:31):
And that those concerns and the warning go to the
utilization of such an examination, particularly as it relates to
determining amenability to treatment of a child as an adult. Right,
Yes i am.

Speaker 2 (41:48):
Another prosecution witness, doctor jan Soosa, claim that Cody showed
no remorse for the murders. You recoined it, asking Cody
why it shot his family in the head, to which
Cody reportedly replied, that's the way we kill things on
the ranch, to make sure they're dead. The prosecution then
called teachers who testified that they saw no visible signs

(42:09):
of abuse during Cody's time at school. While this testimony
supported their narrative, it seemed to ignore the extensive accounts
provided by other witnesses of the abuse that Cody had
endured outside of school. With the presentation of evidence complete,
the case moved to closing arguments. Prosecutor johnie Sure urged

(42:29):
the jury to reject the defense's claims of abuse and
self defense, framing the murders as clothe blooded and premeditated.
She declared, it's not a case about abuse, it's a
case about cold blooded, intentional murder perpetrated by Cody Posey.
She portrayed Paul and tyrone A's loving, albeit strict parents

(42:49):
with high expectations for their son. She speculated that Cody
resented ranch life and took the opportunity to relieve himself
of those expectations in life. In contrast, defense attorney Gary
Mitchell delivered a passionate play for understanding, insisting that Cody's
actions were the culmination of years of relentless abuse by

(43:10):
a family that operated as a unit to degrade and
harm him. He argued Cody killed his family because they
acted as a unit, heaping physical and emotional abuse upon
him for years. After both sides rested their cases, the
jury retired to deliberate for twelve tens hours. They waited

(43:32):
the evidence and arguments before returning with their decision. The
courtroom was silent as the verdict was announced. Cody Posey
was found guilty of the murder of Tyrone and Marilla
and guilty of voluntary manslaughter in the killing of Paul.
As the verdict was read, Cody hung his head as

(43:53):
tears streamed on his face. His defense attorney, Gary Mitchell,
placed a comforting arm around him. Outside the courthouse, Mitchell
addressed reporters, visibly emotional himself. I just held him like
I would my own son. The boy never had a chance.

(44:22):
The sentencing phase of Cody's trial began on the twenty
first of February, with both sides presenting starkly opposing views
on his future. Prosecutor Sandra Grisham painted a grim picture
asserting that Cody exhibited psychopathic traits that rendered him incapable
of rehabilitation. She argued that society needed protected from somebody

(44:42):
she deemed a dangerous individual. Defense attorney Gary Mitchell vehemently disagreed,
portraying Cody as a victim of profound abuse, not a psychopath.
In an impassioned statement, he said, He's not a psychopath.
He's an abused child who comes before this court wondering
how much more has to go on in his life

(45:03):
before he's given the same opportunities as other children and adults.
The prosecution sought to have Cody sentenced as an adult,
which would carry a term of more than fifty years
in an adult prison. The defense, however, fought to have
him sentenced as a juvenile, emphasizing the potential for rehabilitation.

(45:23):
They called on approximately fifty witnesses to support code, including experts,
family members, and even seven of the jurors who had
convicted him. These jurors publicly expressed their hope that Cody
would be sentenced as a juvenile. Doctor Robert Busser, a
defense witness and psychologist, testified that Couldy was very treatable

(45:45):
for post traumatic distress disorder, a condition he argued was
central to the murders. He can heal, he told the court.
One of the most surprising voices of support came from
Marleia's father, Jacob, who urged for leniency and expressed faith
in Cody's potential for change. He pleaded, if you give

(46:05):
us a chance, we can help this boy, and I
give you my word, he will never be a threat
to society. The prosecution conjured with their own witnesses, many
of whom called for harsh punishment. Paul's brother Verlin, dismissed
Cody's claims of abuse and argued that his young Knaecemiri
Leah was killed simply to silence her with palpable anger.

(46:26):
He stated, I cannot believe the amount of hat and
evil that can exist in one young man, your honor.
I believe anyone that can kill his entire family and
bury them in a manure pile is certainly capable of
doing all sorts of heinous crimes against a perfect stranger. Therefore,
I believe society should be protected from a cold blooded
murderer like Cody Posey. Similarly, Tyrone's father Pat described Cody

(46:51):
as a time bomb waiting to go off.

Speaker 3 (46:52):
If the court turns this young man loose on society,
you'll kill again if it suits his purpose.

Speaker 2 (46:58):
Cody himself took the stand during the sentencing phase, addressing
Judge James CONTs directly. His voice was steady but filled
with emotion as he asked for the opportunity to rehabilitate
in a juvenile facility. He said, I can tell you
right now, I will never kill again. I am confident
I can be a good and model citizen. Could He

(47:21):
expressed a desire to work on himself and prove his
daughter's wrong.

Speaker 1 (47:24):
I want to work on myself in my problems. I
want to better myself, and I would like to show
people who have no faith in me that that I
can and will do better.

Speaker 2 (47:40):
After weighing the arguments, Judge Counts sided with the defense,
sentencing Cody as a juvenile. He ordered that Cody remain
in state custody until he turned twenty one. And his ruling,
Judge Counts stated that the prosecution had failed to prove
that Cody was beyond rehabilitation. He acknowledged Cody's diagnosis of
peace and noted that there was no evidence of antisocial

(48:03):
personality traits. The decision marked a dramatic conclusion to the
highly emotional case. As he was being led from the courtroom,
Cody turned to his defense attorney and reassured him, don't worry,
mister Mitchell, I'm not going to disappoint anybody. In the

(48:32):
aftermath of the sentencing, the bitterness and grief within some
of the family only deepened. Paul's brother Verlin, alongside Tyrone's
parents Pat and Leone, directed their anguish towards filing a
staggering six hundred million dollar lawsuit against the creators of
the video game Grand Theft Auto Vice City. Their claim

(48:52):
was bold. They argued that the game had been discovered
in Cody's bedroom and that if he had never played
the game, the murders were never have occurred. However, the
court dismissed the lawsuit the following year, ruling that the
game could not be held legally responsible for Cody's tragic actions.
Undeterred by this setback, Berlin and the Bashams pursued another

(49:15):
legal avenue, this time filing a wrongful death civil suit.
This culminated in an eighty seven million dollar judgment in
their favor. Yet their attorneys described the award as a
largely symbolic acknowledging the slim chances of actually collecting such
a vast sum. Despite the financial outcome, the lawsuit achieved

(49:35):
a critical objective. It legally ensured that Cody Posey could
never benefit financially from the murders. In October of twenty ten,
after serving his sentence, Cody Posey was released from the
State juvenile detention facility. His release marked the beginning of
a new chapter, one fraught with uncertainty and the daunting

(49:56):
challenge of reintegration into society that had won sphilified him.
What became of Cody Posey after his release has never
been publicized, but the controversial case serves as a reminder
of the fragile line between victim and perpetrator and the
enduring need for intervention in the lives of those who
suffer in silence. Well, Bestie's that is it for this

(50:39):
episode of Morbidology. As always, thank you so much for listening,
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