I put together a list of the things that you say, Melissa,
have really created pain in your life
and brought you to this point
of wanting to seek retribution and retaliation.
And so I've made a list of these traumatic events.
You said at one point in your life,
you were kissed and groped by a girl.
And then, next,
you said that you stole $200 from your brother
and you felt really guilty about that.
I still feel guilty about it.
And third is your parents' divorce, that was traumatic.
And then fourth that your mother's put downs to you,
directly and implied, about your weight, okay?
Yes, I definitely hated how she did that to me.
And then a sugar addiction that you have,
and being bullied in school early on, correct?
Mm-hmm, that is correct.
And these are things that would, certainly,
could bother anyone,
and I recognize that these are issues that are part of life.
These are just not typically antecedent
to family annihilation.
I put up a list of the traumatic events
that she had listed to us that led her
to decide she needed to kill everybody in her family.
And you think, "Oh, come on, that doesn't connect up."
But one theory of depression is anger turned inward,
and when you get a lot of rage going,
and then you start thinking,
"Okay, she's actually resenting all of these people."
You know, you resent people for doing better than you.
I got angry when he would be able to go off and drive,
and go anywhere he wanted,
and I was stuck at home just doing nothing.
And then, I never really got my license,
I never was able to go out and actually have a life,
and that really bothered me
because I feel like he's the favorite child.
Mark, I do believe that you're
the favorite child in the family.
I always thought it was the complete opposite.
I thought you were the favorite child.
Everybody's always being so nice to you.
Just because I can drive and go out and do things I want,
you can change that.
You can get your license, you can have that independence.
They gave you a car.
Her parents got divorced,
which, in her view, wrecked her world.
So all of these people are to blame
and she resents them all.
So part of her is like,
"I'll just get even, I'll just get even."
And so she starts turning this over in her mind,
and you mix that in with depression,
and in a dark world with nobody to talk to
it can start making sense, and there's a payoff for it.
You enjoy the fantasy and it feels good.
"I'll make them pay, boy, I'll get even here."
And then, next thing you know,
what seems outlandish starts to seem like a new normal.
And that's how people rationalize things sometimes
into doing really outrageous behavior.
So you have to take these things seriously
is all I'm saying.
So if you hear those things in your life,
you hear people talking about that,
just get them to talk about it,
and you'll find out there's usually resentment
and all behind it,
where they're trying to level the playing field in some way.
And you heard her immediately, you got a car,
you were the favorite brother, you were,
and you found out all the justification
for why he owes her, why he should be made to pay.
What I wanted to do was show her these were not justifiable
and there were easier solutions
than annihilating your whole family,
and think about the morning after.
(upbeat music)