It was family-friendly reality fluff turned horrifying nightmare. These wholesome "Wife
Swap" stars may have fled the evils of the city, but their quiet lives met a tragic end.
Ultimately convicted of murdering his own mother and younger brother, an innocent-seeming Jacob
Stockdale was just a teen when he appeared on "Wife Swap" Season 4 in 2008. As the premise
of the show typically goes, family matriarchs temporarily switch lives with the wife from a
vastly different family, for two full weeks. In this case, the conservative and insular
Stockdale family was paired with the Tonkovics, a carefree and liberal family from Illinois.
"We moved out to the farm to develop wholesome values in our children."
Parents Kathryn and Timothy Stockdale raised their four boys on a farm in rural Ohio, where
they were homeschooled and played instruments in the family touring act, the Stockdale Band.
Jacob played the fiddle, James took on the upright bass, and the older brothers, Calvin and Charles,
played mandolin and guitar. The boys were banned from watching TV, playing video games, and using
explicit language. Regarding their existence, all tucked away on an isolated farm, the show touted,
"This deeply moral, hard-working family moved to the country to
isolate and protect the boys from bad influences."
It all seemed to be going swimmingly for the family, despite their alternative
lifestyle choices. But things took a devastatingly dark turn when — several
years after the family's appearance on the show — 25-year-old Jacob shot
and killed his mother and brother before turning the gun on himself, in June 2017.
According to People, when police arrived at the scene,
they discovered the bodies of 54-year-old Kathryn and 21-year-old James. Jacob
was still alive and suffering from a self-inflicted gunshot wound. Family
patriarch Timothy was not home at the time of the murders, later writing in a statement:
"Kathy has been my beloved wife of 32 years and a wonderful mother to
our four sons. She loved nothing more than being a mother and grandmother."
Oldest brother Calvin also spoke out about his deceased brother, saying via the Mirror,
"James, our youngest brother, has always been a catalyst of family
fun. He leaves behind many friends and a family that loved him dearly."
In September 2018, nearly a year after the brutal slaying, Jacob was charged with
murder. After defense attorneys insisted he be evaluated by a doctor to determine
whether he was legally sane at the time of the murders, they entered a plea of insanity
and suggested Jacob was not fit to stand trial, according to TMZ. Ultimately, however, he did.
More than two years after Jacob was charged, the trial began. And when Jacob was admitted
to a mental hospital after pleading not guilty by reason of insanity,
he attempted to escape twice. Once by hiding amongst book cases and
then by trying to blend in with visitors exiting the facility,
according to TMZ. Jacob ultimately pleaded guilty to the murders a week before the trial. The judge
sentenced him to 15 years for each count. A motive in the case has yet to be released.
Still, Laurie Tonkovic, the wife who swapped homes with Kathryn, believes the Stockdale
kids' strict upbringing may have contributed to Jacob's poor mental state. Laurie told TMZ,
"God gives you free will — free will,
they didn't have. They weren't allowed to make choices. I think it just caught up to him."
After living with the family 24/7 for a couple weeks, Laurie also claimed that
she immediately knew which member of the family had slain the others,
when she heard the news. As she recalled to Inside Edition,
"When my son called me to tell me what had happened, um, he didn't
know who the shooter was. I knew immediately."
Looking back at the family's "Wife Swap" episode,
eagle-eyed viewers may have gotten a little glimpse into Jacob's odd personality.
"That one's dead, that one's a little bit not dead."
Following Jacob's conviction, he was sent to the Chillicothe Correctional Facility to complete
his 30-year sentence. His offender profile thoroughly outlines his sentencing details,
which will see the now-30-year-old remain in prison for a minimum of 15 full years.
According to prison docs, Jacob will not be eligible for parole until August 2048.
While the Stockdale family has not publicly confirmed whether they will continue having
a relationship with their now-imprisoned son and brother, the family patriarch
previously made his feelings about his son very clear. Dad Timothy told The Canton Rep,
"My sons and I continue to love Jacob."
Still, there remains no word yet on whether the family
plans to ever travel to visit him in prison.