Transcript of The Scream Murder, Episode 5: Brian vs Torey

Eleven months after being arrested for killing Cassie Stoddard, Torey Adamcheck and Brian Draper prepare to go to trial on first-degree murder charges. Their lawyers plan to pit the accused killers against each other.

The only person that confessed to stabbing Cassie was Brian.

My theory was that Torey was the main actor and Brian was less culpable.

And 20 years after Cassie's murder, Brian Draper and Torey Adamcheck speak.

Is there anything that's off-limits for you?

No, because, like, literally the only shameful thing that I've really done with my life is stab Cassie. So, I mean, I can admit to that now.

This is the "Scream Murder," a true teen horror story podcast. So in the last episode we talked about who was more to blame: Torey or Brian? Who was the leader? Who was the follower? And that debate takes on a different tone in this episode, because in this episode we dive deep into the trials of Brian and Torey. Now, remember, Cassie Jo Stoddard was murdered in September of 2006. Fast forward to April of 2007, that's the first trial, and that's Brian Draper.

The Drapers were standing by Brian. They had a public defender represent him. And we spoke to that public defender, um, by the name of Dave Martinez. And this is what he had to say about his defense, his approach. With all this damning evidence and that tape, how do you represent a client like Brian Draper?

Brian had been involved in soccer, had been involved in church, was a talented musician. I don't know Torey's entire background. I don't pretend to. But I think that the interest in horror movies and things like that, I think that came from Torey. I felt like Torey was a controlling part of this relationship, and that a lot of his interests had become Brian's interests. I felt that had Brian not met Torey, this never would have happened.

Brian's defense chose to go first, so each trial was going to be a week, three to four days long. So Brian's trial is going to be week one at the end of April, and then immediately after is going to be Torey's trial.

And remember, this was the biggest thing in Pocatello.

Biggest.

I mean, all eyes were on this trial.

One of the biggest trials ever, I would say. Probably.

Had to be the big.

Pretty safe to say, in Pocatello. I think one point about the trial, um, that should be noted: there were cameras in the courtroom covering each day. And in the footage, you can see on the left side of the defense is Brian Draper's parents, Carrie and Pam, there to support. On the other side, you see Cassie's family.

Cassie's family. Anna was there every day.

Her brother.

She testified.

Her sister, aunts, uncles, grandfathers, they were all there. So we have Brian Draper's parents supporting Brian, and then you have Cassie's family advocating for her. Like, these guys need to get the most severe punishment for what they did. The focus of the prosecution's case would be the tape Brian and Torey made. This is prosecutor Mark Heidemann.

But on that tape, you'll see where this defendant, Torey Adamcheck, conspired and planned to kill Cassie Stoddard. You'll see where they eagerly anticipate carrying out that plan to kill her. You'll see at the beginning of this tape, uh, there's a section where the murder has just been accomplished. It's moments after the murder. And you'll hear a voice on the tape.

Obviously, the prosecution, who we haven't talked about, had a mountain. They had all this evidence. They had the tape. They had the clothes. They had Brian's statement. Here is what Dave Martinez said about how he would defend Brian Draper.

And my theory was that Torey was the main actor and Brian was, um, less culpable, although still part of something horrible. And that I believed that Brian assisting the police in locating the videotape that would become essential to the state's case, and the masks and everything, demonstrated his remorse and desire to come clean.

Remember, Brian was the one who confessed, and Brian was the one who led them to the evidence.

Mm-hmm.

So this is also another element of the defense. Maybe Brian, because he had cooperated to the extent that he had, he deserves a break. He had confessed already. They had the tape. They had the evidence. So Dave Martinez, a very difficult job here.

This is the first time that a jury sees the tape, and the town of Pocatello.

Right.

Will see this tape. How do you undo that?

Yeah.

When they see it, when they hear what Brian, both Brian and Torey, had to say on that tape, how do you get past that? Local reporter Jimmy Hancock was in court when the jury saw the tape.

The first time we saw that was during the Draper trial. And it was, it was, uh, silencing.

In my mind, as I'm watching it in the courtroom, I'm shocked. I'm shocked at what I'm seeing. It was something that made you just, what could you say to it when you saw it? I mean, it just held so many affirmations of what prosecution and law enforcement was saying.

Once Brian's trial was over, it was time for Torey's. And again, the tape was the biggest piece of evidence for the prosecution. Here's prosecutor Mark Heidemann.

The video tape is a pretty compelling piece of evidence. On the video tape is a defendant and his friend Brian Draper conspiring and planning to murder Cassie Stoddard.

They're both on tape. They both were planning Cassie's murder. They both talked about killing other classmates. But there were some differences in the way they were, uh, defending themselves or their lawyers were defending them. And in Torey's case, his attorney, Bron Rommel, said, on that tape, you don't hear my client say, "I killed Cassie." You hear Brian say, "I killed Cassie." Torey, says Bron Rommel, never confessed. Brian confessed, says Bron Rommel.

And Bron again set the tape aside. Let's look at the hard evidence, the physical evidence. That's what we like. The masks, the knives, what was collected at the scene of the crime that can tie Brian and tie Torey to the actual murder of Cassie. And this is what he had to say.

One of the most important parts of our defense and argument to the jury was that, uh, the only person that confessed to stabbing Cassie was Brian. Cassie's DNA was found on one mask. That mask was also connected by DNA to Brian. Cassie's DNA was found on one knife. That knife was connected to Brian. Cassie's DNA was found on one shirt. That DNA was connected to Brian.

They left her there.

Yeah.

For two days for someone to discover it. And that someone was a family member, which makes it all the more traumatic. So now it's going to be up to the jury to decide.

Both trials conclude, and they go to the jury. And the expected verdict comes down. Brian Draper, guilty of first-degree murder. Torey Adamcheck, guilty of first-degree murder.

When those verdicts were read, you hear two different reactions. You hear some, lack of a better word, joy.

Yeah.

And, you know, exhilaration from Cassie's family, justice is served. And then you hear sorrow and shock and sadness from the Drapers and the Adamchecks. Here's Pam Draper about the verdict.

I was at that trial every day. I heard and saw every piece of evidence. I think, um, during the trial, we knew what was going to happen. As a parent, um, I watched the tape. I know what was on it. As an outside person, it's very hard to understand or look past that. But as the parent of the young 16-year-old boy sitting there in that room every day during trial, I will say that I understand fully because I was at that trial every day.

And this is what Torey's mother, Shannon, said about Torey's guilty verdict.

So both boys were there. Both boys were guilty. You know both boys played a part. So, but I really can't talk too much about the trial. Um, they had experts just putting their theory of the case together. What I was upset about is that we did not talk about any distinction between Torey and Brian or as much about the physical evidence and the character witnesses.

In August of 2007, Torey and Brian came back before Judge Peter McDermott for their sentencing. And it was at that moment we hear from Anna Stoddard, Cassie's mother. And she, as you are allowed to do as a relative of the victim, gave a victim impact statement at the sentencing. And we're going to play a portion of what she had to say right now.

On September 22nd, 2006, my beautiful daughter was brutally murdered by Brian Draper and Torey Adamcheck. Little was I to know that that was going to be the last time I'd seen her alive. To this day, I'll never understand why two of her so-called friends would do this to her, and something so terrible could happen in Pocatello, Idaho. She never deserved what happened to her that night. And I can't believe that you two boys would do this.

She made sure to say "friend" multiple times.

Yeah.

Just to punctuate and highlight how horrendous this crime is. It's not just a murder. It is a betrayal that Cassie, probably in her final seconds of her life, knew.

Who was there.

Who was there.

Yeah.

She had to have known it was Brian. She had to have known it was Torey because Brian said they talked to each other. Um, she's still alive. She's not dying. Whoever said what, she knew.

Who was there.

I believe, even though if they were masked, she knew who was killing her.

It makes it all the more terrifying for Cassie. Let's hear a little bit more from Anna.

I let you come to my house. I let you take Cassie to the movies. I never knew you were going to kill her. I guess when two sick minds get together and plan something so evil, it didn't matter to you. Now I have to live every day of my life without her. I don't get to see her graduate from high school, go to college, become the lawyer she wanted to be, get married, have children, and live all the big dreams that she had. And I know she would have accomplished them all. You have destroyed the trust of everybody in this town.

So Anna talks there about wanting them, Brian and Torey, to spend the rest of their lives in prison. And in August 2007, that's exactly what Peter McDermott, the judge in this case, determined would happen. He sentenced both of them, at age 16, to life in prison without parole, meaning that they will die in prison for a crime they committed when they were 16 years old.

A life sentence that is fixed without the possibility of parole. You both have been convicted of murder in the first degree. Cassie was savagely stabbed many times. You disguised yourselves with masks and darkness, which made it even more frightening for her. You both were excited about the killing. The killing was a cold-blooded, horrific act.

And Anna Stoddard said it, and I think a lot of people in Pocatello would agree. That's exactly where they belong and for how long they belong there.

Yeah, there's an interesting moment when Judge McDermott addresses Brian and Torey after he gave him the sentence that, essentially, you're going to die in prison. And he said, you had a list. You had plans to harm.

Well, you know, you guys, I'm sorry. You know, you guys are, like I said, you guys are kids. But I'm convinced beyond a reasonable doubt that if you were released, that you'd kill again.

Obviously, Cassie's side was relieved with the outcome, that they are never going to be out in society again. The Drapers and the Adamchecks, I think it would be safe to say that they were shocked that juveniles, 16-year-old kids, can be sentenced to life without parole. And this is what Pam Draper said.

As a parent, 16, life without parole is cruel at 16. That's my take as a parent. And it probably would have been my take as a parent, no matter who it was. I believe that even Torey Brian asked me this when I said I because we're the only country in the world that throws our juvenile children away for life and never have a possibility of parole.

And here's what Shannon Adamcheck, Torey's mother, had to say about the sentence.

I thought they're going to get a very long prison sentence. They were both found guilty. They're being sentenced together. This is going to be a long prison sentence. And at that time, in my mind, 30 years was a long prison sentence. Life without parole was incomprehensible.

She's reacting in human terms, but this theme that she's talking about, is this fair? Life in prison without parole for a juvenile? We're going to get much deeper into that later on. But that is a very emotional reaction from a mom who doesn't want her son to be in prison till the day he dies. Um, I think there's, you know, on Cassie's side, obviously, they think he's in the right place. And there were friends of, uh, all of the parties, Torey, Brian, Cassie, who had their own opinions.

I think Torey and Brian are right where they belong. And I think that they should stop bringing things up, trying to appeal their sentences, trying to act innocent, trying to portray themselves to their own families as innocent. Um, I think that they should just.

Sit down. Shut up and take your punishment. That's what you did something wrong, and you deserve to pay the price just like you did to Cassie. She doesn't get a second life, and neither should you.

It sums it up.

You know, I think most people in Pocatello would agree with that sentiment, um, you know, that the punishment fits the crime.

There weren't many in opposition.

Yeah.

Of the sentence.

Yeah.

One thing we wanted to do when we set out to make the documentary originally was, so often with these crimes, people believe that the story ends at the sentencing. Perpetrators are locked away. Everyone is supposed to just go back to their lives as they were. Um, so in the eyes of the court, the story is over. But 20 years has gone by, and there is no way that people can just go forward with their life. Cassie's family has to continue.

The other thing that struck us both when we went to Pocatello to do this documentary, everyone we talked to, they knew all the circumstances of the case. And they would also say, like, oh, my cousin went to school with Cassie, or, uh, my nephew took art class with Cassie, or I remember Brian they knew it like it would happen.

That small town.

Yeah.

It's impossible to not have a connection to it. So Josh, Brian Draper's high school buddy, skate partner, uh, he took me to the skate park that's still there today that he and Brian Draper went to all the time. And there's a new generation of skaters out there. They're 14, 15, 16 years old. And, hey, what are you doing? What are you doing? You got a big camera. Uh, and we tell them, and they said, oh, yeah, yeah, yeah. They all knew who Cassie was. And they weren't even alive in 2006. So this crime is being passed down generation to generation.

After the trial, my daughter and I went to lunch at a new restaurant in town. We sat down, got the menus, and people were talking and pointing and looking. And I was used to that by then. But the waitress came up and said, I just need to let you know I'm Cassie's family. And she said, I just want to thank you for the kindness and the respect you've shown my family.

That's a really powerful thing to talk about, the siblings, because you can we can lay blame. Anyone can lay blame on the parents. You weren't there enough. You were there too much. You know, I'm sure they're just constantly spinning in their head, what did I miss? What did I do? What did I didn't do? Um, but there are siblings that just get taken down with everyone else because of the action of their brother. Um, but the fact that Cassie's family said, you know, like, actually showed her some empathy is, as you said, wholly unexpected and quite powerful.

I couldn't believe, from when I first encountered this story, the change in him physically to when I saw him when we did the documentary. I couldn't it was the same guy.

Different person.

It really wasn't the same guy.

He really he wasn't. He wasn't the same guy at all. He'd grown his hair long. He had now had a long red ponytail. You could see the grief in his eyes of what his family as he took ownership of what his family had done. But listen to this. This is him talking about that very thing, the transformation, the before and the after.

Yeah, we had a lot of money. Um, yeah, I mean, the house that we lived in at the time was a 5,500-square-foot house on a hill with RV storage and four-car garage on the house and another seven-car garage sitting next to it with a giant BMX track in the backyard and a stream running through the yard and a mountain behind us. And we'd have deer in our backyard and moose in our backyard.

You feel for the guy. You do, because he didn't put on that mask, and he didn't walk up those stairs and stab Cassie to death. His son did. He's paying the price. He's doing time right alongside his son, almost.

Yeah. Yeah. We're going to get deeper into that, but he was very aware of Cassie the entire time we're talking to him and never wanted to forget Cassie. Didn't want to just brush it aside. And the first time I reached out to him, he said, I will do this. I will talk to you. I'll sit down and tell you my story if in any way it can just help ease the suffering. And he takes ownership. The suffering caused by my family and caused by Torey Adamcheck.

So it's pretty clear listening to Carrie Draper that he is, in a sense, serving this sentence alongside Brian. He's outside the walls. Brian's inside the walls. And, uh, we've heard from pretty much everybody except for the guys inside the walls, Torey and Brian. But you spoke to both of them.

Mm-hmm.

Um, at length.

Yeah.

Now, I've talked to killers before in my career, but not in quite the way you did. Many, many times, over and over, lots of interviews with them.

Mm-hmm. I think we made the decision to reach out to Brian and Torey if we were just going to go there and just really tell this story and get as many people, as many perspectives as we could on why this happened, how it happened. And there wasn't a way to do it without talking to Brian and Torey themselves. Now they are 35.

Right.

36-year-old men. They're nearing middle-aged, um, hair's thinning.

They look totally different.

They grew up incarcerated from 16 on. Um, and so I thought that was going to be a unique perspective of, like, how are they looking back to this crime? And so I conducted a series of interviews, both video and phone calls, with Brian and Torey, um, over a course of three months.

What's it like? You know, that first icebreaker, you're talking to a sadistic, knife-wielding killer, you know, uh, picking up the phone like, you know, what's the, uh, strategy? Or do you just let it fly? How what do you do?

So I just I wanted to make sure that I that I had to connect them on some level so I could actually get honest answers out of them and how these two kids got to the point where they were, you know, they decided to murder someone.

And Brian Draper was first.

Talked to Brian Draper first, and this is what he had to say.

Growing up, pretty normal everyday childhood. My friends in the neighborhood, we used to play hide-and-seek and just do, like, normal everyday stuff. I was always empathetic and emotional when I was a kid, but I wasn't connected with it. I didn't understand why I felt so intense about the world around me. And so it just scared me and haunted me and tortured me. I had all these crazy dreams about being this amazing skateboarder. It was just a need to feel important and special.

But then, he said, around seventh grade is when this something dark began invading inside of him. This is what he says.

I could go to school, and nothing I did mattered. Like, nothing I did made an effect on anybody around me. And I felt like I was disappearing into my school. And I was desperate to have a girlfriend. I was so obsessed with the idea of doing something that would allure girls to me. And I thought that that was through violence. And over time and, like, getting older in here, I just realized how stupid that was. But that's how I thought. And I thought that because movies and TV and the internet and online and, you know, everyone respects a villain.

You know, he's talking about villains in movies being cool. And this goes back to what we were talking about earlier, how he, uh, and Torey Adamcheck were just steeped in horror movies, watching them over and over, obsessing about them, The Scream series in particular.

Mm-hmm.

Um, and he found a couple of real-life villains that he kind of patterned himself after.

Not Billion Stu from Scream, but Columbine.

That shooting opened up a path for kids like me to follow. I thought that I could emulate those shooters. I wanted people to think of Columbine when they saw me to be afraid of me because I identified with them. I went online, and I constantly chatted online of people who worshipped these kids. They thought they were the coolest things on the planet. I watched everything, all their home videos. I watched those things every day. Every day. And that's how I identified.

I mean, that's really shocking to hear somebody had, uh, sort of hero worship. Not just him. He's online with other kids talking about this, about how he saw Klebold and Harris, the Columbine shooters, as, like, a model. He bought a trench coat because they had one.

That's the first time I've ever heard that, that these guys were viewed as heroes.

Yeah.

There's a lot more of the conversation with Brian I had, but I want to move over to Torey, who was a bit more of a mystery to me because he had never fully admitted to participating in Cassie's crimes. Torey was a little more difficult to get to agree to do an interview. So when I finally got him on a phone call, uh, he started off the conversation in a way that I was not expecting at all.

Hello. You have a call at no expense to you from.

Torey Adamcheck.

An inmate at Idaho Maximum Security Institution. To accept this call, press 5.

Before my arrest, I had an uneventful life. I didn't read. There was nothing particularly good or bad worth mentioning. Up until September 22nd, uh, no one, including me, could have predicted that this would have happened. I had started a dark thinking pattern or started getting into a dark place.

Is there anything that's off-limits for you?

No, because, like, literally, the only shameful thing that I've really done with my life is stab Cassie. And so, I mean, I can admit to that now. So it's like everything else seems petty.