Disclaimer: This article contains mentions of murder. Reader discretion is advised.
Dateline NBC will revisit the tragic murder case of Cassie Jo Stoddart by two classmates from Pocatello High School. The episode titled “The Secret in Black Rock Canyon” will air this Sunday, February 18, 2024, at 10 p.m. ET. The synopsis says, “When police retrace the final hours of 16-year-old Cassie Jo Stoddart, they uncover evidence including a homemade horror film that points to her killers.”
According to AP News, on September 22, 2006, Stoddart, 16, was house-sitting for her relatives when she tragically died. Her uncle and aunty returned home on September 24 when they found the crime scene. She had been stabbed 29 times. Authorities investigated for less than a week before charging Torey Adamcik and Brian Draper with murder.
The investigation revealed that before the murder, Stoddart’s boyfriend, Matt Beckham, and Adamcik and Draper were also at the house. However, the latter two left and Beckham was the last person to have seen Stoddart alive. Authorities caught Adamcik and Draper lying about their whereabouts after they left the house, after which Draper confessed, per Oxygen. He also led them to evidence, which included a video recording of their detailed plan inspired by movies like Scream.
Who were the suspects convicted of Cassie Jo Stoddart’s murder?
While investigating Cassie Stoddart’s murder, investigators initially suspected her boyfriend Matt Beckham’s involvement. According to Oxygen, Beckham was the last person to have seen her alive on the night of September 22, 2006. He took a polygraph test and passed with “flying colors.” However, Beckham then told detectives that on the night Stoddart died, two of their friends, Brian Draper and Torey Adamcik, had also been at the house.
The outlet reported that Draper and Adamcik, both 16, had stopped by to hang out around 8:20 p.m. They watched Kill Bill: Volume 2 and left sometime around 9:30 p.m. Both boys told detectives they had left because they had gone for a movie. However, when questioned, neither could talk about the movie they claimed they watched. A movie theater employee denied seeing them there that night.
Authorities knew both Draper and Adamcik were lying about the night of Cassie Jo Stoddart’s murder and confronted them about the same. Draper initially admitted they were not at the movies but once again lied about lying. He claimed that they were breaking into cars and only lied to avoid getting into trouble. Investigators decided to make him take a polygraph test shortly before which he confessed.
Oxygen stated that Draper recounted Stoddart’s murder. He and Adamcik returned to the house that night to turn the power off and scare Cassie. They wore masks to disguise their identity, but it was Adamcik who started stabbing her. Draper then led law enforcement officers to a stash of evidence they had buried in the Black Rock Canyon area, reported Casetext.
The evidence included multiple knives, a videotape, a partially burned book, gloves, a few clothes, and other things. The said tape contained footage of Adamcik and Draper planning Stoddart’s murder. It also consisted of footage of the duo reacting to Stoddart’s murder after committing the crime.
Oxygen further reported that the boys, inspired by movies like Scream, committed the murder to create their own real-life version. They targeted Cassie Jo Stoddart because she had been house-sitting alone at the time. The videotape had a detailed footage of their plan. Draper said to the camera, “I’m sorry. I’m sorry to Cassie’s family but she had to be the one. We have to stick with the plan.”
They first dropped by the house to understand the layout and unlock the basement door. They then waited in their car and only executed their plan after Beckham’s parents picked him up from the house. At some point in the video, one of them said, “We’re sick psychopaths who get pleasure out of killing other people. We want to be just like ‘Scream.'”
Both Torey Adamcik and Brian Draper stood separate trials. They were tried as adults and convicted of murder. Following this, they received respective life sentences without the possibility of parole.
Cassie Jo Stoddart’s murder case will air on Dateline NBC’s episode this Sunday, February 18, 2024.
