Where Are Cassie Jo Stoddart's Murderers Now? A Look at 'The Scream Killers' Lives in Prison 19 Years After Stabbing Their Friend to Death
It's been nearly two decades since Cassie Jo Stoddart was killed by two of her classmates, otherwise known as the "The Scream Killers."
In September 2006, Stoddart, who was 16 years old at the time, was housesitting for her relatives when she was stabbed to death by two classmates and friends: Torey Adamcik and Brian Draper, per a February 2024 Dateline episode. After watching a movie with Stoddart, the teenage boys pretended to leave, only to sneak back into the house through the basement shortly after.
They proceeded to mess with the electricity fuse box to scare her, before going upstairs and stabbing her to death. The pair — whose goal was to carry out a crime inspired by the movie Scream — were both sentenced to life in prison, per the Associated Press.
During a September 2016 interview with the outlet, Stoddart's brother, Andrew, opened up about the impact of his sister's death.
'It affected us all in different ways,' he said. 'We all had different things that bothered us. It took us years before we could even talk about it ... All of us were really torn up from it — we still are. It's something we have to live with."
Meanwhile, Draper reflected on his crimes during the Dateline episode (via a call from prison), saying, "I regret it every day of my life."
So, where are Cassie Jo Stoddart's killers now? Here's everything to know about their lives nearly two decades after murdering the teenager.
On Sept. 22, 2006, Stoddart, who was a junior at Pocatello High School in Idaho, was killed by two of her classmates while housesitting for her relatives. According to the Associated Press, she was stabbed 29 times.
She had been with her boyfriend, Matt Beckham, who left the house around 11:30 p.m. Everything seemed normal, except for the power having mysteriously gone on and off at one point in the night, per Dateline.
In the episode, Idaho state police lieutenant Robert Rausch recalled receiving an emergency call on Sept. 24, and seeing "lots of blood" around a young girl dead on the floor when he arrived at the scene.
In the initial days after Stoddart's body was found, there were several suspects, including her mom's boyfriend, whose fingerprints were found on the fuse box, as well as Beckham.
During his questioning, Beckham was cleared, but also revealed that two other classmates and friends — Adamcik and Draper — had stopped by the house the night of the crime. Police then spoke to the two boys, who said they left around 9:30 p.m. to go see a movie.
A few days later, after police confirmed that they never went to the movie theater, Adamcik and Draper were identified as Stoddart's killers.
Footage of Draper in the Dateline episode shows that he came forward just before he was going to be administered a polygraph, telling police an altered version of the real story. "It wasn't supposed to happen, it was supposed to be a joke," he said.
Draper told the officials he and Adamcik snuck back into Stoddart's relatives' house through a basement door. While he said they intended to "prank" and "scare" her, things then took a turn, as Draper recalled Adamcik stabbing Stoddart. He also claimed that he "didn't touch" Stoddart.
Draper went on to tell officials that there was evidence buried out at Black Rock Canyon, such as the clothes they were wearing and the murder weapon. Upon arrival, police captain John Ganske was surprised to discover a burned videotape that was all the confirmation they needed — and revealed there was more to Draper's story.
In the video, Adamcik and Draper recorded themselves in the car after they pretended to leave the house, with the latter saying they had the "grueling task" of killing their two friends.
According to Dateline, they re-entered the house wearing masks and carrying hunting knives, switching the fuse box on and off in an effort to lure Stoddart downstairs, though she and Beckham didn't come down. Shortly after Beckham left, Adamcik and Draper turned the fuse off, went upstairs and attacked Stoddart.
After the attack, they returned to their car and left a final video in which one of the boys said, "We just killed Cassie."
The video, which was filmed earlier on the day of the murder, opened up with footage of Stoddart at her school locker, before transitioning to Adamcik and Draper skipping class to create a "death list" of classmates and their plan for that night.
The pair expressed excitement that their plan had finally "worked out," given that their victim would be home alone that night.
"I'm sorry, Cassie's family, but she had to be the one," Draper said in the video. "We have to stick with the plan."
On the videotape, the teenage boys called themselves "sick psychopaths" who get "pleasure off killing other people."
They also expressed a desire to be "just like Scream," referencing the horror movie franchise.
In the video, they agreed that the "perfect ending" would be a school shooting.
In August 2007, Adamcik and Draper were found guilty of first-degree murder and sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole, as well as 30 years to life for conspiracy to commit murder, per the Associated Press.
Adamcik has since tried to have his punishment lessened, per local outlet KPVI. However, according to KTVB7, his request was denied.
During the Dateline episode, host Keith Morrison called Draper, who gave more insight into why he killed Stoddart all those years ago.
"Everyone asks me, 'What were you thinking? Why did you do that?' " he said. "I tell them it's really complicated and it's not an easy thing."
He explained that he "felt like nobody," and thought doing something "big and bad" would garner attention.
Draper recalled that his fascination with horror began in middle school — a time when he felt as though he was a "loser" and "didn't matter" — and he would go into online chat rooms with people who were "obsessed" with the Columbine High School shooting.
In high school, he felt "understood" when he met Adamcik, who encouraged his love for horror movies. One day, the pair bonded over the movie Scream, and decided they would bring the fictional tale to life.
After Morrison asked what he would say to other children out there who have violent fantasies, Draper replied, "It's fear. You're afraid of being a nobody. You're afraid of being a loser."
"But the other half of this that no one talks about is when you go to prison, you lose your entire life," he said. "You lose everything ... I would give my life if I could change it."
Both Adamcik and Draper are serving their life sentences today, and the latter shared that while he does "see him in passing" within the prison, they don't speak to one another.
During his September 2016 conversation with the Associated Press, Andrew reflected on how his sister's death changed his perspective on the world, saying, "It makes you appreciate things a lot more. You never know how fragile life is. You never know how easy it is for someone to be gone the next day."
Looking forward, Andrew said he would never forgive his sister's killers, but he will still find a way to move forward in his own life.
'I know how to handle it now,' Andrew said. 'It's still a huge part of me. For me, every month of September is one I struggle to get through. It comes in waves honestly. There's days when I'm fine and others I'll just crumble."
He continued, "It's always going to be a part of us. It's not like it's ever going to go away. It's always on the back of our minds, but we focus on keeping our family strong instead of focusing on the bad. We focus on the good and when she was around still. Nobody should ever have to go through this.'
As revealed in the February 2024 Dateline episode, Stoddart's mother Anna died in April 2022 from cancer. Anna's boyfriend told Dateline that there is "no making amends" with Stoddart's killers.
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