S29.E05: Shadow Of Death

[junemeatcleaver]

I couldn't get into the 10/10/2015 episode.  Certain victims of crime don't get as much sympathy and compassion from the media as this Ashton Sachs person.  Maybe 48 Hours went with the "why did the poor baby do it" angle because the only family members who spoke with them were the aunts who were on the alleged murderer's side.

[starri]

When the former prosecutor said that if she had this case, the first thing she'd do was to remove the death penalty from the discussion, my only reaction was "Of course you would, he's rich and white."

 

With that said, I did kind of get the impression that there was something off about the kid.  Whether it's genuine mental illness of sociopathy, I cannot say.

[walnutqueen]

They're going to have a tough time going for an insanity defense, considering the careful planning he did before the murders and the attempted cover-up thereafter.  I suppose they'll try to use the video gaming fantasy defense along with some psychological issues.  He'll surely get the best defense that money can buy.

[applecrisp]

Agree about 10/10 episode. not much sympathy for the dead.  There was a little boy now paralyzed.  The kid did it with planning and intent, have no sympathy for him at all.

 

This episode seemed very atmospheric if that is a word.  I like when each episode is featured.

[gaPeach]

Yest. 10:06 am

 

They're going to have a tough time going for an insanity defense, considering the careful planning he did before the murders and the attempted cover-up thereafter.

 

I might have missed this but did they go into detail as to what he did once he entered the house?  I know he went to parents bedroom and unloaded on them with the semi-automatic but did he then go to his siblings rooms and try to kill them?  Or was the 8 year brother shot by accident?  Maybe stray bullet that went through a wall hitting him by accident?  I know they cannot discuss details since he has not gone to trial yet but it was confusing.

 

And driving down to their house and then calling a service to come get his car so he could fly back?  How did the think this would not be traced?  You cannot fly without showing ID so it is simple enough to check on.  What an idiot.

 

And the house was all kinds of weird in its lay out.  It looked like the parents bedroom was on the top floor and all window so that you could see right into room at night with the lights on.  I am not sure how far house is from the road but it just seemed so open and not very private if you wanted to walk around your bedroom naked.  But the location is awesome.

[RedheadZombie]

The Sachs episode drove me crazy. The aunts absolutely disgusted me. "Not Ashton, he was SPECIAL". And, "We always loved ASHTON". Not a word of concern about any of the siblings, including the paralyzed eight year old. It all made sense in the end - they're fighting for control of the trust that gives a minimum of a million dollars to the trustee. They're not fighting to be with the other children or care for them. It's all about the $. And if their eldest is being taken advantage of (he seemed pretty low IQ to me) they should be concerned with his welfare.

[ByaNose]

Yeah, the aunts interest wasn't neccesarly in the good of the family but more for the pocketbooks. All of the weapons are found in his car & yet they are standing behind him. They don't seem to concerned about the rest of the family. It was a horrible crime and all they want is that 1 million dollars. Jeez! It's not like it's 10 million either.

[magicman]

I hated those aunts! They were so over the top with the praise of Ashton. They even go to visit him in jail every other weekend to show their support, but not one peep about any of the other kids, especially the eight year old victim. And then when asked if their sister would approve of how they are treating Ashton, total deer-in-headlights frozen faces! And after a long pause, "of yes, of course. She loved her kids unconditionally." Yeah, right. These ladies certainly didn't extend that same unconditional support to the other kids, only Ashton. It's not worth it to them financially. Horrible people.

Edited October 13, 2015 by magicman

[photo fox]

A couple shot dead in bed. It looked like a hit job. Was it a business deal gone bad or was the enemy closer to home? "48 Hours" correspondent Troy Roberts investigates.

Sorry, guys, I thought I had created this. Carry on...

[ChristmasJones]

I was not impressed with this episode.  I hope the trial will be live-streamed though. I didn't know this kid had written a paper on the Menendez brothers- that brings an additional twist to the puzzle.

[glowlights]

I might have missed this but did they go into detail as to what he did once he entered the house?  I know he went to parents bedroom and unloaded on them with the semi-automatic but did he then go to his siblings rooms and try to kill them?  Or was the 8 year brother shot by accident?  Maybe stray bullet that went through a wall hitting him by accident?  I know they cannot discuss details since he has not gone to trial yet but it was confusing.

 

None of them were shot by accident. The 8 year old was intentionally shot in his room but was found in the hallway - apparently he was able to crawl toward his parents' room. :(  A sister's room was shot into but the bullets missed her. She hid in bed until she heard her little brother calling for help. The other sister (who was sleeping with the family dogs) was totally spared. Ashton says he doesn't know why he shot his siblings. As with the Menendez brothers there seems to be a money motive, but also anger re: belief that his parents didn't like him as much as other siblings and he thought they didn't take his suicide attempt seriously. Lots of info in these articles:

 

http://www.orangecoast.com/features/ashton-sachs-says-shot-family/

 

http://www.latimes.com/local/orangecounty/la-me-mansion-slayings-20140709-story.html

 

And can I just say that his little sister's drowning death sounds hinky? The maid blamed the other child for kicking the baby into the water, then instead of fishing the girl out of the water ran off to get her husband, who only made a half-assed attempt at CPR. Meanwhile, the nanny called Andra instead of 911. It was ruled an accident, but... I'm ruling extreme negligence. Judge Glowlights presiding.

[ChristmasJones]

I am finally getting around to watching season four of The Killing on Netflix.

 

For anyone else who has watched this, do you think this case inspired the case that is featured in season four?

 

I am only half-way through... but it seems like they may have used this case as inspiration. I don't know if The Killing was produced before, after, or during the time this crime happened though.