FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) -- Six years ago, Fresno became the scene of a notorious mass murder. Marcus Wesson is now on death row for killing nine of his children.
His victims included kids he fathered through incest. In a primetime special called "Family Secrets," the stories of the surviving Wesson family members, including Wesson's now ex-wife Elizabeth will be told.
Elizabeth Wesson's divorce became final two months ago. She says that was a symbolic closure for her. Marcus Wesson was a controlling part of her life since she was 8-years-old.
Her family's story is the focus of an hour-long special about how she and her children survived decades of mind control and how they are moving forward now.
Elizabeth Wesson says she didn't even begin to see the deep scars her former husband left on her and her children until several years after the horrific crime. "It feels like I'm coming out of a fog or something. It's taken me time to get where I'm at, it really has."
Tuesday night Elizabeth and her five surviving children share the pain they endured under the constant control of convicted killer Marcus Wesson.
Elizabeth says her family opened up and spoke candidly with correspondent Jay Schadler about what they did to cope with extreme physical and sexual abuse. "This is the first time ever they verbally expressed what they were going through. And it's gonna be hard for me to watch. Very hard."
The twisted life the family led under Wesson's domination came to a halt in March of 2004 when Fresno Police arrived at a domestic dispute at the family's Central Fresno home. After a brief standoff officers walked in to find nine bodies piled in a corner, all shot to death.
The murders ended a family secret the group hid for years. A life of beatings, insults and incest. Even today, sharing the way they existed is difficult.
"The questions, I wasn't prepared for the questions that they were asking you know I tried to answer as honestly as I could and it brought back a lot of memories that I really don't want to remember really."
As part of the story, the family returned to places they lived with Wesson ... Like Tomales Bay in Northern California. Although the family almost always lived together, they were isolated from the world. The journey reminded Elizabeth of the emotional scars her children will always carry.
"Seeing the pain on my children's faces. Because after we did the filming it took us about a week or two to get over that. Because it's really painful."
The first Fresno Police officer who arrived at the scene that day also talked about his experience. Eloy Escareno was the first to enter the home and confirm what other family members had already assumed.
You can watch more on the surviving members of the Wesson family tonight on "Primetime -- Family Secrets". That's at 10:00 p.m. right here on abc30.
