Shedding Light on Marcus Wesson's Past

ABC Action News/August 11, 2005

A new report reveals the jobs Marcus Wesson worked before the mass murders and what his attorneys prevented him from doing during his trial.

Wesson is serving a life sentence for the deaths of nine of his children, but much of his past has been masked in mystery.

After Wesson was sentenced, he met with a probation officer. It was during the interview that Wesson said he had no mental health issues or suicidal thoughts.

He also shed some new light in his lifestyle before his arrest.

The first image the Valley ever saw of Marcus Wesson was him handcuffed, with long dreadlocks and overweight.

Throughout the trial, the weight came off. As he was led away to death row, it was obvious that life behind bars took its toll on Wesson.

Wesson told his probation officer he lost more than 100 pounds in jail and no longer has trouble breathing.

Wesson had several courtroom outbursts and told the probation department that he wanted to testify during the trial, but his attorneys would not allow it.

A home in West Central Fresno is where the Valley's worst mass murder took place, but Wesson says it was not his permanent home.

The report says Wesson was "going back and forth between Santa Cruz to Fresno and considered himself somewhat homeless."

As for the relationships between him and other women in the home, like his daughters and nieces, Wesson said he "Considered himself living in a polygamous common law relationship."

Wesson rarely left his home, and according to court testimony, relied on his daughters for financial support.

Wesson says for four years before his arrest, he was "working under the table in telemarketing on and off."

As for any drug or alcohol use, Wesson said he "never drank any alcohol or used any narcotics."

The probation report doesn't mean Wesson is eligible for probation any time soon. It's standard procedure in any case.

Wesson is awaiting execution on death row and his only chance at getting out is through a new trial.