The Grisly Murder of Cassie Jo Stoddart
The teenage girl who was brutally murdered by two of her classmates as a part of their “death list”.
On September 22nd 2006, Cassie Jo Stoddart was house-sitting for her aunt and uncle in Pocatello, Idaho; she was a few miles from her home. She was trusted to look after the house and the pets since she was sixteen, turning seventeen on December 21st, and known as a very responsible person.
With permission from her family, Cassie invited her boyfriend over to stay with her for a few hours. Matt Beckham invited Torey Adamcik with him, who in turn brought Brain Draper. The two that Cassie didn’t invite stayed for a couple of hours before leaving, Draper sneakily unlocking the basement door before leaving. He and Adamick intended to use the door to sneak back inside later with vile intentions.
Prior to September 22nd, Adamick and Draper created a “death list” of people they planned to brutally murder after stalking and terrifying them. Cassie, for unknown reasons, was included on the list. According to the sheriff leading her case, Cassie was the type of person who tried to befriend everyone that she met, and she was known for being a highly responsible, straight-A student.
After they left the house, Cassie remained with Matt, the two watching a movie in the living room. At some point before 10:30 p.m., Adamick and Draper returned to the house, slipping into the basement. They had parked down the street and changed into dark clothing, gloves and masks beforehand. Once they were settled underneath the house, they began making loud noises in an attempt to “scare them” but that didn’t work, so they located the circuit breaker and flipped off the power to the house. It’s believed both actions were done to try and lure Cassie down to them in the basement.
The power suddenly going out in the entire house frightened Cassie, according to Matt, and it was only by the family dogs who were barking and growling down the stairs to the basement. Matt contacted his mother to ask if he could stay with Cassie since she was scared, but she denied it and instead offered to have Cassie stay with them at the Beckham house. Ever the responsible girl, Cassie denied saying she had to stay with the house and the dogs left in her care, a decision that would turn out to be fatal.
Around 10:30 p.m., Matt’s mother arrived to pick him up, once again offering to take Cassie back with them. She denied the offer, and the Beckhams left, leaving Cassie alone in her aunt and uncle’s home. While driving back home, Matt called Adamick to see where he and Draper had gone after leaving hours before. Adamick answered, whispering so lowly that Matt struggled to understand him; he assumed that Adamick and Draper were in a movie theatre and ended the call. Matt was completely unaware that the person he believed to be his friend was lying in wait, plotting to murder his girlfriend the second they managed to lure her into the basement.
After the call ended, Adamick and Draper flipped the breaker again, cutting power in the home. They waited for Cassie to come down and attempt to fix the electrical system, but she never did. Instead of waiting, they crept up the stairs, Adamick holding a hunting-style knife while Draper had a dagger-style knife, both of which were bought at a local pawn shop.
A cabinet was near the top of the stairs; Draper passed by it, opening and slamming the door shut in another failed attempt to scare Cassie. The 16-year-old was asleep on the couch, not even noticing their attempts while they crept up from the basement.
It’s unclear who began the attack, but Adamick and Draper used their knives to stab and slash at Cassie’s body. They stabbed her approximately thirty times; twelve of those stabs were fatal wounds. A forensic pathologist, Dr. Charles Garrison, testified in court that the most lethal of those twelve wounds struck the right ventricle of Cassie’s heart.
They fled right after deeming Cassie dead, leaving her to bleed out in the living room.
Two days went by, and nobody had been in contact with Cassie. Two days after she was murdered, Cassie’s body was still lying on the couch. First responding officers described her as covered in blood and riddled with deep lacerations and stab wounds.
It didn’t take long for the police to realise that Adamick and Draper were the last to see Cassie alive. Adamick was interrogated the same day that Cassie was found. He claimed that he and Draper left the house after realising the party they were told about wasn’t happening; they instead headed to watch a film and then slept at his family home. When the interrogator probed him on the movie’s details, Adamick couldn’t remember anything about it.
Within a matter of days, Adamick and Draper had turned on each other and confessed, claiming the entire thing was the other’s idea. Draper, on September 27th, led officers to a stash of evidence he had buried in the Black Rock Canyon area.
There, they found two dagger-style knives with sheaths, a silver and black-handled knife with a smooth blade, a folding knife, a red and white mask, latex gloves, and the most damning evidence in the entire case, a videotape.
On the tape, it was found the two had planned the attack, along with other victims on their “death list”, inside the school all three attended. The entire tape was transcribed and played in court in full, including their reactions after murdering Cassie. The video heard Draper claim they would make history by becoming notorious serial killers such as Ted Bundy or the Zodiac Killer. They claimed to be “inspired” by the Columbine School Shooting and the Scream horror franchise.
“Just killed Cassie! We just left her house. This is not a fucking joke. I stabbed her in the throat, and I saw her lifeless body.” Draper can be heard saying in the clip after they fled the scene.
On April 17th 2007, Draper was found guilty of first-degree murder and conspiracy to commit murder. He was sentenced to life without the chance of parole for the first-degree murder charge and thirty years to life for the conspiracy to commit murder charge.
On June 8th 2007, Adamick was found guilty of first-degree murder and conspiracy to commit murder. He was sentenced to life without the chance of parole for the first-degree murder charge and thirty years to life for the conspiracy to commit murder charge.
Both are serving their sentences at the Idaho State Correctional Institution.
Cassie Jo Stoddart was described as an incredibly smart, responsible and kind person who couldn’t dream of harming another person. She was laid to rest in the Mountain View Cemetery in Pocatello, Idaho.
Thank you for taking the time to read Cassie’s story!
