Teen Lovers Murdered Her Mother for an Inheritance

A chance meeting for two troubled teens instantly turns into a love affair. They begin planning their future together until someone tries to tear them apart, leading to a violent, bloody, and earthshattering, wicked attraction. Halloween 2006 in Lafayette, Colorado. Across the city, there are killers and bloodstained victims roaming the streets.

It’s a macob devilish spectacle. >> Hey, good to >> see y’all. Glad you kids made it. Um, thanks. >> At a local youth center, 17-year-old Brian Grove is helping with last minute party preparations.  He didn’t volunteer, though. This is community service for breaking into cars. So, Tate, can you all work together on this? >> He’s assigned to work with 15-year-old Tess Dom.

>> Test? >> Yeah, I I know you. >> Really? >> Well, not not personally. I actually follow your blog. >> Oh, okay. >> Like the way you express. >> She’s no angel either. She’s being punished for breaking teenage curfew laws. >> When Tess realized to that he was the same boy who had blogged with her, >> they instantly clicked.

>> I read it. Trust me. >> Oh my god. Brian decides the wicked witch is the girl for him. They begin dating and are quickly lost in lust. Nothing else matters. They’re completely and utterly absorbed with each other. I was her best friend. And once she started hanging out with him, she kind of stopped hanging out with her other friends like me.

 We were inseparable. And then she started dating him and I didn’t even hear from her. >> We were on the swim team together when we were younger. He was very smart kid. He was very energetic. He was always kind of blopping around and uh he was really funny. He was always making jokes, making people laugh.

Ryan had graduated a year early from high school. He’d moved out of his parents’ house and he was living in a condo with a roommate. And soon [music] Tess was coming over to that house every night. >> They spent all their spare time with each other. They were both just incredibly in love with each other. >> Although only 15, Tess has been looking for someone to truly love her for a long time.

 I think Tess from the very beginning had sort of a sense of rejection just because her her dad wasn’t around and then um her mom got married again and then that guy left both of them and so I think she felt really rejected between the two of them and she got a lot of attention from boys and I think that’s part of the reason why is because she really felt like she wanted to be accepted and admired and sort of like a celebrity.

When Tess and Brian are not together, they remain in constant touch over the phone or by computer messaging. The young couple can’t wait to tell the whole world they found their true love and take to internet blogs and online postings to spread the news. [music] >> Both of these kids were very big into social networking.

Brian feels like the happiest man alive, but is terrified another boy will steal the love of his life. So, he posts an ominous warning. Just to let you all know, this is the most beautiful girl in the world, and she’s mine. Touch her and I will kill you. He was very protective of Tess, especially because Tess got so much attention from other people.

 And I have no doubt in my mind that if somebody tried to do anything with Tess that he would have hurt them. >> And something else is feeding his paranoia. >> I knew she was unfaithful to several boyfriends before. >> I mean, I didn’t really like him. I didn’t like the vibe that I got from him ever. >> Brian’s fears over losing Tess date back to his troubled childhood.

Adopted from India at a young age, he’s whisked off to Colorado, where a new life and a new family await. But over the years, he’s never able to escape his past. >> Brian often said that he was born of a demon because he found out that his birth mother in India had been raped and so he felt like he was part demon.

That’s a story that he has known and incorporated into how he views himself. Spawn of a demon. So there’s this self-loathing part. There’s this monster that is part of me genetically. Um that’s a very difficult thing for anybody to process. He never really felt like he was accepted by anybody besides his parents.

He was always a little bit different. There was I mean obviously around Colorado there’s not there’s not a lot of kids that would appear like him with his same skin tone and stuff like that. >> He struggles to make new friends and is teased remorselessly by kids his own age. By the time Brian reaches high school, his moods turn even darker and he becomes increasingly unpredictable.

It’s >> too loud after midnight. You need to turn it off. Get it. Don’t touch my stuff. I sw I I swear I’ll kill you. Don’t ever touch my stuff. >> The police came out of the house when Brian and his mother were in a tussle. And Brian told them that the threat really wasn’t serious. He was just angry at her and he apologized to his mother.

And so the police accepted that and suggested that both mother and son get counseling. >> But that was then and this is now. The romance is getting steamier by the day and proves too much for Tess’s protective mom, Linda. >> What the hell is going on in here? I think it’s about time you went home. Carry it. You got to go.

 Tess, you want to know better? What is the matter with you? >> She knew that Tess and him were having sex and she really didn’t like that. And it was definitely the fact that he was a couple years older really, really kind of angered her. >> You should know better. >> I hate you. >> I don’t like you either. Tess would not be told what to do by anybody ever.

>> The two continue to vent their rage to the world. Tess announces she’s at war with her mom, but it’s been that way for quite a while. >> Unfortunately, her mother had a lot of problems with alcohol and was in fact known as a drunk. And that alcoholism caused a lot of problems in the relationship between Tess and her mother.

>> Tess, GIVE ME MY KEYS. NO, >> they would fight about everything and nothing at the same time. >> I’m going. >> She would just take it to a different level. I’ve seen her mom hit her and throw her down the stairs. >> You could have killed me, Mom. >> IT’S YOUR OWN STUPID FAULT THAT YOU’VE GIVEN ME MY KEYS TO BEGIN WITH.

 THIS NEVER WOULD HAVE HAPPENED. STOP BEING SUCH A BABY. Alcoholism likely fueled the aggression that Tess claims that her mother expressed towards her. Often times people who abuse alcohol have a lessening of their inhibitions. They’re more impulsive. Their anger is not well modulated.

 Other emotions are not well controlled either. So alcoholism and poor impulse control and aggression go hand in hand. I wonder if she’s out with that stupid boy again. Tess wrote in her blog about how frustrating it was to try to watch over her mother all the time, make sure that her mother didn’t drink and drive. On the one hand, it’s the airing of this dirty laundry on this massive scale, but on the other, it’s a cry for help and a solicitation for [music] people to say kind, sympathetic, and empathic things to her.

>> I know. Like, how can a mother seriously hate her daughter? It’s It’s ridiculous. It’s unfair. has played in a wreck basketball league [music] and her mother, Linda, would often show up to games 11:00 in the morning already drunk. Everybody in the neighborhood knew to expect this [music] from her. And unfortunately, this was Linda’s reputation.

>> I know like what Tess had bottled inside of her and why she had it bottled inside of her [music] because of how bad her mom treated her and she just wanted like that love from her mom, but she didn’t get it from her because her alcoholism was so bad. Tess believes she’s endured enough of her mom’s drunken outbursts and spends more and more time with Brian.

Her mom, Linda, learns she’s even skipping school, so she takes drastic action and reports her as a runaway. >> So, the police come pick up Tess [music] and bring her back home. >> Oh, it’s so nice to see you again. Where were you? Whatever. Mom >> Tess was on the the delinquent side of normal for most of us, but her mom, I think, could tell she was losing control.

 So, she was like really trying to rein her in before it was too late. Tess ran away from home multiple times, and the excuse she gave every time she was picked up by the police is, [music] “My mother’s drinking.” The mother’s excuse for why she drinks, Tessa’s behavior. They’re both really into blaming outside forces for that which is really their own responsibility.

>> Give us a call if you need us. >> Thanks. I appreciate it. >> Tess is back home, but still utterly devoted to a life with Brian. Linda succumbs to her daughter’s pressure tactics and against her better judgment allows Brian to move in. Her mom wasn’t very happy about Brian moving in. She didn’t like Brian.

 She never really did. But um if she got Tess back, then I think she figured she could just live with that. >> I don’t even see why she wants me home. Whatever. >> Ladom allows Brian to move into [music] the Dom household as a way of having some control in a situation that she perceives is rapidly escaping her grasp. >> She’s always drunk. She’s ridiculous.

>> Mhm. It’s disgusting. >> So, it’s a lastditch effort to try to do some parenting of Tess yet at the same time acknowledging I can’t stop this relationship, so I might as well have it here where maybe I can put some parameters around it. >> The truce doesn’t last long. >> So, um, Mom. >> Yeah. >> Uh, we kind of have something to tell you.

>> What’s that? >> Um, well, I might be pregnant. Pregnant. Pregnant. >> Yeah. >> Oh, I knew that this was going to happen. You’re not going to have this baby. And you’re going to take care of this. You’re going to get off your lazy butt. YOU’RE GOING TO GET A job and you’re going to take care of this. She’s a kid.

I knew this was going to the next day and they got a pregnancy test and found out that Tess wasn’t pregnant. So, everyone was kind of relieved. >> Oh my god. I knew this was going to happen. >> For Linda Dom, it’s still enough to be the final straw. >> Tessa’s mom didn’t want Brian [music] to live there, so they had to come up with a way to get rid of that problem.

>> She has her own life. Like, why can’t she just leave us alone? >> Brian makes a lifealtering decision. >> It’s not It’s not going to be like this baby. >> Promise. >> I’m going to handle this. >> Really? >> Yeah. >> Okay. He will murder Linda Dom tonight. >> Oh, I knew that this was >> troubled teens Brian Grove and Tess Dawn have had enough of Tess’s mother, Linda, interfering in their love life.

>> She’s a kid. Do you get that? She’s just a kid. >> They want her dead. With mom out of the way, Tess also knows there’ll be cash pouring in. >> They know that Linda owns her home outright. They also know that she has an insurance policy. So, they figure if they kill Linda, they will inherit the house and the insurance policy, [music] they can sell the house that currently they all live in, and they can use that as a down payment for their big dream house.

>> You can do anything our heart desires. The wicked fantasy starts to become a reality as the loveirds go house hunting. A lot of >> house. Here’s the living room. Mhm. >> So, what do you do again? >> Oh, I’m in I’m in fast food. >> So, the realtor is taking these two kids through a half million dollar house.

 She knows they’re only 17 and 15 [music] and she’s wondering how in the world are they going to pay? >> We’re we’re definitely buying this place. >> I thought they were crazy. There’s no way they’d be able to afford a house like that and just even be thinking about it at that age was just stupid. >> Stupid, yes, but young love is built on dreams, not reality.

 And for their dream to come true, they need to plot out Linda’s demise. A plan they discuss at Tess’s home and don’t care if friend Tom Clayman overhears. >> I think I think we should stab her. >> Stab her? I think that’s going to be too messy. >> No, it won’t be messy. >> It’s going to be messy. There’s going to be blood everywhere.

>> Yeah, but we can clean it up. We’ll use bleach or something. >> I don’t know. That’s not I don’t know. Um maybe we should poison her. >> Poison her? >> Yes, poison her and make her overdose on her pills. It’s >> not uncommon in teenagers who are dysfunctional to have these kinds of fantasies, to have these kinds of thoughts.

 What is unusual is the amount of detail they’re putting into it. It’s >> quick and easy. >> What’s going on in here? >> Nothing. >> What are you two up to? >> Nothing. >> Nothing. We’re just talking. >> Hanging out. >> I’m going to have a cigarette. >> I’m sure you will. >> The plotting continues at an allnight restaurant.

 There’s only one thing on the menu. >> What? >> Murder. >> Oh my gosh. Why are you so crazy? I don’t understand. Stop people. Oh my gosh. >> Linda is calling them and calls Tess about 10 times. >> Why do you keep on calling me? Why? My gosh. We need to do something about her. This is the typical dynamic in their relationship where Linda is trying to exert some parental control and Tess, like any typical teen, is bucking that control, that authority, but even more so because of all of the negative dynamics that are [music] going on in this household. A final call

leaves no time for dessert. >> She’s going to throw your stuff out on the deck and she says that we’re finished. >> What? But why? >> I don’t know. We got to do something. I think we should kill her. >> You think we can get away with it? >> Yeah, probably. I’m not going to help you or anything. >> We got to go now. Like right now.

[music] She kicked you out. Look at that. This is unreal. >> That is a tipping point. That is a validation [music] for them in the framework that they’re operating within that, you know what, we got to take care of this now. She needs to go. >> [snorts] >> You got to do it. >> All right, I’ll do it. >> All right.

>> Yeah, I’ll do it. >> Okay. I love you, baby. >> I love you, too. Love you. >> All right. >> Just drive around. I I’ll handle this. >> I got you, man. Tess and Tom drive off around the neighborhood as they wait for the confrontation to be over. >> Hey, >> what are you doing in here? Where’s Tess? >> You know, we wouldn’t be having these problems if it wasn’t for you.

>> If you were drunk all the time, me and Tess would be happy. >> No, you’re the problem because you’re not even one of us. I don’t know what you talking about. >> Real deflating for him. Upsetting. Infuriating. This would further push him into the mindset. I’m going to kill her. >> What’s taking him so long? >> Stop it. No.

>> Why isn’t he calling? >> Finally, Tess can’t take it anymore, so she calls Brian’s cell phone. Brian wraps his arms around Linda’s neck, but she’s not dying. >> Tess Tes puts Tom on the phone. >> He want you. He wants you. >> Yeah, man. >> Frustrated his victim won’t die. >> He grabs a small switchblade. >> We got to go.

>> Oh my gosh. Okay. [music] To finish the job, Brian returns with a kitchen knife. >> Oh my god. >> Where have you been? >> Oh my god. [sighs] Is she dead? >> Yes. You have to you have to help me get get her out of here. >> Dude, I don’t I don’t want to get involved with this. >> You have to. You’re already in it.

 You can’t get out now. >> Tess anxiously waits in the kitchen for everything to be over. The problem is the teen’s wicked murder plan has a fatal flaw. What do they do with Linda Dom’s dead body? >> Now what? I I don’t know. >> 52-year-old Linda Dom is dead. ferociously stabbed by her daughter Tess’s boyfriend Brian Grove.

 As the reality of his actions sets in, the teenage lovers along with friend Tom Clayman need to dispose of the body. >> Now what? >> And fast. >> I I don’t know. Oh my goodness. The fact that Brian would do something so extreme in her perception to rescue her [music] from this horrific life that she believed she was living.

>> That would be an amazing action to her. That would be viewed as [music] heroic. It would be viewed as a true test of love and affection. Um, it would be viewed through those distorted lenses. The killers clean up and act as though no one’s been butchered tonight. >> So, what do these three teens do next? Well, they look at each other, plop down on the couch, get high, and watch a movie.

>> Speaks to their immaturity and the fact that they don’t have any coping skills for how to deal with something like this. It’s a way of trying to erase what [music] has just happened and make it seem like everything is back to normal. The following morning, Tess comes up with her own plan on how to get rid of her mom’s body.

Using Linda’s debit card, she buys a special gift for Brian, a saw to carve her flesh into easily disposable pieces. But he quickly finds out [music] that dismembering a human body is a lot more difficult than he thought it was, especially when you only have a handsaw. >> Desperately in need of help, Brian invites a friend, Mark Davis, over for a gruesome show and tell.

>> Please just come, man. I I I really need you. >> Now, Mark is very reluctant to do so because he knows it’s wrong and he’s uncomfortable with it naturally. I didn’t. >> Mark Davis and Brian Grove have a lot in common. They’re both outsiders. >> I need you to help me. >> No, no, no, >> no. You have to help me.

>> They share similar family histories um and similar community histories in this world that they live in where they both feel like they’re on the outside looking in. So, they got to look out for each other. It’s a bond that’s forged of being different. >> To justify the brutal attack, Brian spins a tale that he was simply protecting his girl.

>> Brian tells Mark that Linda was drunk and chasing Tess around the room and trying to attack her. And in the middle of this, Tess was able to call Brian and ask him for help. And then Linda pulled out a switchblade and came after him. and he was able to get the switchblade away from her and ended [music] up stabbing her in the throat.

>> Brian is trying to step into the shoes that he believes Tess wanted him to fill. This manly take charge rescuer role. And those were some pretty big shoes for anybody to fill. Meanwhile, Tess is kind of subdued. [music] And I think it’s really sinking in for her. You know what? The fantasy isn’t quite as good as the reality.

That night, Brian drives Mark home in his own car. The horror of it all starts sinking in. >> I can’t believe I just did that, man. I I can’t believe I just killed somebody. Look, >> look, just go to the police, all right? Tell them it was self-defense. >> They’d never believe me, man. [ __ ] >> The pressure created by the guilt over what he’s done finally breaks through.

It was there and he was trying to keep a lid on it, but that lid was barely on there and and it just kind of comes apart. Over the next 3 days, the three endlessly debate what to do with Linda’s body. Finally, Mark and Brian head for the local landfill, but their plan comes to a sticky end. We’re like in a ditch.

 It’s not going anywhere. >> They just abandoned the idea of taking the body to the landfill and they just drive home to regroup. >> His girlfriend just wants this whole ordeal to end. Brian returns home knowing Tess isn’t going to be happy with the news. >> Well, >> the landfill plan didn’t work. >> What do you mean the plan didn’t work? >> We got We got stuck in the mud.

>> You got stuck in the mud? >> Yeah. >> Really? >> You know, he’s also got to overcome the fact that he’s reassured her that this plan is 100% going to work. >> Yet, here’s a failure. >> That’s going to spike Tess’s anxiety. >> Still here. The body’s still here. So Tess, Brian, and Mark go out again using Linda Dom’s car.

>> This time, Brian suggests a more traditional approach to getting rid of Linda’s body. >> This is February. It’s Colorado. It’s cold. They’ve got a terrible problem. The ground is frozen solid, and it’s going to be very, very difficult to dig a grave. >> Come on. After 2 and 1/2 hours of digging, all they have to show for their efforts is a shallow hole.

>> Tired and frustrated, the trio can’t imagine the situation getting any worse when suddenly it does. >> A police car is approaching. Are the body shifters about to be unearthed? Teenage lovers Brian Grove and Tess Dom are trying with a friend, Mark Davis, to bury Tess’s mother. >> Come on. >> They hadn’t counted on a police patrol car cruising by.

>> They don’t know what the cop is doing there, but if the cop comes over to investigate what they’re doing, they’ve got a corpse in the car. If the cop comes over, it’s all over. After the longest few minutes of their young lives, the officer drives off without seeing them. >> Guys, this is this is ridiculous.

 I I can’t see this. I can’t see this. Come on. What are you doing? Come on. This. So, they quickly throw Linda’s body into the hole and they start throwing dirt on it. >> All right, man. That’s good, though. Let’s go. Let’s go. Let’s go. Let’s go now. Come on. Come on. Come on. We got to go. The problem is the hole is so shallow that it’s very difficult to get her covered up.

>> Back home, Linda Dom’s body continues to haunt them. >> I know, but but I think we’re fine. I think it’s okay. Like the body is hidden. The body part Listen, >> we have to go back. Okay, we have to we have to go get that body. When sunlight comes out, somebody’s going to see the body. We have to go back. All right, let’s go.

So, Brian and Mark drive back to the cemetery. They dig the body up, put it back in the car, and shortly before dawn, they drive home. The following morning, Tess decides it’s time for a break. >> Here you go, sweetie. >> Wow. >> I know. >> Worrying over the deathly problem in the garage is on hold. >> She wants to play her dream role of beautiful wife, cooking a breakfast for her hardworking gravedigger lover.

>> So, what should we do today? Um, >> so pretty quickly they just forget about the body and they leave it in the garage and Brian and Tess live in the house [music] pretending they’re a young married couple. >> I don’t know. I think we’re I think we should like go to a mall or something. Get you some new clothes >> and then I can wear them to our party tonight, right? >> They turn Linda’s home into party central.

>> Tess and Brian are constantly drinking and getting high. numbing the emotions that are associated with all the negative things that have gone on. It is escape and an attempt not to think or feel about what has occurred. They are in the moment. They are acting like teenagers and they’re not looking at the long-term prospects of what’s going to happen when the money runs out.

 This is very adolescent-like what they’re doing at this point. >> Some of the kids would ask Tess, “Well, where’s your mom?” and Tess O’Brien would say, “Oh, she got drunk and I haven’t seen her and I don’t know where she is.” And since Linda had this reputation for erratic behavior, most of the kids simply accepted that story.

>> Brian’s adoptive father, however, wonders why he suddenly stopped hearing any fresh moaning about Linda Dom. He comes over to the house several times and he sees that Tess and Brian have set [music] up house and he thinks this is unusual and he asks Tess, “Well, where’s your mother? Why is your mother allowing this?” And Tess says, “Well, she’s out.

She’ll be back later.” As the weeks pass, domestic bliss begins to eb away. Brian’s guilt starts to overwhelm him. He considers killing himself and shares his inner torment with the world. That was really out of the ordinary for him. And I I remember the post. I actually commented on it to ask if he was okay.

Um but I didn’t get any response. So it really worried me to see something like that pop up. Um, it really it really made me feel like like something really bad had happened because generally even in the face of some pretty serious adversity, both of them were sort of optimists. It suggests that the gravity of what he’s done is too [music] much for him to live with.

 There’s a considerable pressure inside him as a human being to confess, to be forgiven, to be punished. And so he’s putting it out there. He cannot live with what he’s done in life. And now in death, Linda Dom continues to drive the young lovers apart. The stress over not being able to get rid of her body is cause of constant tension in the house.

>> What are you doing? >> I’m smoking a cigarette. >> You don’t need to be smoking cigarettes. I’m done with you smoking your cigarettes. Your The whole house smokes like cigarettes. >> Just give me the cigarette. >> No, you’re I’m not What are you doing? >> You don’t need to smoke that. >> That’s That’s a perfectly fine cigarette.

 What are you doing? >> I don’t care. >> Tess and Brian begin arguing and bickering over the smallest things. So, you can see that cracks are beginning to form in their little fantasy world. >> You’re just like your mom. I thought you were different. >> I am not a slob. >> Yes, you are. You’re a slob. You need to clean this place up.

>> She kind of [music] stayed pretty closed off from me, but when she would text me, she would tell me how bad they were fighting and how she didn’t know how to get away from it. And, you know, there was nothing she could do about it anymore. They would fight about everything. [music] Little things. Nothing at all. Just fight.

 And I think it’s cuz, you know, Tess [music] was really angry with him. >> With the body still rotting in the trunk, they admit what they’ve done to close friends. >> This is a common occurrence. They cannot contain themselves, to keep the secret, and they have a need to blurt it out to other individuals.

 They don’t get that this is creating evidence that’s going to hang them. 3 weeks after the murder, one of their friends anonymously tips off police. >> The caller said that a woman had been killed and that her body was in a garage in a car. He said he couldn’t give the exact address of the house, but he gave detailed directions on a description so the police could find it.

>> Police come out now. Come to the door. >> Oh my gosh, Brian. It’s the police. We’re going to do guys. >> Come out now. >> Come out. Let me see your hands. Don’t make any fast movements. Down on the glass. Do it now. I want to see all your hands. Come on now. Don’t make any fast movements. Go down. Get on your knees.

All right, ma’am. I need you to go ahead and stand up. Tess and Brian along with their friend Tom Clayman are taken to the station for questioning. Police don’t have a search warrant and the three suspects aren’t owning up to what’s festering in the garage. >> So, what happened with your mother? >> Um, they speak with Tess who says that she hasn’t seen her mother for 3 weeks.

But when they speak with Brian, he says that he saw her that evening at 6:00 p.m. >> That’s actually the most serious relationship you’ve ever had. >> Uh, I would say yeah, >> we’ve heard probably four different stories on what happened to Tessa’s mom. >> So, um, I’m just going to I’m just going to talk to you and and try to get your side of the story on what happened.

>> Is that cool? >> Yeah, that’s fine. >> Okay. That girl, honestly, I don’t want to be without her for any reason. In less than 15 minutes, Brian is close to his breaking point. >> Cuz I just see my girlfriend. Just for a minute. >> Sure. Just you got to tell me why and all that. >> Just want to. She’s still mad.

>> Okay. And then what? >> No. Talk to me then. >> He says that he’ll tell them the truth if they’ll just let him have a few minutes with Teston. Brian finally tells the detectives that he went up to the room. >> What are you doing in here? >> You’re not even one of us. and he grabbed Linda Dom by her neck, put her up against the wall.

>> He puts her in a choke hole before grabbing a pocketk knife. >> He lost the knife in her neck and so he ran downstairs. He got a kitchen knife and he began to uh stab her until she finally died. I walked out. I dropped the bike off. I walked out. Don’t touch his mom. Nothing close to you. Test Dom corroborates what Brian Grove said that he stabbed her four or five times and she says that that’s what he told her.

>> A search warrant is obtained and investigators rush to the house of horror. >> They found the body of Linda Dom in the back of the car. She was wrapped in some sheets with the knife that was used to kill her. The body was pretty decomposed at that point. Linda’s corpse is sent to the medical examiner. >> The autopsy of Linda Dom showed pretty violent killing.

 There were 18 stab wounds to her neck, severed veins, it severed major arteries, and there was one stab wound actually inside down her throat. >> Brian tells that he attacked her, but he only stabbed her four times. We see this kind of minimization and denial all the time in interrogations and interviews of offenders.

 They’re going to minimize their own responsibility in in it in order to diminish um their perceived [music] exposure to consequences. And that’s all you’re seeing here is him trying to [music] distance himself from the more severe framing of what actually [music] happened. He’s formally charged with Linda’s murder.

 As the pressure mounts, will Brian be able to keep his big secret that Tess helped plot her mother’s murder? And will one of them crack, revealing their friends were involved? >> Brian Grove and Tess Dom have been arrested for murdering her mother, [music] Linda. Investigators learned from Tess there are other players in on the plot.

>> Oh my god. Is she dead? >> Yes. You have to you have to help him get her out of here. You can’t get out now. >> Under questioning, Tom Clayman confirms the murder of Linda Dom was pre-planned and admits he helped move the body. Mark Davis is apprehended and admits helping his friends try to bury Linda. The lover’s storybook romance is revealed.

 And just like that fateful first meeting, it’s clear Tess Dom was the wicked witch when it came to ensuring her mother’s murder. >> We realized she had was not just a part of planning the murder of her mother, but she really was the mastermind behind this. But for her telling Brian Grove to kill her mother, this murder never would have happened.

>> Tess was from the very beginning the greatest manipulator I’ve ever seen. >> Prosecutors charge Brian Grove with firstdegree murder and conspiracy. Testd Dom is charged with conspiracy, being [music] an accessory to the crime, and tampering with physical evidence. >> Again, I was convinced I’d never see her again.

Both Mark Davis and Tom Clayman agreed to [music] testify against the young lovers. >> Both Mark and Tom were cooperative with the prosecution. Mark was allowed to plead to a lesser charge. Tom was actually allowed to plead as a juvenile to his top count and did time in the youth center. >> Brian Grove sticks to his story that Tess had no part in her mother’s murder.

In November 2007, he accepts a plea deal and receives 40 years behind bars for secondderee murder. He’ll be eligible for parole in 2036 at the age of 47. Brian Grove’s sentence takes into account little criminal history as well as his young age. As more details became available to us, we realized that she was guilty of first-degree murder as a complictor.

 And what that means is that she aided, embedded, and she encouraged Brian Grove to do actually the hands-on killing of her mother. However, in a plea deal, Tess Dom, who is 15 at the time of the crime, pleads guilty as a juvenile to seconddegree murder and as an adult to solicitation to commit seconddegree murder. She’s sentenced to 5 years in a youth correctional facility and another 18 years in adult prison.

With a chance meeting on what some call the scariest night of the year, Brian Grove and Tess Dom began a fantasy love affair that ended in horror. They fit hand and glove with each other with the hurts, the traumas, and the difficulties that they’d each experienced. >> Don’t touch my stuff.

 I swear I’ll kill you. Don’t ever touch my stuff. Tess gave him the perfect excuse to unleash that taste for violence that he had. And >> I will kill you. >> When Tess met Brian, he became the perfect instrument to win the ultimate battle over her mother. And I think that’s the wicked attraction.