Who was Trey Sesler and why did he kill his family?

The triple murders by Trey Sesler, the anime and film reviewer on YouTube, brought the small town of Waller to a standstill. The 22-year-old was enthusiastic about weapons and harbored a dark secret of fantasizing about mass murders.

Trey had planned a mass shooting at his former school, Waller High School, and shot his parents and brother, Rhonda, Lawton, and Mark Sesler, to death before he set out for the intended massacre. According to CBS affiliate KHOU, Trey Sesler killed his family first so that they would not be ashamed of him after the mass shooting.

The new episode of Deadly Influence: The Social Media Murders, titled Killer Content, showcases the harrowing Sesler family murders as it airs on June 24, 2024, at 9 pm EST on Investigation Discovery. The official synopsis of the episode reads:

"Successful teenage film reviewer Trey is building an online empire on YouTube, attracting hundreds of thousands of views. But it can't last, and soon, he finds himself dragged into a shocking world of guns, abuse and revenge."

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Trey Sesler was a YouTuber with over 4000 subscribers

Trey Eric Sesler was born on August 3, 1989, in Waller, Texas, United States to parents Rhonda Wyse Sesler and Lawton Ray Sesler. He grew up with his elder brother, Mark Alan Sesler, whom he often referred to as his best friend in his videos on YouTube, per Chron.

Trey Sesler started his journey on YouTube with the two channels Mr. Anime and LensCapProductions, which he started on September 14, 2006. He was one of the early anime reviewers on YouTube and soon became one of the bigger names in the space.

Sesler also dabbled in film reviews, video game reviews, and skits on his channels. Trey's friend from middle school, Tara Sandoval, spoke to Chron to share:

"He wasn't a social butterfly, but if you approached him, he was so nice,"

During his time as a YouTube content creator, Trey posted a total of 322 videos and gathered over 4000 subscribers. He used his platform to offer his subscribers a peek into his life. For instance, he announced his diagnosis of pneumothorax on December 27, 2011.

Trey Sesler graduated from Waller High School in 2007 and went on to collect credits at Blinn College for two years. Trey and Mark worked at a grocery store in Waller in high school.

Thereafter, Mark studied business administration at Sam Houston State University and graduated in 2010 but Trey went on to work on his YouTube channels.

Trey would talk about his fascination with weapons in his videos and enact a shooting for fun. He would also pose with pets that he would allegedly use as targets for shooting later, per authorities who investigated the Sesler family murder case.

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Why did Trey Sesler kill his family?

According to ABC News, Trey Sesler shot his parents and his brother to death before he went out intending to carry out a mass shooting at Waller High School. During his interrogation, he shared that the reason behind the triple homicide was so that he could spare his family the shame.

As the Waller Police Department, the FBI, and the Texas Rangers arrived at the Sesler home, they found the place ransacked with bullet casings all over the floor. Moreover, they encountered cryptic messages carved on the wall or written with a black marker, saying:

"Why did I do this? I love my mom, dad and brother. God forgive me, because I cannot forgive myself."

Trey Sesler was arrested and found guilty of three counts of capital murder of Rhonda, Lawton, and Mark Sesler in August 2012, per ABC7 Chicago.

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Catch all the details of the Sesler family murders as the fourth episode of Deadly Influence: The Social Media Murders airs on ID on Monday.