his passengers, michael and susan carson had killed him, and it wasn t their only murder. after authorities arrested the carsons for john s murder, michael wrote a letter from jail to the san francisco chronicle making his own demand. my father said they would confess to two more murders if they could have a live press conference. 35 years ago, investigators granted their wish. during a taped press conference, the carsons admitted to two additional murders, describing the brutal violence they had inflicted on their victims. in 1981, they stabbed 23-year-old karen barnes 13 time, bludgeoning her to death with a frying pan. in 1982, they killed 27-year-old clark stevens, shooting him three times and burning his body. they claimed everyone they had killed were witches, and that god had told them to do it. jen had seen some clips from the
yeah. when my father was given a parole hearing, it just spun me out. i was frightened, you know. i felt unsafe. to keep the carsons behind bars, jen has connected online with each of the victims families, to fight their parole. and today she s meeting the family of the carsons last victim in person for the very first time. john offered a ride to my father and susan and susan stabbed him repeatedly, and then my father shot him. why do you want to meet the family members of the people your father killed? i want to tell them that i m so deeply sorry for the loss of their brother, and i m hopeful this could help bring them peace. in a suburb of san diego, we re about to meet john s siblings, danny and diane.
mom gave me this life changing news. do you remember what your mom said to you that day? yeah. i remember every second of that moment. she said, i told you that daddy was really sick and that s why he couldn t see you anymore. and daddy got more sick and he hurt a bunch of people. then i looked up and i said, are the hurt people dead? she said, yes, and that s when she started crying. that s the day your life changed forever? yeah. during the years jen and her mom were in hiding, jen s father married susan and embarked on a very dark path. in 1983, along california s highway 101, a man named john hellier picked up two hitchhikers. 24 hours later he was dead.
of that? i thought that was incredible. they re really amazing people. yeah. like really, just incredible. i really felt it was a really powerful moment just being present for that. i felt so moved by their forgiveness. yeah. i heard john s family say they forgive your father. do you forgive him? my mom says that forgiveness is a journey, it s not a destination. and we both talk about how we re not there yet. so, no, i haven t. but i m working towards it, yeah. handmade salsa, handmade burritos. now with handmade ordering. handmade is kind of our thing. chipotle. for real.