Trey Eric Sesler is a Texas man who shot and killed his mother, father, and brother in the family’s Waller home on March 20, 2012, and later pleaded guilty to capital murder. He was 22 at the time. Investigators concluded he had killed his family to “spare them shame” ahead of a Columbine-style mass shooting he was planning at a local school. He is serving life in prison without the possibility of parole.1ABC7 New York. Texas Man Sentenced for Killing Family
The Killings in Waller
On the afternoon of Monday, March 19, 2012, residents in the 1600 block of Farr Street in Waller, a small town northwest of Houston, reported hearing gunfire. Officers responded but found no signs of a shooting and cleared the scene. The next day, concerned relatives asked for a welfare check. Around 1:30 p.m. on Tuesday, March 20, deputies looked through a window of the ransacked home and saw three bodies inside.2ABC7 Eyewitness News. Family of 3 Found Fatally Shot in Texas Home
The victims were Lawton Ray Sesler Jr. and Rhonda Wyse Sesler, both in their 50s, and their 25-year-old son Mark Sesler. According to the arrest warrant, Sesler killed his mother first, then his brother, then his father, using a .223-caliber semiautomatic rifle and a 9mm pistol.3Click2Houston. Waller County Triple Murder Suspect Studied Serial Killers, Researched Mass Shootings Afterward, he wrote messages on the walls near the bodies, including “I love my mom, dad, and brother. Why did I do this” and “God forgive me, because I cannot forgive myself.”4ABC News. Texas Man Admits Killing Family to Police
The Planned Mass Shooting
During roughly eight hours of interrogation, Sesler admitted to the killings and told investigators he had murdered his family to spare them the shame of a mass shooting he intended to carry out in a public area.4ABC News. Texas Man Admits Killing Family to Police Waller Police Chief Phil Rehak and Waller County Sheriff Glenn Smith said Sesler had been contemplating a Columbine-style attack, possibly targeting a school in the Waller Independent School District.5CNN. Texas Family Killed
Sesler told police he had studied mass shooters and serial killers extensively. Chief Rehak said he had studied them “to the point of grading their work.”4ABC News. Texas Man Admits Killing Family to Police Sheriff Smith said Sesler had been “building himself up” toward an attack over three or four years, with escalating conduct that included killing animals (including family pets), setting fires, and shooting at vacant buildings and schools at night. None of that earlier conduct had been tied to him before his arrest.5CNN. Texas Family Killed Smith also described tension between Sesler and his father, who had expectations of his 22-year-old son still living at home.6Click2Houston. Mass Shooting Plot Revealed in Waller Family’s Murders
At the time of his arrest that evening, roughly 20 miles from Waller in the Magnolia area, Sesler was carrying the .223 rifle and the 9mm pistol. Authorities recovered six weapons in total and a large cache of ammunition from the family home and a second location he used.3Click2Houston. Waller County Triple Murder Suspect Studied Serial Killers, Researched Mass Shootings5CNN. Texas Family Killed
The “Mr. Anime” YouTube Channel
For roughly five and a half years before the murders, Sesler ran a YouTube channel called LensCap Productions, where he produced a series titled “Mr. Anime Reviews.” The channel held 323 videos, mostly short reviews of anime shows and films, and had drawn more than a million total views. The videos were generally lighthearted, but firearms appeared in them more and more often over time. In the channel’s intro he held a pistol in each hand and pretended to shoot himself. In a September 2011 video he introduced himself while firing a High Point 995 9mm rifle and called himself “the guy who does all the gun stuff now.”7Texas Monthly. Mr. Anime Is Planning Something
In December 2011 he posted a video titled “Very Bad News, Please Watch,” saying he had been diagnosed with a collapsed lung and asking viewers to pray for him. About a month before the killings, in February 2012, he posted “Mr. Anime is Planning Something,” in which he thanked his audience, said things were “going really good,” and announced a two- to three-week break.7Texas Monthly. Mr. Anime Is Planning Something
Guilty Plea and Sentence
On April 3, 2012, a Waller County grand jury returned three counts of capital murder against Sesler.8Click2Houston. Indictments, Computer Clues Revealed in Waller Triple Slaying1ABC7 New York. Texas Man Sentenced for Killing Family9Click2Houston. Man Pleads Guilty to Killing Family
Where Trey Sesler Is Now
Sesler is incarcerated at the Terrell Unit, a Texas Department of Criminal Justice facility. TDCJ records show no projected release date and no parole eligibility.10Texas Department of Criminal Justice. Offender Information – Trey Eric Sesler