And all of a sudden, he just sticks his arm up in the air and puts his arm on his side, and then his arm just fell down.. I never knew what hate was until now. Unlike her hard partying late husband, David was, "responsible," according to his ex-wife, Janice Poissant. Ashley agreed because Castor was not only her mother but her "best friend". In 2005, her step-father, David Castor, took his own life. [24] He relayed that "psychopathic traits and histories of childhood abuse have been consistently reported in these women" and suggested that if Castor were guilty of the crimes of which she had been convicted and accused, then she would be demonstrating psychopathic traits, including regarding even her own child as an object to be used for her convenience. Use of and/or registration on any portion of this site constitutes acceptance of our User Agreement, Privacy Policy and Cookie Statement, and Your Privacy Choices and Rights (each updated 1/26/2023). The movie's speech is pulled verbatim from the statement the real Wallace read, through tears, in the courtroom in 2009. The outlet also notes that Ashleys overdose occurred just days after police exhumed Wallaces body. As hard as you tried, I survived. Keep scrolling to get to know the true story behind the movie. [17], Prosecutors brought up another piece of "damaging evidence" against Castor when they cited having heard "typing sounds" while Castor was on the phone. In 2009, Stacey was sentenced to 51 years to life in prison. Ashley is engaged to be married and is still close to her sister Bree. Castor was just 17 when she met her first husband, Michael Wallace. According to Castor, the couple, from Clay, N.Y., had had a fight the previous weekend, but she said she was still surprised that her husband was so late getting to work. I did not kill Michael Wallace, I did not kill David Castor, and I did not try to kill my daughter, period," she told Muir in 2009. - Official ABC 20/20 YouTube clip, Daughter testifies in Stacey Castor murder trial (Video), Update: Jurors talk on video about Stacey Castor guilty verdict, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Stacey_Castor&oldid=1142148661, This page was last edited on 28 February 2023, at 19:46. This was when Stacey set up her daughters to confess to killing both men. Stacey Castor listens to 911 call she made after daughter's poisoning While Ashley was close to her mother, Bree was her fathers princess. She remembered seeing her sister with pillows over her head in addition to an empty bottle of vodka and prescription pills beside her. According to Castor, Wallace was very close to Bree, showing a favoritism that Castor made up for by becoming "best friends" with elder daughter Ashley. Stacey Castor faced 25 years to life if convicted when her trial began in January 2009. "Your honor, [Castor] is a monster and a threat to society," he said. [3][13], Onondaga County District Attorney William Fitzpatrick and Chief Assistant District Attorney Christine Garvey[14] argued that David Castor's "suicide" had never made sense given the lack of his fingerprints on the glass or container tainted with ethylene glycol, a toxic substance found in antifreeze, and the turkey baster found in the kitchen garbage bearing both ethylene glycol and his DNA. As horrible as it makes me feel, this is goodbye mom. Both Ashley Wallace and Stacey Castor took the stand. "[19] Both of Castor's daughters expressed concern that their mother had not yet apologized to them. I just couldnt believe that that was happening.. Stacey Castor was only a teenager when she first met Michael Wallace in 1985. Talking about it, Ashley said, Ive relived this day over and over again in my head because what if there was something that I couldve done? Page 4", "Exclusive: Mother and Daughter Face Off in Murder Mystery. Ashley and Bree testified at Stacey's trial, where Stacey was convicted of murder and attempted murder. Stacey Castor, 41, is shown here on the day of her wedding to David Castor in August 2003. When police searched the kitchen and found a turkey baster apparently smelling of alcohol disposed in the trash can, they began to suspect foul play. By ASTRID RODRIGUES. "[9], If there is a ceiling in terms of evil, she (Castor) is at the ceiling. The letter had Ashley taking responsibility for David and Michaels deaths. [5] Physicians told Castor that her husband had died of a heart attack. "I never got my answers because Stacey died. Read More: How Did Michael Wallace and David Castor Die? She was 48. She said that "Ashley brought this on" and insists that she and Ashley know what really happened. Tonight, ABC will speak with Ashley, as well as some investigators from the case. Castor, who died in 2016 at the age of 48, was an American woman found guilty of murdering her husband David Castor and attempting to murder her daughter, Ashley Wallace. It seemed more important for her to tell them about the suicide note than to be talking about the condition of her daughter., She had a cornucopia of drugs in her system," Fitzpatrick said. By then, the couple had been together for two years. She claimed she last spoke to him at 5 a.m. Sunday when he locked her out of the bedroom. The worst thing that ever happened to him was he had a hernia.". [15], On March 5, 2009, at Castor's sentencing, Chief Assistant District Attorney Christine Garvey asked Fahey to impose the maximum consecutive sentences because of the brutality of David's death. The following day, Stacey made her another drink. Wallace woke up with a hangover, went to school, and returned. [24] Knoll said that killers may have many different motivations. In 2009, Castor was convicted of murdering her second husband, David Castor, attempting to murder her daughter, Ashley Wallace, and forging her husbands will. And in 2007, she was reportedly poisoned and came within 15 minutes of death, according to ABC News. I can't imagine my own flesh and blood is 50 feet away from me, saying that You tried to kill me, and not having -- a reaction to that, Fitzpatrick said. [3], The following day, Castor invited Ashley to drink together at home again. The DA pointed out Castor may have murdered her own father, Jerry Daniels, who died February 22, 2002, shortly after his daughter visited him in the hospital where he had a minor lung complaint. April 20, 2009, 9:22 AM. Tonight, ABC News' 20/20 will speak to Stacey Castor's daughter, Ashley Wallace. A Stressful Trial Comes to an End. The two are proud parents to an adorable dog. 'Octomom' Nadya Suleman Is a Proud Mom of 14: See Her Kids Today! I was 11! It wasnt until September 2007 that Ashley had police tell her the shocking news that her father had died of poisoning and not a heart attack. My father will never walk me down the aisle. It's difficult to fathom everything Ashley Wallace of Clay, NY experienced by the time she was 19, but let's try. [17] Fitzpatrick frequently shouted at Castor, inspiring Castor's defense attorney Charles Keller to frequently object and even to request a mistrial. As Wallace herself said at the trial, "I just want it to go away, but I know it will never go away.". "And I will never say that I did, ever. Castor insinuated that Wallace was responsible for Michael and David's deaths. "[6], The coroner reported that David Castor had committed suicide through a self-administered lethal dose of antifreeze, but when police found Stacey Castor's fingerprints on the antifreeze glass and located a turkey baster that had David Castor's DNA on the tip, they began to suspect Stacey Castor had engineered her husband's death. Leave her alone. [3][16][20], I never knew what hate was until now. Aug. 16 2003: Castor marries her second husband. "I don't understand how you can say you love someone, and in the next breath, try to kill them.". She was sentenced to more than 51 years in prison. "[20], David's son, whom Castor had cheated out of his inheritance, pleaded with Judge Fahey for Castor to be severely punished. [3] Ashley's sister left her side for a moment and when she returned, she found a suicide note[11] beside Ashley. Regarding the crimes, she told 20/20 anchor David Muir: "I did not kill Michael Wallace, I did not kill David Castor. Soon after, however, investigators found Staceys DNA on a turkey baster that had Castors DNA on it, as well. Stacey Castor defends herself during cross examination Watch on In June 2016, seven years into her 51-year sentence, Castor was found dead in her prison cell in Bedford Hills, New York. [3], The detectives on the case ordered wiretappings on Castor's house. She would not frame Ashley.. "I kinda went hysterical. We won't post to any of your accounts without asking first. Michael Norton of the Onondaga County Sheriffs Office said Stacey Castor described David's behavior that weekend: David got upset, took a bottle of Southern Comfort, went into the bedroom and locked himself in, and reportedly got drunk-- wouldn't come out.. [2] A special two-hour edition of ABC's 20/20 aired on April 24, 2009, and again on February 8, 2019, to provide the full story of the Castor case. 's office that Castor died of a heart attack, with no evidence of suicide or foul play. [23] Ashley said that she does not know how her mother, any mother, could try to kill her own child,[3] a question that the public has also pondered. That same day, Castor was arrested at the hospital and charged with the murder of David Castor and attempted murder of Ashley. She was convicted of second-degree murder of David Castor, attempted murder of her daughter, and forging David Castor's will. So, if youre curious to find out more, weve got you covered. It would seem like a perfectly obvious thing to autopsy a grown man who's healthy, who lays down on his couch and dies, Michael Benson, who authored Mommy Deadliest about Castors case. She was 48. Police knocked down the bedroom door to find David Castor dead of an apparent suicide. Cookie Settings/Do Not Sell My Personal Information. That note turned out to be a nearly 700-word suicide note which contained a confession to the 2000 murder of the Wallaces' father, Michael, and the 2005 murder of their stepfather, David Castor. Turn on desktop notifications for breaking stories about interest? [17], Castor's defense team presented a pharmaceutical expert in an attempt to cast doubt on the prosecution's claim that Castor had drugged Ashley 17 hours prior to being taken to the hospital. In order to do this, she attempted to murder Ashley and make the killing look like a suicide, and she even drafted a fraudulent confession to be found with her lifeless body if she succeeded. "[18], On February 5, 2009, Castor was found guilty of second degree murder in the poisoning death of David and of attempted second degree murder for overdosing her daughter Ashley with drugs and vodka. The Daughter of Notorious "Black Widow" Opens Up, A Lifetime Movie Is About This Shocking Abduction, The "Friends" Women Reunite to Celebrate Courteney, Your Privacy Choices: Opt Out of Sale/Targeted Ads, "Even though I hate her, I love her at the same time," Wallace said in an. They began to suspect she was involved in their murder. They gave birth to their Ashley in 1988, and their second daughter, Bree, in 1991. [15] She had said that her husband got the idea to kill himself with antifreeze while both were watching a news report about Lynn Turner, who murdered two past lovers by using the poison. Bree said one of the officers who responded to the call to help her sister was starting to let her read the note when her mother asked the officer to take it away. "I would not be as far in life as I am if I gave up and turned to drugs or alcohol," Wallace says. I cannot believe Stacey has it in her to kill two men. [2], Stacey, the daughter of Jerry Daniels and Judie Eaton, met Michael Wallace when she was 17, in 1985, and they bonded immediately. David had a grown son, David Jr., and she had daughters, Ashley and Bree. [3] Tests revealed that potentially fatal painkillers had been found in Ashley's system, and that she most likely would have died if taking her to the hospital had been just a few minutes later. [3][9] They felt that this suggested he was force-fed antifreeze. But doctors told Stacey they thought it was a heart attack, Benson said. [24] He stated that while most suicide notes focus on themes of remorse and the person not being able to go on with life, the note supposedly written by Ashley was focused on taking the blame off of Castor. Prosecution's opening statements, The Witness List: A quick guide to the testimony. The victim's DNA was found on the rim of that glass and on the tip of a turkey baster containing remnants of antifreeze that was found in the kitchen trash, jurors were told. Stacey was arrested and charged with second-degree murder, second-degree attempted murder, and a plot to present a forged will. Doctors determined that he had died of a heart attack. Still, even back in 2009, Wallace felt relief after clearing her chest in the courtroom. Thats when Stacey called the police when the authorities showed up, there was a suicide note next Ashleys unconscious body. She was rushed to the hospital, and the authorities found a typewritten suicide note that appeared to be written by Ashley. In 2000, when she was 11, her father, Michael Wallace, died of a suspected heart attack. Fortunately, the young woman survived the scare. Ashley drank a beverage with her mother and immediately passed out. In Touch Weekly is part of the a360media Entertainment Group.Copyright a360media 2023. Lets just get drunk I was like, Cool! You know, what kind of teenager wouldnt think that was awesome? The jury deliberated for three days before coming back with a guilty verdict. Forensic investigators found that based on the timestamps, it had been written while Ashley was in school, proving she couldn't have been its author. The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of Advance Local. Stacey Castor's daughter Ashley Wallace takes the stand in 2009 as the prosecution's first witness to tearfully testify about the deaths of her father and stepfather. But Bree said her mother had a key to the bedroom door that she used at least twice that weekend. In August 2005, at 2:00one afternoon, Castor called her local sheriff's office to tell them that her husband had locked himself in their bedroom for a day following an argument and was not responding to his cell phone. Bree also offered other details about the August 2005 weekend leading up to the discovery of her stepfather's body in his bed at their Wetzel Road home. Ready forPoisoned Love: The Stacey Castor Story? In fact, he said they had talked about the issue about a month earlier and both agreed suicide was selfish and unfair to the loved ones left behind. She told her friend at the time, Dani Colman, she knew he was sleeping because when she put her ear up to the door she could hear him sleeping. "I was trying to get her to wake up, but she wouldn't wake up," 17-year-old Bree Wallace said of her sister, Ashley. I told her that there was a suicide note indicating that she had killed her father and her stepfather, Norton said.