The Lillelid murders were the result of a carjacking that escalated to muliplte murder on the 6th of April 1997. The Lillelid family, consisting of Vidar and Delfina and their two young children Tabitha (6) and Peter (2), were held at gunpoint after Vidar entered into a conversation with a teenage girl at a picnic spot on the side of the road. He was discussing his religious views with the teenager when two of her friends approached him and pointed a loaded gun at the father of two, stating he was going to have to take the family’s van.
Vidar initially offered the youths his wallet and keys on the condition that the teenagers would allow the family to remain at the rest stop, but instead the group insisted that they enter the back of the van. The group, which consisted of six teenagers, forced Vidar to drive to a secluded spot off the interstate, before the family were instructed to line up next to the ditch. Each of one of them were shot, before a member of the group, Jason Bryant, stated that they weren’t dead and shot the family again.
Vidar was shot a total of six times, once in the head and five times in the chest, he and Delfina died at the scene. Delfina had been shot once in the arm and once in the leg, shattering the bones, inducing incredible pain and making her unable to stand, but it was the six extra shots in her back that killed her. Tabitha, who was six years old, was shot once in the head which resulted in immediate brain death. The young girl was brought to the hospital and found eligible for organ donation, and her organs were successfully harvested. She was pronounced dead the day after the shooting. Two year old Peter was the only survivor, he was shot once in the head and once through his back, and was left with serious disabilities.
The six teenagers were rumoured throughout their trial to have been involved in satanism and the occult, but this was considered a distraction from the main issues at the heart of the case. Jason Byrant, pictured above, is thought to have committed the shooting itself but was the youngest at the time of the trial and the judge was not convinced that he was the only person to have pulled the trigger. Karen Howell (pictured above) had a long history of abuse, both physical and sexual, had a borderline IQ for a learning disability (78), and had multiple suicide attempts in her history.
All six of the teenagers who were indicted and convicted received a life sentence without the possibility of parole.