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Teens inspired by ‘Scream’ recorded ‘first kill’ plot before stabbing classmate to death
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Two teens turned their obsession with slasher films into a deadly real-life nightmare.
In September 2006, 16-year-old Cassie Jo Stoddart, who was house-sitting for relatives in Pocatello, Idaho, was found stabbed to death inside the property. Investigators in the small town focused on the last three people who saw the popular teen alive: classmates Brian Draper and Torey Adamcik, along with her boyfriend, Matt Beckham. But the discovery of a buried videotape revealed a disturbing truth.
Stoddart’s case is being explored in the ABC News Studios true crime docuseries “The Scream Murder: A True Teen Horror Story.” It examines how Draper and Adamcik, both inspired by the 1996 film “Scream,” selected a victim and carried out the killing.
“In their minds, they were playing characters,” director Lisa Quijano Wolfinger told Fox News Digital. “In the videotape, you can hear them talk about how this was going to make them famous. When they committed this terrible crime, they imagined the FBI and others would see the tape and say, ‘Oh my gosh, these guys were such mastermind killers.’ They wanted notoriety. They wanted to be seen.”
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Brian Draper is seen reading a statement to the court during his sentencing on Aug. 24, 2007, in Pocatello, Idaho. (Doug Lindley/The Idaho State Journal/AP Images)
But after killing their friend, investigators believe the boys were spooked.
“After the crime, they tried to burn the tape,” Wolfinger said. “They buried all of their evidence in a pit out in the canyon. So in the aftermath, they said to themselves, ‘Oh no, we should hide this.’ Ultimately, they didn’t want the tape found.”
Cassie Jo Stoddart was murdered on Sept. 22, 2006, in Pocatello, Idaho. She was 16. (ABC News Studios)
Stoddart’s friends and classmates described her as a bubbly, well-liked teen with a close circle of friends. The community was blindsided and devastated by her sudden death.
“We talked to her high school friends and her art teacher, who knew her well and loved her very much,” Wolfinger said. “They all said the same thing — she was just Cassie. She was kind and caring, with a big soul and big plans for her future.”
“I remember talking to the art teacher,” Wolfinger recalled. “He said, ‘She wasn’t the best artist. She was just Cassie.’ To me, that was powerful because it was authentic. The love everyone had for her was genuine. Twenty years have passed, and it’s still not enough time — she was so loved.”
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Draper initially presented himself as a concerned friend eager to take a polygraph test to clear his name. But just before the exam, he broke down and said he needed to speak with detectives.
Sitting beside his distraught parents, Draper told investigators that he and Adamcik went to the property where Stoddart was staying. He claimed they intended only to turn off the power and scare her while wearing masks. But then, according to Draper, Adamcik began stabbing Stoddart. Draper later led detectives to an area where they had buried the evidence. In the pit was a tape on which the boys chronicled their plot.
The tape that was found by investigators. (ABC News Studios)
The recording showed the teens gleefully discussing plans for what they called their “first kill.” They referenced the movie “Scream,” saying they wanted to know what it felt like to take a life. The tape didn’t show the attack, but it captured Draper and Adamcik in Draper’s car soon afterward. They vividly described the adrenaline rush they felt and then talked about disposing of the evidence.
Brian Draper and Torey Adamcik were said to be inspired by horror films, including the 1996 film “Scream.” (United Archives/TBM/ALAMY)
“This sense of raw excitement and glee in the aftermath of the crime was chilling to me,” Wolfinger said. “I found it fascinating that these two 16-year-old boys could do something like this without appearing traumatized at all.
“As a mother of teen boys, it was difficult to comprehend. I wanted to understand how that could happen — what was going on in their teenage brains that made them think it was OK or somehow justified?”
The community still wonders why Stoddart, who was friendly with Draper and Adamcik, was targeted.
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When high school student Cassie Stoddart was found stabbed to death in a house on the outskirts of Pocatello, Idaho, the community was gripped by fear that a random killer was on the loose. (ABC News Studios)
“I think, honestly, it’s because she was a friend,” Wolfinger said. “They knew her. It gave them access. They knew she would be house-sitting for her aunt and uncle, and it became a crime of opportunity. But they also had a kill list. They had a plan. This was something they wanted to do. They wanted to kill somebody.”
“When Friday morning came, they realized Cassie and Matt, their friends, would be hanging out at the house alone,” Wolfinger said. “I don’t know if the plan was set in stone that morning or if it solidified once they went to the house and realized they had an opportunity to go into the basement.”
Torey Adamcik and Brian Draper created their own masks inspired by Ghostface from “Scream” (seen here) before the slaying. (Victoria Jones/PA Images via Getty Images)
“It was truly a crime of opportunity,” Wolfinger continued. “I don’t think they sat there and said, ‘Oh, Cassie.’ It was in the moment — ‘She’s going to be home alone in a big, empty house. This is our opportunity.’ To me, that makes it even more chilling.”
Torey Adamcik listens as Judge Peter D. McDermott reads the jury’s guilty verdict during his murder trial at the Bannock County Courthouse on June 8, 2007, in Pocatello, Idaho. (Joe Kline/Idaho State Journal/AP Images)
In 2007, Draper and Adamcik were convicted of first-degree murder, The Associated Press reported. They were sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole, plus 30 years to life for conspiracy to commit murder.
Their attorneys filed separate appeals at the Supreme Court in 2010 and 2011, the outlet noted. Both were denied.
Now both 35, Draper and Adamcik were interviewed from behind bars for the docuseries, along with their parents.
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Anna Stoddart reacts as she identifies a photo of her slain daughter Cassie Jo Stoddart on April 11, 2007, in Pocatello, Idaho. (Doug Lindley/Idaho State Journal/AP Images)
“There were many conversations,” Wolfinger said. “What strikes me is that these are two middle-aged men who are very remorseful. They’ve had plenty of time to think about everything.”
“They know they did a terrible thing and can never bring Cassie back or repair the harm they caused to her family, their parents, or their community,” she shared. “As teenagers, they didn’t fully understand the consequences of their actions. Now, as 35-year-olds, they do.”
A clip of a recording taken by Brian Draper and Torey Adamcik at the library in Pocatello, Idaho. (ABC News Studios)
The docuseries also explores how this tragedy went beyond a fascination with “Scream.”
“They both loved horror movies,” said Wolfinger. “Horror movies spoke to them, especially Brian. He’s still a big movie buff. They clearly loved the movie ‘Scream,’ and you can hear it on the tape. ‘This is going to be like ‘Scream.’’ They made their own homemade ‘Scream’ masks. They were definitely inspired by the movie. They were inspired by other movies, too.”
Stoddart’s mother, Anna Stoddart, became a relentless advocate for justice, publicly supporting prosecutors’ efforts to ensure her daughter’s killers received life sentences. She died in 2022. Draper and Adamcik’s parents continue to wrestle with painful questions about how their sons became involved in the tragic crime.
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In the docuseries, police captain John Ganske spoke out about how the case was solved with key evidence. (ABC News Studios)
“It’s devastating for them,” said Wolfinger. “They don’t recognize their sons in that footage and can’t make sense of it. These were kids from good homes. They had some social struggles in high school — Brian wanted a girlfriend and struggled with confidence, while Torey faced other issues. But how did it lead to this?”
“This crime shattered so many lives,” Wolfinger added.
“The Scream Murder: A True Teen Horror Story” is streaming on Hulu.
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San Francisco, CA
S.F. hospital stabbing analysis confirms Mission Local reporting on security lapses
A 13-page assessment released today by the San Francisco Department of Public Health confirms Mission Local reporting last month that protocol failures contributed to a social worker’s fatal stabbing in December, and that hospital workers, not a sheriff’s deputy, were first to intervene in the attack.
The DPH has hired four additional staff members to its security team to ensure around the clock threat management coverage, and committed an additional $15 million a year to “support a fundamentally strengthened and modernized approach to safety and security” across its facilities.
After a period of increasingly threatening behavior toward his doctor at General Hospital’s Ward 86 HIV clinic, Wilfredo Tortolero Arriechi, 35, arrived on Dec. 4 and was intercepted by his social worker, Alberto Rangel. He stabbed Rangel, 51, to death in the hallway.
According to today’s report, the DPH immediately took action: installing a weapons detection system at Buildings 80-90 where the attack occurred, launching a 24/7 threat management team to triage and respond to concerns and establishing a formal threat escalation protocol which “balances safety measures with trauma-informed, patient-centered approaches.”
The report also identified a need for better processes to respond to emergencies that occur within the DPH system. Although Rangel was stabbed at Ward 86, a clinic on the grounds of San Francisco General Hospital, and witnesses on the scene called 911 immediately, EMS workers did not arrive to take over Rangel’s care until 11 minutes after his stabbing. A full 26 minutes elapsed between the 911 call and Rangel’s arrival in the emergency room, only a block away.
Today’s report also confirmed Mission Local reporting that a Ward 86 employee first intervened in the attack on Dec. 4 — a direct contradiction to claims from the sheriff’s union that a sheriff’s deputy assigned to the site had “saved Ward 86 from a rapid mass casualty stabbing.”
The deputy had been assigned to the area that day after Tortolero Arriechi had made threats against his doctor, who worked there. According to today’s report, the doctor was in a different hallway at the time of the stabbing.
Hospital staff had repeatedly raised alarm bells with DPH security specifically about Tortolero Arriechi’s threatening behavior, but today’s assessment confirmed that no additional safety measures were taken until the day of the incident.
Mission Local reported that Tortolero Arriechi posted increasingly erratic messages on his social media in the weeks leading up to the stabbing, including a photo of his doctor’s note pinned to a wall with a knife.
The DPH assessment includes a timeline, which shows that Tortolero Arriechi had to be escorted out of City Clinic in SoMa as early as Nov. 13 after he appeared seeking out his Ward 86 doctor, who also worked there.
A week later, on Nov. 20 and 21, Tortolero Arriechi exhibited “elevated behaviors” at an appointment with the doctor, who reported his behavior to DPH security. The next week, between Nov. 24 and 26, security “attempted multiple times” to reach Tortolero Arriechi by phone, with no success. Security leadership at General Hospital “discussed” the case, but apparently took no further action.
On Dec. 4, the morning of the stabbing, Tortolero Arriechi went to both the City Clinic and Ward 86.
The doctor again reported to security that Tortolero Arriechi was seeking him out at City Clinic, and that Tortolero Arriechi had allegedly insisted that he would return daily until he could see the doctor. According to the report, DPH security then assigned a “safety ambassador” to the clinic.
That same morning at Ward 86, staff contacted DPH head of security, Basil Price, and informed him that Tortolero Arriechi had once again shown up at the clinic looking for the doctor, and told them that he would be returning that afternoon.
The DPH requested a “criminal history check” by the sheriff’s department that day, which surfaced no warrants for Tortolero Arriechi. After a sheriff’s lieutenant conducted a “threat assessment” on the situation, the sheriff’s department assigned a deputy to be “posted at Ward 86.” Staff at Ward 86 interviewed by Mission Local were under the impression that the deputy was keeping an eye out for Tortolero Arriechi, but the DPH report confirms the sheriff’s department’s assertion that the deputy was directed only to station near the specific physician that Tortolero Arriechi had threatened.
Later in the afternoon of Dec. 4, 2025, Tortolero Arriechi again went to Ward 86 looking for the doctor, where he was directed to speak with his social worker, Rangel. Moments later, Tortolero Arriechi stabbed Rangel, who later died despite efforts by his colleagues to resuscitate him.
Tortolero Arriechi is currently facing murder charges, and his public defender has said that he was suffering a mental health crisis.
“No actions can undo the events of December 4, 2025,” the report said. “However, through an expertly informed re-evaluation of our current safety and security measures, we can ensure an improved approach to workplace safety and security going forward.”
Ward 86 employee Alex Alvarez said he was frustrated at the lack of funding for mental health care and support for traumatized employees who have not yet returned to work.
Due to the lack of protocols in place, he said, “we have to create this whole ecosystem of services, of safety protocols … why do the employees have to pay for this? Why do employees have to take the brunt of this lack of action?”
over at Bleeding Green Nation. During the off-season, he’s been writing his mock
draft blog and just wrote up–a rather lengthy–mock pick for the Seahawks at
#32.
Personally, not enamored with the pick, but he does a VERY deep dive into the
offensive and defensive makeup of the Hawks, trying…
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