Wayne and Sharmon Stock were a well-regarded couple in Murdock, Nebraska. So when they were discovered gunned down in their farmhome in April 2006, the small farming community was shocked. Two troubled teenagers from Wisconsin, Gregory Fester II and Jessica Reid, broke into the Stock home with the intent of robbing the place but ended up shooting them dead. Reid and Fester were eventually found guilty of first-degree murder and received maximum life sentences. But they weren’t the only two suspects.
Wayne Stock’s 28-year-old nephew Matthew Livers, was also a suspect. After Livers’ arrest, a psychological assessment listed his IQ at 68. Police thought the car they believed was used by the Stocks’ killers matched the one used by Livers. When first questioned, he denied killing his uncle and aunt. After more than six hours of questioning, Livers admitted to murder and then implicated his cousin Nicholas Sampson, 22. After seven months in jail (six for Sampson), both young men were released from jail and charges were dropped when Reid and Fester were found guilty. The cousins filed civil lawsuits against the authorities. They reached a nearly $2.5 million settlement. Dateline NBC airs Saturdays at 8pm.
