When Brecken finally looked up at them, Gonzo turned on the recording device, noted who was in the room and that AUSA Charity Miller was in observation and said, “You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law. You have the right to an attorney. If you can’t afford one, a court-appointed attorney will be provided at no cost to you. Do you understand these rights as I’ve stated them?”
Mayfield nodded.
“I need you to say the words out loud.”
“I understand.”
“Do you wish to proceed with this discussion?”
“I do.”
“You requested this meeting. What can we do for you?”
“I… I wanted to say… I never meant for anything to happen to Luna. I… just wanted to talk to her.”
“If that’s the case, why was your DNA found on her during the autopsy?” Sam asked.
He ran trembling fingers through his hair, seeming to think about what he wanted to say. “You have to understand that my dad… He’s not someone you mess around with. If he tells you to do something, you do it.”
“And that includes attacking and sexually assaulting a thirteen-year-old girl?” Sam asked.
“You don’t know how he is… Nothing is ever enough for him. He said he wanted me to find a way to talk to Luna, so that’s what I did, and then… when I realized what he really wanted, I told him no. I said I wasn’t doing it, but then…” He shook his head. “I didn’t want to hurt her.”
“So tell me how it works when you say you want nothing to do with what he had planned for her, but your semen is found on her.”
“He made me,” he said on a low sob. “He told me he’d disown me if I wimped out on him and that he wanted a son he could be proud of, not a sniveling baby who couldn’t follow through when he had the chance to get revenge. It’s been me and him… My whole life, it’s been us.”
“And for all that time, he’s been feeding you a toxic diet of hostility toward women, right?” Gonzo asked. “Beginning with your own mother.”
The kid’s eyes flashed with hatred. “She deserved to be disrespected.”
“No, she didn’t,” Sam said. “She tried to save you from the exact predicament you find yourself in now, but your dad poisoned your mind toward her so he could exert full influence over you.”
“That’s not how it happened.”
“Isn’t it?” Sam asked. “Did she try to take you away from him when you were still young enough to be saved?”
“I didn’t need her to save me! I was fine with him!”
“Until he told you to rape and murder a child.”
“I didn’t want to do that! I told him! I cared about her… All I wanted was for her to notice me and be nice to me.”
"You made sure she noticed you when you raped her, right?” Sam asked.
He broke down into sobs, hands fisted against his eyes. “I didn’t want to hurt her.”
“Then why did you? Why didn’t you tell your father no? Why didn’t you defend her against him?”
Brecken dropped his hands from his face and stared at her with cold, unseeing eyes. “Because that’s not how it works. She disrespected me. She had to be made to pay for that.”
“With her life?” Sam asked, incredulous.
Brecken shrugged. “If that’s what it took.”
His swing from heartbroken to psychotic was truly jarring to witness.
“Is there anything else you wanted to say?” Gonzo asked.
