A Front-Row Seat to True Crime

In three weeks, I have not written a blog post. I don’t want to say it's been because I am lazy and do not wish to stick to my resolution of writing more frequently, but part of it might be that. The other part is that this one could absolutely be worth waiting 2 weeks to write! I am still planning on sticking to this, and the easiest way I think I will accomplish this is by sharing more than just video game commentary (Marvel Rivals still has me by the throat). That said, I have some pretty juicy updates to my life. To be honest, some of this is self-indulging, serving to help me have a topic for my blog. While I think it is exciting to have a first row perspective of this event, I can’t deny how sad and messed up the blogpost I have to share is. I want to say that this is a sensitive topic that affects my family, and currently still does, and I hope I can meet this with the utmost care/ sensitivity. Everything here posted with permission as well.

First thing I will say, I will never watch true crime the same way again. I’m not so naive to believe that there were never any creative liberties taken on true crime television, but seeing it firsthand, definitely made me feel icky. If you have a Netflix subscription, and are perhaps a true crime aficionado, you will have seen that season 6 of I Am a Killer premiered on Netflix on Jan 8, 2025. The first two episodes, titled A Mother’s Choice, relate to a murder that occurred in San Antonio, TX in Fall of 2014. Three individuals (allegedly) were involved in what was called a “drug deal gone wrong”. Per the timeline presented in I Am a Killer, the victim attempted to sell drugs to the suspect, but something went wrong, and the murder suspect was stabbed the night before the actual murder. The suspect was taken to a local hospital, and apparently very angry that he had been stabbed, and subsequently plotted to kill the victim (allegedly). According to the facts of the case, the victim was (allegedly) murdered by 3 individuals in a westside neighborhood, and then cut into pieces and subsequently grilled on a common barbecue pit.

One of the suspected individuals, and the subject of the first episode of season 6, is my mother-in-law. I had met her in 2013 shortly after meeting my wife in college. She seemed like a very normal person, and certainly not someone capable of committing such a crime. I met her and the rest of her children, who I still speak with and see on a regular basis. She seemed as normal as any other low-income, west side resident living in any impoverished area of San Antonio. She seemed exactly like my own mother and family, just trying to survive in a world that is not kind and had chewed her up and spit her out, pieces of soul missing along the way. I realize that doesn’t excuse her crimes, just mentioning this because its difficult to reconcile in my head.

I remember about a year or so ago, one of my sisters-in-law was approached by the producers, and they invited all of the family to dinner to discuss the possibility of doing an interview for an episode. At that time, 4 of the sisters were of consenting age, and all declined to do the interview except for 1. She is the one who appears in the first episode talking about her mom. Speaking with my wife, she has no clue why Brenda would agree to do the interview, as she had a feeling that they would make her look awful. And my wife was completely right, the way the first episode is edited and leads into the second episode has a messed up 180 degree turn on who they portray my mother-in-law as. Don’t get me wrong, I realize that she was part of a grisly murder (allegedly), but seeing firsthand how they edited the episode to not only make my sister-in-law look like a complete idiot (and reader, she definitely is) but also make Candie appear to be completely evil was eye-opening.

There are details related to the children that I decline to share here, as the episode and related articles are all over the internet, but I will say that they show one of the children in the episode at a very young age. And when I saw that, I had tears in my eyes. My first thought was “who fucking authorized this to be released?” I felt disgusted that someone I care for was shown in such a vulnerable position, and without any authorization or prior knowledge that they would be on that show and shown at that age. I instantly hated it.

For anyone wondering about my wife, she says she is fine and has no change in perspective of her mom. She remains no contact with her, although a week or so later, she called Brenda from the prison and my wife talked with her for a brief second, feigning that my kid was sick (she wasn’t) and asking her for any advice. I know a part of everyone will always love their mother, and I think it was just something she needed to do. She still seems fine and will probably continue to go no contact with her mother, and to be honest I am not sure how to approach it without her blowing it off. For now, I will let her think and feel through it, cause one day she probably will have to face her in person.

Regarding myself, I went through my feelings as we watched it. I can’t say I have a big role in it, although I do remember meeting both Candie and the other alleged murderer. The guy was definitely creepy, but he was indeed a smaller guy so I don’t think I was exactly “scared” of him. One day I will see Candie in person, and if this website is still up by then, I may create a response here. As far as true crime, fuck that bullshit, I will never trust it again. But I can’t say that I won’t watch it. I still used to love watching forensic files because at least it focuses on the science of how people are caught (at least as far as I know). This story has consumed the better part of January, so I may not write again until February. I’m open to taking questions, but I won’t promise responses. Thanks for reading!