Teen Accused Of Slaughtering Parents And Siblings May Have Been Motivated By Discovery Of Family Secret, Relative Says

An Alabama teen accused of slaughtering five family members—including three young siblings—may have been motivated by a stunning family revelation, according to one relative.

The suspect’s cousin Daisy McCarty told WAFF-TV that shortly before the unidentified teen allegedly shot his family to death, he'd learned that the woman who had raised him was not his biological mother.  

The teen allegedly confessed to investigators with the Limestone County Sheriff’s Office that he had killed his father John Sisk, 38, his stepmother Mary Sisk, 35, and his three siblings ages 6, 5, and 6 months after calling 911 himself Monday.

“The 14-year-old caller was interviewed and confessed to shooting all five members of his family in the residence,” the Limestone County Sheriff’s Office said on Twitter. “He is currently assisting investigators in locating the weapon, a 9mm handgun that he said he tossed nearby.”

Just a week before the killings, McCarty said the teen had learned that Mary Sisk was not his biological mother—a revelation she believes may have triggered the violence. She also alleged that in the months leading up to the shootings, the teen had by acting out by burning live animals and breaking into school.

The teen’s biological mother reportedly died in Indiana in 2011 and hadn’t been an active part of his life for several years before she died, according to court records obtained by AL.com.

The teen’s father sought full custody of his son in 2010 after claiming the boy had not seen his biological mother since 2008, when he was just 3 years old.

Before that, when he had spent time with her, John Sisk told the judge the woman was often drunk or on pills. His biological mother never appeared in court and John Sisk was granted emergency custody on the same day his biological mother was reportedly found dead, local station WHNT reports.

But while Mary Sisk, an elementary school teacher, wasn’t his biological mother, friends said she never referred to the teen as her stepson.

"It was always her son because she pretty much raised him his entire life so that, you know, they had a really close relationship," former coworker Hope Seeley told WHNT.

She described Mary as an amazing educator and an optimist who strived to make people smile.

“She cared more than any other teacher I worked with. She was always there for them,” Seeley said.

Due to his age, the teen’s name has not been released by authorities and he is currently being held in juvenile detention. Under the state law, teens as young as 14 are eligible to face adult charges if a request is made by prosecutors and the request is approved by a judge.

It has not been announced if prosecutors will attempt to try him as an adult.