James Brian King was a 14-year-old boy from Telico, Texas who was murdered on July 27, 1993. His body and that of his 13-year-old stepsister, Christina Benjamin, were found in a field near Telico on July 29, 1993 by a road worker. James had been shot twice in the head.

Investigators quickly linked the killings to James’s stepbrother, Jason Eric Massey, then 20. Forensic evidence tied Massey to the scene; he was arrested soon after being released from jail on an animal cruelty charge. At trial the prosecution introduced Massey’s journals that described fantasies about becoming a serial killer and argued he posed a continuing threat.

Massey was convicted of capital murder in October 1994. The case drew intense media attention because of the crime’s brutality and Massey’s prior violent behavior.