Scary stories

Husband killer

Kelly Gissendaner received the death penalty after being convicted of being the mastermind behind the murder of her husband, Doug Gissendaner. Prosecutors said Gissendaner , Greg Owens, to commit the murder.

Doug Gissendaner

Doug Gissendaner was born in December 1966 at Crawford Long Hospital in Atlanta, Georgia. He was the oldest of three children and the only boy.

His parents, Doug Sr. and Sue Gissendaner, were devoted to their children and raised them to be respectful and responsible. The children grew up in that was close knit. However, unlike his siblings, Doug struggled in school and it was discovered that he was dyslexic.

When he finished high school in 1985 he had grown tired of constantly fighting to pass his grades and decided against his father's wishes to go to college. Instead, he got a job working with his hands, which is where he always felt most comfortable.

Greg Owen

Greg Owen was born on March 17, 1971, in Clinton, Georgia.

He was the second child of four born to parents Bruce and Myrtis Owen. Their third child, David, died from sudden infant death syndrome a few weeks after his birth in 1976.

Greg grew up in a volatile . His parents were constantly moving from one town to another, putting the children in the position of always being newcomers. Basically friendless throughout much of their childhood, the Owen kids stuck closely together.

Greg was a small child and easily intimidated. Belinda was a tough cookie that often stood up against those who her younger and somewhat frail brother, including Bruce, their father, who violently lashed out at the children when he was drunk.

For Greg, school was just another place to go to get picked on. He was a loner who struggled to keep his grades up. After managing to complete the eighth grade at age 14, he dropped out and went to work.

Kelly Brookshire

Kelly Brookshire was born in 1968 in rural Georgia. Her brother, Shane, was born a year later. Unlike the Gissendaner's idyllic family, Kelly's mother and father, Maxine and Larry Brookshire, liked to drink, do speed and fight.

Their marriage ended after four years, partially due to Maxine's infidelity. After the divorce it took Maxine just eight days to marry her lover, Billy Wade.

Maxine's second marriage played out much the same as her first marriage. There was a lot of booze and a lot of fighting. Wade proved to be more than Larry and would often lock the kids in their rooms while he beat on Maxine.

He also released his ferocious temper onto the children. Throughout the years that Wade was around, he choked Kelly and both he and Maxine would hit her with belts, flyswatters, their hand and whatever was within reach.

But, for Kelly, it was the that really caused the deepest damage. Maxine was so busy dealing with her own problems, that she offered no support to Kelly when Wade constantly called her stupid and ugly and told her she was unwanted and unloved.

As a result, Kelly had no self esteem and often turned to the one place she could find pleasure; deep into her mind where fantasies of a better life gave her some joy.

Abused children often find a feeling of safety at being at school, but for Kelly school was just another problem she couldn't solve. She was often tired and unable to concentrate and had a difficult time getting through grammar school.

Unharmonious Reunion

When Kelly was 10 she reunited with her real father, Larry Brookshire, but the to Kelly. Her hopes to establish a father-daughter relationship with Larry never happened. After his divorce to Maxine, he remarried and had a daughter. There was no attempt on his part to fit Kelly into his new world.