Men Who Kill Their Families

Terror doesn’t always arrive as a stranger at the door; sometimes it wears a familiar face and a practiced smile. We dive into the chilling world of familicide—men who murder their partners and children to clear a path for a new life—unpacking the motives that surface again and again: secret affairs, money pressures, and a consuming need for control. Through four harrowing case studies, we confront how entitlement and image-building turn homes into crime scenes and communities into mourning grounds.

We examine the carefully maintained facade around Chris Watts and how a double life unraveled into calculated murder. We move through the staggering brutality of Ronald Gene Simmons, whose staged killings and cold aftermath expose domination as a ritual. George Emil Banks brings the conversation to the edge of mental illness findings, intoxication, and paramilitary posturing, showing how private violence can rapidly spill into public spaces. With David Ray Conley, we navigate the horrors of a prolonged hostage situation, prior domestic violence, systemic response gaps, and the legal pursuit of capital charges.

Throughout the episode, we highlight recurring warning signs—coercive control, threats, financial secrecy, and isolation—while addressing the limits of protection orders and the urgent need for stronger, faster interventions. We talk plainly about prevention: enforcing firearm restrictions for abusers, empowering shelters and relocation, documenting threats early, and treating domestic calls as high-risk. If true crime is a mirror, these cases reflect what happens when possession masquerades as love and accountability arrives too late.

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Transcript

Defining Familicide And Motives

Case One: Chris Watts

Case Two: Ronald Gene Simmons

Case Three: George Emil Banks

Case Four: David Ray Conley

Final Message And Closing Notes

SPEAKER_00 0:03

So good to see you again. Can't you get enough, can you? Well, here's another exciting episode of Creepy Radio. Well, hello, my little creepies. Welcome back to the Creepy Show. Tonight's episode is called Men Who Kill Their Families. So, why would a man kill his family? Well, it seems that there's always another woman in the picture, and his family is the only thing that stands in his way of a new life. The thought of having to go through a divorce and paying child support for the next eighteen years was not an option for these self-gratifying monsters. Some of these creeps even took out an extra insurance policy, which basically gave them a huge windfall profit for ending the life of the person they vowed to love and respect. They even have a name for this behavior, and it's called Family Side. And it happens more often than you think. In fact, there are more than 120 cases of this happening just in the USA alone. According to Wikipedia, the following cases are just a few examples from this list. Christopher Lee Watts. It was very early in the morning on Monday, August 13th, 2018, and Frederick, Colorado, when 34-year-old Christopher Lee Watts thought it would be a good idea to kill his wife and his two daughters. At first, Christopher denied having any involvement in the disappearance of his family, but later confessed after failing a polygraph test on November 6, 2018, he pleaded guilty to multiple counts of first-degree murder as part of a plea deal. When the death penalty was removed from the sentencing, he was sentenced to five lifetime sentences without the possibility of parole, three to be served consecutively. Why, how ironic. Chris thinks that after killing his daughters, four-year-old Bella and three-year-old Celeste, by smothering them with the blanket over their heads, that he should be allowed to continue to live. It seems that Chris had a mistress on the side named Nicole Kissinger, and his family stood between him and his new life with his new girlfriend. Now, as gruesome as that is, here's another story that'll blow you away. It's the story of Ronald Jean Simmons. Now, this charmer killed sixteen people over a period of a week, including fourteen members of his own family. During the week he also injured four other people. Two of his victims were his daughter, whom he had sexually abused, and the child he had fathered with her. Shortly before Christmas in 1987, Simmons decided to kill all of the members of his family. On the morning of December 22nd, he first killed his wife Rebecca and oldest son Gene by shooting them with the 22-caliber pistol. And then he killed his three-year-old granddaughter, Barbara, by strangulation. Simmons dumped the bodies in a cesspool he had forced his children to dig previously. Simmons then waited for his other children to return to the house, and after their arrival, he told them that he had presents for them, but he wanted to give them one at a time. He first killed his daughter, 17-year-old Loretta, whom Simmons strangled and held underwater in a rain barrel. Three other children, Eddie, Marianne, and Becky, were then killed in the same way. And around the middle of the day on December 26, the remaining members of his family arrived for their Christmas visit. The first to be killed was Simmons' son Billy and his wife Renata, who were both shot in the head. And then he strangled and drowned their 20-month-old son, Trey. Simmons shot and killed his oldest daughter, Sheila, with whom he is sexually abused, and her husband, Dennis McNalty. Simmons then strangled his child by Sheila, seven-year-old Sylvia Gale. And finally his 21-month-old grandson, Michael Simmons. And he laid the bodies of his entire family in neat rows in the lounge. All of the corpses were covered with coats, except for that of Sheila, who was covered by Rebecca Simmons' best tablecloth. The bodies of the two grandsons were wrapped in plastic sheeting and left in an abandoned car at the end of the lane. After his exhausting day of killing his family, Simmons went for a drink at a local bar. He then returned to the house and apparently oblivious to the corpses lined up around him, spent the rest of the evening and the following day drinking beer and just watching television. On the morning of December 28th, Simmons drove to Russellville and walked into a law office and killed a receptionist, a young woman named Katie Kendrick. Simmons had previously been infatuated with Kendrick, but she rejected him. He next went to an oil company office where he shot dead a man named J.D. Schafen and wounded the owner Russell Taylor. And then he drove to a convenience store where he had previously worked, and he shot and wounded two more people. Afterwards, Simmons went on to the office of the Woodland Motor Freight Company, where he shot and wounded a woman. Simmons simply sat in the office and chatted with one of the secretaries, waiting for the police, and when they arrived, Simmons handed over his gun and surrendered without any resistance. Simmons was now charged with sixteen counts of murder and of course found guilty and sentenced to death. George Emile Banks. This twisted soul killed thirteen people on the night of September twenty fourth, nineteen eighty two. Banks drank a large quantity of straight gin and took prescription drugs at his home on Schoolhouse Lane in Wilkes Bar, Pennsylvania. The next morning was September twenty-fifth, nineteen eighty-two. He used an AR-15 semi-automatic rifle to kill eight people in his house, including three women in their twenties that happened to be over at the house visiting his wife. He also killed five children, four of them were his own. During that time he also shot and killed his wife. Banks was dressed in military fatigues and he went outside where he saw twenty-two-year-old Jimmy Olson and twenty-four-year-old Ray Hall Jr. They were leaving their house across from the street. So he shot at both of them, reportedly yelling at them. They would not tell anyone about this. Before he fired, he hit both men, fatally wounding Hall. Olson survived, and Banks drove away. Banks went to Heather Heights Mobile Home Park, where his former girlfriend, Sharon Mazzolo, and their son Kasimu lived, of whom he had been trying to gain custody. Banks forced his way in and shot Mazzello. Then he shot and killed his sleeping son. Banks then killed Sharon's mother, who was trying to call the police. And then he shot Sharon's seven-year-old nephew, who was also in the home. Hiding in the closet was Sharon's brother, whom Banks did not see. He was the only survivor, and he called the police, identifying Banks as the shooter. The police showed up and they found Banks' victims in his house. They began to search for Banks himself, who abandoned his car and carjacked another vehicle. After abandoning the stolen vehicle, Banks stopped in a grassy, isolated area and fell asleep. After Banks woke up, he visited his mother's house. Banks had his mother driving to his friend's house, Jacob Whitt, where he sent her away and prepared for a standoff with police. The police arrived at the house where Banks had barricaded himself and he spent four hours holding the police off. The police tried various tactics to get Banks to give himself up, including having his mother talk to him, and they tried to trick him, claiming that the victims that he shot were still alive. Finally, a friend, Robert Brunson, a former co-worker of Banks, was able to talk him out of the four-hour standoff. And as of September 30th, 1982, Banks was charged with eight counts of murder, attempted murder, and aggravated assault, reckless endangerment, grand theft auto, and armed robbery. Banks was held without bail. Of course, Banks was found guilty, and on June 22nd, 1983, the jury recommended the death penalty. A judge in the case determined that Banks was mentally ill, so the execution was not carried out. Today, Banks is located at State Correctional Institute of Phoenix, where he lives on death row. Another person who killed their family was David Ray Conley. On August 8, 2015, a mass shooting occurred inside a home in northern Harris County, near Houston. It was David Ray Conley, who is 48 years old. He allegedly broke into his former home and held hostage Valerie and Dwayne Jackson, along with six children, including his own 13-year-old son. Over the course of nine hours, he reportedly shot and killed the entire family, and then he engaged in a shootout with responding police before surrendering. It was about 10:30 in the morning when Conley arrived at the house at the 2200 block of Falling Oaks Road. This was the home of his former girlfriend, Valerie Jackson, where he had previously lived with her, and Jackson had changed the locks on the house. He entered through an unlocked window. He confronted Jackson and her husband and their six children with a 9-millimeter handgun, forcing them into the master bedroom where he tied up some and handcuffed others to the bed. While Connolly was distracted, Jackson was able to text her mother saying that she was being held at gunpoint by him. He shot Valerie's husband and children in the back of the head, with Valerie being forced to witness everything, and she was the last victim to be shot. The police responded at 10 42 AM after being notified by Valerie's mother regarding the text that she received. They knocked on the door and there was no response, so they left. And they came back several times to check again. Throughout the day they would return and knock on the door with no response. Perhaps they didn't have permission to enter the house. It wasn't until 8 PM that they returned once again, but this time they saw a body laying out by the window. This prompted them to enter the house where they encountered David where a shootout ensued. David Conley surrendered about an hour later. Prior to the shooting, David Conley had an extensive criminal record dating far back as 1988, including arrest for domestic violence, DUI, and drug possession. His latest charge was assault relating to a July 28 incident where he allegedly bashed Valerie Jackson's head repeatedly against a refrigerator. The case was pending at the time of the shooting. And while all of this was going on, David was actually married to another person named Vanessa, who he also was very abusive toward. According to his criminal history, Connolly had a history of faking mental illness to get himself out of legal troubles. Though he did not appear in court, Connolly was charged with three counts of capital murder and had his bond denied. He was held in Harris County jail. The prosecutors announced that they will be seeking the death penalty in this case. However, his lawyer indicated that they would seek a mental disability defense, and as of today, he is still locked up and awaiting trial. I could tell you about dozens of more cases, but I think you get the point. I do have a message for anyone wishing to kill their entire family. Why don't you start with yourself first? You have been listening to Creep Radio. Subscribe so you don't miss what's lurking next. Share it with someone who scares easily. And tell me your thoughts in the comments.