Page 14 - Travis Payea News Today

This dingy party house in flint, michigan. 19-year-old danielle taylor is a cashier for a fast food restaurant. she comes over late one night in 2002 to visit travis. suddenly, she is wrestled to the ground. >> hold her. >> her hands and legs bound. travis payea is behind the camera. >> what the [ bleep ] did i do? >> nothing. see, thats the thing. if you did something, everybody would know we had motive to kill you. just [ bleep ] sheer murder. >> murder. for the next 35 minutes on the tape, da...

>> were going to set you down. if you say one word, i promise you [ bleep ] you wont say another. were giving you the chance, for what its worth, to enjoy what you have left. >> then they start to fill the grave. >> were burying you alive. you are going to die. you scream right now, we bury you half alive. >> and then with only minutes left on the tape, travis leans over danielle, still handcuffed, legs still bound and shivering from the cold, and takes off the blindfold. danielle is not killed....

Prosecutor has charged four young people with the kidnapping and assault of taylor. if convicted, they face anywhere from seven years to life in prison. >> i have never had a case where alleged defendants tape their own alleged crimes. i cant explain criminals. in fact, there are television shows. "americas dumbest criminals." this appears to be right down that alley. >> the accused are 20-year-old travis payea, a horror film buff who plays the most prominent role in the video, 20-year-old jimmy...

>> she would have kicked them in the face, pushed them away. it would have taken two people to tie her legs up, but they do it without any difficulty at all. >> turn it down a little bit, guys. >> look at the knife carefully. its entirely covered in scotch tape so that it doesnt injure her in any way at all. >> but the other side doesnt buy it. >> these people were performing a very illegal, unethical experiment to get into the mind and thoughts of someone who believes at any moment theyre going...

Theyve already served in jail, about 60 days plus probation. travis payea gets the toughest sentence, three years probation. but just two months before it was to end, in april 2006, payea is found dead at a friends house. he was 24. his family never reveals the cause of his death. coming up -- >> [ bleep ] >> do you have a street address for me? >> oh, crap. dude, im so scared. these kids, i dont know why theyre doing this to me. >> we saw people being stomped, people being hit with hammers. >...

Video, is it a kidnapping? a crime? or were these actors in a sick, amateur movie, a movie this young woman was acting in? >> are you starting with me? dude, im blushing. i appreciate that. >> killer number one. thank you, ill be here all weekend. the driver. jimmy. >> trav is travis payea, part of a group of young men who rented this dingy party house in flint, michigan. 19-year-old danielle taylor is a cashier for a fast food restaurant. she comes over late one night in 2002 to visit travis. s...

>> my conclusion had been, based upon the totality of the video, that the victim was not a willing participant. she displayed behaviors throughout the video that are typified by victims of terrorism. >> you move, you make one [ bleep ] sound or movement, youll die right then. >> i counted no less than nine direct threats to her life as a consequence for her not cooperating. >> but friends and fellow students insist it was a prank. these people are friends of jonathan cockerills. >> jon is real b...

And my arms hurt. >> in fact, that night she returns to the house with the group. but at a doctors appointment the next day, the doctor notices abrasions on her wrists. she tells him what happened, and he calls police. danielle then goes back to the party house and retrieves the tape. within 48 hours, the county prosecutor has charged four young people with the kidnapping and assault of taylor. if convicted, they face anywhere from seven years to life in prison. >> i have never had a case where ...

After being driven down a dark road, danielle is taken out of the car and carried like a sack into the snow-covered woods. travis, who just an hour earlier danielle considered a new friend, continues to narrate as they approach what looks like a predug grave. >> were going to set you down. if you say one word, i promise you [ bleep ] you wont say another. were giving you the chance, for what its worth, to enjoy what you have left. >> then they start to fill the grave. >> were burying you alive. ...

Enjoy that pain. its the last thing youll ever feel. >> danielle is blindfolded. >> if you even so much as sneeze, ill slit your [ bleep ] throat. >> and about 15 minutes into the tape, shes led from the house to the back seat of a car, and now travis has a kitchen knife. >> im talking about emotional pain. think about it. you think physical pain means anything compared to what youre going to be thinking? the second this knife digs one inch further into your [ bleep ] neck? >> travis pal, jonath...