LIMESTONE COUNTY, ALABAMA: During the trial of Alabama teenager Mason Sisk, 18, texts with his then-girlfriend Lola Holladay were read in court.
On Thursday, September 7, Circuit Judge Chadwick Wise sentenced Sisk to life in prison without parole for the gruesome murders of his five family members, including three younger siblings, when he was 14.
Sisk brutally murdered his father John Wayne, 38, stepmother Mary, 35, six-year-old half-brother Grayson, four-year-old half-sister Aurora, and six-month-old half-brother Colson.
What did Mason Sisk text his ex-girlfriend Lola Holladay?
WHNT reported that during Sisk's trial in July, Holladay gave her evidence in the case.
When Holladay was called to the stand by the defense attorney, she recalled what Sisk told her about his birth mother.
She reportedly said, “He told me that his birth mother used to lock him in bathrooms and leave. Then his dad got remarried.”
She further said, “He always played with his siblings, dressed up with his sister, did tea parties. He was scared to hold the baby because he was so small.”
She added that Sisk had previously warned her that if anything bad happened then it was likely that his uncle Lance [John’s brother] had done it.
She continued recounting the events of the night of the murders. She said, “The night of the murders he called me bawling. Hyperventilating. I couldn’t understand him. I had to calm him down.”
She, however, added then, “I never believed that Mason did this. I thought that he lost his mind in jail being by himself. I never believed any of the messages he sent me from jail.”
Another text from Sisk in 2021 was also read in the court. On February 2, 2021, Sisk texted Holladay saying, “I did it because I was held at gunpoint."
WHNT investigative journalist Dallas Parker wrote in a tweet, “Sisk says whoever did it threatened to kill him.”
However, in the same thread, Parker said that Sisk wished to become a contract killer.
When Holladay firmly said no, he allegedly said, “I am good with a gun, I killed my family in less than 4 seconds. All head shots.”
Mason Sisk killed his stepmother who allegedly ‘loved’ him
On the same day of trial, Sisk’s stepmother Mary's brother, Douglas Prater, recounted the incident in court.
He said, “On September 1, 2019, I came home with gifts for everyone – including you, Mason. Instead of seeing the happiness on their faces, I had to put those gifts in caskets.”
Prater further said, “My family has suffered so much. We haven’t been able to rest for years because of what you did. You were accepted into our family. Since you were 4.”
“I remember driving you to get video games, [and] basketball practice. You’re in our family photos and that’s all we have left to remember our family by,” continued Prater.
He added impactfully, “A whole family has been lost. I lost my sister Mary. She loved you, and you killed her.”