A Terrible Crime, Two Sets of Suspects, Two Confessions

Two people confess to a double murder.

ByABC News
August 30, 2010, 12:37 PM

Sept. 1, 2010— -- "It was like something out of Truman Capote's 'In Cold Blood,'" says crime scene investigator David Kofoed.

Well-liked couple Wayne and Sharmon Stock had been found viciously murdered in their Nebraska farmhouse, apparently killed on Easter Sunday, 2006.

The tiny town of Murdock, Nebr., where many hadn't locked their doors for years, was in utter disbelief.

"It was, of course, total shock," says former pastor Jon Wacker. "There were all kinds of theories running around."

But soon there would be two bewilderingly different first-hand accounts of the murder. Two videotaped confessions -- by completely different people. One would turn out to be completely innocent.

Every day, police across the country face the daunting challenge of distinguishing false confessions from real ones.

Were the murderers the Stocks' own nephew, Matthew Livers and a partner? Or two complete strangers: 17-year-old Jessica Reid and her boyfriend Gregory Fester -- two teenagers on a joy-riding crime spree?

Watch the two confessions. Can you identify the false confession?

The following videos are excerpts of much longer interrogation. They have been edited for content and brevity.

Matthew Livers' Confession


Jessica Reid's Confession

ABC News Live

ABC News Live

24/7 coverage of breaking news and live events


Jessica Reid's Confession

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