Survived by One: The Life and Mind of a Family Mass Murderer

6. Dead Inside

66 6 Dead Inside The rust-red-brick and gray Southern Indiana limestone façade of Mt. Vernon Township High School suggests that it was in many ways no different from other American high schools in 1985. The school was committed to serving the career needs of both vocational and academic students, striving for a balance between shop and technical classes and accelerated math and science offerings. The school then as now carved out its regional identity as the Rams, according to which seasonal sport was being played. Students aligned themselves with the cliques that would help them establish and underscore their identities: the jocks, the brainiacs, and the stoners. Senior year in high school gave Tom Odle the opportunity to find himself and lose himself at the same time. When I was seventeen, the physical abuse pretty much stopped after I pushed my mother up against the hallway wall and told her there would be no more hitting me without me hitting back. She got a little scared and ran to my father, but he never said anything to me about it. But they were having their own problems as far as their marriage was going. My father worked from 4:00 p.m. to midnight, and while he was at work, my mother would be hanging out with her friends at bars or at the bowling alley. I didn’t complain because if she was gone, I wouldn’t have to deal with her. And of course, if she was gone, then I could leave my siblings at home by themselves. Dead Inside 67 Yvonne Sexton, Carolyn’s best friend, testified for the prosecution during the sentencing phase of Tom’s trial. Sexton was familiar with the activities of the children and some of the conflicts within the family. She testified that Tom had been accused of stealing a coin collection of his father’s and about fifteen silver dollars that belonged to his mother. She reported that he kicked a hole in the kitchen wall during an angry telephone conversation , and he chased his brother Sean around the house with a knife. But no one was ultimately hurt. Sexton testified that she had seen bruises on Carolyn’s back as a result of being pushed against a wall by Tom during an argument (People of the State of Illinois vs. Thomas Odle, 1986). She also reported an incident at the Logan Street Church in which Tom was accused of ordering Sean and Scott to steal purses from cars in the church parking lot. When asked about the relationship between Tom and his mother, Sexton stated that Carolyn was frightened of Tom. She added that the other children were also afraid of him because he had hit them in the past. During cross-examination by the defense, Sexton agreed that Carolyn had had significant difficulty dealing with her children, in general, and she frequently placed responsibility for the care and safety of her three younger children in Tom’s hands, requiring that he babysit the other children on an almost daily basis while she pursued her social obligations and recreational activities, such as bowling. During redirect by the prosecution, Sexton testified that she was aware that Sean had been involved in antisocial activities as well, but she was unaware of such activities with regard to Robyn or Scott. Years later, Sexton recalled an event involving Sean and Scott that, in part, precipitated the establishment of the final deadline by which Tom would have to leave the Odle home: “I worked with the church, Logan Street Baptist Church, at the time. It was only about a half block from my house, and on Wednesday nights, I would be there most of the evening because after school we had choir practice, and I played the piano for the choir. My kids and I would usually go up there and eat, and later on, we had a prayer service. Then I had my choir practice. Well, in between the choir practice, I ran home for something. When I came back to the church, I saw Sean and Scottie running, hiding behind a church bus. I told them, ‘Come out from there, I saw you. What are you doing back there?’ Well, they came out, and they were scared out of their minds. They said, ‘We’re going to get in trouble.’ I said, ‘Why, what are you doing? Who are you going to get in trouble with?’ They said, ‘Tommy.’ And...