What kind of monster locks his two stepsons in a shed, then burns them alive?
That would be Ed Graf Jr.
Make sure you’re sitting down for this report.
It’s hard to warn you just how mad you will be after watching all the twists and turns.
Ed Graf was convicted, after which he was granted a new trial years later… only to plead guilty moments before the verdict was read the second time around… in order to get released from prison.
It’s a case that’s ignited a Texas-size firestorm of controversy, centering around two adorable young brothers killed in a terrible fire.
The case was ruled an arson, and even though a man went to prison, the boys’ mother was about to be dealt another cruel blow.
Jason Graf, 8, and Joby Graf, 9, were burned alive in a backyard shed in Hewitt, Texas, in August 1986. It looked like a horrible accident, but as the days and months wore on, something else was about to emerge. What exactly happened to those boys behind the house on Angel Fire Drive?
That same terrible night, the boys’ stepfather, Ed Graf, had the charred remains of the shed loaded up and taken away to the local dump. That didn’t raise any red flags for anyone the fire was ruled accidental. But a mother’s intuition was not to be ignored.
PART ONE:
Prosecutors piled up enough evidence to convict Ed Graf of capital murder beyond a reasonable doubt. And, as we report in this CRIME WATCH DAILY account, that’s where the story would normally end:Â Ed Graf Jr. mandated to prison for life.
But not this story.
It was far from over, as Graf appealed the conviction citing erroneous arson evidence used against him during trial. And an appellate court agreed.
Ed Graf Jr. was granted a new trial.
PART TWO:
Ed Graf’s second trial would have an outcome that no one could have imagined — moments before the jury returned with a verdict, Graf entered in a plea of guilty. And he did so — wait for it — in order to spring himself from prison, exploiting a Texas mandatory release law that covered felons from 1977 to 1987, as you’ll see in the concluding segment.
We did track Graf down to ask him why he committed such an atrocity and if he has any remorse, but — surprise, surprise — he wasn’t too happy to see our cameras.
PART THREE:
