The Nightmare Upstairs: What Happened to Ty and Bryn?

Me and Brynlee have had nightmares about you.

Ty, I love you.

You just don't want to be caught by the judge

And if you think that my mom told me to do this, no.

Have you prayed about any of this?

Yes, I pray every night.

I love you, Brynlee, and I love you, Ty.

I don't think so.

My concerns are, why she would be telling me

that the only reason she hurts down there is because of things you do to her.

- She said that? - Yes.

I mean, I, legitimately, a hundred percent, was just caring for my daughter.

I didn't do anything that would be considered inappropriate.

Hey, guys, I got a story I need to tell you guys about my life.

I'm now almost 16 and I've been through this court case for almost five years.

Well, me and my little sister

have been refusing to go to visits with my biological father,

and now I'm having to be barricaded in my room,

my own choice, for me to stay safe.

The hardest thing about it is just people not believing you

and then thinking you're just going insane.

And all these accusations against my son.

He never abused them.

- It's okay. Come on. I need you for-- - Am I… Hang on.

This is the real reason I am terrified for my life, if they take me.

My own word does not matter, and they don't believe my truth.

It's 'cause there's nothing there that's ever happened.

I will fight forever.

It's the same policeman as before, okay?

Because I don't know what parent wouldn't.

We are horrified to go to school. We are horrified to leave the house.

We are horrified to even leave this room.

- -

Hello?

- -

When I met Brent, I was very young

and I married him at a drive-through in Las Vegas.

At that time, we knew each other less than two months.

He actually dared me to marry him.

So, not the smartest decision I've ever made, but you live and you learn.

When my son BJ met Jessica, he was just on cloud nine.

He had met this cute little bubbly girl and everything had changed,

and he decided to go get married.

They came home from that little trip.

BJ came to our house, Jessica went to her grandparents' house,

and we didn't find out for about two weeks that they'd actually gotten married.

I mean, we had concerns because it was so quick,

but we knew that BJ could step it up.

In the beginning, he came off as charismatic.

He came off as successful. He came off as fun.

You know, Jessica was fun.

I mean, she's really smart and really likable.

You know, BJ was happy, and that made us happy.

Brent's family was quite religious.

They were direct descendants from one of the founders of the LDS Church.

His family and all of his relatives, they lived in big houses, which…

Like, it was just a life that I had never lived.

Her background, to say the least, was really rough.

At that time, she was not having contact with her mother. I mean, her…

She'd had different fathers

and had gone through a lot in her childhood.

We're riding in the wind. Whoo!

I acknowledge I had a pretty messed-up childhood.

I was a victim of, um, child abuse.

BJ was the kind of person that…

He really thought that he could help her,

and give her some stability with our family,

and help her to have a better life than what she had had.

So, Jess, how's it going?

I was in a very dark place and that is when Brent came into the picture,

and I was never even honest with Brent about that.

Yes, ma'am.

I really needed to be allowed to be a child myself,

but instead, I found myself married.

So, I just put on a happy face for everybody,

because I hated myself so deeply.

Jessica wanted children really quickly,

and she had had a couple of miscarriages,

and those really affected her drastically,

and things got, um…

Well, then she ended up having Ty.

It wasn't until I held that little boy that I felt anything again.

Ty was our first grandson, and we were all so thrilled.

When Ty was born, I can only describe it as heaven.

But at the time, I felt very unequipped.

I struggled with postpartum anxiety.

She was really struggling taking care of him,

and so the family all rallied around Ty,

'cause BJ was working two jobs and trying to provide for his family.

- Can you say, "Hi, Daddy"? - Hi, Daddy.

- "Love you." - I love you, Daddy.

Ty was just, like, born with this protector spirit.

He has his opinions.

He's a debater, and he likes evidence and facts.

That is Ty.

I'll tell you, Ty has so many of the characteristics of his father.

He doesn't know it, but we recognize it.

The problem is that the Brent that I came to know…

was very controlling, very angry.

He would tell me how I needed to wear my hair,

what makeup I should wear.

He was controlling over finances.

He was controlling over my time with anybody else.

If I went out, let's say, for a girls' night,

he would constantly call or text to the point it would ruin the girls' night.

I am very much a free spirit,

and to have somebody who wants to be in control all the time,

it terrified me.

I didn't know how to handle that.

It was February of 2010, and then I found out I was pregnant with Brynlee.

Rub the tummy.

When Brynlee came along, she was truly my second miracle.

- Brother loves you. - I love you.

Unfortunately, Brent and I, we weren't in a good place.

You know,

being married 47 years, I never think divorce is the right answer,

but at the same time, it was so dysfunctional,

and I saw BJ trying so hard to make it work,

and I just didn't know how it was going to continue, you know?

And I really loved her. I mean, I still do.

But I… You know.

I don't like what happened.

I was just trying to make the best of it, for the sake of Ty and Brynlee.

Because of the financial issues and fighting,

life got a little bit more complicated.

In 2012, our divorce was finalized.

I left my ex and moved into an apartment.

I mean, co-parenting with my ex was difficult.

It was never easy.

BJ was struggling.

He had really, you know, had a really difficult time,

and sometimes, he went to alcohol

or other things to numb the pain that he had,

but he decided that he was going to trust in God,

and he went and had a tattoo put on his back, and it's in beautiful font,

and it says, "A shepherd I will be for thee, my Lord, for thee."

He wanted to shepherd his children.

It was important to him.

Despite not having money,

we just found ways to make the best of our situation.

We would go to the mall,

we would just ride the escalators up and down, and Ty loved it.

It was one of his favorite things to do.

With Brynlee, she would actually find a way to laugh.

Like, she will find humor, she will find beauty, she will find joy anywhere.

Okay, Bryn, what exactly are we looking at?

- Butt cheek strawberry. - A butt cheek strawberry?

Ty and Brynlee always had this bond.

They wanted to spend time together.

They truly are the best thing that ever could have come out of that relationship,

and so I will never regret that.

Make a wish.

- Get it. - Yay.

When the divorce was finalized, Jessica decided to get a job.

So for about two and a half years, my husband and I watched Ty and Brynlee

Monday through Thursday from, like, 7:00 in the morning until 6:00 at night.

Like, even on Sundays, I'd go get them and take them to church with me.

- Has everybody had turns? - Guys, I'm gonna be rolling…

I mean, in our house, they had…

I mean, we did a garden, they grew stuff, they made stuff, they played like kids.

Wanna see me standing, Grandma?

Hold on. Oh! I see you rolling.

The kids were happy. The kids were really happy.

- Say hi. - Hi.

Hi.

- Love you. - Love you. Love you.

- Have a good day. - You too.

Who was that?

That is my husband, Aaron.

Right around when my divorce was finalized,

was when I met Aaron.

Kiss me.

We were married in 2013

and in 2018, our son, Jagger, was born,

and our family was complete.

Yay.

I'm not saying it's been easy, but he shows up.

He's just a great father.

And a great husband.

In the meantime, um,

BJ was very busy, you know, jumped into work.

But every minute that he had, he spent with his kids.

But it was lonely.

Eventually, he met this lady, Sandy.

She was a single woman

that was living in an apartment, sharing it with somebody else.

She had two little girls.

And here she was, another one that needed help,

and they just hit it off.

When I heard that Brent got remarried,

I had so much hope because I just wanted him happy again.

Wait, I want to get in there.

- Can we do a funny face after? - Don't move, kids.

- Okay, here. Ready? - Okay.

He adored Sandy,

and Sandy was everything that he wanted her to be.

And he adored those kids, and those kids adored him.

What changed?

False allegations.

Bryn?