Lost For Life is a personal documentary about child killers. It debuted on July 18, 2014 in the United States. This film explores the morality of sentencing juveniles for life, without the possibility of parole.
When the film opens, we are introduced to Brian Draper, who killed Cassie Jo Stoddart. He paired up with Torey Adamcik to commit this heinous crime on September 22, 2006. They had only been hanging out together for about six weeks, before the actual crime took place, but it was enough time for them to plan the murder, when they knew that Cassie would be home alone. Brian admits to his guilt and says that he stabbed Cassie in her throat and watched her take her last breath, before she died. They filmed the entire planning process even while they were in school. Brian and Torey are now in prison, but they have different opinions about what happened that day.
While Brian admits his guilt, Torey proclaims that he is innocent. Torey’s parents visit him in prison every chance they get and support him in every way possible. They admit that Torey is a follower and that is why he went along with Brian’s plan to murder Cassie. Brian says that him and Corey together were a “formula for disaster”. Torey says that he was too shocked to do anything different that night, but he is now behind bars decomposing because of Brian’s mistakes.
Brian’s parents admitted, during a short interview, that they did not recognize Brian’s problems and if they had they could have found clinical help for him. They adopted Brian, when he was a small child and they had a great relationship with him, before the crime.
Jacob Ind was 15 years old, when he decided to take his mother, Pamela Jordan, and his stepfather, Kermode. He said that his anger stemmed from years of abuse from his cold hearted mother. She gave him enemas, belittled him, and threatened his life if he ever told anyone what went on in their home. Jacob and his brother Charles testified that Kermode has physically and sexually abused them for many years. He said that he screamed so loud inside his head that he thought someone would hear his screams for help, but they never did. The physical abuse was not as bad as the verbal abuse that he received from his mother is what he tells the viewers. He also admits to feeling empathy for others and is able to forgive those that hurt him.
Josiah Ivy murdered Gary Alflen and his wife, Stacy Dahl in November of 2002. His sister, Amber said that they were raised in a religious cult and experienced much physical, verbal, and sexual abuse from their parents. Although Josiah was not willing to talk about the abuse, he admitted that the rumors were in fact true. He said that he was sorry for what he had done and had been able to forgive his parents for their transgressions against him.
Lost For Life Review
Lost For Life is a grim documentary about young boys that followed through with their desires to kill someone, whether it was do to revenge, hate, or just for the fun of it. This gripping true tale of murder is definitely difficult to watch, but shows how abused and lost children turned into killers. It is difficult to have sympathy for these young men, but when you look into their past lives it is understandable why they did what they did.
Should these child killers be set free after they reach their minimum sentence? That is a difficult question to answer, but the safest way to answer it would be to take each individual and study his actions, when he asked if he is sorry for what he has done. This film is worth a watch and deserves a 7 out of 10.
Jay Skelton is a fan of all television shows and movies. He tries his best to keep up with the latest foreign television shows and movies. Jay loves skinny dipping in the dark too.
All deserve a second chance except Torey Adamcik and Brian Draper.
I agree!
NONE of them deserve a “second chance” and the world is a bit safer knowing that they are where they belong. As far as their release from prison? Had their victims been buried with the paperwork requesting that these murderers be released and when the victims rise from the dead in order to come to the defense of their victims, then and ONLY then should release be considered.
I just finished watching
Lost for Life.
It was a bit hard to follow… I enjoyed it for the most part. I think Jacob deserves parole. He obviously did it to stop the abuse. Although, He could have gone about it a different way.
Brian and especially Torey got what they deserve. “I don’t fit in so ill kill someone, then I’ll be popular” gimme a break !! It was cute how Torey’s parents still believe their son has done nothing wrong. Maybe they haven’t seen the video the boys made. ??
Josiah, I didn’t catch what his crime was. Except that two people died.
*This is what I meant by, hard to follow. I watched from beginning to end and had to Google it. Still i don’t know.
Good film, nice job.
Josiah is a born killer! He planned this for awhile an intentionally killed two loving people for the fun of wanting to know what it was like to just kill for the fun of it,then he compared it to playing a video game..he does not get to be forgiven nor does he deserve the right to ask for it.Josiah is a cold hearted killer..and as for his sister she is no better then her brother! In the Documentary they never once spoke about what he did to the families of Gary and Stacey..it kills me how heartless they are..she can visit and talk to her killer brother but we will never be able to call or visit them unless we go to their grave..so anyone who thinks Josiah deserves to be forgiven think again!
I wouldn’t say the sister is no better than her brother and it seems as if she lived through some type of abuse and needs some help. Josiah should rot in prison like the rest of them, to take a human life for fun or thrill is something a psychopath does.
Steve what makes you think he deserves to be released? I am the sister in law of the couple he murdered in cold blood!! They were a caring loving couple that had everything to live for.so if you think Ivy deserves to be paroled maybe you need to seek help..I lived with being abused physically,mentally,emotionally and verbally plus I was molested at the age of 5 but I never once thought about taking a life because of everything I went through.
Steve I am sorry for my comment! I miss read your comment..Josiah just had his resentencing hearing about a month ago and we the family are waiting on the judges ruling.again I am truly sorry
So sorry for your troubles Kelly. Hopefully the family gets what they want and deserve.
Thank you so much! It sucks that we have to relive this nightmare all over again..everyone has their opinion and I get that, but until they walk in our shoes and try to understand what really happened they will never know the pain and heartache we deal with everyday.
And how those opinions can be so harsh online. Have a good day and keep your head up!
I think Tobey totally doesn’t deserve parole. He has no remorse or whatsoever, he just blamed it on Brian. It’s no surprised if the parents behaved in the same manner. Such a total turn off. Total crap, just finding excuse to claim he is innocent..
At least you can tell that Brian is torment by his guilt.
Tobey seemed like he is extremely unintelligent and the parents are lost in denial. The Brian guy is a psychopath who is trying to seem remorseful, his parents confused.
If I were queen for a day:
Brian – 10 more years. He has a loving, honest family to return to that encourage his facing up to what he did. And he’s doing that, but imo needs more time to really feel the loss fully.
Torey – Lifer – Parents opposite of honest – there’s no place for him to go but down as that’s what he’s taught. (deny, deny, deny). He still hasn’t even owned up to his knife, the mask and all the video evidence that proves he played an enormous role in stabbing Cassie.
Josiah – Lifer (almost all killers were abused- sorry).
Jacob Ind – Parole – Paedophilia and child abuse are despicable societal crimes and should never go unpunished. He’s done his time in hell.
I suppose I’ll never be queen.
Elise, you would give Josiah because “almost all killers were abused- sorry”, but you would put Jacob Ind up for parole because she’s a child abuse victim. What’s up with that? You’re not being consequent.
Just finished watching this on Netflix and was quite moved by all the stories.
The only person in this video who appears to have not accepted his guilt, or to display any remorse is Torrey. I feel sorry for him and for his deluded parents. They need to see the video again that shows how Torrey was the one who put forward the idea to begin with.
Maybe, if he comes to terms with his guilt and shows some remorse….only time will tell.
As for Elise, a previous poster, who would send Josiah away “for life” (saying most killers are abuse victims) but in her next breath pardons Jacob Ind for being abused… is not connecting the dots!!
If any of these young men arrive at acceptance, remorse and compassion, that is a sign that they have made the progress necessary to be considered for release. As the lawyer (I believe) says during a news interview, children’s brains are not fully formed, and incapable of reasoning as are adult brains. That is reason enough to view these offenders with a degree of compassion.
I am only glad I have had the struggles and trials I have had and not had to walk a mile in any of their shoes.
Godspeed
I just finished watching this movie and thought it fascinating and thought provoking.
I became particularly interested in parricide, and therefore Jacob Ind and Josiah Ivy more than the others. I was prompted to do some (okay a good deal of internet research on the topic) and there are 3 general categories – Severely Abused, Severely Mentally Ill, and Severely Anti-social.
Taking that lead, juvenile killers follow much the same types of groups – Non-empathetic murders, juveniles who were abused or witnessed abuse, sexual identity murderers (caused by overbearing, abusive mothers), mentally ill, or family/outside influences conspire ir convince the juvenile. There have even been studies conducted that prove a very high percentage of brain damage in juvenile offenders.
I mention all of the above, because I was haunted by one statement made by the gal (forget her name/cause) whose entire argument was that there are certain types of offenders we know will reoffend, and therefore should not be allowed back into society. However, it becomes immediately clear that by types she means juvenile murderers, not categories of juvenile killers as I’ve illustrated above. And, there in, lies the problem.
Can an otherwise “normal” child like Josiah, who was repeatedly and horrifically sexually and physically abused with the full knowledge and consent, hell, blessing frankly of his parents feel he must murder his parents to either end the cycle, or because the effects of the trauma force him to respond violently to parents that deliver him to the slaughter? Or stands to reason, or is at least a mitigating factor.
Should he be handed the same sentence as say, Brian and Torey who were clearly anti-social and just *wanted* to murder Cassie as if it was nothing more than a fun night out???
I think not. We are a developed, educated, forward society capable of discerning the difference. Clearly, types of offenders should be a classification of what caused or drove them to the act, not simply the act alone. The why, in my opionion, weighs much more heavily indetermining whether they should be considered for treatment and later release.
Josiah didn’t kill his abusers like Jacob did, he just picked an innocent man and woman and killed them for fun.
You must be crazy! Josiah Ivy cold heartedly murdered my Brother in law and sister in law just to kill someone,he does not get a free pass just because his life was horrible!!! I do not get why people feel bad for the ones who murdered another human being..oh they are Victims and they deserve a second chance right? Hell no!! The victims are the families who lost loved ones! All because someone had a bad childhood and need to just murder innocent people for the fun of it..
As a close friend of Amber and her family. I knew Josiah very well. I can’t say he wasn’t abused cause who knows what happens behind closed doors, but no reason for murdering anyone just to “see what it’s like”. There is nothing normal about that. His sisters have families of their own and are normal. To certain people in the comments section; you are either stupid or naive. Do some research before commenting. He belongs in prison for the reasons of premeditated murder. He lived in monument and drove with a friend that was 18 to the mountains 40 miles away. And that’s saying he knew where he was going. This documentary was done ok except Josiah’s part, which I think had a lot to do with his lawyer. Instead using Amber, which has always been a big exaggerator, you think she is going to explain why he did anything dumb? I remember back then when Josiah was starting to act out and smoke dope, and also hanging out with “certain” people that your mom wouldn’t want you to. He took that path. He deserves the sentence he got. Besides now, he has spent more time in prison than he did when he was on the outside. Letting someone out after that they are more than likely to commit similar crimes and end up back. It just baffles me reading some of these comments. I know I’m a little late to the party, but some people are so naive. They see something and believe everything they hear. When I watched this doc, I couldn’t even believe what I was watching. Like who’s telling them to lie or what to dramatize it more or have they actually lied to themselves for so long, they believe their stories.? Sorry Kelly for your loss. He doesn’t deserve release ever. I love Amber but, she is delusional and ignorant as Torrey’s parents…
I just finished the film, and it leaves me with a lot of questions, since it’s been 4-5 years since it’s release. I see that Jacob has won a retrial, but cannot see where any dates have been set. Brian makes a whole lot of sense, and is obviously a lot more remorseful for his actions, while Torey seems to want to deny almost everything, except for the fact that he was there, and his parents seem to support his ideology. So, how has Torey grown, and changed, in the past 5-6 years, since this was filmed? I see that there is another documentary, that he’s a part of, but I can’t watch it right now. Josiah is a truly sad case, and from what little we get to see, it seems as if he may be the only one who is truly a victim of his childhood, but his and his sister’s unwillingness to talk about their upbringing leaves a lot to the imagination. Sean is inspirational. When we first see him, he is outside, but it is unclear if he is on Prison grounds or not, then, the scenes that follow show him inside, with a glass window behind him, giving the illusion that he may still be in Prison. Then we see him outside again, after we learn that his sentence was commuted. Sad cases, all of them, but this is probably one of the fairest documentary’s, that I’ve seen of this nature.
Omg you feel sorry and think he is the victim! You are so delusional..Gary and Stacey were the victims..he took their lives just for the he’ll of it just to see what it felt like to kill someone.
I’ve watched the documentary twice and both times I saw no real remorse from Brian or Torey. Torey is delusional. Classic denial. Josiah, horrific abuse and religious cult/brainwashing. He deserves reconsideration. Also Jacob. Another abuse case. Brian and Torey were looking for notoriety. Brian cited Columbine. Torey cited the movie “Scream”. They need to stay right where they are.
For those harshly condemning Torey and Brian but being soft on Josiah, remember this– Josiah picked a random couple to murder to see what it was like to kill someone. Josiah didn’t kill his abusers like Jacob did, he just picked an innocent man and woman and killed them for fun. The documentary was intentionally vague about Josiah’s crime but not his abuse, his portion was not nearly as balanced as the others.
I am so thankful that josiah ivy will not see the light of day anytime soon! The Judge gave him 84 yrs..by the time he is up for parole he will be in his 80’s or he ends up dying in prison..either way my family does not have to worry about him any longer..
Andrew put it as well a it could be put. I don’t understand some people. Why would you feel bad for a murderer just cause they may or may not of had a bad upbringing? Their family was Jewish, not a religious cult… His sister Amber freely talks about being abused like Josiah. She didn’t kill anyone to see what it was like. To add to that, who openly talks about them being abused to the random public? Bet most people don’t know he has two other sisters. They seem normal and also didn’t kill anyone to see what it’s like. He made a choice no matter how it was fueled. He should have been put to death IMO.