Tesslynn Elizabeth O'Cull

esslynn Elizabeth O'Cull was born on 8th June 1994 in California.
In early 1997, Tesslynn and her mother were living in Oregon, Where her mother, Stella met and moved
in with in with Jesse Compton.
Soon after Tesslynn and her mother moved in, Compton began abusing Tesslynn. He would hit her with
wooden spoons, spatulas and a belt. Visitors to the apartment witnessed Compton slap little Tesslynn
in the face, drag her by her hair and force her to stand in the corner for long periods of time. He
would also make her take long cold baths or showers.

Compton was often angry at Tesslynn, he would call her disparaging names and they would lock
Tesslynn in her room while they hosted drug parties. The visitors would often hear Tesslynn cry for
hours after Compton had been in the bedroom with her. He would not allow others to go into the
bedroom to help her. It wasn't long before Tesslynn was being kept in her bedroom for most of
the time.

At one time, a neighbour complained at how Tesslynn was being treated, Compton told the neighbour
that if they called the police, he would kill the neighbour and the neighbour's girlfriend.

About 2-3 weeks before Tesslynn's death, Compton broke four vertebrae in Tesslynn's back.
He also sexually abused her and used and open flame to burn her. When some of these burns became
infected, Compton poured rubbing alcohol into her open wounds.

During the last two weeks of Tesslynn's life, she was tied up for up to ten hours a day, with
her hands and feet being tied over her head. It was also during this time that police were sent to
check on the little girl's welfare. They looked in on her briefly, seeing her covered with a
blanket and left it at that, without making the usual report to the children's services.

In the last 24 hours of her life, Tesslynn suffered severe beatings to her head which caused
bruising on her brain. She was struck in the abdomen so hard it caused severe internal injuries.

Eventually, Tesslynn's body could take no more, and she was found dead by Compton sometime
between midnight and 2 am on 14th June 1997.
Compton cut Tesslynn free from her restraints and tried to revive her by giving her CPR. He also
struck her in the left side of her chest a few times with his fist, when that failed to revive her,
he applied a frayed, live electrical cord to her chest, and splashed her with cold water. Tesslynn
never woke up.

Compton and Stella Kiser (Tesslynn's mother) left her body in the bedroom while they decided
what to do. Tesslynn's injuries were so severe that the couple feared they would go to jail if
anyone saw her body. Eventually they decided to bury the body, which they did with the help of
Compton's sister. In the days after Tesslynn's death, Compton and Kiser were happy,
playful and affectionate with each other. They told friends that Tesslynn was with a babysitter or
with Kiser's aunt.

On the evening of 16th June 1997, Compton's sister told the Springfield Police Department that
she had helped Compton and Kiser to bury Tesslynn's body in the Sweet Home, Oregon area two
days earlier.

Tesslynn's body was found by police in the early hours of 17th June 1997.

Police arrived at Compton's apartment that afternoon. They searched his apartment which was in
a bad state of repair. They also searched a nearby dumpster in which they found two trash bags
containing a Mother's day card for Kiser, and child's clothing.

The medical examiner who conducted the autopsy concluded that Tesslynn had died of shock. He listed
the cause of death as "battered child syndrome".

Compton was indicted on six counts of aggravated murder, murder by abuse, first-degree sexual
penetration, and second degree abuse of a corpse. The jury convicted him of all counts and he was
sentenced to death.
Stella Kiser was found guilty of aggravated murder, and was sentenced to life without the
possibility of parole.

www.myspace.com/remembertesslynn