The Scream Murder on Disney+: The Trial of Brian Draper and Torey Adamcik
Documentary series about the brutal murder of Cassie Stoddart inspired by horror films
What is the series about?
The Scream Murder: A True Teen Horror Story (ABC News Studios, 2026) is a three-part documentary series that examines the shocking murder of 16-year-old high school student in 2006. The second episode of the series, 'Trial and Conviction', particularly focuses on the investigation and the subsequent trial against the two classmates, Brian Draper and Torey Adamcik. The series highlights how the two teenagers were obsessed with the horror film 'Scream' from 1996, and how they planned to recreate the film's horrors in real life by terrorizing and killing their friend while she was house-sitting for her relatives.
The real case
The real case behind The Scream Murder took place in September 2006 in the small town of Pocatello in the state of Idaho. and had, in the days leading up to the murder, laid out a detailed plan, which they documented on their own video camera. They sneaked into the house where Cassie Stoddart was alone, and after cutting the power to scare her, they attacked her with knives. Cassie was stabbed 30 times. The most macabre aspect of the case was the videotape that investigators later found, where the two boys filmed themselves both before, during, and after the murder, while they celebrated their actions and discussed their desire to become famous serial killers.
Timeline of the case
The case against Brian Draper and Torey Adamcik developed quickly as the police found crucial evidence buried in a nearby park. The trial in 2007 was closely followed across the USA due to the defendants' young age and the extreme cynicism displayed in their own video recordings. The defense attempted to argue that the boys were just playing a game that went too far, but the jury found them both guilty of premeditated murder. Both received the harshest sentence in Idaho: life imprisonment without the possibility of parole, a sentence that has since been challenged in several instances but remains in effect for now.
Watch the series
The documentary can be streamed on Disney+ and Hulu. The series provides a unique insight into the case files and includes reflections from the perpetrators themselves, 18 years after the crime took place. Through interviews with investigators from the Pocatello Police Department and Cassie's surviving family, a portrait is drawn of a tragedy that shook American society and highlighted young people's relationship with violent media.