I SURVIVED: I'm locked up like a dog. I can't escape

Summary

Cold Case Files: Episode Summary – I SURVIVED: I'm Locked Up Like a Dog. I Can't Escape

Introduction

In this gripping episode of Cold Case Files, host Paula Barros delves into two harrowing survival stories that underscore the resilience of the human spirit in the face of unimaginable adversity. The episode, titled "I SURvived: I'm Locked Up Like a Dog. I Can't Escape," first aired on January 11, 2025, and explores a tragic maritime disaster and a prolonged prison hostage siege. Through detailed narratives and firsthand accounts, Paula Barros brings to light the intense struggles, loss, and ultimate survival experienced by the individuals involved.

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Part 1: Reverend Albert’s Ordeal – Tragedy at Lake Sabine

Background

In April 2008, Reverend Albert, his wife Carolyn, and their four children—Cherie, Sherri, Leatris, and their respective spouses—enjoyed regular family fishing outings at Lake Sabine, Texas. These excursions were cherished moments of togetherness and relaxation.

The Incident

On what seemed like a typical fishing day, Reverend Albert recounts the sudden onset of unusually large waves that threatened the safety of their 17-foot aluminum boat. Despite initial assurances that the boat was in good condition, the escalating waves made it impossible to navigate back to shore.

Reverend Albert [02:31]: "More and more water was getting in the boat. And that second time I tried to crank the boat and it cranked, but it wouldn't go."

Struggle and Loss

As the family grappled with the capsizing vessel, panic set in. Carolyn, who couldn’t swim, struggled to stay afloat alongside her children and spouses. Over several hours, hypothermia set in, leading to the tragic loss of Carolyn, Cedric, and Christopher.

Cherie [08:05]: "And he said, she not breathing, y'all. She not breathing. And when he said that, it was like we were all frozen, you know? And I was like, not my mama. Lord, not my mama."

Reverend Albert and his daughters, Cherie and Sherri, managed to cling to the remains of the boat, but as darkness fell, their chances of rescue diminished. Despite Reverend Albert’s unwavering determination to survive, the cold water’s lethal embrace claimed the lives of three family members.

Survival and Rescue

After enduring nine exhausting hours in the icy waters, Reverend Albert was miraculously rescued by a fire department vessel. The intervention saved his life, but the weight of losing his wife and two sons-in-law left an indelible mark on his spirit.

Reverend Albert [20:09]: "I'd have to say I survived because of my girls and because of God."

Aftermath and Reflection

The aftermath of the tragedy saw Reverend Albert grappling with immense loss. The community's support was palpable at the funeral, attended by over 2,000 members. Reverend Albert’s resilience and faith became a beacon of hope, emphasizing the profound impact of family and unwavering belief in life.

Reverend Albert [42:02]: "I survived because I look at myself as a survivor and not a victim. I survived because my family was out there and I needed to get back with them. I survived because I love life."

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Part 2: Officer Lois’s Nightmare – The Longest Prison Hostage Siege

Introduction to Lois and the Prison Setting

Fast forward to January 2004 in Buckeye, Arizona, Lois, a dedicated prison officer at Arizona State Prison, begins her night shift in the watchtower alongside Officer Jason. The facility, housing over 4,000 inmates, is accustomed to routine until an unexpected crisis erupts.

The Siege Begins

During a routine patrol, Officer Jason is assaulted by an inmate named Wassener, who viciously attacks him with an industrial paddle. This shocking betrayal sets off a chain of events leading to the capture and hostage-taking of Lois and Jason by Wassener and his accomplice, inmate Coy.

Leatris [24:51]: "Leatris: Of course I get handcuffed first. And Jason's screaming and he's yelling and he's bleeding and I'm trying to figure out, asking what's going on, you know, let's talk about this, you know..."

Hostage Experience

For 15 excruciating days, Lois remains held hostage in the watchtower. Throughout the siege, she endures physical abuse and psychological torment, including sexual assault by both Wassener and Coy. Despite the dire circumstances, Lois employs strategic thinking and emotional resilience to survive.

Leatris [38:19]: "I'm locked up like a dog. I can't escape."

Negotiation and Resolution

As the days drag on, negotiators engage with the inmates, aiming to de-escalate the situation. Despite demanding extraordinary concessions, including the presence of family members and specific food items, the authorities work tirelessly to resolve the standoff without further bloodshed.

On the 15th day, a breakthrough occurs when negotiators convince inmate Coy's Uncle Bob to intervene. This pivotal moment shifts the dynamics, allowing negotiators to overpower Wassener and Coy, leading to Lois's rescue.

Leatris [40:28]: "We came out of the tower. The officers are telling Wasser exactly what to do. Turn around, drop everything, walk backwards, lay down..."

Aftermath and Sentencing

The siege marks the longest prison hostage situation in U.S. history. Following her rescue, Lois reflects on the profound changes the ordeal imparted on her life, emphasizing personal growth and newfound perspectives on life and family.

Leatris [42:02]: "I survived because I look at myself as a survivor and not a victim. I survived because my family was out there and I needed to get back with them."

Legally, both inmates faced severe consequences. Coy received seven consecutive life terms, while Wassener was sentenced to 16 life terms plus 28 years, albeit initially pleading not guilty.

Leatris’s Reflection

Throughout her ordeal, Lois emphasizes the importance of viewing herself as a survivor and the central role her family played in her determination to persevere.

Leatris [42:02]: "I survived because I love life."

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Conclusion

This episode of Cold Case Files masterfully intertwines two distinct yet equally compelling survival stories, highlighting themes of resilience, faith, and the unyielding will to survive. Reverend Albert's tragic loss and subsequent survival juxtapose sharply with Officer Lois’s brutal captivity and eventual liberation, offering listeners profound insights into human endurance and the complexities of survival against all odds.

Paula Barros’s empathetic narration and inclusion of poignant firsthand quotes provide an intimate glimpse into the lives transformed by these harrowing experiences. Whether grappling with the unforgiving forces of nature or the malicious intent of fellow humans, the individuals featured in this episode exemplify the extraordinary capacity to overcome and find meaning amidst profound suffering.

Transcript

[Narrator]

This episode contains subject matter that may be disturbing to some listeners. Listener discretion is advised.

[Reverend Albert]

The waves were constantly coming, constantly covering us up. And we spitting and swallowing water.

[Narrator]

Real people.

[Leatris]

Now I'm thinking to myself, if he does even give me a two second head start, where am I gonna go?

[Narrator]

Who faced death?

[Cherie]

We have to fight this water all night. Where is everybody?

[Narrator]

Why are we alone and live to tell how.

[Reverend Albert]

I was not thinking death ever. I was thinking life and live.

[Carolyn]

We gonna make it.

[Narrator]

This is I survived. It's April 2008. Reverend Albert lives with his wife Carolyn and his daughters Cherie and Leattris in Port Arthur, Texas.

[Reverend Albert]

We were going fishing out in Lake Sabine every Saturday. It was like a family time together. We would go out and just enjoy the day and enjoy each other fishing and just having fun. It was myself and my wife Carolyn, my oldest daughter Sherri and her husband Cedric, and it was my baby daughter Leatris and her husband Christopher.

[Sherri]

On the weekends, we always called Daddy, looking to see if he's gonna take us fishing in a boat. If not, then we, you know, go to the bank. Anyway, that day, it was a normal day.

[Cherie]

Everybody had their fishing rods in the water and we played around a little bit and laughed.

[Reverend Albert]

We were out, I guess about two and a half, three hours, I guess about seven. The waves started getting big. It wasn't the weather, it was the waves. And a big wave came into the boat. And I asked Chris to check the bottom of the boat to see how much water got in it. And he looked and he said, no, we good.

[Narrator]

The 17 foot aluminum boat was in good condition and the family was fishing one and a half miles from shore.

[Reverend Albert]

About 10 minutes later, 15 minutes later, another big wave came. Big wave came, throw water in the boat.

[Cherie]

It was real, these little ferocious looking waves. And by then it's like my sister jumped up and we had a little white bucket in the boat. And I could actually remember her scooping water.

[Reverend Albert]

So I said, no, it's time to go. So I cranked the boat up and when I cranked it, it started. And when I tried to put it in forward, the engine qu. And another wave came. After that, cranked it again, started, but it wouldn't go.

[Cherie]

And my daddy trying to turn the boat on and Chris saying that he couldn't pull the anchor up. And I can remember my father saying, cut the rope.

[Reverend Albert]

More and more water was getting in the boat. And that second time I tried to crank the boat and it cranked, but it wouldn't go. When the wave came in Throw the water in the boat. It made the back of the boat getting real close to the water. And Vote had never done that before.

[Carolyn]

Start up and to go forward and quit had never done that.

[Cherie]

He said, okay, y'all, put your life jackets on. If you can get to a phone, somebody call somebody.

[Reverend Albert]

Cedric got on the phone and dialed 911. He had the phone up to his ear, and then all of a sudden.

[Carolyn]

The boat just flipped.

[Reverend Albert]

It didn't just go down. It completely flipped and throwed all of us out of the boat.

[Narrator]

The family of six have been clinging to their capsized boat for three hours. They're a mile and a half from shore.

[Reverend Albert]

The waves were constantly coming, constantly covering us up, and we spitting and swallowing water. So I knew my wife couldn't swim. So immediately I'm up trying to find her and everybody else trying to keep them from panicking. Get their life jackets on. Don't panic. Get your life jacket on. The front part of the boat was up out of the water, sticking up, and we were able to hold on there and able to get up right there on the top of it. Two people were able to get up there comfortably, and they were taking turns.

[Cherie]

At first, my husband was the smallest of all of us, and he sat there and he said, I can make it. I think I can make it to shore. And I said, cedric, they tell you when the boat capsized, stay with the boat. And daddy kept saying, stay with the boat. Somebody's gonna come for us.

[Reverend Albert]

We still got daylight at least an hour and a half. Somebody got to see us. We not that far from the bank. About a mile, mile, maybe a mile and a half. Everything seemed to be going along pretty good until it started getting dark. And when it started getting dark, I knew we. Nobody wasn't gonna see us.

[Carolyn]

So it's time to keep encouraging one another.

[Reverend Albert]

Keep talking, keep talking.

[Carolyn]

You know, just keep talking.

[Narrator]

After four hours, the cold water was causing their core body temperatures to drop. The family was at risk of death from hypothermia.

[Carolyn]

There was a full moon.

[Reverend Albert]

Sky was clear. We could see the stars.

[Carolyn]

It was a beautiful night.

[Sherri]

Me and Chris were right next to each other. So we talked and kissed and, you know. And then after a while, you know, every now and again, he'd pray and Jack would pray or Cedric would pray. The only person I was worried about was mom, because, you know, that's Mama. But when she. She was holding on pretty good, and, you know, daddy was taken care of. He, you know, he held on to as long as he. You know as long as he could. And the whole time she'd say, I'm okay. I'm okay. Mama, you okay? Yes, I'm okay.

[Narrator]

The capsized boat was too heavy to turn upright. Only a small area of the boat's hull remained out of the water.

[Carolyn]

Tried to get my wife up there.

[Reverend Albert]

But she never could get up there.

[Carolyn]

Every time she get up, she slide back down. Every time we get her up there, she slide back. So I was just there with her, holding her, talking. We just talking. You okay?

[Reverend Albert]

We're gonna be okay.

[Carolyn]

Y'all hold on. We gonna be all right. So I don't know what time it was. My daughter called me around to the other side of the boat, and I said, baby, you okay? She said, yeah, I'm good. I'm good. I said, well, hold on right here. I'm gonna go around, see what Sherry won't, and I'll be right back. So I was gonna go around, and I guess I'm just thinking they want me to try to go around and get up on the top to try to help pull her up. As soon as I left to go around on the other side, I heard. I heard my baby girl calling the mama. You know, mama, Mama. Cause she was holding by her life jacket. By the time I got back around there, she. She was gone. Where is she? Where is she?

[Reverend Albert]

I finally spotted her.

[Carolyn]

She was about 10 yards away.

[Reverend Albert]

She was face down.

[Carolyn]

And I got over there.

[Cherie]

And he said, she not breathing, y'all. She not breathing. And when he said that, it was like we were all frozen, you know? And I was like, not my mama. Lord, not my mama. He kept saying, carolyn, Carolyn, baby, what you doing? Why you doing this to me? And I grabbed his jacket and I pulled him to the boat, and he was holding my mother, and she was laying flat down in the water.

[Narrator]

Seven hours after their boat capsized, the family is becoming hypothermic. Reverend Albert's wife, Carolyn, is face down in the cold water, unconscious.

[Cherie]

He kept saying, carolyn, Carolyn, baby, what you doing? Why you doing this to me? And I grabbed his jacket and I pulled him to the boat. And he was holding my mother, and she was laying flat down in the water. And I kept saying, daddy, pick her head up. Pick her head up out the water, Daddy.

[Carolyn]

What I could do. She was gonna.

[Reverend Albert]

So I started thinking about the rest of them.

[Narrator]

Carolyn succumbed to hypothermia and drowned.

[Carolyn]

When we first went in the water, it was cold. We were shivering, teeth clacking.

[Reverend Albert]

It was cold. But then after a while, you Just.

[Carolyn]

Don'T feel it no more. I was just thinking, keep breathing, keep holding up. Keep your head above the water, and we gonna be okay. We got. And my girls got up on top of the boat up there. They was up on the top and they were talking to their husbands. They was talking to them, trying to keep them focused. They was talking, and all of a sudden, Chris just closed his eyes.

[Narrator]

Leatris and Chris had been married for two months.

[Sherri]

He was next to my dad. And I heard my dad call out for Chris's name, and he didn't. I looked back, and I just seen him going under. So I don't remember saying anything because I knew it was nothing I could do. I know I had to stay focused and keep control.

[Narrator]

Chris also succumbed to hypothermia and drowned.

[Cherie]

Nobody was saying anything. Nobody was saying, I can't feel my legs or I can't. I'm terribly cold. Nobody said anything. It was just all happening so fast. And I grabbed Cedric. I was holding him in my arms, kissing on him. And all I could hear was, like, he couldn't even open his mouth.

[Narrator]

Cherie and Cedric had been together for 11 years. They have two young sons.

[Cherie]

I said, cedric, I love you. Please don't leave me. And his eyes changed color in front of me. And at that point, I started shouting out like, lord, no. Not Cedric, too. Not Cedric, Lord.

[Sherri]

And I heard my sister yell out for her husband. And that hurt. All I could think about was, you know, the kids, they have kids.

[Narrator]

So Cedric, like Carolyn and Chris, became hypothermic and drowned.

[Cherie]

What am I gonna say to my kids? Like, he made me all these promises, and he's not here anymore. What am I supposed to do? And my sister, she turned around and she said, sherri, now is not the time. Hold on.

[Carolyn]

Wasn't nothing I can do. I'm holding on. You know, if they were drowning, I thought maybe I could help. But nobody was drowning.

[Reverend Albert]

We was all up talking to each.

[Carolyn]

Other, and all of a sudden, they were just gone. So my girls made me promise them I wouldn't go, leave them. I said, I ain't going nowhere. I ain't going nowhere. I'll be right here. We gonna make it. We gonna make it. You know we gonna make it.

[Narrator]

Reverend Albert had now been in the water for nine hours. His daughters were on top of the capsized boat. There was only room for two.

[Cherie]

My daddy, he was in the water on the side at that point still. And he started to get a little delirious.

[Sherri]

Dad started slipping out For a minute. And me and my sister found a way to kind of rig him up to a piece of rope and hold on to him.

[Narrator]

The anchor rope was still attached to the boat.

[Cherie]

I took the rope that I was holding and I tied it around his belt. And that way she was pulling and I was pulling. And that way we were able to keep his upper torso out of the water so he wouldn't swallow much water. Because he kept trying to go to sleep. And we were blowing air in his face because he kept saying, I'm cold. I'm cold. I can't get comfortable.

[Carolyn]

I don't know what time it was or what happened. When I closed my eyes, I closed my eyes, too. Next thing I know, I did wake up. It was daylight. The girls were still up on the boat. I don't know. I just said, I'm gonna swim.

[Reverend Albert]

I'm gonna swim.

[Sherri]

He was saying that he was swimming to the shore and he was going to get us some help. Cause nobody was coming to help us, so he was going to get help. He was determined.

[Cherie]

He wasn't going anywhere because we had him tied up by the rope. But he thought he was swimming. He was moving his arms. Because the whole night when we were fighting the water, I kept saying, move your legs, Daddy. Move your legs. Move your arms. Why I got to move my arms? I said, keep your circulation going, Daddy.

[Sherri]

Stay up.

[Cherie]

Stay up.

[Narrator]

They had now been in the cold water for 13 hours.

[Cherie]

I'm like my brother. He knew we were going fishing. Maybe he'll think something wrong. Maybe he'll pass by the house. It's like I had all these thoughts going through my head about all these maybes. I was angry. Like the game warn't always out here. Where are you now? You know we have to fight this water all night. Where is everybody? Why are we alone? And then I noticed. I said, lily, his stomach swelling. She said, no, it's not. I said, yes, it is.

[Narrator]

Reverend Albert was beginning to lose consciousness.

[Cherie]

His stomach swollen. And he. I kept saying, daddy, look, the sun. The sun out. He said, mm, I see it. I say, no, you don't open your eyes. He said, mm, I see it. And I smacked him. When I smacked him, his eyes bucked wide open. And when his eyes bucked wide open, I could see the colors changing in his eyes. The outer sides of his eyes had turned colors like Cedric's eyes had turned colors. And I was afraid because then I was like, you told us you wouldn't leave us out here. You can't leave us out Here in all of this water.

[Narrator]

Reverend Albert's pupils are dilated and his stomach is swelling.

[Cherie]

When his stomach swelled, I kind of lost a little hope there. Because it was like we had been there for so long and nobody has come to get us. We made him promise to not leave us, and he promised not to leave us. But, you know, nobody's guaranteed tomorrow.

[Sherri]

I wanted to panic. I was panicking inside. But I couldn't panic outwardly, because if I did, like I said, I felt like I'd lose control and I'd probably be in pretty bad shape, you know?

[Cherie]

All of a sudden, out of nowhere, this boat was behind us. We didn't hear it come up. We didn't see it come up. Just happened to turn, and it was there, sitting there.

[Carolyn]

I heard Sherry say, daddy, come a boat. Here come a boat. And I didn't see a boat. I didn't see anything. And next thing I noticed, this guy.

[Reverend Albert]

Was in front of me. It was a big old boat in front of me. I don't know what color, what kind of boat it was.

[Carolyn]

All I know is I saw this guy kneeling down, reaching his hand for me.

[Narrator]

A fire department vessel had found the family.

[Cherie]

They pulled up and they asked, you gonna be okay for a few minutes? And I was thinking, why are they even leaving us here? It's three of them, and it's three of us. And my sister said, sheree, they in there. We saw the body bags. We knew they had our family members in the boat. And I guess they didn't want to put us in the boat with them. And so they sped ashore and they sped right back, and they put us in the boat. By the time we got to the shore, the body bags were laying on side of the docking ramp. And I could hear my father scream out. He said, carolyn. And he said he don't remember doing it.

[Reverend Albert]

But I woke up, I was in.

[Carolyn]

The hospital, and I don't know why. They closed their eyes, woke up in heaven. I closed mine, woke up in the hospital. They had all these blankets and hot.

[Reverend Albert]

Blankets and stuff on me.

[Carolyn]

And the room was really, really hot. And people were standing around everywhere. And a guy, one of the guys.

[Reverend Albert]

At the hospital, I don't know, an.

[Carolyn]

Intern or I don't know who he was, worked for the hospital. He said 85 to 95% of people who stayed in water as long as.

[Reverend Albert]

I did, 85%, 95% of them don't make it.

[Sherri]

The things that helped me survive that day. I thought about my sister, kids. But I miss Chris I really miss my mom, my brother in law, but we were left here for a reason so I gotta keep going.

[Cherie]

Making sure that everybody was okay helped me to survive because my mother meant the world to me and so did Cedric and my sister and Christopher. I survived because my children need me.

[Narrator]

The funeral for Carolyn, Cedric and Christopher was held on April 26, 2008 at Antioch Baptist Church. More than 2,000 community and church members attended.

[Reverend Albert]

I'd have to say I survived because of my girls and because of God.

[Carolyn]

That's the only way.

[Reverend Albert]

I wasn't looking or thinking death at all.

[Carolyn]

Even after my wife died and my.

[Reverend Albert]

Two son in laws died, I was not thinking death ever. I was thinking life and live.

[Carolyn]

We gonna make it Foreign.

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[Narrator]

It's January 2004 in Buckeye, Arizona. Lois is a prison officer at Arizona State Prison. The facility houses over 4,000 inmates.

[Leatris]

About 9 o'clock is when we'd start our job. And that night just happened to be the night that I was scheduled to be up in the tower. And there's not a lot of interaction with the inmates when you're up in the towers. So most of the inmates were going to sleep and getting ready for the next day.

[Narrator]

Lois was working the night shift in the watchtower. Her job was to observe the yard and maintain security.

[Leatris]

Officer Jason was in the tower with me that night. You know, he's a good kid. You know, he's 21, he's new. Jason and I were talking when a buzz came over the speaker. And a buzz usually lets us know that somebody's at the gate that needs to be popped through. And we do this only for the officers, we don't do it for the inmates.

[Narrator]

Jason saw a man in uniform and buzzed the gate open.

[Leatris]

I asked him and said, you know, who is it? And he said, I don't know, it looks like Officer Martin. And my stomach just kind of started turning. It just didn't feel right. So here comes up this officer, so we think, and he rears back with a 30 inch industrial paddle that kind of looks like a spatula, but they're used in the kitchens for stirring and everything. And he, you know, looks at me and said, oh, you got complacent. And rears back and hits Jason upside the head, crushing him, his eye orbital. I, you know, thinking to myself, what's going on? Wait, I gotta stop this guy. So I get in a, you know, football stance and I tackle him and he grabs my head and shoves it into his knee and I go down on the ground. Me and Jason both were handcuffed behind our backs. And it's not until 10 or 15 minutes later that we realized that, or I realized that this is an inmate and not an officer.

[Narrator]

Inmate Wassener was posing as a prison officer.

[Leatris]

Of course I get handcuffed first. And Jason's screaming and he's yelling and he's bleeding and I'm trying to figure out, asking what's going on, you know, let's talk about this, you know, and he, he's telling me to shut up. And then he grabs the, you know, the gun that was unloaded and the bullets in the magazine, and he starts putting the bullets into the magazine.

[Narrator]

Weapons and ammunition were stored in the tower.

[Leatris]

And yeah, I'm thinking, you know, I'm dead, you know, what's going on here? How can I defuse it? How can I fix this? After he gets the gun loaded, he made several phone calls to an inmate in the kitchen.

[Narrator]

Inmate Coy, Wassener's accomplice. Inmate Coy was armed with a knife in the kitchen. The prison kitchen was 50 yards from the watchtower.

[Leatris]

He made several contacts with inmate Coy, saying, okay, it's time for you to come up here. And me and Jason were forced downstairs with the AR15, you know, at our backs and our heads.

[Narrator]

An AR15 is a semi automatic assault rifle.

[Leatris]

And while all this is going on, there hasn't been called an emergency response yet. So nobody knows what's going on except for me and Jason. He told Jason to hold open the door. And so I'm laying there next to Jason. I'm like, you know, the door's being held open and mate Wassener's firing rounds from the AR15 into the yard. He's covering the yard, firing shots at other officers to allow his partner, inmate Coy, to make it from the kitchen to the tower. And I'm going, this is not good, you know, and please don't hit any other officers. You know, I hope that this inmate can't shoot, right? He got his partner, inmate Coy, to get into the tower and then the door shuts. And what I remember of the academy is that, you know, if you're taken hostage, there's no negotiating. So what does that tell you? Okay, I'm dead. They're not going to negotiate for my life. I look over at Jason because we're sitting next to each other, and I just see all this blood just coming down his face. And he was in and out of consciousness. And you know, that kind of like took over him, like a caretaker. I'm not sure Jason's gonna make it. How can I get myself out of this? You know, what can I do to get out of here? I wonder, you know, if my family knows what's going on. Have they been notified? Where are they?

[Narrator]

Lois is a single mom, she has a 12 year old daughter.

[Leatris]

Wassener and Corey are laughing and joking about shooting rounds at the officers. Inmate Wassener then gets a phone call from our lieutenant and they're asking him, what does he want? You know, let's resolve this. And of course, you know, inmate Wasser's going, nah, you Know we want something different. I'm not sure yet, but we'll let you know.

[Narrator]

The two inmates demand a helicopter and a pizza. They were denied the helicopter.

[Leatris]

Inmate Wassener was kind of paranoid, you know, thinking that, you know, snipers will start shooting. So inmate Wassener forced me to take off my pants. Well, he took off my pants and my boots and tossed them over to inmate Coy and said, you know, go downstairs and get these clothes on so that they don't know who you are. So while inmate Coy was downstairs changing in my clothes in mate, Wassener had us, had me and Jason in the corner, and Jason's going in and out of consciousness, and Wasser decides that, you know, he's gonna sexually assault me. You know, working in a prison, I knew that this could happen. And so I always told myself, you know, what would I do if this was ever to happen? Well, I have two violent inmates in the tower with me. I don't know what they're in for. I mean, these guys aren't in there because they missed Sunday school.

[Narrator]

Wassener was serving 28 years for armed robbery and aggravated assault. Coy was serving multiple life sentences for armed robbery, rape, and kidnapping.

[Leatris]

So when I was getting sexually assaulted by inmate Wassener, I didn't really make any noise except for telling him, no, no, no, please don't, Please don't. But it was more like a whisper that only he could hear. I didn't want the other inmate to know because I didn't want it to become a free for all. If the other one knew that the other one had raped me, they might say, ah, well, you know, we'll keep raping her, but if the other one doesn't realize what the other one's done, then I'd have a better chance.

[Narrator]

Wassener made Coy take both officers to the lower level.

[Leatris]

Anything that wasner would say or do, Corey would just agree and agree. So it made Coy, Texas. Downstairs, Jason's bleeding still.

[Narrator]

Jason was drifting in and out of consciousness. Lois and Jason had now been held at gunpoint for over two hours.

[Leatris]

Jason's put into the corner of the staircase, and, you know, I'm telling Coy, please don't. Please don't. You don't want to do this. You know, I'm thinking of everything I can, and needless to say, I got sexually assaulted by inmate Coy. I'm still hopeful that, you know, this will just, you know, stop. In a couple hours, they're gonna come in guns barreling. They're gonna make their way into this tower. They're gonna kill both inmates, and we're gonna get up and walk out, you know, happy ending. But it doesn't happen. By day three, I'm worn out. I'm an emotional roller coaster. What I was hoping would end in one or two days, you know, just seems like it's getting longer and longer, and negotiators are negotiating, and I'm trying to figure out why, you know, come up here. Blast away. Let's go.

[Narrator]

Police had been trying to end the siege for three days. The inmates now demanded transfers to prisons closer to their families.

[Leatris]

And then negotiators and inmate Wassener decide that, you know, they're going to get full night sleep. I'm thinking, okay, this is my chance. If I can do anything, this will be the night I can do it. To give you an idea about how I was locked up, I had a pair of handcuffs. To the handcuffs was a pair of leg irons. Attached to the leg irons was a belly chain, and that was attached to a pole. So I only had so much movement in the tower. I was on a leash like a dog. Inmate Coy let my handcuff kind of loose. And so while the inmates are sleeping, both of them, I'm able to get my handcuff off. And I nudged Jason, say, hey, you know, I can go grab the gun. It's 10ft away. I can blow both inmates. Are you with me? Jason's like, no, don't do it. And so I put my handcuff back on, and I just kept playing it in my head, you know, can I do this? Would I be able to do this? Realizing that I don't know how long this is going to be, if I'm even gonna make it out alive.

[Narrator]

Lois decided not to retrieve the gun. With the inmates becoming more unpredictable, Lois tried a new strategy.

[Leatris]

Me and inmate Coy start building a relationship, if you will. From early on, the thing that we had in common was that I smoked and he smoked, and we started talking about family and relationships. And he told me, you know, when he started his life of crime at, you know, 15, and how his dad was never there, but his uncle Bob was. You know, I talked about a little bit of where I grew up to get onto his side and to gain a little bit of trust with him. You know, they say that if he can identify with the person who's taking you hostage, they start looking at you as a person instead of an object. I never had Stockholm syndrome, though.

[Narrator]

Stockholm syndrome is A condition where kidnapping victims sympathize with their captors.

[Leatris]

On day four, inmate Corey woke up, and he started doing security checks around the tower. And he noticed that there was a cut in the fence because the tarp was kind of flapping open. And so he told inmate Wassener. And Wassener was on the phone to negotiators at the time. And he told the negotiator, hold on. And he set the phone down, went over to the fence, looked at it, and I'm thinking to myself, oh, God, this is not good.

[Narrator]

Overnight, the authorities had attempted to breach a gate near the tower.

[Leatris]

So inmate Wasser picked up the phone, and he says, you know, you've really messed up. You're gonna pay for this. Now. Why don't you listen to what's about to happen? And he sets the phone down to where, you know, they could hear what was going on on the phone line. And he had me and Jason stand up, and he took the shotgun, and he pointed it at Jason and said, you know, I'm gonna blow you away. What do you have to say? And Jason's like, well, you know, just shoot me in the head and make it quick. And then I'm standing there and I'm numb, you know, And Wasser points the gun at me and says, are you ready to die? When he points the gun, I'm more defiant. I'm more, you know, hard, non emotional. And I said, you know, flat out, I've been waiting to die since the moment you walked in. And then he gets on the phone and says, you know, are you happy? You ever pull a stunt like that again, and you're gonna lose both officers and just starts yelling and screaming. And, you know, I really thought for sure he was gonna blow us away.

[Narrator]

The inmates decided not to shoot the officers, but demanded more food. Negotiators, in turn, demanded the inmates hand over ammunition.

[Leatris]

Inmate Wassener was talking to a negotiator, and he wanted Subway sandwiches. The negotiator was saying, no, you're not gonna get Subway. You're not gonna get Burger King. You're not gonna get any fast food. You're gonna get what we're getting down here. And Wassner gets angry, and he's like, all right, if you don't give us what we want, we're gonna cut off her pinky. And so he yells to Corey, saying, you know, get that object over there. Cut off her pinky. And he started pressing the blunt object in between my pinky, the little bone right there, the joint and he's pressing down on it, and I'm screaming and I'm yelling, and the negotiator's going, you know, you don't want to do that. And so Wassener's like, you know, well, what do you have down there? And he started describing roast beef, ham, you know, variety of breads and soda. And Wassener's like, okay, fine, you know, send us up some of that, but if you ever do this again, you know, her pinky's coming off and it's going over the side. You give us what we want, or we'll make it worse for them.

[Narrator]

Lois and Jason have now been held hostage for six days.

[Leatris]

I awoke to Wassener telling me that Jason's gonna be released. And what they're planning on doing is give him a bunch of food and some supplies in exchange for his release. It's like, wait, you know, I'm a female. I've been raped. You know, I'm a single mom. You know, I should be the one going home now, not him. And Coy told me that I was a better bargaining tool, that I was a single female mom and they could get more out for me than what they could for Amel.

[Narrator]

Jason had a fractured eye socket and was released.

[Leatris]

So while Wassner's upstairs up on the top of the tower, inmate Coy comes to me and he goes, you know, if you have sex with me, I'll give you a 2 second head start before I shoot you.

[Narrator]

Lois was chained up at the base of the tower.

[Leatris]

Now I'm thinking to myself, you know, if he does even give me a two second head start, where am I gonna go? I'm locked up like a dog. I can't escape.

[Narrator]

After Jason's release, Lois prepares for the worst.

[Leatris]

I had snatched a picture out my wallet before Wassner went through it. A picture of my daughter. And I talked to it as if I was talking to her and telling her, saying my goodbyes, letting her know that, okay, I love you, I miss you. You'll be okay. You got family around. That's when I really started separating myself from my family and saying my goodbyes.

[Narrator]

One week later, negotiators send for inmate Coy's Uncle Bob.

[Leatris]

When inmate Coy's Uncle Bob showed up, his whole attitude changed. His main concern was he wanted to see his Uncle Bob. He wanted to hug his Uncle Bob. He wanted to, you know, have a conversation. That's when Wasner lost all control over Coy, and Coy started making up his own mind and Saying, no, I'm done, let's end this. There was no yelling or screaming about it. It was what it was and Wassener just had to deal with it.

[Narrator]

Officer Lois has now been held hostage for 15 days.

[Leatris]

Inmate Wassener's telling me that today's the day they're going to end this, but if they don't follow the rules, we'll just keep it going. One of Wassener's last and final Demands was for two steak dinners. They wanted a 12 pack at Heineken and a large cheese crust stuffed pizza. Well, they were finally talked down to two beers. That was their last and final demands.

[Narrator]

Negotiators told the inmates to throw their guns onto the roof and exit from the tower base. Inmate Wassener refused.

[Leatris]

Wassener took the guns down. He had the AR15. I was in the middle and then Coy was behind me with the shotgun, not on safety. So we came out of the tower. The officers are telling Wasser exactly what to do. Turn around, drop everything, walk backwards, lay down, and then, you know, I go to start walking out and then I backed all the way up and I had somebody snatch me from the other side of the fence and I was out the gate, down the road by the time that the whole thing ended on my way to the hospital.

[Narrator]

Lois's 15 day ordeal was the longest prison hostage siege in United States history.

[Leatris]

When you have something major happen to you and you're not sure whether you're going to live or die, I know that this has been said time after time. It's like everything that you took for granted is all new back into your life and you learn not to take things for granted. And I took a lot of my family for granted and I took my daughter for granted and my freedom for granted. I've changed enormously.

[Narrator]

Inmate Coy pleaded guilty and was sentenced to seven consecutive life terms in prison. Inmate Wassener pleaded not guilty and was sentenced to 16 life terms plus 28 years.

[Leatris]

I survived because I look at myself as a survivor and not a victim. I survived because my family was out there and I needed to get back with them. I survived because I love life.

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