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 1   http://youtu.be/iEk9NHZO7m0

To provide some background, Bryce became friends with Nick Cantu (Fred’s son) in the month of May of 2009.  What is now known is that Nick planned for months to kill his father because he felt his father was too strict.  The media reports this story suggesting that Nick and Bryce together planned to kill Fred Cantu, but there is no indication that Bryce was anywhere near the scene of the shooting that night.

When the EMT and police arrived at the house, Fred was still alive and was asked who was responsible for this and he answered “Nick”.  I have a copy of the police report which proves this as fact.

My son had failed the 8th grade and was 15 years old at the time.  He was interrogated without an attorney and I believe he was manipulated into giving a false confession. Although Nick told police that Bryce did the shooting, there is no evidence to confirm this.  At a sentencing hearing in July, 2010, my son was offered and accepted a plea deal of 30 years because he believed he did the shooting. This is based entirely on the confession elicited by police and Nick’s word.

Additional facts obtained from police reports suggest that someone in that house (possibly Nick) may have done the shooting.  A bloody t-shirt was found in an upstairs bathroom and there is no explanation provided.  It is unknown whether Nick had a gun residue test performed on his hands.  He had access to guns located in the attic of the home.

Also, additional information from police reports just received indicates that there was also a witness who claims that Grace Cantu offered my son money ($3,000) to kill her husband.  This was in October, 2009, so just a couple of months before the shooting.  The witness also told police that she was buying my son drugs and alcohol and that shortly after he shared this information with the witness, he had expensive clothing and made a large marijuana purchase.  He had no source of cash so this is puzzling and clearly needed to be explored.  If there was any possibility that Grace manipulated Bryce, we need to know about it.

There are too many loose ends and unanswered questions remaining in this case and it is urgent and critical that someone steps in and reviews this case immediately.  My son will turn 18 next September and will be moved to adult prison.  There are extenuating circumstances that must be considered in this case.  My son, while in my custody living in Florida was diagnosed with a genetic brain disorder that manifests itself as behavioral problems, ADHD, OCD and tics.  A doctor discovered his condition through testing in 2001 when he was age 5 and my son began a tailored treatment program along with therapy that proved to be successful in managing his disorder.

In 2007, Bryce moved to Texas to live with his father, David Vandergrift and his stepmother, Patricia.  We had joint custody and David wanted Bryce to live with him so I agreed.  I did this with the understanding that Bryce would maintain his  medically necessary regiment and medications.  I was unaware at the time, but a new psychiatrist removed Bryce’s medications and it was quite obvious, based on his grades and behaviors that this was detrimental to Bryce’s well being and should never have been done. Bryce even began taking illegal drugs and his mental condition was deteriorating from the balanced state it had been in while he was on the prescribed medications and therapies that were known to be effective in treating his disorder.

I believe his mental state at the time of the shooting influenced his ability to be manipulated into confessing to a crime he didn’t commit.  I also believe his defense attorney was ineffective.  The defense attorney didn’t even provide a document written by a psychologist that clearly indicated that it was a mistake to remove Bryce from the medications that were effective in controlling his disorder. I believe this was omitted because the doctor who removed his medications IS the juvenile corrections psychiatrist and the attorney didn’t want to make him look bad.

I’m at a loss with what to do.  Bryce needs competent legal assistance but I’m unable to provide the funding that would be required.  Please help me find someone who can help my son before he turns 18. I am asking for someone to review the evidence of this case and to consider his mental state at the time of the questioning and the fact that he was only 15 years old. There is more to this case and I would be happy to share that information,  along with the documents I’ve been collecting since this nightmare began.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Sincerely,

Ms. Dorothy Marie-Michelle Pelletier {resident FL 1996-current}

Bryce Seton Vandergrift DOB:09-09-1994 TDC 01-66-1857 SID 08508535 In A Texas Prison.