Thanksgiving is a holiday of sharing and gathering with our loved ones. Obviously most of us enjoy eating all the great food, well that’s my favorite part! Not so favorite parts are the annoying relatives and whiny cousins, but there’s football, and cranberry sauce and all the pies! So,  It seems like a fair trade off to deal with grumpy parents and crazy relatives.

This is exactly what The Privacky family looked forward to in 1998, but they didn’t even have a chance to completely sit down for their meal when they were brutally murdered. 

In November of 1998, in Muskegon, Michigan, the Privacky family held their Thanksgiving celebration a little late. They gathered on Sunday, November 29th, 1998 rather than on the traditional day of Thanksgiving. 

Stephen and Linda Privacky had shared with very few that there were some troubles with their teen, Seth Privacky. Their relationship was deteriorating for the last six months, but no one realized how troubled Seth really was. 

On this Sunday, the family invited Stephen’s father, 78 year old John Privacky, their 19 year old son Jedediah, and Jedediah’s 19 year old girlfriend, April Boss. 

Around noon, prior to guests arriving, Stephen had an argument with his troubled son, Seth. The argument escalated and Stephen told 18 year old Seth he would need to move out of the house. 

This angered the high school senior. Around 12:30 pm, Seth obtained his fathers .22 caliber pistol, inserted the clip and hid the gun behind his back on his way back down the stairs. 

Stephen left to pick up his 78 year old father, around 12:45, in Roosevelt Park, Michigan. This was a 3 mile drive one way, approximately, a 25 minute round trip. 

Seth’s mother Linda was in the shower upstairs and Seth’s 19 year old brother Jedediah was on the couch watching tv. 

Seth quietly walked towards Jedediah on the couch and shot him in the back of the head. He immediately hid the body in the basement. He then waited in the garage. 

Seth’s father Stephen arrived back at the home with his grandfather John Privacky around 1:10 pm. Seth shoots them both in the back of the head as they enter the home through the garage door. Before entering the home, he notices that his grandfather isn’t dead, so he shoots him a second time. 

It’s now 1:15 pm and he approaches the upstairs bathroom where his mother, Linda is just getting out of the shower. He also shoots her in the back of the head. 

As Seth comes down the stairs, he hears Jedediahs girlfriend, April Boss come into the home, he later claimed he was not aware she would be attending dinner that night. Seth also shoots her in the back of the head. 

Realizing there are dead bodies everywhere, Seth calls his friend Steven Wallace. The two go to the same high school and are both seniors. Seth tells Steven, he killed his family and he needs his help to get rid of the bodies and clean up. Steven Wallace arrives and assists Seth in wrapping the bodies in sheets and plans to bury them later. Though Steven had a church youth group party to attend at 6 pm. He promised he would come back to help Seth bury the bodies.

But Steven did not return to Seth’s home until 11 pm. Once arriving the two decide that the bodies are too heavy to haul around and attempt to bury. They come up with an idea, to stage a robbery. They began to move items around in the home, when they were interrupted by a car in the driveway. 

Jedediahs girlfriend April Boss had arrived at the Privacky’s some time after 1 pm. April was to enjoy a meal with her boyfriend’s family and then head to her job, where she worked the third shift. Her mother Julie Cooper and step father Tom Cooper received a phone call that she had not come into work that evening. Naturally they become concerned and drive to the Privacky to see if she is still there.

Seth and Steven run out of the home and hide in the nearby woods. Julie and Tom Cooper spot the shadow of a young man running from the driveway into the home. The couple then see the body of a man laying on the driveway. As they head towards the home, they begin to see blood on the floor of the garage and catch a glimpse of a young man run out into the nearby woods. The Coopers call 911 from inside the Privacky’s home.

Police arrive to find more dead bodies inside the home. April Boss and John Privacky were placed in a back room that was connected to the garage. Jedediah was in the basement and Linda Privacky was found dead in the upstairs bathroom.

Officers determined the body laying in the driveway was Stephen Privacky. All victims had been shot in the back of the head.

Around midnight a young man approached officers. He had come from the nearby woods and wanted to tell the officers his side of the story. Steven Wallace told authorities he knew that Seth had killed his family, but he only assisted with covering up the crime.

Seth remained hidden in the woods. By the morning, there was a widespread manhunt for Seth Privacky.

The next morning, around &:15 am, Seth was picked up while hitchhiking. Classmate, Janavive Simonelli, gave Seth a ride and dropped him at the home of Jason Pitts. Janavive called the police after dropping off Seth. 

Jason Pittls was a friend of Seth, but wasn’t home on this morning. Seth hid in the pole barn, but this would be exactly where authorities find him and arrest him. After being arrested, he initially stated his brother Jedediah had committed the murders, but he eventually admitted to them.

On December 1st, 1998, Seth Privacky and Steven Wallace were charged with five counts of murder. Steven Wallace’s charges were later reduced to accessory to murder and during trial he was aquitted. 

While in custody, Seth stated that he and his father argued frequently and that day when his father told him he would need to move out, Seth felt his parents didn’t love him anymore. He felt the family would take sides against him, so out of sheer anger he would take his revenge by killing them all. 

Seth was sentenced to life in prison with no possibility of parole. Seth made a bizarre last request from the judge. He wanted to see the free world one last time. The judge rejected this request. 

Seth Privacky only served 11 ½ years in prison. During his time incarcerated, he convinced two other convicted murders to help him escape, the three overpowered the driver of a semi truck while he made deliveries to the prison. The three drove the truck through double fencing that secured Kinross Correctional Facility in Michigan. 

After making it past the gates, the three fled on foot. Two of the inmates surrendered.

30 year old Seth Privacky was running across the street from the prison when a correctional officer shot Seth in the head

So many questions remain in this case. What sets off a teen to slaughter his entire family?
This must just be another that’s left to the realms of the unexplained. 

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