The eerie case of Terry Todd Wedding, who brutally murdered four people in one night in the small hamlet of Greenville, is still very much alive. “American Monster: A Wedding and Four Funerals” revolves around this occurrence, which leaves the community in shock and deep sorrow. Although the first shock may make the act seem inexplicable, the series delves into the intricate layers of the killer’s motivations. The documentary delves into the depths of human behavior and the unsettling circumstances that trigger violent outbursts, unraveling the psychological intricacies underlying such violent acts. The episode eloquently highlights the unsettling fact that every illegal conduct, regardless of how absurd it can seem, is motivated by a number of underlying factors.
Who is Terry Todd Wedding?
Strangely, hardly much about Terry Todd’s early years is available in the public domain. All that is known about him is that he attended Madisonville-North Hopkins High School and graduated from Madisonville’s Life Christian Academy. At the age of 28, Wedding moved into a remote Muhlenberg County community close to Depoy to live with his parents around June 1999. There is no hard evidence to support the rumors that he had minor run-ins with the law, having been charged with relatively minor infractions. Police reports show a history of mental health problems, but the details are kept private because they are considered secret.
Terry Todd Wedding was diagnosed with bipolar disorder, commonly referred to as manic-depressive illness, at the beginning of 1998. After being placed in care, Wedding’s mental state deteriorated by mid-June 1999 when, for an unexplained reason, he stopped taking his prescription drugs. Wedding’s relatives became concerned about his unpredictable conduct on June 15. They included his mother Beverly Wedding, father Manville Wedding, first cousin Joey Vincent, a pastor at New Cypress Baptist Church in Greenville, and Joey’s wife Amy Vincent. The Vincents were next door neighbors with a one-year-old daughter. They lived in a mobile home. It has been reported that Wedding’s mother, distressed by his refusal to take medicine, intervened and, with Joey Vincent’s help as a police officer, served Wedding with a 72-hour emergency protection warrant for mental health issues. This led to Wedding’s forced admission to Western State Hospital.
According to police documents, Wedding threatened Vincent and showed resistance to being taken to the hospital. Still, the sheriff said that persons with mental illness frequently behaved in this way. After being discharged from the hospital, Wedding went back to his parents’ house. According to court documents, on June 26, at around six o’clock in the evening, Wedding killed his father with an aluminum bat while posing as a visitor at his grandmother’s grave, which is about three kilometers from their residence. He dumped the body in a nearby railroad bed with callousness. Wedding then forced his mother to the same spot, where he mercilessly shot her in her Dodge pickup truck, continuing his murderous rampage.
Standing in his parents’ lawn on June 27, at around 6:15 a.m., Wedding could see the Vincent home, which was located about 100 yards away. Joey Vincent was getting ready to take Brooklyn, his sick daughter, to the hospital. Wedding shot Joey as he was getting into his car with a powerful firearm. When he got close to the car, a vicious struggle broke out as Amy—who was expecting her second child—fought to keep Brooklyn safe. Wedding shot Amy and took the child away from her mother by force. Wedding took her to his house without causing any harm to the child. Vincent’s brother Derek Hembrick, who was present during this terrifying incident, quickly called 911. He kept the youngster with him until the police showed up, at which point he turned himself in.
Where is Terry Todd Wedding Now?
In 2001, the trial for the four killings got underway. Wedding made a guilty plea for all four killings throughout the court hearings. His voice faltered slightly when he acknowledged his remorse, and he remained quiet and composed the entire hearing. Wedding acknowledged to the judge that he was mentally ill at the time of the acts, but he maintained that he had committed them. He had subsequently been treated for his bipolar disorder and given medication. On February 27, 2001, Wedding was finally sentenced to four life terms, one for each murder, without the possibility of parole, despite the prosecutors’ best efforts to get him the death penalty for his crimes.
52-year-old Wedding is currently serving his time at the Kentucky State Reformatory and might spend the rest of his life behind bars. The incident stunned the people of Greenville deeply. Following the killings, big blue ribbons were placed on the doors of every Main Street establishment, including the Harbin Memorial Library, to show support for the victims. Flags were flown at half-staff. The neighborhood was devastated by the tragedy that happened so close to home, and their sorrow was heightened by the loss of a beloved police officer.
