If You Tell: A True Story of Murder, Family Secrets, and the Unbreakable Bond of Sisterhood

Tori learns from Shelly that Mac is planning to leave his estate to his dog Sissy in his will. Once Sissy dies, his house and estate will go to Shelly. Tori is relieved. Since her mother was fired, the abuse at home has escalated, so she hopes this news will make her happier. Shelly is appointed Mac’s power of attorney in September 2001. This news comes as the family’s finances continue to suffer, and Dave and Shelly’s relationship continues its rocky course as Shelly demands Dave beat Ron for slighting her.

Ron never resists Shelly’s punishments. Alarmed by the violence, Tori retreats to her bedroom. When she confronts her mother, Shelly continues to tell Tori that Ron has been “bad” and deserves to be punished. One day she finds a cup that Ron peed in and forces him to drink it. He drinks the urine without complaint. Another time, Tori sees Ron naked in the yard covered in bruises, sunburns, and cuts. She wishes he would run away and never come back. When Ron moves to Mac’s house, Tori holds out hope that he can survive.

In February 2002, Tori receives a call from her mother, who says that Mac fell and has been rushed to the hospital. When Shelly picks up Tori, she says that Ron was at Mac’s house when the fall happened and that Mac may not survive. They soon learn Mac has died. Tori breaks down crying, but Shelly is unemotional and vague on details when asked to describe exactly how Mac fell.

Soon, Shelly is given $5,000 from Mac’s will, and there’s more to come when his old dog dies. His estate is worth an estimated $140,000. The Knoteks take Mac’s dog, who is tied to a chain outside.

Shelly blames Ron for Mac’s death and taunts him, calling him a murderer. Tori is unsure what to believe when her mother tells her her side of events, claiming Ron just stood by as Mac fell and hit his head. Shelly also tells her that she plans to lie to Mac’s estate lawyer and tell him Sissy is dead in order to get Mac’s house and money.

Bergstrom tells Nikki and Lara that an elderly man Shelly cared for has died, and they warn him that he was likely murdered, but Bergstrom thinks this is unlikely. Lara expresses frustration with his unwillingness to fully investigate Shelly’s alleged crimes. Meanwhile, Sami defends Nikki when Tori repeats the mean things Shelly says about her. Sami also attends Nikki’s wedding in Oregon. Sad that Nikki and Shelly are still estranged and that their mother is not invited to the wedding, Sami decides to wear a “mother’s ring” to help her feel that her mother is there in spirit.

Dave and Shelly’s marriage only grows rockier, but they decide to leave Pacific County and move somewhere closer to Dave’s work, aiming for a fresh start. Adding to the stress of their arguments is Mac’s estate, which leads his former neighbors and the sheriff to be suspicious of Shelly’s intentions. Shelly keeps Ron in line by telling him if he messes up in any way, she will have him arrested.

Sandra is shocked to see Ron’s sickly pallor and weak state when they meet for lunch during the summer of 2002. He appears disheveled and dirty, telling Sandra that Shelly is medicating him for depression. Even his personality is transformed into something far more subdued and checked out. Sandra expresses concern, which Ron dismisses. This meeting will be the last time Sandra sees Ron alive.

Soon after, Ron calls Sandra and lets her know that Shelly has his cars and won’t give them back to him. Fearful for his safety, Sandra drives to the Knoteks’ house to spy on them but decides not to knock on the door and intervene. Sami also notices Ron’s extreme weight loss, tooth loss, and declining health. She tells Shelly that she is worried about him, but Shelly informs her that Ron is fine and unable to get dentures due to the cost and the warrants out for his arrest.

Nikki agrees to meet her mother for dinner, hoping her mother’s behavior has improved, but finds her to be the same rude, abusive woman she always was. Nikki never sees her mother again.

Tori is afraid of Shelly but doesn’t confide in anyone else about Shelly’s terrible treatment of her, Dave, and Ron. She can only describe her mother’s behavior as motivated by making others suffer.

When Bergstrom attempts to serve a restraining order Ron’s mother took out against him, he runs away. Shelly refuses to answer the door when Bergstrom knocks. Later, she meets him outside the police station, and he informs her that he needs to serve a restraining order to Ron. Shelly lies and says he lives in Tacoma now, but Bergstrom tells her that he knows she is lying. He asks her about Kathy Loreno, and she tells him she hasn’t heard from her in a long time. Sami notices her mother lying about the Lorenos as a means to test Sami on her loyalty towards her.

Shelly receives an anonymous letter claiming a gunshot they heard the night before was from Kathy. Shelly grills Tori about whether anyone has asked her about Kathy recently, but Tori says no one has. She calls Sami to ask the same, and when she tells Sami about the letter, Sami realizes someone outside the family has begun to look into Kathy’s disappearance. 

Shelly examines the letter for any clue of who may have sent it. One day Tori sees Shelly and Dave standing over Ron, who just fell from the roof where he was cleaning roof tiles. Dave insists Ron get up and finish the job, even though it appears the Ron has broken his leg. When Ron falls off the roof again, he goes back once again. Tori struggles to see how Ron can even still walk, given that Shelly took away his shoes and often bathes his feet, which reeked like dying flesh, in boiling hot water.

Years later, Dave claims that he and Shelly did not know bleach was caustic on human skin and that no trip to the grocery store was complete without Shelly buying more bleach. He cannot accept that she may have wished to intentionally hurt those around her.

When Shelly realizes that Ron’s health is now in a very rapid decline, she stops calling him names and blaming him for Mac’s death. She tells Dave that Ron tried to kill himself by jumping from a tree limb after Shelly tells him they may need to drop him off at a homeless shelter. Meanwhile, Ron lays on a bench on the back porch while Shelly feeds him whiskey. His feet become extremely swollen. Shelly tells Tori she’ll take Ron to Mac’s house to recover in peace and that she will check on him every day. The next day, Tori wakes up and sees Ron is gone, and Shelly tells her she has already moved him.

A few days later, Shelly tells Tori she cannot tell anyone what happened to Ron, especially Sami. Tori asks to visit Ron, but Shelly tells her he needs rest. It becomes clear to Tori that Ron will never return from Mac’s house and that Shelly is not actually going to check on him. In Ron’s absence, Tori is forced to do his chores. Her mother locks her in a dirty dog crate, berating her for her laziness before hosing Tori down with cold water and dog feces.

Shelly allows Tori to visit Sami in Seattle for a few days. When she drops Tori off, Sami notices her mother’s hand is bandaged and swollen, and that she seems disheveled and even more on edge than usual. Once Shelly leaves, Tori tells her that they will be seeing Nikki this weekend, and Tori panics, still brainwashed by her mother’s stories about Nikki’s evil ways.

When Tori and Nikki see one another the next day, Tori cannot believe how adult Nikki, now 28, seems. She realizes how much she misses her sister after years not seeing her. After the three sisters share a wonderful meal together, Sami reminds Tori she doesn’t need to tell Mom that they saw Nikki. Tori agrees.

In the early hours of the morning in July 2003, Dave receives a call from Shelly telling him he needs to come home and something is wrong with Ron. She’s driven Tori to Seattle to stay with Sami. Dave tells her he can’t return home until Friday. Dave’s gut tells him that Ron is dead, and his instinct is correct.

Shelly tells Dave later that she found Ron dead on their porch and that she was concerned that if they called an ambulance she would be blamed for the extensive bruises, cuts, burns, and marks on his body. Alone with the corpse, she covers him in sleeping bags and drags him into the chest freezer in the pole building.

Dave learns that Ron is dead and in the chest freezer. Unable to believe this happened again despite the predictable pattern, Dave tries to help her dispose of the body, but a county burn ban prevents them from cremating him the way they did Kathy. He buries Ron and covers the grave to make it look as natural as possible. Dave still believes Shelly did not intentionally hurt Kathy or Ron and merely sees her as a protector who feared losing her family.

After meeting up with Nikki, Tori begins to see Shelly’s lies more clearly. Sami confides in Tori about the abuse she suffered and is horrified to learn that Tori has suffered the same. Crying, Sami asks why Tori never told her, but Tori never knew how bad Sami and Nikki had had it in the past. She says that Ron is abused by Shelly, and Sami informs her that this all happened before with Kathy Loreno and that they cremated her in the yard of their old house.

In the wake of Ron’s death and the anonymous letter referring to Kathy, Shelly’s confidence begins to fade. Dave watches Shelly’s demeanor change but tries to stay strong so that they can get through it all without falling apart. The two of them try to craft a cover story for Ron’s disappearance: that he committed suicide after his mother served him with a restraining order.

Sami is devastated to learn that Tori has been subjected to the same torture that she, Nikki, Shane, Ron, and Kathy endured. Tori confesses that she worries Ron is dead, and Sami grows emotional. Shelly recently told her Ron moved away to look for work, and Sami is upset with herself for not questioning the story more.

Sami informs Nikki of what Tori has told her. They agree they need to get Tori out of the house. Nikki reminds Sami that Shelly likely killed Shane, whom they never truly looked for after he disappeared. Sami can’t face the possibility, claiming, “Mom wouldn’t really hurt us. Shane was our brother” (361).

Unsure how to proceed, Sami asks Tori if she can return home for the time being. Tori is angry that her mother may get away with yet another murder and tells Sami she can’t do it anymore. After an emotional goodbye, Shelly picks up Tori and tells her Ron has left for a job. Unnerved by her mother, Tori tells her mother she doesn’t feel well, leading Shelly to shove pills into her hand. When Tori calls Sami to tell her about this, Sami orders her to throw them up. Tori says their mother would never hurt her, but Sami reminds her that that is not true. Tori tells Sami she can no longer stay in the house.

Tori ventures out to the pole building the next day to try and find evidence that would link Ron’s murder to Shelly and Dave. She finds his belongings and bloodied bandages and hides the bandages and ashes she finds on the ground in the chicken coop.

Nikki creates her own life for herself in Oregon and tries not to think about her past in Raymond. However, in August 2003, she and Sami drive to the Pacific County sheriff’s to express their concerns about Ron’s disappearance. They share their story, and this time, the sheriff takes them seriously. Nikki tells them, “If Ron’s dead […] you could have stopped it’” (369).

Tori, scared and alone with Shelly and Dave, calls Nikki repeatedly for updates. When the sheriff doesn’t come the night of Sami and Nikki’s confessions, she worries the police will never come at all. In the meantime, Tori quietly prepares evidence the authorities may need and leaves notes for them when they arrive.

The next morning, Bergstrom arrives with caseworkers from Child Protectives Services to take Tori away so that they can investigate potential child abuse. Shelly is enraged. While collecting her things, Tori whispers to Bergstrom to get a warrant and tells him where she hid Ron’s belongings for him to find. When questioned by investigators, Tori only tells them “like ten percent of the bad stuff” for fear of retribution if she is returned to Shelly and Dave’s custody (373).

Sami receives a call from a frantic Shelly, who sounds desperate while lying that she never hurt Tori. Sami passes along the message to Nikki that Child Protective Services came and that Shelly is scared, but Shelly calls Nikki anyway to tell her herself. Nikki emails Lara, unsure what to do next, and Lara tells her not to take any calls from Shelly. As the day progresses, Sami calls her parents to ask what is going on, but they remain in the dark as to why Tori is in state custody. Dave goes to Child Protective Services with a bag for Tori, complete with Post-It Notes: “What is going on?” And “Did you say anything?” (377).

Despite Tori, Sami, Nikki, and Lara’s testimonies about Shelly, Dave is ultimately the one to seal Shelly’s fate. When visiting the sheriff’s office, Dave, who is tired, nervous, and confused, agrees to an interview. He does not think to call his lawyer. Rather than talk about Tori, they ask him about Ron and Kathy. While he starts off firm in his denial of any wrongdoing, his story begins to fall apart. Eventually Dave crumbles, confessing everything to the officers and confiding where Ron was buried and Kathy was cremated. He does not confess to anything else. Shelly is then arrested. She does not confess to any of it.

Nikki cries when she receives the news that they have finally been arrested. Ironically enough, this all happened on Kathy Loreno’s birthday. However, one person’s story still had not been told: Shane’s.