SUTHERLAND SPRINGS, Texas – Seven months after the mass shooting at a Sutherland Springs church that left 26 people dead, the Air Force released to Channel 2 Investigates a chilling videotaped confession by Devin Kelley.
In it, he admits to hitting, slapping and knocking down his toddler stepson, which resulted in the child suffering severe injuries and broken bones.
During the rambling, almost 22-minute video, Kelley said he taped his confession in hopes it will help his ex-wife, Tessa, regain custody of her son.
Channel 2 Investigates obtained the video as part of a Freedom of Information Act request for Devin Kelley's 2012 court martial conviction records.
We showed Kelley's court martial records and confession video to Rick Rosseau. He is experienced in nearly every area of military law after spending 27 years as a judge advocate.
Rosseau told Channel 2 Investigates that while there may be red flags now, he's not certain they would have been identified at the time of Kelley's court martial.
"I'm not so sure that if I would have been viewing it at the time as part of a court martial for basically the striking of a stepchild, if I would have picked up on it in the bigger picture."
If Kelley's court martial conviction for domestic violence had been properly reported to the National Instant Criminal Background Check System as required by law, he would not have been eligible to buy guns. After the Sutherland Springs shooting, the Air Force implemented corrective measures to improve reporting requirements to the NICS database.
The court martial was not Kelley's only trouble during his time in the Air Force. As Channel 2 Investigates was first to reveal through police records, Kelley escaped from a New Mexico mental health facility the Air Force sent him to to after he made death threats against his superiors.