Killing of father, son a ‘robbery gone wrong,’ family says ahead of trial
The double murder of a father and his teenage son that shook the small community of Tow, along Lake Buchanan, three years ago was, “in a sense, a robbery gone wrong,” according to a new interview with the victim’s family.
Holly Hayward, 41, of Lampasas, reached out to KXAN just over a week before she’s set to testify in court during the first of two murder trials. Her husband, Preston Wessling, 38, and their son, Evan Wessling, 14, were gunned down in the driveway of their home just after 1 a.m. on Jan. 14, 2023. Evan was a freshman at Burnet High School.
“The next morning, having to explain to our two girls that their brother and their father was gone was so overwhelming,” said Hayward. “I wouldn’t put that burden on anyone and the devastation that it caused not just our family but our community.”
Hayward said she remembers hearing the “pop, pop, pop, pop” of gunfire. She found her son wearing a seatbelt inside their truck. Her husband was face down on the ground with a weapon between his feet. Both had been shot “many, many, many times,” she said, adding it was a “level of brutality” that “seemed like rage.”
Despite that, she doesn’t believe the attack was personal. She says poverty and drugs may have played a role with the suspects.
“There’s other people out in the community that they robbed but it didn’t escalate to supreme violence like that,” she said. “Speaking with family members of the defendants, you know, I know that they were not in a good situation.”
Authorities have not elaborated on the killings. Hayward, also, would not comment on the circumstances of the case, telling KXAN she didn’t want to “give away too much” information ahead of
Jordan Ostrander’s trial, which is set to start Feb. 9, according to Llano County court records.
Ostrander, and Kyler Allen, both 19 at the time they were arrested in 2023, are still behind bars, charged with the “capital murder of multiple persons.” KXAN attempted to contact attorneys listed for both but did not immediately hear back. This article will be updated with any comment we receive.
Hayward said her son and the defendants were “acquaintances” and friends on social media. In 2023, KXAN spoke with Howard Wessling, Preston’s father and Evan’s grandfather. He said he believed Evan was friends with one of the suspects.
“He was my grandson’s friend. I don’t know how to understand it. Maybe he could sit and tell me why,” he said at the time. “You know, I hope he can sit and tell me why he done it. But I hope to God he’s in jail when he tells me that.”
Recently, Hayward met with the district attorney’s office to review crime scene photos — images that she said have never left her mind.
“For the past three years, every time I close my eyes at night, I remember that scene,” she said. “And I don’t wish that on anyone.”
Ostrander turned down a plea deal that would have offered a chance at parole after 30 years, according to Hayward, who said the state is seeking a life sentence. It does not appear that a trial date has been set yet for Allen.
“They get to have a life. Sure, it may be a life in prison,” said Hayward. “But, at least their mothers know that they have a life — and my son won’t.”
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