A Family Torn Apart
Encyclopedia
A Family Torn Apart is a 1993
television film directed by Craig R. Baxley, based on the novel Sudden Fury: A True Story of Adoption and Murder by Leslie Walker
, which itself is based on a true story.
. The film begins with an unknown person hiding an axe covered with blood in the woods. It then focuses on Brian Hannigan, a teenager who contacts the police after the death of his adoptive parents, a double homicide. The investigators immediately see Brian as a suspect, because he was in the house when the murders occurred and because he is too calm considering the circumstances. Chris Hannigan, Brian's 7-year-old brother, tells the police that he saw his other brother, 17-year old Daniel, an aggressive patient at a mental hospital, walking away from the house only seconds after the tragedy. Although Daniel denies having been at the house around the time of the murder, he becomes the prime suspect.
Tom Kelley is an attorney who believes in the sons' innocence and starts to collect information himself. Brian tells him that he was adopted at age six, shortly before Daniel was adopted as well. He reveals that although they seemed to be the perfect family, their parents were abusive towards Daniel because he was always getting into trouble. When blood is found on Brian's shoes, the court orders him to be separated from his brothers. He is taken into the Kelley home, much to the fear of Tom's wife Liz. Brian admits that he was always too afraid to speak his mind and describes a conversation between his adoptive mother Maureen and her best friend Barbara, in which Maureen expressed her anger when things do not go the way she wants them to, referring to Daniel's behavior.
Brian describes that Daniel came to him later that day, expressing the hatred he feels towards his parents. He was kicked out of the house shortly after and sent back to foster care. Three months later, Daniel was caught while breaking into a house and ended up in a reform school. Although Maureen became very overprotective of him and her recently adopted son Chris, Brian found a way to secretly contact Daniel. Back in present life, Chris tells the police that the guy walking away from the home after the murder wasn't Daniel, but Brian. Criminal attorney, Ken Pierson, also discovered that according to the phone records from the last three months, a dozen calls were made to Daniel including the night of the murders. Investigators start to think that Brian and Daniel were both responsible for their parents' death. Kelley then meets Barbara, who took Brian to church, and tells him that Brian's birth mother abandoned Brian for days until the state took custody of him putting him into a foster care system like Daniel. Barbara then said that Daniel had five different families and Brian had six. When Kelley tells Brian that the police are going to ask him a lot of questions, he finally reveals what really happened that night.
On the evening before the murder, Brian arrived home late after going out with Lisa Kensington, a girl who is known at school for being promiscuous. His parents found out and reacted furiously, blaming him for becoming just like Daniel. Brian then calls up Daniel who tells Brian to leave the house, but Brian refuses fearing that Maureen and Joe will do the same thing to Chris. Later that night he overheard his parents agreeing about sending him away too. Upset and enraged, he stabbed both his parents in the basement with a butcher knife. Maureen was almost able to get away, but he followed her in the backyard and killed her with an axe without noticing that Chris was watching him from his window. After his confession, Brian stated he never told Daniel about this and that he gets emotionally moved every time he speaks up. Brian is then arrested and Kelley returns home disappointed. In the aftertitles, it is stated that Brian served eight years in the Patuxent Institution
in Maryland and that Daniel remained having trouble with the law several times and is sent to prison and that Chris got adopted by a loving family.
1993 in film
The year 1993 in film involved many significant films, including the blockbuster hits Jurassic Park, The Fugitive and The Firm. -Events:...
television film directed by Craig R. Baxley, based on the novel Sudden Fury: A True Story of Adoption and Murder by Leslie Walker
Leslie Walker (author)
Leslie Walker is an author, journalist and college professor who lives in Maryland.Walker currently is the Knight Visiting Professor in Digital Innovation at the University of Maryland's Philip Merrill College of Journalism...
, which itself is based on a true story.
Plot
Annapolis, MarylandAnnapolis, Maryland
Annapolis is the capital of the U.S. state of Maryland, as well as the county seat of Anne Arundel County. It had a population of 38,394 at the 2010 census and is situated on the Chesapeake Bay at the mouth of the Severn River, south of Baltimore and about east of Washington, D.C. Annapolis is...
. The film begins with an unknown person hiding an axe covered with blood in the woods. It then focuses on Brian Hannigan, a teenager who contacts the police after the death of his adoptive parents, a double homicide. The investigators immediately see Brian as a suspect, because he was in the house when the murders occurred and because he is too calm considering the circumstances. Chris Hannigan, Brian's 7-year-old brother, tells the police that he saw his other brother, 17-year old Daniel, an aggressive patient at a mental hospital, walking away from the house only seconds after the tragedy. Although Daniel denies having been at the house around the time of the murder, he becomes the prime suspect.
Tom Kelley is an attorney who believes in the sons' innocence and starts to collect information himself. Brian tells him that he was adopted at age six, shortly before Daniel was adopted as well. He reveals that although they seemed to be the perfect family, their parents were abusive towards Daniel because he was always getting into trouble. When blood is found on Brian's shoes, the court orders him to be separated from his brothers. He is taken into the Kelley home, much to the fear of Tom's wife Liz. Brian admits that he was always too afraid to speak his mind and describes a conversation between his adoptive mother Maureen and her best friend Barbara, in which Maureen expressed her anger when things do not go the way she wants them to, referring to Daniel's behavior.
Brian describes that Daniel came to him later that day, expressing the hatred he feels towards his parents. He was kicked out of the house shortly after and sent back to foster care. Three months later, Daniel was caught while breaking into a house and ended up in a reform school. Although Maureen became very overprotective of him and her recently adopted son Chris, Brian found a way to secretly contact Daniel. Back in present life, Chris tells the police that the guy walking away from the home after the murder wasn't Daniel, but Brian. Criminal attorney, Ken Pierson, also discovered that according to the phone records from the last three months, a dozen calls were made to Daniel including the night of the murders. Investigators start to think that Brian and Daniel were both responsible for their parents' death. Kelley then meets Barbara, who took Brian to church, and tells him that Brian's birth mother abandoned Brian for days until the state took custody of him putting him into a foster care system like Daniel. Barbara then said that Daniel had five different families and Brian had six. When Kelley tells Brian that the police are going to ask him a lot of questions, he finally reveals what really happened that night.
On the evening before the murder, Brian arrived home late after going out with Lisa Kensington, a girl who is known at school for being promiscuous. His parents found out and reacted furiously, blaming him for becoming just like Daniel. Brian then calls up Daniel who tells Brian to leave the house, but Brian refuses fearing that Maureen and Joe will do the same thing to Chris. Later that night he overheard his parents agreeing about sending him away too. Upset and enraged, he stabbed both his parents in the basement with a butcher knife. Maureen was almost able to get away, but he followed her in the backyard and killed her with an axe without noticing that Chris was watching him from his window. After his confession, Brian stated he never told Daniel about this and that he gets emotionally moved every time he speaks up. Brian is then arrested and Kelley returns home disappointed. In the aftertitles, it is stated that Brian served eight years in the Patuxent Institution
Patuxent Institution
The Patuxent Institution is located in Jessup, Maryland one mile east of US Route 1 on Maryland Route 175. It is a treatment-oriented maximum-security correctional facility. With a maximum static capacity of 987 beds, it offers the most diverse services to the most varied male and female offender...
in Maryland and that Daniel remained having trouble with the law several times and is sent to prison and that Chris got adopted by a loving family.
Cast
- Neil Patrick HarrisNeil Patrick HarrisNeil Patrick Harris is an American actor, singer, director, and magician.Prominent roles of his career include the title role in Doogie Howser, M.D., Colonel Carl Jenkins in Starship Troopers, the womanizing Barney Stinson in How I Met Your Mother, a fictionalized version of himself in the Harold...
as Brian Hannigan - Johnny GaleckiJohnny GaleckiJohn Mark "Johnny" Galecki is an American actor. He is best known for his roles as David Healy in the ABC sitcom Roseanne, Rusty Griswold in National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation, and as Leonard Hofstadter in the CBS sitcom The Big Bang Theory.-Early life:Galecki was born in Bree, Belgium, of...
as Daniel Hannigan - Linda KelseyLinda KelseyLinda Kelsey is an American television actress.Kelsey's professional career began with stage appearances in her home of Minneapolis, Minnesota, with her good looks and striking mane of red hair winning her success that ultimately landed her in Los Angeles in 1972, with appearances in small roles...
as Maureen Hannigan - John M. JacksonJohn M. JacksonJohn Murice Jackson is an American actor, best known for playing Rear Admiral A. J. Chegwidden on the CBS series JAG....
as Joe Hannigan - Lisa BanesLisa BanesLisa Banes is an American stage and screen actress. She played Lady Croom in the U.S. premiere of Tom Stoppard's Arcadia in 1995 and won a 1981 Theatre World Award for her performance in Look Back in Anger. A graduate of the Juilliard School, she recently appeared on Broadway in the 2010 revival...
as Barbara Forester - James Handy as Det. Stockman
- Tim KelleherTim KelleherTim Kelleher is an American writer, actor and director.Born in The Bronx, Tim grew up across the five boroughs of New York City, and played football with an elite corps of young men at perennial powerhouse Msgr. Farrell on Staten Island...
as Det. Cahill - Timothy Bass as Ken Pierson
- Eric LloydEric LloydEric Lloyd is an American actor. Lloyd is best known for work as a child actor between 1992 and 2003, in such roles as Charlie Calvin in The Santa Clause film trilogy, and as "Little John" Warner in the NBC television series Jesse.-Background:Lloyd was born in Glendale, California, the son of...
as Chris Hannigan - Gregory HarrisonGregory HarrisonGregory Neale Harrison is an American actor. He is probably best known for his role as Chandler in the 1987 cult favorite North Shore and as Trapper John MacIntyre's young surgeon, Dr. George Alonzo 'Gonzo' Gates, on the CBS series Trapper John, M.D....
as Tom Kelley - Larry Black as D.A. Norman Crowley
- Rhoda GriffisRhoda GriffisRhoda Griffis is an American actress, perhaps best known for playing supporting roles both in independent and mainstream films and television.- Life and career :...
as Liz Kelley - Kathy Larson as Lisa Kensington