Such Good Boys

The True Story of a Mother, Two Sons and a Horrifying Murder

By: Tina Dirmann

Narrated by: Gabra Zackman

Length: 6 hrs and 5 mins

Publisher's summary

An abusive mother

Raised in the suburb of Riverside, California, 20-year-old college student Jason Bautista endured for years his emotionally disturbed mother's verbal and psychological abuse. She even locked him out of the house, tied him up with electrical cord, and on one occasion, gave him a beating that sent him to the emergency room.

A son's revenge

On the night of January 14, 2003, Jason strangled his mother. To keep authorities from identifying her body, he chopped off her head and hands, an idea he claimed he got from watching an episode of the hit TV series The Sopranos. Jason's 15-year-old half-brother, Matthew, would later testify in court that he sat in another room in the house with the TV volume turned up while Jason murdered their mother.

A crime that would bond two brothers

The morning following the murder, Matthew went to school, and Jason returned to his classes at Cal State San Bernardino. When authorities zeroed in on them, Jason lied and said that his mother had run off with a boyfriend she'd met on the Internet. But when police confronted the boys with overwhelming evidence, Jason confessed all. Now the nightmare was only just beginning for him.

©2005 Tina Dirmann (P)2016 Tantor

Critic reviews

"Tina Dirmann tells this story exactly like it is. There are no added frills. It is straight forward and factual and I personally love this style of writing." ( True Crime Book Reviews)

Ruined lives of so many

Very sad, all of them are victims as well as perpetrators. No childhood and no adulthood for Jason

They really were good boys, despite everything.

I’m surprised at how invested I was in this story, and in both of the boys. They were failed by their families, their (non-existent) social workers, witnesses to their treatment (including neighbors, sometime friends, and strangers), and the courts. The narrator is exceptionally good, the story exceptionally sad. Why do some of us slip between the cracks of society? What responsibilities do members of society have for each other? What is Justice? I love a matter-of-fact story that asks these questions. It reminds me of a Socratic dialogue. And despite everything, it doesn’t get any better than that.

Sad story

I found this story very interesting. However, the story but could have been much more developed.

Enjoyed

Well written. Well narrated. In fact, I searched for more books written by author AND then searched for books narrated by Gaba.
Fingers crossed I’ll enjoy the next ones I chose.

Saddened Heart

This was very week written and performed. My heart is broken and sad for Jason. I am sad for Jane, but Jason, in the end, was the one thrown away. This boy was born into the hands of a mentally ill abuser, he was conditioned from birth to take abuse and no one would be there to help him. His mother didn't need to convince him, he lived it. It baffles me that so many are confused as to why he didn't just walk away. From birth all he ever saw was her in control of him and his life with everyone around him leaving him, knowingly, to be abused. He would have never known he could choose to walk away and not be made or forced to go back. Should he be punished? Yes. Does he need and deserve therapy? Absolutely! Should he have the rest off his life taken, just as the first 20 years of his life were? Absolutely not! The verdict has wounded my very soul. He was the one thrown out like trash, from the time he was born.

I would give minus stars if I could!!!!

The three stars for “overall” was a mistake that I couldn’t figure out how to fix. With everything that horrible woman did to those boys, and the way the writer made sure you hated her, and for the way the case ended made me sick. Young boys don’t know when somebody is mentally I’ll, and to be raised that way their whole lives, when they become older they’re supposed to be mature enough to ask for help? From who? They had been tied to her and isolated their whole lives. This book was pure propaganda, and the writer is disgusting. There were so many people along the way who knew something was wrong, including her family, and did nothing. They were accessories BEFORE the fact. Don’t you think the boys should have been counseled and treated for PTSD, instead of Jason going to prison for life? The defense attorney was despicable, and probably had something to do with the publishing of this book. What an egotistical, arrogant man. I HATE THIS BOOK!!!!! 🤬🤬🤬👎🏻

Heartbreaking

Heartbreaking on many different levels. I feel for all involved! It is sad that people didn’t see what was really going on.

This is an ok read

To be honest I didn’t believe I would make it to the end of this book before giving up on it. But with books can can always get surprised - and I for sure did with this book.

The book began very slow and continued like this for quite some time. However when I came past this point it took another turn and it actually ended like an ok read.

This book covers a case that I haven’t heard about before.

Besides the picking of the narrator is good. She really did a great job.

*this review is placed on several different platforms

This is a tough one

Usually true crime has you rooting for the victim and demonizing the killer but not so in this case, at least not for me.
The mother was horrible, especially to Jason. He not only couldn't do anything right in her eyes, but as soon as he was old enough he had to take on much too much responsibility than a young kid should have. He had a promising future that he is unable to realize. It seems he was abused in many ways from a very young age.

Yes, there was mental illness but nobody seemed to help-I'm talking about relatives. Professionals can't help anyone who doesn't seek it but family members in this narrative just didn't seem to want to be bothered.
A very sad story and I believe the punishment was much too harsh.

Narrator was great.

Fast paced

Great story line, fast paced, easy to follow and pick back up if you put it down. Several surprises