Such Good Boys

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

By: Tina Dirmann

Narrated by: Gabra Zackman

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)

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 but a good story.

I was surprised how good the narration was considering it was AI. It was the first one I could actually listen to. It is a sad story about how mental health is ignored by family and ends tragically.

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

Ruined lives of so many

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

Well written

Great narration. Such a tragic story tbh. Mental illness is the main theme. This book does a great job making you feel sorry for everyone involved.

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

Could have been much more

Was this researched or based on gossip about the victim? Interviews, if they were interviews sounded more like gossip than fact. Understandably it may have been difficult to get many people to open up honestly about the situation these boys were in and the treatment they suffered at the hands of their mother and it shows in the telling of this story. The folks who gave input should be ashamed that they did nothing then to try & help & likely that made the gossipy feel come thru. To have thoughts that tge mother was leaving her kids alone to turn tricks to the extent of following her 1 night, finding a crying child who had been locked out of his house, verbal abuse and seeing her paranoia and mental instability yet they did nothing to help the boys or the mom. My opinion is that they should have continued doing nothing now rather than grabbing at 15 minutes of fame for the sake of this book. Where were these people when this went to trial did they try to help then? The story seems to have so much left unsaid and seemed to have been rushed to conclusion. And there was a hurried feeling over the investigation and trial to conclusion. I wish it was better researched and written. Narration was great tho!

Such a great book!

What a story, blew my mind!! I disagree with the harsh verdict. I personally know what it's like to believe there is no escape, no options. Such a tragedy!!