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Wendy's Massacre Revisited: Who Fired The Shots?

Both Killers Point The Finger At Each Other

NEW YORK (CBS) ― A day after CBS 2 released a chilling account of the Wendy's Massacre of 2000 from Craig Godineaux, one of the convicted killers in the incident, we've exclusively obtained the videotaped confession of the other convicted killer in the case, John Taylor, to hear his side of the story.

In the never-before-aired interrogation, Taylor described what happened the night he and Godineaux robbed the Wendy's in Flushing.

Not surprisingly, Taylor points his finger at his Godineaux, who claimed he didn't want to shoot anyone.

"I told everyone to get face down on the floor," Taylor said. "I said all I'm gonna do is take the money. You'll duct tape them and leave so I can get away."

But the men didn't just leave. Instead they escorted the seven employees into the freezer where they shot them execution style. Five of the employees were killed.

Patrick Castro, one of the two survivors, was able to get help by calling 911. CBS 2 obtained that frightening call exclusively. Castry doesn't even realize he himself had been shot during the call, telling the dispatcher he was in the basement, and five people had been shot.

So which man pulled the trigger? That depends who you ask. Both Godineaux and Taylor point the finger at each other, starting with who killed manager Jean Auguste.

"I said let's go. Craig snatched the gun out of my hand and said, 'No witnesses, no witnesses.' He shot Jean," Taylor said. "Each time I turned back I'm hearing shots, then he said to me, 'Give me another clip there's no more bullets.' … When he finished shooting he gave me the gun and I put it back in my pouch."

But Godineaux recalled it differently.

"John stood over him and shot him in the head. So I started screaming," he said. "He told me to finish the job. I told him, I'm not touching that."

Joan Truman Smith, whose daughter Anita was murdered by the pair, says she doesn't care which man fired the gun. "The both of them going back and forth with their story -- the both of them killed my daughter," she said.

Godineaux issued an apology to the victims' families during his interview from Attica prison upstate.

"I apologize for hurting their loved ones," he said.

But none of the victims' family members we spoke to would accept the apology.
"I'm not taking any apology from him. Every birthday, every holiday, especially now, all of my family, we miss her so much," Smith said.

Taylor was sentenced to death in the case, but recently that was overturned. He's now in prison for life, with no chance of parole. Godineaux, on the other hand, was never eligible for the death penalty because he's mentally retarded. His attorney is now filing a motion to have his guilty plea thrown out.

Be sure to stay with wcbstv.com and CBS 2 as this case continues.

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