👀Inside the Cannister Trials: A Chilling Look at Emily’s Interview

 

Description:

She was a beloved teacher. A trusted guardian. A monster hiding in plain sight.
In 2014, serial child killer Emily Cannister sat down with controversial journalist Cole King for one of the most disturbing interviews in modern history. The Cannister Trials is the fictionalized true crime-style exploration of that very moment—and today, I’m giving you an exclusive look inside.

This excerpt captures the start of Emily’s haunting confession and the psychological game she plays with the man questioning her. If you’ve ever wondered how darkness hides in daylight, these pages will take you there

What to Expect

This story is gritty, emotional, and brutally honest. It’s not about glorifying violence—it’s about dissecting it.
Emily isn’t a mystery you’re meant to solve. She’s a reality you’re meant to sit with.
And her story?
It doesn’t apologize.

In this exclusive free read, you’ll get the first few pages of The Cannister Trials—the beginning of an unsettling exchange that questions everything about truth, evil, and how far delusion can go before it becomes deadly.

Ready to Read?

👇 Keep scrolling to dive into some chaotic pages of The Cannister Trials
🩸 Trigger warning: Mentions of child loss, murder, and manipulation

The Cannister Trials: section two

Cole

Your choice to still see those children after parents made it clear that they were uncomfortable with you is a large reason why you were disliked. Hated is actually the better word. Why did you disregard the feelings of those parents?

Emily

Their feelings weren’t disregarded, I chose to continue loving my children. They only disliked me because of my relationship with Jeffrey, they had been allowing April to lie. None of their feelings had anything to do with the job I had been doing. So I knew I was justified in not letting those bonds just fade away. It wasn’t about the parents, me or anything else. It was about the children.

Cole

Do you have the ability to tell right from wrong?

Emily

What I did to my children was so very wrong and I knew that immediately after it happened. I have the mental capacity to tell right from wrong and  always have been able to. But like everyone, I’ve had brief moments where I made mistakes. misjudged situations and acted on my feelings rather than logic. Yes, I have the ability to tell right from wrong. That was never an issue.

Cole

There has been far more than just misjudgements and mistakes on your behalf. You didn’t make a small mistake once and then pulled yourself together. You kept doing it and nothing you did was small or a mistake. 

Emily

The question was do I know right from wrong, not how big did I mess up.

Cole

I know that, but you have tried to diminish the severity of your crimes, constantly referring to everything as a mistake. As you feel the need to lie about what you’ve done, I feel a great need to put the truth of it out. Moving forward, your marriage to Jefferey happened in late 1986. Obviously that didn’t make anything better or easier for anyone. Other than yourself of course. You already convinced yourself that you were Hayden’s mother, now you were actually her stepmother. What kind of relationship did you have with Hayden?

Emily

At one point we loved each other, after April just kept lying to her Hayden stopped liking me. She was being manipulated and there was nothing I could do about it. April made me seem like some other woman who destroyed a happy home. Hayden was too young to see the lie in that and followed after her mother. She became so rude and disobedient. She was no longer the amazing little girl I felt honored to teach, she was a brat really. No amount of love changed Hayden’s mind about me, I was this terrible person to her. We couldn’t have a good relationship because she was no longer a good child

Cole

You were her teacher, you were meant to be a fun educator at the most. Instead you were her father’s mistress, then his wife after he left her mother and eventually tried to force yourself into the role of being Hayden’s mother. She was 12 in 1988. For the years she was alive to witness the relationship, she was old enough to understand quite a lot. So it makes sense for her to have disliked you. 

Emily

Fine, you know maybe she was right to feel differently about me. I can understand that she was young and confused. But she didn’t just act differently, Hayden was bad and mistreated me so often. 

Cole

Again, her actions were justified.

Emily

No, when a child is loved they are supposed to behave and reciprocate that love. I treated Hayden amazingly and she in turn disrespected whenever she got the chance. Hayden refused to eat food that I cooked, wouldn’t listen to my rules, acted up in class and so much more. She was wrong.

Cole

It is crazy to hear you acknowledge a child being wrong for simply misbehaving, while dancing around your own terrible actions. The fact is you were the other woman, or underage girl I should say. Hayden trusted you and you helped destroy her family. 

Want to Keep Going?

Emily’s story doesn’t stop here—and trust me, it only gets darker.

🔗 Click here to read the full book on Amazon
📚 Available in Kindle and paperback
🇺🇸 🇬🇧 Available on Amazon.com and Amazon.co.uk

Final words

If this preview gave you chills—or made you pause to catch your breath—I'd love to hear your thoughts. Drop a comment below and let me know what struck you most. And if you haven’t yet, make sure to subscribe to the blog so you don’t miss more free reads, behind-the-scenes content, and author notes from the minds behind the madness.

Thanks for reading,
Makitia Thompson
✒️ Writer of dark truths, fictional crimes, and unforgettable characters

#Mindsindesign #Makitiathompson #Thecannistertrials