People Magazine Investigates: 5 things to know about the Cheryl Pierson case

Cheryl Pierson endured years of s*xual assault at the hands of her father, James Pierson. A dark family history and suppressed trauma came to light during the murder trial after the former hired a hitman to get the latter killed. She thought it was the only way and her then-boyfriend Rob Cuccio backed her up.

According to reports, Cheryl made a statement that James often threatened her and she feared that he would make her younger sister, 8-year-old JoAnn, suffer the same way. She stayed quiet until she couldn't take it anymore. Reportedly, people around her noticed her suffering but chose to steer clear of the matter. Her boyfriend was the only exception.

Cheryl Pierson's case will be featured in People Magazine Investigates' Season 4 Episode 9, titled The Cheerleader and The Hitman, on Thursday, July 21. Here are five facts you should know about the case ahead of the premiere.

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Five facts about the Cheryl Pierson case to know ahead of the episode

1) James Pierson allegedly started molesting Cheryl when she was young

Cheryl Pierson claimed that her father started assaulting and s*xually abusing her in 1980, when she was only 11 years old. She stated that he would abuse her twice a day while her mother, who had been diagnosed with a terminal disease, was in the hospital.

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2) Cheryl's father threatened to kill her

James coerced his young daughter into not revealing the assault she endured to anybody.

In an interview with People Magazine, Cheryl claimed that he regularly threatened to kill her if she was to tell others about his abusive behavior.

"My father used to threaten me on a daily basis. He would say he’d kill me and kill anybody that I told. I believed him."

She also mentioned that he had an evil side and was unable to give unconditional love.

"My father was very rough around the edges. There was no love in the house; we never said 'I loved you.' It was no emotions. He had an evil side to him."

She further added:

"My brother and I were the ones that got hit and put up with the emotional and the verbal abuse. We just did what he wanted us to do so we wouldn’t get hit. So we tried to be on our best behavior at all times."

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3) Cheryl Pierson's boyfriend Rob knew nothing of the abuse

Cheryl's then-boyfriend and now-husband Rob Cuccio claims to have not known about her father's abuse until very late. He had his doubts at the time but she never told him anything about it until he decided to confront her about it one day.

Rob reportedly stated:

"I was afraid to confront Cheryl about it. We were having a little argument and it came out. I said, 'I know what your dad is doing to you.' I remember Cheryl’s face getting red."

The cheerleader claimed that she was afraid her father would hurt her if he came to know about the revelation. Although she initially hesitated, she eventually opened up and told Rob about the abuse that she had endured at the hands of her father during her teen years.

Rob said:

"Cheryl started to cry, and she said, 'You’re right Rob, but you can’t tell anybody.' I knew in that moment that there was no way I could leave her."

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4) Cheryl was scared about James hurting his younger daughter

Cheryl Pierson's lawyers asserted in court that she felt like she had no choice other than to have her 42-year-old father killed when he threatened to molest her 8-year-old sister, JoAnn. That was the breaking point for the victim who had already endured a lot by then.

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5) Cheryl tried to tell her brother about the hitman

During the interrogation after James' murder, Jim Pierson, the former's son, learned of the allegations against his father for the first time.

Cheryl Pierson, however, said that she tried to inform her brother about the hired hitman, Sean Pica, during Christmas the previous year. Unfortunately, Jim dismissed the conversation, thinking that she was just angry. He had reportedly said:

"Everyone feels like killing their parents sometimes."

In a later interview, Jim mentioned what he thought at the time:

"I thought she was mad because he wouldn't let her out on New Year's Eve. When he finally let her out, I said, 'See, it all worked out.'"

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When Cheryl Pierson felt like all hope was lost, she came up with the murder-for-hire plot with the assistance of Rob and Sean Pica.

As previously stated, People Magazine Investigates' upcoming episode will air on Thursday, July 21, at 8:00 PM ET on Investigation Discovery.