Fort Bend County Jail The Catt family
Hayden Catt, who was 20 years old when his father Scott trained him to rob banks, is a subject of ABC News’ 20/20, which airs on Friday, June 28 a 9:00 to 11:00 p.m.
According to the Texas Department of Criminal Justice, Scott is serving his 10-year sentence in Dayton, Texas. His maximum sentence date is listed as November 18, 2022.
According to an ABC News press release, the two-hour-long documentary will feature an exclusive interview with Chrystal Fassett, a former bank teller who was in the middle of one of the Catts’ robberies. In addition, viewers will hear from Susie Gregory, who volunteered at Abby’s jail and took her in when she received parole in 2015, and Joanna Voss, Abby’s aunt. There will also be interviews with investigator Jeff Martin, who worked on the case, Fort Bend County Sheriff Troy Nehls, and Texas Monthly reporter Skip Hollandsworth.
The documentary is also said to feature interrogation tapes, footage from Hayden and Abby’s emotional reunion before they parted ways to serve their sentences in 2013, and an interview with Abby after she received parole in 2015.
“He had no inclination to keep his kids out of it,” Skip Hollandsworth said of Scott Catt. “He thought they were a great team.”
Here’s what you need to know:
1. Hayden Saw Money in His Father’s Dresser Drawer When He was Growing Up
When Hayden and his sister Abby were young, living with their father in Oregon, they felt their he was up to something. Whenever they got a peek in one of Scott’s dresser drawers, they saw a lot of money.
“He would keep an envelope of hundred dollar bills and I didn’t think it was that strange that he would keep couple thousand dollars in cash,” Hayden said.
While Hayden didn’t think it was too strange, Abby felt differently.
“There was a lot of money in there and it freaked me out,” Abby said in an interview. “I’ve never seen something like that before.”
2. Hayden Was 20 Years Old When His Father Propositioned Him
According to an article by interviewee Skip Hollandsworth for Texas Monthly, Hayden was sitting at the kitchen table having a cup of coffee across from his father. Scott said that he had something important to tell Hayden, that had a second job as a part-time bank robber, adding that he had never been caught. Scott even mentioned that he robbed a bank across from an indoor pool while he and his sister were competing in a swim meet.
“There’s a little business proposition I have for you,” Scott said during an interrogation. “I talked him into it.”
Hayden said his father desperately wanted his help, as two people could be more “successful” than one. However, he said that his father knew exactly what he was getting his children into.
3. Hayden Was Exremely Nervous During the First Robbery
“The morning of the first bank I asked my dad, ‘Are you the Devil here to tempt me?’ And his answer was what really scared me,” Hayden said in an interview with Gutman.
“He said ‘Probably, I’m asking you to rob a bank. Who would do that?’”
According to Hollandsworth, Hayden was so anxious that he drank an airplane-size bottle of Jack Daniel’s whiskey to calm his nerves, albeit it didn’t quite help. Hayden and Scott, dressed in painters masks and white overalls, carrying airsoft pistols that looked like real guns, stepped into Comerica Bank.
Fort Bend County Sheriff Troy Nehls said, “They just walked into the bank and ordered the tellers into the vault.”
“I was actually shaking so bad that the employees grabbed the bag and started putting the money in for me.”
The Catt men announced the stick-up and Hayden recalls people in the banks being truly scared. Hayden said he can still see some of their faces to this day.
“It’s definitely not like the movies,” Hayden said. “Or at least ours wasn’t like that.”
The pair walked out with almost $70,000 in cash. In an interview, Hayden estimated that $50,000 in cash weighs about 15 pounds.
4. Hayden’s Sister Abby is Waiting For Him to Come Home
When asked how often she thinks of her brother, Abby answered saying every day. She thinks of bother her father and Hayden each day and is waiting on them to get out of prison.
Then Gutman asked Abby what she would say if she could get a message to her brother. Abby said it would be, “I love you.”
“Waiting on Hayden to come home, for sure,” Abby said fighting back tears.
According to ABC, Abby is now an expectant mother, hoping to finally turn her life around. She has a boyfriend now and the two are expecting a son. Hayden will soon become and uncle.
5. Hayden Came Out During High School & Scott and Abby Were Supportive
According to Texas Monthly, one year, Hayden qualified for the high school state swim meet. However, by the age of seventeen, Hayden told Hollandsworth he was drinking too much and ended up quitting swimming altogether. He was struggling with his sexuality.
Hayden began to understand himself and accept his feelings, but he didn’t know how to tell his friends and family that he was gay.
Stop drifting through your life. You are the only person in control of your life and your emotions. Stop waiting for someone to come make yo
“Alcohol was the way I dealt with that,” he told Hollandsworth. “Honestly, for a while, I hoped I would pass out and not wake up. I was scared of a lot of things.”
He came out to Scott and Abby a year later, and they were both very supportive and accepting.