Mark was a child, but as he aged, he never told the truth about what he did - that is what makes him evil. The father - he is next level evil. To throw your child out, to have your parents not be there for their grandchild - hell is too good for him.

this dude is bragging about ruining innocent life. it doesn't matter it was when he was 14. they all are garbage. all the family.

And yet Mark Mark even after 30+ years is proud what he did at 14, laughing about with his friends wishing OP have died in the streets. He-was-a-14-kid-at-that-time you say, yeah, and became a piece-of-art-moron, the worst of a human being. Are you really trying to defend him?

He could have recanted his lies at ANY time over 30 years, he literally still enjoys what he did to his step brother and the harm it caused. He didn’t even confess from regret, just a drunken slip. I hope that jerk gets testicular cancer

If at 14 you do lie about something that gets a family member kicked out of the house and forced into homelessness and you don't own up to what you did you deserve no forgiveness. Fourteen is old enough to grasp the consequences of your actions. Mark also never fessed up and bragged about what he did on top of hoping OP died. OP's "father" is a grade A POS but Mark was the one who set things in motion.

14 is old enough to understand that something like this is life changing in the worst possible way. He knew what he was doing then, and clearly feels no guilt about it all these years later. He's a poisonous bar-steward. His father though is the lowest kind of scum to ever father a child, to abandon your child without even letting them have there say, when you know the two boys were having trouble, would it really have been so difficult to imagine he had been set up. Screw them!!!

I remember be 14. I wasn't dumb, I fully knew how lying worked. Being 14 may excuse from some stuff, but nothing like this. Especially once the kid got kicked out, Mark still said nothing. Even as an adult he is still "proud" of his lying. I don't get how the Lisa woman is still with him; their relationship is built on huge lies.

Mark was the one that lied, so that apperantily makes him bad. But as you said, his dad was the one that did it, so yeah

I think he was actually 16 at the time, OP said they were the same age and it happened just after his 16th birthday

Because now Mark is an adult and he still finds it funny. Mark is laughing at the thought that he may have caused a 16 year old to die in the streets. Now. Not when he was 14. Mark is not somebody who made a dumb mistake as a kid, he is a full out sociopath, who was already a sociopath at 14.

Dude was bragging about it 30 years later so...

Years later he was LAUGHING about it with his friends. 14 is more than old enough to know right from wrong. And the fact he's bragging about it now (however drunkenly) means he has zero remorse for what he did. Mark IS the main villain here. Being 14 doesn't change that. He knew what he was doing. Dad is villain #2 for not even bothering to find out the truth and protect his son.

The thing is, even if OP really did steal the underwear and keep it in his drawer, the answer is therapy, not throwing him out. The whole thing is just diabolical.

Mark was 16 at the time. The OP and Mark were both 14 when their parents got together. This happened a day after the OP’s 16th birthday, so two years later. The sister would have been 14. Still, at 16 Mark knows right from wrong and 30 years later is still laughing about it. He absolutely should be held responsible. He’s a terrible person and was a terrible child.

If you don't know right from wrong at 14, something is wrong with you.

Mark deliberately and knowingly framed his step-brother, condemning him to a life of misery and possibly death. And, DECADES later, he's not sorry at all, on the contrary, he's gleefuily bragging about it, as though this was one of is proudest accomplshments! The man is not a douche, he's a psychopath. The dad is no better. Even if the LW had been guilty of what he was accused of, the thing to do would have been to get him the proper treatment, not turfing out a 15 year-old on the street.

Mark was the same age as the OP, so he was 16 when he did what he did.

Sure, Mark was 14, but now that he’s (in his 40s?), he remains proud of what he did and thinks it’s hilarious. Normal people grow up and feel shame over what they did, but not this POS. Sounds as if he’d happily ruin the life of ANOTHER kid if given the chance.

Because he was the one who orchestrated it? Because he's the one who was literally laughing with his friends while talking about how he hoped OP had died while homeless because of him? Not saying that Mark was the only one to blame, but it doesn't matter if he was a kid when he did it, he never even apologized or owned up to it. To the point that 30+ years later he still finds sadist pleasure in what he did, purely because OP was dating the girl he liked. The only reason OP's ex family even found out about it, was because he was being a POS and literally BRAGGING about what he did. They all suck, but Mark is definitely the worst, with OPs ex father a close second.

Mark is still bragging about it. He's Trump-level evil, and deserves more hell than he will EVER experience.

Kirsty Y, Exactly what I came here to say.

the OP and mark are the same age, both were 16. they both were 14 when the dad and stepmom got married.

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True but mark made up lies to get a girl. He did that in a blended family. There is not a lot of trust with older boys and younger girls. Technically speaking they weren't related. The usual boys will be boys definitely prevailed 30yrs ago.

Also who never accidentally had someone else's clothes mixed in with theirs? Plus the fact that they just took what Mark said as fact with no proof beyond underwear in OP's room. It kind of feels like they just wanted a reason to get rid of OP so they could have their "perfect family". That's what they got and they can all go f**k themselves