The two-part Hulu documentary “The Nightmare Upstairs: What Happened to Ty and Bryn?” explores a brutal family custody battle that culminated in two teenagers locking themselves in a room for 54 days.
In 2023, Utah siblings Ty and Brynlee Larson – 15 and 12, at the time – barricaded themselves in an upstairs room in their mother’s house for nearly two months, live streaming their experience to the world.
They did this to protest a court order seeking to reunite them with their father, Brent Larson, who they had accused of sexual abuse.
Brent denied the allegation and made his own claim, alleging that the sibling’s mother, Jessica Zahrt, turned them against him in a term known as “parental alienation,” which she denied.
The case went viral from the sibling’s videos, and ignited a nation-wide debate about children’s abuse allegations, the concept of “parental alienation,” and the family court system.
In the doc, Jessica explains that she had a troubled childhood and impulsively married Brent young — after knowing him for less than a month.
“In the beginning, he came off as charismatic, successful, fun,” she says.
Brent’s family was descended from a Mormon church founder. The former spouses divorced in 2012 after welcoming son Ty and daughter Brynlee.
In March 2018, when Brynlee was 7, she made the first abuse allegation, claiming that Brent had “put lotion” on her “private areas.”
Jessica explained onscreen that her daughter was “graphic in her disclosures” and she “couldn’t believe” what she was hearing.
She didn’t want to “destroy” Brett’s life over “something that could be a misunderstanding,” but she wanted to protect her kids. Following her attorney’s advice, Jessica called the Utah Department of Child and Family Services.
Brynlee’s allegation was investigated, which sparked a years-long cycle of continuous investigations and court hearings. That same year, Ty also came forward with his own allegation that Brent had sexually abused him, which Brent also denied.
According to a February 2023 ProPublica report, at the time of the 2018 investigation, authorities found the abuse allegations against Brent to be credible, and “severe and chronic.”
Although Brent was only allowed supervised visits moving forward, he was never charged.
In footage of Brent’s interview from the investigation, he claimed that he “never touched” his daughter “like that,” and said that Brynlee’s allegation had some “small truth, wrapped up in misunderstandings.”
He added that he believed, “my ex wife really really dislikes me,” and he said he believed the female detective interviewing him was a “man hater.”
His second wife, Sandy, who divorced him shortly after, testified that she trusted him with her kids. But later on she changed her tune and alleged that Brent had “coached” her “on some things to say” and he wanted her to allegedly say she was with him any time Brynlee needed cream.
Sandy also alleged that Brent had coached her to say that she had “no concern whatsoever” about leaving her kids “alone with him.”
After getting “clarity” about their relationship, Sandy said she realized Brent was “manipulative and controlling.”
Brent’s mother, Jolleen Larson, called the abuse allegations “false” onscreen, and said that her son would “never harm a child.”
Jessica moved to terminate Brent’s parental rights, and the court battle became ugly. He countered with a petition to modify their custody agreement based on “parental alienation.”
“Brent was saying the allegations were fabricated, and my fault,” Jessica said.
Jolleen said she supported Brent’s claim that Jessica had “fed” the kids “misinformation.”
“We all recognized what was going on,” Jolleen added. “You can create memories in these children, you can make any child believe anything.”
The court ordered the kids to participate in “reunification therapy” with Brent. Jessica said that the court wanted to “force” her kids to have a relationship with their father, and these therapy sessions “went on for years,” which was “traumatic” and caused more “damage” to her kids.
In 2023, when a judge ordered that Ty and Brynlee spend 90 days in a “reunification camp” with Brent — without being allowed to contact Jessica — they responded with their barricade.
“I chose to barricade because I was afraid for my life,” Ty said in the doc, adding that it was an “impulse decision.” The teenager live streamed his experience because he “knew the court wasn’t going to listen,” he explained.
“As long as I was live streaming it, I wouldn’t be taken.”
In one of his videos, Ty said, “The court system isn’t trying to save us. Nobody’s trying to keep us safe.”
Police came to their mother’s house, with permission from the judge to use “reasonable force” to remove Ty and Brynlee from Jessica’s home to bring them to Brent. After conferring with their caption, the cops backed off.
Reporter Hannah Dreyfus, who covered the case, said that she spent months reporting on how “parental alienation” was being used as an argument in court to “influence custody decisions.”
What “stood out” about this case was how “the focus in the courtroom shifted from abuse to parental alienation,” she noted.
After the kids came out of their barricade, the judge gave Jessica full custody, but Brent was still given visitation, which made Ty “sick with anxiety,” he said.
The ordeal ended in 2024, when Brent voluntarily signed away his parental rights to Ty and Brynlee. This came out of “left field” for Jessica, she said, adding that she holds “gratitude” that Brent took that step.
Shortly after, Jessica’s second husband, Aaron, formally adopted them, and Ty explained onscreen that he has since found a good therapist.
Both sides of the fight had been decimated by legal bills.
Jessica estimated that she owes over $300,000. “I will be paying on that for probably the rest of my life,” she said.
Jolleen said her family also still has legal bills, but didn’t specify a number.
Jolleen said her son signed away his parental rights because the constant court battles and emotional turmoil on the kids was “torture” for everyone involved.
In a video message to his kids, Brent said that it was “the hardest thing I’d ever do.”
“I couldn’t watch my children endure more pain for something they did not or could not control,” he said onscreen, referring to his claim that his kids had been brainwashed.
He noted that his kids deserved more than what this “broken [court] system put us through.”
“My greatest hope is that one day we will have the opportunity to reconnect,” he said.
Page Six has reached out to Brent and Jessica for comment.
“The Nightmare Upstairs: What Happened to Ty and Bryn?” is now streaming on Hulu.
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