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Teen blogger murder trial
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So troopers brought Rachelle in to try to find out what was going on. She went willingly, without her father or a lawyer, and with a camera rolling, Rachelle tells them she had nothing to do with the murder... but does acknowledge that she had been fighting with her mom about her clothes, her interest in the occult, and her boyfriends.
Rachelle Waterman (interrogation footage): She was a bit shocked, I guess, that I was talking to this older guy...
And in another interview two days later, Rachelle shares the same awful story she had told Arrant and Radel: that her mother, publicly well-respected, was privately abusive.
Rachelle: People in public probably think my mom would never lose her temper. Probably think she never cusses or anything. But, you know, behind closed doors, other things happen.
Listening to Rachelle's stories, it's difficult for even these seasoned troopers to know whether she's exaggerating typical mother-daughter battles... or whether something Dangerous was going on. She tells them her mother tried to push her down the stairs, beat her with a baseball bat, even threatened to sell her into sexual slavery.
Rachelle: My mom was really mad at me and they were low on money and she was talking to me about selling me for prostitution as a punishment.
She was afraid, Rachelle says, that her mother would kill her.
Rachelle: She has raised a knife to me. She threatened me while going like this with a knife.
Rachelle says she knew that no one would believe her stories of abuse — no one but Brian Radel and Jason Arrant. And it was Jason, Rachelle says, who first suggested a deadly solution.
Rachelle: I just said, “Sometimes I just wish my mother wasn't here; she causes me so much pain.”
Sergeant Randy McPherron: Okay.
Rachelle: And he said, “Would you rather her dead?'” and I said, “I don't know.”
But Rachelle says that Jason kept pressing the issue -- even ran through murder scenarios with Brian, but says she never really took them seriously.
Rachelle: I didn't think they had the balls to do it. I thought, I mean how can you stop people who are protective? I thought the worst they could ever do is talk to her.
And, about 20 minutes after the questioning began, police seem to turn up the pressure when they ask: why would she have told kids at school that her mother probably died in a drunk driving accident if she was not in on the plan?
Sgt. McPherron: You told your friends Monday before the body had been identified, that your mom probably died in a drunk driving accident.
Rachelle: It's what I assumed.
Sgt. McPherron: That's because that was what the plan was.
Rachelle: No, it's what I assumed.
Sgt. McPherron: That's what they told you the plan was going to be.
Rachelle: It's what I assumed! I saw the booze in the garbage.
30 minutes into the interrogation, clearly shaken, the 16-year-old hides her face, as the trooper accuses her of doing nothing to stop her mother's murder.
Sgt. McPherron: You knew it was gonna happen, and you didn't do anything --
Rachelle: I told them not to do it!
Sgt. McPherron: And then after you knew what had happened --
Rachelle: I told them not to do it!
Sgt. McPherron: You didn't do anything.
Rachelle: I was scared.
Sgt. McPherron: You didn't tell anybody.
Rachelle: I was scared.
And an hour into her questioning, Rachelle's story and her attitude began to change.
Sgt. McPherron: You didn't do a very good job of stopping them, did you?
Rachelle: Well, maybe I should not ever be on a debate team.
Sgt. McPherron: Well, you don't need to be a smart aleck with me.
Rachelle: Well, you don't need to question everything I say then.
And then, in a classic good cop-bad cop act, the sergeant warns Rachelle the other investigator is losing his patience.
Sgt. Habib: I’m sitting over here shaking my head, watching you lie. And it's not helping you any. It's not helping you at all. He's pissed.
When the other sergeant re-enters the room, Rachelle's attitude changes again.
Sgt. McPherron: Okay.
Rachelle: First of all, I'd like to apologize for being a smart ass.
Sgt. McPherron: Okay.
And after an hour and a half of interrogation, she tells them a new story.
Rachelle: Murder wasn't the first thing we came to.
Rachelle tells the troopers she talked to the two men about seeking emancipation -- the legal equivalent of divorcing her parents. But they didn't think a judge would grant her request.
Rachelle: Then they - it was - that idea started being discussed, murder. And I said “I, you know, I just - I didn't do a lot of talking, I did a lot of listening, because I didn't know what to do. So, like I said, it was discussed and I said, "Well, yes, let's do it."
A confession. Rachelle approved of the murder of her mother... and admits that when she said she tried to call it off -- she was telling another lie.
Rachelle: My whole family's gonna hate me. I'll be like tossed out on my butt.
Rachelle is arrested, charged with conspiracy, murder and five other felony counts...
The same charges the two men who killed her mother faced. Rachelle's relatives were rocked by the news. her aunt Dina.
Dina Keyt, Rachelle’s aunt: I didn't understand. I was lost and I was confused. And I just started - shaking. I was crying so hard I was shaking.
Don Pierce was with Rachelle's father Doc when he heard the news.
Don Pierce, friend of the Waterman family: As painful as the loss of Lauri was, I think that the arrest of his daughter was even harder.
And it was about to get harder yet for Doc -- Rachelle was headed to court, where despite that confession, she pleaded not guilty to all charges against her. Now, a jury would have to decide whether she was an innocent victim... or as guilty of murder as the two men who had killed her mother.
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