Rachelle tells the troopers she talked to the two men about seeking emancipation -- the legal equivalent of divorcing her parents. I was crying so hard I was shaking. So he returned home and roamed aimlessly around the island with no real sense of direction. Let us know what you're seeing and hearing around the community. Prosecutors argued early on that Rachelle played a crucial part in her mothers death, saying she led the two men to believe the mother abused Rachelle, and that Rachelle wanted her mother dead. The Case Of Rachelle Waterman : r/ThatChapter - Reddit Arrant, meanwhile, also said he had been with Radel that weekend, but that he slept at his own home. After spending almost a year in an Alaskan juvenile detention facility, Rachelle opted to take her chances with the jury. On the floorboard behind the front seat was a pile of ash and a human skull. Wells: This deal actually salvages your life, doesn't it?Arrant: Yes, it does. Rachelle Waterman, (aka Rachelle Ann Monica Waterman and "smchyrocky"), a 16-year-old girl from Craig, Alaska, USA, has been charged with the first degree murder of her mother. Pierce: Tears. His wife and Rachelles mother, Lauri, was nowhere to be found and the family minivan was missing. We knew who he was but we didn't really know him, what he was capable of. Sgt. Here, she met and got acquainted with the owner, Brian Radel, and his friend, Jason Arrant. This was the first time Rachelle had heard a description of her mother's death from the killer himself the story of how he kidnapped her mother, took her to a remote logging road and then slowly killed her. Clearly, her death had been no accident. There they left Lauri unconscious in the vehicle and set it moving unmanned. Rochelle Waterman. /1. Arrant: I said, Well yeah, it's uh, we did it; it's done. And she asked what happened to the minivan and I said it had been burned, it was completely destroyed. I wont have computer access until the weekend or so because the police took my computer to go through the hard drive. As early as February 24th of 2004, she posted the following: Numerous readers have pointed to Rachelle's negative comments concerning her mother's wishes to send her to a "fat farm" to lose weight. Despite his airtight alibi, perhaps he may have hired someone to do the deed. Oxygen Insider is your all-access pass to never-before-seen content, free digital evidence kits, and much more. Arrant, meanwhile, as he didn't actually commit the murder, received 50 years. It was Saturday, November 13th. Rachel Waterman Profiles | Facebook (Don't get me wrong, the others that were convicted deserved everything they got). Larson: So you guys were the two guys holding out on guilty.Mark Kasberg, juror: Yeah. The same charges the two men who killed her mother faced. But several jurors bought the defense argument that Rachelle's confession was coerced, that she was broken down by seasoned officers. 2023 Cinemaholic Inc. All rights reserved. Rachelle Waterman was 16 and unhappy with her life in the tiny town of Craig, Alaska. Although only 16 years old, the harsh winters, excessively long nights, and mundanity of organized activities and honors studies were getting old. Because I know my sister, I know what she's done for her family. The stories she told him about being abused by her mother only making him dream more of being the girls knight in shining armor. And she expressed disappointment that she wouldn't be inheriting it. All other pending charges against the duo were dropped. People in the small Alaskan village of Craig were shocked by the brutal murder of Lauri Waterman and the arrest of two young locals who quickly confessed to the killing. The answer was almost impossible to believe. Doc called his best friend and next door neighbor Don Pierce. After Lauri drank wine, the duo forced her into the familys minivan and began searching for a good accident site. The authorities found the fingertip of a rubber glove on the floor of the master bedroom and an empty bottle of wine in the kitchen odd considering Lauri barely drank. So defense attorney Wells attacked the officers' methods, challenging sergeant Randy McPherron, one of the Alaska state troopers who interrogated Rachelle. Rachelle Waterman poured out her feelings on her blog, where she claimed her mother abused her. After dinner, she returned to an empty house. A lot of the ramblings and rantings on the blog are pretty typical teenage girl stuff, PEOPLE Executive Editor Kate Coyne explains on Mondays PMI episode. In it, Rachelle called home "Hell, Alaska." 'People Magazine Investigates': Did Pam Hupp Stab Her Friend More Than 50 Times. While the 16-year-old admitted shed lied about the sexual relationship between her and Jason, omitted facts about telephone conversations between them, and had downplayed the familial conflicts while perhaps exaggerating the physical abuse, she refused to cop to murder. McPherron: Okay.Rachelle: First of all, I'd like to apologize for being a smart ass.Sgt. Wells: Rachelle says "I would be so much better off without my mom." She was an honor student and an athlete at the local high school. And it was Jason, Rachelle says, who first suggested a deadly solution. She would help her mother with the dishes and she would help cooking. Growing tired of their search and nearing sunrise, they finally decided on a rutty, rarely traveled road primarily used by logging trucks. On November 15th, 2004, the remains of 50-year-old Lauri Waterman were found in a burned out vehicle near the north side of the island of Craig, Alaska. They also argued that the harsh police interrogation was not proper as Rachelle was too young to understand her Miranda rights fully. After binding her arms, they led her to the kitchen where they forced her to drink an entire bottle of wine, since a final act of the murder was to make it appear to be a drunken driving accident. Everyone knows everyone here. But the officers just kept pressing and wells claimed, in the end, Rachelle -- exhausted and alone -- outwitted by older trained interrogators -- gave a false confession. The next morning, Lauri didn't show up for church. ", Daughter charged along with two others in mother's slaying. The two were charged with 10 counts each, including conspiracy to commit murder, kidnapping, burglary, and first-degree murder. Mar 08, 2006; Juneau, AK, USA; RACHELLE WATERMAN, the 17-year-old Alaska honor student accused of plotting with two former boyfriends to kill her mother, with her father, CARL . Craig is a tiny town on an island in Alaska, so small that everybody knows each other. The alleged conflicts with her mother that Rachelle related to Jason, who then shared his concerns about Rachelles safety with his friend Brian Radel, planted the seed for Lauri to be kidnapped and killed while her daughter and husband were away, according to prosecutors who brought all three suspects to trial. Radel abducted Lauri and forced her to drink wine to make her death look like a drunk driving accident. Alaska Court of Appeals Denies Rachelle Waterman Appeal Jason said that Rachelle was the one who told him that she wanted her mother dead, and he, in turn, asked Brian to carry out the murder for him. Wells: There's only really one difference between Rachelle Waterman and every other teenage girl Rachelle Waterman had the misfortune to repeat her comments to Jason Arrant. With suspicions growing, the police were able to break both Jason and Brian under interrogation. I dont think that the sentence was unreasonable, I mean I can see why the court did what it did. Although the other charges against him were dropped, he plead guilty to first degree murder and is now sitting in a prison in Alaska, serving a 99-year sentence for Lauri Waterman's murder. Her dad, Carl Doc Waterman, was a a real estate agent and president of the school board in small-town Craig, Alaska. However, Arrant said he and Radel believed it, although he claimed he was simply Radel's driver. When interviewed by Alaskan television station KTUU about the nature of online journals, (in late November, 2004) forensic psychologist Susan LaGrande commented that "[i]t's such an anonymous vehicle that you can be whoever or say whatever you want. And then, they would hand the judge a message no one wanted to hear. He said Radel was the murderer, and had done it because Rachelle was being physically abused by Lauri. And, her family says, Lauri would never, ever hurt her daughter, that if Rachelle had bruises, they were not caused by Lauri. Criminologist Susan Magestro was interviewed by KTUU on the subject of juvenile crime, in late November, 2004, after Waterman became the second teenager within two months to be accused of murdering her own parent. Both men also said that the murder was not the first attempt they made on Lauris life. John Larson reports. Lauri Waterman was suffocated after her killers failed to break her neck and make her death appear to be a drunk-driving accident. Now, with her father standing by her, Rachelle would face the prosecutor and her mother's killers. She said that Lauri threatened to sell her into prostitution and once lunged at her with a knife. Pierce: I got a call asking me to take Rachelle home because she was losing it. February 6, 2015. No one had seen her and she'd left no explanations. Get an all-access pass to never-before-seen content, free digital evidence kits, and much more! Rachelle, then 16, was a student-athlete who sang in the school choir, played volleyball and competed in an academic decathlon. She said, Can I ask a question? I said, What is it? and she kept repeating, Can I ask a question?. She was rocking back and forth in the passenger seat of my truck, um, she was saying Hail Marys. Both Jason and Brian accepted a plea deal in exchange for testifying against Rachelle and took the stand during her first trial. Arrant: She said that she thought it would be better if her mother wasn't around anymore.Steven West, prosecutor: Did you ask her what she meant by that?Jason Arrant: Oh, yes.West: And what was her response?Arrant: That she thought it would be better if her mother was dead. Now, more than ever, the world needs trustworthy reportingbut good journalism isnt free. The fire would be what first caught the attention of a hunter, who made the call to law enforcement. So they drove to another location, doused the inside of the van with gasoline -- with Lauri's body inside -- and lit it. What sort of message does that send to people like her, and the rest of society? At this point in time, Ms. Waterman went into custody in Nov. 2004 and was released on bail in Feb. 2006. 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. Her husband "Doc" was out of town. She appeared to be a normal, high-achieving junior in high school. In 2015, the Alaska Court of Appeals denied Rachelles appeal of her conviction in her mothers death. Don, the Watermans' closest friend, teaches at the high school. From the start, public defender Steve Wells set out to prove Jason Arrant was the one with motive to kill Lauri Waterman that the man eight years Rachelle's senior took advantage of the vulnerable teen, twisting her dramatic stories of abuse for his own gain. A diverse group of users, both friends and strangers, have posted over 5,000 comments on the journal, positive and negative, transforming the case into an Internet phenomenon. By Becca van Sambeck Lauri Waterman Didn't Approve of Her Daughter's Friends 1:11 Exclusive Investigators Found a Letter of Apology from Lauri to Rachelle Waterman Now Playing Exclusive Watermans lawyer, Steven Wells, says they tried to appeal the verdict, arguing that the trial shouldve been in juvenile court. Rachelle Waterman was sobbing and hysterical at school the morning after her mother went missing, a defense witness testified Thursday, the most vivid description presented so far that the . A 2006 trial ended in a hung jury. According to it she is based in Florida though more information about her is currently unavailable. This girl got off way too light imo. Maybe Lauri feared her daughters life would become like hersendless volunteer work to fill the otherwise boring days. Rachelle also ran a blog called My Crappy Life. After the failure of the latest appeal, the three-year jail sentence stood. Alaska State Police Lt. Rodney Dial has stated that a hunter discovered Lauri Waterman's body and her burnt-out van, while driving on Forest Service Road 3012, a remote logging road, early in the afternoon of Sunday November 142004. There would have been no way that could happen. Her mom, Lauri, was a special education teachers aide who volunteered with her church and other civic groups. Luckily, they both quickly implicated themselves in the murder. ", A report in The Ketchikan Daily News stated that, "The first seven counts of the indictment allege that all three defendants committed the crimes of conspiracy to commit first-degree murder; first-degree murder; second-degree murder; kidnapping; first-degree burglary; first-degree vehicle theft and tampering with physical evidence." Jheel33 4 mo. What happened down this road took all the natural beauty and solitude of the place and overnight made it seem ominous. Rachelle Waterman and Jason Arrant were arrested on November 19, 2004. It would likely mean there would be a re-trial. After failing to snap Lauris neck, the pair smothered her to death. The shelves of the "Teen Zone," the young adult section of the Hamilton East Public Library, are . When a woman ended up murdered, police suspected someone she knew was behind it but the culprit was even closer to home than they thought. I don't need Money -to be Rich, I don't need . Lauri Waterman, 48, seldom drank more than a couple of sips of wine, maybe a bit more if a friend wanted to drink with her, according to testimony Tuesday from Carl "Doc" Waterman, Rachelle's . The prosecution has appealed the judge's decision to throw out Rachelle Waterman's confession, and the indictment. Some were pure fantasy, some talked of getting married. That something was double homicide. The NBC series Fatal Frontier: Evil in Alaska featured a 2021 episode about the Waterman caseepisode five of season one is called "Murder on the Island." Brian Radel: If she made it up, she made up a story but that's all she did.Larson: Hell of a story. Corrections Deputy Commissioner Portia Parker indicated that Waterman "is an adult in the eyes of the law.". Anchorage jurors found Waterman not guilty of 1st and 2nd degree murder, kidnapping and conspiracy to commit murder. Jason had long wished to rescue his best girl from such a horrible life and solicited the help of his friend to finally put a stop to it all. The allegations, Claus insisted to "Fatal Frontier," were false. Paradise to some, yet the beauty of the fishing village of Craig, Alaska on Prince of Wales Island is surpassed only by its isolation. But what was real and what was imagined? But now seemed willing to do anything to get his ex-lover convicted. West, reading e-mail: I wish I could be with you. Mostly sunny skies. If you piss me off, you die.. For a time she dressed all in black, with black nail polish to match, and when she picked out a black velvet dress for prom, her mother told her I couldnt pull it off, she wrote. But as the investigators dug deeper, they discovered another side of Rachelle one her family hadn't seen. Fairfield University student Mark Steven Fisher was looking for a fun night out in Manhattan with friends, but he had a little too much to drink, met a girl he liked, and followed her to a deadly party. 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. Alaska Teen on Trial in Mother's Killing - ABC News She was found guilty of negligent homicide and sentenced to three years in prison. Richelle Waterman. Most of the jury was convinced Rachelle's tales of abuse had triggered the killing, and that she even knew her two friends were plotting murder, but weren't sure there was anything more to it than that. At the center of the prosecution's case was Jason Arrant, the man who said he loved Rachelle so much that he killed for her and he was now the prime witness against her. Arriving at the Waterman home, Jason and Brian forced their way in and found Lauri preparing for bed. Radel had also dated Rachelle at one time. This time the jury acquitted Rachelle of murder but found her guilty of criminally negligent homicide. She stated that "I think that we're starting to see more violence with kids who are younger, and the behaviors that they're exhibiting are more aggressive and more violent." I would believe that. Radel: I felt pressured that I needed to protect Rachelle. Troopers continued for hours to lie to, cajole, and scream at Rachelle, demanding a confession. Together, they moved to Alaska. Rachelle Waterman is currently incarcerated at the Lemon Creek correctional facility, in Alaska. Investigators then began sifting through clues settling on mother-daughter conflict as a motive for her killing and advancing a startling theory: Rachelle was arrested on charges that she had her mother murdered by her older boyfriend and his friend. But who would kill one of the most-loved people in town? But nothing could have prepared them for what came next -- the men claimed it was Lauri's teenage daughter who put them up to it. I think the penalty for inciting or coercing another into comitting murder should be far greater. So Lauri climbed into bed sometime after. Defense attorneys for Brian argued that Jason was a child predator who groomed Rachelle, plied her with cigarettes and alcohol, and ultimately killed her meddling mother all by himself. Then, Brian said, Jason spoke to Lauri Waterman. Investigators first turned to Doc as a potential suspect, as there were rumors he'd had affairs. So, like I said, it was discussed and I said, "Well, yes, let's do it.". But the judge allowed the confession to be admitted as evidence. I wish you understood how much you're loved". Rachelle Waterman| The Teen Who Ordered a Hit On Her Mother More than a decade after the original crime took place, Rachelle Watermans appeal of her conviction in the death of her mother has been denied by the Alaska Court of Appeals. Create your free profile and get access to exclusive content. Radel: I crouched down in front of her and said something along the lines of, You won't ever f---ing hurt Rachelle again.. When asked what Rachelle had to do it with it, he initially insisted she knew nothing. Wells says that Watermans three-year sentence doesnt mean three more years in jail because a third of that time can be taken off for good behavior, and Waterman already served some time during the trial process. Dr. Beyer: They can't think like an adult because they don't have an adult brain. Every chance Rachelle had, she was with Jason hanging out in the bookstore or sharing a pizza; never really trying to hide being in his company, and going through a vicious cycle of groundings and restrictions and groundings again. Prosecutor Steven West would try to prove that she not only wanted her mother Lauri Waterman dead but with the cooperation of two former boyfriends -- helped plot the murder. Jason and Brian were arrested and charged with murder. Well, Im grounded, Rachelle posted on June 14, 2004, five months before Lauris killing. It was an entry that had went virallong before that was ever a buzzwordand solicited more than 5,000 visitors to her blog. Right. Rachelle's family found some comfort in one part of Rachelle's interrogation, played at trial, in which the teenager, without emotion, finally admitted she had exaggerated her stories of abuse -- those horrible stories that had set the murder in motion. Judge Collins originally set a date of February 3, 2005 for the trial, but, at an arraignment that week, the trial was rescheduled for August 22. In all fairness, however, it wasnt as if Craig has drifters that can just blow in, murder, and blow out. I don't think I can answer that.Larson: What do you think your mom would want you to do with regards to your sister?Geoffrey Waterman: Love her. And then Rachelle heard the rumors spreading like fire through the high school rumors that a van was found in the woods with human remains inside. Its easy to see why Rachelle Waterman referred to it frequently as Hell, Alaska.. Blah, blah, blah, blah. Radel explained he had broken into Lauri's home and abducted her, tying her up with a synthetic robe. He then put her in her minivan and drove it to a remote woodland road, where Arrant met him. A story that included tales of abuse, prostitution, even witchcraft. Jason Arrant and Brian Radel were both 25 and had been friends since their teen years. Did former Indiana State Trooper David Camm kill his wife and two children? And the stories were so seductive, men would kill for them. Doc was a decorated serviceman who had met Lauri in Utah. If I don't go through with this, Im really not willing to protect Rachelle like I said I was.". He also testified that Rachelle helped them get rid of evidence like fingerprints or marks from her house. They realized her death would not look like an accident as they had planned. Previously, Radel had gone to shoot Lauri as she exited from the school but had to call it off after noticing he had forgotten the bolt for his rifle. Pierce: Lauri wasn't one to go around without people knowing that she was gonna go somewhere. Doc had been on a trip to Juneau for a board meeting for the Girl Scouts, which he was heavily involved in. She threatened me while going like this with a knife. Book banning policy leads to bare teen shelves at Hamilton - USA Today Lauri Waterman, a 48-year-old special education aide, wife and mother spent the evening volunteering at a Chamber of Commerce dinner. Randy McPherron: No -- I want her to --Wells: A certain set of facts.Sgt. Rachelle was charged with first degree murder involving the death of her mother, Lauri Waterman, in 2004. Larson: Guys in the back? She explained how Rachelle may not have fully appreciated the consequences of her actions -- her venting her problems about her mother to her boyfriend -- because teenagers use a different part of the brain than adults for decision-making, judgment and impulse control. 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. When the other sergeant re-enters the room, Rachelle's attitude changes again. McPherron: Okay. In the fall of 2004 Rachelle Waterman shared a family life that appeared anchored and happy until murder shattered that facade. Murder In The Family: Rachelle Waterman convicted of negligent homicide "My whole family is going to hate me," she cried in the tape. Several podcast episodes have been devoted to Rachelle Waterman, including Forensic Transmissions, Murder and Mystery in the Last Frontier, Moms and Murder, and more. They became friends, playing Dungeons and Dragons together, and she eventually met and started dating Arrant.This caused a lot of concern for her family, as Arrant was 25 when he was dating the 16-year old. He was known around town as a pied-piper of sorts who gathered high schoolers to his computer shop where they played video games and dungeons and dragons. Don Pierce, friend of the Waterman family: Even if she had been acquitted in the trial, just outright, homes where she'd been allowed to go in and parents would have welcomed her, she wouldn't be allowed in to. Rachelle sang in the school choir and played on the volleyball team. They initially planned to stage the scene as a drunk driving accident but there were extensive injuries on Lauris body. Rachelle Waterman is currently incarcerated at the Lemon Creek correctional facility, in Alaska. On the night of November 14, 2004, Lauri Waterman finally had the house to herself. They burned other evidence as well. As for Brian Radel, he has a lot of time to think. When that didn't work, Radel smothered her. How could Rachelle Waterman's fantasies spiral into her mom's murder? And the prosecution played its trump card, Rachelle's taped interrogations, which they said proved she was involved in the plot. So jurors picked apart each piece, each tale that was told, beginning with who they thought was most responsible for the murder -- Rachelle or her one-time boyfriends Jason Arrant and Brian Radel.
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