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Old 03-20-2006, 08:01 PM
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17 Year-Old Gets Away With Having Her Mother Killed

Girl Goes Free After Judge Tosses Murder Indictment

Honor student's trial for mom's slaying ended in hung jury

Juneau, Alaska -- The 17-year-old honor student whose murder trial for her mother's death ended with a hung jury was released from jail Wednesday, a day after a judge threw out the indictment.

Waterman left jail after her father, Carl "Doc" Waterman, posted bail.

"We haven't decided where Rachelle is going to be, but I don't think she'll go back to Craig," her home town, Doc Waterman said en route to the jail. "We've got to sit and talk a lot before we decide what we're going to do."

On Tuesday, Juneau Superior Court Judge Patricia Collins dismissed the indictment against Waterman after ruling that police may have coerced the teen into making incriminating statements.

The jury could not come to a verdict last month on murder and six other charges against Waterman for the November 2004 death of her mother, 48-year-old Lauri Waterman, and Collins declared a mistrial.

Lauri Waterman's body was found by a hunter north of Craig, a small fishing and logging town on Prince of Wales Island. Police determined she had been suffocated after her killers botched an attempt to break her neck and make her death look like a drunk-driving accident.

Jason Arrant and Brian Radel, both 24 at the time, burned Waterman's minivan with her body inside in an attempt to destroy evidence of the crime.

Rachelle Waterman was accused of plotting with her two former lovers to kill her mother, telling them that Lauri Waterman abused her.

Waterman told police at the time that she knew of the plot to kill her mother and did nothing to stop it. Those videotaped interviews, the prosecution's key evidence, were shown during the trial.

But Collins said Tuesday that testimony at the trial led her to believe the state had not met a "heavy burden" to prove that the juvenile's statements to police were voluntary.

Collins said police lied to Waterman about evidence in the case and were coercive when they threatened her with harsher consequences if she did not confess.

Because the case was dismissed "without prejudice" and the remaining evidence may be sufficient to return another indictment, the judge ordered Waterman to remain in custody.

Collins reduced the teenager's bail from $150,000 to $50,000.

Ketchikan District Attorney Steven West has not said whether he plans to pursue a new indictment.

Arrant and Radel have pleaded guilty to first-degree murder charges. They are scheduled to be sentenced Thursday.
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