A Utah woman has pleaded guilty to multiple charges after police said she bought antibiotic-resistant bacteria on the dark web to harm her sick roommate in an attempt to get care of the woman’s son with special needs.
Janie Lynn Ridd, 51, was arrested in December 2019 on suspicion of aggravated assault of a vulnerable adult, attempted abuse of a vulnerable adult, and attempted possession of a biological agent.
Spokesman Sgt. Utah Highway Patrol Nick Street said earlier that Ridd made misleading statements before being arrested.
Janie Lynn Ridd, 51 (left), pleaded guilty to multiple charges after police said she bought antibiotic-resistant bacteria on the dark web to harm her friend, Rachel (right).
Ridd bought Vancomycin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, which can cause serious infections and even death
Police said Ridd bought Vancomycin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus for $ 300 worth of Bitcoin. The agent can cause skin infections, severe invasive diseases, pneumonia and potentially death.
Utah law defines a biological agent of mass destruction as “any micro-organism, virus, infectious substance, or biological product” that can cause death, disease, or destruction in a human being as another living organism.
Third District Judge Kara Pettit on Monday ordered Ridd to serve consecutive sentences of at least one and up to 15 years. It is now up to the Utah Board of Pardons and Parole to determine the exact length of their sentence.
Attorney General Sean Reyes and Assistant Attorney General Michael Gadd recommended Monday that Ridd be denied until 2028.
In sentencing, Rachel told the judge that Ridd robbed her of her life by causing her serious medical problems and constant stress. She said she looked at the suspect, that she did not detect any signs of remorse, Deseret News reported.
‘She saw me suffer, and she doubled down and made it worse. “Instead of one injection of E. coli where I cried and writhed in pain, she did three when that did not kill me,” Rachel said after the hearing.
The two have been friends for more than 20 years and have shared a house for a long time, but their relationship began to sour about three years ago.
According to court documents, Ridd, who was Rachel’s caregiver and also cared for her autistic son, and who named the woman a beneficiary of a $ 500,000 life insurance policy, was overwhelmed by her friend’s behavior.
Ridd and Rachel were friends and roommates for two decades, but their relationship lasted three years
Ridd’s Advocate Lawyer Scott Williams claimed that Rachel was constantly being verbally abused, which took a toll on Ridd’s mental health and convinced her that her roommate posed a threat to the well-being of her own children.
That Ridd tried to persuade Rachel so she could get legal care from the boy with special needs.
“The sad irony is that she finally did what she did out of a distorted sense of desperate concern for the welfare of the child she was growing up to love and protect,” Williams wrote in the condemnation note. ‘She understood. She lost control of her mind. She was essentially going crazy. ‘
According to court records, Ridd Rachel would inject drugs with sedatives, including Xanax and ketamine, so that she could then be injected with harmful doses of insulin, or E coli that caused serious infections, KUTV reported.
Ridd’s lawyer said Rachel’s aggressive behavior convinced her that her roommate posed a threat to the well-being of her autistic son (photo)
Between March and October 2019, Rachel underwent two surgeries to her neck. After the first, MRSA infection was discovered in her wound. After the second, the patient developed three infections, one of which was a positive test for E. coli.
Rachel’s surgeon told researchers that the E. coli “should be injected”, according to court documents.
Between the time of the first procedure and the second, Rachel experienced two separate episodes where her blood sugar level dropped to a dangerous level, even though she is not diabetic.
Rachel said she and Ridd fought around that time over her will and caring for her son in the event of her death. She also suggested that Ridd suggest that the best way to get away with murder would be to inject the victim with insulin.
Investigators later found out that Ridd bought insulin on the dark web in September 2019.
In December, Ridd returned to the dark web, this time to buy Vancomycin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (VRSA). She pretended to be a biology teacher in preschool and claimed she needed the bacteria for a scientific experiment.
‘When the seller advised the defendant that VRSA could be obtained for scientific research through legitimate sources, the defendant continued to pursue the seller’s purchase, offering to pay overnight shipments to get the VRSA faster,’ court ruled.
Prior to the acquisition of VRSA, investigators said Ridd (left) sprayed Rachel with her dangerous doses of insulin and E. coli after her surgeries.
She had sent $ 300 from VRSA to her home address, unaware that law enforcement agents were following her online activity at the time.
In December, agents delivered a package with fake VRSA to Ridd. When she was later asked about the contents of the package, Ridd lied that she had ordered coffee online.
She then changed her story and claimed that the package contained a ‘biological’ that she ordered online from the dark web to make beer at home in the cellar. ‘
Ridd later suggested another version of events, saying she ordered a strain of ‘staph’ for ‘experimental purposes to satisfy a personal curiosity she had generated from her roommate’s recent exposure to MRSA,’ according to legal documents.
Ridd pleaded guilty in June to attempted possession or use of a weapon of mass destruction and attempted aggravated assault of a vulnerable adult.
As part of a plea bargain, prosecutors agreed to drop a charge of aggravated assault of a disabled or elderly person.
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