There are no Winners

Two friends sorting out life after high school. What to do next? What to do with the rest of their life? Too often, they also discuss suicide as an option. In this true crime, a suicide pact.

I worked with a woman, far from high school age, who always seemed troubled. Life wasn't what she’d thought it would be. After she left the school district, we both worked for, she and a man friend made a suicide pact—not quite the same as the one in this case. The end result was the same. One died and one couldn’t do it. There’s a permanent sad spot in my heart for her.

Back to the two friends. They made the pact. They wrote letters to loved ones. One woman purchased a handgun and ammunition (legally).

When the father of one girl heard a gunshot, he ran to see what had happened. He found his daughter, crying, holding a gun and her friend lying on his daughter’s bed with a fatal gunshot wound. Their plan included being found on the bed with flowers all around them. The flowers were there, making the scene look even more tragic, if that was possible.

The one girl’s father called in the emergency and said truthfully that his daughter had shot her friend. The deceased friend had told his daughter she couldn’t pull the trigger on herself. His daughter agreed to shoot the friend, then shoot herself. She couldn’t kill herself.

Emergency personnel and law enforcement officers arrived. The authorities arrested his daughter and took her into custody. It was a double tragedy, but one young woman survived. The parents of the deceased young lady told the prosecutors they felt it wasn’t a case of murder. They agreed and offered a plea deal of manslaughter.

At the sentencing, the judge said,

“This case is monumentally sad, and I acknowledge the families on both sides here today. There are no winners; everyone will leave the courtroom today heartbroken.”

He sentenced the 21-year-old woman to one-to-15 years in prison to include trauma treatment.

The young woman headed to prison felt remorseful about her actions and said so sincerely and often.

Source: People, Law & Crime, KSL NBC TV 5

All data and information provided is for information and research purposes only and not intended to malign any religion, ethnic group, club, organization, company, or individual. Criminal cases may have been appealed or verdicts overturned since I researched the case. All information is provided on an as-is basis.