True Crime Vault: Home Sweet Murder

Summary

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20/20 True Crime Vault: "Home Sweet Murder"

Air date: September 16, 2025
Host: ABC News (Deborah Roberts)
Summary by: Podcast Summarizer

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Overview

This gripping episode of 20/20’s True Crime Vault explores the chilling case of Diane Staudte, a Missouri mother and nurse who, with the help of her daughter Rachel, poisoned her own family over a period of 14 months using antifreeze. With exclusive interviews, courtroom revelations, and intimate commentary from both investigators and survivors, this episode meticulously reconstructs the unraveling of a “picture-perfect” family, exposing the shocking motives and psychological dynamics behind the chilling crimes.

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Main Discussion Points and Insights

1. The Staudte Family: Appearances vs. Reality

• Springfield, Missouri Context: A conservative, close-knit, church-based community.
  • "Springfield is a charming town. Everyone is really warm and kind hearted… it really rocks the tight knit community." (03:17-03:27)
• Family Dynamics:
  • Diane Staudte: nurse, church organist, mother of four
  • Mark: musician, father, struggled to hold jobs and with alcoholism
  • Children: Sean (autistic, intellectual), Sarah (multilingual, creative), Rachel (musically gifted), Brianna (youngest, into computers)
• The family was perceived as settled and happy but, beneath the surface, was marred by financial stress, emotional distance, and escalating tensions.

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2. The Trail of Tragedy

Mark Staudte’s Sudden Death (April 2012)

• Mark falls ill with mysterious symptoms (yellow skin, confusion), dies at home.
• Diane posts a brief, unemotional note on Facebook about his death.
  • "She proceeded to tell me like she was giving me a recipe to a cake. No emotions, no nothing." — Detective McCamus (01:13, 15:09)
• Diane collects a $20,000 life insurance payout and moves the family to a larger house.

Sean Staudte’s Death (September 2012)

• Sean, the eldest son with autism, complains of stomach issues, is found dead in bed.
  • "Sean is found dead in his bedroom. And just like his father, he, too, has an odd blood stain around his mouth." (19:39-19:46)
• Cause of death ruled as complications from seizures, but his passing is treated with little emotion or ceremony.
  • "There was no obituary. There was no funeral. Just little gathering at home." (20:45)

Sarah Staudte’s Narrow Escape (June 2013)

• Eldest daughter Sarah collapses with organ failure; doctors are perplexed at her rapid decline.
  • "She was in what we call multi system organ failure and she needed life support from every organ." — Detective (24:16)
• This time, the pattern triggers suspicion.

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3. The Investigation Unfolds

• Pastor’s Anonymous Tip: After three suspicious tragedies in 14 months, the family’s pastor calls police with concerns about Diane.
  • "I believe that these were circumstances that needed to be investigated." (25:49)
• Detectives re-examine deaths, note similar symptoms, blood at the mouth, and Diane’s unemotional, sometimes light-hearted demeanor.
  • "Nurses told police Diane was too lighthearted… she was talking about a vacation and that Sarah's situation… was not going to keep her from going on vacation." (28:19)

The Police Interviews

• Diane tries to cast blame on Mark’s alleged “bad friends” and implies Sean may have wanted to harm himself.

  • "She started feeling sick Saturday" (32:02)
  • "I knew they were drinking antifreeze. I was so mad at them I didn’t want to take them in." (34:54)

• Detective McCamus presses Diane, using a faith-based appeal:

  • “Diane, you knew that they were drinking antifreeze because you were giving it to them." (36:02)
  • Instead of denying, Diane starts to admit—quietly but definitively.

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4. Bombshell Revelations & Motive

Diane’s Full Confession

• She describes how she poisoned her family using antifreeze mixed into soft drinks (Coca Cola, Gatorade).
  • “What were you putting it in?” “Coca Cola.” (36:50, 43:06)
  • “How much would you put in?” “Just a little bit.” (37:04, 71:45)

Discovery of Rachel’s Involvement

• Key Evidence: A journal in the house exposes daughter Rachel as complicit, showing she knew of—and helped plan—the crimes.

  • “The journal is like a smoking gun, revealing that Diane wasn't the only stouty involved in the plot to poison the family.” (44:43)
  • “Who would think that a daughter would be assisting her mother in the killing…” (45:19)

• Rachel’s Interrogation:

  • At first, she denies involvement, but when confronted with her journal, she admits she and her mother planned it together.
  • "I talked to mom about it and she mentioned she was thinking of hurting them." — Rachel (47:10)

Motive Explored

• Diane and Rachel express deep resentment toward Mark (calling him a “drain”), and frustration with Sean and Sarah as burdens; plans included killing youngest daughter Brianna.
  • “I think I snapped. I really do. I just lost it.” — Diane (50:44)
  • "Dad was basically a drain… Sean and we argued… but she wanted him out." — Rachel (51:46)
  • The ultimate goal, by their own words, was for Diane and Rachel to live alone together.

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5. The Aftermath: Survivors, Sentencing, and Psychological Profile

Effects on Sarah & Brianna

• Sarah, though miraculously surviving the poisoning, was left with severe brain and organ damage, requiring permanent care.

  • “Sarah had to relearn to walk. Now she's reliant on full time, round the clock care. It's just heartbreaking.” (65:47)
  • “I just don't consider them people. I consider them as killers who hate me.” — Sarah on her mom and sister (67:11)

• Brianna, the youngest, was placed in foster care, having narrowly avoided becoming another victim.

Legal Consequences

• Both Diane and Rachel arrested and charged with multiple murders and attempted murder.
• Rachel pleads guilty, agrees to testify against her mother, receives two life sentences plus 20 years, eligible for parole at 65.
• Diane accepts an Alford plea (maintaining innocence while acknowledging strong evidence), sentenced to life without parole.
  • “You pleaded guilty to murder. Are you a murderer? No… I took an Alford plea.” — Diane (73:25)
  • “[Diane] has zero remorse, zero empathy. She doesn't take any responsibility for her actions.” — Detective McCamus (75:43)

Psychological Analysis

• Retired FBI profiler Mark Safric labels Diane as exhibiting classic narcissism and inability to take responsibility, calling her “cold and calculating.”
• The “folie à deux” (shared madness) dynamic between Diane and Rachel is noted as unique and disturbing.

Notable Quotes:

• “I would have to tell him… go do something. You get to the point where you just pull out your hair.” — Diane, on living with Sean (50:00)
• “They were a killing team, a mother, daughter. This is unheard of. Who does that?” — Deborah Roberts (48:29)
• “They would have killed four people in this house if they could have.” — Deborah Roberts (61:10)
• “How does a mother kill her own children? That I can't tell you.” — Diane (75:53)

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Notable Quotes & Timestamps

• On Diane's demeanor:
  “She proceeded to tell me like she was giving me a recipe to a cake. No emotions, no nothing.” — Detective McCamus (01:13, 15:09)

• On motive:
  “Dad was basically a drain on her, on us. Money. He had no concept of money.” — Rachel (51:46)

• On confession:
  "You knew they were drinking antifreeze because you were giving it to them." — Detective McCamus (36:02)
  “What were you putting it in?” — "Coca Cola." — Diane (36:50)

• On the mother-daughter dynamic:
  "Rachel was the golden child." — Detective McCamus (61:13)

• On Sarah’s feelings:
  “I just don't consider them people. I consider them as killers who hate me.” — Sarah (67:11)
  "I forgive my mom for what she did to me." — Sarah (79:10)

• On responsibility and denial:
  “She wants to control things, but she doesn’t seem capable or willing to actually put the story out there herself. It’s like pulling teeth to get any kind of answer from her.” — Deborah Roberts (75:53)
  “Will you ever admit to killing your family?” — “No, not like that, no. I will go to my grave.” — Diane (80:20)

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Important Segments & Timestamps

• Family & Springfield background: 03:17–06:57
• Mark’s illness and death: 09:27–15:11
• Sean’s death & reaction: 19:39–22:48
• Sarah’s illness and hospitalization: 23:38–25:11
• Tip to police, investigation begins: 25:48–29:33
• Diane’s confession & description of poisoning: 34:54–37:53
• Discovery of Rachel’s involvement and journal: 44:06–48:29
• Psychological profiles, mother-daughter dynamics: 59:14–61:13
• Legal outcomes and plea deals: 71:23–74:23
• Sarah's survival and trauma: 65:47–67:11, 79:00–80:20

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Conclusion

“Home Sweet Murder” masterfully reconstructs a shocking betrayal inside an ostensibly loving family, unraveling the calculated and callous decisions of Diane and Rachel Staudte. The episode delves deep into the psychological motivations, family dysfunction, and shocking absence of remorse, while underscoring resilience and survival in Sarah’s courageous, ongoing recovery. It stands as a haunting study in how appearances can mask sinister truths lurking just beneath the surface.

Transcript

[Deborah Roberts]

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[Detective McCamus]

This is by far the most shocking case I have ever been a part of. It was unlike anything we had ever seen here. It felt extreme. Extremely surreal to know that I was, you know, somehow connected to these heinous murders.

[Deborah Roberts]

I didn't want another one to die in the house.

[Detective McCamus]

And why is that?

[Deborah Roberts]

Because houses are nasty after somebody's died in it.

[Detective McCamus]

I went to her house and asked.

[Deborah Roberts]

Her what happened and she proceeded to tell me like she was giving me a recipe to a cake. No emotions, no nothing. She must be in great shock. Of course you're in shock. Who thinks of walk and finding their son dead? How much bad luck can one family have?

[Detective McCamus]

It's not if Sarah's going to die, but when Sarah was going to die.

[Deborah Roberts]

She was clinging to life. Her brain function is failing. Her liver function is failing. I just felt like I wanted to strangle my mom because of what she did. So are you a killer? We've been following this case of Diane Stoudy for about eight years, ever since she confessed to killing members of her own family. She's never talked publicly about how and why. Until now. We're actually headed to the Chillicothe prison in Missouri where she's been held for the last six years, to hear her story. Hello, Diane. I'm Deborah Roberts. This is a chance for you to speak, which you know you haven't done. I guess. No. Ever do you find yourself wondering how you wound up here? You a nurse, a mom, a wife. Mm. A woman who had a full life. Do you think you deserve to be in prison? Yes and no. Springfield is a charming town. Everyone is really warm and kind hearted.

[Detective McCamus]

We have a church and Chinese restaurant on every corner. It's definitely conservative. You know, it is definitely in the buckle of the Bible belt.

[Deborah Roberts]

We pray to thee, our God this day. So whenever things like the Staudi case happens, it really rocks the tight knit community. Diane and Mark had been married for 26 years and had four children. Sean was 25, the eldest. Then there was Sarah, Rachel, and the youngest, Brianna, who was 10 years old. Mark, her husband, was super active in his band. Musically inclined, was fun, lovable.

[Detective McCamus]

Mark, growing up, developed a very early ear for music, and he wrote very good songs.

[Deborah Roberts]

You're just a female Judas.

[Detective McCamus]

You wanna see me crucified?

[Deborah Roberts]

How did you come to meet Mark?

[Detective McCamus]

At the time, I was looking for new band members. He was just the perfect guy I would want in my band, and actually.

[Deborah Roberts]

We became fast friends.

[Detective McCamus]

Mark was so easy to get along with.

[Deborah Roberts]

Our band just jailed immediately, and he was a great front man.

[Detective McCamus]

He was always a very positive influence in my life.

[Deborah Roberts]

He was always happy with the kids. He was always happy with his wife. He loved them. He loved his family. Diane and Mark Stoude met in 1984 at a bluegrass music festival. Tell me about Mark and meeting him and what those early days were like. Oh, my. He was a different person then. Very outgoing, very nice. What attracted you to him? We both liked music. Music was big for both of us. Music was big for both of us. Did you fall for him? Did he fall for you? Kind of both, I would say. We hit it off.

[Detective McCamus]

The first time I met Diane, she was pregnant, so maybe the marriage was because of that. But Mark seemed to be excited about them getting married. They seem to be growing into a relationship.

[Deborah Roberts]

The peace of the Lord be with you always and also with you. The stouties were members of the redeemer Lutheran church in Springfield.

[Detective McCamus]

The lord bless you, and the ushers will direct you. I came to know the staudies right away, and they allowed me to be a part of their family. May you rejoice in this intimacy with your savior. Music in a church can really be a place where community connects. Diane and her daughter Rachel were very involved in our music ministry. Diane was involved with everything when it relates to music in church. I played with Diane and with her daughter Rachel and the praise band, and for almost two years. Diane played the church organ on Sundays, and I played a bass guitar. I was excited to play next to Diane Sadduck. I was honored because I knew she was a consummate musician.

[Deborah Roberts]

When did music become a part of your life? I started playing piano when I was three. My mother taught me. It's soothing. How important was your faith to you? Very important. You liked going to church? Oh, yeah. By all accounts, Diane was a busy person. Aside from attending church on Sundays, she was a trained nurse. She worked full time in the Health insurance industry and looked after her four children.

[Detective McCamus]

Diana is very earnest. It was very important for her that things were organized well in advance. Very, very diligent. And Diane was a devoted, involved mother.

[Deborah Roberts]

Let's talk about the children. How would you describe them? All my kids were a joy. Have you ever heard little professor syndrome? They all have their little special interests. So in Sean's case, Shawn enjoyed reading about Sweden. Architecture, mechanics. What about Sarah? She spoke French. Rachel was into Japan. She plays multiple instruments. So she played in the church band as well. The two of you, was she talented? I think so, yeah. Very talented. And Brianna? Brianna was into dinosaurs and cats. She was gifted with computers by all appearances. Diane seemed to love her children.

[Detective McCamus]

Outside looking in, you'd think there was.

[Deborah Roberts]

A picture perfect family. I mean, it looks like a very settled, happy family. Those are the good old days. You're smiling, and the kids look pretty happy. Mark looks content. Mm. When you say the good old days. Yeah. How good were they? Really good. Then on Easter Sunday 2012, tragedy strikes when Diane's husband, Mark, dies. Diane then posts this on her Facebook page. For all my friends on Facebook, this past Sunday evening, Mark, my husband of 27 years, reached his eternal home.

[Detective McCamus]

I was absolutely shocked.

[Deborah Roberts]

He's older than I was, and this guy was on the front stage performing like he was 21. But is there more to Mark's death than meets the eye? You're a nurse. Why wouldn't you call 911? I was told no hospitals, no doctors, know nothing or quote, I will kill you. We're in the north side of Springfield. This is the neighborhood where the Stouties spent most of their marriage. A lot of the homes around here are humble homes. In 1994, 18 years before Mark's death, the Staude family first moved to the Springfield area. This home here where Mark and Diane lived with their four children. 900 square feet, six people inside. That's a tight fit. And what we came to learn was that Sean was autistic, and this family had a lot of issues. So you and Mark are this young couple with this baby. Was he diagnosed with autism? He wasn't formally diagnosed till he was in fifth grade.

[Detective McCamus]

My family's impression was that Diane really did not want to admit that he had a problem.

[Deborah Roberts]

Not long after that, Sarah comes along. What was she like as a baby? A lot of separation anxiety. She would scream, throw temper tantrums. Are you working at that point? And I'm working full time. I was the breadwinner. I've always been the breadwinner. Mark could never hold a job very long. He would either play music or basically he stayed at home.

[Detective McCamus]

Diane was bringing in the money for the household. But Mark was not someone who could keep a house. He did not do housework. He was a bit of a slob, unfortunately.

[Deborah Roberts]

So Rachel and Brianna come along. Now you have four children. What is life like in the household? Too busy. Very busy. It was a very small home for a big family. Just chaos.

[Detective McCamus]

I could see that Diane was hurting and lonely. I could see that Mark was a dear soul that was not overly able to provide for his family.

[Deborah Roberts]

Was Mark helpful? For a while. And then he started drinking.

[Detective McCamus]

I could see that it was a family in stress and a family that was overwhelmed. But I never heard Diane say to me, mark is abusing alcohol. She never said to me, I need help, I need prayer. I'm having troubles.

[Deborah Roberts]

Was he much of a drinker? No, because he blew harmonica and he sung, so drinking wasn't his thing. He made friends in the band. He was close to some of his band members. Did you get to know them? I really didn't get to know them. And you know, by this time he had his other friends that he'd run around with. Other friends? What do you mean? Lets just say they were heavy into drugs.

[Detective McCamus]

I had coffee with Mark Wednesday of Easter Week 2012. He asked me how I viewed him, that I see him as crazy. And I said no. And I didn't. I didn't see him as crazy. I saw him as a person who struggled in life.

[Deborah Roberts]

Then On Easter Week 2012, Mark's bandmates started noticing some unusual changes in his behavior. You saw Mark that Friday before Easter, Right. What was he like? Well, we were doing a recording session. We never got the recording done because he was just so out of whack. And I'm like, mark, come on, we're trying to do a recording here. It didn't even click to him that we were trying to record. One thing struck me so out of place. His skin color. What did it look like? Yellow. His skin was actually a yellowish color. So something was wrong.

[Detective McCamus]

Something was wrong with him.

[Deborah Roberts]

That was the last time I seen him. His children are also becoming concerned about their father.

[Detective McCamus]

On April 7, Sean writes, My father.

[Deborah Roberts]

Is slowly getting sicker.

[Detective McCamus]

His voice is slurred, his walking is wobbly.

[Deborah Roberts]

Tell me about that weekend. He had gone to band practice like usual. He came home, he was stumbling about. I finally got on bed and he just slept. Were you worried about him when you went to church? Not really because I've Seen him do that before. So you come home from church, and what do you find? He was still sleeping in the bed and your husband's, and he wasn't breathing. You know why he's died? No. What did you think when you heard that your pal had died? Sorry. I'm sorry. It took me.

[Detective McCamus]

It took my breath away.

[Deborah Roberts]

You lost your husband. Mm. You've got four children. Mm. What are you thinking? What are you making of this? It hadn't really sunk in. How did the kids handle this? Nobody was really surprised. We knew he was getting worse and worse. I talked to Diane. I went to her house and asked her what happened, and she proceeded to tell me like she was giving me a recipe to a cake. No, matter of fact, no emotions?

[Detective McCamus]

No emotions, no nothing.

[Deborah Roberts]

You thought something was odd?

[Detective McCamus]

I knew something was odd about the way she's acting.

[Deborah Roberts]

So you try to cope with this, and you go to the memorial service? Yes. What was that like?

[Detective McCamus]

This felt like I lost my best friend. I was sitting there in tears when.

[Deborah Roberts]

I looked at her. Kept looking at her, and she wouldn't even acknowledge me, and she just kept looking ahead.

[Detective McCamus]

I thought that was strange.

[Deborah Roberts]

Not long after the memorial service, Diane gets a $20,000 payout from Mark's life insurance policy. So she decides to move the family into a bigger house in a new neighborhood in Springfield.

[Detective McCamus]

She had moved into a different house by that point, which was good because the house they were living in Washington, rather cramped with four children. So we thought, well, good for her, and hoped that it would help them move forward.

[Deborah Roberts]

So incredibly, Diane and the family have only been living in that new home a few months when tragedy strikes the Staude family again. It was Sunday, September 2, 2012, and there was a couple of police cars out front. We all stood there watching and waiting, and finally a policeman came out, and he said there was a death in the home, but he would never tell us who it was. How much bad luck can one family have? By 2012, Diane has settled into her new home. She's no longer working at a hospital as a nurse. She's got a job where she can work at home as a consultant for an insurance company.

[Detective McCamus]

It seemed like a new beginning. And though I had conflicts of my own, those are the type of things I typically celebrate. For people.

[Deborah Roberts]

This neighborhood has a completely different feel than the first neighborhood that the staudies lived in. This neighborhood, the homes are a little bit bigger. The neighbors, a lot of them have their homes decorated. Just seems like a perfect neighborhood for the daddies to move to after such a tragic loss. You've moved to a new home. Mm. You're in a new place. Are your neighbors aware? Do they know you've lost your husband? Nope. Why not? I've never met some of the neighbors. They never seem like they wanted to have conversation. Every time I saw them drive in and would start to walk over to say, oh, hello, the garage door would go down. It was just that kind of a feeling of, leave us alone. So I didn't try to go to the door anymore. But we did see the boy, who we found out later was Sean. We saw him mowing the lawn quite often. Every few days, he was out there mowing.

[Detective McCamus]

After Mark died, I called upon Diane, and we would have coffee, and I would inquire, how are you doing? How is your grief? I would listen, but there was never any statement. I need help. I need prayer. I'm having troubles. So I struggled with knowing why we were meeting. And I don't remember ever talking about matters of life in a significant way.

[Deborah Roberts]

Then a few months later, Sean is very sick. How sick was he? I'm trying to remember. I know he was having some stomach issues. And then there's one weekend where he's writhing in pain. You go off to church, and he's really ill. Were you worried? A little bit. A little bit. Mm. It was Sunday, September 2nd, back in 2012, and our neighbors across the street called us and said, something's going on. There is a coroner's van in the driveway of the new family next door. So I came over to their front door. I said, I'm Rhonda Anderson. I live across the street. We saw there was a coroner's van, and I just wanted to know what happened, if there's anything we can do. And she said, oh, my son died. Oh. Caught me off guard. Your son died. Okay. Was he sick? Was there something wrong? Sean is found dead in his bedroom. And just like his father, he, too, has an odd blood stain around his mouth. You said that you didn't take Shawn to the hospital when you should have. Mm. Why didn't you? Because he didn't want to. He didn't want me to. But you're his mom. You're a nurse. You know when somebody needs medical attention. You could have overruled that. I could have, but I chose not to. What's really heartbreaking about the death of Sean is that the family didn't do much to commemorate his life. There was no obituary. There was no funeral. Just little gathering at home. And then he was cremated.

[Detective McCamus]

There was three of us in the living room. And I don't remember the children themselves being there. I remember Diane being there. And as director of music ministries and myself, in that moment, I was there to care for a grieving mother in whatever way she presented herself. That's what I was there to do. And was it hard? Yes, it was. We found out that Sean had died from a posting in Facebook from Diane.

[Deborah Roberts]

After an autopsy, the medical examiner determines that Shawn apparently died because of prior medical issues related to a history of seizures.

[Detective McCamus]

With his history of mental and physical issues, it seemed just a spate of bad luck for Diane.

[Deborah Roberts]

So now you've lost your husband and you've lost your son. Then nine months later, Sarah is seriously ill. How do you explain that? By the fall of 2012, Mark's been gone since April. Sean's passed away in early September, and it just leaves Diane with her daughters, Sarah, Rachel and Brianna.

[Detective McCamus]

In my 30 some years of ministry, I've never had two family members die in the same type of situations, ever.

[Deborah Roberts]

After a tough year, finally a bright spot for the Staude family. The eldest daughter, Sarah, is graduating from college, which Diane celebrates on Facebook. Sarah was a hard worker. She went and got a degree. She was well liked, had a lot of friends. But in June 2013, the stouty curse strikes again. Sarah is seriously ill. And this time the family is rushing her to the hospital.

[Detective McCamus]

When Sarah came to the hospital, she was the sickest of the sick. She was in what we call multi system organ failure and she needed life support from every organ.

[Deborah Roberts]

The doctors told Diane that Sarah's organs were shutting down, that she was hemorrhaging, her brain was shutting down, and they couldn't figure out why.

[Detective McCamus]

Sarah being ill and in the hospital was once again relayed through Facebook. Again it was, boy, this is really having bad luck with this family. What's going on?

[Deborah Roberts]

You took Sarah to the hospital. What are you expecting is going to happen? Do you think you're about to lose her? I didn't know. I didn't know how bad it was until they told me her lab results.

[Detective McCamus]

She's the sickest 24 year old that we've ever seen. I've never seen a case like that and I really don't know what's going on. Then the detective came and I said, thank God.

[Deborah Roberts]

When Sarah went to the hospital with the same kinds of symptoms that had taken both Shawn and Mark, warning bells went off.

[Detective McCamus]

Now I see someone fighting for their life in circumstances and events that are just completely foreign to me.

[Deborah Roberts]

All Right. And what is your name?

[Detective McCamus]

There was an anonymous call made to the Springfield Police Department alerting them to the suspicious character of both Mark and Sean's death. I shared that. I am a pastor and I have a family who's experienced two deaths in a short proximity of time and now has another family member in ic. I believe that these were circumstances that needed to be investigated.

[Deborah Roberts]

The pastor suspects he's got a dangerous sinner in his own flock and he can't in good faith keep quiet about it.

[Detective McCamus]

When I first read the tip, it was just kind of like, no way. You know, this couldn't be. This isn't something that would. Would go on in our town or our city. It was kind of shocking. But something, of course, had to look into just to see what the tip was about.

[Deborah Roberts]

How are Rachel and Brianna taking this now? They've got their sister who's in the hospital having lost their father and their brother. How are they reacting? They really didn't say much. You know, they've always kept to themselves.

[Detective McCamus]

When I read the report about Mark, it appeared that it was natural causes related death, and that's what it was ruled at that point. But when I reached out to the officers that were there on scene, one of the officers had actually witnessed Diane step over the body of Mark while he was on the ground. And he said that they just really stood out. When I read Sean's death report, in both reports, it noted a small amount of blood around their mouth and so raised some red flags. You don't typically see that in a natural causes death. When I went in the hospital, the doctor told me a bunch of tests had been performed, but they weren't able to figure out what was going on. Because she's young, we start to suspect drugs. Maybe she took a drug overdose or something. But there was nothing. And we say maybe it's an infection. Came back negative. Also, we didn't know what's going on. That same day, the detective came and talked to me. My nurse told me the mother was.

[Deborah Roberts]

Not concerned at all. She wanted to stop the treatment. Nurses told police Diane was too lighthearted. She was joking around with people. She. She was talking about a vacation and that Sarah's situation, as she called it, was not going to keep her from going on vacation.

[Detective McCamus]

And she said it just didn't seem the words that she used was how a mother would act.

[Deborah Roberts]

So the detective goes to the doctor who's taking care of Sarah, and they basically come to the same consensus.

[Detective McCamus]

He said, okay. I received a tip from some that.

[Deborah Roberts]

Sarah's father and brother died suddenly.

[Detective McCamus]

So he said, do you suspect something weird? I said, yes.

[Deborah Roberts]

Are you worried not only about her, but also about how this looks? Were you thinking about that at all? Actually, I was worried about why my back was hurting, why my head was hurting, hurting, why I couldn't pee. So you were feeling symptoms as well? I was feeling symptoms too.

[Detective McCamus]

The first thing come to my mind was heavy metal poisoning.

[Deborah Roberts]

Lithium.

[Detective McCamus]

And arsenic. But because it's very rare, you have to send it to a special lab or not. Any lab will have that test. Based upon all the tests that they had run, he believed there was a possibility that it could be a poisoning. I waited for about one week for them to continue with their tests. But everything that they were testing for came back negative. She required life support to support all her organs in order to stay alive.

[Deborah Roberts]

After several days in intensive care, Sarah's condition is beginning to stabilize. But there were still very urgent concerns about the rest of her family.

[Detective McCamus]

I was definitely in fear for the other members of Diane's family. It was definitely time to talk to Diane to get her side of the story, to try to figure out what was going on. I'm here to listen. I'm here to. I'm here to listen. Tell me about it, Diane. Tell me everything that was going on.

[Deborah Roberts]

Over the course of 14 months, the quiet, God fearing Stoudy family seems to be cursed. Member after member stunningly struck down. Mark Stouty, who fronted a blues band, and 26 year old son Sean, both suddenly dead. And now 24 year old Sarah lying in the ICU, her kidneys and brain failing. So you've lost your husband, you've lost your son, and now your daughter is clinging to life. Are you saying this is just a coincidence? I don't know. Now police want to know, is this just a matter of bad luck or bad intentions?

[Detective McCamus]

Well, again, Ms. Dalley, I appreciate you being willing to come down and speak with us. You're very helpful on your part.

[Deborah Roberts]

I'm trying to be.

[Detective McCamus]

It was one of the most stressful interviews I had ever done because going into it, there was no physical evidence at that point. When did all this come about?

[Deborah Roberts]

She started feeling sick Saturday.

[Detective McCamus]

I started asking Diane about herself, how involved in the church that she was. So it was just kind of a general conversation about her family. Was Mark, was he active in the church as well?

[Deborah Roberts]

Not as active, but he went.

[Detective McCamus]

And in that there was also strategy in trying to get her to talk about the two previous deaths in her family. Do you have a son? As well?

[Deborah Roberts]

No, not anymore.

[Detective McCamus]

He died.

[Deborah Roberts]

He had a seizure disorder. Diane does not seem to be nervous in this police interview. She's quiet. She seems to be answering the questions. The detective is very delicate with her, and he knows he has to be because at any point, she could just walk out the door. She was. Was not under arrest. After about 45 minutes, Detective McAmus then reveals that Shawn's autopsy is being reexamined.

[Detective McCamus]

I got ahold of the medical examiner's office, and luckily they still had some tissue that was. That was still being held. We've spoken with the medical examiner about that. So they're gonna do a bunch of tests on his stuff as well. Well, okay, so if his stuff were to come back with anything like that, something similar to maybe what Sarah's might come back with, how would you explain that?

[Deborah Roberts]

It's from this point that Diane begins to change her story about how Sean and Mark might have died. I don't know about my kids, but Mark had a lot of. We are friends. Well, I don't know if I'd call them friends, acquaintances. He would. You know, they were into drugs and all that, but that wouldn't surprise me.

[Detective McCamus]

Throughout the investigation, it might have come up that Mark would drink on occasion and would smoke marijuana. But in terms of harder, more illicit drugs, there was absolutely no evidence or any kind of mention whatsoever that Mark was involved in anything like that.

[Deborah Roberts]

As far as Shawn, Sean had been looking up things on the Internet. He'd been threatening to kill himself, you know, whether he's crying wolf or not.

[Detective McCamus]

As the interview progressed, there was a point where Diane said something about Sarah also possibly wanting to harm herself. And it was during this discussion that Anna Freeze was mentioned. So tell me about Dan.

[Deborah Roberts]

There's a lot of arguments, and it cut it really short and sweet. I knew they were drinking antifreeze, and I was so mad at them, I didn't want to take them in. She suddenly just offers very quietly. I knew they were drinking antifreeze. It's like, what are you talking about? Nobody just drinks antifreeze.

[Detective McCamus]

Okay? This could be our poison. This could be what we are looking for. I just continued to lean on her about doing the right thing. Diane, right now is your chance to. To make some of this somewhat right, because you're gonna want people to see that you're remorseful and that, you know, you're sorry for what you did.

[Deborah Roberts]

He used religion. He's like, look, I'm a Christian. You're a Christian. You know, I'm a believer, almost in the sort of priest penitent way. And it worked.

[Detective McCamus]

Diane, you knew that they were drinking antifreeze. You knew that they didn't. We both know that you knew, Diane, that they were drinking antifreeze because you were giving it to them.

[Deborah Roberts]

And I didn't know what else to do. I really didn't. He says to her, you knew they were drinking it because you put it in their drinks. And instead of like, shock, horror. I would never do that. She says, yeah.

[Detective McCamus]

What were you putting it in?

[Deborah Roberts]

Coca Cola.

[Detective McCamus]

How much would you put in?

[Deborah Roberts]

Just a little bit. From the poisoner perspective, this is a great poison. It doesn't have any real smell. You can't taste it. You can put it in almost anything, and it's acutely poisonous. That's the lethal drink she gave to her son and daughter. Coca Cola and antifreeze for days and watch them get sick and did nothing. You admit that you poisoned your family with antifreeze? Mm. I said what I was told to say. Who told you to say this? I can't tell you.

[Detective McCamus]

Okay, so if you can stand up Forest Ranch, put some handcuffs on you. We're not gonna put a montage, but I take.

[Deborah Roberts]

I'm saying there's more to that than what people know. Well, tell us, because we really can't go into that for safety reasons. At the time, Springfield police felt pretty confident they had their killer. But they were about to uncover more evidence that would turn this case upside down.

[Detective McCamus]

The journal was found in the southeast bedroom.

[Deborah Roberts]

And that journal has some sinister secrets. Mint is still $15 a month for premium wireless. And if you haven't made the switch yet, here are 15 reasons why you should. One, it's $15 a month. Two, seriously, it's $15 a month. Three, no big contracts. Four, I use it.

[Detective McCamus]

Five, my mom uses.

[Deborah Roberts]

Are you.

[Detective McCamus]

Are you playing me off?

[Deborah Roberts]

That's what's happening, right?

[Detective McCamus]

Okay, give it a try.

[Deborah Roberts]

@Mintmobile.Com Switch upfront payment of $45 per three month plan. $15 per month equivalent required. New customer offer first three months only, then full price plan options available, taxes and fees extra. See mintmobile.com this episode is brought to you by Greenlight. Get this. Adults with financial literacy skills have 82% more wealth than those who don't. From swimming lessons to piano classes. Us parents invest in so many things to enrich our kids lives. But are we investing in their future financial success? With Greenlight, you can teach your kids financial literacy skills like earning, saving, and investing. And this investment costs less than that. After school treat start prioritizing their financial education and future. Today with a risk free [e-mail] Spotify greenlight.com Spotify this is a story about a wife, a mother of four, who went off the rails. How is it that you could kill your own family? Your husband, your son, almost your daughter.

[Detective McCamus]

Diane was eliminating family members one at a time. And basically what has happened is your mom has admitted to killing your dad and your brother and trying to kill your sister. It's just so crazy. You think to yourself, what is going on here?

[Deborah Roberts]

That does not happen here. That is, doesn't happen anywhere, does it?

[Detective McCamus]

I mean, they were drinking antifreeze because you were giving it to them.

[Deborah Roberts]

What are you talking about? Nobody just drinks antifreeze. You can't make this up. You tell the police that you poisoned your own family. I'm saying there's more to that than what people know. There's more involved. After two hours of questioning, an astounding confession from Diane Stoudy. She admits to poisoning her own husband and children with antifreeze. So at this point, Diane's arrested, Sarah's in the hospital, but Rachel is home with her younger sister Brianna. And the police need to break the news to Rachel that her mother's under arrest for the murder of her father and brother.

[Detective McCamus]

And basically what has happened is your mom has admitted to killing your dad and your brother and trying to kill, kill your sister with poison. Just take some time. And mom said this too. But obviously I have to ask you these questions. You didn't have any involvement in any of this stuff. Don't take, don't take it the wrong way, but I have to ask those questions.

[Deborah Roberts]

Okay?

[Detective McCamus]

Mom never confided in you that she was doing this?

[Deborah Roberts]

Never.

[Detective McCamus]

And from what I kind of feeling I get from you, that thought didn't even enter your mind that mom was doing anything. I know you said she was frustrated, but I kind of take it as you didn't think she was frustrated to the point where she would do something like this.

[Deborah Roberts]

Right. With Diane now in custody, police begin a search of the family property. They're looking for any evidence that might explain what had been going on.

[Detective McCamus]

Later on the night of the first interrogation of Diane, we had our crime scene guys out here.

[Deborah Roberts]

During the search, the police find a house that really is in disarray. In 2016, lead detective Neil McCamus took us back to the Stoute family home to show us what police found.

[Detective McCamus]

So this is obviously the living room of the home. It wasn't clean and orderly like it is now. It was a little messy. There were some couches, There were papers just kind of strewn about.

[Deborah Roberts]

There's stuff all over the place and on the floor there are a lot of computers. Everybody had a laptop. The search moves to the garage and that's where they hit pay dirt. On a counter there's antifreeze and very close to it, Coca Cola. Exactly what Diane said she had done to both Sarah and Sean. She fed them antifreeze in their coke. Mark got it in his Gatorade.

[Detective McCamus]

This is the bench. Obviously there's different things on here now, but that is the bench where it was located. The positioning of the coke bottles was very odd. A bunch of household cleaners, whatever you can think. And then right in the middle of a six pack bottle of Coke, which was just completely out of place. One thing that I noticed immediately just seemed to be a lot of journals, writings, notebooks.

[Deborah Roberts]

One journal in particular was discovered during the search of the house. The police recovered in one of the bedrooms, a purple journal on a shelf, just sort of thrown haphazardly on the shelf.

[Detective McCamus]

The initial impression from the journal is, you know, what in the world is going on here? It's just placed right there, right along with everything else. Nothing to signify its importance. Just it's right there amongst everything. When Detective Cole got down to the police department, he was flipping through and he came across that and realized that it was a key piece of evidence.

[Deborah Roberts]

The journal is like a smoking gun, revealing that Diane wasn't the only stouty involved in the plot to poison the family.

[Detective McCamus]

There was a journal entry that talked about Rachel's knowledge of the upcoming deaths of Mark and Sean.

[Deborah Roberts]

These entries showed evidence of premeditated murder and that Rachel knew about it. It's sad when I realize how my father will pass on in the next two months. Sean, my brother, will move on shortly after.

[Detective McCamus]

Who would think that a daughter would be assisting her mother in the killing of the rest of their family? Get some water. You okay?

[Deborah Roberts]

Now, with this new disposition discovery, Officer mckaymus brings Rachel back in for questioning with a new agenda. He wants to confront her about that journal.

[Detective McCamus]

Were you ever suspicious of your mom?

[Deborah Roberts]

No.

[Detective McCamus]

It sounds like you and her from talking to her that you and her were pretty good buddies. Is that right? You guys were real close. Mama's best friend, Kind of. Did she ever mention anything at all?

[Deborah Roberts]

No.

[Detective McCamus]

So she never told you specifically that she wanted to hurt your dad, your brother, or your sister?

[Deborah Roberts]

No.

[Detective McCamus]

During the interview, I just slid the journal entry over to her I wanted to see her reaction upon looking at that. There was an immediate sense from Rachel. You could just see the look on her face of it was, oh, do you recognize this? You could see the wheels turning, literally, you could just see her processing of how am I gonna explain myself out of this?

[Deborah Roberts]

Yeah, I remember this.

[Detective McCamus]

Okay. What is that little journal thing? A journal thing? Whose journal?

[Deborah Roberts]

Mine.

[Detective McCamus]

Your journal? So you wrote this then, is what you're telling me? Okay, Rachel, at that point, I think she realized, I'm caught. And she began to tell her story. No more lies or untruths. We need to be honest about everything. You understand? What is this?

[Deborah Roberts]

I've had a lot of really bad dreams about them dying. I talked to mom about it and she mentioned she was thinking of hurting them.

[Detective McCamus]

I pressed Rachel in terms of, hey, this isn't a dream, this is something much worse. Worse than that. And you were involved. So you said you'd been having some dreams about them dying and you told your mother about this. What did you tell your mother?

[Deborah Roberts]

That it would be quick, that, that it easy, let it be the heavens moon and we could move on.

[Detective McCamus]

That was the huge moment in terms of Rachel's involvement in the crimes with Diane. It told me that Rachel was just as involved as Diane.

[Deborah Roberts]

They were a killing team, a mother, daughter. I mean, this is unheard of. Who does that?

[Detective McCamus]

It still is just beyond comprehension to think that a mother and daughter, you know, systematically poisoning off each one of their other family members.

[Deborah Roberts]

Rachel is just as evil as her mom.

[Detective McCamus]

You'd say Mark is the first one. There's nobody before Mark. Not in your past life or not. Okay, Mark's the first one. And it just got started. You said you hated his guts and I just couldn't take it, couldn't take it anymore.

[Deborah Roberts]

Once the confessions began, it was just one shocking revelation after another. But the strangest one was yet to come.

[Detective McCamus]

My name is Mark Safric. I am retired FBI criminal profiler. I was in the FBI's Behavioral Analysis Unit for almost 13 years of a 23 year FBI career. When you look at Diane, you see an individual who has no remorse for the actions that she's engaged in by then.

[Deborah Roberts]

I hated his guts.

[Detective McCamus]

Hated his guts. I understand.

[Deborah Roberts]

I mean, I hated his guts.

[Detective McCamus]

She's very upfront with what she did.

[Deborah Roberts]

And why she did it. Sean would be interfering with whatever I would do to the point where he was getting into my work. And I would have to tell him, you need to leave. You know, go to your room, go do something. You get to the point where you just pull out your hair.

[Detective McCamus]

That interview is all happening before she's had a chance to talk to anybody else. So that's really your best information?

[Deborah Roberts]

I couldn't figure out a way to change, you know, I couldn't get them out of the house. I couldn't leave the house.

[Detective McCamus]

Okay.

[Deborah Roberts]

I think I snapped. You said I couldn't figure out a way to change. I couldn't get them out of the house. I couldn't leave the house. I think I snapped. I really do. I just lost it. I don't remember that. Is that what happened? I don't know. I don't remember that. You don't remember saying that? You said you hated your life. So have you just decided not to remember? No, I don't remember. It started with mom because she just wanted to find some way to make it simpler.

[Detective McCamus]

And the reasoning to get rid of your dad. Tell me why for him, and then tell me why for Sean. Why did you guys want to get rid of those two?

[Deborah Roberts]

Dad was basically a drain on her, on us. Money. He had no concept of money. He would always be out partying, always be out Sean. And we argued on a lot because I still think we could have put him in, like, assisted living, but she wanted him out.

[Detective McCamus]

So clearly Diane is the ringleader here. But I think it's extraordinary that she draws her daughter in to this plot and that Rachel goes along with it. So when did the plan to kill Sarah come about?

[Deborah Roberts]

May. June.

[Detective McCamus]

May or June. And so why was it decided to.

[Deborah Roberts]

Kill Sarah other than the fact that she basically lived in the back bedroom and didn't, like, have any gumption to get a job? I'm not certain. Mom probably has her own issues with her.

[Detective McCamus]

What about you?

[Deborah Roberts]

She's annoying, yes, But I don't know. Unbelievable motives. And she vocalized them. She said these things.

[Detective McCamus]

And what did you guys finally decide upon on how you were gonna kill them? You poisoned. I know you said that, but what. How were you guys going to poison them to kill them?

[Deborah Roberts]

Mom decided on antifreeze.

[Detective McCamus]

Antifreeze. And why was antifreeze decided?

[Deborah Roberts]

Because, in general, you could put it in something and you couldn't taste it. The chemical that we're talking about is ethylene glycol, which is the alcohol component in antifreeze. And when we metabolize ethylene glycol, our body will eventually turn that into a couple of very dangerous elements. Antifreeze that attack organs of the body. They slice and dice where they land. They're really bad for you. You do not want to drink antifreeze.

[Detective McCamus]

Would you put the antifreeze in the drinks whenever you gave them to your dad, or would you. Or how would that go?

[Deborah Roberts]

She would mix them and then just pass them out.

[Detective McCamus]

So if the tops were already unscrewed, that's how you knew not to drink them.

[Deborah Roberts]

Women are far more likely than men to use poison. Women tend not to use overtly violent guns, knives, bludgeoning to kill.

[Detective McCamus]

How much, though, did it. Did it take to. Were you put it in Cokes for him also, or what did you put it in for him?

[Deborah Roberts]

Gatorade.

[Detective McCamus]

Okay, so you put it in Mark's Gatorade, and was it Cokes for both Sean and Sarah. Okay, and when did Mark start to get sick?

[Deborah Roberts]

He got sick on Friday.

[Detective McCamus]

Okay, and when. When did he die?

[Deborah Roberts]

On Sunday.

[Detective McCamus]

I think. They knew what kind of poison they wanted. They knew what they wanted the poison to do, and they knew that they didn't want the poison detected. And you say you expected the antifreeze after they drank it, that it would be quick and it would kill them right away. Were you surprised when it took a while? Is that why you continued to give them more?

[Deborah Roberts]

Because I didn't know what else to do.

[Detective McCamus]

Sometimes we say it's easy to take candy from a baby, but it's actually easier to give candy to a. And in this case, it's easy for Diane because her husband, her son, and her daughter trusted her implicitly.

[Deborah Roberts]

For them to witness the demise of three family members who they were poisoning slowly over time. It's not just that they're cold and calculating, but they have become completely immune to the suffering of. Of others. When a poisoner has to be called to the bone because every step of this process, they're planning to kill someone, that's okay with them because the focus is, how do I get away with it? What Rachel tells police next may be the most heinous of all.

[Detective McCamus]

There was a plan that Brianna was going to be killed as well.

[Deborah Roberts]

They were going to kill the little girl as well. What's wrong with these people? At Capella University, learning online doesn't mean learning alone. You'll get support from people who care about your success, like your enrollment specialist who gets to know you and the goals you'd like to achieve. You'll also get a designated academic coach who's with you throughout your entire program. Plus, career coaches are available to help you navigate your professional goals. A different future is closer than you think with Capella University. Learn more At Capella Edu. I'm Ashley Graham, and as a parent, I know the back to school transition can be a lot when it comes to wellness. Ollie supports me and my family through it all. Kids, multi is big in my house. It supports your immune system and they love to take it. A win, win for everyone. Shop these [e-mail] or retailers nationwide. These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.

[Detective McCamus]

The Staudi case in my career is by far the most shocking case I have ever been a part of.

[Deborah Roberts]

Have you ever woken up and your life is so bad that you can't stand to be in it?

[Detective McCamus]

Are you asking me?

[Deborah Roberts]

Yeah, because that's what I felt like. Okay. When you hear about a case as diabolical as the stouties, you have to ask yourself, how does it all start?

[Detective McCamus]

Music was their outlet. Rachel was a great musician, very talented singer. Rachel played in the church for almost two years. They were two peas in a pot. They were mother and daughter team. Out of all the kids, you know, Rachel was the closest to her. And they definitely had a, you know, a relationship that was tighter than any other person in that family. They were very close, mother and daughter, and I think that they became alliances to each other. During my interview with Diane, especially when we were talking about Rachel, I just got this really odd sense because of the way she would talk about Rachel. She would light up. It was obvious that Rachel was the pet.

[Deborah Roberts]

Did you have a favorite? Not really. A lot of people think I did, but not really. Who was more like you? Rachel. How about Rachel as a child? How was she? She's my first one that actually talked. I really didn't have much problems with her.

[Detective McCamus]

Rachel had discussed with me that they were just kind of like a matched pair. They understood each other, they got each other. And Rachel said that that's why she just wanted it to be her and her mother.

[Deborah Roberts]

There is some kind of psychological chemistry between the two of them that could explain the folie a deux or how the two of them fed each other psychologically into committing this crime together.

[Detective McCamus]

Rachel always looked up to her mother and. And her mother groomed her for this in terms of how she saw her father, in terms of how Diane saw Mark. And so when Diane thinks Rachel is ready to be brought into this to help her out, she does, and Rachel acquiesces. But once that was set in motion, clearly it was a path that. That they could not veer from, that they did not veer from. When were you guys gonna kill Brianna?

[Deborah Roberts]

Sometime after Sarah.

[Detective McCamus]

And how are you gonna do that?

[Deborah Roberts]

Well, she liked root pork. Could easily have gone the same way that we did with the others. We didn't really go into any new ways.

[Detective McCamus]

She had described Brianna as a burden they didn't want around the house. That was her explanation.

[Deborah Roberts]

Four people. They would have killed four people in this house if they could have.

[Detective McCamus]

Correct. Rachel said that her mother was the only one that understood her. They could relate to each other. And it was just going to be those two. I guess the ultimate goal was that it was just going to, you know, she. Rachel was the golden child. I'd like to know why you guys eventually took, you know, when Sarah got so bad. Now, you guys said you thought that she was pretty much dead, but why did you take her to the hospital?

[Deborah Roberts]

I didn't want another one to die in that house.

[Detective McCamus]

And why is that?

[Deborah Roberts]

Because houses are nasty after somebody's died in it. This is really just a different way of saying that guilt is knocking on the back of her brain. Her own culpability, her own responsibility, her own role for their deaths is making it impossible for her to feel comfortable in the house where her crimes occurred. Fortunately for Sarah, she got to the hospital and got treatment just in time to save her life.

[Detective McCamus]

We thought initially she's not going to make it. But then after 24 hours, thankfully, she.

[Deborah Roberts]

Started to get better. Sarah makes a pretty miraculous recovery and a shocking revelation. So you read in her journal. Yes. That Sean had died and that your name was listed, too. The news of murder charges against a church organist and her bright, creative daughter came in June.

[Detective McCamus]

Police reports say Diane and Rachel killed husband and father Mark last April, son and brother Sean last September.

[Deborah Roberts]

Both Diane and Rachel facing numerous charges. First degree murder and assault on Sarah, now in the hospital, seriously ill. As.

[Detective McCamus]

For the youngest daughter of the Stoute family, who is about to enter the sixth grade, church officials inform me she was currently in foster care. Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law. When Diana was charged with murder, it was tough for me to wrap my head around that. It was surreal.

[Deborah Roberts]

We were just totally shocked about that. That does not happen here. That doesn't happen anywhere, does it? This don't make no sense at all.

[Detective McCamus]

Why she would even go that far. If you don't love your husband, divorce him.

[Deborah Roberts]

But to sit there and literally think.

[Detective McCamus]

About how you're going to get rid of your family, I was like, in shock. How could she do that?

[Deborah Roberts]

What was the reason?

[Detective McCamus]

Why would you kill your own husband.

[Deborah Roberts]

Your own son, and attempt to kill.

[Detective McCamus]

Your own daughter with the help of your other daughter?

[Deborah Roberts]

That's incredible.

[Detective McCamus]

I was sitting in the audience. Rachel and Diane were brought in. She never looked at me, either one. Diane or Rachel?

[Deborah Roberts]

Diane and Rachel plead not guilty for first degree murder.

[Detective McCamus]

Sarah was in really bad shape. Doctors and everybody else, they thought that Sarah was going to die. And it was, it was miraculous that she survived.

[Deborah Roberts]

Sarah fortunately survived, but she will never be the same. She suffered a lot of brain damage because of the antifreeze and organ damage. She had to start from scratch, learning how to do the most basic things. It is a miracle that Sarah survived. But how will the poisoning impact her in the long term? I Met Sarah in 2016 while she was still recovering, living in an assisted living facility. It was the first time she had ever spoken publicly about how she survived a vicious poisoning at the hands of her mom. What were you feeling in that hospital bed when you woke up? I just couldn't move. I was bedridden.

[Detective McCamus]

Clearly, the ethylene glycol and the antifreeze, when it's metabolized, it creates an acid that has fairly significant effects, obviously on the kidneys, on the brain.

[Deborah Roberts]

In fact, Sarah had a brain bleed. Sarah had to relearn to walk. Now she's reliant on full time, round the clock care. It's just heartbreaking. Did you think you would live? No. But I had this will to live. I did not want to die at a young age. And I thought that my mom was going to kill me after my dad and brother died. You thought your mom was going to kill you because she had this journal that she wrote. She wrote, like, deaths of Sean, my brother and me. So you read in her journal? Yes. That Sean had died and that your name was listed too? Yes. And what did you think when you read that? I was worried because I don't want to die. Did you say anything to her? She told me, you're not gonna die. Did she explain what this was all about in the journal? No, she just told me. Don't read it.

[Detective McCamus]

Throughout the investigation, there was talk that Sarah had knowledge of the events that were taking place.

[Deborah Roberts]

And.

[Detective McCamus]

It'S hard to say exactly how much that Sarah did know.

[Deborah Roberts]

How about your mom and your sister Rachel? Do you still consider them family? Not anymore. I just don't consider them people. I consider them as killers who hate me. And what would you have somebody say to Rachel and to your mom? I just felt like I want to Slap both of them and calling them B words. Sarah said, after learning what had happened, that she wanted to slap you. She wanted to call you a certain word. That she was very, very hurt and angry. What do you say to your daughter who is damaged because of this poison? I'm sorry for what she went through, but I'm sorry for what everybody goes through. I'm sorry for what I had to go through. Are you saying that you were poisoned as well? I can't rule it out. Diana's turning it into all about her. It's me, me, me. Sarah wasn't just sick. I was sick, too. I mean, this isn't just deflection. This is really squarely returning to the thing of I'm the victim.

[Detective McCamus]

Diane did not have any appearance whatsoever of being ill during our interviews. Sean, you say he wasn't too much into church?

[Deborah Roberts]

No.

[Detective McCamus]

Neither was Sarah.

[Deborah Roberts]

Not really.

[Detective McCamus]

And she seemed totally cognitive throughout. There was nothing at all to indicate that she was anything other than fine. Were they sinners or.

[Deborah Roberts]

I hate to use that term, you know, Diane, you understand that this sounds like a woman who doesn't want to take responsibility for what she confessed to doing, which is killing her family. That's not what happened. Does your family believe that you're innocent? I don't know about innocent, but I don't think they think that I'm totally guilty. So are you partly guilty? I can't tell you. Her inability to actually answer a question, her inability to show any emotion. It could be a ploy to explain away a psychopathy, an antisocial personality disorder at the very, very basic level. A level of narcissism, which is very consistent with her. So what do you say to Rachel then? I think Rachel doesn't know the whole story. But as the trial draws even closer, it isn't long before one defendant turns on the other. When you have two people, she said, she said, usually someone takes a deal, and it's the first person that takes the deal that gets the lesser sentence. Shopping is hard. I can never find anything in my size. I don't even know my size. I buy my clothes the same place I buy my groceries. There's a better way. Make it easy with Stitch Fix. Just share your size, style, budget, and done. Your personal stylist sends pieces picked just for you. That was easy. Stitch Fix online. Personal styling for everyone. Free shipping and returns. No subscription required. Get started today@stitch fix.com. this episode is brought to you by Progressive Insurance. It's Brad Milke, host of ABC's Daily News podcast.

[Detective McCamus]

Start here.

[Deborah Roberts]

Do you ever think about switching insurance companies to see if you could save some cash? Progressive makes it easy to see if you could save when you bundle your home and auto policies. Try [e-mail] Progressive Casualty Insurance Company and affiliates. Potential savings will vary. Not available in all states. Prosecutors say Rachel and her mother, Diane, used antifreeze to poison her father, Mark, and to poison her brother Shawn. Virtually undetectable in taste, making them sick until their organs failed. The state wanted the death penalty for Diane.

[Detective McCamus]

Diane's case was death penalty eligible just because of the extensive research that she had done in planning it out, the torture that she put them through. What were you putting it in?

[Deborah Roberts]

Coca Cola.

[Detective McCamus]

I felt it was important that she be held responsible. Responsible for what she had done. How much would you put in?

[Deborah Roberts]

Just a little bit. The state wants the death penalty for Diane, but for Rachel, life imprisonment.

[Detective McCamus]

This was Diane's idea. Diane was. Is the one that, you know, has the motivation for doing it. Clearly, in this case, Rachel's the follower.

[Deborah Roberts]

We get word of another hearing, both for Rachel and Diane, and a big announcement is made, is that Rachel has not only pleaded guilty, she pleaded guilty and agreed to testify against her own mother. That was a bombshell. It was always something that, you know, us in the newsroom, we tossed around the idea of, what if Rachel testified against her mom? We always assumed one was going to go against the other. When you have two people, she said. She said, usually someone takes a deal, and it's the first person that takes the deal that gets the lesser sentence. Now that Rachel has pleaded guilty to her role in the crime, she's looking at two life sentences plus 20 years avoiding the death penalty. There's so much evidence against Diane, it doesn't look good for her. She could face the death penalty. She knows her daughter is going to testify against her. So she finally agrees to plead guilty.

[Detective McCamus]

Based upon her plea of guilty to the class a felony of murder in the first degree, she is sentenced to life imprisonment without the possibility of parole in Missouri Department of Corrections.

[Deborah Roberts]

You pleaded guilty to murder. Are you a murderer? No. No. And I didn't plead guilty. I took an offered plea. You took a plea? That's what I was told to do. I was told that it was not considered a guilty plea. So you took a plea? Mm. You acknowledged that you killed your family members. I said what I was told to say. An Alford plea. Which means she is not technically saying, I did this, I am guilty. But she is saying the evidence you have is enough to Convict me of this charge. And I agree that that is the truth.

[Detective McCamus]

We looked across and we weighed all the costs and benefits of whether to continue to seek the death penalty or to accept that plea. Simply made more sense to take the plea. I did not like the Alford plea. I. I personally thought that Diane should have faced the death penalty in this case.

[Deborah Roberts]

Life in prison, no possibility of parole for Diane. She's going to die in prison. It is now Rachel's sentencing. Unlike her mother, she apologizes to her older sister, Sarah. I'm sorry that I couldn't find the courage to stand up for what was right, to go for help to protect you, our siblings. I was scared that being scared is no excuse.

[Detective McCamus]

I sensed a little more remorse, maybe with Rachel than with Diane, but I also noticed a lot of attempted remorse, I guess maybe you could say, with Rachel. There was crying at times, but no tears. She won't be eligible for parole for 42 and a half years around age 65.

[Deborah Roberts]

And I just want to be clear on this. You confess to killing your own family? Yep, to save my family. They were being threatened. Threatened by whom? Somebody. But Diane, many people would say this makes no sense. Lots of things don't make sense.

[Detective McCamus]

She has zero remorse, zero empathy. She doesn't take any responsibility for her actions.

[Deborah Roberts]

She wants to control things, but she. She doesn't seem capable or willing to actually put the story out there herself. It's like pulling teeth to get any kind of answer from her. You've essentially taken responsibility for killing your family. And people would ask you, how is it that you could kill your own family? Your husband, your son, almost your daughter. How does a mother kill her own children? That I can't tell you. We pushed for more than an hour, thinking Diane might finally own up to her crimes. But you did it. No. Then she blew us away, spinning one bizarre alternate theory after another. What is the truth, Diane? Many times throughout our conversation, Diane pointed the finger at some mystery person, saying he or she forced her to falsely confess. I said what I was told to say, but our investigation found no basis for this. Diane never once claimed this in court or reported it to police or anyone else. She also touched on Mark's alleged. But now she's beginning to suggest that he was more involved in the drug trade than anticipated. Mark was with some people that are very dangerous. People have disappeared. You're saying that someone in Mark's world tried to poison him? I was told in jail that Mark had been green lighted. Green lighted? Green lighted.

[Detective McCamus]

Green lighting means that somebody's been authorized to be killed. It means that take the shot, take the person out, they're green lighted. There is nothing whatsoever to show that anybody was involved in this case other than those mentioned already. Diane and Rachel, the ones that killed their family.

[Deborah Roberts]

Who poisoned Shawn and who poisoned Sarah. Sean left a note. So you're saying that Shawn took his own life? Yeah.

[Detective McCamus]

Shawn did not commit suicide. He was murdered. Quite the fairy tale I would say that she has concocted. It really is astonishing.

[Deborah Roberts]

Diane agreed to talk with us to give her side of the story. But her version of events seemed less and less credible. I find everything that she says in in this interview to be incredibly contrived. Very carefully controlled, very well scripted and not forthcoming. Rachel says that you were poisoning and killing your own family. That you might have even poisoned Brianna before it was all over. No. Were you going to? No. How are we supposed to believe that? I don't know. What is the truth, Diane? The truth is out there because this person has recreated their truth in a way that is necessary for self preservation in prison. She may not even be clear in her own mind what the truth is any longer. What about Sarah? Sarah is now living in a group home. She's been permanently injured. This is a fairly recent picture of Sarah. Oh wow, she's gained weight. What do you want to say to her? That I hope she's happy. I'm sorry for what all she's gone through, but I hope she's happy and content. How hard is it to think back on what has happened to you and to think about Rachel and your mom? At this point it's very hard. At the same time I love them and at the same time I hate them. Conflicting emotions? Yes. Do you see yourself at any point forgiving? Yes. I had forgave them for what they did because forgiveness is the right thing to do. I forgive my mom for what she did to me. Will you ever admit to killing your family? No, not like that, no. I will go to my grave. It's just a sad story. I mean, at the end of the day you have a family broken because of why hate. Sarah fortunately survived, but everything that antifreeze did to her, that's lifelong changes. That is the life altering event. She will never be the same. I love this when you pointed out who is who here. That little boy here is my brother Sean. That's. That's me. You're such a cute little girl. What are your fondest memories? Hanging out with your dad. Oh, I love going to concerts with him. Mark Stoute's music may have been more prophetic than poetic. Just listen to the lyrics of his final song, Female Judas. To this day, bandmate Charles Alexander still hearing those haunting lyrics in his head.

[Detective McCamus]

I just wish that I could have helped him.

[Deborah Roberts]

I wish I could have saved him. Who would do that to their family? Why? There's bad relationships everywhere, but you don't destroy your own family. You've been listening to the 2020 True Crime Vault Friday nights at 9 on ABC. You can also find all new broadcast episodes of 2020. Thanks for listening.

[Detective McCamus]

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