Nikki Wassolichen (36:52)
Now that you've heard it for yourself, I want to share my thoughts. Number one, he completely changes his story again. Earlier, Russell had claimed that there might have been a struggle. In his interview, he swings back and forth, first insisting that there wasn't a struggle, then saying that maybe there was, then saying it was just his own struggle inside his head. He even admits, I know I told you guys of this fight. I really don't think maybe it did or did not happen. That's the point of darkness for me. So what is it, Russell? No one forgets if they physically fought someone for their life, that's not a memory lapse, that's a lie. Number two, the absurd claim of premeditation by my mom. Russell actually tries to paint my mom as having premeditated his murder. And he says she dug his.44 Magnum out from underclothes on the closet shelf and came out with it. He tells detectives, I can't forgive her for wanting to kill me. This Is the same man who admitted in a prior walkthrough that he picked the gun up, put it away, then put it back. Now suddenly it's her plan and he's the victim. He's not just lying, he's rewriting her entire personality to fit his narrative. Number three, his she told me she was gonna kill me line is straight out of a script. He insists the last words my mom ever said were Russell, I'm gonna kill you. That's convenient, isn't it? It's a built in defense, a one liner to frame her as the aggressor. But detectives had already told him the forensic evidence showed otherwise, that my mom was in a defensive posture when she was shot, pushing the gun away. Number four, the contradictions about how she fell. He tells detectives, I saw her legs buckle. She just went limp. Then seconds later admits he couldn't actually see her hands in the dark room. At other times, he claims she fell forward into a fetal position. Now she's on her back. His story changes every time, and the detectives call him on it. His rambling monologues are rehearsed deflections instead of clear answers. He goes off on tangents about her unstable background, their relationship and his career plans. He talks about being accepted to culinary school, the expensive knives he just bought, and how his gains were her losses. He wants the detectives, and now us, to see him as a successful, sympathetic man with a dream and not the man who pulled the trigger. Number six, he actually explains away my sister's words. Russell admits my little sister saw him pick up the gun, move it, put it back down. He tells detectives, what else is she going to think? But my dad shot my mom. This is chilling. He knew exactly what she said after the murder. Poppy killed mommy. Poppy killed mommy. Poppy killed mommy. And here he is trying to explain it away like it was a misunderstanding instead of the truth. Number seven. They lay it out clearly in this interview. The reenactment proved my mom physically could not have fired the gun at that angle. The medical examiner confirmed she was in a defensive posture. Gunshot residue tests were inconclusive only because Russell admitted to handling the weapon. And what does Russell say when confronted with this science? I can't explain it. He shuts it down when the pressure builds. As soon as detectives push too hard, Russell pulls the classic I need to go back to work excuse. He says, it's a Friday. I've got a lot of stuff to do. I'd truly choose to leave. And they let him walk out just like that. Number nine. The Polygraph and the reenactment he canceled. Detectives point out the elephant in the room. He had agreed to a polygraph and a scene reenactment and canceled both. They tell him directly that his cooperation stopped when things got serious, leaving them with real doubts. And yet nothing came of it. My thoughts listening to this final interview is infuriating. Russell's story shifts with every telling. He creates a convenient villain out of my mom, a woman forensic evidence shows was fighting for her life. He rambles to distract, drops self serving details to look like a victim, and when pinned down, he suddenly can't remember. He moves the gun, contaminates the scene, and then blames my 3 year old sister's words on her imagination. And despite detectives telling him to his face that the evidence didn't match his story, despite the contradictions and his refusal to take a polygraph, he walked away free, never questioned again. And that was September 3rd, 1993. Moving on with the timeline. Six weeks after that last interview, on October 14th, 1993, Russell Peterson contacted investigators and provided them with his current telephone number. How convenient. The next day, on October 15, 1993, as requested, Mr. Peterson dropped off a copy of his July telephone bill. 98 days later, it was not subpoenaed. It was voluntarily dropped off by the suspect by request of the detective. 98 days after the altercation, the phone bill showed a call at 1:36am giving him at least three minutes to stage the crime scene before dialing 911. Once again, I want to tell you that call was never investigated. Four days later, on October 20, 1993, investigators met with the county attorney, Chuck Hastings. They reviewed the investigation and after discussing the case, Mr. Hastings suggested to investigators that they contact a psychologist and review Mr. Peterson's statements with them and ask for an opinion. The investigator with the Yavapai County Attorney's Office, Gary Cevaro, advised that he would make the contact. Mr. Hastings advised that if no new information was revealed after the review of the psychologist, he would consider the investigation complete and make a charging decision. At that time, as far as I can find going through my mother's case file, this evaluation was never conducted. A psychologist was never contacted to go over Russell Bennett Peterson's statements in 1993. On November 9, 1993, three weeks after the Sedona Police Department obtained that phone bill from Russell Peterson, and 20 days after the Yavapai county requested a psychological evaluation, the Yavapai county released a statement summarizing my mother's case as having insufficient evidence. To prosecute, the statement reads. As such, I have now had the opportunity to review both reports together with the interview transcripts, including four separate interviews of the suspect. While there are inconsistencies in the suspect stories, the inconsistencies together with all of the other evidence, still does not amount to sufficient evidence to prosecute. The suspect goes back and forth between whether there was a struggle or whether it was suicide. The physical evidence, however, does not clearly support either one of his stories to the exclusion of the other. The suspect's confusion over the facts could be the result of trauma and or wishful thinking. It is true that the suspect ultimately revoked his offer to take a polygraph and cooperate in the scene reconstruction. His four interviews, coupled with the consent search of his house make him a far more cooperative than uncooperative suspect. In summary, there appears to be insufficient evidence at this time even to present the case to a grand jury. My recommendation is to decline to prosecute at this time based upon the available evidence. Signed, Yavapai County Attorney Jim Landis. I then found a report canceling tests on the weapon. Nine days later, on November 18, 1993, scientific examinations were canceled on the weapon. Per Lt. Schmidt, the request for examination has been withdrawn at this time. This is another part that I've had a hard time with because the county attorney is asking for more evidence, but they are quite literally canceling examinations on the evidence that never made any sense to me. By December 8, 1993, the Sedona Police Department and the Yavapai County Attorney's office. We're done investigating. I have a report dated for this day to Chief Bob Irish from the Yavapai County Attorney Charles Hastings. It states as such, enclosed is a copy of a memo for my chief, Jim Landis, which is the basis for our decision to decline prosecution of Russell Peterson at this time. I want to point out that I do not have a copy of that memo, just an office communication dated for December 8 stating that there was a memoir. And poof, just like that, the investigation was over. Nothing really moved on my mom's case again for years. And I close out 1993 with the next memory I have of seeing my sister. And that was Christmas 1993. My aunt and my grandma did their best to make it a magical holiday like usual. But the magic was gone without my mom. I was forced into some ugly printed green two piece number and my sister arrived in a hot pink tracksuit. I remember thinking my mom would never have dressed her like that for a Christmas event. We opened presents and got to spend a few hours together. But not alone. I won't have a chance to be alone with my sister again until summer 1994. The next time I see her is for the big Disneyland trip, a year later than planned. The trip we were supposed to go on with my mom, Aunt Wendy ended up taking us in the summer of 94, a year after her death. There, my sister tells me a different story. In that moment, everything shifted. The words that had been her truth, Poppy killed Mommy. Were suddenly replaced with the version I had never imagined hearing Mommy killed herself. Next week, I'll take you into one of the most devastating moments of my life. The first time I was finally alone with my little sister after our mother's death in the squad car, she told me, poppy killed Mommy. She told every police officer, every social worker, every adult who would listen. But one year later, on the long awaited trip to Disneyland, those words were gone, replaced with something I never expected to hear. Mommy killed herself. What happened in that year? How did my sister's story change so drastically and why? Join me for the next episode of Poppy Killed Mommy as I revisit the summer of 94, the cracks in my sister's memory, and the decade that followed before she finally ran away from Russell Peterson and found her way back to me. Thank you so much for listening to Poppy Killed Mommy. This podcast is completely independent. Just me, no production team, no corporate backing, fighting to bring my mom's story to light one episode at a time. If you'd like to support this journey and help me share her case at CrimeCon this September, please consider donating to the GoFundMe. The link is in the episode notes. There's also a Support the show button at the bottom of the show notes where you can support the show monthly. A big shout out and thank you to the newest supporters of the show, Erica, Bethany and another Tiffany. You can also follow me on TikTok and Instagram ikolewassolishion for updates and behind the scenes content. I am always posting and if you or anyone has information about the death of my mother, Stacy Wassolichen, please contact the Sedona Police Department at 928-2823 100 and as always, I'll keep telling this story until there is no more story left to tell or no more breath in my body. Thank you for listening.
