Photo: Office of the Florida State Attorney 18th Judicial Circuit
Two Florida high school students accused of plotting to kill a classmate in what prosecutors describe as a "blood ritual" will remain in jail without bond after a judge reviewed patrol car footage showing them laughing about the alleged plan following their arrest.
Isabelle Valdez, 15, and Lois Lippert, 14, both students at Lake Brantley High School in Altamonte Springs, were arrested in late January after authorities investigated an anonymous tip submitted to the app FortifyFl. Both teens have been charged as adults with attempted premeditated murder, attempted felony murder, and other counts.
The tipster reported on January 22 that Valdez had discussed plans to kill "somebody we know from school" the following day, according to police reports. A search of Valdez's backpack on January 23 uncovered a knife, which she allegedly admitted planning to use to cut the victim's throat or stab him in the stomach while in a school bathroom.
Prosecutors stated in court filings that the victim reportedly reminded Valdez of Adam Lanza, the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooter. "She believed if she killed the victim, she would have a blood bond with Adam Lanza, which would resurrect him from the dead," prosecutors wrote. Prosecutors told the court the girls planned to slit the victim's throat and drink his blood.
Lippert allegedly supplied gloves, chocolate, flowers, and cigarettes and helped sharpen the knife in a school bathroom in support of the murder plot. She also drew "graphic and disturbing" sketches of the victim for Valdez, according to prosecutors.
During Wednesday's bond hearing, prosecutors presented patrol vehicle footage from January 23 that captured the teens' conversation following their arrest. In the video released by the Office of State Attorney for the 18th Circuit, both teens can be heard complaining about the "snitch" who submitted the anonymous tip, discussing sharpening the knife, and mentioning school shooters. The two laugh throughout the ride.
Prosecutors argued the patrol car footage demonstrated "the threat they pose," showing them "laughing while discussing bringing a knife and other supplies to school to carry out the murder in a restroom where they sharpened and tested the knife," the state attorney's office said in a Thursday statement. The footage also confirmed their fascination with Sandy Hook Elementary School shooter Adam Lanza and Columbine High School shooters Dylan Klebold and Eric Harris.
The judge granted the state's motion for pre-trial detention while denying the defense motion to set bond. During the hearing, Lippert's parents took the stand, attempting to convince the judge they could supervise their daughter at home. However, the judge determined the video evidence made it too risky to release either teen.
Both teens have pleaded not guilty to their charges. They are being charged as adults "to give the justice system more options to incarcerate and control the defendants long-term than are available in the juvenile justice system," the state attorney's office said.