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World's Most Evil Killers Season 10 Episode 10
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00:07In June 2013, the church-going Stoudy family from Springfield, Missouri had suffered three
00:15devastating blows. Mark Stoudy and his son Sean had died within months of each other,
00:22and Mark's daughter, 24-year-old Sarah, was now critically ill in hospital.
00:27She was in a deep coma, was not responsive, her kidney shut down, her liver shut down,
00:34but she was very young, so that was very confusing.
00:39When police received a tip about Sarah's mother, Diane Stoudy's strange behavior,
00:45in the wake of all this tragedy, an investigation was launched.
00:50There was definitely suspicion that just kept mounting and mounting,
00:55but at the same time, you don't want to think or believe that something so sinister could be going on.
01:02What was revealed during Stoudy's police interview would leave investigators speechless.
01:16And it turned out Diane Stoudy wasn't acting alone.
01:22How many times did you do it, Rachel?
01:26Three, four times. She would do it, then I would.
01:30In a crime that shocked the whole nation, mother and daughter Diane and Rachel Stoudy
01:37had been unmasked as two of the world's most evil killers.
01:41That's what I did.
01:44That's what I did.
02:01That's what I did.
02:05The End
02:07In January 2016, Diane Stoudy was sentenced to life in prison without parole for the murders of her husband and
02:15son.
02:16Her daughter, Rachel, whom she colluded with, was sentenced to life with the possibility of parole after 39 years.
02:25At the time, Sarah Forhetz was a TV news reporter in Springfield, Missouri.
02:32This type of crime, within not only a family unit, but even larger than that, a community of faith, it's
02:41absolutely unheard of.
02:46The man who cracked the case was Detective Neil McAmus from Springfield Police Department.
02:53Diane Stoudy is a cold-blooded killer.
02:56One by one was eliminating her family members and doing so without any remorse whatsoever.
03:04Diane groomed Rachel to be a willing accomplice in the murder of the entire rest of the family.
03:15Rachel Stoudy is so much like her mother.
03:18Very cunning, very manipulative, very narcissistic.
03:22They are two of the most evil people that I have ever dealt with.
03:30This killer story begins on April 5th, 1962.
03:36Diane Elaine Richter was born in Springfield, Missouri.
03:43Diane is brought up in the Bible Belt in the United States, a strict religious upbringing.
03:52The most proper person you can imagine, until you scratch the surface.
03:58In 1984, Diane Richter met Mark Stoudy when they attended the same college in Winfield, Kansas.
04:06A year later, the 22-year-old fell pregnant.
04:12I can imagine the shock of two people who were raised in very religious families getting pregnant out of wedlock.
04:21It seemed like they genuinely loved each other.
04:25They get married late in 1985.
04:28And indeed, the first child, Sean, the son, is born the following year, 1986.
04:34The Stoudys set up home in Springfield.
04:39Springfield, Missouri is a very big, small town.
04:42There's a church on every corner.
04:44And to a lot of people in this town, church is a very big part of their life.
04:49Mark and Diane Stoudy were married for many years.
04:53It appeared that they had a good life and a good marriage.
04:56They had four children.
04:58Their oldest was their son, Sean, and they had three daughters.
05:02And they were really no different than most families.
05:09Sean had learning difficulties.
05:11He wasn't particularly sociable.
05:14He liked staying indoors.
05:15He liked playing video games and watching videos.
05:20Stoudys' eldest daughter, Sarah, has fond memories of her brother, Sean, when they were children.
05:28He made me laugh when I was little.
05:31Sometimes I would go into his room and hit his light switch.
05:36And that would get him mad.
05:41Sarah was born two years after Sean on August the 10th, 1988.
05:46She went on to major in French at Missouri State University.
05:51I love translating and I love reading French literature.
05:56But most importantly, I like speaking the language.
06:00She had big dreams.
06:02She had big hopes.
06:03She wanted to travel.
06:05I wanted to be a translator.
06:08But life had other plans.
06:13The Stoudys' middle daughter, Rachel, was two years younger than Sarah.
06:19Rachel was also attending Missouri State University and was a very successful student.
06:25She was on the honor roll at the school and was doing very well.
06:29The Stoudy family was complete when their youngest daughter was born.
06:34And to the outside world, they seemed like the perfect family.
06:39They were super involved in the community in music.
06:43And it seems like they enjoyed it together.
06:46It was something that really could bring them together as a family unit.
06:50Diane was the organist at the church.
06:54And Rachel would play instruments and sing.
07:00Diane is a pillar of the community.
07:02She was a nurse and then she became an advisor to an insurance company about medical claims.
07:11Mark Stoudy was pretty much a stay-at-home father.
07:14Diane was the breadwinner in the household.
07:17But Mark would also bring some money in.
07:19And he was the lead singer in a band.
07:23He would play gigs.
07:25He'd write songs.
07:27And he also took care of us kids.
07:30I remember him cooking food for us and taking us to school.
07:37He would comfort me.
07:39As for my mom, she did absolutely nothing.
07:42And the only kid she cared about was Rachel, her favorite.
07:52In the spring of 2012, 61-year-old Mark's health started to decline.
07:59Mark starts getting sick.
08:02Flu-like symptoms.
08:03He's not eating.
08:05He's not sleeping well.
08:10I noticed he was not quite himself.
08:15It's like he's losing coordination.
08:17Getting clumsier each day.
08:20I knew something wasn't right.
08:23Mark's condition deteriorated rapidly.
08:27In April of 2012, officers responded to the Stoudy household.
08:33Diane Stoudy had called in, saying that her husband was unresponsive.
08:37When officers arrived on scene, paramedics were attempting CPR.
08:41But Mark was ultimately declared deceased.
08:46Diane told officers that Mark had been ill for several days prior.
08:50She stated that he had been vomiting.
08:52And she even described him having seizures during the morning of the day he passed.
08:59The only slightly odd thing was that blood was found around his mouth.
09:03But nobody paid a great deal of attention to that.
09:09Mark's death was attributed to natural causes.
09:12No autopsy was performed.
09:14And he was cremated shortly after his passing.
09:18I was sad when he passed.
09:20I bawled my eyes out.
09:25The community of Springfield was saddened by Mark's death.
09:29But it wouldn't be long before the Stoudy family were hit by another tragedy.
09:36And this one would shock everybody.
09:50On April the 8th, 2012, 61-year-old Mark Stoudy had passed away.
09:57His death was sudden and unexpected.
10:00And it had devastated the community in which he'd lived.
10:06After Mark died, I would 100% understand why nobody thought that was suspicious.
10:14He apparently hadn't been feeling well.
10:17His own family had said he doesn't really work out much.
10:20He doesn't eat very well.
10:23So there were a lot of compounding factors.
10:25Friends of the family noticed, however, that Diane Stoudy didn't seem to be mourning the loss of her husband.
10:32But I think that in that moment, you give someone the benefit of a doubt.
10:36You say, you know what, everybody's grief looks different.
10:42Stoudy used the money from Mark's life insurance policy to move the family to a new home in Springfield.
10:51The original home where the Stoudy family lived on West Page is probably best described as a lower middle class
10:58area.
10:59After Mark passed, they moved to a home on West Swans.
11:04It was a significant upgrade for them.
11:06They're in this new home.
11:09They're in a new routine.
11:10All of a sudden, it's life without Mark.
11:14But just five months after Mark passed away, his 26-year-old son, Sean, started experiencing some of the same
11:23flu-like symptoms his dad had felt in the days before his death.
11:30He's not feeling well.
11:32He's losing weight.
11:34The fact that his father had died.
11:36Shirley was also weighing on him.
11:38Now, all of a sudden, he's sick.
11:41On Sunday, September the 2nd, 2012, Diane Stoudy left Sean at home with Sarah while she and Rachel went to
11:51church.
11:53He was suffering.
11:55I did not know what to do.
11:56I was frozen in fear.
12:00I was helpless.
12:02Diane, she had returned home from church, and she went to check on him.
12:07She said she found him curled up almost in the fetal position of the floor of his bedroom.
12:15There was no pulse or signs of life, and she called 911 at that time.
12:21Emergency services responded to the Stoudy house for the second time in five months.
12:27But there was nothing they could do for Sean.
12:33When officers got there, Sean was already declared deceased.
12:38His mother, Diane, had informed them that Sean had been very sick and had experienced seizures leading up to his
12:47illness.
12:49Because of Sean's young age, his body was sent to the medical examiner for an autopsy.
12:57It was determined during that autopsy that there was a lesion on Sean's brain, and he suffered from a seizure
13:04disorder.
13:05And ultimately, that was noted as his cause of death.
13:11Sean was cremated quickly, and the community was left in shock at the awful tragedy that had befallen the Stoudy
13:20family.
13:20It must have been absolutely dreadful.
13:23And for the children living in the house to have that double bereavement coming so fast as well.
13:36Nine months later, in June 2013, with the family and the community still struggling to come to terms with Mark
13:45and Sean's deaths,
13:4724-year-old Sarah's previously good health took a turn for the worse.
13:53I do remember puking and feeling unwell, like I wanted to sleep a lot.
13:59And all of a sudden, there was this period, and I just don't remember at all.
14:04It was like darkness.
14:08Sarah started to really go downhill, and this was a girl who was perfectly healthy before this.
14:15She probably knew something is happening to me.
14:19I think at that point, people must have been looking at the family and thinking,
14:23how can one family have so much bad luck?
14:29Sarah Stoudy had become totally unresponsive, and she was brought to the hospital for treatment.
14:36Sarah's doctor, S.M.L. Cardi, remembers how serious the 24-year-old's condition was
14:43when her mother and sister, Rachel, dropped her off at the hospital.
14:47She was very sick. She was already requiring life support, and her kidney has shut down.
14:54She was very young, so that was really very confusing to me.
14:59The following day, Sarah's condition showed no signs of improvement.
15:04She was in a deep coma, was not responsive.
15:08Her kidney shut down, her liver shut down.
15:11And she was just basically living on life support.
15:15When you're in multi-system organ failure, unfortunately, the chance of you making it is maybe 1%, 2%.
15:22So the odds were against her at that time.
15:27Diane Stoudy returned to the hospital to visit her daughter.
15:32She did not show any interest.
15:35She was talking to the nurse about going to vacation, and how is this going to affect her vacation.
15:42Then later on, during the day, she came to the nurse and saying,
15:45I think she's not going to make it, and let's just withdraw her from life support.
15:49That's when the nurse came back to me and told me that.
15:52I said, I'm not going to give up on a 24-years-old healthy patient.
15:59Legally, Diane had the power to withdraw life support.
16:02So what I did is I avoided meeting with her as much as I can,
16:08because it would have been a big ethical dilemma if she insisted.
16:12We're obligated to just take life support off and let Sarah die.
16:22Dr Elkadi wasn't the only one with concerns.
16:27On June the 11th, 2013, Springfield police were alerted to the deaths in the Stoudy family.
16:39We received a call from a subject that wanted to remain anonymous.
16:45The individual essentially said he was suspicious of some deaths and illnesses in the Stoudy family.
16:55I immediately began researching the deaths of Mark and Sean to see if I could locate any similarities or anything
17:02at all that might seem suspicious or nefarious.
17:07In reviewing photos from the incidents, Mark and Sean had blood around their mouth.
17:13There was definitely suspicion that just kept mounting and mounting,
17:18but at the same time, you don't want to think or believe that something so sinister could be going on.
17:27As the investigation continued, it wasn't long before the anonymous tipster revealed himself to the police.
17:35It was none other than the Stoudy family's church pastor.
17:41This is a pastor who knows his congregation.
17:44He recognizes this family unit, something is breaking down.
17:48This is not normal.
17:50You just don't lose three people in a short time frame for no reason.
17:57He detailed that prior to the incidents, there was nothing alarming, nothing suspicious.
18:02They were just another family that attended church.
18:06When Mark passed, he was very surprised.
18:08He knew that Mark had some health issues, but nothing that would be alarming in terms of an expected passing.
18:17And when Sean passed, he was also extremely surprised about that.
18:22It's a brave thing to call police on just a feeling.
18:29He has no evidence, but he just has this inner sense that something is awry.
18:39After the deaths of Mark and Sean, the pastor told me that he would meet and speak with Diane.
18:45And part of his suspicions was how she reacted during those meetings.
18:49She didn't seem moved, didn't seem bothered, and just seemed completely calm and fine with the deaths that had occurred.
18:59It was when 24-year-old Sarah fell ill that the pastor decided he actually had to act on his
19:06suspicions.
19:08Sarah was a very healthy individual.
19:11There was nothing at all in her life that would have made anyone think that she was sick, especially at
19:18the point of near death.
19:21I made contact with the hospital where Sarah was being cared for.
19:26They did not know what was going on with Sarah, but they said it was a very, very bad situation.
19:33Essentially, her body, her organs, everything had just shut down, and all the tests that they were performing were coming
19:38back negative.
19:40On June the 13th, 2013, Neil went to the hospital to try and find out more information.
19:47As a rule of thumb, when we don't know what's going on, in critical care, we have to always think
19:53about something introduced from outside your body.
19:58Through process of elimination, he said that poisoning was about the only thing left on the table that he could
20:05think of.
20:05Neil questioned Dr. Elkadi about Stoudi's behavior in the hospital.
20:11Everybody knew just how dire Sarah's condition was, and it was not expected that she was going to survive.
20:19And they detailed to me that Diane, she just seemed unconcerned, very calm,
20:24and even had talked with them about taking a trip if Sarah was in the hospital or not.
20:34This is not how a mother should act.
20:37Whether this person is a Christian or not a Christian, this is just not how a mother acts
20:43when one of her daughters is critically ill.
20:52With his suspicions growing stronger by the day, Neil knew it was time to speak to Diane Stoudi.
20:58But was she a grieving wife and mother?
21:01What do you think?
21:02I've been trying to wrap my brains trying to figure out what happened.
21:07Or something far more sinister.
21:16Within the space of 14 months, Diane Stoudi's husband Mark and son Sean had both passed away,
21:24and her eldest daughter Sarah was in a critical condition in hospital and not expected to survive.
21:31Alerted to Diane Stoudi's strange behavior in the wake of all this tragedy,
21:36Detective Neil McAmus had been investigating the Stoudi family.
21:40And with his suspicions of foul play growing, he knew he had to speak to the 51-year-old.
21:50She was cooperative.
21:51She agreed to follow me down to the police station where I did a formal interview with her.
21:59I had no idea what she was going to tell me.
22:01I knew I just had to be very careful because I did not know if I was dealing
22:05with a person that was involved in the deaths or a grieving mother and widow.
22:12Stoudi's behavior immediately raised more red flags.
22:17She just seemed very unconcerned about Sarah's well-being.
22:21I mean, she was just very casual and laid back when talking about what was going on.
22:28And as far as you know, they still don't know anything at the hospital?
22:31No.
22:32Other than whatever happened really did a number on her.
22:37What do you think?
22:38I don't know.
22:40I've been trying to rack my brains trying to figure out what happened.
22:46It was very obvious that she was not going to bring up Mark or Sean without my prodding.
22:52So I asked her about Mark.
22:57And she told me about the situation of Mark's passing.
23:01You know, they tried CPR on him, and they told me that his lungs were just black from the smoke.
23:09Mm-hmm.
23:11You know, he was pretty overweight, and they just said it's a heart attack for sure.
23:19With essentially each passing moment with Diane in the interview room, my suspicions just grew more and more.
23:26And she made a couple statements throughout that I thought, this really is happening.
23:33This is the real deal here.
23:36Do you think there's going to be anything suspicious that we find in all these tests that they're going to
23:41be doing?
23:41I have no clue.
23:43I don't even know what to look for.
23:46If they're looking for some kind of a chemical that she may have taken, I can't think of what it
23:52would be.
23:55In speaking with medical professionals, I knew that they needed to know what kind of poison this situation could be.
24:02So my focus then became on how can I get her to tell me, either directly or indirectly, what kind
24:10of poison we need to look at.
24:13As the interview progressed, she began to open up more.
24:17She discussed the possibility of Sarah drinking antifreeze.
24:25We had been arguing, and she got really mad at me.
24:29And I think she went out in the garage.
24:32And there's an antifreeze out there.
24:37It was at that point where I was fairly certain that this was going to be an antifreeze poisoning case.
24:46Neil decided to push Dowdy a little bit harder.
24:53I knew that Diane was getting closer and closer and closer to a confession.
24:58She had told me that Sarah had been contemplating suicide, and Sarah had discussed with her about taking antifreeze to
25:07kill herself.
25:10And that was where I really went in on her and confronted her.
25:17Diane, you knew that they were drinking antifreeze because you were giving it to them.
25:23Yeah.
25:27I didn't know what else to do.
25:31It was a completely surreal feeling.
25:33I mean, my heart was pounding, you know, my pulse was through the roof.
25:38But I knew I can't let Diane see what's going on.
25:42She says it out loud, which is really what was her nail in the coffin.
25:48I mean, had she not said this out loud, I think there would have always been this question as to,
25:53we think something has gone awry here, but we don't actually have the evidence that we need.
25:59Stoudy started to explain her reasons for poisoning her family.
26:04Diane described that she essentially was at wit's end.
26:08She told me she'd gotten to the point in her relationship with Mark that she hated him.
26:14Why didn't you call an ambulance or bring him to the hospital at that point?
26:18Because by then I hated his curse.
26:23She described Sean as a burden and she just was tired of dealing with him.
26:30And then when discussing why she poisoned Sarah, she said that, you know, Sarah had graduated college
26:36and she wasn't getting a job.
26:37She wasn't out looking for work and she was frustrated by that.
26:44This girl was going places and Diane couldn't see it.
26:48All Diane could see was the money.
26:54They would do whatever they wanted to do and never helped support or even contribute.
27:04To hear a mother talk like that was beyond shocking.
27:14Stoudy started talking about her weapon of choice, antifreeze.
27:21Why did you decide that you were going to use antifreeze to do it?
27:24Why not some other means?
27:26Because I read online it was pretty easy to do.
27:30She was just very matter of fact.
27:32She said she would put it in their drinks.
27:34She even told me that at one point Mark wasn't getting sick enough fast enough.
27:39So she started to up the dose for them and even did further research about how much should
27:44she give them to make them pass.
27:50And you say you expected the antifreeze.
27:52It would be quick and it would kill them right away.
27:54Were you surprised when it took a while?
27:57Is that why you continued to give them more?
28:01Because I didn't know what else to do.
28:04It was not a quick and immediate passing by any stretch and knowing that she was doing
28:09nothing to give them help.
28:12It was tortuous what each one of them went through.
28:19It's a slow and painful death.
28:22And I almost think it actually helped justify in her mind the whole process.
28:28Like, oh, look how sick he's getting.
28:31He's never going to be able to recover.
28:33It's like she almost was talking herself into the ultimate outcome.
28:40Neil pushed Dowdy for a motive for the murders.
28:44She tried to portray herself as a victim.
28:48She had mentioned to me about possible domestic violence between her and Mark.
28:55There was never any evidence of that located.
28:58I think that was just a way of Diane trying to get sympathy and somehow, as crazy as it sounds,
29:04to justify what she did.
29:08She's basically playing God.
29:11People are not supposed to do that.
29:17That's murder.
29:23I wanted to know if it was more to that.
29:26Was there financial motivation?
29:29Diane admitted to me that she did have life insurance policies on all of the family members.
29:35But she was very adamant that money had nothing to do with it.
29:40I don't know if that was the primary reason in Diane doing what she did.
29:45But with the passing of each one, she ended up moving into a new home.
29:49She got a new car.
29:50And then there was discussion about her taking a big vacation after Sarah died.
30:00I don't know how there's any price on one of your own children's lives.
30:07In what world?
30:09With Sarah still in a critical condition, Neil immediately contacted her doctors with the
30:16news that Stoudy had confessed to poisoning her own daughter with antifreeze.
30:21The antifreeze is ethylene glycol, and that goes inside your body and change into an acid.
30:28Can you imagine having acid in your body that basically will just eat your organs alive?
30:33Our organs have to have a certain pH.
30:36When that pH goes down, the cells will die.
30:46Back in the interview room, Neil was starting to get the feeling that Stoudy's middle daughter,
30:5322-year-old Rachel, may also be involved.
30:59Their relationship had a total different dynamic than Diane and the rest of the family.
31:05I confronted Diane about that, and she was very, very adamant that Rachel had absolutely
31:11nothing to do with it.
31:12What did Rachel say about all this?
31:14She really hasn't said that much.
31:18What's her involvement?
31:20She doesn't know a thing.
31:24On June the 20th, 2013, Diane Stoudy was arrested, but officers searching the family home were about
31:32to blow her story about Rachel wide open.
31:37I was contacted by crime scene processors, and they told me that they wanted to show me
31:43a journal that was found in Diane's room.
31:47The journal was actually Rachel's journal, where she had written that she knew that both
31:55her father and Sean were going to die.
31:59The journal really took another huge twist in the case, and so I knew I had to get Rachel
32:07in the interview room as quickly as possible.
32:14The following day, Rachel Stoudy agreed to come down to the police station to be interviewed.
32:20Get some water.
32:21Are you okay?
32:22Do you need anything else?
32:24She started to describe her disbelief at what had happened and how upset she was.
32:32Once you found out yesterday about what your mom did, what do you think about that?
32:37Confusion.
32:39Shock.
32:39Nobody expects to have somebody that they know do that.
32:47A bit scared of who would be next.
32:52Rachel was highly intelligent, but she really was not good at acting.
32:56It was very obvious that she was not nearly as upset as what she was trying to portray herself.
33:03Did you ever have any suspicions about anything when your dad and brother and sister got sick?
33:08It makes sense now, but God, I didn't even think about that.
33:14I was of the firm belief that she was involved.
33:19How did Sarah's illness come about?
33:22It was very, very sudden.
33:24And what were you thinking at that point?
33:29Oh, God, another one.
33:33Okay.
33:37When Neil told Rachel that he'd read her diaries, it didn't take long for her to start talking.
33:45Do you recognize this?
33:50Yeah, I remember this.
33:52Okay.
33:53What is that?
33:54A little journal thing.
33:56A journal thing?
33:56Whose journal?
33:57Mine.
34:00Initially, Rachel tried to minimize her involvement.
34:03I didn't know when she bought the antifreeze, but I knew she'd been doctoring drinks.
34:11I continued to prod at her and confront her with additional details, and it was then that
34:18Rachel admitted to being an active and willing participant in the entire scheme.
34:28She planned this with Diane, and that she was also serving drinks to the victims right alongside
34:34Diane.
34:36How often did you do that?
34:38Once.
34:39Only once?
34:42How many times did you do it, Rachel?
34:45Three, four times.
34:48It was a trade-off.
34:49She would do it, and I would.
34:54Detective Neil McAimis had uncovered a murder plot so bizarre, it almost didn't seem real.
35:01A mother and daughter working together to systematically eliminate their family members one after another.
35:08But with their scheme now exposed, and all trusts seemingly gone, would their special bond
35:14withstand, or would one of them turn on the other?
35:27In June 2013, 51-year-old Diane Stoudy had confessed to killing her husband and son and attempting
35:35to kill her eldest daughter by poisoning their drinks with antifreeze.
35:40In a shocking turn of events, another of Stoudy's daughters, Rachel, had admitted to helping
35:45her mother with the murderous plot.
35:54When did you guys come up with this plan?
35:56I'd had a lot of really bad dreams about them dying.
35:59I talked to mom about it, and she mentioned she was thinking of hurting them.
36:09Over several months, they researched and talked and discussed and planned on how to carry out
36:17their ideas.
36:21Basically, I went through different options.
36:24I was trying to find things that wouldn't be traceable, or at least would be hard to trace
36:29if you didn't know what you were looking for.
36:32Why was antifreeze decided?
36:34Because in general, you could put it in something and couldn't taste it.
36:38She was detailing how the ultimate goal for her and Diane was to just ride off together.
36:45Rachel was, without a doubt, a willing participant in this, and was just as evil as what Diane was.
36:55On June 21st, 2013, just a day after her mother, Rachel Stoudy was also placed under arrest
37:03and taken into custody.
37:06After I arrested Rachel, her belongings were searched, and she had a purse with her.
37:11And inside that purse was another one of her journals.
37:18She had written a poem, and it said,
37:21Once upon a time there were six.
37:23Now there are only three.
37:25Only the quiet ones will be left.
37:28My mom, my little sister, and me.
37:33With Rachel Stoudy's confession fresh in his mind,
37:37Neil went back to talk with her mother behind bars.
37:42When I told Diane that Rachel had confessed and was arrested,
37:46that was when Diane finally started to tell me bits and pieces about Rachel's involvement
37:51and how they did conspire together to commit the murders.
37:56There was one detail that was bothering Neil.
38:00I asked Diane,
38:01Why did you let the others die in the house, but you took Sarah to the hospital?
38:04And she just matter-of-factly told me that I didn't want to have another person
38:09that died in the house, that it was, you know, kind of a weird vibe.
38:13Diane and Rachel carried Sarah to the car and drove Sarah there to the hospital
38:19and dropped her off, believing that she was going to die at the hospital.
38:24But the Stoudys underestimated what a fighter Sarah was,
38:29and against all the odds, the 24-year-old's condition started to improve.
38:35She was in a coma for three days,
38:37and then day four we start waking her up, stopping the sedation,
38:42and I was so excited to see her opening her eyes and looking at us.
38:47That was the best moment.
38:49To remember, I couldn't move.
38:52I felt like I was paralyzed, and I thought that I went to heaven.
38:56But then I realized angels don't wear scrubs.
39:02She was extremely weak, and there was some damage to the brain,
39:05and the brain cells, when they are damaged, they don't recover completely.
39:09And I figured that this is going to be a very long journey.
39:13I seriously admire the nurses in that room, the doctor in that room,
39:18the pastor who was willing to call police and say something isn't right,
39:22because Sarah would be dead.
39:25There's no question about it.
39:26She would not have survived to tell about it.
39:29Despite the Stoudys' confessions,
39:32Neil knew he still had to find more evidence of their crimes.
39:36He hoped Sarah's medical tests for antifreeze would yield some results.
39:42The results came back negative.
39:44When we send the blood for antifreeze,
39:46it was already metabolized and not in her blood anymore.
39:50It was undetected.
39:51But there was still one more avenue Neil could explore.
39:55During Sean's autopsy, samples were taken from his brain,
40:00and those samples had been retained by the medical examiner.
40:05It was discovered that Sean did, in fact,
40:08have antifreeze crystals on his brain.
40:11It was obviously huge.
40:13It was hard evidence for us.
40:15The news of Diane and Rachel Stoudys' arrest
40:19shook the community of Springfield, Missouri to its core.
40:23At the time, I was with KYTV News.
40:27This was just the craziest story to be a reporter on
40:31because it kept getting more and more unbelievable by the day.
40:37And this community was not prepared
40:40for that level of evil in a murder.
40:46Despite her initial prognosis,
40:49Sarah's recovery continued at the hospital.
40:54Weeks later, I was piecing things together of what happened,
40:58and I found out I was poisoned.
41:04It was so awful.
41:12On June 24th, 2013,
41:15both Diane and Rachel Stoudy
41:18were arraigned at the Green County Circuit Court
41:21in Springfield, Missouri.
41:23They were charged with two counts of first-degree murder,
41:28one count of first-degree assault,
41:30and armed criminal action.
41:32I mean, the prosecutor in the case
41:34talked about the level of premeditation,
41:36and I think that you see that level of premeditation
41:39long before they were even doing internet searches
41:42on antifreeze.
41:44I think the premeditation started with planting
41:47in Rachel's head that the rest of the family members
41:50were just burdens.
41:52These people aren't contributing anything.
41:55These people are just dragging us down.
41:58Our life would be better off without them.
42:02On May 5th, 2015,
42:05Rachel Stoudy pled guilty to second-degree murder,
42:09first-degree assault,
42:10and armed criminal action.
42:12In return for the lesser charge of second-degree murder,
42:16Rachel agreed to testify against her mother.
42:23The deal that she was offered based on that
42:26would give Rachel the chance
42:28after many decades of being eligible for parole.
42:31Perhaps she's realizing,
42:34this woman has not protected me.
42:36Why should I protect her?
42:38She was essentially given a life sentence,
42:40but she will be eligible for parole when she turns 65.
42:46The following year, on January 21st, 2016,
42:51it was Diane Stoudy's turn in court.
42:54Diane's case was a death penalty case.
42:57It was going to go to trial
42:59until Diane decided to take a plea deal
43:02that would take the death penalty off the table,
43:04and she agreed to plead guilty
43:07and face life in prison without parole.
43:11So she takes the Ulford plea,
43:13which is to say,
43:14I recognize that there's enough evidence
43:17to say that I did this thing,
43:19but yet I'm not going to admit it.
43:22I'm not going to take responsibility for it.
43:24I'm not going to apologize for it.
43:27I'm just going to concede
43:29that you have enough to charge me.
43:32Diane's guilty plea meant that Rachel
43:34was no longer required
43:36to testify against her mother in court.
43:39I don't think Diane suffered a day's guilt,
43:44shame, or remorse for what she did.
43:48It's always been about her,
43:50and it will still be all about her.
43:54Judge Holden did not hold any punches
43:57when he was saying this was cold,
43:59this was calculated,
44:00this was betrayal at the deepest level.
44:03This is a mother,
44:05a mother betraying her children like this.
44:11Against all the odds,
44:14Sarah Stoudy survived the attempt on her life
44:17and, in a move that surprised everyone,
44:20chose to forgive her mother and sister.
44:23I forgive them.
44:25I just don't want them in my life right now.
44:30Sarah's condition,
44:31what she sustained from the poisoning
44:33and the brain damage,
44:34she will unfortunately have to live
44:37in an assisted living facility
44:39for the rest of her life.
44:41I miss being independent.
44:43I wish I could get my independence back.
44:47Sarah is serving her own life sentence.
44:50She's no longer able to pursue
44:52all of the hopes and the dreams
44:54that she had in front of her
44:56because of the damage
44:57that this poison did to her brain.
45:01I hope she's happy.
45:02I think life is life.
45:04I am glad that her life was saved.
45:07I was angry at first,
45:09but now I'm at peace.
45:10I'm not going to let them stop me
45:13from following my dreams.
45:15I am a strong person.
45:19I'm glad to be alive.
45:25Diane and Rachel Stoudy
45:27murdered two of their family members
45:29in the space of just five months.
45:31And had it not been
45:32for the brave intervention of doctors
45:34and the family's own church pastor,
45:37Sarah Stoudy,
45:38would also surely have died.
45:40This mother and daughter murder team's crimes
45:43will go down in history
45:45and seals Diane and Rachel Stoudy's place
45:48as two of the world's most evil killers.
46:16You
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