Deadly American Beauty (St. Martin's True Crime Library)

by John Glatt

  Noting that Judge Thompson’s gag order was still in effect, so none of the attorneys involved could answer the question, Rother had interviewed Kristin’s first attorney, Gretchen von Helms, who said that prosecutors may have offered Kristin a plea bargain at the beginning in exchange for implicating her lover, but before von Helms could discuss it with her client, she had been replaced by public defenders Loebig and Eriksen.

  “I couldn’t be the only one they made the offer to,” she reasoned.

  While Kristin Rossum spent the long weekend with her family at a San Diego hotel, prosecutors were confident they’d get a conviction. Dave Hendren expected the jury to take up to two weeks to come to a decision, as there was so much evidence to absorb.

  “Before it came to trial,” said Hendren, “Dan and I talked about the fact that it could take a jury a significant period of time to make their determination. But there’s always a certain level of anxiety from the time the jury goes out.”

  Soon after they returned to court on the morning of Tuesday, November 12, which would have been Greg de Villers’ 29th birthday, the foreperson sent word that they had reached a verdict. Immediately, the Rossum and de Villers families took their places on opposite sides of the public gallery.

  At the defense table, Kristin Rossum, dressed in a white V-neck shirt with her long blonde hair tied back, waited for the decision which could send her to jail for the rest of her life.

  Then Judge Thompson entered his courtroom and called in the jury.

  “Mr. Foreperson,” he said, “has the jury reached a verdict?”

  The foreperson said they had, handing it to the court bailiff to read out.

  “In the matter of the State of California versus Kristin Rossum, we, the jury in the above-entitled case, find the defendant guilty of the crime of murder, in violation of penal code section 187 as charged in count one, fixing the degree thereof as murder in the first.

  “We further find that in the commission of this offense, the Defendant did intentionally kill Greg de Villers by administration of poison, within the meaning of penal code section 190.2 (A) (19).”

  As she heard the guilty verdict, Kristin Rossum began shaking her head in disbelief and gasping for air. She started weeping softly. Her father, sitting two rows behind her, hung his head and stared at the floor of the courtroom, wiping his brow with a shaky hand. Constance Rossum just looked exhausted, her face not registering any emotion. Sitting across the aisle, Marie de Villers and her two surviving sons held hands, bowing their heads as they heard the verdict.

  Then Judge Thompson asked the jurors one-by-one if this was their verdict, and they all said, “Yes.”

  After thanking the jury, and warning them not to talk to the press for compensation for ninety days, he thanked them for their public service and dismissed them.

  As the jury filed out, Kristin stood up, but her legs appeared to give way. She buckled, grabbing the defense table for support, as a bailiff helped her sit down.

  Judge Thompson then revoked Kristin’s bail, remanding her to be held at Las Colinas Women’s Detention Facility until sentencing. She was then handcuffed and led out of the courtroom by bailiffs, as she turned around and stared imploringly at her parents.

  Sentencing would come a month later, but she and her parents were well aware that her crime carried a mandatory sentence of life without parole.

  Four days later, Michael Robertson gave an interview to Melbourne’s Sunday Herald Sun reporter Shelley Hodgson, who believed in his innocence. He described the past two years as a “roller-coaster ride,” saying that he lived in fear of spending the rest of his life in an American prison.

  Robertson, who had now found a full-time job in the science field, complained that he had not been given the opportunity to defend himself, and was innocent.

  “I had absolutely no knowledge or participation in the very sad events that led to Greg’s death and, in the end, with Kristin’s conviction,” he said. “It’s like a sad end to two lives.”

  Admitting he was “scared” that San Diego prosecutors would extradite him to stand trial, in which he could face the death penalty, he admitted seeking legal advice in case that happened.

  “That was a fairly scary concept,” he said. “But I was always confident that I would ultimately be exonerated.”

  He even joked that he was now regarded by his friends as a “walking advertisement” for what could go wrong with cheating on your wife.

  “My only regret is that I had an extra-marital affair,” he declared. “But that was my only crime—if that was a crime.”

  He also said that, although he believed in Kristin’s innocence, if she was guilty, she should pay the price.

  “She’s someone I still care for,” he replied when Hodgson asked if he still loved Rossum. “But a lot of damage has taken place through all this.”

  On December 6, one week before she was due to be sentenced, Rossum’s defense team asked for a new trial on a technicality. They claimed that the jury had not been instructed to consider that she did not attempt to flee while she was under investigation or during the nine months she was out on bail. They also asked the judge to remove the allegation that she had used poison to kill her husband.

  Her defense also claimed that saturation media coverage had influenced the jury’s decision.

  “The local media in effect became a large and powerful witness for the prosecution,” read the motion. “Jurors had to have been influenced.”

  Prosecutors quickly responded, filing a motion in San Diego Superior Court that defendants have no rights to an absence-of-flight instruction.

  Six days later, before Judge Thompson passed sentence on Kristin Rossum, he denied her motion for a new trial. Sitting nervously at the defense table in a black pin-striped shirt and handcuffs, Kristin looked drawn and stressed, as she waited to hear the judge hand down her sentence. She would sob continually during the thirty-minute hearing.

  The judge began by stating that he had no alternative, except sentencing her to life without parole.

  Then Alex Loebig read a statement from Ralph and Constance Rossum, who were in court for their daughter’s sentencing.

  “We are horrified by the verdict and sentence,” it said. “Our innocent daughter has been wrongly convicted. We know Kristin did not murder Greg. We understand there are solid grounds for appeal and intend to pursue them vigorously. Keep us all in your prayers.”

  Then Bertrand de Villers stood up to read a statement that his father had written for his former daughter-in-law. Finally the de Villers family would have one public opportunity to tell her what they thought of her. There was a deathly silence in the courtroom, punctuated only by Kristin’s continual sobbing.

  “Kristin,” read Dr. de Villers’ message, “you have totally destroyed so many people: Greg, me and my family, your family and yourself. You show no remorse and ask for no repentance for any of your actions. You cried fake tears for Greg and real tears only for yourself.

  “On the outside you are a smart, beautiful woman. On the inside, you are a lying, calculating, manipulating person that cares only about herself. You either, by yourself or with someone else, murdered my first-born child, a child I delivered myself.

  “My family and I have been nothing but good and tolerant to you. Even though you knew you stole Greg’s family crest and gold necklace, I had the rings remade for you as a wedding present because I knew Greg loved you.

  “Greg did nothing but help you and love you. When he tried to help you get off drugs for a second time, you repaid him in the worst imaginable way. You killed him, and then you lied about it.”

  Bertrand then asked for the opportunity to address the defendant. During his moving statement, Kristin looked up and stared at him. It would be the only time she would make eye contact with any of her former in-laws.

  “Kristin, this is my chance to talk to you,” began Bertrand. “To tell you how you have changed my life forever and express how I feel about
you. Whether you choose to listen to me or not, you will hear what I have to say.”

  Brimming with emotion, Bertrand described her betrayal as the most despicable act imaginable.

  “Like Medea, you wielded your black magic to poison your husband. Your cunning and deceitfulness went undetected by Greg because, in his world, a person as evil as you did not exist.

  “He saved you from the deepest valley of despair and lifted you to the highest peak of success that you will ever attain. When you reached the top, your reward to him was to push him off the cliff when he wasn’t looking.

  “You are an example of the most sinister darkness that exists in the world, and your darkness encroached into my life.

  “Kristin, you are the only person in the world that I hate. I do so with all the strength and all the feeling that I possess within me.”

  Then Jerome stood up to personally tell Kristin the horror he had been through since his brother’s murder.

  “The circumstances of Greg’s death were unbelievable, and had huge emotional and psychological effects on me,” he said in a shaky voice. “The idea that Greg took his own life was unbelievable. I was determined to discover the truth about what happened.

  “For months I spent all of my free time thinking and researching the possibilities. I was angry and obsessed with finding the truth, so much so that I stayed up at night thinking and questioning everything over and over again. At times I could not sleep or I would wake up in the middle of the night. I missed several weeks of work and lost productivity. I would be constantly distracted.

  “I became reclusive and tended towards social avoidance. I did not go out with my friends. I shut people out. I became paranoid that the Rossums were plotting against my family. I worried that someone might harm me, Bert, my mom, or girlfriend. It became hard to trust anyone.

  “Not long after Greg’s death I suspected that Kristin killed [him] or in some way was involved. I want and have always wanted her to tell the truth. It has taken two years to prove this ultimate crime of betrayal in court. This does bring some closure; however, I’m still without my brother.

  “Kristin took Greg from my life and from the world and to date has never shown remorse. My family is still struggling and hurt. I don’t understand why this happened to us. I don’t want this to happen to anyone else. I want justice for Greg and I want Kristin behind bars for the rest of her life. She’s a danger to society.”

  Finally, Greg’s mother slowly rose and put on her glasses to read what she had written about her son’s murder.

  “This has been a very long journey to seek the truth in the murder of Gregory,” she began. “His death brought eternal turmoil in our lives. We were left with conflicting information. We had to find out what happened, and we had faith in the judicial system.

  “Our world crumbled after his death, like after the destruction of the World Trade Center in New York. By an act of terrorism so brutal and unthinkable, she caused damage that cannot be rebuilt. Our beliefs were shattered, our hopes have been torn apart.

  “Greg paid the ultimate price for his goodness, because Kristin Rossum’s poor choices and irresponsible judgments led to his murder. He could not save someone drowning in turbulent waters mainly because this person was only thinking about surviving herself.

  “The images we have of his murder will never leave our minds. We were left with the detailed horrific nightmare of his last hours. Kristin has destroyed our family by destroying the gentleness and goodness Gregory brought to our life. We will be forever shaken by her cold disrespect of life. She played a dangerous game with feelings and perpetually tried to cover up her secrets. Her actions escalated to a killing and the involvement of so many persons being hurt and betrayed.

  “By sentencing Kristin Rossum to the fullest extent of the law, only then justice will be levied. It will not bring back Gregory. We have only memories saved in our mind, deep scars in our heart and severe sadness in the core of our soul.”

  Then, a visibly moved Judge Thompson pronounced sentence, as Rossum slowly stood up to face him.

  “Ms. Rossum,” he said, “it’s the order of the court that you be committed to the Department of Corrections for the remainder of your natural life without the possibility of parole.”

  He also ordered her to pay $10,000 in restitution, refusing a defense motion to set her free on bail, pending appeal.

  Epilogue

  On December 5, 2002, a week before her sentencing, Kristin Rossum was interviewed by a probation officer at Las Colinas Women’s Detention Facility, and was totally unrepentant. Once again she recounted her version of events as she had at her trial. But now she had added a new twist, claiming that she and Greg had had a custom of exchanging roses when one of them was ill. Besides, she stressed, the single rose she had purchased the day he died was a yellow one and not red, like the petals found on his body.

  Asked by the probation officer about her conviction, Rossum vowed to exonerate herself, declaring: “I still can’t believe the jury convicted me. We’re going to keep fighting this.”

  Asked about her future plans, now facing the rest of her natural life behind bars, Rossum said she would take advantage of any available educational opportunities the prison she was sent to offered.

  “It’s hard to think about right now,” she said sadly, adding that if she was freed on appeal, she planned to go to graduate school and get a Ph.D. in analytical chemistry and return to the bio-technical industry.

  “I want to have a family,” she said. “That’s it.”

  Soon after her sentencing, Alex Loebig filed notice of appeal, which would be handled by the appellant branch of the public defender’s office with new attorneys. Loebig said he had no regrets about allowing Rossum to take the stand and testify.

  “She wanted to testify,” he said in February 2003. “I had no reservation about it, because that was really the essence of the defense. We couldn’t prove definitively, or much in any fashion, the potential source of the fentanyl. Nor could we particularly establish the way that he might have self-administered it.”

  The defender said his client was surprised when she had been found guilty, hoping for a hung jury and a new trial.

  On December 20, 2002, Kristin’s parents sold the exclusive rights to their daughter’s story to a Hollywood production company called Brubaker-Recht Entertainment, for an undisclosed figure.

  The de Villers family’s civil attorney Craig McClellan vowed that any money the Rossums might make out of the deal would ultimately go to his clients in the pending $2.1 million wrongful death lawsuit.

  McClellan said he wasn’t surprised that the Rossums had made a deal for a movie and book about the case.

  “It was always my impression that what they were after was ultimately to profit from it,” he said.

  A few months later, the de Villers family would also hire a Hollywood agent and entertainment lawyer to field the many offers coming their way for books and movies.

  Six days after her sentencing, Kristin Rossum became Inmate No. W97094 at Chowchilla Maximum Security Prison. The convicted murderess was designated a high security inmate because of the nature of her crime and her life sentence, meaning she’d be counted six times a day.

  Placed in a dormitory with seven other prisoners, Kristin had no access to a computer, although she can have a television if her parents buy her one. In early 2003 a prison spokesman said she had settled in well and was working as a janitor, cleaning assigned areas of the prison at eight cents an hour.

  Her parents visit her as often as regulations allow, and she is planning to appeal.

  During the summer of 2003, there were reports that Kristin had started corresponding with accused killer Scott Peterson in a bizarre jail romance. Peterson, who will go on trial in 2004 for the murder of his pregnant wife Laci, is said to find hope in Kristin’s letters.

  In late February, Deputy DA Dave Hendren and Homicide Detective Laurie Agnew flew to Melbourne to further investigate
Michael Robertson, who was now analyzing chemical components for a food company. They spent a week with detectives from the Victoria Homicide Squad, interviewing friends, associates and members of Robertson’s family.

  Detective Inspector Chris Enright told the Melbourne Herald Sun that prosecutors were gathering enough evidence to charge and extradite Robertson. He said he had accompanied Hendren and Agnew on a dozen interviews, and that they’d also looked into his background training as a toxicologist.

  Dr. Robertson himself refused to be interviewed, referring them to his attorney. As of October, Hendren refused to discuss the investigation, except to say that it was ongoing.

  The de Villers family is still trying to come to terms with Greg’s murder. In April 2003, Jerome was honored by the San Diego District Attorney’s Office with a Citizen of Courage Award for his relentless pressure on the authorities until they arrested Kristin Rossum.

  At a special luncheon to honor him and six others, Jerome told the two hundred guests that his real award came when Rossum was brought to justice.

  A couple of months later, Jerome quit his job as an insurance adjuster, taking time off to recover from the psychological effects of his ordeal. But this summer, there was even more tragedy for the de Villers family when Greg’s mother Marie died from an asthma attack, never having fully recovered from the murder of her eldest son.

  The de Villerses’ civil trial against Rossum, Robertsc and the San Diego County Medical Examiner’s Office scheduled for early 2004.

  English-born JOHN GLATT is the author of more than ten books and has over twenty-five years of experience as an investigative journalist in England and America. He divides his time between New York and London.