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Thread: Cassandra Ann Rieb Pleads Guilty and Sentenced to 80 Years in 2014 CO Murders of Charles and Shirley Severance

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    Administrator Helen's Avatar
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    Cassandra Ann Rieb Pleads Guilty and Sentenced to 80 Years in 2014 CO Murders of Charles and Shirley Severance




    Brendan Lee Johnson and Cassandra Ann Rieb


    Death penalty sought in slayings of 70-year-olds

    By Associated Press

    STERLING — Prosecutors said Friday they will seek the death penalty against a young couple from Sterling charged with killing the man's grandparents so he could get his modest inheritance.

    Brendan Lee Johnson, 20, and Cassandra Ann Rieb, 18, are charged with first-degree murder and other counts in the strangulation deaths of Charles and Shirley Severance, both 70. They were killed in May.

    Rieb told police they wanted to get the Severances' small house and $20,000 that Johnson expected to inherit, according to arrest warrant affidavits.

    District Attorney Brittny Lewton announced her decision in a news release but did not explain her reasons. She said she would not comment further because of a gag order.

    Johnson's lawyer, Rachel Lanzen, didn't immediately return a call. Rieb's attorney, Thor Bauer, said he was unaware of the death-penalty decision and couldn't comment.

    Johnson, who was 19 at the time, and Rieb are charged of killing the Severances in their Sterling home and then trying to cover their tracks.

    Investigators found the grandmother's burned remains in two locations, outside Sterling and about 30 miles away in Lorenzo, Nebraska.

    They later called 911 to report they had found the grandfather's body, which was too heavy for them to dispose of as planned, authorities said.

    Rieb is due in court for a preliminary hearing on Sept. 19. A motions hearing is scheduled Oct. 27 for Johnson.

    http://gazette.com/death-penalty-sou...rticle/1536943

    "I realize this may sound harsh, but as a father and former lawman, I really don't care if it's by lethal injection, by the electric chair, firing squad, hanging, the guillotine or being fed to the lions."
    - Oklahoma Rep. Mike Christian

    "There are some people who just do not deserve to live,"
    - Rev. Richard Hawke

    “There are lots of extremely smug and self-satisfied people in what would be deemed lower down in society, who also deserve to be pulled up. In a proper free society, you should be allowed to make jokes about absolutely anything.”
    - Rowan Atkinson

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    Administrator Helen's Avatar
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    June 5, 2014

    Disturbing details in double-homicide in Sterling

    Blair Shiff and Anastasiya Bolton, KUSA

    STERLING - The 19-year-old charged with murdering his grandparents admitted to police he did it, court records show.

    According to court records, Brendan Johnson told investigators he and his 18-year-old girlfriend Cassandra Rieb "had been planning to kill his 70-year-old grandparents Charles and Shirley Severance since the first part of May." Rieb also admitted to her role in the murder to police, according to court records.

    Johnson and Rieb, both of Sterling, were arrested and both charged with two counts of first-degree murder, two counts of aggravated robbery and theft. Johnson is also charged with two counts of forgery in connection with this case. Family members attending the court appearance on Wednesday were crying. One family member exclaimed at the end of the court proceeding: "We love you, Cassie" and was reprimanded by the judge for the outburst.

    The two are being held without bond. The Colorado Bureau of Investigation is assisting in the investigation.

    The body of Charles Severance was discovered in his home, located at 409 S. Third Ave., May 29. When officers arrived, they found Rieb and Johnson in the home. Shirley Severance was missing at the time of the discovery of Charles' body.

    Officers brought Johnson to the police station to interview him. He claimed his grandfather - Charles Severance - had given him two checks in the span of two days with the grand total of $4,500. He told police he "had been giving money to his grandfather to save for him so he could go to a concert in May," according to the arrest affidavit.

    Johnson also told police his grandfather had given him permission to take his white 2009 Chevrolet truck. Police later discovered that it was that same truck that Shirley's body was taken to another location for disposal.

    Police later interviewed Rieb, who, at first, claimed she didn't know where Shirley was and said she was with Johnson when he cashed the two checks given to him. But, according to the arrest affidavit, she admitted that Johnson may have "written and signed the checks."

    **Editor's Note: The following details may be disturbing to some readers.**

    After confronting Johnson with what police now knew, Johnson allegedly admitted to planning to kill his grandparents since the first part of May.

    "The plan was to kill them so he could get their inheritance," Rieb told police during a polygraph interview.
    Johnson also told police he had forged the checks.

    Johnson said he and Rieb entered the house on May 20 wearing dark-colored clothing. The plan was that he would smother his grandfather Charles and Rieb would smother Shirley. While trying to smother Charles, there was a struggle where Johnson ended up trying to choke his grandfather. After his grandfather started to struggle, Johnson claimed he let go of his grandfather. He said he thought his grandfather died of a heart attack during the struggle.

    Johnson looked over at Rieb who was struggling with Shirley. Shirley reportedly begged for her life, offered money and attempted to flee, but Rieb and Johnson did not let her.

    Rieb stopped the struggle when Johnson came over, and Shirley asked for a drink of water, according to the arrest affidavit.

    While Shirley was drinking water, Johnson claimed he tried to slit her throat, but missed - cutting her jaw. She tried to escape, but Johnson said he pulled her back into the house over by the safe in the living room and stabbed her repeatedly. During the stabbing, Johnson said she was offering him money to make him stop, but he kept stabbing her, as did Rieb.

    Shirley reportedly asked them "why are you doing this to me," according to Rieb. Johnson allegedly responded "you know why."

    Johnson then tried to strangle Shirley with a string, and he told police he thought that's what actually killed her.

    Rieb and Johnson dragged their bodies to the bedroom and left them there for a day while they gathered up items and cleaned up after the act, according to the arrest affidavit. Johnson told police they returned on May 21 to get Shirley's body to move her.

    The remains of Shirley were discovered near Sterling, with other remains found near Nebraska more than a week later.

    Johnson told police he had taken Shirley's body to Prewitt on May 21, tried to set her on fire and dismember her. He buried her in a fire pit.

    Johnson told police they had returned after burying her to "get rid of her body" on May 28, according to the arrest affidavit. They drove "out in the country" to dispose of it, according to the affidavit.

    After then, they returned, went to bed and called 911 the next day.

    The Severances have lived in Colorado for 30 years.

    http://www.9news.com/story/news/crim...rling/9957877/
    "I realize this may sound harsh, but as a father and former lawman, I really don't care if it's by lethal injection, by the electric chair, firing squad, hanging, the guillotine or being fed to the lions."
    - Oklahoma Rep. Mike Christian

    "There are some people who just do not deserve to live,"
    - Rev. Richard Hawke

    “There are lots of extremely smug and self-satisfied people in what would be deemed lower down in society, who also deserve to be pulled up. In a proper free society, you should be allowed to make jokes about absolutely anything.”
    - Rowan Atkinson

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    Preliminary hearing held for Rieb

    Teen faces death penalty in double murder case

    By Sara Waite
    Journal-Advocate managing editor

    The case against Cassandra Rieb, the 18-year-old Sterling teen accused of helping her boyfriend, Brendan Johnson, murder his grandparents in May, took a step forward with a preliminary hearing Monday in Logan County District Court.

    During a preliminary hearing, the prosecutor presents evidence in the case to the judge, who determines whether there is enough to go to trial. According to a 9News article, Rieb's hearing included testimony from law enforcement officers who also testified at Johnson's hearing in July.

    The article said Colorado Bureau of Investigation Agent Tammy Lee told the court that Rieb said "didn't feel bad about murdering someone."

    Lee and Sterling Police Department Detective Sgt. Bill Dolan both were witnesses during Johnson's preliminary hearing, where they testified about both physical evidence recovered during the investigation as well as the details of the crime from confessions they say both teens made about the murders of Charles and Shirley Severance.

    According to the testimony, the teens planned to suffocate Johnson's grandparents in their sleep at the same time — Rieb would kill Shirley while Johnson would take Charles. However, the murder didn't go according to plan, as the elderly couple struggled with their attackers, according to the witnesses. After Shirley attempted to escape, the teen couple stabbed and strangled her, then dismembered and burned her remains in a fire pit at the Prewitt Reservoir. They later returned and moved a portion of the evidence, dumping it in some weeds alongside a road outside Lorenzo, Neb.

    After the murders, the teens allegedly left town in Charles Severance's truck for several days, then returned to Sterling and reported Charles' body as an unattended death.

    An investigation into the disappearance of Shirley Severance turned up checks made out to Johnson from the Severances' account that police say were forged and part of the motive behind the murder.

    Rieb will be due back in court on March 12 for an arraignment, where she will be formally informed of the charges against her and enter a plea. Johnson entered a not guilty plea at his July hearing.

    District Attorney Brittny Lewton has said she will seek the death penalty in both cases.

    http://www.journal-advocate.com/ster...ring-held-rieb
    "I realize this may sound harsh, but as a father and former lawman, I really don't care if it's by lethal injection, by the electric chair, firing squad, hanging, the guillotine or being fed to the lions."
    - Oklahoma Rep. Mike Christian

    "There are some people who just do not deserve to live,"
    - Rev. Richard Hawke

    “There are lots of extremely smug and self-satisfied people in what would be deemed lower down in society, who also deserve to be pulled up. In a proper free society, you should be allowed to make jokes about absolutely anything.”
    - Rowan Atkinson

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    Mom Tries to Save Son From Death Penalty Even Though He Killed Her Parents

    The debate over the death penalty couldn't be more personal for the mother of Brendan Johnson.

    In June 2014, Johnson and his then-girlfriend, Cassie Rieb, were arrested and charged in the murders of his grandfather and grandmother, Charles and Shirley Severance, in the eastern Colorado community of Sterling. A few months later, prosecutors announced they would be seeking the death penalty against the pair - a prospect that distresses his mom, even though Charles and Shirley were her parents. Hence, the creation of Saving My Son - Death Penalty, a Facebook page on which she shares anti-death-penalty posts as a way of fighting against the punishment that could eventually end Brendan's life.

    There's no denying that reports about the Severances' deaths, drawn from arrest affidavits, are horrendous - and may disturb some readers.

    As we noted last year, Johnson contacted police May 29 on a supposed medical call for his grandfather. Charles was dead upon the cops' arrival, and the fact that he had been killed a week-plus earlier goes a long way toward explaining why an autopsy didn't find immediate signs of trauma to his body.

    In a subsequent interview, Johnson reportedly maintained that Charles had given him a couple of checks adding up to $4,500, as well as permission to drive his 2009 Chevy truck. He's said to have used the money and vehicle to attend a concert in Denver during the days leading up to the body's discovery.

    Shirley, for her part, was missing, and in a separate interview with investigators, Rieb allegedly denied knowledge of her whereabouts - although the affidavit quotes her as admitting that Johnson actually wrote and signed the checks supposedly given to him by Charles.

    Armed with this information, the cops went back to Johnson. The affidavit says he and Reib subsequently confessed to killing the Severances, and their explanations about the botched process are chilling.

    The murder plot reportedly came together in early May, with the goal focusing on Johnson collecting his inheritance early.

    On May 20, the affidavit says, Johnson and Rieb entered the Severances' place, with him assigned to smother Charles and her tasked with doing the same to Shirley. But things didn't go as planned.

    The document says Charles struggled so much that Johnson eventually had to choke him to death - although the 70-year-old may have suffered a fatal heart attack while fighting for his life. And Shirley was even less cooperative. She apparently tried to run away, and when she couldn't escape, she pleaded with the teens not to kill her and even offered them money to go away.

    They didn't. Johnson reportedly allowed her to get some water - but while she was drinking, he tried to cut her throat. Instead, he slashed her jaw, prompting Shirley to try fleeing again. She failed to get free, however, and Johnson is accused of repeatedly stabbing her as she pleaded for her life.

    Finally, Johnson strangled Shirley with a string, the affidavit says. Investigators believe that's what finally killed her.

    The teens took the couple's bodies to a bedroom and left them there until the next day, police say. After the cleanup at the murder site was complete, they used the truck to transport Shirley's body to Prewitt Reservoir, a short drive from Sterling. There, they're accused of dousing it with gas and setting it ablaze - and while it burned, they tried to hack off an arm and a leg.

    The body was initially buried in a reservoir fire pit. But they apparently didn't feel it was secure enough there, so they returned on May 28, dug it up and took it to a remote location in Nebraska before returning home. Johnson alerted the cops to Charles's death the next day.

    We can only imagine the heartbreak Johnson's mother has suffered as a result of these incidents and those that followed. Then, in November, she launched the Saving My Son Facebook page with the following message:

    Most of you have been FB friends with me since June 2nd, when our lives took a drastic, sorrow filled turn. Some of you are new friends that are unaware of my family's story or perhaps only know of it from newspaper/television articles. To summarize, my son (and his then-girlfriend) confessed to murdering my parents. In early September, the DA announced that she was going to seek the death penalty for my son, Brendan, and his then-girlfriend.

    Although I will never understand, condone or accept what has happened, I have now come out of my fog and realized that if I don't start trying to do something, I may lose my son and I'm doing nothing about it.

    All during this, I have tried to post things to my FB page to live out loud, as some friends and family have called it. I still plan to do that. However, I have decided to create a separate FB page for it to allow others to post to it if they have articles, feelings, websites to share.

    During the intervening months, Brendan's mother has regularly posted stories about the death penalty, including one from Westword about Bob Autobee, who opposed the execution of his son's killer. She's also shared a pledge from the National Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty and most recently praised Pennsylvania for its decision to halt capital punishment there.

    For the most part, she has avoided commenting on Brendan's situation. The closest thing to an exception was a January post featuring the following photo: The caption on the pic reads: "Brendan with his little brother September 2003. He has always been so protective of his little brother."

    And she is protective of him, despite the awful acts to which he's admitted.

    (source: Westword)
    An uninformed opponent is a dangerous opponent.

    "Y'all be makin shit up" ~ Markeith Loyd

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    Brendan Lee Johnson admits killing grandmother for $20K inheritance, girlfriend still facing charges

    STERLING, Colo. - A man accused of killing his grandparents to get a $20,000 inheritance will serve life in prison after pleading guilty but his alleged accomplice is still facing the death penalty.

    Under a deal with prosecutors, 20-year-old Brendan Lee Johnson pleaded guilty on Thursday to first-degree murder in the death of his grandmother, Shirley Severance of Sterling. The Sterling Journal-Advocate reports that District Attorney Brittny Lewton dropped all other charges and will no longer seek the death penalty against him.

    Johnson's girlfriend, Cassandra Rieb, is also charged in the deaths of Shirley and Charles Severance. She pleaded not guilty on Thursday, just hours after Johnson changed his plea.

    Arrest affidavits reveal the teenagers both told police they planned to smother the grandparents with pillows as they slept.

    "We had agreed to do it together; Obviously… like one get one and the other get the other one," Reib allegedly said in a quote included in the affidavit.

    Reib said that Charles Severance fought back and died as he was being choked. The teens thought he might have had a heart attack.

    The affidavit also says Reib told investigators that Shirley Severance asked the couple why they were doing this and offered them money. She was eventually killed by multiple stab wounds and strangulation.

    The couple allegedly carried out the murders on May 20, nine days before they reported Charles dead. In the interim, Reib told investigators, Johnson used his grandfather's truck to attend a concert in Denver and to transport his grandmother's body.

    Both Johnson and Reib eventually admitted to burning and burying the grandmother's body. During his first interview, however, Johnson allegedly told officers his grandfather had loaned him the truck and written him checks on dates after he was actually deceased.

    The affidavit shows Johnson said he was given two checks totaling $4,500.

    In a second recorded interview, Johnson allegedly told officers a very different story. The affidavit states he told investigators he and Reib began planning the murders earlier in the month.

    After the murders, Johnson said he and Reib returned to the home the next day to take his grandmother's body to the reservoir, where he poured gas on the body and set it on fire. While it was burning, the affidavit states, he tried to cut off an arm and a leg. Afterward, they buried her body in a fire pit.

    They returned for the body on Thursday but "could not get it because people were camping in the area" and left it there until May 28, when they dug it up and drove it to Nebraska.

    Police say Reib told them Johnson wanted to inherit their house and $20,000 from their checking account.

    http://www.thedenverchannel.com/news...facing-charges
    "I realize this may sound harsh, but as a father and former lawman, I really don't care if it's by lethal injection, by the electric chair, firing squad, hanging, the guillotine or being fed to the lions."
    - Oklahoma Rep. Mike Christian

    "There are some people who just do not deserve to live,"
    - Rev. Richard Hawke

    “There are lots of extremely smug and self-satisfied people in what would be deemed lower down in society, who also deserve to be pulled up. In a proper free society, you should be allowed to make jokes about absolutely anything.”
    - Rowan Atkinson

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    UPDATED: Rieb to serve 80 years in Severance murder case

    19-year-old takes plea agreement for murder, assault charges

    A status conference in the murder trial of Cassandra Rieb turned into a plea agreement and sentencing instead on Friday. The 19-year-old Sterling native pleaded guilty to two added felony counts that carry a sentence of 80 years in prison.

    Rieb was charged last year in the murders of Charles and Shirley Severance and was facing a possible death sentence. Her boyfriend and co-defendant, 20-year-old Brendan Johnson -- the Severances' grandson -- was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole on Monday after pleading guilty to first degree murder of Shirley Severance, in exchange for having 13 other charges dropped and the withdrawal of intent to seek death penalty.

    After admitting to second degree murder and first degree assault with a deadly weapon on an at-risk victim for the death of 70-year-old Shirley Severance, Rieb was sentenced to consecutive terms of 48 years and 32 years, respectively, followed by 5 years mandatory parole. In exchange, the 13 original counts were dropped, along with a pending case on a contraband charge she received while in jail.

    District Attorney Brittny Lewton noted that as crimes of violence, the convictions carry a statutory mandate that Rieb serve at least 75 percent of her sentence. However, she added, the Department of Corrections may not honor that mandate. Regardless, Lewton said Rieb will probably serve at least 65 percent of her 80-year sentence, and should she be granted parole, she will be "very elderly" when she leaves prison.

    In accepting the plea agreement, Judge Charles Hobbs spoke about the tragedy at the heart of the case: the deaths of the two victims. While many others have suffered from the crime, he said it would be "a disservice" to the couple if the loss of their lives was not the central focus of his decision.

    One thing all sides agreed on was that Rieb had a lot going for her.

    Defense attorney Tina Tussay addressed the court and talked about Rieb’s background. She noted the numerous interviews the defense team conducted in preparing for the case, and said the common message was that Rieb “was a good girl.”

    Tussay cited Rieb’s many accomplishments in school and extra curricular activities. She said that the fall of 2013, when Rieb was a senior at Sterling High School, should have been an exciting time in Rieb’s life. Rieb was “on her way to a bright future,” Tussay said.

    However, their interviews and research also showed that over the months leading up to December 2013, something was “seriously bothering” Rieb, something that she wouldn’t talk about with anyone. Rieb underwent a dramatic change, and the once-honor student dropped out of school and began using drugs daily to cope with her pain, Tussay said, calling Rieb’s behavior a “downward spiral.” She acknowledged that her client is “imperfect and damaged,” and that she does things she wouldn’t otherwise do while under the influence of drugs.

    Tussay said the plea agreement represents that “Justice can be mercy,” calling it merciful that both Rieb and Johnson were spared the possibility of a death sentence. She said she was “blessed and proud” to defend Rieb, and hopes her client will emerge “older and wiser” from prison.

    Rieb’s clean background was one of the factors Lewton mentioned when explaining why and how she differentiated Rieb’s case from Johnson’s. She noted that Johnson had previous contact with law enforcement, including serving time for a third minor in possession charge.

    She explained that in the beginning, she opted to keep the two cases equally situated, and that she “firmly believes” Johnson would have faced the death penalty if he had gone to trial. After the hearing, Lewton said her primary focus was getting the stiffest penalty she could for Johnson. After his case was done, she turned her attention to Rieb’s case and evaluated her individually.

    Lewton told the court that the evidence showed that Rieb was not the one to inflict the final blow for either victim, even though she tried. Lewton said the idea for the crime originated with Johnson; although Facebook and text messages show that Rieb enjoyed discussing the idea, Lewton said how serious Rieb was about the plot could be argued. And because Johnson was the victims’ grandson, he was the one who might have gained from their deaths. “He committed the most serious of moral sins” by killing his own family members, Lewton said, noting Rieb did not have any direct connection with the Severances.

    Lewton also spoke about her contact with Jill Johnson, the Severances’ daughter and Brendan Johnson’s mother, who could not attend Friday’s hearing. She said Jill was in an “awkward position from the beginning,” because of her relationship with both the victims and the perpetrator. Lewton said Johnson had told her she wanted both her son and Rieb to receive less than life sentences, and did not agree with Lewton’s decision to seek the death penalty but also did not attempt to block it.

    After Brendan Johnson’s plea, Lewton said that Jill Johnson told her she wanted Rieb to receive the same life sentence, a position Lewton said she understood. She said it would be a difficult line to draw as both a mother and a victim.

    “Everyone has an opinion as to what they think should happen,” Lewton said. However, her role is to balance justice and what’s right. It’s not easy – nor should it be – she said, and doesn’t always result in doing what she said is “politically correct.”

    Lewton said Rieb participated in everything that Johnson did during the commission of the crime, and noted that both defendants, in the end, cooperated with law enforcement, even agreeing to direct them to the remains of Shirley Severance. She said that Rieb “must be punished for these terrible murders,” and while there are differences in the two cases’ outcomes, Lewton said that with the number of years Rieb will serve, her sentence is “virtually the same” as Johnson’s.

    After Lewton spoke, Rieb then addressed the court on her own behalf and offered apologies to her victims – both the Severances and Jill Johnson – and the community. In an emotional speech, she expressed regret for her actions, and hope that she will be forgiven. She also said to her parents, “This is not your fault,” and thanked her family and friends who have given her support through the court process.

    Rieb said she recognized that she has been given a second chance. “I will not waste this gift,” she said, adding that she wants to find a way to contribute to the world.

    Hobbs noted that cases like the Severance murders are rare, and are hard for the entire community to make sense of or reach closure. He expressed doubt about whether the criminal justice process could provide that closure.

    Hobbs grew philosophical in talking about the meaning of justice, saying it is hard to define. But, he said, "I've never been more sure that justice is being served" by the sentences handed down to both Rieb and Johnson.

    He said Rieb’s past and her potential “pales in comparison” to “the monstrous acts that are deserving of the greatest condemnation we as a community can impose.”

    He noted that the terms of the agreement provide a “modest window of light,” and told Rieb that “that small hope you have” is due to mercy.

    He called the sentencing “a profoundly sad day for everyone.” His closing comment to Rieb was to wish her luck.

    Before the hearing ended, Hobbs set deadlines for filings on restitution, and also granted Rieb 333 days credit for time served since her arrest.

    Lewton said after the hearing that in any case with co-defendants, when one reaches a plea agreement it has an impact on the other case. She believes that the death penalty filing was appropriate at the time, but said she does have to consider the resources required in a death penalty case, including the costs of the appeals process and the impact on jurors. “The facts of the case were always in our favor,” she said, but she doesn’t know how much impact her intent to seek the death penalty had on the defendants’ decision to take a plea agreement.

    She said that in looking at the outcome of the two cases together, “This is justice.”

    http://www.journal-advocate.com/ster...ce-murder-case
    "I realize this may sound harsh, but as a father and former lawman, I really don't care if it's by lethal injection, by the electric chair, firing squad, hanging, the guillotine or being fed to the lions."
    - Oklahoma Rep. Mike Christian

    "There are some people who just do not deserve to live,"
    - Rev. Richard Hawke

    “There are lots of extremely smug and self-satisfied people in what would be deemed lower down in society, who also deserve to be pulled up. In a proper free society, you should be allowed to make jokes about absolutely anything.”
    - Rowan Atkinson

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