It looks like the murder case of Danielle Justine Redlick, 46, is going to trial. The Florida woman rejected a plea deal in the death of her husband Michael Redlick, according to WESH. The state said she could admit to manslaughter in exchange for a sentence of 10 and a half years. She said no.
There’s a complicated backstory here. It has been reported that the defendant used to be the victim’s stepdaughter.
“In fairness to Mike, Danielle’s mother was dying of cancer when they were dating,” an unidentified family friend told WFTV. “She had terrible insurance.”
Authorities have reportedly suggested that the victim married the defendant’s mother in order to help her get better health insurance. Michael Redlick fell in love with Danielle after the mother’s passing. That relationship ended in bloodshed.
As far as the law is concerned, the question is how. Danielle Redlick allegedly stabbed him to death in January 2019. She tried to pass it off as him assailing her while she was trying to eat a McDonald’s burger, cops said. The defendant allegedly claimed she got a knife, but that he grabbed it from her, and began “making stabbing motions” at himself. In this account, she hid in the bathroom while he was apparently referencing the movie Cape Fear.
She claimed to find him outside in the living room, badly hurt, cops said. The defendant allegedly claimed she tried to save him using CPR. She couldn’t find her phone to call police, and collapsed in exhaustion next to Redlick, according to this story. The defendant woke up the next morning, and finally called 911.
Investigators said that story was full of lies.
The defendant had been reviewing messages on a dating app about two hours before calling cops, authorities said. It also seemed that she deleted all text messages between her and her husband before calling the cops. Altogether, some of those who knew the couple told cops that Danielle Redlick had a foul temper, and it was a recurring element in the relationship.
One of the witnesses said that Michael Redlick used to say that the defendant “is crazy but as long as I hide the steak knives everything will be fine.” Police noted that at the time, this witness didn’t know how the victim died. Other friends had been told this was a heart attack. Another witness said she once witnessed the victim with a black eye, and also bruising on his arm that resembled “four fingerprints.”
Records reviewed by Law&Crime show that trial is set to begin May 11.
[Mugshot via Orange County Jail]
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