NEWS

Defense attorneys try to block evidence in antifreeze murder case

Jon Swedien
JSWEDIEN@NEWS-LEADER.COM
Diane Staudte enters Judge Mountjoy;s courtroom at the Greene County Courthouse on Thursday. Staudte is accused of poisoning her family — two members fatally — with antifreeze.

In the interview that led Springfield police to arrest Diane Staudte, she asked a homicide detective if she needed an attorney.

“Do I need a lawyer?” Staudte asked in a June 2013 interview. The interview was captured on video. Clips were shown during a hearing inside a Greene County courtroom Thursday.

“I don’t know. Do you?” detective Neal McAmis responded.

“I don’t know,” she said.

The interview continued, and McAmis’ suspicions grew that Staudte was guilty of poisoning two family members to death and nearly killing a third.

Staudte was later charged with killing her husband, Mark Staudte, and 26-year-old son, Shaun Staudte. Prosecutors say she slowly poisoned them with antifreeze. Authorities also believe she poisoned another daughter, Sarah Staudte, who became very ill but survived.

In Thursday’s hearing, Staudte’s attorneys argued the interview should not be allowed at trial. They are also trying to quash a search warrant used to obtain evidence from Staudte’s home. The hearing was extended and will be resumed on Aug. 29.

Staudte’s attorneys highlighted two different occasions during McAmis’ interviews with Staudte where she asked whether she should have a lawyer. McAmis, who spent much of Thursday’s hearing giving testimony, said Staudte never specifically requested to have an attorney present.

In the snippets of video played at Thursday’s hearing, Staudte never admitted to poisoning her family members, but McAmis said she did confess in other parts of the interview that were not shown during the hearing.

“She’s telling me she poisoned her family,” the detective said when asked to summarize the interview.

In an exchange from a second interview, which occurred a day after the first, and after Staudte had been booked into jail, she again brought up wanting an attorney.

“One question I do have is when do I get to have a lawyer?” Staudte asked. She goes on to say, “I’m willing to talk to you, but I need to get a lawyer.”

McAmis asks her to clarify exactly what she means and then asks her if she is willing to continue without an attorney.

“You are still willing to to talk to me without a lawyer?” he asked. They continued to talk.

Staudte’s attorney questioned McAmis about this particular exchange and pressed him on why he didn’t stop questioning Staudte until she had obtained an attorney. McAmis said Staudte was willing to continue without an attorney and said he clarified that point in the interview several times before proceeding.

In the clips of interviews played during the hearing, McAmis appears to sympathize, telling Staudte he can understand how her frustration with her family might have reached a breaking point. In court Tuesday, McAmis explained his apparent compassion was actually an interview technique.

On multiple occasions, he told Staudte he could help her tell her story so people would understand, all the while not directly accusing her of poisoning anyone.

At another point in the first interview, McAmis asked Staudte who would be a leading suspect if it turned out her husband and son’s deaths were caused by chemical poisoning — at this point she was not aware of the autopsy results.

“I know Shaun — not too many people know this — but he talked about killing himself,” Staudte told McAmis.

McAmis replied: “That didn’t happen. You know that. We know that.”

Daughter pleaded

One of Staudte’s daughters pleaded guilty in May to helping her mother poison and kill her father and brother with antifreeze.

Rachel E. Staudte, 24, pleaded guilty to two counts of second-degree murder, one count of armed criminal action and one count of first-degree assault. As part of a deal with prosecutors, she agreed to serve two life sentences and testify against her mother.

According to a probable cause statement, Rachel and Diane Staudte put antifreeze in the drinks of Mark, Shaun and Sarah Staudte.

Mark and Shaun died as a result of the poisoning, and Sarah — Rachel’s sister — survived. Mark Staudte was the first to die in 2012. Diane told authorities her husband had been sick but refused to go to the hospital. Officials initially found no evidence of foul play.

Five months later, son Shaun Staudte was found dead. Police received an anonymous tip that Diane Staudte might have killed him. She again told officials he had been sick. After an autopsy was performed, his death was originally determined to be natural.

Another anonymous call to police urged them to investigate why Sarah Staudte suddenly became ill and why her brother and father had died.

Less than two weeks later, Diane and Rachel Staudte were each charged with murder.

Prosecutors have said they intend to seek the death penalty in Diane Staudte’s case.

Timeline of poisoning

April 2012

Mark Staudte was found dead. An officer spoke with Diane Staudte, who said her husband had not been feeling well for a couple of days. She said he’d had three seizures that day but did not have a history of seizures, according to the probable cause statement. The medical examiner ruled the death was due to natural causes.

September 2012

Shaun Staudte stopped breathing and police were called. Diane Staudte told an officer her son had not been feeling well, and when she checked on him a last time, he did not have a pulse, according to the probable cause statement. The medical examiner said death resulted from prior medical issues.

June 11, 2013

Police say they received an anonymous call that Diane Staudte was possibly responsible for “two or three homicides.” The caller referenced the deaths of Staudte’s husband, Mark, and son, Shaun, and the hospitalization of her daughter, Sarah.

June 13, 2013

An investigator went to Cox South and spoke with the nurse in charge of Sarah Staudte, who was in serious and potentially fatal condition at the time. The nurse said Diane Staudte had been to visit her daughter a couple of times, according to the probable cause statement. Diane Staudte did not seem concerned for her daughter and even planned a vacation for a week later, regardless of her daughter’s health at that point in time, authorities say.

June 20, 2013

Police asked Diane Staudte to come to the station for questioning. Police say she eventually admitted to her crimes: putting antifreeze in her husband’s Gatorade, putting antifreeze in her son’s Coke and poisoning her daughter.

June 21, 2013

Diane Staudte was charged with two counts of first-degree murder and one count of first-degree assault. All three charges carry a maximum penalty of life in prison. Staudte is also charged with armed criminal action. On this same day, Rachel Staudte denied involvement in the plot to poison and kill her father, brother and sister.

June 22, 2013

Rachel Staudte admitted to the crime after being confronted with evidence of her involvement, according to the probable cause statement. She is charged with first-degree murder in the death of Mark Staudte and first-degree murder in the death of Shaun Staudte. She is also charged with first-degree assault and armed criminal action in connection with serious injuries suffered by Sarah Staudte.