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July 23, 2010 4:56 PM

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Rachel Wade Guilty of Sarah Ludemann Murder; Teenage Love Triangle Verdict

By: Kevin Hayes
Topics: Daily Blotter

Sarah Ludemann, Josh Camacho and Rachel Wade (Personal Photos)

CLEARWATER, Fla. (CBS/WTSP) Rachel Wade has been found guilty of second-degree murder for the death of Sarah Ludemann.

PICTURES: Teen Love Triangle Murder Case

The jury, which deliberated for less than three hours, sided with prosecutors who said that Wade had murdered Ludemann in April 2009 because the two were involved with same young man, Joshua Camacho.

The judge had told the jury that there were three options: guilty of second-degree murder, guilty of manslaughter, or innocent.

The 20-year-old Wade began sobbing as she stood next to her attorney, Jay Hebert.

"She's devastated. She can't believe it. I think she's somewhat in shock. She was crying and sobbing hysterically as you can imagine," said Hebert.

Wade's parents stood in the back of the courtroom, clinging to one another. They were surrounded by friends and family trying to shield them from the media.

When asked if they had a comment about the verdict, they said, "No, not now," reports CBS affiliate WTSP.

Closing arguments began Friday morning in the Pinellas County, Florida courthouse.

Prosecutors hammered away at Wade, talking about the hatred she had for Ludemann and the vicious actions allegedly taken by the young woman.

Rachel Wade (Personal Photo)

The state maintained that Wade murdered her nemesis, then sat back as Ludemann was dying and asked Pinellas Park police officers for a cigarette.

PICTURES: Teen Love Triangle Murder Case

Prosecutor Wesley Dicus described the stabbing as so violent that the knife blade was bent.

Hebert maintained that his client acted in self defense.

Hebert said that on the night of the murder, Ludemann and her friends were on their way to "jump" Wade. Months and months of vicious taunts and bickering came to a head, he explained, and it was Ludemann, not Wade, who started the fatal fight.

Testimony in the trial revealed that Ludemann was at Camacho's house the night of the murder and as she left with several friends to go to McDonald's, another friend told her that Wade was just around the corner and that she should confront her.

During his closing argument, Hebert told the jury, "Sarah was the aggressor. They couldn't stop her. She went looking for Rachel that night."

Wade and Ludemann were both dating the same young man in a twisted and drama-filled love triangle that lasted for months.

There had been numerous confrontations between the girls.

The families of both Wade and Ludemann have declined interviews throughout the course of the trial.

There is one aspect of the murder case both sides agree upon wholeheartedly - the tragic nature of the crime. One set of parents lost their only daughter, while the other could lose theirs to life in prison.

"You could not sit in this courtroom on either side and not feel the pain of these two families. And, make no mistake, that's all I'm talking about," Hebert told the jury.

Wade now faces a minimum of 20-and-a-half years in prison, and a maximum of life in prison.

MORE ON CRIMESIDER
July 23, 2010 - Teen Love Triangle Murder Case Goes to Florida Jury

21 Photos

Teen Love Triangle Murder Case

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by Sashman1972 December 31, 2011 2:08 AM EST: Rachel got totally railroaded here. I had something similar happen to me, and I stabbed someone 4 times. He didn't die, thankfully, but he could have. Just like what happened with Rachel, me and this guy just happened to encounter each other. He came at me, just like this story. I had a history with this guy just like this story. I got off on self-defense. The big mistake Rachel made was to say she was going to murder Sarah. People threaten to kill each other every day when they're angry, and very few follow up on that threat. Rachel should never have been convicted of this. And to think they were fighting over that little punk.; Reply to this comment


by Chanda39 September 3, 2010 6:33 PM EDT: All of you turning this into a racial issue are complete ignorant! This is about a young lady who lost her f***ing mind over a guy who obviously did not care about her or he would not have been playing her for the deceased. Both of these girls knew that he was two timing them, and chose to accept that. You can not blame him for being able to run game on them like that. That was their faults. Crazy people come in all races people. That fact that race is the issue so many of you focused on with this story is repugnant!; Reply to this comment


by victoria0528 September 3, 2010 5:58 PM EDT: This is so sad for both families who appeared to be wonderful families. But, I know from experience with my daughter how texting and myspace or facebook can become grounds for verbal altercations that progress to destructive and physical altercations. My daughter went to private school; good family; etc., got involved with someone she met at a party. Had confrontations that grew to violence one summer evening. She came home one evening wide eyed with scratches over her face and arms. I found a hunk of hair pulled out of her head. The other girl had been snorting adderall and took her on with kids surrounding them to edge them on. Long story short, I pressed charges that shocked them into the realization that their actions could have been fatal to one or the other. The family of the other girl still thank me today because it made a huge change in their daughter and it made a huge change in mine.; Reply to this comment

by coontruth July 28, 2010 9:52 PM EDT

white women/negro men. does it ever turn out well? the negro steals all of the woman's money, infects them with a multitude of diseases, gets them addicted, and often the women are often left with negro children that no one wants. btw, white men/negro women couples are just as ugly!

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by LOL_AT_CBS July 30, 2010 6:58 AM EDT: It doesn't always turn out that way. Sometimes it simply makes white women murder each other.


by moveon101 August 2, 2010 6:16 PM EDT: Coontruth, if you are going to try to blame Joshua for Rachel's actions you are as crazy as she is. Besides he is not a negro, if your brain was not so small you would be able to see that.

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by coontruth July 28, 2010 9:35 PM EDT

I am happy both these women are gone, they would have bred more negro offspring and polluted the country

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by moveon101 August 5, 2010 12:11 PM EDT: Coontruth, I hope you follow in Sarah's footsteps very soon.


by doitidareyouson July 28, 2010 5:12 PM EDT: and all this white black latino bs...its not about that..parents need to start paying attention to their kids and teaching them morals. We all know girls can be crazy over guys..what is gonna happen to the youth these days..its gets worse and worse and its your job as a parent to protect and teach your children life lessons..PLEASE PARENTS DO YOUR JOB.; Reply to this comment

by doitidareyouson July 28, 2010 5:09 PM EDT

I think that its probably the stupidest thing in the entire world to end someones life OVER SOME GUY that girl probably would have dated for maybe a few years and then left to find something better...and to be that violent about it to bend the knife. Obviously this girl had some mental problems. and to all you people sticking up for this rachel girl your sick too. You know whats right and whats wrong. bottom line. I hope she gets to spend the rest of her life in jail. ONE LESS SICK PERSON FOR ME TO WORRY ABOUT. = )

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by buddymcw July 31, 2010 10:38 PM EDT: Well.. I can say I'm not easily influenced and rather strong minded at that. Think the way you want to think but at this point I like Rachel. From what I read, she left home at around the age of 15, on her own apparently. I feel she just got lonely and fell in with the wrong people. I honestly don't like the idea of mixing races myself but I still care for Rachel at this point and have every hope in the world for her that she meets the criteria that may enable her to receive a sentence far less than 201/2 years. I've already written part of a letter to Rachel but have to finish it and it will then be in the mail to her. I also plan to send her a money order and I couldn't care less what you haters of Rachel think - your not going to shake my tree.


by RandomAlex July 28, 2010 8:26 AM EDT: I agree completely w/ hobykonoby, all people, the white people, the black people, the Latino people, and even (rarely, but it's possible) the Asian people have the ability to be ghetto trash.; Reply to this comment

by hobykonoby July 27, 2010 10:56 PM EDT

I am shocked that so many people are making such racial comments. Not to be rude, but Rachel Wade proved to be just as "ghetto" as anyone. Did you here her messages? Camacho was not black he was Latino so get it correct. Stop with the white, black, and other racially charged comments. This case shows that all people are capable of being "trash" and that good and bad doesn't come in a color or an economic status it comes from the people themselves.

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by coontruth July 28, 2010 9:40 PM EDT: just exactly what is "latino"???? how does a negro hispanic morph into something of Grecian/Roman origin?
FYI, plenty of negroes south of the border

by SixSticks July 27, 2010 9:48 PM EDT

This was going on for months and the parents did nothing? If you ask me, they deserve the suffering just as much. Obviously they weren't attentive enough or this would never happen. And, yes, it is that black and white.

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by LOL_AT_CBS August 5, 2010 12:11 PM EDT: How does anyone "deserve" anything from this? The only good thing that comes from this is that we can learn what happens when a w???? w???? d??? ???????? w??? ? ??????, ??????? ???? ?????d