Lady In The Harbor

A Woman With Dreams Of Becoming A Star Finds A Gruesome Hollywood Ending

(CBS)  Nearly two years after both Rachael Mullenix and Ian Allen were arrested for murdering her mother Barbara, Rachael is the first to go on trial.

Still a teenager at 19, is Rachael a cold-blooded killer or a battered girlfriend who watched helplessly as her boyfriend committed murder?

"Ian was the biggest mistake of my life," Rachael says. "He was abusive. …It was like I was property and somebody was hurting his property or threatening to take his property away. It just was not gonna happen."

"I'm behind her 100 percent. I have been from the day she was born up until now. None of that’s changed," her father Bruce says.

But prosecutor Sonia Balleste describes a very different young woman. "Rachael Mullenix is an active participant in her mother's murder. …She’s no typical 17-year-old. This one's 17, going on 42."

While Rachael’s attorney David Cohn insists that Ian Allen - and only Ian Allen - murdered Barbara Mullenix, he knows convincing the jury won't be easy. "Well I went into this case hoping she wasn't guilty of anything. I realized that technically, my client is guilty of accessory after the fact," he explains. "And that definitely hurts in this case."

Cohn has to explain to that jury why Rachael helped Ian clean up after the murder. "Just like a minefield there were many landmines laid in front of me in this case," he admits.

Start with the crime scene itself. "The cleanup involves getting rid of the bed, which had to be a complete mess, and burning that mattress, getting that mattress and box spring out of the house," Balleste says.

The prosecutor says it took two people to get rid of the evidence: Ian and Rachael. The bed's burning remains were found not far from the condo. And there's more: "She cleaned up her mother’s blood, as evidenced by a sponge that contains her mother’s blood and her DNA," Balleste tells the jury.

Police found that sponge on a nightstand in Barbara's bedroom. Still, police could find no hard physical evidence that directly links Rachael to the murder of her mom, either planning it or carrying it out.

"Isn't it possible that Ian planned this whole thing on his own and carried it all out?" Moriarty asks Det. Steve Mack.

"Not if you read all the text messages, no," he replies. "In the three days leading up to the murder there were over 464 text messages from Rachael to Ian’s phone."

Mack says one text message, in particular, points directly at Rachael’s involvement. "We have two options. Run or Tuesday," he reads, "or there’s another option, you come over and apologize to my mother."

"Run or Tuesday" - Mack says the words are part of a code. "Tuesday could've been their word for murder. We either run or we kill my mother," he says.

Barbara was murdered on a Tuesday.

But Rachael insists the word "or" in "run or Tuesday" is just a typo. She says the message should have read "run on Tuesday." There was a plan, she says, but it wasn't to murder her mom. "My plan was to run away. That was my plan. If he had another ulterior motive, I didn't know about it."

Rachael’s fate may hinge on how jurors view that one word in her message to Ian. Was it part of a code for murder, or just a simple typing error?

"Jurors, for them to believe that she was not guilty of conspiring to kill her mother or killing her mother, they were gonna have to hear it from her," Cohn says.

So Rachael takes the stand to try to explain what happened on that horrendous night of the murder. "I was gonna wait until my mom was asleep," she tells the jury.

"I would call him and tell him to come get me. That was the plan," Rachael tells Moriarty. "He literally shows up outside my bedroom door."

"It freaked me out. My mom had woken up," Rachael says. "She opened the door. She said, 'What are you doing here? I'm gonna call the police and say you're trying to kidnap my daughter.'"

On the stand, Rachael tells jurors, "She turned around, walked back into her bedroom. I just assumed he was gonna go in there and just try to calm her down before anything happened. But I heard a struggle. So I went in there, and I walk in, and I see my mom on her bed, and Ian is stabbing her in the legs 'cause she's trying to kick him off."

That's Rachael's version, but does her story match the evidence? Pathologist Sean Enloe, who did the autopsy on Barbara Mullenix, says Rachael's mom was stabbed more than 50 times, and that at least three knives were used in the murder, including a folding pocket knife that belonged to Ian, a longer knife that was never recovered, and a butter knife penetrating deep into Barbara's skull.

"I believe it is more likely that it was two assailants than one and that it could have been as few as maybe five minutes for the whole encounter, but I don't know for sure," Enloe says.

Rachael insists she was not involved, but claims she can't remember the actual stabbing. Asked how one person used all these knives, Rachael tells Moriarty, "I couldn’t tell you. …The only thing I thought about was getting him away from her. I tried pushing him. I tried pulling him away. I tried."

"How did you manage not to have one single cut on you if you're really trying to fight him?" Moriarty asks.

"He wasn't trying to stab me. He was trying to stab her," Rachael says.

Rachael told the court she assumed her mother was dead when she stopped moving and that she didn't consider that her mom might just be unconscious due to the loss of blood.

"You don’t know that she's dead. Maybe there's a chance to save her? Did you try to call 911?" Moriarty asks.

"No," Rachael says.

Asked if she took her mother's pulse to see if she was dead, Rachael says, "no."

She says she didn't run out for help because she was scared. "It’s like I freeze in fear."

"Was there a time after her mother was murdered that she could've either gone for help, called for help?" Moriarty asks prosecutor Sonia Balleste.

"Numerous. Endless opportunities," she says.

Some four hours after her mother's murder, left alone in the condo while Ian was getting rid of evidence, Rachael finally picked up the telephone. But she didn't call her dad or the authorities. She called Ian. Rachael also admitted in court she texted Ian "I LOVE YOU."

[Sunnyskiesinmyeyes]

Does anybody know what prison Ian Allen was sent to? I have been trying tirelessly to locate him. Any help would be appreciated. The cause of all of this is Greed Hatred and Delusion, and it's time to teach people how to deal with these defilement's in skillful ways rather than destructive ways. Ian made a poor choice and failed to recognize cause and effect with his actions, but now I can imagine he understands the concept quite well with his punishment. I want to teach Ian and give him an opportunity to learn from/let go of his past, and develop virtue wisdom and concentration from present day on. If anybody could give me any information or know of someone who can lead me to Ian please email me at [e-mail]. (www.dhammasala.org)

[LisaK13]

Too bad Rachael didn't just wait another six months to be 18 and then move out. If she hated her mom, then she could have just not spoken to her anymore after that. Ian must really love her a lot to cover up for her and try to take all the blame.

[goofydood]

Exactly! why oh why didn't she just stick it out until she turned 18 and then move out! Rachael is hott and Ian was used by her.

[cepe10-2009]

"tuesday" a code. what a joke. the prosecutor was really grasping at straws making things up with no basis and probably withheld evidence as well to get two convictions - one innocent person and one guilty. I hope the prosecutor rots in He!!

[nmast2383]

Run or Tuesday...Rachael says she mean''t to put an "n" oh come on!! There was never any mention that she ran, jogged, or leaped regulary.

Posted by renra78 at 12:48 AM : Jan 25, 2009

I don't recall her mentioning that "Run or Tuesday", intending to be on instead of or, meant she was a jogger? I completely agree that she was correctly found guilty, but you obiviously didn't pay very much attention to what she said this was supposed to mean. She says that Run on Tuesday meant run away, as in leave because she was underage.

[carolcape]

I remember this case previously. This was a terrible violent murder against Rachel's mother. She is a very evil person. Evil looking and took part in the grusome murder of her own mother. I am in agreement, if she was able to be living with her father, his life would be in danger also. I think this woman should serve every day of the 25 years. It was all about herself at the end of the show, what am I going to do, my life is ruined. Well she should have thought of that before murdering her mother along with her demented boyfriend and throwing her remains away in a cardboard box. Those two people are right where they belong. I saw her father crying at the end of the show, but what about the victim, nobody deserves to die like that and most of all, by someone they trusted and loved and looked after.

[stickdog3]

This was a horrible case. I live here in L.A. and remember when this broke. Out here you see some bizarre cases, but this one touched a nerve with everyone. To the blogger who put up a post saying he lived in that complex, and how come know one heard Barbara scream? Thats an excellent point, like you said the walls are razor thin, it was summer and a lot of people had their windows open. One thing you forgot my friend, this is Southern Cali, I hate reinforcing stereotypes, but there is a lot of jadedness out here. They even brought this up on the telecast, that Barbara didn't interact much with the neighbors. Nor did the neighbors interact much with each other. I've lived Condo complexes like that myself here in L.A. and I hated them. Everyone it seemed had that air about them. I sold that place very fast.
Anyways the pathlogist said there was more than 1 type of knife used. If thats the case, one would surmise that 2 people were stabbing her. How awful. I don't care how mean or socalled my parents could have been theres no way, I would choose that recourse to remedy the situation. NO WAY. This girl was the puppet master. Looking at her she looked like a fully develped woman. She had a quick mind and a very pronounced s*e*x*u*a*l air about her as well. So she easily flipped Ian. It all falls on the father though, he never should have let them come stay with him. That had to be a miserable living arrangement. Your roomate is your ex wife. That means you can't have a social life at all. Regardless of how Barbara was, she didn't deserve to that like that. Leaving that butter knife in her right eye socket was a statement being made. That was up close and personal. I copuldn't imagine me watching some woman kill my mother that way and I don't try and stop it, If i have to get cut so be it, I'm not letting it go down like that. And than 4 hours later you call your boyfriend and tell him "I love You" In other words you helped me rid me of this evil. Whats so sad, she'll probably get paroled way before 25 years is up.

[stickdog3]

Hey MalloryDavis - I just read your post you put up at 3:24 am yesterday. I feel for your parents, if they're still around. Based on your post they better not ever cross you.

[MalloryDavis]

STICKDOG3: Glad you read what I wrote and I thank you for your comment. No one knows what abuse is until you actually live it.

[get_down]

Both Ian Allen and Rachael Mullenix deserve the death penalty for cold-bloodedly murdered Rachael's mom - Barbara. 25 years to life in prison for both of them is not sufficient punishment! This is a law-abiding society - trashes like them need to be disposed of pronto and swiftly!

[MalloryDavis]

Personally, I believe in matricide and patricide. There are those times when abuse is so abhorrent that the abuser deserves to be eliminated.

[phone_jockey]

Based on the evidence shown I believe she was a willing participant, either in the murder or the cover up. Her childhood sounded hellish. I wonder why her father didn't try to gain custody of her if the mother was that abusive. It sounded like he also had alcohol problems, but not to the extent of the mother.

On a technical side to the show, I get tired of these crime shows twisting and moving the photos around for dramatic effect. It tends to make the viewer seasick.