The second episode of “Love You to Death” on Investigation Discovery tells the story of a crude Shakespearean love triangle that ended in the death of one teenager and nearly 30 years in prison for the other.
In April 2009, Sarah Ludemann was stabbed to death in Pinellas Park, Florida. The argument was about a boy’s attention. If you want to know more about what happened and where the person who did it and the person it happened for is now, we are here for you. Why don’t we find out?
How did Sarah Ludemann die?
Sarah Rose Ludemann was born on December 7, 1990 in Pinellas Park, Pinellas County, Florida. She was the only child of Gay Ludemann and her late husband, taxi driver Charles M. Ludemann. Her parents had wanted a child for a long time and when Sarah came they were very happy. She was a good student who just got A’s and wanted to be a vet. She wasn’t as interested in dating as other teenagers, but that soon changed when she met Joshua Camacho at a nearby Chick-fil-A. He worked there and they quickly fell in love.
But Joshua was bad news, and Sarah, madly in love with him, didn’t realize it until it was too late. On April 14, 2009, there was a fight between some teenage girls and at least one of them had a knife. Several people called 911 to ask police to stop the fighting. Sarah had been stabbed twice with a very sharp steak knife. Once in the shoulder and once in the heart. The 18-year-old was taken to the hospital, where she died a few hours later, at around 2:20 a.m. on April 15, 2009. Prosecutors later said the murder weapon was bent because she was stabbed so hard.
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Who Killed Sarah Ludemann?
The police didn’t have to look far for the killer because Sarah Ludemann, who was killed, was able to call Joshua and tell him what happened. He and other people who were there said that Rachel Marie Wade was the one who stabbed Sarah. When the police came to talk to her about the crime, Rachel broke down when they informed her that Sarah had died. By talking to her and other students, investigators were able to figure out what happened last night and what led up to it.
Rachel dropped out of high school at 16 and worked as a waitress at Applebee’s. She paid for her own apartment and even got her GED. Her high school yearbook reportedly called her the “biggest flirt.” She was said to have dated a lot of boys, but she was crazy about Joshua, who was soft-spoken but stocky. Police say Joshua was a “gamer” who had been dating Rachel, Sarah and Erin Slothower at the same time for about eight months. Joshua had already fathered a child with Erin, so Sarah and Rachel fought hard to win Joshua’s love.
The two teenagers were said to have fought, harassed each other and left threatening voicemails at each other. Witnesses said that Sarah and her friends harassed Rachel at work by following her, intentionally hitting her car and shooting Silly String at her. Rachel had even told police that Sarah made her uncomfortable. She also left voicemails threatening Sarah, and one of those was a big reason she was found guilty.
Rachel went to Joshua’s house on the night of April 14, 2009 to find him with Sarah. “I’m going to stab you and your Mexican friend,” she is said to have said to Sarah on the phone, according to witnesses. Sarah decided to talk to her after leaving Joshua’s house and drove to Rachel’s house in her parents’ minivan. But Rachel seemed ready for her, and in the ensuing fight she stabbed her.
Where is Rachel Wade right now?
Sarah Ludemann’s death was blamed on Rachel Wade. Her attorney said she acted in self-defense when Sarah drove up to her and she almost ran her over. The government said that Rachel started the fight and stabbed Sarah before Sarah even got out of the car. Rachel was found guilty of second-degree murder in September 2010 and sentenced to 27 years in prison.
Court records show Rachel is being held in a jail cell at the Florida Women’s Reception Center in Ocala, Florida. She is in her early 30s and will not be released from prison until September 29, 2032, according to her prison records.
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What happened to Joshua Camacho?
Joshua Camacho’s parents sent him to live with a relative in New York after the crime drew media and public attention. But people who knew him say he was still around and even spoke briefly to Erin, who was taking care of their baby, after the murder. He stays out of the public eye and does not speak to reporters. The only time he spoke publicly was when he testified at Rachel’s trial.
Joshua said he hadn’t dated any of the girls. But in a previous interview with police, he said he broke up with Rachel after hearing rumors that “she was sleeping around”. His friends said Joshua was “devastated by the tragedy” and that he had never seen Rachel in prison.
The competition with Sarah Ludemann
Rachel Wade and Sarah Ludemann were both interested in Wade’s ex-boyfriend Joshua Camacho. This made them romantic rivals. During the first six months of Ludemann’s relationship with Camacho, Wade spoke to police officers six times about disputes he had with Camacho in public. Wade also got into an argument with the mother of Camacho’s child. Camacho slapped Ludemann in the face, which is an act of domestic violence, but Ludemann did not press charges.
Wade insulted Ludemann in the voicemails he left for him. Their fights turned violent very quickly. They started harassing each other, and Wade says Ludemann would come over to the Applebees, where she worked, to tease them. Ludemann told police that Wade kept calling her cell phone and leaving threatening voicemails.
murder
Authorities say that on April 14, 2009, Wade was alone at her home waiting for Camacho. Camacho was with Ludemann while they were watching a movie. Wade was walking her dog outside when she heard a car honk. Ludemann, she said, yelled, “Stay away from my husband!” Wade said she was scared, so she called an old friend named Javier Laboy. He told her to come to his house. She got her purse, opened a drawer in the kitchen and took out a steak knife.
Wade went to Camacho’s house at 11 a.m. He was inside with Ludemann playing video games. Wade texted Camacho, “Now I know why you’re not talking to me — because you have her.” Camacho replied, “You’re right. I do not like you anymore. Why don’t you go home?” Wade replied, “No. I’ll wait for her to come home.” Witnesses later said they heard Wade threaten Ludemann over the speakerphone. “I’ll stab you and your Mexican friend,” I told her. Camacho’s sister asked Ludemann to drive her to McDonald’s just before midnight. At a stop sign, Ludemann saw a friend who told her that Wade was at Javier Laboy’s house. Ludemann decided to speak to her. Wade called her while she was driving and yelled at her, “I’m going to stick a knife in you! You and your friend from Mexico!” Ludemann went to Javier Laboy’s house and saw Wade talking to him and her boyfriend Dustin Grimes.
Wade said that Ludemann slammed on the brakes, nearly hit him, and then stormed out of the car, fists swirling. Wade said that she was scared when she stabbed Ludemann in the shoulder and chest, and that one of the punches went straight through her heart. But police and prosecution witnesses said Ludemann was not given a chance to leave the van and that Wade was the one who approached Ludemann and attacked him. Ludemann was badly injured and was holding her chest. She called Camacho to tell him what happened. Camacho ran to Ludemann’s house to tell her father. Both came by car. Witnesses say that after stabbing the man, Wade calmly threw the knife over a neighbor’s house and said, “I’m done.” Ludemann died in a hospital after being punctured in the heart. He was pronounced dead at 2:20 a.m. the next day.
When the police showed up, Wade and the other people there were questioned. When she was told that Ludemann had died, she began to cry. Wade was arrested hours later and charged with second-degree murder. She was sent to the Pinellas County Jail on $500,000 bail. She stayed there until the court case was over.
process and judgement
The trial, which began on July 20, 2010 when the jury was selected, was shown on TruTV’s In Session. CNN gave a live internet stream every day after 3 p.m. when TV coverage ended. From July 21 to July 23, three days of witnessing were given. The story between the two was brought up by prosecutors to show that Wade planned to kill her rival over Camacho. The defense used Florida’s Stand Your Ground law to assert self-defense. Wade’s attorney Jay Hebert said Ludemann was very angry and Wade was scared because Ludemann was taller and there were more of them than her. Hebert spoke about the time at Applebee, when Ludemann and her friends knocked over Wade’s tray, sang Girlfight at karaoke and teased her. He also said that before the stabbing, the two girls fought and pulled each other’s hair. Camacho, his sister and Dustin Grimes were the people who testified for the prosecution. Javier spoke in Javier’s defence. Javier said the two got into an argument, but he said he didn’t see much of it. Grimes and Camacho’s sister both said Wade went to the car and stabbed Ludemann. The jury listened to the voicemails Wade left for Ludemann eight months earlier, saying she would kill her. This resulted in the jury of five men and one woman finding her guilty of second-degree murder in just two and a half hours.
Rachel Wade was sentenced to 27 years in prison on September 3, 2010. The judge said he believed Wade planned to kill Ludemann. Wade said she acted in self-defense and tried to change her case. In a March 2011 interview with ABC News, she said she thinks social media played a big part in the rivalry and murder. She said people can say whatever they want on social media with almost no repercussions. Charlie Ludemann, Sarah’s father, sued Wade in civil court in April 2011. Wade lost her case on February 17, 2012. She resides at Lowell Correctional Institution.
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