Utah Woman Ordered Lethal Bacteria from Dark Web to Kill Her Best Friend: FBI

A woman from Utah attempted to fatally poison her best friend multiple times, fearing she would lose access to the latter's son, police states.

Janie Lynn Ridd, from Salt Lake County, was found guilty by a court for trying to harm her roommate and best friend, Rachel, to get full control over her son, The Independent reported.

Ridd and Rachel—only identified publically by her first name—had been friends for 25 years, The Independent reported. The duo met when Rachel was going through a divorce and Ridd was living in a house that had been broken into.

Their circumstances made them decide to cohabitate together. Initially, Rachel enjoyed Ridd's company and everything was going well.

Rachel started to notice controlling behavior from Ridd when she made new friends and began to go on dates, The Independent reported. In 2010, this behavior reached its peak when Rachel herniated a disk and lost her ability to walk. During this time, Rachel also became pregnant, which made her more vulnerable.

"For the first time in our friendship, Janie had 100 percent control over me because I didn’t have a job, I was pregnant, I had a back injury, and I was in so much pain, I needed her," Rachel said in the Netflix docuseries made about their ordeal.

In 2010, Rachel gave birth to Ryder, The Independent reported. During this time the roommates took life insurance policies and named each other beneficiaries. As per the statements by friends, Janie had become a second mother to Ryder after his arrival. The arrangement was working well for the roommates. 

In 2015, Rachel herniated a disc again, and doctors told her that this time around she would have to go under the knife, otherwise she would become disabled, Independent reported.

As Rachel was dealing with her condition, Janie became more involved with Ryder. Rachel slowly grew uncomfortable with the amount of influence Ridd was exercising on Ryder.

Rachel claimed that Janie had made people in Ryder's school believe that she was the mother, The Independent reported. The roommates began to have regular fights because of these matters.

On June 20, 2018, Ridd sued Rachel for full custody of Ryder. Ridd also filed a protective order against Rachel. Child Protective Services conducted an investigation, and Ryder was returned to Rachel's custody after 10 days.

In October 2019, Rachel decided to name her niece as Ryder's legal guardian which upset Ridd, KUTV reported. 

After the custody incident, the roommates began living together again, The Independent reported. Rachel's health woes continued, as she found herself falling ill several times. The situation became so critical that she had to give up her job as a paramedic.

Ridd took care of Rachel throughout her health trials, The Independent reported. She tended to Rachel's post-surgery incisions on the neck. Rachel shared in the documentary, that Ridd used to rub the wound. Later on, an infection was discovered on the wound, leading to Rachel's hospitalization.

In 2019, Rachel had two incidents of hypoglycemia, The Independent reported. Her blood sugar fell to dangerous levels, which required her to be hospitalized.

The episodes surprised Rachel, as she was not diabetic and did not take insulin. In October of the same year, Rachel went through another surgery and developed three golf-ball-sized infections on the incisions. On analysis, one of the infections was revealed to contain E. coli, a type of bacteria.

Meanwhile, the FBI was investigating a suspicious purchase of a lethal bacteria known as Vancomycin-Resistant Staphylococcus Aureus (VRSA) on the Dark Web, Independent reported. VRSA is a strain of antibiotic-resistant staph bacteria, that can cause infections and lead to death.

The FBI's search landed on Ridd and they began to look into Rachel's health condition. Rachel's surgeon shared with investigators that E.coli must have been injected into the victim, the outlet reported.

Ridd had placed another order for bacteria on the Dark Web, The Independent reported. FBI intercepted that order and replaced it with a dummy package. Investigators arrested Ridd at her place of work after she retrieved that order.

On being questioned, she changed her story multiple times. At first, she claimed the package contained coffee beans, then alleged that she had bought the bacteria for making beer and then landed on using the staph for environmental purposes.

Ridd appeared to be shocked when asked if she was using the staph on Rachel with harmful intentions, The Independent reported “No, and I wouldn’t even know how to do that,” she said, according to a tape of the interview that featured in the documentary. “No, she’s my best friend and whether we argue or not, she’s been my best friend for 25 years and I love her like a sister.”

Authorities searched Ridd and Rachel's home and found an expended insulin injector pen with the victim's DNA, The Independent reported. The prosecutors charged Ridd with three felonies: aggravated intentional abuse of a disabled or elder adult, attempted intentional abuse of a disabled or elder adult, and attempted possession of a weapon of mass destruction.

Ridd pleaded guilty to intentional abuse of a disabled or elder adult and attempted possession of a weapon of mass destruction in 2020, The Independent reported. She was sentenced to one to twenty years for her charges by the court.

Following Ridd's sentencing, her attorney Scott Williams stated: "When a person does as Ms. Ridd did, and accepts responsibility and pleads guilty without having any hearings or a full description of the totality of a case, the only thing the public hears is one side–unchallenged. Despite a sentencing matrix of probation, she agreed to go to prison, and we have put our faith in the Board of Pardons to consider a fair sentence," ABC4 reported.

After serving 25 months, Ridd was granted parole in January 2022, The Independent reported.

Rachel still cannot comprehend, that her friend tried to kill her, Independent reported.

“I really have a hard time believing that the person I’ve known for 25 years, my best friend and roommate, could do what she did,” Rachel, identified only by her first name, said in the documentary. “But it was diabolical, it was evil. It was plotted and planned so perfectly.”

During the sentencing, Rachel stated to the court how much she went through at Ridd's hands.

"[Ridd] watched me scream and writhe in pain for the infections she injected. […] I can remember many tearful discussions he and I had about how my son would not understand, he’s cognitively delayed if I died. […] I also had three neck surgeries in the past nine months and the infections she injected into my spinal area created a much slower recovery," the victim wrote in her statement, addressed to the court," ABC4 reported.

In an undated phone call from Salt Lake County Jail, Ridd can be heard saying – "I know what’s going to happen. I’m going to end up out of here. I’m going to find a way to get him away from her. He needs to come back to me now," The Independent reported.