Rachael Mullenix

Parties

• Defendant: Rachael Scarlett Mullenix (also referred to as Rachael Mullenix), 16/17 at the time of the murder; later described as 19 at sentencing and in court reporting.
• Victim: Barbara Mullenix, 56.
• Boyfriend (then-lover at the time of the slaying): Ian Allen, 21/23 at different points in the reporting; convicted separately of murder and scheduled for sentencing.

Timeline

• September 13, 2006 — Barbara Mullenix was stabbed more than 50 times and wrapped in a blanket; her body was dumped near the Newport Harbor Yacht Club / in Newport Harbor / Newport Bay.
• September 2006 — Rachael Mullenix and Ian Allen were taken into custody within days in Louisiana while they were on their way to Florida; they had been making their escape toward Florida on Interstate 10 and were stopped in Louisiana.
• July 17, 2008 — Rachael Mullenix was convicted of one felony count of murder in connection with the slaying of her mother.
• October 9, 2008 — A judge sentenced Rachael Mullenix to 25 years to life in prison.
• September 18, 2008 — Ian Allen was convicted of a single felony count of murder.
• November 14 — Ian Allen was scheduled to be sentenced to 25 years to life.

Background

Rachael Scarlett Mullenix was described as a Huntington Beach teenager and was identified as Barbara Mullenix’s daughter. Her parents were described as Barbara and Bruce Mullenix. Bruce Mullenix was described as the victim’s ex-husband and as Rachael Mullenix’s father. Rachael Mullenix was described as having a half-brother, Alex (Barbara’s son from a prior marriage). The reporting described Rachael Mullenix as the only child of Barbara and Bruce Mullenix and stated she was born in Oklahoma City in 1989.

The reporting described a family history of conflict, including arguments between Rachael Mullenix and her mother and disputes during periods when Barbara Mullenix drank. Bruce Mullenix described Barbara Mullenix as “crazy, mean drunk” and said her drinking led to fights. The reporting also described Rachael Mullenix’s testimony that her mother pulled her hair and scratched her, and that once Oklahoma police were called in July 2002 after Rachael Mullenix said her mother bit her; it said charges were not filed after Rachael Mullenix retracted her story and investigators did not believe the abuse happened.

The reporting described that the relationship between Rachael Mullenix and Ian Allen began in May 2006, that Allen then appeared in their lives, and that Rachael and Allen became more serious. The reporting described that Barbara Mullenix wanted to live with her daughter when she became a legal adult and that Rachael Mullenix’s parents accepted Allen, including a written permission slip allowing him to date their daughter, who was a minor. The reporting described a curfew requiring Rachael Mullenix to be home by 1 a.m.

Bruce Mullenix described the household as having rules and described Barbara Mullenix as forbidding Rachael Mullenix from seeing Allen. The reporting described that tensions grew as Rachael Mullenix became more serious with Allen, and described that Barbara Mullenix was concerned Rachael might move in with her beau. The reporting also described that Rachael Mullenix was grounded after breaking the 1 a.m. curfew a few weeks before the murder, as stated in opening statements.

The offence

Barbara Mullenix was stabbed more than 50 times. The body was wrapped in a bloody blanket and dumped near the Newport Harbor Yacht Club / in Newport Harbor / Newport Bay. A butter knife was found in the victim’s right eye when her corpse was pulled from the ocean. The reporting described the stabbing as executed with at least two knives and referenced “three separate knives.” The reporting described that Rachael Mullenix testified she helped clean up the crime scene.

The reporting described prosecution allegations that Rachael Mullenix wanted her mother dead after being grounded for breaking a 1 a.m. curfew, and that the abundance of slashes showed that Rachael Mullenix and Allen attacked her together.

Rachael Mullenix’s defence, as presented in reporting, was that Ian Allen killed her mother and that she helped clean up the aftermath out of fear. She denied inflicting any of the 52 wounds, according to reporting, and continued to insist she did not inflict any of the 52 wounds found on Barbara Mullenix’s body.

Investigation

Louisiana officials arrested the couple heading toward Florida on suspicion of killing a Huntington Beach woman and dumping her body in Newport Bay. The reporting described that at about 3 p.m. Friday, Louisiana officials arrested a 17-year-old girl and Ian Allen, 21, on suspicion of fatally stabbing Barbara Anne Mullenix, 56, in her Huntington Beach condominium and dumping her body in the bay near the Newport Harbor Yacht Club. It described that the victim’s 17-year-old daughter, who lived with her, was reported missing Thursday and that police declined to say whether the teen suspect was the missing daughter, while also stating that the missing daughter had been found. The reporting said police did not identify juveniles who had been arrested.

The reporting described that a probable-cause arrest warrant was obtained for the couple described as making their escape to friends in Tampa Bay, Florida, in a black Ford Ranger. Investigators put out a special national bulletin and called troopers in Louisiana and Texas. Crime-scene investigators worked through the night Thursday and into Friday to find fingerprints at the condominium. The reporting described that Newport Beach investigators passed the investigation on to Huntington Beach police after an autopsy revealed the identity of the woman, who lived at the Millstream Condominium Complex on Warner Avenue. It also stated that bloodied bedding was found in a trash bin nearby.

Arrest

• Louisiana officials arrested Rachael Mullenix (described as 17) and Ian Allen (described as 21) on suspicion of stabbing and dumping Barbara Mullenix’s body.
• The reporting described that they were stopped in Louisiana while making their escape toward Florida.

Trial

Rachael Mullenix was convicted of murder. The reporting stated that jurors deliberated about 2 1/2 days before finding her guilty of murder in the death of Barbara Mullenix. The reporting stated that she was convicted on July 17, 2008.

The reporting described that Rachael Mullenix took the witness stand in her own defence and said Ian Allen was the person who killed her mother. She admitted helping clean up the crime scene, including sponging up her mother’s blood, packing her mother’s belongings in trash bags, and dumping them. She also admitted accompanying Allen as he dumped her mother’s corpse in Newport Bay. The reporting described that Rachael Mullenix testified that Allen kidnapped her after killing her mother and drove her to Florida.

The reporting described cross-examination by Deputy District Attorney Sonia Balleste focusing on Mullenix’s alleged actions after the killing, including a text message sent to Ian Allen in which Mullenix said:

“I love you. Am I going to see you soon? Are you in trouble? Can I call you?”

Balleste asked:

“Out of all the people you can call … you call your mother’s killer? You don’t call dad, 911 or friends?’’

Rachael Mullenix answered:

“Correct,’’

The reporting described that under cross-examination Rachael Mullenix said she did not recall details such as what kind of knives Allen used to kill her mother. It also stated that she admitted she did not try to get help although she had several chances to alert others. It described that Balleste asked whether it occurred to her to shove or otherwise act against Allen, including the question:

“Did it ever occur to you to whack him with lamp?”

Rachael Mullenix replied:

“No,”

Balleste asked whether Rachael considered checking whether her mother was alive or calling police after the stabbing; the reporting described that Rachael admitted not calling police and not checking.

The reporting described a diary entry written by Rachael Mullenix the day before the killing:

“I feel like I have to choose between my family and my love. i don't know what to do. Am I making the right decision?”

The reporting stated that Rachael Mullenix testified that the entry was about running away.

A motion for a new trial was addressed prior to sentencing. Defense attorney David Cohn argued that many of prosecutor Sonia Balleste’s statements and the evidence she presented despite court orders to not use them prejudiced the jury enough to warrant a new trial.

Sentencing

Rachael Mullenix expressed “grudging and limited remorse” at sentencing, according to reporting. It stated that tears rolled from her eyes as she spoke. Rachael Mullenix told Orange County Superior Court Judge David Thompson:

"I don't care what the jury thought. I did not do that to my mother,"

and also said:

"I can't even believe this is happening to me."

The reporting described that she stated she woke with guilt in her jail cell every morning and said:

"Even though I didn't do it,"
she said, "I feel like I didn't do enough to prevent it."

In addressing the court’s view of her actions and her remarks, the reporting said prosecutors argued she decided to kill her mother after being grounded for breaking a 1 a.m. curfew and that the number of wounds proved she and Allen attacked her together. Prosecutor Sonia Balleste made a statement after the sentencing hearing:

"It's just chilling to hear a sociopath talk like that,"

and also said:

"If you ever get used to it, there's a problem. I hope I never do."

Balleste argued that Mullenix remained fixated on herself and said:

"It's all about her and what she feels,"

and also said:

"I don't think she's capable of feeling anything at all."

Bruce Mullenix made statements during the victim impact portion and sentencing proceeding. He told the judge:

"I know in my heart that she didn't do this,"

He also said:

"Her mother had problems. No one knows how bad it was other than Rachael and myself."

The reporting described that a law clerk read a prepared statement from an anonymous friend of the victim. The statement described Rachael Mullenix as a narcissist with a “black heart” and disposed of her mother like “a piece of garbage.”

It stated that Judge David Thompson pointed to the number of wounds and noted the victim was especially vulnerable because she was attacked in her own bedroom by someone she trusted. It also stated that Judge Thompson rejected a defence motion earlier in the afternoon for a new trial.

At sentencing, a victim’s advocate from the district attorney’s office, Angela Tietzer, read a prepared statement. The statement included the following text:

“Barbara Mullenix was murdered because it was her daughter’s wish — a daughter who put her own selfish and narcissistic wishes above all else, including her mother’s life. Barbara Mullenix was a 56-year-old woman who had some challenges in her life. At the age of 18 she was the victim of a sexual assault that resulted in a pregnancy. Barbara carried her baby to term and put her up for adoption so she could have a good home. Barbara was married twice. She had a son, Alex Hagwood, from her first marriage and the defendant from her second marriage. Throughout her life she was a wife and mother. She cared for her children and her home. She loved movies. Her favorite was “Gone with the Wind.” She never gave up on pursuing the Hollywood dream. Barbara had some challenging times in her life. Somewhere along the way she developed an alcohol problem. This resulted in her at times behaving erratically and irrationally. Not once were her children taken from her by the authorities. Not even an investigation in to her parenting skills, yet she has been portrayed by her ex-husband and her daughter as some out-of-control drunken abuser. Yet the evidence presented showed a child who had the better things in life, including big birthday parties and the larger room in the house. A teenager that dictated where she wanted to live and with who, including being allowed to go to an alternative school once a week leaving her the rest of her free time to spend with her boyfriend — a boyfriend that she secured an overnight pass for and a signed permission slip. Her only job was working as a background actress with her mother. Does this really sound like abuse? Barbara Mullenix may have been far from perfect, but there is nothing that can be said about her faults that would remotely begin to justify this horrific crime. More importantly her tragic death has left a shadow on her legacy. She was more than just a lady in the water with a butter knife in her eye. She was a mother. A betrayed mother. A mother who suffered the ultimate punishment for attempting to do what she was expected to do. You discipline your children because you love them and want them to learn important life lessons so they can be responsible, loving and productive adults. This is completely lost on this defendant. In 25 lifetimes Rachael Mullinex would not be able to begin to understand the enormous impact of her crime much less 25 years. One of the few comforts this community can take away today is the comfort that this defendant will never be a mother. This community has suffered. The disturbing conduct of this defendant has left parents with a child colder than the waters of Newport Bay. The suffering of the families involved, the Allens and the Mullinex families, are evident and inconsolable. They have lost the dreams they once had for their children. Instead of college graduations, weddings and grandchildren they now look forward to prison visits, mail and an occasional phone call for a lifetime. What would Barbara Mullenix say if she could? She would want to know why her daughter does not have a single injury in response to her cries for help. Maybe Barbara would want to know how Rachael could have allowed her not only to be killed in the manner in which she was, but to be disposed of as a piece of garbage — her life reduced to a few bags of trash and a cardboard box as a coffin. ... What kind of black heart a human being has to have to do what Rachael Mullenex even admits to doing much less what she actually did? This is precisely what makes this defendant so dangerous. Not only, as the evidence proved, is she a master manipulator, but she is also without a conscience. Such individuals should never be allowed back into society. A mother ... would do whatever it took to protect her children. Barbara Mullenix ... would have stood in line to take a butter knife through the eye to save her children. Sorry to say, this child is not worth it. We can only hope that this image of her mutilated mother haunts her for the rest of her days.””

The reporting also stated that Rachael Mullenix told the judge she was innocent and said:

“I’ll never take responsibility for it. Every day without her is a struggle. I can’t believe this is happening to me. Everyone was always against my mom; I was always there to protect her,”

and also said:

“How can you do that to your own mother? I couldn’t; there’s no way I could. She was my life. If I supposedly did this, my family would be the first to know. ”

Judge David Thompson sentenced Rachael Mullenix to 25 years to life in prison on October 9, 2008.

Outcome

Rachael Mullenix was convicted of murder and sentenced to 25 years to life in prison.

Ian Allen was convicted of a single felony count of murder on September 18 and was scheduled to be sentenced to 25 years to life on November 14.

Aftermath

The reporting described that after the murder, Allen and Rachael Mullenix dumped the body in Newport Harbor and fled toward Florida on Interstate 10, where they were stopped in Louisiana. It also described that Mullenix cried loudly as the verdict was read in July 2008 and that Ian Allen awaited trial on murder charges.

The reporting described that no friends or family spoke on Barbara Mullenix’s behalf during the victim impact portion and that a victim’s advocate read a prepared statement. It also described that Rachael Mullenix’s father, Bruce Mullenix, continued to fight for his daughter during trial testimony and sentencing, and he said he refused to believe she was a killer.

Other details

• The reporting described the jury as composed of seven men and five women.
• The reporting described that Rachael Mullenix was 16/17 at the time of the murder and was described as 19 at the time of conviction and sentencing reporting.
• The reporting described that a neighbor recalled witnessing fiery disputes between Barbara and Rachael Mullenix and seeing someone dragging a large object out of Rachael’s apartment, then seeing two people throw it into a car with a Florida license plate.
• The reporting described that Rachael Mullenix sent a text message to Ian Allen after the killing.
• The reporting described that Rachael Mullenix sometimes argued and that the trial addressed Rachael Mullenix and her mother’s character, including descriptions of alcohol use by Barbara Mullenix and assertions by defence about abuse.