Two Florida teenagers accused of planning to kill a classmate in what prosecutors describe as a "blood ritual" will remain jailed without bond after a judge reviewed video of them laughing in the back of a patrol car following their arrests.
Prosecutors in Seminole County argued that the video shows 15-year-old Isabelle Valdez and 14-year-old Lois Lippert do not grasp the seriousness of the charges and still pose a danger to others. The judge agreed and ordered both teens held in custody while the case moves forward.
The girls, students at Lake Brantley High School in Altamonte Springs, were arrested in January after someone used the state's FortifyFL reporting app to warn authorities about a possible attack. Deputies searched Valdez's backpack at school and reported finding a knife that investigators say was meant to be used on a male classmate, according to ABC News.
According to investigators, Valdez told officers she wanted to kill the boy in a school bathroom by cutting his throat or stabbing his abdomen. Prosecutors say she claimed the classmate reminded her of Sandy Hook gunman Adam Lanza and that she believed the killing would create a "blood bond" with him.
Court records state that Lippert is accused of helping prepare for the planned attack by bringing gloves, chocolate, flowers, and cigarettes, and by assisting in sharpening the knife on school grounds. Prosecutors say she also drew graphic images of the intended victim, Fox35 Orlando reported.
In the patrol car recording released by the state attorney's office, the teens can be heard laughing, talking about the person who reported them, and making remarks about school shooters and prison sentences, according to officials. Prosecutors cited that behavior in arguing they should not be released.
Valdez and Lippert are charged as adults with attempted first-degree premeditated murder and attempted felony murder, among other counts, and have pleaded not guilty, as per ABC7 Chicago.
