An Illinois woman has been charged with murder after police say she deliberately crashed her car into a semi-truck in a planned murder-suicide that killed one of her two passengers.
Jamie Rhode, of Griggsville, was arrested Tuesday and charged with two counts of first-degree murder and one count of attempted first-degree murder, the Pike County Sheriff’s Office announced. The charges stem from a July 24 crash on US 54 near rural Atlas, where Rhode allegedly crossed a double yellow line and slammed head-on into the truck.
The Pike County Sheriff’s Office said in its Tuesday statement that Rhode crashed “with the intent of killing all occupants of her vehicle.” Rhode and her two passengers were seriously injured in the collision. One passenger, Cherie Wells, 73, of Pittsfield, later died from her injuries, according to police. The truck driver also suffered injuries, authorities confirmed.
Rhode’s relationship to Wells and to the surviving passenger remains unclear, and authorities have not disclosed a possible motive for why she allegedly wanted everyone in the car to die. The Pike County Sheriff’s Office and Pike County State Attorney’s Office did not immediately provide additional details when contacted for comment.
The case draws parallels to other recent incidents of drivers using vehicles as weapons against their own passengers. Last week, a Florida woman was found guilty of deliberately crashing her car into a tree along a highway at nearly 100 miles per hour, killing her boyfriend. That crash came just hours after she learned she was pregnant, according to reports.
That Florida case echoed the earlier conviction of Mackenzie Shirilla, who became known as the “Hell on Wheels” killer after she deliberately crashed her car into a brick warehouse in Ohio, killing her boyfriend and his friend. Shirilla is currently serving 15 years to life in prison for the murders.
Shirilla’s legal efforts to overturn her conviction ended last month when an Ohio judge rejected her bid to have the case reopened, marking the conclusion of her appeals within the state.
Rhode now faces the prospect of a similar lengthy prison sentence if convicted on the first-degree murder charges. The attempted first-degree murder charge relates to the surviving passenger in her vehicle, while one murder charge covers Wells and the other accounts for the alleged intent to kill all occupants including herself.
Authorities have not indicated when Rhode is expected to appear in court for an initial hearing on the charges.