Chapter 10 - NATALIE’S STATEMENT
Natalie said the plan began as fraud.
Arthur needed Rose’s signature on property transfers, policy documents, and account authorizations.
He told Natalie that one zolpidem tablet would make Rose relaxed enough to stop arguing.
Natalie provided the medication.
Arthur dissolved it in wine.
Rose recognized the bitter taste and stopped drinking after several swallows.
When Arthur produced the documents, she refused.
Natalie held her wrist while Arthur tried to press a pen into her hand.
Rose broke free.
She threatened to call me and the police.
Arthur blocked the office door.
Rose moved toward the stairs.
He followed, grabbed her shoulder, and shoved.
Natalie insisted she did not expect the fall.
She still helped delay the call and stage the scene.
Her statement was corroborated by audio, toxicology, messages, and the attic footage.
Prosecutors offered no immunity.
They agreed to consider cooperation in charging and sentencing.
Natalie eventually pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit aggravated assault, evidence tampering, insurance fraud, financial crimes, and reckless conduct. The court would decide punishment after Arthur’s case.
Police searched a storage unit rented under Natalie’s company.
They found Rose’s missing phone, the original insurance documents, shredded account statements, and a section of the staircase runner stained with blood.
Arthur had replaced the runner two days after Rose died.
A contractor testified that Arthur insisted on immediate removal because the children should not see the stain.
The blood matched Rose.
Fibers matched the staircase.
The evidence supported staging after the fall.
Arthur’s defense shifted.
He admitted pushing Rose but claimed self-defense.
He said she attacked him with a metal letter opener.
No letter opener appeared in the scene photographs.
Natalie saw none.
The audio captured no threat from Rose.
The district attorney announced intent to proceed to trial.
Meanwhile, the girls’ financial audit expanded.
Arthur had emptied nearly every custodial account Rose’s family created.
Lucy’s balance had fallen from 176,000 dollars to 3,900.
Rachel’s fell from 149,000 to 2,100.
April’s fell from 138,000 to 740.
Funds paid marina debts, Natalie’s apartment, legal planning, residential-school deposits, and the canceled wedding.
The final withdrawal occurred at 9:06 a.m. on the morning of Rose’s funeral.
Arthur moved thirty-eight thousand dollars from Rachel’s education account to the coastal venue where he intended to marry Natalie after “a respectful mourning period.”
He had used his daughter’s future to reserve the celebration of replacing her mother.
Then the forensic accountant found a second destination in the transaction.
Half the payment had not gone to a venue.
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It went to a private aviation company for four one-way seats to Costa Rica.
Arthur had planned to leave the country with Natalie—but without any of his daughters.
