Woman admits aiding double murder

CARLTON, Minn. — Rachel Defoe testified Friday that she didn’t know anyone was going to be hurt, she didn’t hear the gunshots and her boyfriend didn’t immediately tell her that he cold-bloodedly shot a Cromwell couple to death in their home after robbing them, but she admitted she was involved.

The 26-year-old Cloquet woman and boyfriend Joshua Martineau went into hiding for nearly two months after the January 9, 2011, slayings of Thomas Holm and his girlfriend, Kim Schmitz, before she and Martineau were arrested in Hennepin County.

Friday was scheduled to be a pretrial hearing in State District Court in preparation for Defoe’s Oct. 1 trial for aiding and abetting first-degree murder. She made a trial unnecessary by accepting responsibility for being involved in the crimes and pleading guilty to a lesser charge of aiding and abetting second-degree murder.

Under terms of a plea agreement worked out between Carlton County Attorney Thom Pertler and defense attorney Joanna Wiegert, Defoe will serve a prison sentence of between 21 and 23 years. She will be released after serving two-thirds of that time if she follows prison rules.

Co-defendant Martineau pleaded guilty in March to two counts of intentional second-degree murder for shooting the two 53-year-old victims in the back of the head. He received a 60-year prison sentence, 30 years for each murder.

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