Netflix's 'Worst Roommate Ever' Season 2 Janie Lynn Ridd's lethal obsession with best friend Rachel
SALT LAKE CITY, UTAH: Netflix's 'Worst Roommate Ever' debuted Season 2 with more gruesome true incidents which shocked the world. In the premiere episode of the Netflix documentary, Rachel delves into the details of her best friend Janie Lynn Ridd's plotting her murder.
Janie had been poisoning Rachel with bacteria that caused her staph infections and attempted to kill her. After the FBI investigated the case, Janie was arrested on December 20, 2019, and faced multiple charges including attempted possession or use of a weapon of mass destruction.
Janie was also charged with attempted aggravated abuse of a vulnerable adult and aggravated abuse of a disabled or elderly person. However, Janie pleaded guilty to the first two charges in exchange for the third charge being dropped in June 2019. Janie is currently serving her 20-year sentence after she was held under the Utah Department of Corrections in August 2019.
Who is Janie Lynn Ridd?
Janie Lynn Ridd is a Utah resident and the mastermind behind injecting her roommate and best friend with E.Coli and Staph Bacteria. Janie started using sedatives like Xanax and more powerful drugs including ketamine around March 2019 to put Rachel to sleep.
Janie purchased the bacteria on the dark web. However, Federal investigators notably sparked doubt about Janie after they flagged a shipment of Vancomycin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (VRSA), in Rachel's name who was immunocompromised at the time. VRSA bacteria has been known to cause skin infections, pneumonia or death.
Janie made her next purchase from an undercover FBI agent which landed her in trouble. She attempted to explain her purchase and claimed that she was a biology teacher and needed the bacteria for an experiment. However, the FBI agents believed it was actually meant for her roommate.
How did Janie Lynn Ridd meet Rachel?
Janie Lynn Ridd met Rachel in 1995 when she was looking for a roommate after someone tried to break into her house, and she was scared of living alone. Rachel was also vulnerable as she recently got divorced and moved into her parents' house. Rachel wanted to live independently and that's when she met Janie.
The duo moved in together and had a strong start. Janie helped Rachel with managing her finances and taxes. Meanwhile, Rachel helped Janie in socializing and making friends. Rachel felt safe with a "sweet" and "nice person". She claimed that Janie was a loving friend at the beginning and "a little bit shyish and introverted." Rachel and Janie were friends for about 15 years.
What happened to Netflix's 'Worst Roommate Ever' victim Rachel?
Netflix's 'Worst Roommate Ever victim Rachel's health mysteriously started deteriorating after 2010. She had seven back surgeries between 2015 and 2018. She was found unconscious and rushed to the hospital for dangerously low blood sugar levels, even though she was not diabetic. Rachel hurt her back and experienced a herniated disc, and Janie Lynn Ridd notably supported her through her difficult time.
However, Rachel found out she was pregnant around the same time but the child's father chose not to be involved. Janie supported her friend through surgery and the pregnancy. After giving birth to her son Ryder, Rachel's health got even worse and she had to quit her job. She became financially dependent on Janie. Rachel took out a $500,000 insurance policy in her name for her son, Ryder, naming his primary caregiver as the beneficiary. She named Janie her son's legal guardian.
In January 2015, Rachel underwent another painful surgery, and Janie took over the role of Ryder's caregiver. Rachel was not comfortable with Janie taking care of her son. Janie served Rachel with a restraining order and claimed that Rachel was addicted to drugs and incapable taking care of her son. However, the police discovered the truth and returned Ryder to Rachel.
After Rachel moved to a shelter home with her son, Janie approached her to apologize and asked her to move back in. Rachel believed that Janie might have changed and she returned home. She was still recovering from her surgery when she started experiencing other health complications. Rachel developed an infection on her neck, and her insulin levels inexplicably kept dropping. It was later exposed that Janie secretly purchased insulin on the dark web and administered it to the victim.
Rachel recalls tearful plea to Janie Lynn Ridd amid her secret injections
Rachel described the painful plea and request that she suffered when Janie Lynn Ridd injected her bacteria. The victim claimed that Janie watched her "scream and writhe in pain for the infections she injected." She recalled the tearful discussions they had about how Rachel's son would not understand, he would be cognitively delayed if she died.
Rachel also had three neck surgeries in the past nine months and the infections Janie injected into her spinal area created a much slower recovery.
'Worst Roommate Ever' Season 2 is available to stream on Netflix now.