What is missing from the allegations against the four is just who may have killed Rideout.
He was strangled and there was a "ligature furrow completely encircling (his) neck" and a fracture of the hyoid bone a U-shaped bone that supports the tongue, court records showed. Rideout also suffered a fractured cheekbone and multiple cuts on his forehead and cheek possible signs of a fight while he was being strangled.
However, prosecutors do not have to show who specifically killed Rideout, if any of the defendants in fact did. Instead, they need to prove that each defendant could be considered an "accomplice" in the slaying, much like a getaway driver at a robbery.
The accused cannot be convicted of the murder based solely on actions after the homicide. If the jury finds, for example, that a defendant did knowingly try to hide evidence of Rideout's homicide, that does not by itself make the accused guilty of murder, but, instead, guilty of tampering with evidence.
The timeline could play a crucial role for prosecutors. If Robbyn Drew did speak with her brother around 7:20 p.m. July 19, as she said, then Tucci and Laura Rideout were at the Walmart about two hours later, buying materials that authorities claim were used to try to hide Rideout's corpse.
