Nicole M. Abusharif (born September 14, 1980) is an American woman, convicted of the 2007

Villa Park, Illinois Villa Park is a village in DuPage County, Illinois, United States, within the Chicago metropolitan area. The population as of the 2020 Census is 21,113. Villa Park is a western suburb of Chicago. History When Ovaltine established its fact ...

murder of her

domestic partner A domestic partnership is a legal relationship, usually between couples, who live together and share a common domestic life, but are not married (to each other or to anyone else). People in domestic partnerships receive benefits that guarantee ...

, Rebecca "Becky" Klein. After being found

guilty Guilty or The Guilty may refer to: * Guilt (emotion), an experience that occurs when a person believes they have violated a moral standard Law *Culpability, the degree to which an agent can be held responsible for action or inaction *Guilt (law) ...

first-degree murder Murder is the unlawful killing of another human without justification or valid excuse, especially the unlawful killing of another human with malice aforethought. ("The killing of another person without justification or excuse, especially the ...

in May 2009, Abusharif was sentenced to 50 years in prison at the Dwight Correctional Center in Nevada Township, Illinois. The case made national news because of the intrigue of a "lesbian love triangle" murder.

Victim

Rebecca Lyn Klein (born April 4, 1974) was born in Chicago. She attended Streamwood High School, and graduated from

Illinois State University Illinois State University (ISU) is a public university in Normal, Illinois. Founded in 1857 as Illinois State Normal University, it is the oldest public university in Illinois. The university emphasizes teaching and is recognized as one of th ...

Murder and investigation

On March 17, 2007, the body of Klein was discovered in the trunk of her 1966 Ford Mustang, after Klein's

of seven years, Abusharif, reported her missing. Klein was found

bound Bound or bounds may refer to: Mathematics * Bound variable * Upper and lower bounds, observed limits of mathematical functions Physics * Bound state, a particle that has a tendency to remain localized in one or more regions of space Geography *B ...

with

duct tape Duct tape (also called duck tape, from the cotton duck cloth it was originally made of) is cloth- or scrim-backed pressure-sensitive tape, often coated with polyethylene. There are a variety of constructions using different backings and adhesi ...

, gagged with a bandana,

blindfold A blindfold (from Middle English ') is a garment, usually of cloth, tied to one's head to cover the eyes to disable the wearer's sight. While a properly fitted blindfold prevents sight even if the eyes are open, a poorly tied or trick blindf ...

ed, and suffocated with a plastic bag over her head. Four days later, Abusharif was charged with

and concealing of a homicide.

Villa Park Villa Park is a football stadium in Aston, Birmingham, England, with a seating capacity of 42,682. It has been the home of Premier League side Aston Villa since 1897. The ground is less than a mile from both Witton and Aston railway station ...

police officers believe that Abusharif killed Klein on March 15, 2007, two days before her body was found. After Abusharif allegedly suffocated Klein to death, she went out with another woman, the 19-year-old Rose Sodaro, she met on the social networking site MySpace. That night, Abusharif and Sodaro went

bowling Bowling is a target sport and recreational activity in which a player rolls a ball toward pins (in pin bowling) or another target (in target bowling). The term ''bowling'' usually refers to pin bowling (most commonly ten-pin bowling), thou ...

in Tinley Park and returned to Abusharif's home, where they engaged in sex. Sodaro believed that Klein was Abusharif's roommate, not her

life partner The term significant other (SO) has different uses in psychology and in colloquial language. Colloquially, "significant other" is used as a gender-neutral term for a person's partner in an intimate relationship without disclosing or presuming ...

. In addition to her relationship with Sodaro, police also believe that Abusharif was motivated to kill Klein by a $400,000 insurance payout.

Forensic scientist Forensic science, also known as criminalistics, is the application of science to criminal and civil laws, mainly—on the criminal side—during criminal investigation, as governed by the legal standards of admissible evidence and criminal ...

s found

fingerprint A fingerprint is an impression left by the friction ridges of a human finger. The recovery of partial fingerprints from a crime scene is an important method of forensic science. Moisture and grease on a finger result in fingerprints on surfac ...

s on the

and plastic bag belonging to Abusharif and her DNA on the bandana. Prosecutors also uncovered a slew of lies that Abusharif allegedly told, including stating to Sodaro that she had been a

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

firefighter during the September 11, 2001 attacks. Abusharif, who was also an

alcoholic Alcoholism is, broadly, any drinking of alcohol that results in significant mental or physical health problems. Because there is disagreement on the definition of the word ''alcoholism'', it is not a recognized diagnostic entity. Predomina ...

, claimed to have liver cancer and told Sodaro that her

alcoholism Alcoholism is, broadly, any drinking of alcohol that results in significant mental or physical health problems. Because there is disagreement on the definition of the word ''alcoholism'', it is not a recognized diagnostic entity. Predomi ...

would lead to her death. Abusharif also took Sodaro to a

funeral home A funeral home, funeral parlor or mortuary, is a business that provides burial and funeral services for the dead and their families. These services may include a prepared wake and funeral, and the provision of a chapel for the funeral. Services ...

, where she dramatically selected her own

casket A casket jewelry box is a container that is usually smaller than a chest, and in the past were typically decorated. Whereas cremation jewelry is a small container, usually in the shape of a pendant or bracelet, to hold a small amount of ashes. ...

. During the police's investigation into the murder of Klein, Abusharif's coworker at a

Des Plaines Des Plaines is a city in Cook County, Illinois, United States. Per the 2020 census, the population was 60,675. The city is a suburb of Chicago and is located just north of O'Hare International Airport. It is situated on and is named after the ...

security company, Robert L. Edwards, was charged with five counts of

obstructing justice Obstruction of justice, in United States jurisdictions, is an act that involves unduly influencing, impeding, or otherwise interfering with the justice system, especially the legal and procedural tasks of prosecutors, investigators, or other go ...

for allegedly lying about his whereabouts when Klein was believed to have been murdered. Police focused on Edwards during their initial investigation because he was at Abusharif and Klein's residence on March 16, 2007, during the search for Klein. He later admitted to police that he and Abusharif were "drug buddies who shared wild sex fantasies." Initially, Edwards was on a $1 million

bail Bail is a set of pre-trial restrictions that are imposed on a suspect to ensure that they will not hamper the judicial process. Bail is the conditional release of a defendant with the promise to appear in court when required. In some countrie ...

, which was later reduced to $500,000. After being

indicted An indictment ( ) is a formal accusation that a person has committed a crime. In jurisdictions that use the concept of felonies, the most serious criminal offence is a felony; jurisdictions that do not use the felonies concept often use that of ...

charges, Abusharif was held at the

DuPage County DuPage County ( ) is a county in the U.S. state of Illinois, and one of the collar counties of the Chicago metropolitan area. As of the 2020 census, the population was 932,877, making it Illinois' second-most populous county. Its county seat ...

Jail on $3 million bond, later lowered to $1 million. After bonding out of jail, Abusharif was put on

home confinement In justice and law, house arrest (also called home confinement, home detention, or, in modern times, electronic monitoring) is a measure by which a person is confined by the authorities to their residence. Travel is usually restricted, if allo ...

in her Oak Lawn apartment. However, on April 25, 2008, Abusharif violated her bail by leaving her apartment to visit a family member's home next door. Although, Assistant State's Attorney Joseph Ruggiero applied to have Abusharif's bail revoked, her bail was only increased by $100,000. She returned to county jail but was back out on bail before her trial began.

Trials

In November 2008, Edwards went to trial on charges of

police still believed he was not involved in Becky Klein's murder, but he was convicted of the obstruction charges and was sentenced to 75 days at the

DuPage County, Illinois DuPage County ( ) is a county in the U.S. state of Illinois, and one of the collar counties of the Chicago metropolitan area. As of the 2020 census, the population was 932,877, making it Illinois' second-most populous county. Its county seat is ...

work camp In the United States, Workamping (a portmanteau word) is a combination of work and camping. A Workamper combines part-time or full-time paid or volunteer work with RV or tent camping. Workampers generally receive compensation in the form of a fr ...

. Abusharif's

jury trial A jury trial, or trial by jury, is a legal proceeding in which a jury makes a decision or findings of fact. It is distinguished from a bench trial in which a judge or panel of judges makes all decisions. Jury trials are used in a significan ...

commenced on April 20, 2009. Edwards did not testify for the

prosecution A prosecutor is a legal representative of the prosecution in states with either the common law adversarial system or the Civil law (legal system), civil law inquisitorial system. The prosecution is the legal party responsible for presenting the ...

, but Sodaro did so and was joined by many members of Klein's family. Abusharif also testified in her own defense. When confronted with the evidence against her, she admitted lying during the police investigation. The defense hinged on whether Abusharif would have been physically able to kill Klein. Abusharif's defense attorneys, Bob Parchem and Dennis Sopata, maintained that Abusharif had a bad back and would not have been able to subdue Klein, who weighed 40 pounds more than she did. While Abusharif's attorneys were skeptical of gaining an acquittal, they were able to prove that Klein's murder was not "cold, calculated and premeditated," as the prosecution requested. That eliminated the possibility for a sentence of

life in prison without parole Life imprisonment is any sentence of imprisonment for a crime under which convicted people are to remain in prison for the rest of their natural lives or indefinitely until pardoned, paroled, or otherwise commuted to a fixed term. Crimes fo ...

Verdict and aftermath

On May 5, 2009, Abusharif was convicted of

in the death of Klein after 13 hours of jury deliberation. She faced up to 60 years in prison, but Judge John Kinsella sentenced Abusharif to 50 years of incarceration. She will have to serve all of her sentence before being eligible for parole, at the age of 76. Abusharif's conviction was

affirmed Affirmed (February 21, 1975 – January 12, 2001) was a champion American Thoroughbred racehorse who is the eleventh winner of the American Triple Crown. Affirmed was well known for his famous rivalry with Alydar, whom he met ten times, includi ...

by the Second District of the Illinois Appellate Court on March 4, 2011. She is currently held at

Logan Correctional Center Logan Correctional Center is an Illinois Department of Corrections prison for female offenders in Broadwell Township, Logan County, Illinois, near Lincoln and north of Springfield. The prison opened in January 1978. A plot of fenced land hou ...

Media

Abusharif's case has been covered on various

true crime True crime is a nonfiction literary, podcast, and film genre in which the author examines an actual crime and details the actions of real people associated with and affected by criminal events. The crimes most commonly include murder; about 40 pe ...

television documentary programs. In 2021, it was featured on ''

Deadly Women ''Deadly Women'' is an American true crime documentary television series produced by Beyond International Group and airing on the Investigation Discovery (ID) network. The series focuses on murders committed by women. It is hosted by forme ...

'' as the third case of the episode "Lethal Lies." It was also featured on

Lifetime Movie Network LMN (also known previously as Lifetime Movies, and an initialism for Lifetime Movie Network) is an American pay television network owned by A&E Networks, a joint venture between the Disney Media Networks subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company and t ...

's ''Wicked Wives''. The story also appeared on ''

Snapped ''Snapped'' is an American true crime television series produced by Jupiter Entertainment. The series depicts high profile or bizarre cases of women accused of murder. Each episode outlines the motivation for murder, whether it be revenge agai ...

'', serving as the subject of the fifteenth episode of the show's ninth season.

References