A murder plot involving two Lake Brantley High School students stemmed from one student’s obsession over the Sandy Hook school shooter, according to new court documents.
Lois Olivios Lippert, 14, and Isabelle Aurelia Valdez, 15, were arrested on Jan. 23 after Altamonte Springs police received a tip through FortifyFL about a potential threat to a student.
The two teens on Wednesday appeared in court, where a judge ordered they be held on no bond. Valdez and Lippert each face charges of attempted first-degree premeditated murder and possession of a weapon on school property, according to jail records.
According to an arrest report, the tip said a student named “Jimmy” — later identified as Valdez — was going to kill another student. Police pulled Valdez and Lippert out of class to interview them regarding the tip.
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Valdez initially denied knowing anything about the tip, according to the report, though a knife was found in Valdez’s backpack during the investigation.
An unredacted Altamonte Springs police report states Valdez told investigators that she was obsessed with deceased Sandy Hook shooter Adam Lanza and planned to kill a student at Lake Brantley High School who she said resembled him.
Valdez said that she used to be able to hear Lanza’s voice in her head, but no longer, and she believed that killing the student and performing a “blood ritual” with his remains would either bring Lanza’s voice back to her, would bring Lanza back to life outright, or both, according to the report.
Lippert is accused in large part of helping Valdez sharpen the knife in a bathroom, as well as testing its sharpness against her own skin and Valdez’s shirt, the report states.
While being interviewed, Valdez told investigators that Lippert, at her request, also brought gloves, cigarettes and a lighter to her at school. Valdez said that she had also asked Lippert to bring a flower that she intended to place on the student’s dead body, as well as that the cigarettes were for her to smoke because she knew she would be arrested, according to the report.
“Valdez stated she planned to wait for (the student) in the upstairs bathroom, where she would pull him inside. Valdez stated she would then stab him in the stomach or cut his throat. Valdez stated she had flowers for him and would leave them for his funeral,” the report states.
Valdez was reportedly pulled out of class while she was writing a note to her parents, what she said she intended to finish before writing a manifesto, according to police. The note described the plan as “a fair and beautiful scene of devotion,” adding “they told me that Adam would come back to speak to me if I did it for him,” the report states.
Further, records show Altamonte Springs police, the Seminole County Sheriff’s Office and the FBI are investigating Valdez’s alleged knowledge of swatting calls made earlier this year to Lake Brantley High School on Jan. 8, Jan. 20 and Jan. 22.
After the arrests, Seminole County Public Schools released the following statement:
We are deeply grateful to the individual whose courageous tip allowed law enforcement to take swift action. The situation was resolved safely thanks to the seamless collaboration between our school and law enforcement partners.
Seminole County Public Schools
News 6 spoke with sophomore Madeline Segarra, a student government representative at the same school, after the two teens were arrested.
“I just know that there was two girls involved,” Segarra told News 6. “One girl had the knife and the note… The other girl was called out of class because her name was mentioned, I guess by the first girl. But yeah, two girls are already counted with the charge.”