Sara Raras Murder Case: Where Are Ardale Tickles and Emilia Raras Now? – In the fall of 1998, a young, independent single mother had her life sadly shortened. On her friend’s answering machine the night before she passed away, a mother of age 35 left a threatening voicemail. The inquiry into her slaying would eventually uncover one of the most horrific killers in the region’s history.
After a friend she typically spoke to every day left an odd message on her answering machine on the evening of November 15, 1998, Laura Billeter called the police to ask for a wellness check.
The gruesome murder is detailed in the Investigation Discovery documentary “Heart of Darkness: Mommy Dearest,” which also demonstrates how a successful police investigation enabled the culprits to be brought to justice. Let’s examine the specifics of the incident and learn where Sara’s killers are right now.
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Who was Sara Raras and How Did She Die?
In Albuquerque, New Mexico, Sara was raised. Sara was particularly close to her sister Nancy, who regarded her as enthusiastic and cheerful at all times. Sara left home to pursue her studies in mathematics in 1980. She married soon after receiving her degree, but the union failed. Sara received an employment offer in 1987 to work as a statistician with the National Security Agency in Maryland. She acquired a number of close friends and loved her job. Sara, however, felt as though something was lacking from her life.
Sara first met Lorenzo Raras at Johns Hopkins University, when she was taking night classes to pursue her master’s degree. Lorenzo was employed by a communications firm. He was praised for being extremely intelligent, amiable, and descended from a close-knit Filipino family. The pair wed three years after they first met. They gave birth to a boy together three years after being married. After the birth of their child, the couple’s problems began. The attention Sara was giving their son made Lorenzo uncomfortable.
For assistance, Sara turned to her mother-in-law Emilia. Emilia didn’t want to get involved, even though Sara sincerely wanted the marriage to survive. The summer of 1998 saw Sara and Lorenzo part ways. While Sara stayed with the infant in their home, Lorenzo moved in with his parents. Together with Laura Billeter, Sara went shopping on November 14, 1998. Apparently, Laura told Sara she was loved as her final words to her.
Sara had been scared that anything would happen to her over the past few days. Co-parenting had been difficult for her and Lorenzo. Lorenzo taking their son to the Philippines was Sara’s greatest worry. She exerted every effort possible to revoke his passport. Laura awoke on November 15 to a terrifying message from Sara. In addition to Sara screaming, there was a lot of rustling background noise. When Laura phoned the police, they quickly showed up at Sara’s.
In her house, Sara was discovered dead. On the porch, a window had been shattered. The murder weapon, a machete, was discovered by the police in the grass. It was brought in for evaluation. When the police entered, they saw a lot of blood on the walls, the carpet, and even some toys next to Sara’s body. The house also contained bloody shoe prints.
Two days after Sara died, the results of her postmortem were released. Blood loss was the cause of her death. She had suffered many stab wounds to the abdomen, chest, and throat.
Who Killed Sara Raras and Why?
The cops discovered Sara’s blood mingled with unidentified male DNA on the machete. Lorenzo was the first person the police had as a suspect. He was taken inside to be questioned. Additionally, the police discovered that they had visited her house roughly five months prior to her murder. She phoned the police after she and Lorenzo got into a verbal altercation. The house needed to be cleared of Lorenzo.
Sara had started taking a friend with her to make the handoff for their son in a public setting after the confrontation. The fact that Lorenzo displayed no emotion when they broke the news of Sara’s passing to him at the police station increased the officers’ conviction that he was responsible. Lorenzo said he didn’t kill Sara since he had spent the entire weekend with his brother. His brother endorsed his explanation.
Despite agreeing to provide a DNA sample, Lorenzo’s sample did not match the DNA on the machete. Police did not totally exclude him. Authorities finally made big progress three months after Sara’s death when they learned that a convict had recounted a murder that sounded similar to the one they were attempting to solve. Ardale Tickles, the offender in question, bragged that he had gotten away with murder and started giving details that only the murderer would know. So the police began questioning him again right away.
During questioning, the police discovered that Emilia Raras, Lorenzo’s mother, had given him $3,000 in exchange for the killing. Authorities quickly discovered proof of the $3000 check Emilia sent out in Ardale’s name, despite her continued insistence that she was innocent and had nothing to do with Sara’s death. Emilia was therefore also accused of killing Sara because there was hard proof against her.
Where Are Emilia Raras and Ardale Tickles Now?
Emilia was hauled in by the police following Ardale’s admission. Sara “practically spit in my face,” according to Emilia, who complained to the police that she was rude and unkind to her. Particularly when Sara was going through her pregnancy, Emilia felt insulted.
After speaking with Emilia, the detectives discovered that the baby was her underlying motivation. She will take whatever necessary measures to keep the baby in the family. The cops enquired about Ardale with Emilia. She asserted that she had assumed he was merely going to Sara’s house to hurl stones at it. Det. Rettig considered that to be the silliest thing he had ever heard. Why pay $3000 to someone to throw stones?
Lorenzo, according to Emilia, was not involved. The cops wiretapped the jail house calls when she was taken into custody. Despite Sara’s family members’ belief that he was responsible for her death, there was never any evidence to support this. Ardale Tickles entered a guilty plea on July 12, 2000, and was found guilty of first-degree murder. He received a life sentence with a chance of parole.
In January 2001, Emilia was put on trial after entering a not-guilty plea. No relatives showed up to show their support. 18 hours were spent on jury deliberations. Her culpability for first-degree murder was determined. She received a life sentence without the possibility of parole. She had never before expressed any emotion. Since then, Emilia has pleaded for her release from jail. She asserted that her ten years in prison had reduced her rage and increased her religiosity.
