Cedarville woman faces death penalty in murder of four people, including her brother, at tribal headquarters
Placer County jurors continued to hear testimony Wednesday to determine whether Cherie Louise Lash Rhoades should be sentenced to death for the 2014 murder of four people.
Rhoades, 46, of Cedarville, was convicted Dec. 19 of killing three of her relatives and a tribal administrator of Cedarville Rancheria during a hearing at the tribe’s headquarters to decide whether she and her son should be evicted from tribal housing.
Rhoades, a former chairwoman of the 35-member tribe, used a 9 mm semi-automatic handgun in the rampage and stabbed a woman with a butcher knife after she ran out of bullets, according to police statements.
Her trial was moved from Modoc County to Placer County, where jurors needed less than two hours to find her guilty of four counts of first-degree murder and two counts of attempted murder.
Three weeks before the Feb. 20, 2014, attack, Rhoades had been suspended as chairwoman pending a federal investigation into allegations that she embezzled at least $50,000 from the tribe.
Pronounced dead at the scene were Rurik Davis, 50, Rhoades’ brother; Angel Penn, 19, her niece; Glenn Calonicco, 30, her nephew; and Shelia Lynn Russo, 47, a tribal administrator who managed evictions. Melissa Davis and Monica Davis were both injured.
The penalty phase of Rhoades’ murder trial is scheduled to continue through the week, said Rosalinda Cruz, a spokeswoman for Placer Superior Court.
This story was originally published January 4, 2017 at 6:44 PM.