(Photo above of Bernadette in court)
This case continues to attract an audience. Earlier this year Lifetime released a remake of the movie Death of a cheerleader aka A Friend to Die for. One of the reasons I made this blog was to combat the misinformation. I first saw the movie way back in 2005. I felt so bad for Bernadette. I genuinely felt like she was victim to the times. Orinda, California in the 1980s was all about “excellence”. In a scene in the movie, you know the scene where they announce who made the cheerleading squad. The whole school was in the auditorium, watching each girl as their name was called sashay unto the stage. That really happened to Bernadette. The movie was scarily accurate at capturing the environment there at the time. But the movie got several things wrong too. Kirsten was not tormenting Bernadette. Kirsten didn’t give a damn about her and that WAS the problem. Why would Bernadette want to be friends with her so bad if she bullied her and made her life hell? Bernadette wanted to BE Kirsten. Bernadette wanted to BE in her world. When the “date” went bad she lost it and stabbed her to death. Kirsten was inaccurately represented. So after I found out the truth I made this blog.
I truly believe she planned to murder her that night from the jump. Bernadette wore sweatpants that night. She was not dressed for a party. To this very day after years of research I have never been able to establish if there really was a party going on that night. Did the police ever look into that? And let’s be real that knife was not just in the car. Her sister Virginia “Gina” Protti-Varela lied to save her sister. I believe Bernadette’s family knew from the beginning. Bernadette had possession of the pinto that night. She was a chunky blonde teenage girl who was a Bobbie. The police released a description of the pinto and the attacker the very next morning! They knew Kirsten was meeting with a member of the Bobbies. Bernadette matched the description to the t.
The morning Bernadette wrote a letter confessing to her mother, she told her to wait 30 minutes after she left for school to read the letter she wrote. Her mother read her bible with a timer set. Her Mother knew before she opened that letter what was in it.
Use your sense. What could have happened that was so bad Kirsten fled the pinto to run to a neighbors house for help? I believe she planned to kill her all along. And Kirsten ruined it by causing a scene so she had to kill her even though Bernadette had to realize there was witnesses.
I have some good reads coming for y’all, Jeannette was embroiled in a lawsuit along with her employer. Also her sister Virginia had a lawsuit too for frauding a company out of their rightful share after they made a deal with her bank. I’ll upload documents and details later this weekend.
Also Jeannette has a daughter who looks like she could have a pro career in golf sooner than later. Hopefully she has told her family about her murderous rage.
Also check out the film Landscape Suicide. Made in late 80s it’s about Bernadette. Check it out. I’ll post link to the full movie.
11 Comments:
Hi Britt, good to see you back! I can't wait to see the documents that you have. Do you have more photos as well?
I appreciate your motivations for the blog. I never felt bad for Bernadette, even when I first saw the movie as a child. Her character came across as too needy trying to push herself on other people. I didn't really like how any of the characters came across (except for B's friend), but I thought B's character was especially dislikeable with her pathetic and whiny attitude. I'm sorry for Kirsten that she was so badly and inaccurately represented.
One of the things I didn't/don't understand about Bernadette was if she had such low self esteem and felt inferior to others, why did she try out for cheerleading which was held in front of a lot of people. Doesn't it take a lot of self- esteem and "balls" to do something like that, especially in front of a group of judgmental teenage onlookers? My point is she obviously thought highly of herself if she thought she was cheerleading material, which doesn't fit the doe-eyed meek little lamb narrative pushed by the movie.
"Why would Bernadette want to be friends with her so bad if she bullied her and made her life hell?"
Exactly. Their mutual best friend said Bernadette "idolised" Kirsten. A person who is "mercilessly" bullied by another would surely hate the sight of them and not go the trouble of concocting a ruse to lure the person out of her house to "spend time with her" (Bernadette's words.) I think Bernadette did hate Kirsten, not because of the bullying, but because of your point: Kirsten showed little interest in Bernadette and it pissed her off.
"When the “date” went bad she lost it and stabbed her to death."
I agree with that. It boggles the mind that someone who was described as highly intelligent and afraid of people thinking she was "weird" thought it was a good idea to lure someone she barely knew out of their house under false pretences. When I first saw the movie as a 12 year old, I thought that was very weird, so why didn't an almost 16 year old intelligent teenager who was obsessed with her image and popularity not come to the same conclusion? It doesn't make sense.
Apparently, there actually WAS a party that night. Why else would Kirsten get in the car with her? She was told by others that they hadn't heard of any bobbies meeting. She knew when she first saw Bernadette in the car that there was no bobbies meeting, yet she got in the car with her anyway.
I wouldn't put too much stock into what the police investigated, considering they messed up Bernadette's lie detector test and didn't bother their asses to verify her alibi, even though the description of the killer and the car matched her to a T.
It was stated that Virginia worked on the road and the only nonsensical explanation I can come up with for her needing a large knife in the car was for some sort of protection. If that was the case, she would have surely said so in court and not been so evasive with her answers on the stand.
I don't know about the mother knowing. It makes sense that they would and you would think that Bernadette's parents would have picked up on the clear description of the car and killer matching their daughter, but they also came across as naïve, such as their over-reaction to Bernadette getting drunk. Do you remember that story?
I think the mother could have probably guessed what was in the letter, yes. I sometimes go back and forth about my opinions because a lot of things don't make sense about this sad case. Bernadette's parents also consulted with their daughter who was a law student before they brought Bernadette to the police station.
"Jeannette was embroiled in a lawsuit along with her employer"
Is that right?
"Virginia had a lawsuit too for frauding a company out of their rightful share after they made a deal with her bank"
Not surprised.
"What could have happened that was so bad Kirsten fled the pinto to run to a neighbors house for help"
She finally realised the extent of Bernadette's unhealthy obsession with her, which might have come across as something sexual.
Thanks Britt. Very interesting.
I think Bernadette did smoke weed with Kirsten that night. I think after they smoked that's when Bernadette got weird.
Her family ad to know because the witness described the pinto and according to the fbi when they searched the protti's home the pinto was in the garage
Karen, I hope this is posted correctly and that you see my response! It is almost a year after you posted! First, I was wondering the same thing about the knife in the car, etc. I could almost understand it being in there as a form of protection given the time and circumstances (80's, young woman working, potentially going through sketchy areas, etc) but I haven't seen anywhere that says the knife was in there for Virginia's protection. I wonder if an attorney steered them away from saying this as it could be viewed as potentially violet or contribute to the premeditation or something?
As far as the parents go, I would love to know the story about Bernadette getting drunk. Her relationship with her parents almost reminds me of a friend of mine growing up. She had been a "surprise" to her parents after her parents had 2-4 (can't remember) older children who may have been entering adulthood by the time my friend was born. Her parents were great but they were older when they had her and had already been through all of the "parenting struggles" that many people go through with teenagers. They just didn't "sweat the small stuff" and weren't really bothered or shocked by much. Also, Bernadette's parents could have had more of a "hands off" relationship with her and perhaps the other children. Maybe they didn't really ask many questions about their lives etc.
Lastly, I wonder the same thing about what could have been so disturbing that caused Kirsten to flee the Pinto..? Even if she thought Bernadette was "weird," wouldn't most 15 year old girls rather sit in an acquaintance's car vs running to a stranger? Something had to have truly scared her. The other thing I am confused about is, did she not have a key to her house? Maybe I am mistaken but from what I remember, she didn't go into her own house and instead ran across the street to the neighbors. Was she looking for an adult? Maybe she couldn't enter her house.
Hi Unknown,
Karen here. Sorry, I only came across your comment recently when checking old mail.
I don't know about the knife. It's the only "reasonable" scenario I could come up with because it doesn't make any sense to have such a large knife in one's car, especially for cutting fruit and vegetables. Why use such a large knife in the car that would easily cut your fingers? Virginia was vague about the knife on the stand, which only adds to the suspicion that she was covering for Bernadette. Virginia said she "might" have left the knife in the car, so yeah, she could have been warned by a lawyer not to go into detail about it. I don't know what exactly Virginia's job entailed, so I don't know if she was in "sketchy" areas or not. Apparently, Bernadette's mother consulted with her lawyer daughter before bringing Bernadette to the police station.
The story about Bernadette getting drunk is from an article called "Borderline" which I posted in comments on this website. I'll have to find where I posted it and will get back to you. Bernadette was naïve about alcohol and drank too much. Bernadette's parents appeared to be conservative and "sheltered" for want of a better phrase. They freaked out when Bernadette arrived home drunk and they brought her to the hospital. She wasn't drunk enough to get her stomach pumped. Her parents just didn't know what to do with her and didn't seem to realise it would wear off.
What disturbed Kirsten so much that she ran to the house of a stranger?
We can only speculate. Here is what I think happened: Kirsten would have realised that there was no bobbies meeting when Bernadette picked her up in the pinto. However, Kirsten got in the car with her anyway? Why? I think there was a party that night. Why else would Kirsten get in the car with Bernadette (someone she barely knew? It's possible Bernadette had other clothing on under the sweats. I did that as a teenager to avoid being reprimanded by my parents. I think Bernadette drove to the church car-park and wanted to impress Kirsten by smoking a joint. Kirsten didn't want any and probably thought Bernadette's attempts to impress her were sad. I'm reminded of the Borderline article where Kirsten would call a "pot head" and ask them if smoking pot made them feel better about themselves. Kirsten probably had the same attitude towards Bernadette. Bernadette probably got stoned easily because she is not used to pot and her feelings of admiration/obsession came pouring out, which understandably would have freaked out Kirsten and possibly came across as something sexual. I agree with the owner of the website who said Kirsten didn't torment Bernadette like the movie depicted. She just didn't give a shit about Bernadette and likely ignored her, which bothered Bernadette because she wanted to be friends with Kirsten and possibly even be Kirsten. She was trying to force a friendship, which won't endear you to anyone. Maybe they would have eventually become friendly with each other as members of the bobbies, but Bernadette didn't wait and tried to force something to happen.
I wondered about the key. I guess she didn't. She went next door to her neighbour who was also a friend, but the friend was too frightened to open the door because of the loud banging. She also knew Kirsten was gone out that night, so she thought it was a stranger banging on the door. Bernadette then ambushed Kirsten from behind and stabbed her. Kirsten then ran across the road to a neighbour's house who tried to give her aid while an ambulance was called. It was too late. A graphic description was given of Kirsten's last moments by the neighbour's child. It's been a while since I have last posted on this website, but My opinion of Bernadette hasn't changed. I think she's vile.
Karen here. I've changed my mind about some details in the above comment. I had forgotten details about the case because it's been a while since I’ve read about it.
What I think happened:
Bernadette rang Kirsten's house while she was away at cheerleading camp with the intention of luring her out of her house under the pretence of a Bobbies meeting. Bernadette drove to Kirsten’s house and beeped for Kirsten to come outside. Kirsten saw it was Bernadette and was probably sceptical about the Bobbies meeting, but she got in the car with Bernadette anyway. Bernadette drove Kirsten to the church car park under the illusion that other Bobbie members would be there to finish the initiation rituals that were stopped abruptly in school. After a while, when no-one showed up, Kirsten got suspicious and asked Bernadette what was going on? Bernadette probably confessed that there was no meeting and the reason why she drove her to the car park was to get to “know her” (Bernadette's words). Kirsten would obviously be bewildered by this behaviour and question why Bernadette went to the trouble of getting her phone number, and lying to her mother about the Bobbies meeting. Bernadette probably panicked and then her feelings of admiration for Kirsten came pouring out, which came across as obsessive. A mutual friend of both Kirsten and Bernadette said that Bernadette “idolised Kirsten”. Kirsten reportedly didn’t know Bernadette very well or pay her much mind, so you can imagine that Bernadette's obsessive feelings of admiration for her would have made her feel stunned and flabbergasted, which understandably prompted her to flee from Bernadette's car. Put yourself in Kirsten’s shoes and imagine someone you barely knew in High School lied to you to get you out of your house so she could try and force a friendship. Kirsten was alone with a stranger in an empty car-park at night that was trying to force a friendship with her. Most people would have reacted like Kirsten in that scenario.
What did Bernadette say? We can only speculate, obviously. She was obsessive, so probably something along the lines of: “I know that I lied to you, but I've always liked you and just wanted to get to know you.”.....”I know you don't know me very well, but I just really admire you and think we could be friends......and so on.
Looking at this logically, Bernadette would have come across as odd, obsessive and using Kirsten for popularity. Kirsten's feelings were understandable and justified.
2.
Bernadette was described as intelligent and placed a lot of importance on what people thought of her, so it didn't make sense why she lacked the foresight to understand that her plan to lure Kirsten out of her house under the guise of a Bobbies meeting would be a disaster. Bernadette thought a lot more highly of herself than people realised. For example: Bernadette obviously thought she was cheerleading material if she had the balls to try out for cheerleading in front of a group of other girls. She thought she was good enough to write in the school paper. She thought she was good enough to be in the elite sorority groups. In my opinion, she thought highly enough of herself to think she had the ability to win Kirsten over in the car-park that night despite lying to her about a Bobbies meeting to be alone with her.
Bernadette wasn't a rational person. Her jealousy issues were severe enough that her parents felt the need to get her professional help. Bernadette’s father made a comment about Bernadette thinking that other girls didn't deserve what they had. Bernadette displayed snobby behaviour when she said to a friend that the Bobbies should remain exclusive. Bernadette had rage issues in the juvenile facility she was in. My point is, Bernadette was not the innocent hapless character depicted in the fictional movie and fictional movies loosely based on Bernadette and Kirsten aren't facts. Critical thinking is so important, especially in this day and age when people are constantly bombarded with nonsensical shit in the media, twitter, facebook.....etc.
God Bless you, Brittney.
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