A 16-year-old California girl with the middle name ‘Evil’ said she and her boyfriend killed her mother in self-defense after she endured severe abuse following the death of her father from a scorpion bite.
According to letters submitted from Juvenile Hall to 17 News, Emily ‘Evil’ Reznick claims that her mother, Michelle Louise Taylor, 54, would beat her, overmedicate her, and emotionally manipulate her by ‘filling her head with lies.’
On July 7, Reznick stated that her mother attempted to kill her and that she and her boyfriend Nikolai Thorn Roach fought back, with officials discovering Taylor dead with a neck stab wound.
The two were soon detained on charges of murder and conspiracy, and although Reznick had been mistreated, she expressed mixed views about the episode.
She stated, “My own (expletive) mom tried to kill me and I did everything I could to get her off, and my BF was there and saved my life that morning.”
I despise my mother but loved her since she was my mother. I will never forgive her for what she put me through and what she did to me in the end, as well as all the falsehoods she put me through.
Reznick stated that both suspects were 15 years old at the time of Taylor’s murder, therefore if convicted, they could only be detained in custody until the age of 25.
Joseph Kinzel, assistant district attorney, told KGET he was unable to comment on Reznick’s case or the abuse allegations.
Kenneth Eagles, a 70-year-old close friend of Reznick who also received correspondence from the accused teen, reported that she was desperate to be released to be with Roach.
She wrote to the 70-year-old, who claimed that he believed Reznick had endured years of physical and verbal abuse, “I want to leave as soon as I can.”
“I desire freedom and to be with Nik. I need to know how he is doing the most, as he makes me feel protected and is my entire world.
“I’m not going to lie to you, Ken; I despise myself a great deal for what I’ve done; I weep over being here; and I feel lonely. I did not intend to kill her; in fact, it was the last thing I wanted to happen.
Eagles told 17 News that he met Reznick when she was 12 years old and that he assumed the role of a “grandfather figure” in the neighborhood, where he knew the majority of the children.
As he drove into the apartment complex where he resided, he recalled seeing Reznick sitting alone outside around midnight.
When he questioned her about why she was there, Reznick allegedly stated that her mother prevented her from returning home.
After that initial incident, Reznick began stopping by on a regular basis; Eagles explained that these encounters fostered the growth of their friendship.
“She just felt very safe and comfortable there, and that was important to me,” he explained.
The 70-year-old stated that he saw Reznick with bruises and cuts, including marks around her neck.
When he learned that Reznick’s father had died from what she claimed was a scorpion bite, he began to notice the bruises.
According to reports, Reznick confided in Taylor that her mother beat her because she reminded Taylor of the teen’s father.
“These were not minor scrapes,” Eagles stated.
Eagles stated, “She reminded him of her father, whom her mother despised.”
The alleged abuse worsened as she grew older, with Reznick defending herself once at age 14.
Eagles remarked, “She was so proud of herself when she said, “My mother tried to harm me badly and I pushed her away this time.”
Taylor chuckled when Reznick told him she had knocked him down and threatened to contact the police and file a case against her for elderly abuse.
Taylor and Reznick relocated to Oildale, where the alleged violence escalated to the point where Taylor was ‘boxing’ Reznick ‘like a man.’
Eagles ‘broke down’ after reading of the murder of a woman in Oildale and hearing about the arrest the next day.
He stated, “But I knew it was self-defense.”
Reznick’s Letters to Eagles are rife with self-hatred, as she states that she “hates herself” for what occurred despite her allegations of abuse.
She also said that other adolescents at Juvenile Hall referred to her as a “mother-killer.”
Reznick and Roach’s scheduled readiness hearings for Thursday were postponed until late November.
Attorneys for the defense stated that they were awaiting unredacted records from the coroner’s office, which were projected to be available in November or December at the earliest.
Thursday was the third postponement of the hearings.