Who Is Laura Rideout? Sentencing Begins For Woman And Son Who Murdered Husband

Linda Rideout, alongside her sons Colin Rideout and Alexander Rideout, were due to be sentenced in court Friday for the 2016 murder of her estranged husband Craig Rideout. Linda Rideout and her sons were convicted in July after a five-week trial in which investigators detailed a sinister scheme involving marital strife, custody battles and a plot to kill her ex-husband.

Laura and Craig Rideout had seven children together before she left in 2014 to move in with her boyfriend, Paul Tucci, according to the Rochester Democrat and Chronicle. After filing for divorce, Laura Rideout and Tucci wanted to move to North Carolina and take the children with them. The ensuing custody battle prompted the mother of two to hatch a plot to kill her ex-husband, investigators said.

Laura Rideout, 46, and her two sons Colin Rideout, 22, and Alexander Rideout, 19, killed Craig Rideout in the basement of his townhouse, prosecutors alleged during the trial. They then disposed of his body and worked to clean the evidence.

In the days before Craig Rideout’s death, Laura Rideout, Colin Rideout and Tucci were seen on surveillance footage purchasing cleaning items, tarps and bungee cords at Wal-Mart. As Laura Rideout was cleaning the evidence at her ex-husband’s townhouse, his sister, Robbyn Drew arrived and saw her. As per a previous custody order, Laura Rideout was not allowed to be at her ex’s home. Drew asked her to leave and called police.

Craig Rideout’s body was then found in a wooded area in Yates County. He had been asphyxiated, with blunt trauma to his head and acid poured on his face.

“This was definitely one of the most heinous cases I’ve seen in my more than 30 years in law enforcement,” said Monroe County Sheriff Patrick O’Flynn, according to the Democrat and Chronicle. “To see someone so horrendously murder their own flesh and blood is unbelievable.”

Following an extensive trial, Laura Rideout was found guilty of murder, burglary and tampering and convicted in July. Colin Rideout was found guilty of murder and tampering. Alexander Rideout, however, was found not guilty of murder but guilty of tampering. Tucci was acquitted.

Both Laura Rideout and Colin Rideout face 26 years to life in prison, while Alex Rideout faces three to eight years in prison, according to WHAM-TV. Lawyers said they would seek appeals in the case.