Court date set in Mullenix case

A Huntington Beach teen whose mother was found dead in Newport Harbor last September was ordered Friday at a preliminary hearing to stand trial on a murder charge. Rachael Mullenix, 17, is being tried as an adult.

Mullenix has maintained that she is innocent, saying her boyfriend Ian Allen, 21, killed her mother, Barbara Mullenix, and then forced her to help dispose of the body and escape. The two were apprehended in Louisiana by state troopers four days after the alleged killing.

Witnesses called by the prosecution said Rachael Mullenix and her mother clashed over the teen's relationship with Allen.

Huntington Beach Police Det. Patrick Ellis testified that a next-door neighbor often heard loud arguments from the condo (in the 16900 block of Westwood Lane) where the family lived. The night of the slaying was the loudest of all.

"He heard shouting, screaming and yelling for 35 to 45 minutes, along with sounds of a physical struggle," Ellis said. "Then there was a loud thump. All of a sudden, the voices stopped."

Mullenix's lawyer, David Cohn, said none of the evidence disproved that Mullenix was coerced by Allen.

"Police never found any type of weapon connected to her," Cohn said. "There is no evidence of her discussing or planning or venting about killing her mother."

Huntington Beach Police Det. Steve Mack questioned Mullenix in Louisiana, he said. But when he did, her story changed as he presented contradictory evidence, and she appeared to be faking her tears, Mack said.

"I told her her eyes were not watery," he said. "Then she immediately dropped her head for several minutes so I couldn't see her face."

Mack said that later on, Huntington Beach Police left the two suspects alone in a police car together but secretly recorded their conversation. Despite telling police she was furious with Allen, Mullenix's words were friendly, Mack said.

"She said she loved him, and she told him to plead insanity," he said.

Mullenix is scheduled to be arraigned Feb. 22 at Orange County Superior Court in Santa Ana. Allen's case has been split off into a separate trial, with a pre-trial hearing in Westminster on April 6.