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In November 2000, a mother-daughter duo from San Diego County, California, Michelle Renee and her daughter Breea, along with their roommate, were kidnapped and held hostage in their Vista home. Three masked gunmen, who broke into their house, reportedly tied fake dynamite to the hostages and forced Renee to rob the local bank where she worked as a manager.
During the subsequent investigation, Renee provided authorities with key information, which was then used to crack the case, bringing three out of the four suspects—namely, Christopher Butler, Lisa Ramirez, Christopher Huggins, and Robert Ortiz—to justice. The case also inspired the mother-of-one to write a book on her harrowing experience years later.
CBS 48 Hours is slated to revisit the decades-old kidnapping case of Michelle Renee and her daughter in an all-new episode this Saturday, February 11, 2023. The upcoming episode titled The Kidnapping of Michelle and Breea Renee will air on the channel at 10:00 pm ET.
The synopsis states:
"A mother is forced to rob a bank to save her daughter’s life, then her abductor falsely claims the mother was in on the crime."
Three armed intruders threatened Michelle Renee with death if she did not comply with their demands
In 2000, Michelle Renee, a single mother and branch manager at a local bank, was living in Vista, California, with her seven-year-old daughter Breea and a roommate. However, on the night of November 21, three masked gunmen wearing all-black broke into their house through the back door and pointed guns at their heads, forcing them down to the floor and binding them with duct tape.
The ringleader, who did most of the talking, stated that they had been watching her for months and knew where she worked. They also told Renee that they wanted her to rob her bank the following morning.
Throughout the night, the intruders held Michelle Renee, her daughter Breea, and their roommate captive, threatening to murder them if she failed to carry out their demands regarding the bank robbery. The next morning, they strapped the hostages with what they claimed was dynamite. They also showed Michelle the detonation device and threatened to set it off if she messed up.
According to Renee, the alleged ringleader told them that,
"If you try to run, you will disintegrate. If you try any funny business, you will all be killed."
Michelle Renee drove her Jeep to the bank with the ringleader crouching in the back seat, who held a gun to her side as she drove. With dynamite on her back, she waited for the Brinks truck to go into the vault as soon as it arrived. She then stuffed the duffle bag that was stashed inside her regular suitcase with money.
She walked out of the bank with $360,000 and handed it to the ringleader, who was waiting in her Jeep. He then gave her a drop-off location, took the money, and advised her to "go straight home" and "not call the cops." Michelle did just that and found her daughter and the roommate unharmed, with their dynamite removed, at home.
Michelle Renee was able to recognize one of the gunmen and led authorities to the perpetrators within weeks
After returning home, Michelle Renee, along with the other two victims, sought a neighbor's help to contact 911, not long after which the bomb squad found that the dynamite was fake and made out of broomsticks.
Michelle was eventually able to recognize the ringleader's eyes. She claimed that he visited the bank a few hours prior to the break-in, pretending to be a customer, and had even left his business card, which revealed him to be, Christopher Butler.
On December 1, 2000, Butler and his fiance, Lisa Ramirez, were arrested during a traffic stop. Officials discovered incriminating evidence in the car, including Michelle Renee's credit cards, money straps from the bank, a BB gun that resembled the one described by Michelle, the duffel bag used to move the money out of the bank, black clothes, and ski masks similar to what the hostages had described.
Their two accomplices were later arrested and identified as Christopher Huggins and Robert Ortiz. Both were convicted and given lengthy life sentences. Butler and Ramirez's trials were a public spectacle where he tried to protect the latter and claimed that Michelle Renee herself was in on their heist. Butler was also convicted and given three life sentences with an additional 64 years.
