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In February 2018, Christine Roush, a Washington mother-of-one, was sentenced to 40 years in prison for killing her biological mother in an "exceptionally brutal" manner. Roush pleaded guilty to the murder of 47-year-old Teresa Poehlman, in East Peoria in July 2017. Her brutally stabbed body was found by hikers at Funks Grove on July 2.
Roush, who was fighting a legal battle for the custody of her daughter, believed her estranged mother was going to report her to the Illinois Department of Healthcare & Family Services for her work as an escort which could have caused her trouble. She, along with a friend named Matthew Isbell, ambushed Poehlman and took her to the nature preserve where she was murdered.
While both Roush and Isbell are likely serving time in prison for their individual roles in the murder, an upcoming episode of Snapped on Oxygen will revisit the case that made headlines for its brutal nature. The episode, titled Christine Roush, airs on Sunday, November 27, at 8:00 pm ET.
Christine Roush killed her biological mother Teresa Poehlman at a nature preserve in Illinois
Christine Roush was accused of committing two first-degree murder felonies in July 2017. According to the first count, she fatally stabbed her biological mother, Teresa Poehlman, with a knife without a reason and with the intention of killing her. The second count stated that she killed Teresa by stabbing her with a knife while being aware that doing so greatly increased the likelihood of death.
According to reports, Teresa Poehlman suffered several stab and incised wounds to her neck and chest before she died. She also had several neck fractures consistent with strangulation. In December 2017, Roush pleaded guilty to count I in exchange for the dismissal of count II and another felony case.
It was revealed that at the time of the murder, Teresa Poehlman, Christine Roush's biological mother, was visiting Bloomington to meet with her daughter. Although Roush initially denied any participation, she later admitted that she and Matthew Isbell were with the victim the day before her body was found.
Later, Isbell made a confession to authorities in which he claimed to have driven Christine and Teresa to the Funks Grove Nature Preserve in McLean, Illinois, where Teresa hit her mother in the back of the head with a tire iron, strangled her, and repeatedly stabbed her. She later abandoned Teresa's body at the nature preserve and got back covered in blood.
Evidence against Christine Roush included a trail of signs she left behind after committing the crime
Teresa Poehlman had at least 12 knife wounds to her neck and chest, including two that penetrated her heart, according to forensic reports. Additionally, she suffered blunt force trauma to the back of her skull.
Surveillance video also showed Roush, Isbell, and the victim at a Bloomington hotel where the victim was staying, on the night of July 1. In the early hours of July 2, the three were then spotted leaving the hotel, getting into Isbell's truck, and driving off. The video showed them returning about two hours later, but Poehlman was not with them.
The most damning piece of evidence that authorities discovered, however, was the text message Roush sent hours before the murder, stating that "I'm killing my biopiece of (expletive) mother tonight." Moreover, during the testimony in court, everyone was also made aware of Roush's family background and the trauma she endured, starting from a very young age.
Both Christine Roush and Matthew Isbell were charged with murder. However, after his confession, the latter was allowed to plead guilty to a lesser charge of second-degree murder. In July 2019, Isbell received a 12-year sentence and will be eligible for parole by 2023. Roush, on the other hand, pleaded guilty to first-degree murder in 2017 and was sentenced to 40 years in prison in January 2018.
Tune in to Oxygen's Snapped on Sunday at 8:00 pm.
