Kentucky Woman Says She Didn't Kill Social Worker, Boyfriend Did

HENDERSON, Ky – A woman accused with her boyfriend of kidnapping her baby and killing a social worker said Thursday she did not participate in the slaying.

In a jailhouse news conference that she had requested, Renee Terrell said Christopher Luttrell alone was responsible for the death of Boni Frederick, 67, of Morganfield.

"I didn't do anything to her, and I am sorry for her," Terrell, 33, told the Henderson Gleaner. "I guess I hang out with the wrong people.

"I didn't want her hurt. I even said I didn't want her hurt. It wasn't my intention for anybody to get hurt."

Luttrell, 23, told reporters gathered at the Henderson police station on Wednesday that he killed Frederick. An autopsy revealed she died of blunt and sharp force trauma.

Terrell said she was in the house when Frederick was killed but that she didn't see or hear the attack. The couple is accused of taking Terrell's 10-month-old son, Saige, after Frederick had brought the infant for a visit with the mother.

The baby is now in custody of foster parents.

Terrell has four children, and none are in her custody, according to a court document. The other children are ages 14, 9 and 7.

The couple face felony murder, kidnapping, robbery and theft charges.

Terrell said she and Luttrell had developed a plan to take her son, but that the plan didn't include hurting anyone.

"It wasn't until my son got there that I chickened out," she said. "I started thinking better of it and didn't want to do anything to get in trouble with my son," she said.

But a criminal complaint filed with Henderson court officials says that on the night Terrell was arrested, she told police that she had "hit Boni three or four times with the frying pan."

Luttrell has also claimed in statements to detectives that the woman participated in the killing. He told police that on the day of the killing, he hid in a bedroom closet but kept the door cracked, the court documents said.

Luttrell told police that he, too, used the iron frying pan to beat Frederick and that both he and Terrell hit her with their fists, the court documents said.

FBI agents arrested Terrell and Luttrell on Oct. 19 in a trailer where they sought shelter near Godfrey, Ill., about 30 miles north of St. Louis.

The baby had been removed from Terrell's custody when he was 13 days old because of neglect, police said. Police also said the courts were in the process of permanently removing Terrell's parental rights before Frederick was slain on Oct. 16.