Jamie Borushaski testified nine months ago that neither she nor her husband had anything to do with her parents' deaths at the 1996 Iowa State Fair. He was convicted anyway - and now she has been charged with murder.
Borushaski, 24, of Joplin, Mo., returned to Iowa early Thursday to face trial on two counts of first-degree murder filed here Tuesday. Earlier, she had been held in the Jasper County, Mo., jail on $500,000 bail.Authorities say she helped plan the slayings of Bobie and Marilyn Blewer, two funnel cake makers found gagged, bound and shot to death in their camper Aug. 12, 1996.
Prosecutors said Rodney Borushaski wanted to inherit the Blewers' money so he hired an acquaintance, Jerimy Sneed, to kill the couple. Sneed pleaded guilty and both he and Rodney Borushaski are serving life terms without a chance for parole.
Jamie Borushaski testified on behalf of her husband during his January trial. But Polk County Attorney John Sarcone said Wednesday that after a year of investigation, he was convinced that she plotted the slayings.
"She participated in the planning of the murder of her parents," said Sgt. Miles Parks of the Missouri State Patrol. "I'd say her husband made the contact with Jerimy, but she participated in some conversations about when and where the murder was carried out."
When Jamie Borushaski was arrested Tuesday, her two children were taken into protective custody.
This summer, the Blewers' other children, Beau, 19, and Jada, 17, carried on the family tradition, operating their parents' stand at several fairs, including the State Fair last month.