Suzanne Basso and the Murder of Louis 'Buddy' Musso

Hope Ahrens, mugshot

The trial of Hope Ahrens, 23, featured a bizarre vignette. Ahrens, who claimed she could not read or write, asked for a meal before she would agree to make a statement.

Jail officials gave her a TV dinner, which she eagerly devoured.

After cops had written out the woman's statement, they asked Galena Park police dispatcher Tammy McCormick to read it back to Ahrens to make sure she agreed with every word.

Ahrens wasn't interested in the statement. She wanted another free meal.

"Her statement made me nauseous and sick. She was calm, fine, like nothing was wrong," McCormick testified. "I was so upset I wanted to vomit. But all she wanted was another TV dinner."

Terrence Singleton, mugshot

Like that of Singleton, Hope Ahrens' confession blamed Sue Basso and James O'Malley for inflicting the deadly injuries.

But she did say, "Buddy broke one of my Mickey Mouses and said that he wanted me and my mom to die, and I hit Buddy with a wooden bird. But I did not hit him that hard. Buddy told me to stop and I stopped after I hit him twice."

Her murder trial ended in a hung jury. But that worked to the advantage of prosecutors, who dangled the possibility of a plea bargain in exchange for her testimony against Sue Basso, the final defendant.