GUILTY MO - Jennifer Rothwell, 28, pregnant, murdered, St. Louis County, 12 Nov 2019 *husband arrested*

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Jury to decide if St. Louis County man's killing of pregnant wife was murder or 'sudden passion'

4/26/22

CLAYTON — There is no dispute that Beau Rothwell killed his pregnant wife in November 2019, tried to clean up the crime scene and led police to her body in Lincoln County.

But a St. Louis County jury will decide if Jennifer Rothwell’s death was premeditated murder or a crime of sudden passion. Testimony began Tuesday in Beau Rothwell’s trial on charges of first-degree murder, evidence tampering and abandoning a corpse.

The 28-year-old woman was six weeks pregnant when her husband reported her missing Nov. 12, 2019. He was charged in her death two days later and ultimately told police they could find her naked body partly covered in branches and brush in a wooded area off U.S. 61 near Troy, Missouri.


Assistant Prosecutor Tom Smith told jurors that Beau Rothwell, 31, smashed his wife’s skull in the basement of the couple’s home near Creve Coeur “with such violent, homicidal force” that she bled out on their basement carpet. He said Jennifer Rothwell “was a wife, a daughter, a sister, a friend. She had just found she was going to be a mother.”

[..]

“Beau was excited to be a dad,” Barberio said. “When Beau got the news that Jennifer was pregnant, he told his mistress that he was going to have to break up with her. This was stressful to Beau. He felt guilty and ashamed and it weighed on him.”

On the night of Nov. 11, Beau Rothwell decided to come clean about his affair, Barberio said. His wife became upset and demanded to know the identity of his mistress but he refused to say.

“Things escalated quickly,” Barberio said. “In the heat of sudden passion, he killed her.”

[..]

Police have said they found multiple bottles of bleach inside the Rothwells’ home, along with a wet, blood-stained carpet and padding. Police also said they used DNA samples from Jennifer Rothwell’s parents to confirm that blood found in the Rothwells’ house was their daughter’s. According to search warrants, Jennifer Rothwell had searched the internet on her cellphone about “what to do if your husband is upset you are pregnant.”

[..]

Prosecutors are planning to show jurors text and Facebook messages Beau Rothwell had exchanged with his mistress.

Beau Rothwell is expected to testify later this week; the trial is expected to wrap up by Friday.
 
Murder suspect Beau Rothwell brings unexpected defense at trial | FOX 2

ST. LOUIS COUNTY, Mo. – The Creve Coeur man accused of murdering his pregnant wife in November 2019 appeared in court Monday for the first time since his arraignment.

Beau Rothwell, 28, is accused of killing Jennifer Rothwell inside their west St. Louis County home. Rothwell initially reported her missing on November 12. Days later, he was taken into custody and charged with the second-degree murder of Jennifer and tampering with evidence.

Rothwell led investigators to where he dumped her body along a highway in Lincoln County. Preliminary findings from Jennifer’s autopsy showed she suffered blunt force injury to her head. She was six weeks pregnant at the time of her death.

Rothwell stared directly at the judge as his attorneys discussed how his case will go to a grand jury. He’s being held without bond.

The judge has allowed a camera inside of the courtroom.
 
Murder suspect Beau Rothwell brings unexpected defense at trial | FOX 2


ST. LOUIS COUNTY, Mo. – An unusual defense has arisen in a high-profile murder trial in St. Louis County. Beau Rothwell is accused of killingJennifer Rothwell in November 2019. Rothwell, who was pregnant at the time, was 28.

Beau Rothwell’s lawyer does not dispute that Rothwell struck a fatal blow to his wife’s head, but the defense claims Beau did not plan to commit murder. Attorney Charles Barberio says it happened after an argument in which Beau told Jennifer that he’d been having an affair.

Top story: Murder suspect Beau Rothwell brings unexpected defense at trial
This story first hit the news during a November 2019 snowstorm. Beau reported his wife missing on November 12. Creve Coeur police later found Jennifer’s car abandoned on the side of Olive near Fee Fee, which is a very busy intersection. It was about a mile from the Rothwells’ home, which was in an unincorporated part of St. Louis County.

While Rothwell pretended to search for his wife, St. Louis County detectives found evidence of blood clean up. Search warrants also revealed Jennifer had recently Googled the topic, “what to do if your husband is upset you are pregnant.”

Jennifer’s body was discovered along a heavily-wooded area of Highway 61 in Lincoln County.

Beau’s defense team said the pregnancy was not a surprise to the defendant and that Rothwell was happy about it. The problem, the defense said, arose from a sexual affair Beau was having that he felt guilty about and that he revealed to his wife on November 11. The two got into a fight and the defense claims Beau hit Jennifer in the heat of passion, striking her so hard that her brain hemorrhaged.

On Tuesday afternoon, Assistant St. Louis County Prosecutor Tom Smith dropped a bombshell in court by revealing Beau Rothwell’s list of pros and cons about his mistress. Rothwell wrote it on a work notebook, Smith said, dated five months before Jennifer’s murder. Beau listed “better sex life,” “more respect,” and “fresh start” in the pros column, as well as “Is the cost too high?” Under cons, indicated by a minus sign, Beau wrote, “half my assets/money,” “trust is shaken/tainted,” “my family disappointment,” and “take on her kid with his probs.”

During cross examination, Rothwell’s defense attorney, pointed out Beau’s list did not mention killing anyone.

The defense says the only planning involved was Beau cleaning up the scene and that the jury should consider that separately. FOX 2 also learned that Beau Rothwell himself may take the stand as his murder trial continues.]


Notice his list of pros and cons about his mistress. Disgusting.
 
This has info on how to watch the trial, but I never have any luck with WebEx

Beginning March 1, 2021, Division 18 will use Webex for all remote hearings. Webex can be accessed at all phone app stores and at www.webex.com. All remote hearings for Judge Ribaudo/Division 18 shall have the following connection information:

Meet virtually with Cisco Webex. Anytime, anywhere, on any device. - Meeting Number: 146 118 7149
Dial In (if internet audio unavailable):
(408) 418-9388 :: Meeting: 146 118 7149

Our Judges – St. Louis County Courts
 
From the link:

Rothwell’s defense team aims to prove it wasn’t premeditated. On Tuesday, his lead defense attorney Charles Barberio said, “In a heat of sudden passion he killed Jennifer.”

Barberio claimed the killing happened during a heated argument after Beau admitted he was having an affair. The jury watched a surveillance video of Beau Rothwell buying cleaning supplies. The defense emphasized the cleaning supplies were purchased after the killing not before.

Rothwell faces a first-degree murder charge. In Missouri, a first-degree murder charge comes with mandatory life in prison sentence with no chance of parole.
 
I believe the evidence for 1st degree is solid (mandatory life sentence) and why the defendant was never offered a
2nd -degree plea (crime of passion).

Rothwell has nothing to lose going to trial and his narc/psycho self-admiration will only energize him to take the stand and testify. MOO
 
I believe Beau Rothwell will be found guilty of 1st degree murder, as it should be. This defense is absurd. What kind of argument could the 2 of them have had that led to him bashing her head in hard enough to cause a brain hemorrhage? This defense will not fly, IMO
 
News, Weather & Sports in St. Louis | FOX 2


CLAYTON, Mo. – The trial of a St. Louis County man accused of murdering his pregnant wife continued for a second day, as prosecutors produced social media messages to show Beau Rothwell had planned to kill Jennifer Rothwell in order to be with his mistress.

Beau was charged with second-degree murder and evidence tampering for the November 2019 slaying of his wife, who was six weeks pregnant at the time, at their home near Creve Coeur.

Top story: Thieves enter home, steal car in west St. Louis County
St. Louis County prosecutors shared a Facebook conversation from Oct. 30, 2019, between Beau Rothwell and the woman with whom he was having an affair.

One text reads: “Part of me wants this pregnancy to not work out.” Another says, “If there is a miscarriage or something I’ll leave her after that and be with you.”

The latter message is one of three options Beau and the woman came up with for their relationship going forward.

  • Option 1 – End things altogether and cease contact.
  • Option 2 – Beau would admit to an affair and seek a divorce from Jennifer.
  • Option 3 – See if a miscarriage or something happens. In which case, Beau would leave Jennifer for his mistress.
At trial Tuesday, the prosecuting implied Beau’s use of “or something” in the message could have meant he was already planning to kill his wife.

Texting days later, Beau and his mistress settled on the third option, but with a caveat: if Jennifer’s pregnancy continued and there were no complications, they would go back to option 1. In another text, Beau sent the woman a shirtless selfie and said, “Hugging you felt so good today.” Additional messages indicate Beau slept with the woman on November 1.

The prosecution told jurors that Rothwell smashed his wife’s skull in the basement of the couple’s home “with such violent, homicidal force” that she bled out on their basement carpet.

The prosecutor and Detective Justin Whiteside, the lead detective on the case, displayed a carpet in the courtroom and held up padding with several large, dark stains showing where blood had accumulated. The stains were so severe they appeared on the concrete beneath the padding and the tack strips. Whiteside described it as “saturation staining.”

Whiteside also testified police found the Rothwells’ basement smelled of cleaning products and the carpet was still damp when they arrived at the home to conduct a search of the property. Detectives also noticed a small oscillating fan had been turned on in the
basement and that a large pile of towels were still damp in the laundry room.
Rothwell’s lawyer did not dispute that Beau struck a fatal blow to his wife’s head, but the defense said it was not premeditated. The lawyer said it was an act of sudden passion after an argument in which Beau told Jennifer that he’d been having an affair.

Defense attorney Charles Barberio said on November 11—the day of Jennifer’s death—the couple had discussed altering their insurance policy to include a baby, making the case Beau did not plan on killing his wife.


Barberio is attempting to convince the jury Jennifer fell down the basement steps during a confrontation with her husband and struck her head on a corner protrusion, causing her to bleed out.

Prosecutor Tom Smith played audio of Beau Rothwell telling St. Louis County detectives where they could find Jennifer’s body. The detective who located her body along Highway 61 in Lincoln County testified that Rothwell did not use Jennifer’s name or female pronouns when telling authorities how to find her. In the audio, Rothwell refers to the body as “it” and says there is a black plastic bag covering “the head.”

Prosecutors also produced graphic images from when Jennifer Rothwell’s body was discovered and during the eventual autopsy. Jennifer’s body was located on the evening of Nov. 18, 2019, along the southbound lanes of Highway 61. She had been hidden beaneath some heavy brush and shrubs. The detective who found Jennifer described said he noticed a “pale object” in the brush and went to examine the area closer. That’s when he noticed two bare feet sticking out from the brush.

Jennifer was found nude and in the fetal position. The black plastic bag that had been covering her head was partially torn open from scavaging animals. The detective said he could see a large depression in Jennifer’s head from a couple of feet away.

Dr. Gershom Norfleet, a forensic pathologist with the St. Louis County Medical Examiner’s Office, testified Jennifer Rothwell ultimately died of “blunt cranial cerebral trauma” and said there was no way her skull was fractured as a result of fists, or a fall, or an animal. The doctor said Jennifer suffered as many as three blows to her head, the worst of which fractured the right side of her skull and knocked her unconscious.

When asked to describe the severity of trauma to Jennifer’s skull, Norfleet said it would be akin to somebody being launched from a car during a high-speed crash and striking the pavement, a person falling off a large building, or an individual suffering a gunshot wound to the head. Norfleet said Jennifer suffered these injuries before her death.

The trial is scheduled to continue Thursday. It’s not clear if Beau Rothwell will testify on his own behalf.

Rothwell’s lawyer did not dispute that Beau struck a fatal blow to his wife’s head, but the defense said it was not premeditated. The lawyer said it was an act of sudden passion after an argument in which Beau told Jennifer that he’d been having an affair.

Defense attorney Charles Barberio said on November 11—the day of Jennifer’s death—the couple had discussed altering their insurance policy to include a baby, making the case Beau did not plan on killing his wife.


Barberio is attempting to convince the jury Jennifer fell down the basement steps during a confrontation with her husband and struck her head on a corner protrusion, causing her to bleed out.

Prosecutor Tom Smith played audio of Beau Rothwell telling St. Louis County detectives where they could find Jennifer’s body. The detective who located her body along Highway 61 in Lincoln County testified that Rothwell did not use Jennifer’s name or female pronouns when telling authorities how to find her. In the audio, Rothwell refers to the body as “it” and says there is a black plastic bag covering “the head.”]

There are disturbing details here I had not heard. What a disgusting man. He referred to his wife’s body as ‘it’?

I wonder if the mistress will be called to testify. If there was ever a case for 1st degree murder, this is it.
 
‘The body will be on the side of the road’ | Jury hears recording of Rothwell telling police where to find his pregnant wife


ST. LOUIS, Mo. (KMOV) - A St. Louis County jury heard Beau Rothwell’s voice for the first time Wednesday afternoon as the court played a six-minute recording of a meeting that changed the course of the investigation into his wife’s killing.

Read: Trial begins for West County man charged with killing his pregnant wife
“From my house, you get on 70 … to Hannibal … 30 minutes … southbound on 61 … the body will be on the side of the road in the brush.”

A middle-aged juror put her pen down and paused as Beau Rothwell’s distant voice filled the courtroom. The jury has been hearing evidence in the case of Jennifer Rothwell since Monday. They’ve been listening to evidence and testimony but hadn’t yet heard the voice of the suspect across from them.

The recording was from November 18, 2019, when Beau Rothwell’s attorney told police his client was ready to cooperate. Prosecuting Attorney Thomas Smith played the recording to the jury while St. Louis County Homicide Detective Jason Whiteside was on the stand. In the recording, Whiteside asks Beau Rothwell if the body was concealed or clothed.

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“Some brush .. twigs,” Beau says. “A plastic bag over the head … no clothing.”

The last thing Smith mentioned to Whiteside before he concluded was Beau Rothwell’s choice of words. Smith asked Whiteside to confirm Beau Rothwell only referred to Jennifer as “it,” ”the body,” and “the head.” The lead detective concurred.

Lead Defense Attorney Charles Barberio made clear his client wasn’t promised anything in exchange for his statement and reminded the prosecuting attorney the statement was “helpful in recovering” the victim.







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Beau Rothwell gave this statement six days after he reported his wife missing. About 50 investigators and K-9 officers followed Beau Rothwell’s directions and drove over 40 miles to the wooded area along Highway 61 near Troy.

Officers lined up parallel to the highway and walked through the brush searching for five hours until officer Matthew Zufall saw a “pale, lifeless, what appeared to be a female body with a black bag around her head.”

Three options? Messages detail conversations between Beau Rothwell, mistress leading up to pregnant wife’s murder

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Officer Zufall was the second witness the prosecuting attorney called to the stand. He was just over 10 feet away from the body when he first noticed her and called “I got her.” He said she laid in a fetal position underneath brush, twigs and branches, some five feet or longer, like “someone had put them there.”

Jennifer Rothwell was six weeks pregnant.

Barberio broke the tension in the room and asked for a sidebar. A few minutes later, Smith approached the projector with caution and held exhibit 45L firmly. He paused as though he needed the room to take a breath with him. The projector screen showed what Zufall saw that cold night, animals tampered with the bag over her head showing a depressed skull.

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The court went into recess before the final witness of the day took the stand. Medical Examiner Gershom Norfleet confirmed “postpartum animal savaging activity” had occurred to the right side of the skull.

When Smith asked Norfleet if the animal activity could’ve broken her skull, the medical examiner said “absolutely not.”

Norfleet said Jennifer Rothwell was killed by blunt craniocerebral trauma - her skull was fractured and Norfleet said that kind of blunt trauma renders someone unconscious immediately.

“Could it be a hammer?” Smith asked.

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“The wound is too big for a traditional hammer,” Norfleet said, adding he has only seen this kind of injury in high-speed car crashes and in someone “falling from a 30-story building.”

Norfleet was unable to say how long Jennifer Rothwell was alive after her head trauma. He said she would’ve bled until she died.

“It takes a significant amount of force to cause this kind of injury,” Norfleet said.

Norfleet told the jury his professional conclusion is homicidal violence, explaining to them a homicide is when a person dies by the hands of another person, regardless of the intention and circumstances.

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Norfleet said he found two lacerations on the left side of her head he says she sustained while still alive. In questioning, Norfleet told Smith a punch or a fall down the stairs couldn’t have caused these two lacerations but he didn’t rule out being hit by an object or hitting a wall corner.

---

The trial will continue Thursday at 9 a.m.
 
I pass by the place he discarded "the body" every day. There used to be yellow police tape up across the ravine right next to the highway where he dumped her, until just a couple of months ago. I think about Jennifer/ this case every time I pass it.
It still baffles me at how anyone could so coldly do all of that to a person they once loved, much less think that was an acceptable solution to his mistress problem, and that he'd ever get away with it and just go on with the mistress. Boy, the mistress really needs to watch herself after seeing what someone like him could do to the one before you!
 
Chris Hayes@ChrisHayesTV

Beau Rothwell’s attorney says Rothwell killed his wife in a sudden heat of passion. This was the case that began as a Creve Coeur missing person case & became a St. Louis County murder in 2019. 1/4
@FOX2now

8:37 AM · Apr 26, 2022 from Clayton, MO

Chris Hayes@ChrisHayesTV

Rothwell’s attorney indicates Rothwell will take the stand in his defense, to testify how he killed his wife & how. 2/4
@FOX2now

8:38 AM · Apr 26, 2022 from Clayton, MO

Chris Hayes@ChrisHayesTV

The defense said Rothwell was having an affair and revealed it to his wife the night of the murder. Rothwell’s defense said the argument escalated to a point at which Rothwell suddenly struck a fatal blow to his wife’s head. 3/4
@FOX2now

8:41 AM · Apr 26, 2022 from Clayton, MO·Twit

Chris Hayes@ChrisHayesTV

Rothwell’s defense said the only planning was after the murder, when the defendant worked to clean up and dispose of his wife’s body in the middle of a snowstorm. 4/4
@FOX2now

8:42 AM · Apr 26, 2022 from Clayton, MO

Chris Hayes@ChrisHayesTV

The revelation of Rothwell's 'pros and cons' list was a bombshell at the end of day at trial. https://fox2now.com/news/fox-files/murder-suspect-beau-rothwell-brings-unexpected-defense-at-trial/…

@fox2now



fox2now.com
Murder suspect Beau Rothwell brings unexpected defense at trial
An unusual defense has arisen in a high-profile murder trial in St. Louis County. Beau Rothwell is accused of killing Jennifer Rothwell in November 2019. Rothwell, who was pregnant at the time, was…

7:29 AM · Apr 27, 2022
 
This has info on how to watch the trial, but I never have any luck with WebEx

Beginning March 1, 2021, Division 18 will use Webex for all remote hearings. Webex can be accessed at all phone app stores and at www.webex.com. All remote hearings for Judge Ribaudo/Division 18 shall have the following connection information:

Meet virtually with Cisco Webex. Anytime, anywhere, on any device. - Meeting Number: 146 118 7149
Dial In (if internet audio unavailable):
(408) 418-9388 :: Meeting: 146 118 7149

Our Judges – St. Louis County Courts

I've tried every day to log on to the trial and although I'm successful in logging on to Webex, I don't think the trial session is available to the public. I think it also explains why we don't see any tweets or updates during the day. Nonetheless, thanks again for the link! :)
 
Beau Rothwell describes wife's death during trial


CLAYTON, Mo. – Beau Rothwell took the stand Thursday morning on the third day of his murder trial. He told the jury that he struck his pregnant wife in the head with a mallet and killed her at their St. Louis County home in November 2019.

The prosecution wrapped its case today with testimony from a DNA forensic expert with the St. Louis County crime lab. That expert confirmed bloodstains found in the Rothwells’ basement and on Beau Rothwell’s truck matched the DNA profile of Jennifer Rothwell.

Defense attorney Charles Barberio called two of Beau’s former coworkers to the stand, as well as a person who he played racquetball with. The three acquaintances, all men, testified to Beau’s low-key, even-tempered behavior and attitude. They described Rothwell as level-headed and never saw any outbursts of anger or frustration.

Top story: Pam Hupp arresting officer says the truth is more chilling
Finally, Beau Rothwell took the stand in his own defense. He recounted his courtship with Jennifer, saying they met at the University of Missouri in spring 2010 in an engineering lab. They moved to the St. Louis area in 2013 and married in September 2015.

Beau testified that he’d always wanted to be a father and said they started trying to conceive in fall 2018. That December, the couple learned Jennifer had endometriosis. They kept trying to conceive into spring 2019 to no avail. By May and June, Beau testified that it started to feel like a chore and devoid of any romantic spark.

Rothwell said he and Jennifer agreed to cut back on their attempts to conceive. It was around this time, May or June 2019, Beau said he began having an affair.

According to Beau, Jennifer told him she was pregnant in September 2019. They talked about putting a nursery in their home and discussed changing their insurance to cover the costs of having a baby.

Texts between Beau Rothwell and mistress revealed at murder trial
Beau was asked about the “three options” he laid out in a text exchange with his mistress. Beau said the third option, waiting to see what happened with Jennifer’s pregnancy, was a way to kick the can down the road because he didn’t want to have to make a decision. He claimed he was lying when he told his mistress that he was hoping for a miscarriage.

Rothwell’s voice cracked multiple times during testimony on Thursday. He wept while talking about building Jennifer a pregnancy calendar to measure the growth of her belly.

Beau was asked to describe the day of Jennifer’s death. Beau said he’d been feeling anxiety and guilt over the affair and knew he needed to tell Jennifer. He told the court he was throwing himself at Jennifer’s mercy and confessed to her while the two sat in their kitchen.

Jennifer grew highly agitated, Beau said, and demanded to know the identity of his mistress. When Beau wouldn’t tell her, he claimed Jennifer shoved him and said she was having an affair of her own and that the baby might not be his.

Beau admitted to standing up and going into a “red haze.” He told the court he picked up a nearby mallet that he’d used to hang wall decorations and struck Jennifer in the right side of her head while she was still seated.

Rothwell’s list of ‘pros and cons’ shared during murder trial
Jennifer stumbled from her chair and tried walking to the attached garage. Beau said he followed her and the two got into a brief scuffle at the top of the basement stairs. In Beau’s words, he struck Jennifer with the mallet again, causing her to fall down the stairs and into the basement.

Beau said he tried to shake Jennifer awake but she was unresponsive. He testified he went into a panic mode and set out to clean the house of Jennifer’s blood. He discussed going to a nearby grocery store twice to buy cleaning supplies and gloves, and his decision to load Jennifer’s body into the back of his truck. Beau said he put all of the used cleaning supplies in trash bags and put them in the truck bed with her body. He abandoned her body along Highway 61 in Lincoln County between 2:00 a.m. and 3:00 a.m. on November 12.

Beau said he made the decision to strip Jennifer’s clothes because he “saw it on crime shows.” He then stopped at a business on the way home and tossed the garbage bags in the dumpster. Once back at home, Beau said he kept cleaning throughout the night and drove Jennifer’s car and left it abandoned on the side of Olive near Fee Fee, which is a very busy intersection. He also used Jennifer’s phone to call his phone. Beau said he walked home and then decided to go to work in the morning in order to, in his words, keep up a facade of normalcy.

Beau left work during lunch and returned home to continue cleaning up Jennifer’s blood. He admitted to helping Jennifer’s friends and family search for her over the next day, knowing she would not be found.

Closing arguments in the trial are expected this afternoon. Rothwell faces charges for first-degree murder, tampering with physical evidence, and abandonment of a corpse. The jury can reduce the murder charge to second-degree murder or voluntary manslaughter.
 
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Notice his list of pros and cons about his mistress. Disgusting.

In the audio, Rothwell refers to the body as “it” and says there is a black plastic bag covering “the head.”

IMO He sees people as objects, as transactions. He doesn't develop real bonds with others. It's just about how they can benefit him or boost his ego.
He deserves the rest of his life behind bars for what he did to his wife and unborn baby.
 
IMO, BR used a sledgehammer to strike Jennifer -- not a mallet.

I don't think his buddies testifying on his behalf did him any favors. Only proved his disdain for his pregnant wife compared to how he treated others. What a *****.

Once the case is turned over, I think the jurors will return with a guilty verdict within 4 hours. MOO
 

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