:bump:
I watched the Dateline episode about this story and thought I'd post my thoughts.
I find it very hard to believe that Kody was the mastermind behind this. I believe he had something to do with it, don't get me wrong and he deserves to be in prison, but I entirely believe Toni was the mastermind and nobody can convince me otherwise. It sucks that she has the opportunity for parole.
Her parents were acting like Kody was this abusive and awful guy, but why did they let him stay with them then for six weeks? I'm sure any parent witnessing their daughter being abused by their boyfriend in anyway would intervene. I believe that Kody could get rough (as evidenced by the surveillance tapes) but I don't believe that was enough to be a habit and abuse and she's just using this ~abused woman~ facade to hide behind so she looks less guilty, which is really horrible. I watched her parents answer to Anderson Cooper when he asked them that question, but it was very much a non-answer.
(If anyone wants to see the clip, here it is. Anderson has some other really interesting short clips on YouTube about this case, including one where Mickey's family says they believe Toni was the instigator.)
Kody Lived in Toni's House Before Micaela's Murder - YouTube
If I believe what Mickey's family said about Toni and how she would call Mickey mean names all the time she'd walk past, then there was obviously tension between them. From what they said too, it seems like Toni was jealous of most girls who talked to Kody (but in particular Mickey).
Mickey had been close to Kody for years and I think Toni envied the time they had known each other and the bond they had shared. It doesn't help that Mickey was really pretty too (and Toni really isn't that pretty.)
The slashes on her face just scream that Toni did it and I'm not convinced she's as innocent as she's making out.
I believe that she got into a car voluntarily with Kody from school, thinking he was alone and maybe said he wanted to apologise to her (as he had annoyed her weeks ago and she ignored him) and wanted to drop her at her house, knowing she was walking, but Toni jumped from the back and managed to restrain her (as they said they found a zip tie around her wrists). Then they drove her to the gravel pits. I think Kody did it because he was annoyed at her and maybe wanted to scare her a bit, as Mickey's sisters said, he would do annoying stuff to get her attention and play pranks. Maybe this was another extreme prank like the box cutter? Then she probably started to freak out, realising she was in a remote area and maybe started to fight back and really hurt Toni more than she thought she did, or they started having a heated argument, and Toni got annoyed so that's when she started all the slashing and hitting (another reason why the slashes on her faces are there), and maybe she told Kody to do a few of them because "if you really love me, you'll do it" or "if you prefer me over her, you will have no trouble doing this", etc. Or Kody started to help her, knowing what Toni wanted to do now so she said those things and got Kody to participate. Kody, wanting to protect his girlfriend, confessed to the murder. As I said though, this is just my theory and I doubt we will never know the truth (although Mickey's family should definitely know). I certainly don't believe Kody was the mastermind, and I don't believe for an absolute second that Toni was ordered by Kody to kill her. I am just skeptical of a childhood friend being the mastermind in a murder, just like in the Skylar Neese case (very similar case to this).
Although this doesn't explain the shovel, which I am really puzzled by. Why was there a shovel in the car borrowed from the woman Kody was having an affair with and how did Micaela end up in it? That says to me they were planning on killing her. Toni must've wondered where Kodi got this car from, too.
So many questions.
Toni is just a horrible liar and the slip up of "the designated area" speaks volumes that it was a planned location.
It's so sad how Mickey died. Her last 30 minutes on earth were probably horrific and torturous, all because of a jealous girl. I am glad she's getting justice though, that's one positive out of this. Nobody deserves the death she got.