ORLANDO, FL—Teresa Edwards, 12, was devastated in 2015 when her parents told her they were divorcing. After progressively heated arguments in front of her for several months, it became clear to Teresa's parents that they should separate, which got the young girl devising a plan.
"It was the worst thing that could have happened to me," says the 6th grade spelling bee champion. "I just couldn't stand to even think about it."
Teresa reported that she dreamed up scenarios each night about how to get her parents back together. After the divorce finalized, Teresa finally made her move.
"I figured that I could get my daddy jealous, and then he'd realize just how much he missed my mom," she explained.
Whenever the preteen volleyball enthusiast would spend a weekend with her father, she would drop several clues that her mother was seeing other men. "So I'd say something like, 'Mom looks really pretty,' and 'all of her boyfriends sure are nice.' Stuff like that."
This went on for several weeks. "At first, Daddy would ask a lot about these guys I made up, but then after a while he would just get real quiet and stare straight ahead. I figured he was thinking about how he'd made a big mistake. I was sure he'd ask her to marry him again in another day or two."
Unfortunately, the happy day was not to be. Last week, Teresa's father was arrested, and is now currently being charged with first degree murder of his ex-wife, Teresa's mother. This news has come as a disappointment to Teresa.
"This is a major setback," she said. "Now I'm going to have to go back to the drawing board."
The evidence is piling up quickly against Mr. Edwards, who was allegedly identified leaving the area by two witnesses, and who was found in possession of a weapon consistent with the injuries caused to Mrs. Edwards.
"Let's see, maybe if Daddy gets out on bond, he can come to the funeral and I can stir something up," said the oblivious young girl.
Mr. Edwards declined to comment, though his lawyer maintains his innocence. He stated, "We have reason to believe that the late Mrs. Edwards had many questionable male visitors in her home, so it comes as no surprise that she came to this tragic end, likely by one of their hands."