Jessie Rhinehardt, 35, was taken into custody Friday after an Avon representative managed to enter her home and found Rhinehardt’s children, Teddy, Tammi, and Terri, along with the dog, Toto, preserved in industrial shellac.
““I was shocked, to say the least, when I saw those kids,” said Patsy Parker, a seasoned Avon representative known to never take no for an answer. “However, they were preserved well and absolutely adorable, even though their little faces were contorted in terror, which just proves my mother was right about faces freezing that way.”
When asked why she shellaced her children, Rhinehardt said, “My kids are just so precious to me and I didn’t want them to grow up, so I decided to do something to do something about it–unlike my husband.”
Rhinehardt’s husband, Phil, 38, a salesman for promotional, reusable ice cubes, disappeared a year ago. Rhinehardt claimed she has no idea where her husband is, as she glanced out at the swimming pool she purchased with the insurance money after he was legally declared dead. Wistfully, she said, “I wish it had occurred to me to shellac him before all the love died between us.”
Rhinehardt is currently being held without bail, and her children have been moved to the evidence room in lieu of child protective services, since their protective coating should be protection enough.
