Detective Kari Abbey Charged With Killing Woman, Growing Weed & Neglecting Her Kids

​Detective Kari Abbey was off-duty when she went with her father and kids to one of the rental properties her parents owned in Modesto, California. There she got into an argument with a tenant, 31-year-old Rita Elias. Abbey and her father both say that Elias attacked... The sheriff's department initially ruled the shooting of Rita Elias as self-defense ​They claim Elias was armed with a tree branch and a semi-automatic handgun. So Abbey opened fire, killing the woman with multiple shots. It turned out that the gun was just a BB gun, but manufacturer Crossman likes to makes sure they look like authentic weapons, just so their customers have a better chance of getting killed by police. The Stanislaus County Sheriff's Department soon ruled that the killing was self-defense. The incident happened last September, and Abbey went back to work. But the incident never completely went away. A few weeks ago, a new witness came forward, saying the shooting didn't go down as Abbey claimed. And when police started investigating more thoroughly, they found they had a very corrupt cop on their hands. Abbey and her parents own rental properties around Modesto, and tenants say the family routinely abused and strong-armed them. They would harass and intimidate them, using fellow officers to deliver eviction notices on county time. A wedding photo of Abbey and her husband, steroid boy Bennie Taylor ​In one instance, a tenant called police to say Abbey's husband, Bennie Taylor, a former cop, had hit a resident. But the Modesto cop who showed up hugged Abbey, shook Taylor's hand, then ruled that it was a mutual fight and not an assault. That left abused residents afraid to complain about a cop. The case would get more damaging when police searched the couple's home on March 30. They found weapons, a sophisticated marijuana growing system, counterfeit bills, and bullet-proof vests taken from the Hayward, California PD, where Taylor used to work. They also found 16 vials of steroids and 54 syringes. Loaded guns were left in a kitchen drawer and underneath the cushions of the couch, even though the couple had kids ages 6 and 20 months at home. Abbey is now charged with second-degree murder, voluntary manslaughter, conspiracy, embezzlement from a government entity, cultivation of marijuana, receiving stolen property and child endangerment. http://www.truecrimereport.com/2011/05/detective_kari_abbey_charged_w.php