Michelle Renee Wiki – Michelle Renee Biography
Michelle Renee and her seven-year-old daughter Breea were held hostage during an armed home invasion and kidnapping incident more than two decades ago, in November 2000. Three masked men reportedly broke into their home that night , duct-taped the two along with their roommate, and forced Michelle to rob the bank the next morning, where she worked as a manager.
Three of the four perpetrators were convicted in the case and sentenced to multiple life terms in prison. However, the consequences of the incident went deeper. The mother-daughter duo went through trauma therapy after the kidnapping and hostage ordeal and now reside in Southern California with their dogs Gypsy and Spike.
Michelle Renee Age
Michelle Renee is 33 years old.
Incident Detail
Three masked and armed men broke into the home of Michelle Renee in Vista, California, in November 2000 and took her 7-year-old daughter hostage along with her roommate. After a long and horrible night duct-taped, guns to her head, and explosives strapped to her body, Renee was forced to rob the Vista bank where she worked to save her daughter.
According to Michelle’s version of the incident, the intruders had a ringleader whom she was able to recognize from her eye. The man allegedly visited the bank a few hours before the incident and even left his business card revealing that he was Christopher Butler. He was with his fiancee Lisa Ramírez, who was one of his accomplices.
Following the disclosure, all four perpetrators were arrested, beginning with the arrest of Butler and Ramirez at a traffic stop. They were found in possession of a lot of damning evidence at home and inside their car. Butler, however, strongly denied this, insisting that his fiancée was innocent.
Ramirez, on the other hand, lied about Renee’s involvement in the scheme while she openly admitted to being a part of it and even took credit for the idea of using fake dynamite and kidnapping the bank manager.
When Christopher Butler and Lisa Ramirez were tried jointly in June 2002, the defense attempted to undermine Michelle Renee’s credibility and even insinuate that she was involved in the bank robbery, following a strategy to “hit the victim and point out all the inconsistencies.”
What does the victim say? Michelle stated that, The defense also questioned Michelle’s parenting instincts, criticized her for every step she took on the day of her kidnapping and home invasion incident, scrutinized her financial history and raised concerns about her sex life.
Christopher Butler, meanwhile, has concocted an intricate new plot in which Renee was the mastermind behind the bank robbery and the two were previously involved in an affair. He said that Renee had recruited him for the robbery after they met at a grocery store.
Butler was found guilty in connection with the robbery and kidnapping of Michelle, her daughter Breea and her roommate, but Lisa Ramirez walked away from her after a jury found her not guilty on all counts. However, the truth was only revealed two decades later, in 2020, when she became eligible for parole and changed her entire story, stating that he was never in a relationship with Michelle.
Over the years, Michelle Renee has shared the survival of decades. Her story of a horrific home invasion and kidnapping, she became an activist and created an organization called Rock to Stop Violence that unites communities to fight violence and abuse.
Michelle has also appeared on television and radio on OWN, E!, FBI Criminal Pursuit, DiscoVery, Good Morning America, CBS 48 Hours, Fuji TV (Japan), W Network (Canada), Lifetime, A&E, BIO, Fox, CBS, NBC and KPBS. She recently wrote for the New York .
Times and the Washington Post and is also a featured blogger for the Huffington Post, a contributor to More Magazine, and a finalist for the Women Changing the World award. The mother-of-one now reportedly resides in Southern California with her daughter Breea and dogs Gypsy and Spike.
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