Mother testifies in trial of ex-boyfriend accused of killing her child

Before her 2-year-old daughter was beaten to death, Lovina Rainey found herself apologizing to the murder suspect, her ex-boyfriend, for involving him in a complicated drug deal.

Rainey described the growing tensions that led to the death of her daughter, Adalynn Hoyt, on Monday while testifying against 32-year-old Jason Obermiller in Spokane County Superior Court. The baby was found Sept. 12 with dozens of bruises, organ damage and internal bleeding.

Obermiller, who lived in Rainey’s home on East 55th Avenue along with her four children, had become increasingly distant and agitated as drug dealers demanded a “tax” for 5 ounces of methamphetamine that she acquired in Kennewick and then asked him to sell, she said.

“It was just going to be an easy way to get rent money before I could a job,” she said.

The dealers were after Obermiller’s most prized possession, a silver Honda Accord with a sound system and other upgrades, which he washed and worked on constantly, Rainey said. “He was always doing something to his car.”

Rainey, 28, is an admitted meth user and recently pleaded guilty to federal drug charges. She’s being held in the Spokane County Jail pending sentencing in September.

She said in court Monday that she struggled to manage the household and hold jobs. She said she had worked at Northern Quest Casino but lost that job because of a liver illness. She later worked at KFC and Pizza Hut.

Rainey said her previous boyfriend, Adalynn’s father, was physically abusive, and that she struggles with post-traumatic stress disorder, anxiety and manic depression. Her children, one of whom has special needs, have suffered as a result, she said.

“I’ve not been the mom I should have been, because I’ve said some pretty awful things to them,” she said. “I’ve called them stupid. I’ve told them that I wish they weren’t alive. I’ve told them I hated them.”

Rainey said she never physically abused her children, and that Obermiller had never done so, either. She said he was “really good with my kids” and had a special relationship with Adalynn.

“She loved him,” Rainey said. “There were times when she’d rather be with him than with me.”

Before Adalynn’s murder, Rainey visited a woman in Kennewick who fronted her 6 ounces of meth on each of two occasions, she said. In an unusual arrangement, Rainey said the woman trusted her to weigh the drugs and pay her back in full.

Rainey said she asked Obermiller, who has an extensive criminal history, to help move the product. Then the woman started demanding repayment, and Rainey learned, through a mutual acquaintance, that the drugs had been stolen.

About a week before the murder, three men arrived at Rainey’s house, and two stayed to “watch” her and Obermiller until they paid up. But Rainey said she didn’t feel threatened by one of those men, 38-year-old Anthony “Stranger” Bettcher, who’s also incarcerated.

By that point, Rainey said, Obermiller had become less responsive in text messages, although he was still living in her home and helping care for her children. She and Bettcher started dating.

Obermiller’s defense team has disputed the timeline laid out by prosecutors. Rainey said several times on Monday that she couldn’t recall exact times because of her drug use.

But it seems clear that, on the night of Sept. 11 or early the next morning, Rainey and Bettcher left the home to use meth at a Motel 6. Rainey said she kissed Adalynn and said goodbye. She said Obermiller was looking for cartoons to watch with the baby; he left later that night.

The defense lawyers questioned whether Bettcher heard any disruptions coming from Adalynn’s room. He insisted he heard nothing.

Rainey said she returned to the home the next morning, but didn’t realize Adalynn was dead until the afternoon. She missed a lunch date with Bettcher.

“I heard from her shortly after that. She was hysterical,” he said. “She said her baby was dead. … She said, ‘He killed my baby.’”

A paramedic who responded to the scene, however, said in court Monday that Rainey did not ask how Adalynn died, and was not crying.

Staff writer Jonathan Glover contributed to this report.